After finishing his business, Emperor Kangxi took Yinyi to Changchun Palace.
After Anning and Jinyao finished their greetings, seeing the two of them arrive together, Anning said, "Now I know why Yinyi is late. It turns out it's because of Your Majesty."
"Haha, I heard that Honghui was born well, so I wanted to come and see him. Where is Honghui?"
"I just had someone take her down to be breastfed. Your Majesty, why don't you eat first? The small kitchen has prepared two new dishes. Please try them and see if they suit your taste."
"Very well, I never tire of my beloved concubine's kitchen."
As the two talked, Yin Yi occasionally cracked a joke, and the meal passed by just like that.
After the meal, Anning had the wet nurse bring Honghui out: "Your Majesty, look, this is Honghui. He's even more handsome than Yinyi was when he was little."
Kangxi took the child and looked at him. He couldn't hide his love for him: "Indeed, this child is even more handsome than Yinyi was when he was young. However, the cleverness of the father and son is the same. This child is obviously smart. Yinyi, Yinyi's wife, bring the child into the palace often when you have time."
Upon hearing this, Yin Yi and Jin Yao readily agreed.
When Zhu Di of the previous dynasty was unsure whether to depose the crown prince, a minister's words, "A good grandson brings prosperity to three generations," directly saved the crown prince Zhu Gaochi's position. A good grandson is indeed very important.
After meeting Honghui, Emperor Kangxi, perhaps suddenly remembering that his grandson was more adorable than his son, ordered all his grandsons who had reached the age of six to enter the palace to study.
An Ning knew that Kangxi was intentionally testing the next generation.
Kangxi's decision caused quite a commotion in the princes' backyard. After all, some of the children were really weak. In the end, they reported it to Kangxi, and only then were the weak imperial grandsons allowed to stay at home and not have to go to the Imperial Study to study.
These things are not related to Anning for the time being. Honghui is still young, but he can often come to the palace for a few days. Kangxi seems to really like Honghui.
Jin Yao had no objection to An Ning frequently having Hong Hui stay in the palace; in fact, she wished he could stay longer.
In a little over a year, there will be another election. She has been the only one favored for six years and is content with that. She also knows that this is the limit. In the next election, someone will definitely enter her backyard.
Honghui is favored by his parents-in-law, so even if a favored concubine appears in the harem in the future, Jinyao will not be afraid.
Another year has passed.
After becoming a father, Yin Yi became increasingly outstanding in the court, and Emperor Kangxi praised him several times for his excellent work, which made the Eighth Prince unable to resist.
Then, driven by a group of people, whether intentionally or unintentionally, an event broke out during the Kangxi reign in which more than half of the court officials jointly petitioned Kangxi to establish a crown prince.
This incident happened suddenly, yet it wasn't so sudden.
This infuriated Emperor Kangxi.
Who was Emperor Kangxi?
He was an emperor among men.
He was an emperor who held the power of life and death over the entire country.
He was also a dictator who ruled the world with absolute power and did not allow others to influence him.
He touted his own benevolence, but at his core, he remained indifferent.
The court officials jointly petitioned him, which he saw as forcing him to act, but the emperor would not tolerate anyone coercing him.
Looking at the memorial that was half a person's height, Kangxi asked Liang Jiugong, "Tell me, what makes them think they can escape unscathed after coercing the emperor and father?"
Liang Jiugong immediately knelt down: "Your Majesty, who holds absolute power, will surely be able to govern these people obediently."
Kangxi: "Ha, ruling the world alone, I think they think I'm too old to wield a sword, or that I've been too lenient these past years, that the law doesn't punish the masses. But the world has no shortage of talent. Emperor Gaozu of Han, Liu Bang, showed the world by example that to govern the world, the talent of one county is enough. I, who possess the world, how could I not have people I can use?"
This time, Kangxi was truly determined to kill.
"Your Majesty is wise."
"Get up!"
However, before that, Kangxi wanted to know how many people were behind the Eighth Prince.
Immediately afterwards, Emperor Kangxi issued an edict ordering all officials of the fourth rank and above in the capital to submit memorials recommending candidates for the crown prince and to state the reasons for their recommendations.
Three days later, all the eligible officials submitted their memorials. Kangxi patiently read through them all, then categorized them. When he saw that the Eighth Prince's stack of memorials was much taller than all the others combined, he laughed in exasperation.
"This is the first time I've heard that helping officials pay off their debts can be a reason for nominating a crown prince. Liang Jiugong, do you think they believe that the crown prince of our Great Qing must be a benevolent emperor who cares deeply for all his officials?"
Liang Jiugong almost hated the Eighth Prince to death because of him, and he had been kneeling down a lot lately. So, upon hearing this, he quickly knelt down and said, "Your Majesty, this servant is foolish and does not understand what kind of virtues a crown prince should have. However, this servant has followed Your Majesty for many years. Over these years, Your Majesty has worked diligently and tirelessly, not for the officials, but for the people."
Kangxi sighed: "You understand the principles, but these officials who are well-versed in the classics do not. They are unworthy of being called scholars. The Eighth Prince is also quite good. I have been emperor for many years, and my evaluation of him is not as good as that of a mere prince. Liang Jiugong, tell me, have I lost my memory and forgotten what merits the Eighth Prince has made for the country and the people?"
Liang Jiugong hesitated, "This... this servant doesn't remember either."
The memorial requesting the establishment of the Eighth Prince was certainly not filled with such absurd reasons. However, in terms of major achievements, he did not have any. Whether it was disaster relief or investigating corruption, he did not do as well as Yinzhen and Yinyi.
He was always able to get things done well, mainly because his cronies were eager to get rid of him, and also because of the Ninth Prince's financial power.
With the Crown Prince deposed, the Ninth Prince went completely free in Jiangnan. He didn't let go of any other places besides Jiangnan, and he wanted to get involved in anything that could make money. He even almost discovered Anning's silver ear fungus business.
It can be said that the so-called Eighth Prince Party, which appears to be based on the Eighth Prince's outstanding virtue and widespread admiration, was actually built up by the Ninth Prince using money.
Otherwise, where would the Eighth Prince get the money to help the fourth-rank official pay off his debts?
An official who could write such a memorial can only be described as someone who is foolish everywhere, and the Eighth Prince's faction is "lucky" to have him.
Although Emperor Kangxi was old, he was not senile and saw everything clearly.
Then I looked at the other folds.
The Fourth Prince Yinzhen and the Sixteenth Prince Yinyi were roughly the same age.
Both men were highly capable, but Yin Yi was too young, so people were hesitant to bet on him. The Fourth Prince, Yin Zhen, was too ruthless in his handling of affairs, and had offended almost all the court officials.
Especially before the crown prince was deposed, Kangxi once put him in charge of the Ministry of Revenue's collection of accounts. On that occasion, he offended the imperial family, the Manchu nobles, and some Han officials.
Emperor Kangxi murmured, "Yinyi is very good, just a little young, but that's alright."
Between Yinzhen and Yinyi, Kangxi favored Yinyi more.
Yinyi was the youngest son whom Kangxi spent the most time with and cared about the most, besides the Crown Prince and the First Prince. The key was that he was intelligent, capable, farsighted, and not pedantic.
Yinzhen was also good, but while he and Yinyi could both achieve their goals in the same situation, Yinzhen's methods always offended many people, some of whom were necessary and some of whom were unnecessary.
If there was no other choice, Yinzhen would be the best option; if there were, Kangxi would be picky.
The only thing that worried him was Yin Yi's age. Kangxi was afraid that he wouldn't be able to control him. However, considering that he was in good health and Yin Yi was younger, Kangxi felt more at ease.
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