With a cold face, Kangxi returned to his room and said to Liang Jiugong, "You may leave. No one is to be allowed to enter without my permission!"
Knowing that Kangxi was in a bad mood, Liang Jiugong immediately left without saying another word.
After the door was closed from the outside in, Kangxi stood with his hands behind his back, silently behind the long table. Suddenly, a sigh escaped his lips.
The Crown Prince! Is the heir he personally nurtured truly a suitable candidate to bring a bright and prosperous future to the Qing Dynasty? He is the only bloodline left to him by Hesheli, and also his only legitimate son.
Damn it! That Zhao Fangjing truly deserves to die, daring to criticize the Crown Prince right to his face! But he couldn't kill him! Killing him would be declaring to the world that the current emperor was a narrow-minded, intolerant, and incompetent ruler. He couldn't lose the hearts of the people for the sake of Zhao Fangjing. But what right did Zhao Fangjing have? What right did he have to so brazenly criticize the Crown Prince as an unsuitable heir apparent, disregarding his own life? It was indirectly accusing him of choosing the wrong person!
The hand on the long table gradually clenched into a fist. Kangxi then swung his fist and slammed it onto the table. A tall, colorful vase with a double fish design on its stem, which was placed on the long table, shook violently, tilted to one side, rolled off the table, and then smashed into pieces with a loud crash.
Standing outside, Liang Jiugong heard the noise inside and knew that Kangxi was throwing a tantrum. He thought to himself: Who said that being the emperor means you can control the life and death of anyone? Look, he can't even kill Zhao Fangjing.
"Liang Jiugong, come in!" Kangxi almost roared.
Liang Jiugong immediately composed himself, carefully pushed open the door, and tiptoed inside. He saw Kangxi sitting in the grand chair with a stern face and a cold smile on his lips.
"Go and call Zhang Tingyu in. Remember, do not alert anyone else!" Kangxi said, frowning.
Liang Jiugong agreed and left. A short while later, Zhang Tingyu followed Liang Jiugong to stand before Emperor Kangxi.
Zhang Tingyu bowed deeply to the displeased Emperor Kangxi and said, "Your Majesty, I have already sent those scholars back. May I ask what Your Majesty has summoned me for?"
"Investigate! Send someone to investigate that Zhao Fangjing immediately! I don't believe he's so daring as to slander the Crown Prince before me, lest he lose his head!" Kangxi practically roared these words, unable to accept that he had chosen the wrong person for the Crown Prince. He simply couldn't accept this fact! Although later Kangxi had to admit that the Crown Prince was indeed not a suitable person to control the fate of the Qing Dynasty, that's another story. At this moment, Kangxi's fury would not dissipate.
"Yes, Your Majesty! I will immediately send men to arrest Zhao Fangjing and see if he has anyone backing him!" Zhang Tingyu glanced cautiously at Kangxi and said.
"You also suspect that someone is behind him?" Kangxi's sharp eyes suddenly flashed with a cold, eerie light.
"Your Majesty has some doubts. Do you think the same thing as me?" Zhang Tingyu said, bowing his head. He had been Emperor Kangxi's subject for nearly twenty years and had long since figured out Kangxi's temperament and character. When Liang Jiugong said that Kangxi had summoned him, he had already guessed what was going on.
"I believe there must be someone behind him. Send someone to keep an eye on him and see who he is in contact with! Don't alert him yet. I want to see who is behind this!" Kangxi finally calmed down. "I originally planned to set off immediately and continue westward, but now I have changed my mind. Send someone to investigate this matter first. I will stay in Jinan for a few more days."
Meanwhile, as Fourth Master rode his horse with Li Wei and Su Peisheng toward the Lu family mansion, Li Wei noticed that Fourth Master had a sullen face and an expression that said "keep away," so he kept quiet the whole time.
"Li Wei, I have something I want you to do. Are you willing?" Fourth Master suddenly said.
"Please give your instructions, sir," Li Wei said respectfully.
"Now, investigate this Zhao Fangjing in your original capacity. I think he was likely instructed by someone to say those things to Father Emperor today. There is no one in this world who is not afraid of death, and I don't think he is the kind of person who would face death without fear," the Fourth Prince said.
Li Wei thought about it and agreed that Zhao Fangjing was indeed very bold; even he himself might not have had the courage to say those words in front of Emperor Kangxi.
“Then this servant will go now, I’m afraid Zhao Fangjing might suddenly disappear,” Li Wei said.
"Alright, go now. If you have any news, report back to the Lu family mansion immediately." Fourth Master nodded, quite satisfied with Li Wei's decisive actions.
Just as Zhao Fangjing became the focus of attention in teahouses and among students who came to pay homage to the emperor in Jinan, he himself had returned to his residence, Laifu Inn, early in the morning. Just as he was preparing to pack his things, he noticed someone knocking on the door.
"Who?" Zhao Fangjing asked warily.
"Brother Zhao, everyone's waiting for you to tell us. You said you locked yourself in your room as soon as you got back." It turned out to be a student named Wang from next door, who hadn't even made it past the first hurdle.
"I'm tired, let's talk about it tomorrow." Zhao Fangjing felt relieved and quickly stuffed a large bundle under his pillow.
"Brother Zhao, I heard you gave a splendid speech before the Emperor today, and everyone admires you greatly. They've already set up a table of wine downstairs and are inviting you to come. Come out quickly." Wang naturally didn't intend to be sent away so easily.
"Alright, you can go down now, I'll be right there." Zhao Fangjing knew they wouldn't give up if he didn't go down. Fine, he'd better finish his drinks with them and leave quickly.
It turned out that Li Wei had secretly caught up with Zhao Fangjing on horseback and followed him all the way to the Laifu Inn. After chatting with the innkeeper for a few minutes, Li Wei learned when Zhao Fangjing had arrived, who he had met, and who was staying around his room. Seeing Li Wei's generosity, the innkeeper recounted the events of the past few days to him in detail.
To get closer to Zhao Fangjing, Li Wei deliberately mentioned to the innkeeper Zhao Fangjing's reputation before Emperor Kangxi, which indeed attracted the attention of many students staying at the inn. They surrounded Li Wei, asking him all sorts of questions. So Li Wei naturally suggested that everyone set up a feast and invite Zhao Fangjing down to tell his story in person, wouldn't that be better? Just then, a man surnamed Wang in the crowd volunteered to know Zhao Fangjing, which led to him knocking on the door.
When Zhao Fangjing came down, Li Wei had already set up a table in a private room downstairs. As soon as everyone saw Zhao Fangjing, they smiled and pulled him in by the arm.
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