This imperial decree aroused the suspicion of Yinzhen and Yinxiang, among others.
"Fourth Brother, could Father really be fond of Fourteenth Brother?"
Yinzhen was also somewhat annoyed. More and more ministers in the court were beginning to side with his fourteenth brother, and Sertu dared to delay the preparation and delivery of military rations during this period, which affected the food supply for the officers and soldiers at the front.
This directly gave Yinzhen the opportunity to impeach him.
In his memorial, he detailed Sertu's dereliction of duty, including failing to deliver horses and military provisions on time and missing military opportunities.
After receiving Yinzhen's memorial, the Emperor dismissed Sertu from his post as Vice Minister and ordered Governor Gashtu to take over his duties.
Fortunately, Gashtu was not a reckless person. After taking office, he conducted an in-depth investigation into the problem of the deficit in funds and grain in Shaanxi.
During the in-depth investigation, it was found that not only were there deficits in the provincial treasury of Shaanxi, but also in the treasury of various prefectures, states, and counties.
However, he did not immediately impeach the officials involved, but instead chose to wait for Governor-General Nian Gengyao to arrive so that they could jointly investigate the embezzlement situation in detail.
Nian Gengyao was not only Yinzhen's man, but also highly valued by Kangxi.
"Fourth Brother, fortunately, this Gashitu is sensible. After finding out the situation, he did not immediately report it to Father Emperor. Otherwise, with the situation in Tibet so tense now, it would be hard to guarantee that Eighth Brother and the others would not cause trouble."
"Write a letter to Nian Gengyao and tell him to settle this matter as soon as possible."
"good."
The following day at court, in addition to this matter, Kangxi also gave instructions regarding the interception of some of the grain tribute.
Because of the continuous natural disasters in the previous years, Emperor Kangxi issued an edict to withhold a portion of the grain transported by the imperial treasury in order to prepare for potential natural disasters during famine years.
Yinzhen and others all felt that this was a wise move.
After the court session ended, Yinzhen returned to his residence, changed his clothes, and then went to see Yunhui.
"Have you been feeling unwell lately?"
"Your Majesty, you have the imperial physician come to check my pulse every now and then. I am fine, and the baby is doing well."
Yinzhen nodded. No child had been born in the manor for a long time, so he valued this child very much.
"Your Highness, Consort Li has sent someone to say that she has something to discuss with you."
"Understood, I'll be right there."
Yunhui thought that Yinzhen would stay with her tonight, or have dinner together, but she didn't expect him to leave so soon.
"Sir, please have your meal here before you leave."
"No, thank you. Eat early and get some rest. I'll come see you another day."
Since the prince has said so, Yunhui naturally can't say anything.
When Yinzhen arrived at Li Jingshu's place, Li Jingshu had already prepared a meal and warmed some wine.
"You used to dislike alcohol, what's wrong with you today?"
"Sir, please sit down and talk."
Yinzhen waved his hand, signaling everyone around him to leave, leaving only him and Li Jingshu in the room.
"Speak, do you need something from me?"
Li Jingshu suddenly stood up and knelt down before Yinzhen.
"Jing Shu, what are you doing? Get up quickly."
“My lord, I already know about Hongzhou’s injury. When I went to see Hongzhou, I overheard some eunuchs talking in the courtyard. They said that Hongshi did not help when Hongzhou was injured. As the older brother, he failed to protect his younger brother. I apologize to Your Highness on his behalf.”
Yinzhen sighed. Jing Shu wasn't stupid, so why did she have to give birth to Hong Shi, who was so easily swayed?
He looked at Jing Shu, who was kneeling on the ground and refusing to get up, and felt a pang of pity.
“I know that Hongshi is your only remaining child, and you dote on him, so I usually turn a blind eye to things. But I absolutely cannot forgive Hongzhou for being injured.”
"But sir, Hongshi is still a child."
"He's about to get married, and you still treat him like a child. It's because you've repeatedly stepped in front of him and pleaded for him time and time again that he's become like this!"
Li Jingshu was so frightened that she didn't dare to look up, and knelt on the ground, sobbing with her head down.
"Don't think I don't know what you're thinking. Since you do, let's be frank. I've already found out that the reason Hongzhou and Hongwang were injured in the bet was because Hongshi instigated it. Let me tell you, based on this alone, Hongshi is already out of the running for the position of heir."
Li Jingshu looked up in surprise.
She knew that of her three children, she valued Hongli the most and liked Hongzhou the most, while her own Hongshi had nothing.
But Hongshi was the eldest son, and she thought the prince would at least give it a serious consideration.
"Jing Shu, I don't want a third person to know about this. When Hong Shi comes back, just pretend you know nothing. I'll have someone keep an eye on things."
Now that things were cleared up, Yinzhen lost his appetite and went back to his study to read the memorials.
At the same time, their conversation reached Geng Youran's ears.
Hongzhou, seeing Qianxue and his mother whispering to each other, was very curious and quickly peeked out from the bed to ask:
"Mother, Qianxue, what are you talking about? You seem so serious."
"None of your business, go to sleep!"
Hongzhou pouted and had no choice but to lie down again.
Seeing that Hongzhou had lay back down, Geng Youran continued talking to Qianxue:
"Is what you just said true? Did Hongshi really instigate Hongwang to bully his younger brother?"
“Princess, it’s absolutely true. There’s a maid in Consort Li’s courtyard who is one of ours, and she heard it with her own ears.”
"But, but why is that? I've always treated Hongshi well since he was a child."
Qianxue sighed:
“Princess, no matter what, Prince Hongshi is still a distant relative of you. Even if you treat him like your own son, he won’t always be on your side.”
Geng Youran was once again shocked by the indifference of the royal family. She never expected that Hongshi, whom she had watched grow up since childhood, would become like this.
"Wait a minute, you just said that the Prince told Consort Li that he didn't intend to pass the title of Heir Apparent to Hongshi?"
"Yes, Princess."
Geng Youran then realized that Hongshi had ultimately become the person she had feared he would become.
"Alright, you can go now. I still need to ask Hongzhou some more questions."
"yes."
She walked to the bedside, sat on the edge of the bed, and patted Hongzhou's face:
"Save your breath. You think I'm that easy to fool?"
"Hehe. Mother, what were you and Qianxue talking about just now?"
"Hongzhou, your mother has something to ask you. You must tell your mother the truth."
"A son would not dare to deceive his mother."
Geng Youran nodded.
"Alright, Mother is asking you, are you aware that Hongshi instigated Hongwang to bully you, your fourth brother, and the two study companions?"
Hongzhou did not speak.
“Hongzhou, you just promised your mother.”
When Hongzhou heard his mother ask this question, he felt a little annoyed.
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