Inside the post station, the Mongolian princes gathered together. Kangxi had basically purged all the people they had sent into the capital, and some of the news that was being sent out of the capital was deliberately orchestrated by Kangxi.
Prince Chenggunzebu of Khorchin was the closest to the Empress Dowager by blood. All the primary wives of his family were princesses of the royal family. This time, he wanted to ask for a marriage for his son. Unlike his brainless elder brother, he actually took a fancy to the primary wife of the fourth prince when he went to war. No wonder His Majesty was furious.
"Cheng Gunzebu, what did the Empress Dowager say?" Several powerful princes of Mongolia gathered in the capital. They heard that the Empress Dowager's health was deteriorating. Apart from caring about her health, the Empress Dowager rarely left the Cining Palace. Even if their wives entered the palace, they could hardly see the Empress Dowager.
"Aren't you Consort Xin's father?" They went to great lengths to send Consort Xin to the palace, but unexpectedly, after the Empress Dowager forced Emperor Kangxi to visit Consort Xin's palace several times, this prince became arrogant and acted like a member of Emperor Kangxi's maternal family.
The Empress Dowager clearly told him that as long as Crown Prince Yin was still in power, no matter which prince it was, there was no hope of sitting on that high position.
Over the years, they had been quite close to the Crown Prince, but Kangxi seemed to be intentionally isolating them. Every time he went on a tour of Mongolia, he would leave the Crown Prince in the capital, preventing them from getting close to him.
The Empress Dowager prepared three candidates for Yinzhi's secondary consorts. When Kangxi passed away, he assigned them all to members of the imperial clan, and none of them were placed next to the Crown Prince.
"Sigh..." De Kler smiled bitterly. What was Consort Xin compared to this? Emperor Kangxi rarely went to Consort Meng's bedchamber, and even when he did, it was because of the Empress Dowager's pressure.
Emperor Kangxi had no intention of having any children with his Mongolian concubines, not even a princess.
"Now, you still don't understand. Our Emperor has already planned this all along. The late Emperor must have left some decree, otherwise, given His Majesty's filial piety towards the Empress Dowager, Consort Xin wouldn't be suffering so much." Cheng Gunzebu thought of Emperor Shunzhi, the emperor who should have been closest to the Khorchin, yet he used his actions to severely humiliate them. Many Mongol princes mocked the Khorchin, saying that with the Empress Dowager's presence, the two noble ladies who became empresses ultimately met tragic ends: one was directly deposed, and the other lived like a ghost in the deep palace.
"Lord Feiyanggu's eldest daughter..." Among the Mongolian princes, only Gangsen's eldest son was the same age as Qingyan. The actions of Chenggunzebu's elder brother made Gangsen plot something.
Cheng Gunzebu smiled coldly. His elder brother had the Empress Dowager's intervention and managed to save his life after scheming against Fei Yanggu. This little princess had always been His Majesty's favorite. If she were bullied by outsiders, His Majesty would not let her off easily.
“Give up. Lord Feiyanggu’s illegitimate daughter is also excellent,” Cheng Gunzebu said directly.
“My son is the heir apparent and the legitimate son. How can a concubine’s daughter be worthy of him?” Gangsen was stubborn. He hoped that Qingyan could become his daughter-in-law. In this way, their tribe would definitely have a lot of surplus food.
"Heh, do you think you're as noble as my elder brother's eldest son? This is the primary consort favored by the current prince. If any of you dare to touch her, don't drag our Khorchin into it." Cheng Gunzebu left after saying this. He would never forget his elder brother's words before he hanged himself: never covet a royal wife.
Outsiders thought that his elder brother had died suddenly from an illness, but in reality, his elder brother's eldest son was also ordered to commit suicide by a secret decree of Emperor Kangxi. When he first entered the capital, he visited Qingyan. At that time, she and Yin were preparing to go on an outing to the suburbs, and the bright smile on her face made him lose his composure.
The fact that the Fourth Prince, who was known as the most aloof and cold-hearted, could actually show such a gentle look in his eyes surprised Cheng Gunzebu.
Leaving the room, he looked at the sunset, never imagining he would inherit Abu's position, a position that had always belonged to Aha.
"Your Highness, the Princess Consort requests your return." Cheng Gunzebu's principal wife was the legitimate daughter of a high-ranking official of the Qing Dynasty. To prevent the official from focusing his attention on Mongolia, his father-in-law retired after his principal wife's marriage.
Today, he sent his wife back to visit his parents, partly to make her happy, and partly because he needed some information.
As Emperor Kangxi had more and more sons, he needed to find a capable person to ensure the future of the Khorchin.
As he entered the courtyard, he heard his wife's soft voice; she rarely seemed this happy on the Mongolian grasslands.
"Fujin, are you happy to be home?" Cheng Gunzebu stepped into the main hall. Fujin Tatara Harina, dressed in a royal blue Manchu dress, sat dignifiedly in the upper seat, with two teenage girls sitting beside her.
"Of course, Your Highness, don't you think these two children are good?" Harina smiled. Her father had already told her not to have any more ideas about Qingyan. Khorchin had already produced one who didn't know what was good for him, and the rest of them should keep quiet.
Cheng Gunzebu nodded. Both little girls were from the Tatara family, and their father held an unimportant position.
"Ana, you take the two princesses and rest first!" Ana was a female slave that Harina bought from Mongolia, and she was exceptionally loyal to her.
A moment later, only the couple remained in the hall, and Cheng Gunzebu sat down beside her.
“Father said we shouldn’t covet the legitimate daughter of a loyal minister. Fei Yanggu’s illegitimate daughter is not a good one. His Majesty is probably planning to exile her to Mongolia in the north. We only need legitimate daughters whose families don’t hold prominent official positions.” Harina never imagined that she would become a prince’s wife. After Cheng Gunzebu inherited the throne, he was always worried that he would be purged by Kangxi.
Cheng Gunze nodded. Their eldest son had reached marriageable age, and His Majesty would not let go of the position of the heir's wife. No matter how outstanding the Ulanara princess was, it had little to do with them.
"What else?" Cheng Gunzebu sent his wife to gather information, partly to prevent them from crossing Kangxi's bottom line, and partly to take the opportunity to assess the ambitions of the other princes.
In Khorchin, his position was not secure. With the help of Emperor Kangxi, securing his throne would be the most worthwhile thing for him.
"Father wants you to stay away from the palace. Even if the Empress Dowager makes any requests, you must not agree to them." Harina was very worried about this, as the Empress Dowager had already summoned her to the palace for an audience.
This whole thing might be related to their eldest son's marriage. Originally, they weren't in a hurry, but after noticing things were going a bit wrong, they started to think about whether they should keep their distance.
"Could it be that the relationship between the Empress Dowager and the Emperor has deteriorated to this point?" His elder brother's final words left Cheng Gunzebu living in fear. The late Emperor's suppression of the Khorchin had become a nightmare for everyone. (To be continued. If you like this work, please vote for it on Qidian.com. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please read at m.qidian.com.)
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