They said his family had already looked for potential partners for him and had some good options, and they were just waiting for him to go back and make a decision.
At his age, he was naturally curious about such matters. If he hadn't been thrown into the army, he probably would have had several concubines by now.
“Ride your horse properly, how dare you make fun of your elders.”
The two chatted and laughed together, while Yinti and Yinyou, who were following behind, just smiled.
"The old man is becoming more and more conservative. He could have taken this opportunity to wipe out the Dzungars completely, but he still has to worry about what other tribes think. Hmph, I'll see how the old man handles it when the Dzungars cause trouble again."
Yinyou said calmly, "Then let Fourteenth handle it."
"Even the two of us were recalled, but Fourteen was left behind. I really don't know what the old man meant by this."
Yinyou glanced at Yinti and said, "What else could it mean? After we go back this time, we'll probably be left in the capital. Everything here will probably be handed over to the Fourteenth Prince. The fact that Prince Yu is in charge now is just a transitional measure."
Yinti had guessed this in his heart, but he felt some resentment.
The old man loves to orchestrate these power transitions; ultimately, he's afraid the old man will use his military power to rebel.
Hmph, why don't they see how much suffering he endured and how much he did for the court?
Yinyou glanced at him and guessed what he was thinking, and couldn't help but laugh at him.
"You're not a child anymore, why do you act like you're meeting Father Emperor for the first time?"
Yinti glared at him, "Now you dare to joke with me?"
Yinyou pouted, "We're about to enter the capital, so I'm not afraid of you anymore."
Yinti hummed twice, but he wasn't angry.
The group hurried along and finally managed to enter the city the day before the Ninth Prince Hongjin's full moon celebration.
The Crown Prince, representing Emperor Kangxi, led civil and military officials out of the city to welcome him, and the scene was extremely grand.
Following behind the Crown Prince, Hongxi soon saw Hongyu, whom he hadn't seen for several months. The two brothers waved to each other across the crowd.
The two brothers finally reunited when the meritorious officials followed Yinreng and the other officials into the palace.
"Brother, it's only been a few months, but you seem to have grown a lot taller and lost some weight."
Immediately, Hongxi looked at Hongyu, who had wheat-colored skin, and thought to himself, "He was a gentle and refined young man before he left home, but he has become a dark and sallow-skinned boy since he came back."
Hongyu could tell what his younger brother was thinking just by looking into his eyes. He smiled and patted his shoulder, "I'm a man, I don't care about those things. I've been on the go ever since I got there. Even though the supplies were good, it's still a lot of work, so it's normal to lose some weight."
Hongxi understood everything, but seeing Hongyu like this still made him feel uneasy.
Bao Tai, who had been following behind the two brothers, remained silent. He had just spotted his younger brother, Bao Shou, in the crowd of onlookers.
Unfortunately, Father was stationed in the army at the time, and no one could bring Bao Shou into the palace. The two brothers could only catch up after leaving the palace.
The children's mood quickly shifted from sorrow to anticipation of a bright future, but the conversation between Yinreng, Yinti, and Yinyou was rather poignant.
"Don't you think being the Crown Prince is too frustrating? Your brothers have stopped competing with you, so why is the old man still suspicious of you?" Yinqi was the first to strike at the heart of the matter.
"I heard that the old man gave you a hard time again because of the Dzungar issue?"
Yinreng rolled his eyes.
It seems the Qianqing Palace isn't some impregnable fortress after all; even Yinqi knew about this.
"Father Emperor is overthinking things and too confident. I don't believe that Tsewang Arabtan will be an easy person to deal with. We could have taken him down in one fell swoop. The old man is really..."
Yinqi shrugged. "Baocheng, aren't you tired of being the Crown Prince after all these years?"
Yinreng raised an eyebrow at him, "What, how about you try it out?"
Yinti curled his lip, looking down on him. "If the old man suspected you before, it was probably because your brothers tricked and framed you. But now, almost all of your brothers have given up on vying for the throne, so naturally, they won't be trying to trick you openly or secretly. But even so, the old man's suspicion is still so strong. I think you should consider other ways of living."
Yinyou only wished he were deaf.
Yinreng knew without a doubt that it wasn't anything nice, but he was still very curious.
"Tell me how to live."
"Why don't we rebel?"
Hongxi and Hongyu, who were chatting happily behind them, suddenly fell silent. Yinyou, standing to the side, also felt as if he had instantly ascended to heaven. Only Yinreng looked serious, as if he was considering the feasibility of the idea.
[Father, what are you thinking? You're not really planning a rebellion, are you?]
Hongxi's head was buzzing.
[It will be mine sooner or later, so why rebel now?]
Hongxi pursed his lips.
[Father, where do you get such confidence?]
What else?
Hongxi didn't want to think about the problem anymore. He lowered his head and rode his horse with a look of utter despair, hoping that his uncle would stop talking and that his father would think about where he was.
He didn't think his words would escape Emperor Grandfather's ears.
Ugh, this is really frustrating.
After entering the palace, the group first received their respective rewards in the Qianqing Palace. In addition to various rewards, Yinti and Yinyou were assigned to the Ministry of War.
For his meritorious service in escorting the prince, Hongyu was rewarded with land deeds and other gifts, and was assigned to work for Yinzhen in the Ministry of Personnel, which was considered an early entry into officialdom. He was also moved back to the Prince's Mansion.
Bao Tai was appointed as the deputy commander of the Imperial Guards for his military achievements, and was betrothed to Meng Jia, the daughter of the Grand Secretary Chang'an, as his primary consort. The wedding was to take place on the Dragon Boat Festival the following year.
During the palace banquet that evening, many of the princesses looked towards Hongyu, their intentions quite obvious.
Hongxi joked with a smile, "Big brother, I reckon Uncle will be thinking about going back to the army camp in a few days."
Hongyu didn't understand at first, but after following Hongxi's gaze, he understood the reason.
His mother passed away early, so the task of arranging a marriage for him will likely fall to his father. Just imagine a group of men approaching his father to discuss marriage; his father would probably go crazy.
Just then, Tinghe from Yanxi Palace walked over with a smile. After exchanging greetings, she said, "Your Highness, Consort Hui invites you to come over."
Hongyu looked toward Consort Hui's seat and saw that several wives were already sitting beside her, each accompanied by one or two young girls.
Seeing this, Hongxi couldn't help but chuckle, feeling that Consort Hui's way of choosing a matchmaker was too direct.
Hongyu coughed lightly, "Please listen to Aunt He's reply to Grandmother. I will visit Grandmother in the palace again tomorrow. There will be too many people today, which may cause some complications, so I will not go."
Tinghe could see Hongyu's predicament, so she naturally wouldn't force him.
"Yes, this servant will go and deliver the message immediately."
They thought the matter was over, but after the palace banquet, Hongyu followed Yinti out and saw a person suddenly fall out of a passing carriage.
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