"Father, today is the Dragon Boat Festival. Your son has brought some special zongzi for you to enjoy."
The mention of "special" piqued Kangxi's interest.
"Liang Jiugong".
Liang Jiugong then went down and took the food box that Yinzhen had brought.
After carefully peeling them open, Liang Jiugong casually took out a few and invited Kangxi to taste them.
These zongzi were quite small to begin with, and Emperor Kangxi only cut off a small piece from each one to taste.
"You have a good palate. This has both sweet and salty flavors, which makes it quite unique."
Yinzhen replied:
"Your Majesty, this was the idea of Lady Geng in my household. She said that the zongzi we usually eat are mainly dipped in sugar, but actually, zongzi can also be eaten with fillings."
Kangxi put down his cutlery and gestured for Liang Jiugong to leave:
"Tell me, you didn't just come here today to deliver rice dumplings to me, did you?"
Seeing that his father had already seen through him, Yinzhen no longer concealed his true intentions.
"Your Majesty, I do indeed have a request."
"explain."
"Today is the Dragon Boat Festival, and I wish to see my mother. Look, I have brought her a zongzi (sticky rice dumpling).
Upon hearing this, Kangxi stood up and walked to the kneeling Yinzhen, staring intently at him:
"Fourth Prince, I have a question for you, and you must answer me honestly."
"Father, please speak."
Do you hate your mother?
Upon hearing this question, Yinzhen was momentarily distracted, but quickly regained his composure.
"Father, I hate it."
Hearing this answer, Kangxi was not annoyed. He sat back down on the dragon throne, raised his voice, and called Wei Zhu, who was at the door, in:
"Take the Fourth Prince and go see Consort De."
"Yes, sir."
After Yinzhen took his leave, Kangxi remained silent. It wasn't until Liang Jiugong reminded him that it was time to drink his ginseng tea that he snapped out of his reverie.
On the way to Yonghe Palace, Yinzhen kept thinking about the question his father had just asked him, wondering if his answer was right or wrong, and also wondering if coming here today was the right or wrong thing to do.
While in this state of mind, he arrived at Yonghe Palace under Wei Zhu's guidance.
"Fourth Prince, His Majesty said that you are only allowed to visit for a maximum of one hour. Please go in, this servant will wait for you here."
"Thank you for your trouble, sir."
Yinzhen took the food box containing zongzi from Gao Wuyong and stepped through the gate of Yonghe Palace. However, he did not go in, but knelt down on the steps at the entrance of the main room and loudly greeted Consort De.
He knew she could hear him.
"Your son greets Mother. Today is the Dragon Boat Festival, and I have brought you some zongzi (sticky rice dumplings). I hope you will do me the honor of eating them."
After kowtowing three times, Yinzhen got up and walked out, completely ignoring the reactions of the people inside.
Wei Zhu and the guards standing outside the door also heard Yinzhen's voice and thought that the Fourth Prince was indeed as cold as the rumors outside.
Yinzhen was not a heartless person; he simply understood his mother.
The only people Consort De longs to see now, besides the Emperor, are her fourteenth brother; she has no desire to see her son at all.
Afterwards, Yinzhen and Gao Wuyong returned to the Yuanmingyuan, while Wei Zhu reported everything she had seen and heard to Kangxi.
"Your Majesty, the Fourth Prince really only delivered rice dumplings to Consort De and did not enter the room."
When Kangxi heard Wei Zhu's report, he simply said, "I know."
The food box in Consort De's courtyard was always kept there.
Yinzhen and his entourage stayed at the Yuanmingyuan Garden until the end of June before returning to their residence.
Upon returning to his residence, Yinzhen discovered that things had changed.
"Gao Wuyong, investigate what the Fujin has been doing these past two months."
"Yes, sir."
The others returned to their own courtyards and continued their quiet lives.
Not long after, a major event occurred in the court: Tsewang Arabtan, the leader of the Dzungar Khanate, sent generals to harass Tibet, which greatly worried Emperor Kangxi.
"Tell me, who is the most suitable person to handle this matter?"
The court officials each had their own opinions and views, and some of them mentioned the Fourteenth Prince.
However, this matter was not officially settled in the imperial court.
After the court session, Emperor Kangxi pondered the matter alone in the Hall of Mental Cultivation. After much deliberation, he finally made a decision.
"Liang Jiugong, convey the imperial decree!"
"Your servant is here."
"Effective immediately, Consort De is demoted to Noble Lady De and moved out of Yonghe Palace."
This imperial decree not only shocked the entire harem, but also became known outside the palace.
"Princess, please don't be angry. Take care of yourself."
"Now that everyone's been released, what use is this body to me!"
This was the first time Qianxue had ever seen her princess throw such a tantrum.
If Geng Youran was this angry, then everyone else was even more furious. No one expected that Consort De, who was essentially banished to the Cold Palace, would actually be released. Although she was demoted to the rank of Noble Lady, this showed that the Emperor's attitude had softened.
Logically speaking, the happiest person besides Consort De, no, Noble Lady De, should be Consort Ulanara.
However, she was not happy; in fact, she was somewhat annoyed.
Everyone had already guessed the Emperor's reason for doing this: he simply wanted the Fourteenth Prince to handle the matter. In order to encourage the Fourteenth Prince to focus on dealing with the matter, the Emperor dealt with Consort De leniently.
However, even with the Fourteenth Prince's intervention, the matter was still not properly resolved.
In August, Tsewang Rabtan, the leader of the Dzungar Khanate, dispatched Tsering Dondrup to lead an army on an expedition to Tibet. They killed Lhazang Khan, who had been appointed by the current emperor, and imprisoned the Dalai Lama appointed by Lhazang Khan.
In September, Emperor Kangxi ordered the transfer of 2,000 Manchu Eight Banners garrison troops from Jingzhou to Chengdu for unforeseen circumstances.
"Your Highness, I volunteer to lead troops into Tibet to support the front lines."
"Liang Gong, have you thought this through?"
On this day, Nian Gengyao came to Prince Yong's Mansion, found the Fourth Prince Yinzhen, and volunteered to go to the front line in Tibet to quell the rebellion.
But Yinzhen seemed to have some hesitation about this matter.
"Tell me your best ideas first?"
"Your Highness, I believe that troop deployment alone is far from sufficient. We can also employ the means of appeasement. In addition, it would be best if we could place our own people among them to facilitate the transmission of intelligence. As for the specific troop deployment, I can only make specific arrangements once I arrive at the front lines."
Yinzhen pondered for a long time, then nodded:
"Since you have such fighting spirit, Liang Gong, then I'll let you give it a try. Go back and write a memorial, the more detailed the better, and bring it up in court tomorrow. I will help you."
"Thank you for your trust, Your Highness!"
Yinzhen patted Nian Gengyao on the shoulder.
"Since you're about to go to the front lines, which are far away, go see your sister. But remember, don't mention this matter."
"Your subject understands."
Immediately afterwards, Nian Gengyao, led by Gao Wuyong, went to Nian Yunrong's courtyard, while Yinzhen continued to ponder the matter in his study.
As the saying goes, "an army marches on its stomach," if Nian Gengyao could control the military provisions for this rebellion, it might have been able to control the actions of his fourteenth brother to some extent.
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