On the ninth day of the ninth lunar month, Emperor Kangxi specially stopped at the edge of the grasslands for a day, hoping to celebrate the Double Ninth Festival there. The Empress Dowager also longed to celebrate the festival on the grasslands. Please search on Baidu for the most complete information!
She had been living in Beijing for decades, and this was the first time she was able to return to her own territory to celebrate the festival.
Early that morning, Emperor Kangxi and Consort Tong, along with their princes and female relatives, personally visited the Empress Dowager's tent to pay their respects.
"Let's kowtow." The Empress Dowager smiled, though she was in high spirits despite not being able to appreciate the chrysanthemums this year.
Qingyan noticed that the Crown Prince had actually appeared. She carefully observed his face and found that he looked extremely haggard. The Crown Princess had also prepared a great deal of things.
"Your Highness, how are you feeling today?" the Empress Dowager asked, smiling at the Crown Prince.
The Crown Prince smiled and said, "Grandma, my health has improved a lot, so please don't worry!"
The Crown Princess sat beside the Crown Prince, her face lowered, as if she were having an internal struggle. In fact, Kangxi's decision to have the Crown Prince and Crown Princess appear was unintentionally to appease certain people.
The capital has been anything but peaceful lately; some people are plotting to undermine the Crown Prince's power base.
"Your Majesty, let's rest for a few days before returning to the capital." The Empress Dowager had already agreed with Granny Su. Qingyan had prepared a lot of hairy crabs, and the children had also prepared chrysanthemum headdresses. Although they looked very childish, they were a token of the children's good wishes. Even Batu Buhe had participated.
"Empress Dowager, shall we rest for another ten days before returning to the capital?" Kangxi nodded. The Empress Dowager liked it here, so Kangxi was naturally very happy.
The Crown Princess rolled up her handkerchief. This time, upon returning to the capital, the Crown Prince understood his precarious situation, so he made a special effort to prepare things for you for the Double Ninth Festival. The Empress Dowager's portion was entirely prepared by the Crown Prince himself.
"Great, Your Majesty, the Crown Prince has really grown up. He's preparing things for me, and I really like them." The Empress Dowager smiled.
Emperor Kangxi frowned slightly. If it was the Crown Prince who made the preparations, how could he not have heard the news?
"Your Majesty, you may wish to have it as you wish." Kangxi smiled, paying no attention to anything else.
The Crown Prince was extremely annoyed. The Empress Dowager had directly spoken to Emperor Kangxi, and judging from Kangxi's expression, he had not chosen to forgive him.
For the first few decades, the Crown Prince rarely clashed with Emperor Kangxi face-to-face.
"Alright, I won't talk to you anymore. I really like it. The Crown Prince's calligraphy is excellent. Even the Empress Dowager liked it before. Now that the Empress Dowager is gone, I will keep this sentiment for you!" The Empress Dowager was satisfied with the Crown Prince's persistence.
Every year, the Crown Prince would paint a beautiful picture of the grassland for the Empress Dowager. After the Empress Dowager passed away, she never received such a gift until this year, when she finally saw this meticulous painting.
"Is that so?" Kangxi's voice was somewhat cold. The Crown Prince did this entirely because Kangxi was preparing to take action against him.
The Crown Prince hoped to gain Emperor Kangxi's approval so that he could overcome the current difficulties.
Even the Guarjia clan wrote to the Crown Princess, asking her to advise the Crown Prince to be extra restrained and, ideally, to curry favor with Emperor Kangxi.
Yinzhen and Qingyan exchanged a glance. The Crown Prince was indeed deeply protected by the Empress Dowager; even twins were not allowed to be together.
The Right Wing Prince essentially placed all power in the hands of the Crown Prince, and the Empress Dowager was very pleased with the Right Wing Prince's actions. The Left Wing Prince, on the other hand, disliked the Crown Prince's approach and brought Batu Buhe closer to Yinzhen.
"Everyone, please leave now." The Empress Dowager wanted to plead for the Crown Prince, but she couldn't do so in public.
Yinzhen and Qingyan returned to their tents, while the others rested in the adjacent tents. Only then did the two dismiss the servants.
"Fourth Prince, do you think you can turn things around this time?" Qingyan asked, arms crossed.
"It's probably not possible. What are your thoughts?" Yinzhen asked Qingyan.
"Why would the Crown Prince come to plead for him?" Qingyan was very puzzled. If it were any other time, the Empress Dowager would definitely not interfere in the affairs of the Eastern Palace.
"Heh, it's all because we raised Batu Buhe. The Right Prince couldn't sit still and wanted the Empress Dowager to protect the Crown Prince so he could challenge us." Yinzhen sneered.
Kangxi could not possibly be unaware of the Empress Dowager's intentions. His decision to stay here was entirely to deal with her schemes before heading to the capital. Within the capital, the Crown Prince's faction would be more numerous, making them easier to punish outside.
“Good boy, it seems the wind is about to change in the camp. You and the children would better not go out.” Yinzhen said helplessly. “Several brothers, the fifth, seventh, ninth and tenth brothers have sent word that they are closing the door to visitors. Go and send them some hairy crabs for them to eat today. Su Peisheng, go and find Yinxiang and Yinti for me.”
Yinzhen could only use his own methods to ensure the safety of those who had a good relationship with him.
"Fourth Prince, is your Empress Dowager capable of handling this matter well, or not?" Qingyan was quite pleased.
In Kangxi's mind, the Empress Dowager still held a very high position. If anything happened to the Empress Dowager because of these matters, Kangxi would definitely take his anger out on the Crown Prince.
"Hehe, Father Emperor won't agree. The situation with the Crown Prince is a bit complicated. If the Empress Dowager insists on going her own way, it might damage the mother-son relationship between Father Emperor and her." Yinzhen's feelings towards the Empress Dowager were very complicated. In the end, the Empress Dowager was biased towards the Right Wing Prince.
However, Batubuhe did not like to get close to the Empress Dowager, and Huricha even instructed him that if anything happened, Batubuhe must not be allowed to get close to the Empress Dowager.
"Fourth Prince, I've noticed some conflict between the Left Wing Prince and the Right Wing Prince?" Qingyan blinked her watery eyes as she looked at Yinzhen.
Yinzhen nodded: "Back then, the two legitimate sons of Khorchin were divided into the Left Wing Prince and the Right Wing Prince, which were inherited by Manzhu Xili and Wu Keshan respectively. Moreover, of the two, the former had the best relationship with Consort Chen, while the latter liked the Empress Dowager."
Qingyan was stunned. The feud between Consort Chen and Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang had appeared many times in modern times.
“Therefore, this conflict has continued to this day. Manzhu Xili is closer to the royal family, so it is only natural that Father Emperor would take care of Batu Buhe,” Yinzhen quickly said.
“Let’s not get involved. The Empress Dowager will kick us out. She probably doesn’t want us to get involved, right?” Qingyan asked Yinzhen.
Yinzhen nodded. That was for sure. The Empress Dowager certainly didn't want to lose face in front of her juniors. What would happen to Khorchin if she did?
"Alright, let's not talk about that anymore. Should Batu Buhe go and pay his respects to the Empress Dowager?" Qingyan asked helplessly.
Before the banquet began, the younger generation had to pay their respects to the Empress Dowager, and Batu Buhe's problem was somewhat thorny.
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