Chapter 197 Provoking the Ninth Princess
“This is not Baoqing’s fault.” Instead of blaming the eldest prince, Kangxi comforted him, saying, “You usually handle affairs on your own. This time, I asked you to take your younger brothers with you. It’s normal that you were a little careless because you were not used to it.”
The eldest prince didn't complain or mention Longkodo's affair, and Kangxi naturally wouldn't bring it up either. After all, the Tong family was his maternal clan, and Longkodo's arrogance was partly due to his spoiling.
However, Emperor Kangxi was protective of his own. Although he valued his maternal clan, his sons were undoubtedly closer to him. Kangxi would only protect his sons, not Longkodo, who became arrogant and unaware of his own limitations after being favored.
But whether it was giving Longkodo a warning or the Tong family a warning, Kangxi would only do these things in private and would not tell the eldest prince.
The eldest prince knew that Emperor Kangxi and the crown prince had recently had a falling out and their relationship had become strained. Not wanting to miss this opportunity, he said a few more kind and conciliatory words to Emperor Kangxi to strengthen their father-son bond before taking his leave.
Emperor Kangxi and the Crown Prince were always very close, and the eldest prince had always envied their father-son relationship. His repeated defeats in the struggle for the Crown Prince's favor only fueled his jealousy. More than the power struggles, the eldest prince resented the Crown Prince for receiving so much of Emperor Kangxi's attention and affection.
Since the Crown Prince had acted foolishly out of wits, the First Prince naturally wanted to seize this opportunity to cultivate a relationship with Emperor Kangxi. The more Emperor Kangxi valued him, the less affection he would have for the Crown Prince. With this shift in favor, one day the Crown Prince would no longer be the most special son in Emperor Kangxi's heart.
Unaware of and unconcerned about the undercurrents hidden behind the scenes during the struggle for the throne, after returning to the Qianxi Third Palace, Yin'e first instructed Xiao Linzi to personally deliver the things he had brought back from outside the palace to the Consort in Yongshou Palace the next day before he began to wash up.
Soaking naked in the bathtub, amidst the rising steam, Yin'e sighed comfortably, leaning back against the tub and closing his eyes to rest.
Today, I took a stroll outside the palace. I rode a horse for a long time and walked around for half the afternoon. My whole body aches, especially my legs, which feel heavy and numb as if they were filled with lead. I don't even have the strength to move them.
Yin'e soaked in the tub for a long time, until the water in the tub was almost cold, before he finally stopped. He climbed out of the tub, dried himself off, changed into clean nightgown, and buried himself in the warm, comfortable bedding. Sleepiness washed over him like a tide.
Before being engulfed by darkness, a thought vaguely crossed Yin'e's mind: he needed to quickly experiment with the method of making sugar coating; he couldn't afford to fail at this small hurdle in his first step of building a business empire.
During the period around the Double Ninth Festival, Yin'e was very well-behaved. Every day, besides reading in the Imperial Study, he would go back to the Third Institute of the Western Regions and stay in the laboratory to experiment with the method of making sugar coating, as if he was oblivious to everything else.
The Ninth Prince, however, was quite restless, telling Yin'e a lot of recent palace gossip, such as the Crown Prince having two more concubines in his Yuqing Palace, and how the Emperor Kangxi and the Crown Prince, who had just reconciled not long ago, seemed to have another conflict—or rather, the father and son seemed a bit awkward.
The evidence is that the Crown Prince has been visiting the Qianqing Palace less frequently lately. After reconciling with Emperor Kangxi at the Mid-Autumn Festival family banquet last month, the Crown Prince frequented the Qianqing Palace much more often, but recently, for some reason, he has been visiting it much less often than before, even less than when he hadn't had any disagreements with Kangxi.
Yin'e was busy with experiments and had no time to care about palace affairs, let alone the affairs of Emperor Kangxi and the Crown Prince.
While listening to the Ninth Prince gossip, Yin'e absentmindedly recalled some rumors from his previous life, whether they were official history or unofficial history: Kangxi, this widower with an insatiable desire for control, seemed to know everything about the Crown Prince's bedroom affairs, and even inquired about who the Crown Prince spent the night with each night.
Not only that, Kangxi kept postponing the Crown Prince's wedding. The eldest, third, and fourth princes all got married early, but the Crown Prince's betrothal was delayed until the thirty-second year of Kangxi's reign, and the wedding itself was delayed until the thirty-fourth year of Kangxi's reign, by which time the Crown Prince had already turned twenty-one.
Even more shockingly, after the Crown Prince married the Crown Princess, Emperor Kangxi even forbade the Crown Prince to spend the night with the Crown Princess...
Yin'e only heard these unfounded rumors while watching videos and acquiring knowledge in fragmented ways. He couldn't quite remember whether they were official history or unofficial history, or whether they were true or just rumors.
However, Emperor Kangxi was indeed extremely controlling of the crown prince whom he had raised, and it seemed that he was really afraid that the crown prince would forget his old father after getting married.
After taking a stroll outside the palace, Yin'e threw himself into the experiment of making sugar coatings upon returning, completely forgetting the conflict with Longkodo on the day Tong Guogang's coffin returned to Beijing—Yin'e didn't take it to heart at all; he dared to offend even Emperor Kangxi, let alone someone like Longkodo.
As for what happened that day, Kangxi never mentioned it and did not bring Yin'e to the Qianqing Palace to scold him. However, Longkodo, who served as a first-class imperial bodyguard, had been rarely seen in front of the emperor recently and had not appeared in the Qianqing Palace for a long time.
However, Tong Guogang's eldest son, Orondai, fulfilled the duties of a first-class imperial bodyguard many times and stood guard at the Qianqing Palace on numerous occasions.
Once, Yin'e met Orondai in the Qianqing Palace. After recognizing him, Yin'e suddenly smiled at Orondai and said in a very sincere and earnest tone, "Orondai, you must take good care of yourself. You must get along well with your uncles, cousins, and other relatives, especially Longkodo. You should still give way to him when necessary."
Orondai: ?
Yin'e, feigning concern for Orondai, said earnestly, "Lord Tong Guogang has passed away. From now on, Lord Tong Guowei will be in charge of the Tong family. No wonder the Tong family sent Longkodo as their representative to welcome Lord Tong Guogang home on the day your father's coffin returned to the capital."
"The army is still beyond the Great Wall and has not yet returned to the capital. Once Lord Tong Guowei returns, Orondai, you must remember to ask him to submit a memorial for you to inherit Lord Tong Guogang's title. Don't forget, and don't keep delaying, otherwise..."
With a light cough, Yin'e feigned a slip of the tongue, not finishing his sentence, but instead looking at Orondai with sympathy, shaking his head, sighing, and walking away.
Although he had not yet inherited Tong Guogang's title, Orondai, who was both a first-class imperial bodyguard and a deputy commander-in-chief, and did not feel that he needed Tong Guowei's help to petition for the inheritance of the title, frowned and felt very uncomfortable.
With a pout, the headstrong and impulsive Orondai, even within the confines of the Qianqing Palace, didn't hold back and blurted out, "Such blatant attempts to sow discord, do you think I'm stupid?!"
Although Yin'e's tactics were obvious, almost entirely direct and without any beating around the bush, and Orondai saw through them at a glance and wasn't fooled at all, reason couldn't completely control emotions. Orondai's mood still soured, and he became more wary and resistant to the second branch of the Tong family.
Yin'e did it on purpose, deliberately making his divisive remarks so explicit.
Yin'e disliked the Tong family, especially Longkodo. Although he had clashed with Longkodo, it didn't mean Yin'e liked Orondai. He deliberately made his point so clear because he wanted to disgust Orondai as well.
However, there was a reason why Orondai did not inherit Tong Guogang's title—although Tong Guogang's coffin had returned to the capital, the funeral procession had not yet taken place, and Kangxi would not have been in such a hurry to give Tong Guogang's title to Orondai.
On the day of Tong Guogang's funeral, Emperor Kangxi indeed sent the Eighth Prince as the royal representative to the Tong residence to offer condolences. At the same time, the imperial decree appointing Orondai to inherit Tong Guogang's title was also delivered to the Tong residence on the same day.
Upon receiving the imperial decree to inherit the title, Orondai subconsciously glanced at Longkodo kneeling beside him, a hint of smugness involuntarily showing in his eyes: regardless of whether the second branch of the family had any designs on the first branch's title, with this imperial decree, the matter was settled and would not cause any further trouble.
Longkodo, who had been calm and composed, became displeased when Orondai looked at him like that. Longkodo, who was arrogant and acted recklessly, frowned slightly and looked back at Orondai with a sharp look in his eyes: He was so arrogant right after being granted the title. Orondai was as stubborn as ever.
Longkodo's "retaliation" made Orondai's eyes turn cold, and he became even more certain that before the imperial decree for the succession of the title was issued, the second branch of the family had really coveted the title of the first branch, but they just didn't have time to make any small moves, or they secretly used tricks but they didn't work. His dissatisfaction with the second branch of the family grew even stronger.
As cousins, Orondai and Longkodo were not close. Their relationship was originally peaceful and there were no major conflicts.
Now, because Orondai had been harboring resentment towards Yin'e, he was wary and suspicious of the second branch of the family. In addition, Orondai and Longkodo were both stubborn and arrogant, neither of them good at communication or willing to back down. The two cousins inexplicably started to clash, and their relationship deteriorated again and again.
In the palace, unaware that his impulsive and casual action had exacerbated the conflict between Orondai and Longkodo, Yin'e rummaged through the storeroom and handed a box to Xiao Linzi: "Wrap it up and send it to Ning Shou Palace."
This gift was given to the Ninth Princess, who was raised by the Empress Dowager. The Ninth Princess was born to Consort De. She was born in the same year as the Ninth Prince and Yin'e in the 22nd year of the Kangxi Emperor's reign. The Ninth Princess was a little over a month younger than the Ninth Prince and half a month older than Yin'e, and was born right between them.
The 22nd year of Kangxi's reign is indeed the year with the most births of Kangxi's children to date. In that year, five princes and princesses were born in succession: the eighth princess, the ninth prince, the ninth princess, the tenth prince Yin'e, and the nineteenth prince Yinyu.
Unfortunately, the eighth princess born to Empress Xiaoyi, who was then the Imperial Noble Consort, and Yinyu born to Consort Guoluo, both died young. Of the princes and princesses born that year, only the Ninth Prince, the Ninth Princess, and Yin'e survived.
Yin'e knew a little about the Ninth Princess and even racked his brains to recall her future experiences.
It wasn't because the Ninth Princess was raised by the Empress Dowager, but because the Ninth Princess was the Fourth Prince's younger sister—the Fourth Prince was Yin'e's main focus. Although Yin'e's attention wasn't obvious, the person Yin'e least wanted to offend was indeed the Fourth Prince.
Before her marriage, the Ninth Princess was granted the title of Princess Wenxian of the First Rank. She passed away two years after her marriage. More than twenty years later, in the first year after the Fourth Prince ascended the throne, namely the first year of Yongzheng's reign, he posthumously conferred the title of Princess Wenxian of the First Rank on his younger sister. This is enough to show the Fourth Prince's feelings for the Ninth Princess.
Besides this, there is another point about Princess Wenxian that made Yin'e remember her. That is, among all of Kangxi's princesses, Princess Wenxian, who was raised by the Empress Dowager, was the only one who was not raised in Mongolia and instead married a Manchu in Beijing.
However, after marrying into the Tong family, which was known as the "Tong family of half the court," Princess Wenxian only lived for two years before passing away at the young age of twenty.
In stark contrast to the early death of Princess Wenxian, the two princesses who are now married have lived to the age of fifty-seven, while Princess Chunxi, who married into the Khorchin, and Princess Rongxian, who married into the Balin Commandery, lived to the age of fifty-six.
Princess Wenxian, who never served the Mongols but married into the Tong family in the capital, died tragically at the prime of her youth just two years after her marriage.
"It seems the Tong family isn't a good place to go..." Yin'e muttered to himself as he watched Xiao Linzi leave.
Ninth Princess was raised under the Empress Dowager's care since childhood. Not only was she favored by the Empress Dowager, but she also saw Emperor Kangxi far more often than the other princesses. Yin'e visited Ning Shou Palace quite frequently and had always been on good terms with Fifth Prince, so he knew that Ninth Princess was greatly favored by Emperor Kangxi.
Historically, the Ninth Princess married into the capital, with the Empress Dowager, her greatest backer, nearby. However, she passed away two years after her marriage, which made Yin'e doubt the true nature of the Tong family.
In fact, aren't Longkodo and Li Si'er irrefutable proof that the Tong family is in deep trouble?
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