Qian Shengyan felt uncomfortable under his gaze and could only manage a couple of dry laughs: "Why is Your Majesty looking at me like that?"
"I'm thinking..." Yinzhen said slowly, "I think I haven't read enough novels."
Qian Shengyan: ...
Qian Shengyan tried her best to sound righteous: "The people outside are saying such nasty things about the Emperor. As the Emperor's own brother, what's wrong with the Fourteenth Prince helping to share some of the burden?"
Yinzhen: ...
Yes, he also believed that such rumors would spread much more easily than explaining to people that the crown prince did not command troops.
He couldn't help but ask, "What about Prince Cheng?"
"Then...then let Prince Yi go see Consort Jingmin and cry for a bit, and then...then go and beat up Prince Cheng," Qian Shengyan said softly.
After Yinzhen ascended the throne, Prince Yi's birth mother, Lady Zhangjia, was posthumously honored as Imperial Noble Consort, and her tomb was moved to Jingshan Hill so that she could be buried with Emperor Kangxi—all of this was, of course, to make his beloved thirteenth brother happier.
When Consort Jingmin passed away less than 100 days ago, Prince Cheng knowingly broke the law and shaved his head. At that time, Consort Jingmin was only a concubine, so it didn't matter. But now that it has been brought up again, and the fact that Emperor Kangxi himself said "unfilial" is being used against him, any normal person would know that Emperor Kangxi would not pass the throne to an unfilial son.
"The Emperor and Empress Dowager share a deep mother-son bond, and the Emperor also has a affection for the late Emperor that no one else can match. Prince Li was immature and once hurt the late Emperor's feelings. On those sleepless nights, the Emperor was always by his side..."
"I, tonight, will stay by my late father's side?" Yinzhen asked, puzzled.
Qian Shengyan nodded firmly: "The late emperor loved and cared for the emperor deeply; otherwise, he wouldn't have been so concerned about arranging the winter solstice sacrifice to Heaven even when he was seriously ill." As she spoke, she sighed again, "Who else but the emperor could go to the Temple of Heaven to offer sacrifices to Heaven?"
Yinzhen: ...
“If we directly clarify the late emperor’s will, people may still have doubts, but with all the signs combined, they will eventually come to their own conclusions—if the throne is not passed on to the current emperor, then who else can it be given to?” Qian Shengyan sighed.
At this moment, even Yinzhen couldn't help but nod.
What Qian Shengyan said was a mixture of truth and falsehood, making it difficult to distinguish. Not to mention the common people who knew nothing, even the members of the royal family would be puzzled for days after hearing it—was it really like this back then?
The more he thought about it, the funnier it became. He reached out and put his arm around Qian Shengyan's waist, pulling her closer to him: "How long have you been thinking about it?"
"Hmm?" Qian Shengyan looked up at him, her eyes filled with doubt.
Yinzhen said gently, "These ideas couldn't have been come up with all at once, and there's also the allocation of resources to each person..." He recalled for a moment, then nodded in affirmation, "They're all very reasonable."
Qian Shengyan: ...
Has the truth been revealed so easily?
She was a little embarrassed and directly betrayed her son: "A few days ago, Hongli came to me with great concern because he heard the rumors outside, but he didn't know how to tell His Majesty. I think that His Majesty, who is in charge of the affairs of the world, must know about them, but these rumors are really infuriating. These past few days, when I have nothing to do, I have been thinking about how to refute them one by one."
Don't you all like to establish the eldest son as heir? Well, regardless of whether it's the eldest son or the legitimate heir, Yinzhen is the only one who fits that description.
You say the Empress Dowager and the Emperor are at odds? That's false. A bunch of the Empress Dowager's close maids will secretly tell you the secrets of the inner palace, half-revealed and half-concealed, leaving you no choice but to believe them.
You say the late emperor didn't want to make the current emperor? Then who else could he have chosen? The unfilial Prince Cheng? Yin Ziren, whom the late emperor denounced as the son of a lowly woman from the Imperial Household Department? Or the Fourteenth Prince, who was sent to the battlefield by the late emperor and whose fate is unknown?
Moreover, if the late emperor had no such intention, why did he order the current emperor to perform a sacrificial ceremony at the Temple of Heaven when he was seriously ill?
If you reveal some information while keeping others hidden, people will analyze it themselves. And after analyzing it, people may not believe what they hear directly, but they will certainly believe the conclusions they draw from their own deductions.
That was the result he found out through all sorts of means and through his own deep thinking!
Listening to her analysis, Yinzhen couldn't help but chuckle: "You've thought things through very carefully, you must be exhausted."
Qian Shengyan: ...
What's so tiring about writing storybooks...? You don't even have to write them down...
"I knew it, you..." Yinzhen's eyes were filled with tenderness, and as if thinking of something, he hugged her tighter. "You are just like that."
Qian Shengyan: ...
Explain yourself clearly, what do you mean by "this"?
The two hugged each other and chatted. Yinzhen was truly coaxed and swayed, and every now and then Qian Shengyan would make him laugh and he would have to give a reluctant compliment: "Good, that's clever."
Hearing the emperor's laughter coming from inside, Su Peisheng, who was guarding the door, couldn't help but give Qingxue a thumbs up again.
Imperial Noble Consort, really! Otherwise, how could she have become an Imperial Noble Consort!
Even the Thirteenth Prince couldn't calm his emotions, but after the Imperial Noble Consort entered, the Emperor didn't utter a single angry word! And now, in less than the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, he's even laughing!
In an instant, Su Peisheng even disrespectfully thought of the Emperor's youth, when the late Emperor described him as "unpredictable." At the time, the Emperor was very unhappy and forcibly changed his temperament to a poker face. However, when he was thirty years old, he asked the late Emperor that he was no longer unpredictable and begged the late Emperor to take back that comment.
Previously, Su Peisheng also thought that the emperor had matured and was no longer capricious, but now... now!
Perhaps, in front of the Imperial Noble Consort, the Emperor will always be that young, capricious man.
Unbeknownst to himself, Su Peisheng was so moved by his own words that he suddenly heard the Emperor calling him from inside.
He hurriedly responded and, bowing, quickly went inside: "Your Majesty!"
My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
