Seeing that Yinreng didn't say anything, Kangxi couldn't help but slow down his tone, even showing some weakness.
"I am already old, and someone must take over the throne. You have been the crown prince for so many years, and no one is more suitable than you..."
"Whether it's suitable or not, you'll know after you sit on it. What? Are you planning to abdicate?"
Yinreng deliberately used words to mock him.
When Kangxi heard this, he felt an uncomfortable feeling in his heart, as if his beloved treasure was about to be snatched away by someone.
"How dare you! How dare you say that? Are you so impatient for my death?"
"If you think so, there's nothing my son can do."
There is a tea aroma in Yinreng’s tea.
"you……"
Kangxi was furious.
"You keep saying that I'm the most suitable for that position, but you see, I just expressed a little bit of desire for the throne, and you can't stand it. Do you really think I'm suitable, or do you think that compared to other brothers, I have no interest in the throne and am easier to control?"
Yinreng looked up at Kangxi with an extremely serious expression on his face.
Faced with such a Yinreng, Kangxi somehow felt a little guilty.
He couldn't help but get angry.
"Why do you think so of me? If I didn't want you to inherit the throne, why would I have trained you for decades?"
"Oh, you're right. You've trained me for decades."
Yinreng nodded seriously.
"Until now, the Eastern Palace has only existed in name."
"All this is..."
"Indeed, I did all this on purpose!"
Yinreng threw the white chess piece in his hand into the chess pot, and the sarcasm in his tone was obvious.
"I just said something that seemed to make sense, and you think I'm a traitor. If I had followed your wishes and managed the court according to the rules, what do you think would be my fate now?"
As soon as these words were spoken, Kangxi almost instantly remembered the dream. His fingers unconsciously clenched and he was unable to utter a word for a long time.
It seemed that they, father and son, had reached a dead end again, with no way out.
Kangxi knew the crux of the problem, which was that Yinreng did not trust him.
But even though he knew it clearly, he couldn't find a solution now...
Because he couldn't completely trust Yinreng.
After a long time, Yinreng sneered,
"The old saying is clear enough. There is no father and son in the royal family, and there is no family affection in the royal family. The old man insisted that he would be the exception. What happened?"
'According to historical records, Crown Prince Yinreng was deposed and reinstated twice, ultimately spending the rest of his life imprisoned in the Imperial Clan Court. In his previous life, he drank a cup of poisoned wine. Even if he exhausted all his energy to avoid it in this life, he still attracted suspicion...'
"People are always stubborn, but once they're slapped in the face by reality, they'll stop being so stubborn..."
Hearing the history books about the crown prince being deposed and reinstated twice, Kangxi's hands could not help but tremble, and the chess pot full of black chess pieces instantly fell to the ground, and the chess pieces made a crisp sound when they fell on the floor tiles.
Yinreng hurriedly got up to pick it up.
The palace maids and eunuchs serving outside heard the noise and couldn't help but ask what was going on.
The elderly Liang Jiugong walked into the warm room first, and when he saw Yinreng bending down to pick up the chess pieces, he quickly stepped forward to help.
"Your Highness, please leave it there and I will pick it up."
Yinreng stood up and sat back down, watching Liang Jiugong and a few young eunuchs kneeling on the ground to pick up chess pieces.
By the time everyone had picked up the chess pieces, it was already midnight.
Kangxi mechanically followed the procedure and never mentioned the topic of letting Yinreng adopt two children.
A few years later, after Kangxi's ceremony of opening the pen, the court officials began to bring up the old matter again and asked Kangxi to depose the prince.
This time, Kangxi hesitated for less than half a month before agreeing to the court officials' request.
After Yinreng was deposed for having no heir, Kangxi conferred on him the title of Prince Yi.
The reclaimed Prince An's residence was awarded to Yinreng, who was ordered to move out of the palace within one month.
Yinreng originally wanted to leave after the New Year, but before he could submit a farewell letter, he was hit by this huge surprise. He didn't even bother to submit a farewell letter and happily packed up his belongings and moved.
Before the princes could recover from the news of Yinreng's dethronement, they were swept up in the calls in the court to establish a crown prince.
Among them, Yinsi had the highest voice.
The reason why Kangxi gritted his teeth and deposed the crown prince was that he did not want Yinreng to be imprisoned or executed again. However, not long after he read the imperial edict, he regretted it.
He is sixty years old this year.
If one were to follow Yinreng's wishes, he could have stayed on the throne for another ten years.
But the civil and military officials don’t think so.
They all felt that Kangxi might die at any time, so they all urged Kangxi to choose a crown prince.
Kangxi could not reveal the news that he had another ten years to live to his court officials, so he was left hanging in mid-air, feeling uncomfortable and stuck in between.
Before the Wanshou Festival, Kangxi summoned his trusted ministers to the Southern Study to discuss which prince to appoint as the crown prince.
Kangxi showed his sincerity, and Ma Qi, Li Guangdi, Tong Guowei and others were standing there.
Ever since Yinreng was deposed, in just over two months, almost all the Manchu and Han officials in the court were caught up in the vortex of the fight for the throne. Only Li Guangdi, Ma Qi and Tong Guowei did not express their positions.
The first person Kangxi asked was Ma Qi.
Ma Qi thought for a moment and finally said that the eighth prince Yinsi was the most suitable candidate to be the crown prince.
Tong Guowei listened and felt a little unhappy.
His favorite person was also Yinsi. If Kangxi had asked him first, he would have blurted out the answer without hesitation.
Now that Ma Qi has said it, he can no longer support the Eighth Prince.
What a despicable and shameless bastard...
Kangxi is not as tolerant towards the Tong family as before, and Tong Guowei has now sensed something. Even if he is heartbroken, he knows that he cannot show it, so he points all the blame at Fucha Maqi.
After hearing Ma Qi's answer, Kangxi's expression did not change at all, and then he turned his gaze to Tong Guowei.
"Duke Tong, who among my sons do you think is qualified to be the Crown Prince?"
"Your Majesty, I feel that Fourth Prince Yinzhen is a man of integrity and honesty, and is the most suitable candidate..."
Tong Guowei spent a long time choosing among the other princes, and finally chose Yinzhen against his will.
He actually didn't have a good impression of Yinzhen.
But there was no way. With Ma Qi ahead, his choices were really limited.
Upon hearing this, Ma Qi glanced at Tong Guowei's insincere face and couldn't help but sneer.
This old man's descendants all openly supported Prince Zhi, but now when he came before Emperor Kangxi, he actually chose Prince Yong.
As expected of Tong Guowei...
Kangxi's eyes flashed for a moment, but he still didn't express anything. Then he looked at Li Guangdi.
Li Guangdi chose the eighth prince Yinsi without hesitation.
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