Honghui witnessed Kangxi's illness symptoms firsthand. Liang Jiugong swiftly stopped him at the entrance of the Hall of Mental Cultivation. He only caught a glimpse from afar and heard voices that didn't sound human. His feelings were complicated.
Grandpa has always favored him, and there may have been other factors involved, but the love and care between grandfather and grandson over the years is genuine.
Seeing how Huang Mafa was living like a ghost, he couldn't help but question his father and Ninth Uncle's plan. Did they really have to do this to bring down Eighth Uncle?
Just as Honghui was filled with doubt and confusion, Yinzhen and Yintang were also facing off in the Yongqin Prince's Mansion.
"I gave you Huo's eldest sister back then, I never expected you would send her to Father Emperor's side. Ninth Prince, you..." Yinzhen's expression was complicated. How much of his filial piety towards Kangxi was genuine? After all, besides the Crown Prince, who else had Father Emperor truly cared about? Even if there was a trace of sincerity, it was completely overshadowed by the Crown Prince.
"Fourth Brother wants to say that I'm ruthless, disloyal, and unfilial," Yinzhen chimed in, then said self-deprecatingly, "So what? That's just who I am!"
"Over the years, I've seen through it all. Does Father Emperor truly love the Crown Prince? No, the only thing he truly wants is his throne. Anyone who dares to touch it will have their fingers chopped off, and the Crown Prince is no exception."
"It was Father Emperor who gave the brothers unrealistic expectations, making everyone think that anyone could bring down the Crown Prince." Yinzhen's eyes blazed with anger as he spoke, becoming increasingly furious. "Eighth Brother is cunning and his actions are not aboveboard, which is his problem. But wasn't it Father Emperor who gave Eighth Brother that gave him that confidence?"
"Since Father Emperor wants to see us kill each other, why not solve the problem at its root!" Yin Tang poured out all his grievances.
Yinzhen sighed: "It's too risky. Father Emperor doesn't have the energy to continue investigating. Once he recovers, he might suspect you."
Yinzhen smiled indifferently: "Fourth brother, my future does not lie with Father Emperor but with you, brother. As long as we completely bring down the Eighth Prince this time, I don't care if I am punished later. I can stay in the manor and raise my son."
Yinzhen understood that Yintang was prepared to exchange one for one.
"To be honest, it was nephew Honghui who played a great supporting role." Seeing that Yinzhen was not so angry anymore, Yintang tried to ease the atmosphere.
"That brat, he just promised me he would be more composed, and he forgot it all as soon as he turned around!" Yinzhen said, scolding him, but he smiled. "However, those two sentences of his have completely sealed the Eighth Prince's fate. All the people involved are dead. You should keep a low profile for a while and don't give Father Emperor any reason to find fault with you."
“Yes, I understand.” Yinzhen paused for a moment. “Fourth brother, if I really do… then I’ll trouble your wife to take good care of my wife. She’s a simpleton and doesn’t know how to be flexible.”
"Go away, go away, hurry up and leave. Your fourth sister-in-law is not well, she needs to take care of herself." Yinzhen didn't want to hear this and directly chased them away.
Yinzhen was unaware that the "stick" he was talking about was currently having a lot of troubles.
An uninvited guest arrived at the Ninth Prince's residence today; it was none other than the Eighth Prince's wife, Lady Guoluo, who had been running into obstacles everywhere lately.
Lady Guoluo came with Hongwang by her side. Previously, Ninth Prince Consort had always refused to let them in, but now that she heard they had a child with them, she finally softened and let the mother and son in.
Hongwang had clearly been instructed beforehand; as soon as he entered the door, the little boy knelt down and kowtowed: "Auntie, Hongwang begs you to save Father. Hongwang will be eternally grateful and will repay your kindness for the rest of his life."
He spoke so fluently; I wonder how long he had memorized it beforehand.
Ninth Princess Consort picked up the child and handed him to the nanny, telling her to take him out to play.
"Sister-in-law, what are you doing?"
"Sister-in-law, don't you and Ninth Brother feel any remorse?" Guo Luoluo preemptively retorted, "The closer the relationship, the more ruthless you become, don't you!"
"Eighth Sister-in-law must be worried about the Prince, she's started talking nonsense." Ninth Princess lowered her eyes, feeling somewhat guilty for being so soft-hearted.
"Can you swear that the Ninth Prince wasn't behind our master's misdeeds? Swear on... your child." Guo Luoluo stared at the Ninth Prince's slightly protruding belly, a wicked thought rising within her.
"How absurd! You reap what you sow. In the past few years, who among the Tenth Prince, our Master, and even the masters of the Yong Prince's Mansion, hasn't suffered in silence? Only those who scheme against others all day long feel like they've been schemed against." Ninth Prince's wife didn't want to argue with Guo Luoluo Shi any further. "Hongwang is a good child. You used underhanded means to snatch him from someone else, so you should raise him properly. Today, out of respect for Hongwang, I'll address you as Eighth Sister-in-law. Please go back. Ninth Prince's Mansion does not welcome you."
Seeing that the people around Ninth Prince's wife were all staring at her covetously, Lady Guoluo suddenly smiled and said, "Speaking of which, this child came after Ninth Prince fell ill, didn't he?"
"Do you think that such a strong plaster might have already been passed down through your blood and bones? Are you really capable of giving birth to this child?"
After saying this, the Eighth Prince's wife laughed and left, leaving the Ninth Prince's wife with a deathly pale face.
******
As usual, the tenth prince came to the Ministry of War to take his post. After the fall of the Prince of Zhi, the Ministry of War has been even more attentive to the tenth prince, which has made the tenth prince secretly happy for a long time.
"Huh, there have been changes to the defenses again?" The tenth prince looked at today's report, his previous nonchalance turning serious.
How many changes have there been recently?
According to the original rules, the Imperial City Guards were rotated every seven days, and the rotation was very regular. Recently, however, the original rotation pattern has been almost completely disrupted. Not only are they being rotated every one or two days, but even the generals guarding the city have changed several times.
The transfer documents were stamped with the imperial seal, and although he had doubts, the tenth prince still had them done as instructed.
He silently recited the names of several unfamiliar generals in his mind, but in the end, he wrote them down on a small piece of paper, tucked it into his pocket, and took it with him.
After the Ninth Prince left, the Yong Prince's Mansion welcomed the Tenth Prince.
Yinzhen, who originally wanted to go back to the backyard to check on Yihua, was stopped again. He sighed and thought that having many younger brothers also had its disadvantages.
The tenth prince strode in with an air of indifference, slapped the note in front of Yinzhen, and took a big gulp: "Fourth brother, these people look unfamiliar to me. They've all been recently reassigned to guard the palace. Send someone to investigate."
Yinzhen had no doubt about the authenticity of this information. After all, his younger brother might look rough, but he actually had a lot of wisdom in him.
Seeing that Yinzhen nodded in agreement, the Tenth Prince felt relieved that his mission was accomplished. He hesitated for a moment and asked, "Fourth Brother, is Father Emperor's health not good?"
If he were twenty years younger, Kangxi might have been able to pull through with his willpower. Now, it's just fighting fire with fire, hastening his death.
Yinzhen shook his head; the tenth prince understood.
"Fourth Brother, we won't change, right?" the Tenth Brother suddenly asked.
Yinzhen looked at him and said, "Everyone changes. As long as we all change for the better, it's the same as no change at all."
The tenth brother nodded as if he understood, took out a box of high-quality ginseng from his pocket and put it down: "This is for Fourth Sister-in-law to nourish her body. I have something to do, so I'll be leaving now."
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