"Your subject greets Your Majesty!" Prince Zhi immediately followed and performed a half-kneeling curtsy, waiting for Kangxi to tell him to stand up.
Kangxi coldly stared at Prince Zhi, refusing to urge him to rise. The father and son remained in this silent confrontation, one kneeling and the other sitting. Liang Jiugong stood awkwardly to the side, glancing at Prince Zhi and then at Kangxi, wondering to himself: Should I say something to persuade him? Old Kang's temper has been rather unpredictable lately.
"Yinti, do you know your crime?" Kangxi finally spoke.
"Your son begs Your Majesty to punish me! I returned to the capital without Your Majesty's permission, and I know I am guilty. However, I heard that Your Majesty was assassinated on your way back to the capital, and I was deeply frightened and did not escort you back. Therefore, I especially wanted to come back to see Your Majesty. Furthermore, my mother and wife have fallen ill from missing me, which is why I returned without permission. I beg Your Majesty to punish me!" Prince Zhi lowered his head, a few glints of light flashing in his eyes, and his words were quite earnest.
Liang Jiugong sighed inwardly: This Prince Zhi is quite eloquent. As his personal attendant, he can naturally glean some of what the Emperor is thinking.
Sure enough, Kangxi's expression softened slightly. What Prince Zhi said was true; if he had been present at the time, perhaps Kangxi would not have been so frightened.
"Get up! I originally intended to summon you back to the capital. I didn't expect you to run back on your own. I'll punish you with a year's salary." Kangxi relied heavily on his eldest son, and having just dealt with the Crown Prince and the Thirteenth Prince, he naturally wasn't as resistant to Prince Zhi. Besides, he had originally planned to summon him back anyway.
For Prince Zhi, the penalty of losing a year's salary was practically negligible. However, for the Seventh Prince or the Thirteenth Prince, who relied on their salaries, this punishment was considerable; they might not even be able to support the servants in their households. This illustrates the difference between princes; some were incredibly wealthy, like Prince Zhi and Peach Blossom Ninth Prince, who owned numerous businesses due to their maternal family backgrounds or personal connections.
Prince Zhi, thanks to his military achievements and the support of the Nalan family, wasn't exactly rolling in money, but his annual salary was negligible. Peach Blossom Ninth Prince, on the other hand, was the wealthiest of the princes. His businesses spanned the entire country; he owned an entire street in the capital alone, running money exchanges, calligraphy and painting shops, antique shops, and even brothels, all backed by his own powerful figures. The Eighth Prince, lacking a maternal family and suffering from the Kangxi Emperor's consistently harsh treatment of Consort Liang and himself, remained relatively poor. However, with Peach Blossom Ninth Prince's support and his reputation for virtue, his life improved considerably. The Third, Fourth, and Fifth Princes all received estates as gifts from Emperor Kangxi, so their lives were average—neither rich nor poor. The Tenth Prince, being the son of Empress Niohuru, received even more estates than the Fourth Prince and the others. The Fourteenth Prince, favored by Kangxi, also received several estates, and his marriage to a Jin princess with a dowry that filled hundreds of carts—essentially the entire wealth of the Later Jin—meant he was far from poor. The poorest were the Seventh and Thirteenth Princes. Neither had a powerful maternal clan to rely on, nor any real influence. Although their wives were high-ranking officials, they couldn't compare to the Fourteenth Prince's dowry; even with a lavish dowry, it was still someone else's. Therefore, the Seventh and Thirteenth Princes truly lived off their official salaries.
This time, Thirteen was exiled to the Bee-Raising Alley, and his salary was naturally halved. He might even face sabotage from those sycophantic lackeys. Seventh Master was one of them; it was only after Fourth Master spoke to the Imperial Household Department several times that they dared not act against him.
The punishment of Prince Zhi being fined by Emperor Kangxi quickly became known to the princes who were keeping an eye on him. They all expressed their indignation, but none of them dared to question the emperor's decision.
From then on, after attending court every day, Prince Zhi would linger in the palace, either serving Emperor Kangxi or Consort Hui. In short, he spent more time in the palace than anyone else.
As expected, the supplies for the thirteen mansions were not provided according to regulations. Upon learning this, the Fourth Prince went to the Imperial Household Department. The Imperial Household Department was located in the area of the Western Three Palaces. Because they were in charge of...
"This servant greets the Fourth Prince!" When Manager Zhou of the Jewelry Shop of the Imperial Household Department saw the Fourth Prince enter with a dark face, he quickly stood up from his seat and went to greet him.
"Why are there so many fewer New Year's gifts and jewelry from the Thirteenth Prince's residence this year? And the styles and designs aren't from this year. I'm afraid they were all unwanted last year and were sent over?" Fourth Prince got straight to the point, not being polite or afraid of offending him.
When Steward Zhou saw the Fourth Prince's dark face, he knew that this aloof Fourth Prince was difficult to deal with. He secretly groaned, wondering what he had done to offend him. He never expected that the Fourth Prince would bring up matters concerning the Thirteenth Prince's residence.
"Well, the expenses of the Thirteenth Prince's residence have already been halved according to the Emperor's wishes. This servant is just doing as the Emperor says." Steward Zhou put his hands together, rubbed his palms, and forced a smile at the Fourth Prince.
"Half the amount doesn't mean you have to send away last year's unwanted items. Why don't you come with me to Father Emperor and ask him if half the amount means what you think?" The Fourth Prince hated these underhanded tactics. The servants in the Imperial Household Department all had intricate connections with the harem or the imperial court. They would make things difficult for someone simply to curry favor with that person or to line their own pockets.
When Steward Zhou saw that the Fourth Prince was furious, he trembled with fear and quickly said, "It's all my fault, please calm down, Fourth Prince. They must have done this because they saw that the Thirteenth Prince was in trouble. Please allow me to investigate, Fourth Prince, and I will definitely teach those bastards a lesson."
The Fourth Prince was too lazy to waste any more words on him and said sternly, "Immediately send over this year's jewelry and New Year's gifts from the Thirteenth Mansion according to the rules. Those things, were they what you gave the servants?"
Steward Zhou dared not argue further and could only obsequiously agree and apologize. This aloof Fourth Prince was not someone to be trifled with, and Consort De also held power in the harem; the Imperial Household Department dared not disregard the Fourth Prince.
After reprimanding the person who delivered the jewelry, the Fourth Prince went on to reprimand the other departments of the Imperial Household Department one by one, just as the palace gates were about to be locked.
It turned out that the Fourth Prince would occasionally visit the Thirteenth Prince's residence to check on things. After all, the Thirteenth Prince's only eldest daughter was still being cared for by Madam Chen. The Fourth Prince couldn't plead for the Thirteenth Prince, so he could only help him by taking care of the Thirteenth Prince's residence. Originally, the Fourth Prince didn't know that the things sent by the Imperial Household Department were so shoddy. He only noticed it when he saw that the eldest daughter's winter clothes and jewelry were from last year or even earlier.
The Fourth Prince was furious and immediately returned to his residence, taking out a portion of the New Year's gifts allocated to his own residence and sending them to the Thirteenth Prince's residence.
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