Chen Tingjing believed that he had been law-abiding and incorruptible all his life, but when half of his body was buried in the ground, he was actually branded as a "treasonous rebel". The backbone he had supported all his life was broken in an instant, completely broken.
Chen Tingjing died.
Died by hanging.
When Fucha Maqi reported this matter to Kangxi, Kangxi was so distracted that he smashed a tea bowl.
Then he staggered to his feet and had someone take him to the Sky Prison.
The prison was dark and damp, and even though there were braziers burning everywhere, the chill that was like a thorn in the flesh could not be dispelled.
Led by Ma Qi, Kangxi came to the outside of Chen Tingjing's cell.
The surrounding cells were filled with Chen Tingjing's family members, and most of them were kneeling on the ground and crying sadly.
As Kangxi listened along the way, he felt increasingly complicated and indescribable.
When he saw the figure covered by the white cloth, he swayed and almost fell to the ground.
"emperor……"
Liang Jiugong supported Kangxi with his old body, and Ma Qi also quickly pulled him up, preventing him from falling to the ground.
Kangxi calmed himself down, took a few steps forward, and with trembling hands lifted the white cloth, and what came into his sight was Chen Tingjing's bluish-gray face.
"Zi Duan, why are you doing this..."
If he had stood in Chen Tingjing's shoes and said a word for him yesterday, even just "I believe in him", Chen Tingjing might not have hanged himself so resolutely.
Kangxi was forcing a meritorious official who had no selfish motives for serving the country and the people to the point where he could only die to express his loyalty. It would be a lie for him to say that he had no regrets, but Chen Tingjing was already dead, and even if he regretted it... it would be of no use.
Fucha Maqi looked at Kangxi who was full of regret, and his heart was touched.
There were not many people he admired in his life, and Chen Tingjing was one of them.
Originally, he wanted to have some evil intentions towards Chen Tingjing and frame Tong Guowei.
But now he had no idea at all.
Kangxi stayed in prison for half an hour, and when he came out, he was much more hunched over.
The news of Chen Tingjing's suicide quickly spread throughout the capital.
When Yinzhi heard about this, his reaction was even worse than Kangxi's.
He locked himself in the study and didn't eat a single grain of rice the whole day.
By the time Hongsheng and the third lady realized something was wrong and rushed into the study, Yinzhi had already started talking nonsense due to a fever.
Why did Yinzhi and Yinsi dare to treat Chen Tingjing like this?
It was certain that Kangxi was unwilling to let Chen Tingjing bear the crime of treason. As long as Chen Tingjing was willing to stay in prison for a period of time, Ma Qi would definitely clear Chen Tingjing's name under Kangxi's instructions.
The brothers had even anticipated this and had to be on guard against Ma Qi and Tong Guowei trying to make trouble for Chen Tingjing.
However, despite all their calculations, they overlooked one point: Chen Tingjing would rather die than bear this stigma.
Yinzhi was ill.
In just one day, he was too sick to get out of bed.
Kangxi originally had some complaints about Yinzhi, but after learning that Yinzhi was so seriously ill, he no longer cared about being angry with him. He hurriedly asked Liang Jiugong to open his private warehouse and sent a lot of rare medicinal materials to Yinzhi.
He even went to Prince Cheng's mansion to visit Yinzhi in person.
After confirming that Yinzhi's illness was not fake, Kangxi's love for his son prevailed again.
I couldn't bear to do anything to Yinzhi.
Except for Yinzhi, all the others who participated in the plan felt uncomfortable, but they were not as weak as Yinzhi. Even if they felt uncomfortable, they had to finish the subsequent tasks, otherwise Chen Tingjing would lose his life in vain.
Kangxi had lost an important old minister, and his beloved son's life or death was uncertain, so he had no energy to pursue other matters.
Yinsi also showed great awareness of the current situation, so Yinzhen's request was soon fulfilled.
All the plans finally came true. Logically speaking, the princes should be happy.
But no one was happy.
Everyone understood that if this incident had not happened, Chen Tingjing would not have lived much longer.
He could have died of old age with a clean reputation, but because of their calculations, he had to die to prove his integrity.
Kangxi gave Chen Tingjing the posthumous title of "Wenzhen" and made an exception to allow him to be buried with the specifications of a prince, which was considered to be a positive way to clear Chen Tingjing's name.
This is certainly a good thing for the Chen family, but... it doesn't seem that important.
Yinzhi was ill for half a year.
Over the past six months, there have been constant rumors about Yinzhi, and without exception, they all accuse Yinzhi of using any means necessary to force loyal ministers to death.
In order to protect him, Yinzhi took ruthless measures several times, but the effect was not obvious. Instead, people thought that he was just like Yinzhi, mean and unscrupulous.
The power of the eldest prince's party was severely hit as a result.
As one side gained strength while the other lost, Yinsi became the ultimate winner of this turmoil.
On the seventh day of the twelfth lunar month in the fiftieth year of the Kangxi reign, Yinreng hurried back to the capital.
It was at this time that all the civil and military officials in the court suddenly realized that they were fighting for the position under Yinreng.
The princes had been fighting for several rounds, but the real culprit just slipped away at the appointed time, as if it had nothing to do with him.
How can this be possible?!
So some people in the court began to propose deposing the crown prince.
At first, there were only a few big and small people, but later more and more people realized this problem, so the proposal to depose the crown prince was put on the table directly.
On the thirteenth day of the twelfth lunar month, when a sixth-rank official from the Hanlin Academy openly brought up the matter in the court, Kangxi directly refused with a gloomy face.
But in this dynasty, people all advocate the saying "There are three unfilial acts and the worst is to have no descendants". Even though the original meaning of this sentence has nothing to do with future generations, everyone still thinks that it is a matter of extremely serious consequences for the crown prince to have no heir.
So from that day on, the proposal to depose the crown prince became increasingly popular.
Not only the court, but even the people began to pay attention to this matter.
Fortunately, it was the end of the year and everyone in the government and the country had their own work to do, so Kangxi used this as an excuse to delay again and again.
On New Year's Eve, Kangxi had a fairly pleasant family dinner with his children and grandchildren. After sending them all away, he left Yinreng alone to stay up with him to celebrate the New Year.
The father and son sat facing each other on either side of the chessboard, playing chess absentmindedly.
Kangxi hesitated for a while, and finally asked,
"I intend to select two of my grandsons with decent character and talent to adopt as your children. What do you think?"
Yinreng refused directly upon hearing this.
"It's not a big deal. My son has a good life now and doesn't want to be a father to any nephew. Besides, if you want to adopt someone else's talented child, will the eldest brother and the others agree?"
"How dare they refuse!"
Kangxi glared at him, looking quite imposing.
But Yinreng just curled his lips, without any fear in his heart.
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