Emperor Kangxi originally planned to punish the Crown Prince after returning to the capital, but given the current situation, he had no choice but to punish him.
However, the severity of the punishment varied, and since the Crown Prince still held the title, it would be too much for Emperor Kangxi to lose face if the truth of the matter were to be made public.
Therefore, punishing the crown prince became difficult.
They can't go unpunished, but their reputation can't be too bad either.
After some thought, Kangxi finally accused the Crown Prince of not caring enough for his younger brother, and punished him by confining him to his room to reflect on his actions. He was also forbidden from leaving Jiangnan at will.
Not counting when you're rushing.
The punishment wasn't severe, but it was extremely unfriendly to the crown prince.
The Jiangnan region is prosperous. Although the Crown Prince was angry that the First Prince and the Third Prince stayed in the capital to oversee the overall situation, he was not opposed to touring Jiangnan. The beautiful scenery of Jiangnan was one aspect, but the Crown Prince was also envious of the good "resources" of Jiangnan.
Those who could serve as officials in Jiangnan all had impressive backgrounds. The key point was that Jiangnan was a huge treasury. Although the Crown Prince's lifestyle was almost on par with that of Emperor Kangxi, he was still really short of money.
He tried to win over court officials and cater to their preferences. Although he did not treat scholars with courtesy, he knew that it was impossible to make a horse run fast without feeding it.
To win people's hearts, one must always spend money. Officials often have some hobbies that cost money, and even the crown prince is finding it somewhat difficult to win them over.
Emperor Kangxi said, "He didn't care enough for his younger brother," and then ordered him to reflect on his actions behind closed doors. This trip was all for naught.
After the Crown Prince confined himself to his room to reflect on his mistakes, Yinzhen felt that it was enough. He was also feeling bored "resting" in his room every day, so he recovered in a couple of days.
Even while the Crown Prince was confined to his quarters to reflect on his mistakes, things were still turbulent, causing great disturbance. Those serving him were trembling with fear, lest they inadvertently offend someone and lose their lives.
The Eighth Prince had been keeping a close eye on the Crown Prince's movements. Upon seeing this situation, he immediately gave the order: "Fourth Brother was seriously harmed by the Crown Prince and Second Brother this time, and it has only just healed. I imagine Fourth Brother is quite resentful. Send someone privately to speak to the servants in Fourth Brother's courtyard about the Crown Prince's recent condition."
The Eighth Prince refused to believe that Yinzhen would remain unmoved.
After saying this, he ordered people to spread the news that the Crown Prince was "cruel," using people that the First Prince had placed around Yinzhen.
Just then, Yinzhen summoned Gao Wuyong and said, "Your Highness, the people the First Prince has planted haven't been behaving themselves lately."
Yinzhen said, "It's good that you're not content with your lot."
It would be strange if they were well-behaved!
"Let the Crown Prince's people know what Eighth Brother has done. Also, even though Eldest Brother is far away in the capital, he still keeps Eighth Brother busy. Well then, neither of us should be idle."
"Yes, Master."
Two days later, Yinzhen was already following in the footsteps of his brothers, serving Emperor Kangxi diligently.
At this time, news about the crown prince's "cruelty" spread everywhere, described in great detail and with great credibility.
When the Crown Prince found out, he smashed many valuable items in his study. After smashing them, he shouted, "Investigate this! I want to see who dares to slander me like this and ruin my reputation!"
The investigation uncovered many things, such as what the Eighth Prince did to him using the people left behind by the First Prince, and how the Eighth Prince used Yinzhen's people to spread rumors.
The rumors were spread in far too much detail.
The rumors contained names, dates, and locations, but no one knew who they were. When they spread, they were like a story, describing the events in the Crown Prince's residence in detail, with twists and turns, and climaxes.
The Crown Prince knew perfectly well that not all the rumors were false, so he had even less confidence to refute them and only hoped that the rumors would subside as soon as possible.
Unfortunately, although he had evidence that someone wanted to get rid of him, he had indeed done that thing, and the evidence against him was irrefutable, which put the Crown Prince in an extremely difficult position, as if he had swallowed shit.
"Boss, Eighth Brother, I'm not done with you."
As the rumors intensified, the Crown Prince tried to control them, but the Eighth Prince was even more diligent, and the news soon reached Emperor Kangxi's ears.
Emperor Kangxi was quite troubled; why was it always about the Crown Prince?
"Liang Jiugong, go and investigate for me whether the Crown Prince actually did it or not. Also, find out from who leaked the information."
Liang Jiugong: Yes, sir.
Emperor Kangxi had planted people among his sons, and these plantings were quite secretive, so they were easily found out when questioned.
Not long after, Liang Jiugong came to report to Kangxi: "Your Majesty, the rumors about the Crown Prince are half true and half false, with some truth in the falsehood. They are spread in a very detailed and convincing way, so many people believe them. Also, the rumors about the Crown Prince initially came from Prince Yong's residence."
Kangxi frowned upon hearing this. He was not surprised by the matter concerning the Crown Prince. There is a saying that, while not entirely true, makes some sense: flies do not land on eggs without cracks. If the Crown Prince is upright and honest, no one would spread such rumors.
Because he was mentally prepared, Kangxi had a feeling that the Crown Prince's actions were indeed as expected. Although he was disappointed and unhappy, he was not surprised at all.
But Yinzhen was different; in Kangxi's eyes, Yinzhen was not the kind of person who would spread rumors.
Emperor Kangxi did not believe it: "Continue to investigate. I feel there is something fishy about this."
Liang Jiugong also felt something was amiss, but he needed the information urgently, so he came over as soon as he got the firsthand news.
“Zha”
Given enough time, Liang Jiugong's methods were naturally quite effective. In just one day, he found out about the people planted by the First Prince, and then he found out about the Eighth Prince.
Kangxi couldn't help but sigh as he listened to what Liang Jiugong said.
Look, look, they're all his good sons! They're quite adept at using others to do their dirty work!
By planting someone and spreading rumors, they instantly put Yinzhen and the Crown Prince at odds. They were truly capable.
Emperor Kangxi was also amazed. He didn't say he valued his eighth son too much, but he didn't neglect him too much either. He didn't expect that his son, who had only been married to his wife for a short time, would act like a child.
That's quite an "idea"!
At this time, the Eighth Prince was unaware that his secrets had been exposed, but he couldn't really be blamed.
For the Eighth Prince to be so shrewd at his age is already beyond the reach of ordinary people. Originally, his plan was not wrong: to use the First Prince's people to sow discord between Yinzhen and the Crown Prince.
Unfortunately, he ran into Yinzhen, someone who knew he was difficult to deal with and paid special attention to him.
Liang Jiugong was able to trace his findings back to the Eighth Prince not only because of his own abilities, but also because Yinzhen provided him with many clues. Otherwise, Liang Jiugong could have only traced his findings back to the First Prince, and even then, the clues would have been somewhat ambiguous.
When Emperor Kangxi learned the details of the matter and saw that the situation was getting out of control, he took action to suppress it.
Once Emperor Kangxi took action, naturally no one dared to say anything more.
However, the Crown Prince's reputation was not what it used to be. After all, for Kangxi to issue a statement to suppress the rumors instead of reprimanding the person who spread them, the Crown Prince must have indeed become "cruel".
However, it was only through Kangxi's oral decree that the rumors ceased.
Some people in Jiangnan originally wanted to pledge allegiance to the Crown Prince, but after hearing such rumors, they immediately lost the idea. They realized that if they were to pledge allegiance to a cruel master, those who followed him might not have a good end, so they decided to give up!
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