Chapter 57 Chapter 57 The Dispute over the Title
"Khan Ama, why are you here at this time?"
Normally, Emperor Qianlong only had time to check his sons' homework at noon, and sometimes he would have to wait until after dinner. Today, he came early in the morning, which Yonglian found a bit strange.
"I have an errand for you." Qianlong looked at Yonglian. "You know Ma Qi, right?"
Yonglian nodded. Of course he knew! "My mother's uncle. I heard he's sick."
He was also Mingrui's great-uncle, and the young boy immediately pricked up his ears to listen.
"Yes, he's very ill, dying." Qianlong sighed. "I'm fasting these days, so it's not convenient for me to visit him. I'll have your fifth uncle take you to visit him on my behalf." He looked at Mingrui and said, "Mingrui, come with us. You won't have to study for the next two days. You can honor your great-uncle there. Your uncles are all there. Your father is on duty today, so you will represent your family."
Upon hearing this, Yonglian and Mingrui looked solemn and accepted the order seriously.
Qianlong then turned to Yonghuang and Erdeng'e and said, "You can study here on your own. Fang Bao has been dismissed. I will find you a new Chinese teacher later."
The four children were stunned when they heard this. Yonglian couldn't help but ask, "What did Master Fang Bao do wrong?"
Qianlong snorted, "He has made many mistakes. I'll explain them to you in detail later."
He then told Yonglian to go outside and talk. "Go and follow your uncle obediently. Just say a few words of comfort to your mother and me. Your uncle will handle the rest."
Yonglian nodded, "Don't worry, Khan."
Qianlong was actually not at ease. In his heart, Yonglian was still a child, often holding his arm and acting coquettishly. This was the first time that he represented him in dealing with foreign officials. His previous visit to Hongxiao's house did not count, as Hongxiao was a relative.
But if he wanted to show his importance to Ma Qi, sending Yonglian would be the most appropriate person.
Qianlong patted his son's head and said, "Go change your clothes. Your fifth uncle is waiting for you outside the garden."
Mingrui accompanied Yonglian to change clothes, and the two rode a two-wheeled bicycle to the outside of the garden, where Hongzhou was already waiting for them.
The three of them rode in a carriage. As soon as Hong Zhou saw Yong Lian, he said, "I said I would go, but your Khan Father insisted on taking you. The Fu Cha family is a large family, and the weather is hot. The smell in the house will bother you..."
As he spoke, he suddenly remembered that Mingrui was also from the Fucha family, and quickly stopped talking.
Mingrui was no stranger to his great-uncle. When he was a child, his family often relied on his great-uncle for support. It was not until the emperor ascended the throne and his father inherited the title that they no longer had to rely on his great-uncle's family.
"I'm not a fragile child." Yonglian said, "According to my father's words, I'm already ten years old in my lunar age."
Hong Zhou nodded, "That's true, but I don't know why I always feel that you are about the same age as our Yongbi."
Yonglian: “…” It must be because I’m cute, not because of my height.
Hong Zhou then asked Ming Rui, "Have your uncles visited?"
Mingrui said, "My mother went to visit me the day before yesterday. She came back and said I looked better. But she didn't go yesterday. I didn't expect it to suddenly get worse today."
"It's probably a last gasp of energy. His age is evident." Hong Zhou said.
He had nothing to say. He had heard from the Fucha family that he had passed away last night, only breathing his last breath, just two days ago. The emperor's brother had directly arranged his future in his decree, awarding him five thousand taels of silver for his funeral arrangements.
Although the Fucha family had produced many high-ranking officials, and Ma Qi was also a second-class earl, their family was not wealthy. The main reason was that they had too many children, dozens of people, and hundreds of servants to serve them. In recent years, their income had not been enough to cover their expenses.
The Ma Qi family still owed the Imperial Household Department a house and silver, so Qianlong couldn't just settle it. Some people would say he did it for the Empress's sake. They still had to pay what they owed, and a reward of 5,000 taels would not make Ma Qi's family do things too sloppily in the future.
But in fact, the reason why Qianlong attached so much importance to Ma Qi was 70% to 80% for the sake of the Queen and Yonglian.
To attach importance to Ma Qi is to attach importance to the Queen and Yonglian.
Although few of Ma Qi's sons were promising, Ma Wu's son Baozhu and Li Rongbao's son Fu Qing were both deeply trusted by Emperor Qianlong. Not to mention Fu Wen and Fu Heng, the two brothers of the queen, whom Emperor Qianlong treated as his own brothers.
There is another layer, that is, Ma Qi's daughter is the legitimate wife of Prince Lu Yunlu. Yunlu attaches great importance to funerals. If Ma Qi's funeral is not handled well, he, as a son-in-law, will definitely not be happy.
Qianlong still respected his twelfth uncle very much and did not want to embarrass the old man.
At this time, the Ma Qi family was bustling with people coming and going. All the children and grandchildren of Ma Wu and Li Rongbao who could come had come, as had Ma Qi's daughters and sons-in-law who could come. Yunlu was definitely not coming, but his wife did come. Having just visited the unconscious Ma Qi, the women of the Fucha family invited him to sit in the upper room.
Ma Qi was already 88 years old this year, so it would be a happy funeral if he really passed away.
Although the family was sad, they had already prepared themselves mentally. What they cared about at this moment was how to make the funeral beautiful and grand, and who would be given the title of Ma Qi.
Ma Qi had twelve sons. The youngest son, Fu Xing, was born to his second wife when Ma Qi was 62 years old. Ma Qi loved him very much and wanted to give the title to Fu Xing.
But his other sons are also very strong, so isn't it obvious that he is biased?
Fu Xing was still a young man in his early twenties, with no achievements to his name. He had been raised by his parents to be a lazy dandy. Why was he given the title?
Hong Zhou also knew a little about the Fucha family's lawsuit, but he didn't want to get involved in it. It was his brother the emperor who had the final say on who would inherit the title.
When the three of them arrived, Ma Qi's sons, Fu Qing and Fu Heng all came to the door to greet them.
Hong Zhou asked Fu Xing to take him and the prince to visit Ma Qi.
On the way, Fu Xing told me about Ma Qi's condition in the past few days. "A few days ago, the emperor sent a royal doctor to check my pulse, but he said it was useless. Even if he was kept alive with ginseng, it would be in vain."
Hong Zhou said, "The old man lived a long and happy life, with many children and grandchildren. He had no regrets in his life. If he really passed away, it would be a happy funeral."
Fu Xing nodded and couldn't help shedding tears, "Now that Ama is gone, my mother and I don't know how to live." He was really sad. Ama was his biggest supporter, and his older brothers would not treat him as well as Ama did.
Yonglian said, "Now that the old man is gone, you must cheer up and take good care of your family."
Upon hearing this, Fu Xing hurriedly said respectfully, "This servant will follow the Second Prince's instructions."
He couldn't help but wonder what the Second Prince meant. Letting him take care of his family meant that he wanted him to inherit the title?
He then revealed a somewhat embarrassed expression, "It's just that I am young and ignorant, and I'm afraid that my elder brothers above me..."
"That's why you have to cheer up and be more mature. Your mother and your brothers and sisters will be pleased to see this. And old Master Ma Qi will also be proud of you." Yonglian said with a smile.
Fu Xing: “…”
Did the Second Prince not understand what I meant, or is he just pretending to be stupid?
Fu Xing couldn't help rolling his eyes in his heart, thinking that if things got out of hand, the worst that could happen was that his mother would go see the Queen.
Because my third uncle Li Rongbao died early, their family took good care of my third uncle's family, so my mother still had some face in front of the queen.
As they were talking, they arrived at Ma Qi's yard. Servants had already come to clean up the house, lit incense, and changed clothes for the unconscious Ma Qi.
Hong Zhou and Yong Lian came to the bedside. Yong Lian looked at the skinny old man lying on the bed, and felt a little bitter in his nose.
"Ma Gong, I'm Yonglian. Khan Ama and Empress Dowager asked me to come and see you. Khan Ama wanted to come in person, but he's fasting for the next two days of suburban sacrifices, so it's inconvenient for him to come..."
He also affirmed Ma Qi's contributions over three dynasties, as well as the respect and trust that Ukumafa, Huangmafa and Khan Ama had for him.
Ma Qi had clearly supported Yinsi back then, and had even fought with Kangxi over this matter. But after Emperor Mafa ascended the throne, he surprisingly didn't give him much trouble. Firstly, the influence of the entire Shaji Fucha clan in the court could not be underestimated, and secondly, Ma Qi was indeed quite capable.
Danran, he also has mistakes and is not an upright gentleman.
There is no need to explain this, everyone knows it.
Hong Zhou was listening nearby, feeling satisfied. This little fat boy had unknowingly become a bit like a grown-up boy. What he said was very appropriate. He would go back and tell his brother the emperor so that he could be proud too.
Yonglian was talking, and Fu Xing was crying beside him.
After Yonglian finished speaking, Hongzhou expressed his concern on behalf of Prince Lu and others, and Fu Xing accompanied them out.
Hong Zhou and Fu Xing said, "The funeral must not be simple. If you need manpower and equipment, come to us."
Although Hong Zhou was not very experienced in other aspects, he was good at handling funerals thanks to two professionals, Prince Lu and Prince Zhuang. All kinds of funeral utensils were available in the Prince's Mansion and could be used at any time to hold a grand funeral for him.
Fu Xing responded, and another steward from the Fucha family came running over, "Prince He, Second Prince, and Prince Lu's wife invite you to the upper room to sit for a while and have a cup of tea before leaving."
Prince Lu's wife is their elder, so naturally they have to go and meet her.
Only Prince Lu's wife and Ma Qi's other daughter were in the upper room.
Yonglian felt a little strange. Why was the mistress of the house, Madam Ma Qi, not accompanying them, but two married ladies came to entertain them?
Both Fucha ladies were old ladies in their fifties or sixties. Prince Lu's wife was in poor health and still used a cane.
After a brief greeting, the two men said that Yonglian was handsome and had a dignified demeanor.
Yonglian said a few humble words and comforted the two elders, saying that they need not be too sad. He also advised Prince Lu's wife, "I heard from the Empress Dowager that your health is not good. Faced with such a serious situation, you must take care of yourself."
The wife of Prince Lu hurriedly stood up with the help of a cane and thanked the Empress Dowager for her concern.
Yonglian went forward to help her, and Hongzhou also said: "We are all relatives, no need to be polite."
Prince Lu's wife looked at Hong Zhou and said, "My father has been highly respected by three generations of emperors in his life, which is a perfect life. However, there is only one thing that I cannot let go of, and that is his title. This title was originally a reward for our ancestors' service to the court. As descendants of the Fucha family, we can only be worthy of this title by serving our master with even greater dedication. Among all my brothers, only my eleventh brother Fu Liang is valued by the late emperor and has some potential."
Hong Zhou and Yong Lian both understood that Prince Lu's wife wanted Fu Liang to inherit the title.
Yonglian didn't know much about the situation of the Ma Qi family, but Hongzhou knew that Fu Liang was born out of wedlock and was indeed the most promising of Ma Qi's sons.
In the fifth year of Yongzheng's reign, he became a third-class imperial guard and later a cavalry captain. If he had a promising future, he could also help other clan members. Moreover, since he was already a cavalry captain, after inheriting the second-class earl of Ma Qi, his title could be promoted one level to the first-class earl.
Considering the future of the Ma Qi family, it is appropriate for Fu Liang to inherit the title and become the head of the family.
This is exactly what the wife of Prince Lu thought. Not only did her two sons die young, but her own prince now doesn't even have a concubine's son. It is impossible to expect the Prince Lu's Mansion to support her family in the future.
Although the Queen and the Second Prince could be relied upon, the Queen had many brothers from the same father, and it was difficult to promote them all. After all, there was a limit to how much she could do to care for her cousins.
Then it is particularly important to choose a reliable heir.
Prince Lu's wife also knew that her father loved his youngest son, but to put it bluntly, her father's thoughts were no longer important at this time.
Hong Zhou nodded and said, "Aunt, what you said makes sense, but it seems that Master Ma Qi has already explained this matter to my brother, so I don't know the specific arrangements."
Prince Lu's wife couldn't help but say, "Amana is getting old and confused."
Ma Qi's other daughter also said, "Fu Xing is young. He was married to the emperor a few years ago by his grace, but he really is..." He sighed, "Don't worry about you two laughing at him, but he's been spoiled. We in the family can't stand it."
Hong Zhou was in a dilemma and was just thinking about what to say when he heard Yong Lian say, "Don't worry, I'll go back and talk to Khan Ama about this."
Hong Zhou glanced at Yonglian hurriedly, thinking that this child had just behaved well in front of Ma Qi, but after all, he had little experience and dared to agree to everything. What if his brother gave the title to Fu Xing in the end? Wouldn’t Ma Qi’s other children say that Yonglian’s words in front of the emperor were useless and he couldn’t get anything done?
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
