In Prince Yong's mansion, since the position of secondary consort was already full, Emperor Kangxi only granted two princesses to enter the mansion.
The other princes' residences all had concubines or princesses who entered the residence, but the Eighth Prince was an exception.
Eighth Prince Yinzhi had a very good relationship with his primary wife and lived only with her. However, since his primary wife had no children, Yinzhi had no choice but to take two concubines, Zhang and Mao.
Lady Zhang gave birth to Hongwang, Yinzhi's only son, and Lady Mao gave birth to Da Gege, Yinzhi's only daughter. After that, no more concubines or princesses entered the mansion.
After the general election, the marriage of Yunyi's eldest son, Hongyao, was also successfully arranged. He was to marry the niece of Prince Li's wife, a member of the Guarjia clan.
Yunyi was overwhelmed with choices when selecting a wife and really didn't know which one to choose.
The main reason is that the current situation is tense, and she doesn't dare to make a choice casually, for fear of choosing the wrong person and causing unnecessary trouble.
Fortunately, Prince Li came to the rescue at a crucial moment, recommending his wife, Lady Guarjia's, niece.
Yinzhen had great faith in his second sister-in-law's character. During the years when Guarjia was the Crown Princess, she managed the Eastern Palace and Kangxi's harem very well.
He was also very satisfied with the upbringing of his second sister-in-law's family. After his second brother suggested it, he investigated the matter and decided to make Xiao Guarjia the primary wife of his eldest son.
Emperor Kangxi already knew about this matter. Yinreng had discussed it with the fourth prince before telling him, and only after receiving his approval did he speak to the fourth prince.
Therefore, after Yinzhen proposed a candidate to his father, the Emperor Kangxi immediately issued an imperial decree to bestow the marriage upon him.
The wedding date was set for the end of the year, the sixth day of the eleventh month, which is only about half a year away. It was still quite tight, and the Imperial Household Department was busy preparing for the wedding of Prince Yong, the eldest son.
In July, a major incident broke out in the court: Zu Yuntu, the Left Vice Censor-in-Chief, submitted a memorial accusing the Ministry of Revenue of embezzlement in the purchase of grass and beans.
Emperor Kangxi was furious upon hearing this and ordered the Ministry of Justice to investigate whether the matter was true.
That night, a servant in black sneaked into the Eighth Prince's residence under cover of darkness and didn't emerge until much later through a side gate.
The following day, the Eighth Prince took the opportunity to visit the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice. The two discussed matters in the study for a long time before leaving.
The amount of money involved in this embezzlement case was enormous. Emperor Kangxi originally thought that the results would be available soon, but several days had passed and the Ministry of Justice still had not given a reply.
Emperor Kangxi sent his trusted confidants to investigate in secret, only to discover that it was the Eighth Prince who, relying on his connections, was secretly plotting to protect those involved.
Kangxi was already wary of this son, and now that he had learned of these things, he disliked him even more.
After a moment's thought, Kangxi, citing the Ministry of Justice's slow efficiency, allowed Prince Yong to join the investigation.
The marriage of his eldest son, Hongyao, had already been arranged. On this official business, Yinzhen brought his son along, hoping to broaden his horizons.
Yinzhen was a meticulous person who couldn't tolerate any flaws. With him on the team, he wouldn't care about anyone's relationship with anyone else, nor would he care about anyone's feelings.
He naturally handled the matter impartially, doing what needed to be done, and within a few days, a result was achieved.
The investigation revealed that from the establishment of the Supervisory Office for Purchasing Grass and Beans by the Ministry of Revenue in the 34th year of the Kangxi Emperor's reign until the 44th year of his reign, a total of 112 officials of the Silver Hall were found to have embezzled and misappropriated more than 440,000 taels of silver. This was in addition to the more than 200,000 taels of silver embezzled by Xifuna and others from the 45th to the 48th years of the Kangxi Emperor's reign.
Later, Emperor Kangxi decreed that those who received bribes would be spared dismissal and questioning if they repaid all the silver they had obtained before trial.
In September, all those previously involved in the case were ordered to pay their debts within a specified period and were exempted from punishment. However, the ringleaders, including Shifuna, were deemed corrupt and despicable and could not be forgiven; they were all dismissed from their posts.
The corruption case in the Ministry of Revenue has come to an end. Prince Yong, Yinzhen, handled the matter effectively and received some praise in the court. Emperor Kangxi was also delighted with this, as the fourth prince had indeed not disappointed him.
Compared to Prince Yong, the Eighth Prince, who privately formed cliques and pursued personal gain, caring only about cultivating relationships with ministers and disregarding the people and the nation, appeared much more selfish and self-serving.
Although he was renowned for his virtue, he was considered inferior in the eyes of Emperor Kangxi.
Yinzhen didn't have many good words for his ministers, but he was a truly capable person. In Kangxi's heart, he was an honest and quiet good son.
Hongyao, his eldest grandson, also performed remarkably well this time. He was very capable at such a young age, which impressed Emperor Kangxi.
With the affairs of the previous dynasty concluded, good news also came from Yinzhen's inner court.
Consort Geng of Qingyi Courtyard is pregnant and has been pregnant for over a month. The last good news from the inner court was when Lady Niohuru was pregnant with the Eighth Prince in the forty-seventh year. Two years later, there is good news from the inner court again.
Although his eldest son was about to get married and he himself was not far from becoming a grandfather, Yinzhen was still very happy that another child was about to be born.
He directly instructed Su Peisheng to send many things to Madam Geng, telling her to take good care of herself during her pregnancy.
In November, the mansion was decorated with lanterns and colorful streamers, and the eldest prince, Hongyao, got married.
Early in the morning, Hongyao dressed neatly and went to the main courtyard to pay his respects to Yinzhen and his wife. After paying his respects to his mother at Taowu Courtyard, he rode a tall horse toward the Guarjia residence.
Beside him was his study companion, Song Zhiheng, the son of Yunyi's eldest brother, and his three younger brothers.
Hongxuan has loved martial arts since he was a child and disliked studying. Yinzhen found him a martial arts master, and at only fourteen years old, his martial arts skills are already quite good.
Hongjing is the complete opposite of his second brother. He has almost no talent for martial arts, but he is very smart. He is much better at studying the Four Books and Five Classics than his second brother, and he is almost comparable to his eldest brother.
Hongyao has two useful younger brothers. One is a scholar and the other is a warrior. When we go to pick up the Fujin (wife), we will have the two of them deal with the questions posed by the Fujin's brothers.
As for Hongye, he doesn't know anything; he's just here to join in the fun.
Upon arrival, he found a large crowd already waiting at the entrance. Hongyao, unperturbed, stepped forward and bowed.
The eldest and second eldest brothers of the Guarjia clan blocked the doorway, preventing them from entering, and asked the groom to compose a poem.
This was no challenge for Hongyao. He had prepared several poems to urge the bride to get married the night before, and when he heard the topic, he didn't think much before speaking.
Seeing that he hadn't stumped the groom, Brother Gua wasn't in a hurry. They had also prepared many questions. He turned around and gave the servants a wink. The servants then set up a question at the door.
Unlike the previous essay topic, this one is clearly a martial arts topic.
Hongyao remained calm and glanced at his second brother.
Hongxuan understood, nodded, and gave him a confident look, as if to say, "Big brother, just you wait and see!"
He took a big step forward and solved the problem in no time.
The literary and military questions didn't stump them, but Brother Gua Er couldn't sit still any longer and came up with a few more extremely difficult questions.
The third brother, Hongjing, answered all the questions himself without letting his eldest brother call him.
Now Guarjia's two elder brothers were a little embarrassed. How come the questions they had prepared were so simple? They couldn't stump them at all.
Just as they were feeling a bit awkward, a little brat ran out from behind, hands on her hips, looking rather arrogant.
"Hmph! Those questions were too easy. I have a difficult one for you. Let's see if you can answer it. Otherwise, my sister won't go with you so easily."
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