Those who wanted their daughters or sisters to enter the imperial harem panicked when they heard that Emperor Jingning was not participating in the selection of concubines.
[No new women are being brought into the harem? What about their daughters and sisters who are of marriageable age? They are all being raised to the standards of the Empress, all so that they can gain the Emperor's favor!]
They didn't expect the women in the harem to offer them any help, after all, the emperor wasn't some incompetent ruler, and couldn't be controlled by a mere woman in the harem.
However, if they gain the emperor's favor, their status will be completely different. Haven't you seen how arrogant Suhetai is now? He can come to the morning court whenever he wants, and he doesn't have to come whenever he doesn't want to.
The Emperor not only didn't say anything, but also personally took the Empress to visit the General's Mansion, showering him with gifts like a flowing stream!
They didn't expect to receive the same treatment as Su Hetai; they just hoped the Emperor would be gentler when scolding them.
These people forgot that Suhetai's arrogance didn't begin after Xue became empress; he had always been arrogant. After all, he and Kangxi had a lifelong friendship. Moreover, Suhetai was not boastful or arrogant. Although he could be a bit unruly at times, his loyalty was beyond question.
Since Emperor Jingning ascended the throne, Su Hetai had been considering retiring. On the one hand, he wanted to put Emperor Jingning at ease, and on the other hand, he had inevitably been injured while leading troops in battle. Now that he was getting old, those hidden injuries had become apparent, and his health was not as good as before. Therefore, Emperor Jingning's reward was both a commendation and appeasement for his past merits, and also a show of concern for him out of consideration for Hexue.
"Your Majesty, please reconsider!" Most of the court officials knelt down to persuade Emperor Jingning.
The thirteenth and fourteenth princes were merely going through the motions at court; they were still half asleep. When they saw so many people kneeling down, they were still trying to figure out what was going on, but their bodies acted faster than their minds, and they had to kneel down too.
Upon seeing this, the eleventh and twelfth princes immediately helped the two men, one of whom was about to kneel down, to their feet, and then gestured for them to look ahead.
The two of them looked up and saw that neither the eldest prince nor the others had knelt down, nor even Longkodo, Jingshu, or Shuyi.
They looked at the eleventh and twelfth princes with complete confusion. What was going on? They dared not be so confused in court from now on.
"Eleventh Brother, what happened to Twelfth Brother?" Fourteenth Prince asked in a low voice.
"Just watch quietly!" the Twelfth Prince said in a low voice as well. "But you should lose weight; I can't even lift you anymore!"
"You too, Thirteenth Brother needs to lose weight!" Eleventh Prince said disdainfully. He hadn't expected Thirteenth Prince to be so heavy that he almost broke his forearm.
The Thirteenth and Fourteenth Princes were quite annoyed. [The Second Sister-in-law said they were strong, not fat; the Eleventh and Twelfth Princes just didn't know how to appreciate it.]
"Your Majesty, the purpose of filling the harem is to ensure the continuation of the family line and the blessing of many children!"
"I'm sure the princes agree with what I said!" Imperial Censor Li looked at the First Prince and the others, but saw that they were still standing there. He knew that these princes had many women in their harems, so why were they so indifferent to the Emperor's exclusive favor towards the Empress?
Emperor Jingning glanced at Imperial Censor Li, who had spoken, and said sarcastically, "As far as I know, Imperial Censor Li has quite a few descendants; he truly has many children and much happiness."
Imperial Censor Li smiled smugly, "Your Majesty flatters me!" But Emperor Jingning's next words showed everyone what it meant to have a smile vanish.
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