That evening, after Yinxiang left, Yinzhen sat alone in his study, deep in thought.
"Gao Wuyong instructed his men to keep a close eye on the young princes and not allow them to cause any trouble."
"Yes, sir."
Because of his illness, Emperor Kangxi thought about it and decided to let Yinzhen perform the sacrificial ceremony to Heaven on his behalf, and also sent the Fifth Prince to Xiaodong Mausoleum to conduct the ceremony.
This decision caused an uproar in the court, and some ministers began to doubt themselves, wondering if they had guessed wrong.
The Emperor's actions clearly indicate that he favors the Fourth Prince, not the Fourteenth Prince.
Regardless of what the court officials thought, Yinzhen did a very good job with the sacrificial ceremony to Heaven, and Kangxi was very satisfied.
After that, Kangxi's condition deteriorated rapidly and gradually worsened.
Perhaps sensing that his days were numbered, after his health deteriorated rapidly, Emperor Kangxi ordered Longkodo, the Minister of the Court of Colonial Affairs, to stay by his side day and night.
Perhaps sensing an impending change, everyone in Prince Yong's residence was unusually tense.
After all, it was obvious to everyone that if the emperor died and their prince could not ascend the throne, the one who would most likely ascend the throne would be the prince's mortal enemy, namely the fourteenth prince.
If it really is the Fourteenth Prince who ascends the throne, then no one will have a good outcome.
However, there didn't seem to be any tension in Geng Youran's courtyard.
On the contrary, her life was the same as usual, without any change.
That day, Qianxue brought in washed fruit and saw her master eating melon seeds while reading a book.
"Princess, have some fruit."
"Okay, put it there."
Despite saying that, Geng Youran remained lazy and did not move.
Qianxue's eyes darted around, and she walked up to her mistress, speaking in a voice only the two of them could hear:
"Princess, I heard that His Majesty has fainted again."
Upon hearing this, Geng Youran raised her head:
"You brat, are you out of your mind? How dare you spread such nonsense?"
"Princess, it's not just our palace that's talking about it, even the common people outside are talking about it."
"It has nothing to do with us. Just do your own job. Also, I can't control what other people say, but if I find out anyone in our compound discussing state affairs in private, I'll kick them out without hesitation!"
"Yes, Princess."
Seeing that her princess was really angry, Qianxue quickly shut up and didn't continue speaking.
That evening, Yinzhen came to Geng Youran's place.
Because of Geng Youran's identity, Yinzhen came tonight to test her.
Of course, Geng Youran would never do something like 'revealing secrets'. No matter how Yinzhen tried to find out, she would evade the question and refuse to say what Yinzhen really wanted to know.
What Geng Youran found somewhat amusing was that Yinzhen wanted to get her drunk so he could find his own answer.
However, Yinzhen underestimated Geng Youran's alcohol tolerance. The two of them drank two jars of wine, and Geng Youran was only slightly tipsy.
By November, Kangxi's health began to decline sharply, and Yinzhen sent his guards and eunuchs to Changchun Garden every day to pay their respects.
At 1:00 AM on November 13th, Emperor Kangxi's condition suddenly worsened, and he ordered Yinzhen to return to Changchun Garden immediately.
At the hour of Yin (3-5 AM), Emperor Kangxi summoned the Third Prince Yinzhi, the Seventh Prince Yinyou, the Eighth Prince Yinsi, the Ninth Prince Yintang, the Tenth Prince Yinxi, the Twelfth Prince Yintao, the Thirteenth Prince Yinhe Longkodo to his bedside and announced: "The Fourth Prince Yinzhen is of noble character and closely resembles me. He will surely be able to inherit the throne. He is hereby appointed to succeed me and ascend the throne as Emperor."
Among the princes present, some had an "I knew it" expression, some had an "astonished" expression, and the rest had an "resentful and unwilling" expression.
Shortly after the news that Yinzhen was the heir to the throne was announced, Emperor Kangxi, one of the greatest emperors in Chinese history, passed away at the hour of Xu (7-9 PM) on the 13th day of the month at the age of 69.
Most people in the court did not expect that Yinzhen would ultimately become the winner in the struggle for the throne.
A few days later, the Fourteenth Prince also returned.
"I want to see him! How dare you, my servants, stop me!"
While Yinzhen was handling the late emperor's funeral arrangements in the Hall of Mental Cultivation, he kept the fourteenth prince outside the hall.
He had anticipated that someone in the palace would send a message to the fourteenth prince in advance, so he made preparations ahead of time.
"Your Majesty, this was sent by Consort Geng. Please drink it while it's hot."
At this time, only Yinzhen and others temporarily moved to the palace, while everyone else still lived in the Yongqin Prince's Mansion.
Because Liang Jiugong conspired with the Eighth Prince to secretly send messages to Yinzhi, he was secretly executed by Yinzhen the day after the late emperor's death.
As for Wei Zhu, Yinzhen sent her to Hongzhou's side.
Hearing that the fourteenth prince was causing trouble at the door, Yinzhen was also somewhat exhausted.
The Fourteenth Prince caused a disturbance in the Hall of Mental Cultivation for three days before Yinzhen finally saw him.
At the same time, Longkodo and Yinxiang were also present.
"Fourth Brother, I didn't expect you to be so impatient, you actually dared to harm Father Emperor!"
"Fourteenth Brother, you can't just say things like that. Third Brother, Seventh Brother, and even Eighth Brother and Ninth Brother were there at the time."
"I know that. I've already asked Eighth Brother. At the time, Father Emperor couldn't speak clearly anymore; it was Longkodo who relayed his words. Who knows if you two conspired beforehand!"
"Then let me ask you, what makes you think that Father Emperor will pass the throne to you?"
"My mother!"
The Fourteenth Prince covered his mouth, but the words "Mother" were still heard.
"Your mother wrote you a secret letter, didn't she?"
The Fourteenth Prince remained silent.
"Hmph, I know even if you don't say anything. Your mother must have told you that Liang Jiugong saw Father Emperor write an imperial edict, which said that you would inherit the throne. But who do you think Liang Jiugong is? He has served Father Emperor for decades. Would he tell your mother such an important matter just because of a little favor? You are too naive."
At this moment, Longkodo also spoke:
“Fourteenth Prince, since the late Emperor fell seriously ill, I have stayed by his side day and night. I dare to swear on my life that the late Emperor did indeed pass the throne to the Fourth Prince.”
"Hmph, people's words are two-faced, whatever you say now is true."
"Fourteenth Prince, don't be so stubborn! I'm letting you off the hook because of your service in Tibet, but don't go too far!"
"So what if I'm willful? So what if I go too far!"
The fourteenth brother disliked his twin brother since childhood. Others treated him with respect or tried to please him, but his twin brother always looked at him as if he wanted to teach him a lesson.
Now that I have become the General Who Pacifies the Distant Regions, I want to let him know that he is no longer the rascal he used to be; he is the Baturu of the Great Qing!
"Guards! The Fourteenth Prince has shown disrespect to imperial authority. Punish him with twenty strokes of the military rod!"
"Your Majesty, you mustn't!"
At this moment, Yinzhen wouldn't listen to any advice; he wanted everyone to know who the true master of the land was.
"Come on! If you don't hit me, I'll look down on you!"
In a way, Yinzhen's stubborn personality is quite similar to Yinzhen's.
Thus, Yinzhen received twenty strokes of the military rod and was then carried back to the Fourteenth Prince's residence.
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