Chapter 115 Mind Reading
If Heaven wishes someone to perish, it first wishes for their madness.
Yu Ying'er can now be described as incredibly arrogant. Apart from Consort Hua, whom she still somewhat fears, she completely disregards everyone else in the palace. She publicly humiliated Consort Rou and refused to dismount from her sedan chair when she saw Consort Jing, which has long aroused the anger of the palace. However, the Emperor seems to be bewitched and continues to pamper her. With the precedents of Imperial Noble Consort and Consort Wan, everyone dares not speak out against her.
With her as an obvious cover, everyone could see the Emperor's obvious likes and dislikes. Prince Dun and Nian Gengyao became increasingly active and emboldened in their private actions.
However, this was precisely Yinzhen's intention. Hongzhao was still in the Mulan Hunting Grounds, and he didn't have much time to wait. He had to make them even more arrogant so that they would reveal their true colors sooner.
Although every letter Hongzhao sent back home reported good news and not bad, he was still too anxious to escape the summer heat and returned to the Forbidden City from the Yuanmingyuan earlier than in previous years.
On this day, in the Hall of Mental Cultivation.
Prince Guo hurried into the hall, and Yinzhen looked as if he had been waiting for a long time.
"You're back."
Before he could even bow, Prince Guo handed the Emperor a small roll of paper that he was clutching tightly in his hand—"Your Majesty, hurry up! I intercepted this from a carrier pigeon at Prince Dun's residence."
The letter was clearly meant to be tied to a carrier pigeon's leg for sending messages. Yinzhen took it and slowly unfolded it with a gloomy expression.
After a long silence, the voice was unsurprised: "Prince Dun couldn't hold back as expected and asked Nian Gengyao for help, thus seizing my throne. He hasn't changed his mind; he wants to welcome Yunsi as emperor and make Consort Yi, Yuntang's mother, empress dowager."
Yinzhen slammed the letter shut, looked up, and said with a mocking tone, "If he succeeds, wouldn't that be the end of our Great Qing?"
Despite saying this, Yunli thought that the way he sent Hongzhao away from afar probably meant that he wasn't entirely confident.
He gave the Crown Prince a troop of elite troops and sent them to his ancestral home in Mongolia, which had risen with the Qing Dynasty. He even personally wrote an imperial edict that read "as if I were personally present." It seems that he truly had the intention of having Hongzhao either start a rebellion or save his life in case things went wrong.
He saw through it but couldn't say it directly. What he said was still, "Given Tenth Brother's calculations, it definitely won't work."
Speed is of the essence in war. Now that he has intercepted the information, he must act even faster.
"Someone come here." At this command, a side gate in the Hall of Mental Cultivation, which was usually unnoticed, opened, and Xia Yi walked in briskly to await instructions. Yinzhen, who had been holding back for so many days, was finally able to make arrangements for his plans.
"Arrange for your Blood Droplets to secretly keep watch over Prince Dun's residence for me. Tonight, I will send the elite cavalry to surround the residence and capture everyone."
"We can't let anyone take advantage of the chaos and leak the information, understand?" When Yinzhen became serious, no one dared to be intimidated. Xia Yi also cautiously and firmly answered "Yes" and immediately went to make arrangements.
"I'll have to trouble you with this, Seventeenth Brother." Although he said he was sorry to trouble you, Yinzhen's tone left no room for refusal—"Only your comings and goings outside Prince Dun's residence will not arouse suspicion. Tonight, you will keep an eye on Prince Dun and make sure to catch him red-handed."
Prince Guo naturally dared not utter a word of dissent, and only said, "Your subject is willing to do his utmost for Your Majesty."
There wasn't much time left until evening, so Yinzhen didn't linger. Watching the two of them leave in a hurry, Yinzhen tried his best to think about what else might be missing.
"Su Peisheng, go and tell the Empress Dowager that she is unwell tonight. Please invite the wife of Prince Dun to the palace immediately to attend to her and Princess Gongding together."
The more bargaining chips Prince Dun has, the less likely he is to succeed, and the safer Hongzhao will be, and the sooner he can return to the capital.
Hongzhao knew the outcome of this matter beforehand, knowing that Prince Dun would inevitably fail. Therefore, he was naturally not worried about that. However, he now faced another rather thorny problem.
He looked at the boy in front of him, who was a head taller than him. Although he was called a boy, he was almost the same size as an adult man, and his whole body was as strong as a small bear.
Amur whispered, “This man is the eldest son of the Prince of Balin. He is four or five years older than you, Your Highness. The Balin tribe is arguably the most impoverished of the forty-nine tribes of Mongolia. They still rely on the imperial court for aid. However, the Prince of Balin is a troublemaker.”
Hongzhao nodded silently. He had naturally noticed the troublemaker's behavior, since he was currently doing just that.
"We all witnessed the prowess of the princes when the late Emperor held the Mulan Autumn Hunt. We Mongols revere strength; only the strong can lead us. But since the current Emperor ascended the throne..."
"Cough cough!" A prince next to him coughed twice and glared at him, thinking to himself that after drinking some wine, he would be even more unrestrained in his speech.
The Prince of Balin paused, swallowing the words that had almost cost him his head, but still spoke up, unwilling to give up: "Now we are finally looking forward to the Mulan Autumn Hunt being held again, but only the Crown Prince has come. Prince Yi is not in good health and cannot compete with us. Why don't the Crown Prince... show us the style of our Qing Dynasty's princes and grandsons?"
Hongzhao, however, was not in a hurry to deny him. He calmly asked, "Oh? I wonder how the Prince intends to see my demeanor?"
Seeing the prince respond, he became even more enthusiastic, slapping his thigh and speaking with great interest—"The prince is young, and we can't be known for bullying a child. This time, many descendants of the Mongols have come to the Mulan Autumn Hunt. If anyone is about the same age as the prince, why don't we all have a competition? It would be a grand event on the grasslands!"
Mongolian children are raised on horseback; as soon as they can walk, they can ride a horse, and as soon as they can talk, they can draw a bow. This natural geographical advantage and innate talent are naturally beyond the reach of ordinary people.
The Prince of Balin did not want to live, but that did not mean that none of the forty-nine Mongol tribes wanted to live. The Khorchin prince frowned and was about to speak to stop him when he heard Hongzhao's laughter from above. Although it was laughter, there was no joy in his voice, but rather an unusual coldness.
"As I said when I came, His Majesty has been busy with state affairs since ascending the throne, but in reality, he cares deeply about the princes of Mongolia. I wonder if Prince Balin has doubts about my words or disagrees with His Majesty's decision?"
Seeing the usually dignified Crown Prince suddenly make trouble, even the singing and dancing on the grass in the middle of the field instantly weakened. All the princes put down their wine cups and looked at each other, secretly cursing the meddlesome person in their hearts.
However, Hongzhao did not intend to stop there. "I heard the Prince of Balin speaking as if he were an elder. My only elders are the Emperor and the Empress Dowager. I don't know if your ancestors were a generation higher than others in order to teach me how to conduct myself."
The sweltering heat of summer had long passed on the grasslands. As night fell and the evening breeze blew, coupled with Hongzhao's cold questioning voice, the Prince of Balin suddenly sobered up considerably. Looking around, almost everyone lowered their heads and avoided looking at him. Those who were close even shifted their seats to try to distance themselves from him. He slid off his seat and suddenly knelt on the ground, almost burying his head in his chest. His eyes were much clearer than before.
"I dare not! I dare not!"
Seeing this, the Khorchin prince glared at him fiercely and cursed inwardly. With a sullen face, he bowed and looked at the Crown Prince at the head of the table. The Crown Prince was calm and composed at such a young age, and his imposing presence was terrifying. He was about to speak when Hongzhao raised his hand to stop him.
He did not want to punish Prince Baling in public at this moment, so he turned his head away as if he could not see the prince kneeling on the ground trembling with fear, and put on his usual magnanimous expression.
"If it were merely a competition of horsemanship and archery, then the purpose of this trip would be to establish a good connection with you princes and nobles. Since you all have such refined tastes, I will naturally accompany you. Today, the singing and dancing have been quite enjoyable, and I imagine you princes and nobles must be tired. In that case, let's adjourn the banquet and there's no need for me to stay here any longer."
After saying this, amidst the belated farewells from the crowd, Hongzhao stood up and went straight back to his tent, followed by Prince Yi, who looked slightly smug, leaving everyone with only a dashing back view.
Once the people had completely disappeared from sight, the Prince of Balin collapsed completely, looking as if he had been pulled out of the water.
Hongzhao did not stop it because he felt that this competition was a good opportunity. The task that the system had just issued coincided with what the King of Balin had said.
"Eighth task - Please obtain 60% of the Mongolian princes' 'sincere obedience value'. Reward for completing the task: Controllable mind-reading device."
——
The waiting process always seems exceptionally long.
Yinzhen sat in the empty Hall of Mental Cultivation, gazing thoughtfully at the dark sky outside, his eyes fixed on the flickering candlelight.
He sat there for a long time, neither looking at the memorials nor writing, neither turning the pages of books nor gazing at the scenery. His hands were stroking the letters from home, each one carrying the scent of fresh grass. He didn't need to read them; he could even memorize the words. But just touching them brought him a little more peace of mind.
After an unknown amount of time, hurried footsteps finally sounded outside.
Yinzhen, unusually unsteady, stood up, his eyes fixed warily on the door, eager to see who was coming.
"Your Majesty, I pay my respects to Your Majesty!"
The newcomer was tall and elegant, and the weariness on his face seemed genuine; he was Prince Guo.
Upon seeing him, Yinzhen's heart relaxed considerably. However, he still clenched his fists tightly, frowned, and cautiously asked, "How is it?"
"Everything went smoothly. The elite cavalry has already captured Prince Dun."
The breath that had been pressing on Yinzhen's chest finally escaped after hearing those words. He sat down with a long sigh, and before he could even summarize the battle situation, he raised his voice and spoke to the outside.
"Su Peisheng! Prepare the carriages and horses; I am going to the Mulan Hunting Grounds."
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