Their affair was almost exposed at the New Year's banquet, but Emperor Shunzhi and Consort Dong'e were completely unaware of it.
Boguer had no idea that his wife's affair with his elder brother was almost exposed, which would have made him the laughingstock of the entire capital.
Although he's a laughing stock now, at least it's in private, not out in the open, and no one dares to laugh at him to his face.
But things might change once things are exposed. The whispers and gossip will be louder, and the strange looks will be more intense and blatant. But at this moment, Boguer doesn't know what to do.
Should we let him confront him face-to-face? That would certainly be straightforward, but he's just a prince without real power. What if he faces retaliation later? He can't stay home forever.
Or is she hiding it all, doing nothing, pretending not to know anything, just waiting for her good brother to find a reason to steal her wife away?
Boguer really didn't know what to do. At this moment, he missed his mother terribly. If his mother were still alive, she would definitely be able to give him a good idea.
The events at the New Year's banquet changed the hearts of both Dong E Wan Ning and Emperor Shunzhi, and Shunzhi began to quicken his pace.
He wanted to bring Wan Ning into the palace as soon as possible so that the two of them could be together openly.
Secret rendezvous is ultimately inappropriate, and it would be even worse if it were exposed. He couldn't let Wan Ning fall into that situation.
To allow his beloved woman to enter the palace openly and legitimately, the first priority was to deal with Dong E Wan Ning's husband, who was also his own younger brother, Prince Xiang, Boguor.
Shunzhi felt guilty and jealous of his younger brother. He felt guilty because he had fallen in love with his brother's wife, and jealous because his brother could stand openly by Dong E Wan Ning's side.
Emperor Shunzhi's emotions were complicated. He could have directly ordered Wan Ning to divorce his brother, but he also knew that this method would make him seem too incompetent and was not appropriate.
Just when he was racking his brains and couldn't come up with a solution, a glimmer of hope appeared when someone offered him an idea.
Wang Dehai was a junior eunuch in the Qianqing Palace. Because of his cleverness, he became the adopted son of Jiang Fu, a senior eunuch serving Emperor Shunzhi.
For this reason, he was still considered to have some influence with Emperor Shunzhi.
Whenever Emperor Shunzhi went out of the palace to meet with Consort Dong'e in private, he would not bring Jiang Fu, who was conspicuous, but would choose Wang Dehai, a minor eunuch, to accompany him.
Having been involved in this matter, Wang Dehai also knew some of Shunzhi's thoughts.
In March, the third prince, Xuan Ye, born to Consort Tong of Chengqian Palace, turned one year old. The first birthday banquet was quite grand, after all, he was one of only two princes in the palace, rare and noble.
Shunzhi was still worried. His plan had not yet yielded any results, and when would he be able to let Wan Ning enter the palace?
He didn't have to worry for long before the opportunity he had been waiting for arrived.
A former court official reported that a gang of thieves in Jin'an County was committing all sorts of atrocities, including arson, murder, and looting, and had become a powerful force in the area, causing immense suffering to the local people.
This group was very arrogant; the two officials sent by the imperial court were killed by them when they entered the area.
It is because the matter is quite serious that it was brought up for discussion at the Grand Court Assembly today.
Many military officers, seeing the potential for merit, volunteered to go and suppress the bandits.
There were quite a few people who stepped forward, but Shunzhi did not designate anyone at the time. Instead, he said he would go back and think about it.
But when he returned to the Qianqing Palace, Wang Dehai gave him an idea that impressed him greatly, and he exclaimed that it was brilliant!
Wang Dehai's idea was to have Shunzhi select Prince Xiang to suppress the bandits, and then appoint one of his own men to do so.
The journey to suppress the bandits was quite dangerous, so it's not surprising that Prince Xiang was captured by these robbers!
Then they could spread false news that Prince Xiang had been arrested and his fate was unknown. It would be quite reasonable for Prince Xiang's wife, who was weak, to faint upon hearing the news, fall ill from worry, and eventually die.
After the Prince Xiang's wife faked her death, Shunzhi could arrange a new identity for Dong E Wan Ning and then openly summon her to the palace.
In this case, the kidnapper of Prince Xiang could be one of their own. Simply capturing him and making him disappear for a period of time would not do him any harm and would also give Dong E Wan Ning a legitimate reason to die of illness.
Shunzhi admitted that he was indeed very interested in the plan, which was the best plan he could think of at the moment.
This method is very reasonable and will not harm Boguer. After Wan Ning enters the palace, just say that the two of them look alike, and no one will suspect anything.
As for Boguer, he is still young. When the imperial concubine selection comes, I will find him a noble and virtuous wife. Later, I will also bestow upon him the title of "Iron-Cap Prince". This will be my way of making up for what I did for him.
After making up his mind, Shunzhi first told Dong E Wanning and discussed with her whether the matter was feasible.
Dong E Wan Ning would certainly not object; she longed day and night for her to enter the palace smoothly.
I hoped that I could stand beside Shunzhi in front of everyone, rather than meeting him secretly in private.
After discussing the matter with Dong Ewan Ning, Shunzhi ordered Wang Dehai to make arrangements for the plan. At the same time, he also summoned Boguor to the palace for an audience.
These words, all spoken for the good of his younger brother, sounded quite grand coming from Shunzhi's mouth.
With the army present, and dealing with a band of outlaws who had turned to banditry, this mission to suppress the bandits was not a threat.
As the older brother, he naturally thought of his younger brother. Many people would want this benefit, but he specifically chose his younger brother so that he could take the credit.
Boguer sensed something was wrong and felt inexplicably uneasy, but couldn't explain why.
Offering help for no reason is either a sham or a thief. Why would someone else give me such a good job?
Boguer didn't believe his elder brother was that good. If he truly cared for his younger brother, he wouldn't have secretly met with Dong E behind his back.
But since things had come to this point, Boguor had no choice but to accept the task with shrewdness and caution.
Well, well, I'll just have to take it one step at a time. I'm already on guard, so I'll go and see what he's up to.
To reassure himself, Boguor had already made up his mind that he must be extra vigilant during this bandit suppression mission.
Inside Frost Moon Palace, Yunyi was holding Baozhu, a little girl, as they played in the courtyard.
Like Xuan Ye, Baozhu had just celebrated her first birthday. She had just learned to walk and spent a long time walking around the yard every day without getting tired.
However, it's good for the child to be lively. She wasn't well cared for in the womb, and Yunyi had to put in a lot of effort to raise her to be so healthy.
Qimuge stood at the door and saw such a warm scene, and was reluctant to break the atmosphere inside.
It was only when Yunyi saw her that she spoke up and let her in: "Qimuge, what's wrong? Is there something you want to say?"
Seeing Qimuge's expression, Urina cleverly picked up Kang Ning and carried her away, leaving a quiet space for them to talk.
After everyone else had left, Qimuge stepped forward and whispered, "Princess, news just came from the Qianqing Palace, saying..."
Yunyi looked up in surprise: "Oh! He agreed pretty quickly. I thought he would need to think about it for a while."
"Alright, now that things are settled here, have the people outside the palace get moving as well, and proceed with everything according to plan."
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