"By imperial decree, Hongshi is deemed unfit to remain in the palace, hence he was made Yinsi's son. Now that Yinsi has been stripped of his yellow sash for his crimes and his name has been removed from the imperial register, how can Hongshi not have his yellow sash removed as well? Therefore, his yellow sash shall be removed immediately and handed over to Yintao, who shall then supervise and support him. This is the imperial decree." After reading the decree, the old eunuch put it away and looked at Hongshi.
Hongshi, who was kneeling on the ground expecting to hear words like "grant him the right to commit suicide," was momentarily stunned. The imperial edict just read seemed to indicate that he would not be killed.
"Father, Father!" Hongshi suddenly looked up at the old eunuch, almost unable to believe his ears.
"Second Prince, oh no, you are no longer the Second Prince. This is imperial wine specially bestowed upon you by the Emperor. After drinking this cup, the bond between father and son will be severed. You will no longer be father and son in this life, and there is no need for you to see each other again. The Fifteenth Prince will take care of you," the old eunuch said.
It turned out that Lanqin, unable to bear the pain that the Fourth Prince would suffer for personally ordering the death of his own son, suggested this plan: to adopt Hongshi to the Eighth Prince, severing their father-son relationship. This would declare that certain ambitions were forever extinguished, as Hongshi was no longer the Fourth Prince's son, but rather the son of the deceased Eighth Prince. This was an extremely ruthless move; Hongshi would become the son of the sinner, the Eighth Prince, losing not only any chance of ascending the throne but also bearing the stigma of being the son of a sinner for the rest of his life.
Lanqin and the Fourth Prince entrusted Hongshi to the care of the Fifteenth Prince, Yuntao, for secret imprisonment. This way, Hongli would no longer be a threat. The Fourth Prince eventually listened to Lanqin's advice and specially sent a eunuch to deliver the imperial decree.
After understanding this strategy, Hongshi picked up the wine cup and drank it down in one gulp. He knew that drinking this cup of wine had saved his life. From that moment on, he, Aisin Gioro Hongshi, ceased to exist; he would henceforth be the son of the sinner Aqina.
Meanwhile, in Changchun Palace, the Fourth Prince and Lanqin were watching the red carp among the water lilies in the bronze vat.
"Your Majesty, Hongshi has already received the imperial edict. You have been more than kind to him," Lanqin said to the Fourth Prince while feeding the fish in the water.
"Yes, it was your idea that saved me from the stigma of killing my own son. Qin'er, I want to thank you." The Fourth Prince said, standing behind Lanqin.
“Your Majesty, Qin’er has been with you for so many years, and we are already one. If Your Majesty is sad, Qin’er will be sad too,” Lanqin said.
The Fourth Prince placed his hand on Lanqin's back and said with emotion, "It has been more than twenty years since I met Qin'er, but I still feel as if I just met her. Qin'er, now I intend to depose the Empress and then make you my Empress."
"Your Majesty, I will not object to the removal of the Empress, but I cannot be the Empress. Please reconsider this plan, Your Majesty," Lanqin said, turning to the Fourth Prince.
"Why? So you don't want to be my wife?" Fourth Prince asked Lanqin in surprise.
"Your Majesty is willing. I have long wanted to become Your Majesty's wife. However, if these two things are pursued together, the servants will think that Your Majesty has abandoned his first wife and favored Lady Niohuru. I do not want Your Majesty's reputation to be damaged. Besides, Your Majesty and I are already husband and wife, so why should we care about such empty titles?" Lanqin said.
Lanqin understood that no matter what wrong the principal wife did, she would be criticized for rising from the position of concubine. Now she was no longer the Niohuru clan member who had just entered the palace. Now she was more willing to stand behind the Fourth Prince and protect the prosperity and stability of this country for him.
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