In the blink of an eye, a year has passed.
Yinyu is getting married. It's going smoothly and is a lively affair.
No one considered Yinzhi a rival; those with ulterior motives were more interested in winning him over.
The Crown Prince, the Eighth Prince, and even the Fourth Prince.
"Your Majesty, the Emperor has arrived."
Wu Lingzhu stood up: "Greetings, Your Majesty."
"Get up."
Emperor Kangxi was also very happy today. After sitting down, he said with a sigh, "In the blink of an eye, Yinzhi is about to get married."
"Yes, when he was born, he was just a tiny little thing, and in the blink of an eye he has grown up and is old enough to marry a princess. I feel both happy and bittersweet. Fortunately, Your Majesty is here with me, otherwise I might not be able to sleep tonight."
Emperor Kangxi thought of the Crown Prince, and considering the Crown Prince's current behavior, he couldn't help but recall, "When the Crown Prince got married, I also had the same thought, the Crown Prince... sigh!"
On the day of Yinzhi's wedding, he ran to her and sighed about the Crown Prince. Only Emperor Kangxi could do such a thing. He held back the twitching corner of his mouth, and Wulingzhu sighed with him.
She could sense that Kangxi's patience with the crown prince had reached its limit.
In this life, the father and son still have feelings for each other, but it's not as genuine as it was in her first life. That father-son bond has long been worn away by their struggles over the years.
Once feelings start to fade, they won't stop, Your Highness! You're doomed.
After Yinyu got married, he also began to attend court. He first worked for the Seventh Prince.
Just then, news of a disaster came from Shandong. The relief funds were allocated, but they were of no use. Some people even wanted to start a rebellion.
The small-scale rebellion was suppressed, but the problem was obvious. A lot of disaster relief funds had been allocated, so why were there still people rebelling? There was clearly something wrong.
In the imperial court, everyone was making a lot of noise.
Shandong is a place where scholars can rely on their pens for support. If they can handle the disaster well, their reputation will surely spread throughout the world. If they can't handle it well, they can forget about having a good reputation.
In short, there are both blessings and curses; some people want to go, while others avoid it like the plague.
The Third Prince was particularly interested in going.
The Third Prince is a good reader and enjoys associating with scholars, indulging in a refined pursuit. He has a certain reputation among intellectuals, and he wants to travel to Shandong to make more connections with them.
Everyone was vying for it, and the Third Prince also wanted to quietly get involved.
The Eighth Prince also wanted to go, as he felt the matter was not difficult to handle.
Then everyone started arguing.
When the Fourth Prince saw that the Eighth Prince wanted the job, he also joined in.
In the end, Kangxi decided to give the Crown Prince a chance and arranged for him to go, along with the Fourth Prince.
The Third Prince was furious: "Father Emperor is just biased towards the Crown Prince. The Crown Prince didn't even say he wanted to go."
As for the Eighth Prince: "Father Emperor still values the Crown Prince more, and also the Fourth Brother. Now he and I are getting increasingly at odds!"
The Eighth Prince had just finished sighing and hadn't yet shaken off his worries when he heard someone rushing over.
"My lord, the Eighth Prince's wife and the Consort Wang are fighting."
My head hurts even more now.
The death of Honghui was a great loss for the Fourth Prince and his wife, but it also caused great distress for the Eighth Prince and his wife.
Ever since the two concubines entered the palace, the Eighth Prince has never had a peaceful day. Emperor Kangxi didn't know how he chose them. Those two concubines were quite shrewd. Although the Eighth Prince didn't favor them, he felt sorry for them because of Consort Liang's experience.
The two men noticed this pity and are now locked in a fierce battle with the Eighth Prince's wife.
Even when the Eighth Prince's wife was confined to her quarters, she didn't behave herself and just made a mess of things.
Next door is the Fourth Prince's residence.
"Madam, I'll be leaving the household to you from now on. I'm going to Shandong with the Crown Prince."
Fourth Prince's wife nodded: "Don't worry, Your Highness, I will take good care of the household."
Then the couple fell silent. After Honghui died young, the Fourth Prince's wife could hardly smile at him anymore. The Fourth Prince's wife was favored by the Fourth Prince. Otherwise, where would the Third Prince's wife have gotten the confidence to do that? She cared a lot and couldn't help but complain about the Fourth Prince.
The Fourth Prince knew this too. He didn't feel guilty, but he did feel remorseful. The couple continued to get along awkwardly, but gradually they got used to it.
On the other side, when Yinzhi came to pay his respects to Wulingzhu, he mentioned the disaster relief efforts in Shandong.
Wu Lingzhu: "What are you thinking?"
“My son in Shandong always felt that something was wrong. Logically speaking, the hometown of Confucius and Mencius should not be like this.”
Wu Lingzhu gave a sarcastic smile: "Only in the land of Confucius and Mencius would things be like this. Guess where the bulk of those disaster relief funds went?"
Yinyu's eyes widened: "No way! How dare they? Aren't they afraid of ruining their reputation?"
reputation?
What about Seshu's reputation for surrendering?
"They've been praised too highly. Who would believe it if I told them? Who would want to believe it? Who would dare to believe it?"
Over the years, scholars have gilded the statues of Confucius.
The disaster relief funds, and who exactly is receiving the subsidies?
"If you don't believe me, you can send someone to Shandong privately to investigate and see who owns the land there."
When Wu Lingzhu heard about this, she wasn't surprised at all.
The disaster relief funds were intended to subsidize ordinary people who owned land, but in Shandong, very few of those who owned land were ordinary people. The land in Shandong was mostly in the hands of local powerful families, the biggest of whom was surnamed Kong.
Land grabbing isn't uncommon in other places, but Shandong is particularly brazen and arrogant.
Taxes are levied per capita, and Shandong has the lowest annual tax revenue. The farmers are the ones who cultivate the land, but the land belongs to the big landlords. After deducting the profits from drought relief subsidies, none of the subsidies actually reach the big landlords.
The farmers who originally farmed the land had no harvest and received no subsidies. Without rebelling, they could not survive.
Yinyu still believed it.
The mother and son casually discussed matters of the previous dynasty, while Lady Hitara, who was standing to the side, was shocked. Wasn't it said that the harem should not interfere in politics?
After returning home, Lady Hitara couldn't help but ask Yinyu about it.
"Your Highness, aren't you afraid that Father Emperor will find out if you discuss matters of the previous dynasty with Mother?"
Yinyu smiled and said, "Don't worry, Father Emperor won't know."
"Isn't it said that the empress dowager is not allowed to interfere in politics?"
"That's true, but Mother likes it."
As he spoke, Yinyu looked at Xitala seriously and continued, "...And I don't think women should stay in the backyard."
Hittara's heart pounded as he listened, as if something was about to burst forth from the earth.
Seeing her bright, sparkling eyes, Yinyu couldn't help but kiss her.
"My lady, you are so cute."
In love, "cute" is the most touching adjective.
Hitara couldn't help but laugh: "My lord, I am..."
Yinyu pinched her cheek, feeling particularly comfortable: "Don't say it, I understand. I support you. Mother especially likes people with ideas. You are her daughter-in-law, and she considers you family."
Hitara's heart was burning with passion.
She never expected things to turn out this way after getting married. The future that she could see the end of at a glance now has new possibilities, new colors, something novel, passionate, and even a kind of inexplicable emotion that makes her want to cry.
All sorts of emotions finally boiled down to one sentence: "My mother is really different."
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