Later, when Emperor Kangxi deposed the crown prince, he said that he had tolerated Yinreng for 20 years, which was the starting point for this incident, showing how much this matter bothered Kangxi.
Secondly, in order to consolidate their positions as heirs, Crown Prince Yinreng and the other princes formed cliques, engaged in corrupt practices, and their infighting intensified.
This power struggle deeply unsettled Emperor Kangxi, as the existence of the Crown Prince's faction could pose a threat to imperial power.
Over the years, the princes' actions and Kangxi's indecisiveness had pushed the crown prince to the brink of a mental breakdown.
Thirdly: because of abuse of power and rebellion.
Yinreng frequently issued imperial edicts without authorization in his capacity as crown prince, which challenged the emperor's authority.
In addition, he repeatedly contradicted Emperor Kangxi and even openly defied his orders, which enraged Kangxi.
Emperor Kangxi even felt that the Crown Prince was too arrogant and had even done some overstepping his bounds.
Emperor Kangxi pointed out that the Crown Prince's daily clothing and mode of transportation were all yellow, almost matching the emperor's standards.
Yellow was the emperor's exclusive color, and the crown prince's constant overstepping of his authority naturally aroused Kangxi's displeasure, which became an important reason for Kangxi to depose the crown prince.
Rather than saying that the crown prince was willful and reckless, it would be more accurate to say that Kangxi wanted to take back all the privileges he had granted to the crown prince.
He was the one who gave it. He was also the one who had to take it back.
After being deposed, the crown prince acted out of character, behaving erratically and no longer caring about his conduct as the heir apparent. Instead, he indulged in drinking and, like Emperor Kangxi, slept with a young eunuch.
Kangxi regretted it and suspected that he was possessed by a ghost.
At this time, Emperor Kangxi was surrounded by many talented young men.
They were learned and insightful, understood the emperor's intentions, and were handsome. With a casual remark, they made Kangxi silently suppress his regret.
Sydney didn't pay attention to those things.
Her focus was on her eldest son and eldest daughter.
Yinzhen respected and loved his principal wife, so the inner court was relatively peaceful.
They already have two sons and a daughter.
Under the guise of helping his elder brother, the Crown Prince, Murdeng seized a capable man from the Ninth Prince's men and set sail on a sea voyage.
Sherry also knew that she had fought off some savages and seized some territory.
Every time they return or depart, they arrange for some people to work on infrastructure projects.
Muldeng also recruited many talented young men from abroad to help her find mineral resources.
Sherry understood that perhaps the siblings had their own plans.
However, Muldenger clearly did not want to be subordinate to anyone.
Sherry ignored everything else and just gave them some instructions.
"If the siblings turn against each other and kill one another, I, as their mother, will definitely send them on their way first!"
At this point, Sherry's eyes were filled with murderous intent.
The twins were a little frightened and scared, but they still obediently agreed.
From that time on, Yinzhen stopped trying to be clever and manipulate people's hearts.
He learned something from his mother: even a novice can defeat a master with a flurry of punches!
Or rather, in the face of absolute power, all schemes and tricks are just paper tigers.
Yinzhen suddenly became much more down-to-earth.
Sherry was relieved, as Emperor Kangxi had been keen on making southern tours in recent years.
Sherry and Gao Wa were having so much fun that they forgot all about home.
While Kangxi was busy dealing with the talented scholars, Yinzhi originally thought that with the Crown Prince gone, he could finally rise to prominence.
However, Emperor Kangxi explicitly excluded Yinzhi from the throne forever.
“I previously ordered Prince Zhi, Yin Zhi, to protect me well, and I had no intention of making Yin Zhi the Crown Prince. Yin Zhi is impetuous and foolish by nature, how can he be made the Crown Prince?”
In other words, Kangxi never considered him.
His promotion was merely a means to balance the power of the crown prince.
Feeling depressed, Yinzhi sought out Xue Li, and the two made love.
Yinzhi then proceeded to speak of his resentment and bitterness.
Sherry leaned against him, feeling somewhat bored as she watched him silently weep.
"Zahari, don't you have anything to say?" After a long while, Yinzhi suddenly spoke up.
"What did you say?" Sherry rolled her eyes at him.
"Do you think the Crown Prince or me... Never mind!" Yinzhi hesitated for a long time but ultimately didn't say it.
Sherry paused for a moment, then let out a soft sigh.
"You know perfectly well what's going on, don't you? You're just a pawn in balancing the court. If the Crown Prince has no chance now, then you had no chance from the very beginning! Is it hard to accept the truth?"
"Heh...you really dare to say that." Yinzhi suddenly laughed, but the smile was unusually bitter.
"If you know the truth, just live your life peacefully! After all, you're just a pawn, not indispensable."
Sherry felt something was off. They could just talk about love, why were they talking about the struggle for the throne?!
Sherry rolled over and sat on his face, silencing what Yinzhi wanted to say.
The two continued their tender moments, reluctant to part, and began a guerrilla war of advance and retreat.
After Yinzhi left, he probably figured things out.
Without getting involved in those matters anymore, Lao Ba hurriedly stepped forward.
Yinzhi began to slack off, but Kangxi, still concerned about his eldest son, bestowed upon him a reward.
Yinzhi was more lucid than he was now as he looked at the rewards.
He clearly understood that no emperor was willing to relinquish his power. Just look at his younger brother, the crown prince, whom he had envied and resented for most of his life.
Yinzhi chuckled for a moment, unsure whether to pity himself or his younger brother who had been pampered for half his life.
Even he couldn't accept such a drop in status, let alone him.
No wonder his temper became increasingly volatile, and his Zahari kept his distance from the Crown Prince.
Thus, the eighth prince was surrounded by admirers and flattered by the court officials.
Seeing that the eldest and second eldest brothers had become depressed, the third brother felt it was his turn to take over.
Kangxi felt a chill as he watched the court officials being incited by the Eighth Prince, and then skillfully lifted the Third Prince to fight alongside the Eighth Prince.
Until, Lao Ba reached out his hand to him.
Emperor Kangxi punished some talented young men and his attendants, and the atmosphere inside and outside the palace was tense and everyone was on edge!
Emperor Kangxi's health was deteriorating. After all, he frequently indulged in sensual pleasures, and the imperial physicians dared not speak frankly in order to save his life.
They always speak in roundabout ways!
It wasn't until Lao Ba arranged for someone to present the elixir that things changed.
The more Kangxi ate, the weaker his body felt.
He was as vigorous in the first half of the night as he was powerless in the second. He was well-versed in all kinds of books; what didn't he understand?!
In private, Emperor Kangxi had some Taoist priests and attendants.
Coupled with the Eighth Prince's undisguised ambition, Kangxi directly punished him.
He bluntly stated that the Eighth Prince was "inherently cunning and treacherous, harboring grand ambitions. Born to a lowly woman from the Xin Zhe Ku (a place for lowly women), he was arrogant and treacherous from a young age."
Emperor Kangxi publicly reprimanded Yinzhi on several occasions, pointing out his misconduct, such as forming cliques for personal gain and being disloyal and unfilial.
Ultimately, he was stripped of his title and imprisoned.
The third brother didn't dare to cause any trouble anymore, and the fourth brother showed up again.
Two years later, in order to alleviate the conflict over the crown prince, Emperor Kangxi reinstated the crown prince.
However, the crown prince was terrified of his antics and remained well-behaved for two years before finally taking a desperate gamble and plotting a coup.
Emperor Kangxi was furious and deposed the crown prince again!
After returning to the capital from his inspection tour of the northern frontier, he announced to the princes: "Since his reinstatement, Crown Prince Yinreng has not yet shaken off his former arrogance, which has caused him to lose the hearts of the people. The ancestral legacy cannot be entrusted to him. I have already reported this to the Empress Dowager, and now Yinreng will be detained and placed under guard."
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