Fortunately, although Prince Zhi was puzzled about what had happened to Yinzhen, his priority was to bring the Crown Prince to his mind. At this critical juncture, it was not wise to provoke the vengeful fourth prince. So he managed to suppress the urge to make trouble.
After Kangxi's typhoid fever had mostly subsided, he lost interest in sightseeing and set off directly back to the capital. This inspection tour of the northern frontier was somewhat anticlimactic.
For the sake of Kangxi's health, the main force traveled much slower than it had come. Along the way, Kangxi lay half-reclined in the stable carriage, reading through memorials. However, whether it was due to his lingering illness or the swaying of the carriage, Kangxi found the writing on the memorials to be very blurry, and even with a mirror, he could not see it clearly.
This unclear symptom persisted for several days, causing Kangxi to become increasingly irritable. The people serving him were trembling with fear, afraid that if something went wrong, they would be dragged away by Eunuch Liang.
The people who were recently dragged away by Eunuch Liang have never appeared again, and everyone knows what that means.
"Summon Honghui!" Kangxi suppressed the urge to kill, looked at the tightly packed handwriting, and suddenly said.
Before long, Honghui boarded the imperial carriage. Before speaking, he greeted the emperor with a smile: "Grandfather, I have missed you very much these days, but I have not allowed you to come and disturb me."
"Oh? What did your father say?" Kangxi raised an eyebrow upon hearing this.
“Father said that Grandfather angered the Crown Prince’s second uncle and told Honghui not to get in his way.” Honghui moved closer to Kangxi and massaged his legs. “Honghui understands. It’s just a quarrel. Father was also angry with Honghui, but they made up in a few days.”
"Your father tells you everything," Kangxi said meaningfully.
Honghui raised his head with a hint of pride: "Father said that if Honghui does something wrong, as long as he sincerely repents, he won't really be angry with his grandson. Grandson knows that Father loves his grandson the most."
"What are you thinking? I remember you have a younger brother from a different mother. Doesn't your father like him?" Kangxi continued to ask.
“Of course Father loves Third Brother, but Mother said that just like fingers are of different lengths, even if they are all Father’s children, they don’t all hold the same weight in his heart.” Honghui gestured with his fingers. “I am the eldest son of the legitimate wife. Although I am not Father’s first child, I am indeed his first son, and my significance to him is completely different.”
"You see things clearly." Kangxi nodded, reviewing Honghui's words in his mind. If the Crown Prince truly repented, would he give him a chance?
"Read it to me."
Honghui took the memorial from Kangxi's desk, read the beginning but couldn't continue: "Grandfather, can your grandson stop reading?"
"What's wrong?" Kangxi asked, listening with his eyes closed.
"These are all memorials impeaching the Crown Prince's second uncle; I don't want to read them."
"What, do you think the Crown Prince did the right thing?" Kangxi's tone was cold, and one could sense the danger.
“No, I think that my second uncle, the Crown Prince, is indeed wrong. But he is the Crown Prince, and only Your Majesty, the Emperor, can judge the Crown Prince’s mistakes. No one else is allowed to trample on them.” Honghui closed the memorial. “These are just wild words from people who are trying to guess Your Majesty’s intentions because they see that you are angry. They should not be believed.”
"Honghui, you've been very bold today." Kangxi opened his eyes and stared at Honghui.
Honghui touched his head: "Grandpa, you've been recuperating these past few days and haven't had a chance to visit the temple fair, have you? Let me tell you about the local customs and culture."
Kangxi gazed at Honghui, whose expression remained unchanged, and smiled: "Alright, go ahead."
When Liang Jiugong saw that it was time for dinner, he quietly opened the curtain and saw Honghui chatting away while Kangxi listened attentively. The atmosphere was pleasant and harmonious, a stark contrast to the tense atmosphere of the previous days.
Sure enough, it was young master Honghui who had the best idea. Liang Jiugong set out the dishes prepared by the imperial chef, and Kangxi gestured for Honghui to eat with them.
Honghui was enjoying his meal when he suddenly sighed.
"What's wrong with you? Is it not to your liking?" Emperor Kangxi noticed his grandson's unusual behavior.
“This roasted lamb leg is Uncle Jiu’s favorite, but he’s been sick lately, and his grandson can’t eat it because of his illness,” Honghui said.
"Are you sick?"
“Yes, I fell ill around the same time as you. Father didn’t dare to disturb you, so he didn’t report it. He consulted the imperial physician and a famous local doctor. They said it was a combination of acclimatization issues, a cold, and some other illness that I don’t understand. I couldn’t get out of bed immediately. It’s been several days now, and I can barely sit up. I went to see Uncle Jiu, and he’s lost a lot of weight.” Honghui looked very worried.
Kangxi then realized that he hadn't seen the Ninth Prince for a long time. He had originally intended to summon him to visit, but then remembered that Honghui had said he was still bedridden, so he gave up the idea: "Liang Jiugong, take some of the best medicinal herbs to your Ninth Prince and let him rest and recover. When he is better, he will come to see me."
Liang Jiugong glanced at Honghui. He had heard that something had happened to the Ninth Prince. Although he didn't know the specifics of the illness, it certainly didn't sound as casual as Prince Honghui made it out to be.
However, he didn't need to expose him, so he agreed and personally delivered the tonics to Ninth Prince's wife without further ado.
******
The Eighth Prince was fiddling with a porcelain vase as he listened to his subordinates' report.
"Reporting to Master, Ying'er cannot be contacted."
"Hmm." The Eighth Prince had a rough idea when he learned that the Ninth Prince was avoiding people. Sure enough, the undercover agent had been exposed. "He has only been using this drug for a little over half a year, and the dosage is not large. If he finds out now, he can quit. It's too good for him."
Ying'er was the woman who had committed suicide. She entered the Ninth Master's mansion by virtue of her beauty. It took her nearly half a year, with the help of the Eighth Master, to finally gain a foothold. Only when the Ninth Master had gained some initial trust in her could she administer the drug.
"Keep an eye on her sister, make sure nothing goes wrong," the Eighth Prince said.
The guard dressed in black knelt on the ground upon hearing this: "Reporting to Your Majesty, this servant has failed in his duty. A letter has arrived from the capital saying that Tao'er has gone missing."
The Eighth Prince's face immediately turned cold: "When did this happen? Tell me in detail."
"Just these past few days, my men brought food to Tao'er, only to find the room locked from the inside. They broke down the door, but there was no one there; it was as if she had vanished into thin air!"
"Find her, we must find her no matter what!" The Eighth Prince had a feeling that this Tao'er would definitely be a problem in the future. He originally wanted to use Ying'er to ruin the Ninth Prince, but if he could also get the Fourth and Tenth Princes addicted to drugs, that would be an unexpected bonus.
At worst, if the ninth son loses his salary, it will still cut off the fourth son's financial supply.
I didn't expect him to discover it so quickly. If he had recovered and found out that I was the one who did it, I would probably have been in a bad mood for a while.
"Keep an eye on the Fourth Prince's residence and the Thirteenth Prince's residence." The Eighth Prince had a guess about who had done it, but he really couldn't understand what went wrong, that someone could so easily take away a living person who was under close surveillance from his residence.
What if their target is you? It's impossible to defend against!
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