Hearing this, Qingqing couldn't help but laugh, "The Emperor certainly knows how to arrange things. The Fourteenth Uncle's ferocity will definitely scare Hongjin."
Hongxi shook his head with a wry smile, his head aching at the thought of Hongjin sitting in the tree gnawing on a chicken leg.
“Father Emperor only has these two sons. Now that I have become Emperor, I naturally have to take good care of Hongjin. If we don’t discipline his temperament properly, I’m afraid there will be big trouble in the future.”
In his memory, Hongzhou in his previous life was a fool who liked to make trouble and would hold funerals for himself for no reason.
Although this matter sounds a bit bad, it won't actually cause any harm. But if such a reckless thing happened to Hong Jin, he would guarantee that he would stuff that brat into a coffin and bury him.
Hmph, he's not the kind of person who would tolerate his brother's recklessness.
Seeing that Hongxi's complexion was not bad, Qingqing continued, "His Majesty has been on the throne for half a year, and the affairs of the court have basically stabilized. According to the rules, it is time to hold a selection of consorts."
Speaking of talent shows, Hongxi has to admire his father, the Emperor.
Normally, a selection of emperors is held every three years. However, the emperor had only been in power for three years when he encountered the abdication.
Thus, he became the emperor with the fewest concubines and the fewest offspring in history.
"You and the Empress Dowager will handle the selection together."
Qingqing nodded.
When she was a princess consort, she had thought that this day would come, but she never expected it to come so soon.
Thus, before she had fully learned how to manage the harem, thirteen beautiful concubines entered the harem through a selection process.
Hongxi was not a man who cared much about women, and he would never have favored one person exclusively. However, his approach of spreading his affections evenly among children caused them to spring up like bamboo shoots after a spring rain.
Qingqing is not a jealous person, nor is she the type to use children as a pretext.
As a result, Hongxi had a total of thirty-five children, which was about the same number as Kangxi's children.
It is precisely for this reason that whenever someone mentions Qingqing, they are praised for the Empress's dignified and elegant demeanor and her skillful management of the harem.
When Hongxi grew old, seeing his children and grandchildren surrounding him, he would always sigh in his heart how good Qingqing was.
Unfortunately, Qingqing's health deteriorated in her later years, and she passed away a few years earlier than usual.
At this time, Hongxi was fifty-nine years old. He sat in a rocking chair in Changchun Garden, looking at the stars and reminiscing about the times he spent with his grandfather and father.
His father and mother both passed away a few years ago, leaving him alone in this world.
He would occasionally talk to his grandson about the past, but the child was too young and only thought that he was talking about stories. However, Yongchen would occasionally chime in with a word about Yinreng.
Yongchen still had a deep impression of his grandfather, Yinreng.
After abdicating, the Emperor spent his time traveling. Later, a serious illness caused his physical condition to decline sharply, and he was forcibly brought back to Changchun Garden by his father.
For the next few years, Emperor Mafa lived in Changchun Garden. Occasionally, when he was in good health, he would take a few brothers and younger relatives hunting, but they would never go too far from the capital.
Even so, the death of the Emperor was still very sudden.
Suddenly, by the time the Emperor received the news, it was too late.
"Father, do you miss Grandfather very much?" Yongchen asked, sitting next to Hongxi.
Although the father and son rarely discussed this topic, she knew that her father would come to Changchun Garden every now and then, doing nothing but sitting quietly in the courtyard.
It seems she was reminiscing about her time with her grandfather.
"Yongchen, I intend to abdicate in your favor."
Yongchen was not surprised to hear this.
After he turned ten, his father began to let him handle some political affairs, and sometimes he would stay behind to oversee the country during inspections.
Despite his thoughts, when the matter of abdication actually came to pass, he still felt some complex emotions that he couldn't quite explain.
"Father, do you also want to follow Grandpa's example and go out for a trip?"
Yongchen looked at Hongxi cautiously. He was not yet adept at handling state affairs, and he felt truly uncertain if his father was not by his side.
"Your second uncle is getting old now and has long since retired from the military. I was thinking of going on a trip with him and his brother after I abdicate."
After being taught by Yinzhen for several years, Hongjin was found to have great talent in martial arts, and he learned military strategy very quickly and well.
So, on Yinzhen's advice, Hongjin joined the army.
It seems to be passed down from generation to generation.
Fuquan passed the mission to Yinti, who in turn passed it on to Hongjin.
Last year, Hong Jin was summoned back to the capital by Hong Xi because his old injuries were too severe, and the two brothers began to see each other more often.
Hongjin often told Hongxi about the outside world, and Hongxi also wanted to see what the Qing Dynasty under his rule was really like.
Seeing his father's hopeful expression, Yongchen finally nodded. "Father, rest assured, Yongchen will definitely continue your governing philosophy and bring peace and prosperity to the Qing Dynasty."
Looking at his son's confident and proud appearance, Hongxi patted him on the shoulder with satisfaction, "Yongchen, your father believes you will definitely become a good emperor."
Ten days later, on the city wall.
Yongchen watched a low-key yet luxurious carriage drive away into the distance until it was completely out of sight before turning around and walking towards the palace.
Extra · End
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