Their identities were too illustrious and special. If this matter were to reach the ears of Emperor Kangxi, the old man would immediately assume that someone was seducing his eldest grandson.
Regardless of the other party's family background, they would likely be disliked by the old man.
Hongyu bit his lower lip, finally swallowing his resentment, and walked towards the small pavilion with Hongxi.
The two brothers remained silent for a long time. Just as Hongxi began to wonder if he had been meddling, he suddenly heard Hongyu express his gratitude.
"Thank you, Hongxi. I got carried away just now."
Seeing his elder brother looking so dejected, Hongxi felt bad too.
"Big brother, whose princess is she?"
Hongyu shook his head. "I didn't ask any of those questions. I just happened to pass by and saw her handkerchief lying on a tree branch, so I helped her."
Hongxi reached out and felt around. "Brother, there doesn't seem to be any wind today. How did her handkerchief end up on the tree branch?"
Hongyu paused, staring at Hongxi in shock, then reached out and felt around, seemingly understanding something.
At the subsequent flower viewing party, Hongyu appeared cheerful and nonchalant on the surface, but his eyes were filled with loneliness, resentment, and even a hint of anger.
Even Hongxi didn't know what to say this time.
Sure enough, their situation was quickly reported to Emperor Kangxi and the Crown Prince.
Kangxi's reaction was to order Liang Jiugong to investigate the other party's identity. Regardless of whether the other party's status was prominent or not, he was to give them a good scolding for using such despicable means to seduce his eldest grandson.
When the Crown Prince learned of this, he summoned Hongxi and questioned him in detail. After learning the truth about their encounter, he simply said that the other party had shown kindness, and then said nothing more.
Because Emperor Kangxi was present at the flower viewing party, the high-ranking officials and princes of the imperial family gathered around him, chatting and laughing. Seeing that their emperor was in good health, they were relieved.
He then praised the Crown Prince for his achievements as regent during his recent tenure. The old man was so pleased to hear so many people praising his beloved son that he could practically show his teeth with a smile.
At this banquet, Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang arrived with Su Mala Gu. Upon seeing the matriarch, everyone knelt down.
Emperor Kangxi was surprised to see Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang. He hurriedly tried to help her up, but Yinreng and several other younger relatives helped her sit down next to him.
"Your Majesty, you have just recovered from your illness, don't rush things. You have all these children, why are you always so worried?"
Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang patted the seat next to her, gesturing for Emperor Kangxi to sit down. Her words were once again very skillful.
Kangxi smiled somewhat embarrassedly, like a child, "Grandson didn't expect that Grandmother could come. Although the weather is nice now, it's windy, and I'm afraid it might blow on Grandmother."
Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang smiled and patted Kangxi's hand. Then she looked at the kneeling man and said, seemingly jokingly but also seriously, "Although my old bones occasionally ache, these are not enough to make me unable to withstand the wind and rain."
The officials and members of the royal family on the ground all said in unison, "We dare not."
Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang's gaze swept over the crowd with an air of authority. "His Majesty is not young anymore, and it is normal for him to suffer from occasional illnesses. Moreover, the Qing Dynasty has a Crown Prince, and when His Majesty is away, the Crown Prince will oversee the country. There is nothing to say about that. But there are always some people who are jumping around and scheming, always trying to take advantage of this opportunity to do something."
Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang paused for a moment, then suddenly laughed and said, "Do you think Bao Cheng is too young to be bullied, or do you think this old man of mine is already buried in the ground?"
Everyone exclaimed that they dared not, and some of the people who had previously been so energetic and fearful were sweating profusely.
When they were invited to the flower-viewing banquet, they genuinely thought it was to check on the emperor's health and, incidentally, bring their female relatives out for some socializing.
I never expected this to be a trap!
Soetu glanced around and, seeing the tense atmosphere, crawled forward a few steps and kowtowed, saying, "We are the most loyal subjects of the Great Qing, and we would never dare to have any disloyal thoughts, much less dare to underestimate His Highness the Crown Prince. Please rest assured, Empress Dowager, we will diligently follow His Majesty's decree to assist the Crown Prince in overseeing the country, and we would never dare to be negligent in the slightest."
The others followed suit, and Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang finally smiled with satisfaction.
"Song'etu, with you assisting the Crown Prince in overseeing the country in the previous dynasty, I am at ease."
Soetu was so moved by a word of praise from his ancestor that he almost cried.
"Your subject kowtows to thank the Empress Dowager for her praise."
Seeing that she had given enough of a warning, Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang stood up and said, "I'm going to see the Imperial Concubine. I heard that quite a few pretty young ladies have come in this time. But this old man still prefers flower-like girls, so I won't stay with you."
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. "Respectfully seeing off the Empress Dowager."
After seeing Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang off, Kangxi couldn't help but chuckle as he looked at his ministers, who were practically half-dead from fright.
Sigh, he originally wanted to take this opportunity to teach these old fogies a lesson, but he didn't expect the Empress Dowager to take action directly.
See? Our ancestors have been retired for so many years, but when they occasionally come out to give us a wake-up call, it's absolutely terrifying.
Hongxi and Hongyu were originally kneeling behind Yinreng, but after seeing Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang leave, the two brothers slowly got up.
Our ancestor was still as majestic and imposing as ever.
[At crucial moments, it's still Songgotu who matters. His flattery was truly masterful, directly solidifying his position among the ministers. I reckon even Mingzhu will have to give way to him from now on.]
Yinreng silently shook his clothes and glanced at his silly son.
Our ancestor assisted three generations of emperors; how could he be an ordinary person?
The fact that he had served three generations of monarchs was enough to frighten those ministers.
"My dear ministers, please sit down. Today is not a court session, but just a simple flower-viewing banquet. You can chat and laugh, and also discuss matters of the court."
The ministers did have some things to say, but after Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang's words, how could they dare to speak nonsense?
If we were to discuss matters of the court at this time, would it imply a lack of confidence in the Crown Prince's ability to oversee the country?
Soetu raised his teacup and glanced at everyone, as if he had the words "Don't talk nonsense" engraved on his forehead.
Hongxi found it amusing to see Suo'etu acting like this.
No wonder my father can never handle Suo'etu. He's really... funny and hilarious, just like a child.
Yinreng also sighed silently.
Even a child could see Suo'etu's childishness, yet he remained so nonchalant, truly embarrassing him.
"Your Highness the Crown Prince." He Yuzhu suddenly stepped forward and whispered a few words in Yinreng's ear.
Yinreng's gaze unconsciously swept towards Mingzhu, who was originally just looking around aimlessly, but was startled when their eyes met.
Wait, what kind of look is that from His Highness the Crown Prince? Is he scrutinizing him?
After realizing something was wrong, Mingzhu immediately tried to recall what she had done recently that might have harmed His Highness the Crown Prince.
No.
The eldest son is the Crown Prince's most loyal follower, and his own grandson is in the Crown Prince's Yuqing Palace. What can this outsider do? What would he dare to do?
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