As Qian Shengyan was pondering this, she heard an announcement that the Emperor had arrived.
She stood up to greet him, but Yinzhen waved his hand from the doorway and said, "I'm going to change my clothes; I smell terrible. You guys have fun first."
After saying that, Yinzhen hurriedly led Su Peisheng to the bedchamber. A little while later, Qingxue covered her mouth and smiled as she approached, whispering, "Your Majesty, the Emperor just reprimanded Prince Lian, saying that the tatami mat room was filled with the smell of oil, and ordered Prince Lian to kneel in front of the tatami mat for a day and a night."
Qian Shengyan: ...
That's why later generations say that Yongzheng was petty. Look at his character! She doesn't believe that today's punishment of the Eighth Prince Yinzhi wasn't because of Hongshi's matter!
Oh, by the way, Prince Cheng previously submitted a memorial requesting that his brothers' names be changed. Now, the Eighth Prince's name has been changed to Yunsi, and the Thirteenth Prince should be called Yunxiang.
Compared to the Eighth Prince, who was constantly being reprimanded, the Thirteenth Prince, now Prince Yi, was truly favored by the Emperor.
Yinzhen's temperament was such that he could love someone to the point of wanting them to live and hate someone to the point of wanting them to die...
Qian Shengyan shook her head helplessly, and Yinzhen, who had changed his clothes and washed his hands, also came over.
He picked up his youngest son and bounced him around, saying, "You've gotten fatter again." Then, he casually pinched Hongshan's chubby bottom, "Is it because you're drinking too much milk?"
Qian Shengyan: ...
Well, it's clear the Emperor is in a better mood, so there's no need for him to complain about his son like that.
"I ran into Folgochun when I arrived. Why are you running so fast? What's making you so happy?" Yinzhen asked casually.
When Qian Shengyan heard that he had punished the Eighth Prince, she knew that he was in a good mood, so she chatted with him for a while and mentioned that Foerguchun wanted to go out of the palace for a stroll.
After hearing this, Yinzhen remembered something and summoned Su Peisheng, giving the order on the spot: "Have the Third Prince confined to his residence for a month to reflect on his mistakes. I want to see his letter of repentance a month later."
"Yes, Your Majesty!" Su Peisheng went to deliver the imperial decree, while Qian Shengyan stared intently at Yinzhen.
Good grief, he's writing a self-criticism here.
I wonder how Hongshi will write it? But he certainly won't mention competing with someone for the title of courtesan, that would be too embarrassing...
While thinking about this matter, Qian Shengyan began to talk about the Eastern Six Palaces: "Before the Emperor ascended the throne last year, the Ning Shou Palace and Ci Ning Palace were under renovation, and the Dowager Consorts had nowhere to live for the time being, so the Eastern Six Palaces were allocated. Now that the two palaces are almost finished being renovated, and in addition, according to the late Emperor's last words, Prince Xu wanted to take the Dowager Consorts out of the palace to be cared for. Your Majesty, do you think it would be appropriate to vacate the Eastern Six Palaces?"
She paused for a moment and then smiled, "Originally, the rank of Consort should have been the rank of the head of a palace, but now that living quarters are tight, my sisters are all crammed together..."
“You’re absolutely right.” Yinzhen nodded, then smiled after thinking for a moment. “Prince Cheng has submitted several memorials, wanting to bring Consort Rong back to his residence… Well then, Third Brother has been working diligently lately, so I’ll grant him that favor.”
After saying that, he had someone bring out a map of the harem. After looking at it, he sighed and said, "The Empress Dowager mentioned the late Imperial Concubine before. After all, Empress Xiaoyi raised me for many years. The late Imperial Concubine... should be promoted one rank."
"Your Majesty is absolutely right," Qian Shengyan said with a smile, but... it's impossible for Lady Wuya to say anything good about Empress Xiaoyi.
However, the next day, Yinzhen issued an edict, saying, "By the Empress Dowager's decree, 'Empress Xiaoyi once raised the Emperor, and the Consort is Empress Xiaoyi's younger sister, so the Consort should be promoted to Imperial Noble Consort.' Now she shall be called Imperial Noble Consort of the Late Emperor and shall move to Cining Palace."
At the same time, Consort Rong was granted permission to be taken to Prince Cheng's residence by the Third Prince to be cared for.
Qian Shengyan didn't see it with her own eyes, but Qingxue must have heard it from Su Peisheng: "Prince Cheng knelt on the ground, hugging the Emperor's leg and crying. The Emperor was so annoyed by his crying that he said if he didn't want to support Consort Rong, so be it, the palace doesn't need another consort's allowance. Before the Emperor could finish speaking, Prince Cheng quickly thanked the Emperor and ran away."
Qingxue's story was so interesting that Qian Shengyan couldn't help but laugh.
Perhaps it was this stimulus that prompted Fifth Prince Heng to submit a memorial in the afternoon requesting that Consort Yi be brought out of the palace to be cared for, but Yinzhen did not approve it. Instead, he bestowed the title of Prince Chun upon Seventh Prince Yunyou.
Qian Shengyan could already picture the twisted expression on Prince Heng's face just from hearing about it.
As the old saying goes, serving a ruler is like serving a tiger. Yinzhen was an emperor with a deep mind. On this day, he sent away a concubine and refused a prince, but then conferred the title of prince on another prince. Everyone was talking about it and could not guess what he meant.
Qian Shengyan vaguely understood that he wanted to take this opportunity to provoke his brothers, like a carrot falling in front of a donkey—did he want to take the Dowager Consort out of the palace to live with her, to enjoy family life, and to fulfill his filial duty? Then make me happy, and if I'm happy, I'll agree.
Just as Prince Cheng was the first prince to bow to Yinzhen and the first to suggest that his brothers' names should be changed to avoid using the emperor's name, Yinzhen was willing to give him this honor and let him be the first to take care of the Empress Dowager.
Qian Shengyan also felt that Prince Cheng was indeed a smart man. Even though Yinzhen was his younger brother before and is now the emperor, he should still be respected.
Who would have thought that Prince Cheng, who should have been a "smart man," would do something foolish after bringing the Dowager Consort back.
In accordance with Emperor Kangxi's last wishes, Yinzhen conferred the title of Prince Doroli on Hongxi, the eldest son of the deposed Crown Prince Yinreng, as soon as he ascended the throne. At the beginning of this year, a minister submitted a memorial stating that Prince Doroli should not continue to live in the palace.
After much deliberation, Yinzhen chose Zhengjiazhuang on the outskirts of Beijing and ordered Hongxi to move there with his entire family. However, when Hongxi was moving, Prince Cheng rushed over to help and even accompanied him all the way to the village...
Qian Shengyan was surprised when the news came.
What... what was Prince Cheng thinking?
Yinzhen was indeed very angry. He had previously thought his third brother was sensible, but he never expected that his brother would suddenly want to befriend the deposed crown prince's family. The emperor was furious and unreasonable, and directly issued an edict ordering Yinzhi to guard Jingling.
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