Chapter 23: A Memorial to the Throne Pleading Guilty. Kangxi received two memorials sent from Xian'an Palace…
Emperor Kangxi received two memorials from Xian'an Palace. He stared at them for a long time before finally picking them up to read. However, he couldn't help but laugh after reading only two lines.
The first thing that was opened was the letter of apology written by Yinreng on behalf of Cheng Qianyue. The words in it were like a casual chat. He said that Cheng Jia had heard the rumors and came to tell him. He also said that Cheng Jia was so frightened that she cried and begged for forgiveness, saying that she was not a treacherous villain. She was just doing her job loyally and did not want to tarnish her master's reputation. She wished she could atone with her death, and so on.
Emperor Kangxi had actually heard about the young princess of Xian'an Palace ordering food with her own money long before the rumors surfaced. Frankly, he wouldn't make things difficult for someone over such a trivial matter. It was just that the young princess wanted to fulfill her duties while also pleasing her master; what she wanted wasn't anything expensive, and she was spending her own money. Her every move was being watched, so what was the big deal? He had also heard about the Fujin's (the Crown Prince's wife's) advice, but that only proved she valued propriety and reminded the Crown Prince not to forget his place. Thinking about it this way, with virtuous wives and beautiful concubines in Xian'an Palace, it was all quite harmonious.
Seeing the Emperor's great joy, Liang Jiugong felt relieved. However, he soon changed his expression, becoming meek and submissive, showing neither joy nor sorrow.
Kangxi opened another memorial, which detailed how someone in Xian'an Palace was betraying him and leaking information. Although the memorial was objective, clearly describing how the lowly eunuch was investigated, how much silver was found in his residence, and how many people the eunuch had contacted, Kangxi still became very angry upon reading it.
Even if the deposed crown prince is no good, he is still his son, a legitimate son of the dragon and a grandson of the phoenix. He shouldn't have fallen to the point of being deceived and bullied by servants!
Just then, the young eunuch guarding the gate of the Qianqing Palace spotted a figure in the distance. Upon closer inspection, he realized it was the Eighth Prince. He bowed and then went inside to report the news.
Inside the hall, Liang Jiugong saw the young eunuch winking at him and immediately knew someone had arrived. Seeing that the Emperor was still reading memorials, he tiptoed out and hurriedly stepped forward to greet the Eighth Prince, saying, "This servant greets Your Highness." Wait, what brings this lord here?
The Eighth Prince smiled at him, handed over the memorial in his hand, and said, "Please trouble you to present this memorial to Father Emperor."
Liang Jiugong respectfully accepted the gift with both hands and asked him to sit in the side room for a while. "This servant will go and report to Your Highness. Please wait a moment."
Liang Jiugong brought the Eighth Prince's memorial into the warm pavilion on the east side of the Qianqing Palace. Kangxi had just finished reading the memorial and was sitting on the kang (heated brick bed) with his eyes closed, resting. Hearing some footsteps, he slightly opened his eyes.
Liang Jiugong bowed and said, "Your Majesty, the Eighth Prince just submitted a memorial." Seeing Kangxi move, he quickly stepped forward and placed the memorial on the table with both hands, then went over to help Kangxi sit down.
Emperor Kangxi casually opened the memorial, and aside from greetings, the first sentence was: "Recently, I have heard rumors about the Imperial Kitchen. I feel that I have failed in my duty of managing the Imperial Kitchen and I have come here to apologize with great fear and unease..." He narrowed his eyes, then closed the memorial and casually put it back on the table.
Liang Jiugong said in a low voice, "The Eighth Prince is waiting outside."
Emperor Kangxi nodded and said, "Let him in."
Before long, the Eighth Prince entered and immediately knelt down to pay his respects, saying, "Your subject pays his respects to Father Emperor."
Emperor Kangxi cleared his throat and said, "Get up."
Qi Liao Eighth Prince did not move, but continued to kowtow: "Your subject is truly ashamed to face Your Majesty. Your subject has failed Your Majesty's expectations and disappointed Your Majesty."
Emperor Kangxi looked at his son kneeling below and couldn't help but let out a long sigh of relief. To be honest, he was indeed furious after learning what had happened in the Prince's kitchen, but seeing his son's terrified appearance, all his anger vanished. In the end, the Eighth Prince was indeed inferior to others in terms of background. Although he held the position of Chief Steward of the Imperial Household Department, he was still vulnerable to being manipulated by others because of his youth and lack of power.
"It's alright, it's not a big deal," he said.
The Eighth Prince then got up from the ground, his face full of gratitude. "Your subject thanks Your Majesty for your comfort."
Kangxi nodded and continued, "I understand your loyalty. Go ahead and do your job with peace of mind." He then ordered Liang Jiugong to reward him with the inkstone and ink sticks that he had not used up.
Eighth Prince kowtowed again to express his gratitude before leaving, satisfied.
After the Eighth Prince left, Kangxi got off the kang (heated brick bed) and slowly walked a few steps in the hall. He already had some guesses about where the rumors about the prince came from. Regardless of whether the Eighth Prince played any role in this matter, he was determined to separate him from the eldest prince. Thinking this, he suddenly spoke up and said, "Consort Liang is gentle and quiet by nature. By imperial decree, Consort Liang is hereby promoted to Imperial Concubine Liang. The investiture ceremony will be held after the New Year, but from today onwards, she will move from Zhongcui Palace to Yongshou Palace."
Liang Jiugong was taken aback. This good master had moved away from Zhongcui Palace, which meant he was far away from Consort Hui. But then he thought, what did it have to do with him? He quickly realized and said, "This servant obeys the decree." After leaving the palace, he hurriedly went to ask the editor to write the imperial edict, but took the opportunity to point to a little eunuch who was sweeping outside and said, "Go and see if the Eighth Prince has left the palace. If not, go and tell the Eighth Prince the good news."
Just then, the Eighth Prince reached the palace gate and hadn't even left when he saw a young eunuch rushing out like a whirlwind. When the eunuch was still eight zhang away, he shouted, "Your Highness!" The Eighth Prince stopped and saw the young eunuch, panting, stop two steps away from him and give a crisp, clean bow, saying, "Your Highness, congratulations! Consort Liang has been promoted to Imperial Concubine!"
Eighth Master was understandably excited and took a step forward, asking, "Really?"
"It's true! His Majesty's word is law, and he has ordered the Empress to move to Yongshou Palace. I have already gone to Zhongcui Palace to deliver the decree." The little eunuch grinned widely, looking very pleased with himself.
"Good, good, good." Eighth Master exclaimed three times, then casually took out a piece of silver and tossed it to him, saying, "It's kind of you to come all this way to bring me good news. Go tell the Empress that I will definitely visit her once she has moved."
The little eunuch stuffed the silver on the ground into his sleeve, his smile becoming even more sincere. After agreeing repeatedly, he ran off in a flash.
The Eighth Prince stood at the palace gate and let out a long sigh of relief, his smile never fading since he had just started. He thought to himself that breaking away from his elder brother, the Prince Zhi, was the right move.
As evening approached, Zhao Chang followed along the wall and entered the Qianqing Palace with his hands hanging down. He kowtowed and said, "This servant respectfully wishes Your Majesty good health. This servant has already investigated. The source of the rumors was the eunuchs Yang Zhu and Wu Shui, who were in charge of purchasing supplies for the princes. However, these two are no longer alive. They were killed when they were hit by a carriage while leaving the palace to make purchases. The family that owned the carriage paid compensation and fled overnight."
Emperor Kangxi was practicing calligraphy when he heard this. He put down his brush and couldn't help but snort coldly, "The person is dead? They did it cleanly and efficiently."
Zhao Chang lowered his head and said, "This servant is useless."
Kangxi picked up the memorial again and said in a deep voice, "Enough. Deal with the others who need to be dealt with. The Forbidden City is not a place for people to gossip."
"Yes, sir," Zhao Chang replied, then added hesitantly, "The rumors also involve a minor eunuch surnamed Lin in Xian'an Palace..."
After thinking for a moment, Kangxi said, "Keep him. If we kill him, people will inevitably think that the Crown Prince has been disrespecting a eunuch." He knew his son well. Even if the Crown Prince's temperament had really changed drastically, Chen He would not dare to hide such a thing from him.
Zhao Chang, with his eyes lowered, received the order and left the Qianqing Palace. When he reached the vicinity of the Imperial Workshops, he summoned several trusted eunuchs and a group of junior eunuchs. Looking in the direction of the prince, his eyes flashed with cold light: "Let's go. Take advantage of the darkness and quickly finish our business so we can go back and rest."
——
Inside Xian'an Palace, Cheng Qianyue was kicking a sandbag. To be honest, she didn't want to. Of course, with things having escalated these past few days, if she still had the mind to play, she'd be truly heartless. But perhaps because her low spirits were so obvious, Yinreng tried to cheer her up.
“Didn’t you like kicking the sandbag before? Then keep kicking it,” Yinreng said.
Although Cheng Qianyue knew he meant well, she really wasn't in the mood. However, she was currently feeling grateful to Yinreng, so she felt it wouldn't be right to ignore his concern. Therefore, she started playing with others in the front yard.
Not only was she playing, but Ruoyun, Lin Quan'an, and even the lowly eunuchs from the backyard were all called out to join in. It has to be said that being fawned over is quite pleasing; she was kicking the sandbag while a group of people cheered, making her feel incredibly happy.
Cheng Qianyue's uneasy mood gradually dissipated. She felt that kicking alone was too monotonous and asked others to kick with her. She kicked until the sun was high in the sky and she was covered in sweat before she stopped.
Finally, seeing that she was covered in sweat from kicking, Yinreng readily took her hand and led her inside to rest.
Cheng Qianyue only felt a little tired after sitting down in the chair, but she had to admit that sweating made her feel much better. During a break, she glanced at Yinreng and suddenly thought he seemed like a nice person. She couldn't help but reach under the table and tug at the hem of his robe.
Seeing that Cheng Qianyue had regained her former radiance, Yinreng felt pleased and said to the servants in the hall, "Since your mistress is happy today, everyone will be given an extra two months' salary." As soon as he finished speaking, everyone knelt down to express their gratitude.
Yinreng got up and pulled Cheng Qianyue to the inner room to change her clothes. Cheng Qianyue was too embarrassed to undress in front of him, so she spoke to Yinreng through the screen. She was still immersed in the fun of kicking the sandbag, chattering incessantly, "It was hilarious! Ruoyun kicked it so hard it went into the flowerbed. And that little eunuch in the backyard, I remember he used to be so good at it, but he was a complete idiot today."
Cheng Qianyue was laughing and joking when she suddenly realized, "Oh right, they were all just trying to make me happy, that's why they weren't willing to show their true abilities." Thinking about this, she couldn't help but feel a mix of emotions.
Yinreng listened to her chattering like a nightingale, but the chirping quickly stopped. He couldn't help but ask, "Why did you stop?" Then he saw her come out after changing her clothes, and the smile on her face faded. Yinreng frowned and continued to ask her, "What's wrong?"
Cheng Qianyue walked up to him and said, "I've figured it out. They were just trying to fool me."
Yinreng immediately understood what she meant, his brows furrowed, and he said in a deep voice, "A bunch of idiots, they should be punished."
ah?
Cheng Qianyue was stunned. This "idiot" probably didn't refer to her, but to the servant. But how was the servant stupid? She was speechless after hearing Yinreng's thoughts. According to Yinreng, even servants need to put in effort to coax people; the best approach is to do it subtly and gently. He hadn't done a good job coaxing her today, and she had seen through his act. As he said this, he made a move to punish the servant.
Cheng Qianyue quickly stopped her, thinking to herself, "My goodness, you're being too domineering! You just rewarded them, and now you've changed your tune." She said in a low voice, "You only reward people if you can tell. If you can't tell, how will you know if they're loyal or treacherous, or what they've been doing behind people's backs?"
Holding Yinreng's hand, she continued, "I'm better, I'm really better." Oh no, she didn't even dare to feel down now, because he punished her whenever she was in a bad mood!
However, she soon lost her disappointment, because the Emperor led a large entourage to Changchun Garden, while the people from Xian'an Palace were unsurprisingly left behind.
Cheng Qianyue's melancholy vanished instantly. She now had only one thought: Oh no, is their master about to suffer another shock?!
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