Liang Jiugong walked up to the Crown Prince, who was as respectful as ever: "Your Highness, the Emperor requests that you come in and speak with him."
"I would be grateful if Eunuch Liang could help me pass on the message. I will go right away."
As he spoke, the Crown Prince stood up. However, after kneeling for so long, he stumbled as he stood up. Seeing this, Liang Jiugong quickly helped him up, saying, "Your Highness, please be careful."
The Crown Prince said, "Thank you, Eunuch Liang."
Liang Jiugong: "Your Highness is too kind."
After saying this, the Crown Prince awkwardly went into the study, and Liang Jiugong tactfully stood guard at the door.
When Kangxi saw the Crown Prince's appearance, his heart softened again. This was the child he had raised with his own hands, the heir on whom he had placed great hopes. How could he have become so haggard!
Crown Prince: "Your son greets Father Emperor."
The Crown Prince's voice was somewhat hoarse, which made Kangxi feel even more distressed.
Kangxi: "Sit down first!"
Crown Prince: "Thank you, Father Emperor."
After sitting down, the crown prince pondered how to begin. He knew that what Suo'etu had done was utterly heinous, but he couldn't leave without pleading for leniency.
Everyone knows that Songgotu works for the Crown Prince. If Songgotu's crimes are proven true, what will happen to the Crown Prince's reputation?
Wouldn't that mean we'd all be finished too?
In the Crown Prince's mind, Songgotu could die, but not as a sinner.
Seeing his silence, Kangxi couldn't help but say, "Say what you want to say."
The tone was somewhat helpless. How could Kangxi not know why the Crown Prince had come? It was just that his position did not allow him to pardon Suo'etu's crimes.
If Songgotu is innocent, how will he govern the country and win people's hearts in the future?
Meeting the Crown Prince showed that Kangxi knew his father was kind to his beloved son.
After a moment's thought, the Crown Prince spoke, "Father, Soetu..."
Before he could finish speaking, Kangxi's face darkened, and he interrupted the Crown Prince: "Baocheng! Do you know your place?"
The Crown Prince lowered his head in dejection: "Your subject knows, Your subject is the Crown Prince."
Kangxi was even more helpless: "Since you know this, then you should understand that you are the Crown Prince of the Great Qing, the heir apparent of the Great Qing, not the Crown Prince of the Heseri clan, much less the heir apparent of the Heseri clan. Soetu, you must die."
Despair flashed across the Crown Prince's face: "Father, Suo'etu is guilty, but his crime does not warrant death. I beg you to consider the circumstances."
Emperor Kangxi was furious: "You are truly obstinate! Suo'etu has committed serious crimes. If I were to punish him leniently, how could I convince the people? Suo'etu has gone too far. Do you even understand this?"
The crown prince naturally understood that everything Suo'etu did was for his sake.
If Songgotu doesn't come out, then who will dare to follow him with peace of mind in the future? It can be said that Kangxi's imprisonment of Songgotu has already led the Crown Prince into a dead end, unless he really has the courage to cut his own arm, abandon his previous efforts, and start over.
But that would be too difficult; the eldest prince and his younger brothers wouldn't give him that opportunity.
The Crown Prince closed his eyes and knelt down: "Father, I beg you to spare Suo'etu's life."
Kangxi looked at the Crown Prince, a flash of disappointment in his eyes.
Emperor Kangxi, who ascended the throne at a young age, did not understand why the Crown Prince was protecting a disgraced official. He felt that the Crown Prince was not up to the task and even doubted whether the Crown Prince could be a good heir apparent.
Now that he is protecting the Heseri clan, it's hard to say whether the world will belong to the Aisin Gioro clan or the Heseri clan once he ascends the throne.
Kangxi increasingly felt that Suo'etu truly deserved to die.
In reality, the Crown Prince may not have truly wanted to cover up Songgotu's crimes, but the two were political allies, sharing both glory and ruin, so he had no choice but to do so.
If he were to become emperor in the future, he would punish Hesheli for any of these actions.
It can only be said that this is a matter of perspective; Kangxi would never put himself in the Crown Prince's shoes and consider his situation.
He only viewed things from the emperor's perspective, believing that the crown prince was indecisive, disobedient, favoritism, and nepotism, lacking the qualities of a wise ruler.
If the Crown Prince hadn't pleaded for Suo'etu, Kangxi might have been pleased for a moment, but in retrospect, he would have thought the Crown Prince was too cold-blooded. Although Suo'etu had his own selfish motives, everything he did was for the Crown Prince's sake.
It can be said that whatever the crown prince does is wrong.
Being the crown prince is tough!
Emperor Kangxi reprimanded the Crown Prince and sent him back to Yuqing Palace. He ordered the Crown Prince to stay at home and not go out. Except for the palace servants who came to deliver things on weekdays, Yuqing Palace was completely cut off from the outside world.
An Ning looked at the report from the Imperial Household Department regarding the expenses of Yuqing Palace. A lot of wine had been used, and even more items in the study had been damaged. It seemed that the Crown Prince had been driven to the brink of madness.
At this critical juncture, the eldest prince began to feel smug.
Just as the First Prince was preparing to overthrow the Crown Prince in one fell swoop, the leader and key figure of the First Prince's faction, Lord Mingzhu, fell ill and was too ill to attend court. He directly asked Emperor Kangxi for his resignation.
Mingzhu was a powerful minister who could rival Suo'etu in the struggle for power. While Suo'etu supported the crown prince, Mingzhu supported the eldest prince.
It can be said that Mingzhu was the backbone of the First Prince Party.
Upon hearing this, the eldest prince immediately became agitated. Victory was within reach, but his most capable fighter was gone. This was unacceptable.
For this reason, he even suspended the large-scale impeachment and suppression of the princelings in the court.
He himself went to Mingzhu's residence.
The eldest prince arrived with the imperial physician: "Imperial Physician Yu, please quickly examine Lord Mingzhu."
Mingzhu was not surprised that the eldest prince would come. He was lying in bed, his face pale, and he was clearly ill.
In fact, he wasn't faking illness; he was genuinely sick.
If it's fake, wouldn't that be tantamount to deceiving the emperor?
Physician Yu busied himself taking Mingzhu's pulse, and in the end, he diagnosed her with a cold.
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