Yinxi was like Bao Zheng, the upright and incorruptible judge of the Qing Dynasty, showing no mercy to anyone.
He even impeached Songgotu, to the point that court officials avoided him whenever they saw him.
Yinreng pretended not to see it and let Kangxi make the decision.
Kangxi: ...
Emperor Kangxi was somewhat speechless, but seeing that the evidence was conclusive, he imposed the punishment.
From then on, Yinxi's eyes gleamed with greed as he looked at the court officials. Crucially, he also compiled books, determined to leave behind a treasure for posterity.
As a result, the problem of officialdom that troubled Kangxi became much better on the surface.
After all, officials all want to be remembered in history, not be infamous for eternity.
After Yinxi crossed out his mark on the document, who knows how much face they would have left?
Yinzhen greatly admired Yinxi and secretly helped him a lot.
Yinxiang, being a chivalrous and righteous man, enthusiastically went over to him.
Interestingly, Yinxi and Yinzhen got along very well, sharing similar temperaments and being equally intolerant of injustice.
While Yinxi was quiet in his childhood, he grew up to be cunning and colluded with the Ninth Prince to make money through overseas trade.
The two of them made a fortune.
What set him apart was that Yinxi always remembered to take from the people and use it for the people, and he was enthusiastic about building roads and bridges.
And his skilled craftsmen produced cement.
It is well known how pleased Emperor Kangxi was. Yinxi first repaired the roads in the capital, and later built flood control dikes.
Because his two sons also had a full national treasury, Emperor Kangxi began to arrange for the construction of city walls in various places.
For this reason, Yinxi was granted the title of Prince Yi at a young age, surpassing his brothers.
Yinxi, on the other hand, was praised and criticized in the court because of his impartiality.
However, Emperor Kangxi was quite at ease, and the Crown Prince was even more at ease.
Emperor Kangxi bestowed upon him a unique golden jade tablet, granting him the power to execute first and report later.
Furthermore, he could serve as an imperial envoy to travel throughout the capital and supervise all officials.
They were both focused on their own areas, and Emperor Kangxi loved them dearly.
The saying "love me, love my dog" naturally includes their son.
Kangxi was not bothered by Xue Li because Suo'etu had some complicated feelings towards her.
They would "plunder" once a month, and then happily follow the concubines to compose operas and play mahjong.
Kangxi's gaze fell upon the Crown Prince.
He knew that many of the things Yinzhi reported were even completely fabricated.
Yinreng is well-behaved, but he is old. Even if the crown prince acts well-behaved, is he really well-behaved?
Emperor Kangxi believed that the Crown Prince's behavior was "an attempt to divide my authority and allow him to act arbitrarily."
Essentially, he was unwilling to accept old age and couldn't bear to give up his supreme power.
————
At night, while Sherry was still asleep, she saw someone sitting in the dormitory.
If Shirley hadn't seen that it was Yinreng in her soul, she would have pounced on him like a hungry wolf.
"Are you crazy? It's the middle of the night!" Sherry said with a resentful look.
"Ah, Auntie, I am troubled and have nowhere to confide in!" A desolate voice came.
Sherry's spirit saw him secretly shedding tears.
“I thought you would have made a move 6 years ago!” Sherry rolled her eyes at him and yawned.
If it were her, she would definitely do it. Wouldn't it be tiring to drag it out?
However, Yinreng was not her; the Crown Prince was raised by Emperor Kangxi himself, so their relationship was naturally different.
In truth, he was also lonely.
Yinreng was the crown prince, who would become the future emperor. His brothers, who were not Yinreng, could interact with each other more or less freely.
However, they were much more reserved when they met or spent time with Yinreng, because Yinreng was the crown prince, the heir apparent, and the future emperor.
There is a distinction between ruler and subject!
After reaching adulthood, the other adult princes generally did not have much contact with Crown Prince Yinreng, and even when they did, it was only for official business.
Another reason is that since Yinreng is the future crown prince, he should be better than the other princes in terms of civil administration and military achievements. Constantly comparing himself to others and not falling behind in anything is the main reason why he lives such a tiring life.
As the crown prince grew up, the emperor grew old.
Some civil and military officials began to curry favor with Yinreng.
The most typical example is Suo'etu, a senior minister of Emperor Kangxi. Suo'etu was the uncle of Yinreng's birth mother, and he was Yinreng's maternal great-uncle. He was practically a natural supporter of the Crown Prince.
These people, of course, hoped that Yinreng would ascend to the throne as soon as possible, so that they could also advance further in their official careers.
Even if he does nothing, as the crown prince of a country, he is naturally pursued.
As the power of the Crown Prince's faction increased, it aroused the Kangxi Emperor's vigilance.
Although Emperor Kangxi doted on his only legitimate son, Yinreng, his primary concern was likely whether Yinreng would die a natural death.
For an emperor, although death is inevitable, Kangxi's greatest wish was to die naturally.
The conflict between him and the crown prince appears to have been largely self-inflicted.
Historically, Emperor Kangxi's doting on Yinreng was almost excessive.
Emperor Kangxi tacitly approved of Crown Prince Yinreng's ceremonial regalia, attire, and other aspects being similar to those of the emperor, and on some major holidays, he required all civil and military officials to perform two bows and six kowtows to Yinreng.
Emperor Kangxi ignored Yinreng's arbitrary beatings of princes and officials, even believing that a ruler should be decisive in killing and punishing.
On the other hand, while adhering to the Han Chinese system of primogeniture and establishing Yinreng as the crown prince early on, Emperor Kangxi also followed the old Manchu aristocratic system by having adult princes participate in politics and governance to cultivate his sons.
This creates a significant contradiction between the two.
Whether in history or now.
"Auntie, how could I possibly lay a hand on Father Emperor? He's my Father Emperor..."
Yinreng wept bitterly in the shadows.
"What are you planning to do?" Sherry asked, looking puzzled.
"I don't know either, I don't know..." Yinreng's eyes were full of helplessness, and he was quite old, but his eyes were full of confusion.
"A ruler who is soft-hearted will never achieve anything!" Shirley rolled her eyes at him.
"I understand, I understand everything!" Yinfu closed his eyes in pain.
"..." You understand, yet you still act like you're going to die?!
Sherry yawned repeatedly and lay down again.
Yinreng quietly cried alone in the shadows, leaving Xue Li helpless.
She only found out today that her nephew is a crybaby.
"Do you want to be the emperor?"
"...Of course I want to," Yinreng said hesitantly.
"You're not expecting me to do anything, are you?!" Sherry suddenly realized she was overthinking things.
"No, I'm just feeling down."
"So what are your plans?" Sherry couldn't hold on any longer; she really wanted to sleep.
"Aunt, what do you think I should do?" Yinreng looked in her direction.
"Either you commit regicide or become a monk! Your brothers will be restless soon!"
Sherry ignored him and turned over to sleep.
Yinreng sat there for an unknown amount of time before leaving.
Half asleep and half awake, Shirley wondered if Yinreng had such light-footed skills that he was able to enter her bedchamber.
Thankfully, she was a snake with principles, dressed very conservatively.
Sherry suddenly sat up and bought a dream-making device for Yinreng.
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