Seeing Honghui run crying to the Hall of Mental Cultivation, carrying evidence of his mistreatment in his arms, the princes' expressions changed.
It was only then that they realized that Honghui was not their brother. They often sabotaged each other, and they had developed a tacit understanding to resolve things privately.
Because Emperor Kangxi valued brotherly affection very much, he couldn't stand seeing them fraternizing with each other.
Who would have thought that Honghui would so brazenly bring the matter to Kangxi's attention? Did he really cry to the Fourth Prince so directly after suffering grievances in his own residence?
Imagine the Fourth Prince, that cold and aloof person, secretly holding and coaxing a little baby; it's truly chilling.
Someone reacted quickly and tried to stop Honghui, but the Thirteenth Prince and the Fourteenth Prince blocked the door from the left and right.
So, when Kangxi saw his beloved grandson crying uncontrollably, he didn't bother to investigate the reason after learning about it. He simply ordered each person to be given ten strokes of the cane, and after that, he had the imperial physician apply medicine. He also gave them an imperial edict, telling them to think carefully about what it means to respect the elderly and care for the young, and to be friendly and respectful to their elders.
After Honghui finished crying, he covered his face with his palms, feeling a little embarrassed, and secretly peeked at Kangxi through his fingers.
Kangxi naturally noticed his little trick and said in an annoyed tone, "What are you doing, making such a strange face!"
Do you realize your mistake today?
Honghui stood before Kangxi and nodded: "Honghui failed to take good care of his school supplies, that is the first mistake. He failed to maintain good relations with his uncles and brothers, that is the second mistake. Reporting on others is not the behavior of a gentleman, that is the third mistake."
“Grandpa, Honghui is not a good child.” Honghui’s eyes filled with tears again after he finished speaking, as if he was about to cry. “Mother said that Father would always protect Honghui, but now Father is busy with important matters. Grandpa will also always protect Honghui. This book was copied by Mother when Honghui was sick. Honghui was very sad to see it destroyed.”
"Grandpa, you are an all-powerful person in this world. Can you restore this book to its original state?"
As Kangxi looked at Honghui, who stood upright in front of him, he was suddenly touched by something new. This child was always courteous to his uncles and elders and had never had any conflicts with eunuchs or palace maids in the Hall of Mental Cultivation.
This time, he only developed a desire for revenge because his mother's good intentions were ruined. He is truly a kind and good child.
Emperor Kangxi flipped through the ink-stained books and thought for a moment: "Liang Jiugong, bring me that copy of the Analects from the bookshelf."
Liang Jiugong was stunned for a moment, looking at the bewildered Honghui, and suddenly felt that he couldn't understand this five-year-old child.
He deftly took a box from the seventh shelf on the left and handed it to Kangxi with both hands.
Kangxi took the box, opened it, and found a set of primers inside. He flipped through a few pages with a touch of nostalgia. Honghui noticed some childish handwriting on the pages and was puzzled.
"This is what I used when I was young. It also has some annotations by the Empress Dowager. You must keep it safe, understand?"
Honghui's eyes lit up, and he immediately knelt down and kowtowed: "Honghui thanks the Emperor Grandfather for his grace, and thanks the Empress Dowager for her grace."
"You clever little devil." Kangxi pointed at Honghui, wanting to keep him but was refused.
Honghui held the box of books with obvious delight: "Grandpa, Honghui also wants to stay and keep you company. But because of Honghui's mistake, all the uncles and brothers were punished, and Honghui cannot be exempted either. I will go and receive my punishment now."
Emperor Kangxi also wanted them to get along well, so he did not force them to stay.
The young eunuch who had been serving Honghui with his writing materials, seeing that no one was around and they were far from the Hall of Mental Cultivation, asked in a low voice, "Your Highness, I have a bad memory. It seems that I copied your textbook. What is this...?"
Honghui looked around and said, "Then you must have misremembered."
He thought to himself, "My mother's calligraphy is so bad, it's an eyesore."
Honghui once saw Yihua writing. Not only did she only write half of the characters, but the characters were also of different sizes, making her writing worse than someone who had just started learning.
It seems she secretly practiced later and became presentable enough to be seen in public.
However, this matter should be kept as a secret between the mother and son, and even their father doesn't need to know.
******
Yinzhen was completely unaware of what was happening in the palace; he thought that Yihua and her son had already gone to a villa for a vacation.
In addition, Yi-hua did not want family matters to distract her, so every letter she wrote home was about eating, drinking, and traveling.
Thinking of the suffering caused by the disaster, Yinzhen, as the person in charge, was determined to share the hardships with the victims. Yihua sent him a small jar of his favorite pickled vegetables along with the letter.
In the letter, she wrote: "I cannot understand your hardships, so I am sending you a jar of vegetables to ease my longing. Please do not worry."
As Yinzhen read, he began to laugh. "To console my longing? What longing? Longing that tastes like pickled vegetables?"
However, Yinzhen ate the jar of pickled vegetables with great satisfaction, and Yintang was refused when he wanted to eat more.
Yinzhen said with a hint of pride, "When you get married, I'll have your wife prepare it for you."
Yinzhen was extremely satisfied with the things Yihua sent; he could now truly feel that the two were of one mind.
The disaster relief efforts are at a critical stage, and it's already a blessing to have a bowl of hot porridge to fill our stomachs every day. This jar of pickled vegetables has come at just the right time.
Yinzhen was speechless. What a treasure it was, that it was so precious.
If it were really about exchanging money, what delicacies couldn't he eat?!
However, as imperial envoys, they had to set an example. If he dared to eat lavishly, his fourth brother would be the first to punish him.
Lord Xu acted swiftly, having already gathered considerable evidence of the prefect's crimes, as well as that of his accomplices, leaving everyone in a state of fear.
Yinzhen did not act on his own initiative. He drafted a memorial and sent it to the palace by express courier. He listed all the things he had seen and heard in the past few days, as well as the witnesses and physical evidence, and finally asked how to deal with them.
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