The Crown Prince still looked at the Fourth Prince with anticipation, as if waiting for his answer.
"Your subject is naturally willing to serve the Crown Prince." The Fourth Prince had no choice but to say this against his will. In fact, he wanted to ask for credit for Lanqin, but now the Crown Prince wanted to take it for himself in order to increase his weight in the Emperor's eyes.
Upon hearing this, the Crown Prince smiled and patted the Fourth Prince on the shoulder.
When the Fourth Prince returned to the Ministry of Revenue, following the Crown Prince's "instructions," he relayed the procedures for donating grain and ordered everyone to carry them out. After speaking, the Fourth Prince, looking somber, said to Su Peisheng, "Return to the manor!"
Emperor Kangxi was pleased to receive the Crown Prince's memorial and 50,000 dan of military rations. However, he had been in a bad mood lately, having punished several eunuchs who served him and even personally killing one of them.
In the days immediately following the burning of the army's rations, Emperor Kangxi suddenly suffered from a headache. The army doctor promptly used acupuncture to stop the worsening headache. One night, while resting in his imperial tent, Kangxi suddenly began to have a nightmare and ramble incoherently. A eunuch serving outside overheard him calling for an assassin and rushed into the tent. Upon opening his eyes, Kangxi drew his sword and stabbed the young eunuch to death. It turned out he had mistaken the eunuch for an assassin.
"Your Majesty, the weather is nice today. Why don't we help you go for a walk outside?" Liang Jiugong, who was serving him, said this when he saw a smile appear on Kangxi's face, which had been gloomy for many days.
“Baocheng is quite capable. Look, he delivered 50,000 jin of military rations all at once. Hehe. Good, very good. The next batch of 50,000 jin of military rations has already been secured. It was actually him who came up with this idea.” Kangxi said to Liang Jiugong with a smile, holding the memorial.
“The Crown Prince was personally groomed by the Emperor, so naturally he can share the Emperor’s burdens,” Liang Jiugong said.
"Quickly, summon them all here. I want to tell them this good news to boost morale." Kangxi slammed the memorial on the table.
Liang Jiugong flicked his whisk and hurriedly went to deliver the message himself.
In a short while, Prince Zhi, the Third Prince, the Eighth Prince, the Ninth Prince, and the Tenth Prince all entered Kangxi's imperial tent, followed by Zhang Tingyu, Chen Tingjing, Ma Qi, Aling'a, and others.
"The Crown Prince has already procured grain for us. Hehe, I am about to set off and crush the Dzungar tribes." Kangxi said with high spirits, having shaken off his unpleasantness of the past few days.
"Congratulations, Your Majesty, on your resounding victory!" the princes said in unison.
“It is truly excellent that the Crown Prince was able to gather military provisions so quickly this time. I believe that the Crown Prince should be credited with this achievement,” Zhang Tingyu said.
Prince Zhi glanced at him, feeling rather uncomfortable. They were fighting bloody battles outside, and they hadn't even discussed merits or demerits yet. The Crown Prince had only done his duty, and he wanted to be credited for it?
“Baocheng has done a very good job this time, and I will reward him. Now that we have military provisions, we should think about how to wipe out the Dzungars,” Kangxi said.
"Father, I am willing to lead the troops into battle. We have been hiding here for more than ten days, and I am already too late to take action. I must take Galdan's head and use it as a football for you, Father." Prince Zhi walked out with a livid face, knelt on one knee and clasped his hands in a fist.
Emperor Kangxi was immediately moved by what Prince Zhi said. Among his adult princes, the eldest prince was the most valiant in terms of combat ability.
"Very well, after I have discussed the plan with all the officials, I will appoint you as the vanguard general," Kangxi said with a smile.
Prince Zhi looked up and saw Kangxi's smile, and a weight was finally lifted from his heart. He knew that his military achievements on the battlefield would not be erased by his father. Recently, because of Princess Baoyue, his father seemed much stricter with him, rarely showing him a smile. If he could achieve further merit in this battle, the Baoyue matter would be forgotten, and the greater his achievements, the more qualified he would be to compete for that position.
Emperor Kangxi ordered a map of the northern grasslands to be hung on a screen and began discussing battle plans with his trusted ministers and generals.
Meanwhile, inside Princess Baoyue's tent, she was indeed looking in the mirror, while her maidservants adorned her with a set of gold headdresses strung together with red and green coral and tiny turquoise beads. The headdress was inlaid with coral and turquoise beads, with openwork silver ornaments connecting to tassels on both sides. Behind the forehead band was a crescent-shaped engraved ornament, connected to a net-like curtain woven from coral and turquoise beads, reaching to her shoulders and strung together with silver thread to form a magnificent veil covering her face—it was truly exquisite.
"Princess, the Emperor is so kind to you. He received this set of jewelry and gave it to you as a gift," the maid said with a smile.
“It’s just a set of jewelry; this princess wants much more than that,” Bao Yue said with a ruthless smile.
"Princess, when I went out to fetch you water just now, I saw Prince Zhi and the others heading towards the Emperor's tent. It seems like something important has happened," the maid said.
"The military provisions have arrived, and His Majesty will naturally summon them in. After resting for so many days, it's time to prepare," Bao Yue said coldly. She couldn't forget the bloody massacre of her father, mother, and brothers and sisters. Not only did her uncle not seek revenge, but he also surrendered to Galdan Khan. If she hadn't been there at the time, she probably would have been killed as well. Even if she hadn't been killed because of her beauty, she would have only become the captive of her enemy.
"Go, find a way to get Prince Zhi to the place in the back mountain where the wildflowers are most vibrant." Bao Yue suddenly turned to the maid and said, the red and green turquoise beads on her forehead swaying with the movement of her head, making her exquisite face even more charming and beautiful.
The maid nodded, raised one hand to her chest, and withdrew.
Baoyue sat alone for a while, then had another maid put a white veil around her face, and then got up and went out, not allowing anyone to follow her.
After Prince Zhi emerged from the imperial tent, he headed directly for his own. As he reached the entrance, a woman dressed in Mongolian attire appeared and bowed to him. Prince Zhi immediately recognized her as Princess Baoyue's maidservant. Countless guesses flashed through his mind, but he nervously looked around and, finding no one to see her, grabbed her wrist and pulled her into his tent.
"What are you doing here?" Prince Zhi asked bluntly, having already decided to completely forget about Baoyue.
"This servant is here to deliver a message to Prince Zhi. Our Princess Baoyue asked me to tell Prince Zhi to 'wait at the best spot among the wildflowers in the back hill,'" the maid said, repeating the message.
Prince Zhi's expression became complicated. If it were before, he would have been overjoyed to see Bao Yue immediately if she had said such things to him. But now, his father seemed to have just begun to smile at him, and it would be inappropriate to go see Bao Yue again.
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