Inside the imperial tent, candlelight blazed brightly. Emperor Kangxi sat on his dragon throne, looking down upon the crowd. Consort Tong sat respectfully on her throne, her eyes filled with unease as she glanced at Qingyan and Yinzhen.
Fortunately, the two little ones were unharmed and knew how to handle unexpected situations, preventing the displeased Kangxi from finding any fault with them. Yinzhi and Consort Dong'e, however, were different; they clearly had no intention of doing anything.
After all, one should be properly dressed when coming to see the emperor.
"Boss, have you informed the brothers?" Kangxi looked at Yin. Li Dequan's notification time wasn't very long; half an hour shouldn't be enough time to get dressed.
Yin shook his head. He couldn't say a word. Before leaving, Kangxi specifically instructed him not to communicate with his brothers on the way back.
At this moment, Qingyan knelt on the ground and slowly moved her legs.
Since marrying into the royal family, she had never been forced to kneel as punishment. The group had been kneeling for half an hour, but Kangxi's expression had not changed at all. He even ordered Li Dequan to issue a notice to thoroughly investigate all the servants, not only those in the imperial tent, but also those around the princes.
From Yin to Yinqi, all four men looked grim. They represented the face of the Aisin Gioro family; the men in black had assassinated their leader and found a Yuqing Palace token on one of them.
This was clearly aimed at the royal family. The leaders of the grasslands were all watching Kangxi, hoping that he would give the Mongols an explanation, or at the very least, push out a pawn.
"Little darling, don't move!" Yin knelt to Qingyan's left and warned her in a low voice.
When Emperor Kangxi was in a bad mood, his temper was extremely fiery, and he would punish even the slightest mistake severely.
Qingyan pouted, feeling uneasy.
She secretly glanced at Kangxi's face and noticed that his eyes were filled with satisfaction.
Immediately, she understood that Kangxi was sounding the alarm for these princes. Outside the door, some Mongol leaders, upon hearing that the eldest prince was bringing soldiers from the Xishan camp, hurried over to pledge their loyalty.
They're not stupid; they still don't know if the plaque at Yuqing Palace represents the real culprit.
"The eldest and fourth sons stay here. Yinzhi, go back and copy the Paramita Sutra a thousand times for me!" Yinzhi was completely confined to the tent by Kangxi. Yinzhi and Yinzhi exchanged a glance and stayed behind.
Yinzhi and Dong'e were granted a pardon and quickly left the imperial tent.
"You may all rise," Kangxi said, quickly urging Yinzhi and Yinqi to get up after they left. "My lord, how is the investigation going?"
Knowing that Yin was returning to the capital with a secret mission, Qingyan became even more curious.
"Father, the waist token for Yuqing Palace was taken by Suo'etu. The Crown Prince should not know about this!" Since returning to the capital, Yin had been worried that this matter was related to him. "Is that leader the same person from back then?"
Back then, when Yin was old enough to remember things, he recalled that the heir apparent's background wasn't very strong, which is why the Empress Dowager didn't say much about it.
"Yes!" Kangxi didn't hide anything. "Elder, is there anything else?"
Yin regretted staying; if Yin were involved, things would definitely be beyond repair.
"The waist tokens came from the residence of Suo'etu. Most of the people who were eliminated from the Imperial Guard were recruited by the Hesheli family, which completely exposed the whereabouts of the Emperor's guards," Yin explained helplessly.
Soetu was the last pillar of the Hesheli family. The third generation did not have an outstanding successor. Therefore, these people hoped that Yin could take the throne so that the Hesheli family could flourish. Even if the third generation did not have a useful person, they could still receive the blessing of their ancestors and would not decline from a first-class family.
"Did the Guarjia clan get involved?" Kangxi was even more worried that the Crown Princess's family was also standing behind Yin.
He carefully selected the families of his sons' wives, and they were mostly military families, with the Guarjia clan having the highest status.
"This..." Yin hesitated. After all, the investigation revealed that the Guarjia clan had long been on the side of the Crown Prince, and even the Guarjia clan members had spoken ill of his brothers to Yin.
And now, even the person who raised him has started to have doubts?
Even though Yin didn't say it, Kangxi knew what was going on. He was still somewhat displeased with the old man. Yin was still unaware of Yin's actions. Otherwise, Xiaojia's beloved brother would have been heartbroken again, as her respected elder brother treated her this way.
"Is Lady Guarjia standing behind him?" Consort Tong asked in a low voice.
Yin nodded hesitantly, and a cold glint flashed in Kangxi's eyes as he realized the trickery involved.
"Lanya, there's no need to say more. These people all have their own ulterior motives," Kangxi sneered.
Qingyan wished she could cover her ears; she didn't want to hear these royal secrets.
"Father, Second Brother..." Yin looked at Kangxi with a bitter expression.
Previously, he had sensed Yin's growing distance. In his previous life, the Crown Prince had become distant from him several years later.
Seeing Yin's bitter expression, Consort Tong felt a pang of sadness. The fourth prince rarely interacted with his brothers; after all, they weren't born of the same mother. When they were young, Yin and his brothers had interacted, but now...
"Fourth son, cheer up!" Kangxi didn't like his son to look dejected. "You've all grown up and are now the pillars of the family. The bonds you formed when you were young will gradually fade away!"
Yin turned to look at the Crown Prince, who was hanging his head, and patted him on the shoulder. Qingyan couldn't help but feel a little strange; Yin already knew about the Crown Prince's affairs.
"Xiao Si, don't take it to heart!" Yin comforted him from the side.
Seeing the close relationship between the two brothers, Emperor Kangxi couldn't help but feel happy.
Even though he was thousands of miles away, Yin used all the methods he had learned from him on his brothers, which made Kangxi very uncomfortable.
"Fourth Prince, look up at me!" Kangxi was unaware that Yinzhen was merely pretending. He believed that the Fourth Prince, having never experienced such betrayals, valued his brotherly bonds too much, ultimately leading to his being hurt by Yinzhen. "If the Crown Prince goes too far, then merely maintaining appearances is sufficient!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Yin and Yin looked at Kangxi in surprise. In the past, Kangxi had hoped that his sons would help the Crown Prince. Things were really different this time.
Yin feigned a confused expression, then turned to look at Qingyan. She had a serious face, but her eyes revealed encouragement.
"Father, the Crown Prince is still my second brother, he shouldn't hurt Grandmother!" Yin hoped to plead for Yin.
"Fourth Brother is right, he shouldn't lay a hand on Grandmother." Yin also thought it was impossible.
After all, the Empress Dowager and the Empress Dowager took good care of the Empress Dowager when Yin Jianxi was alive.
"Lanya, Yin has grown up!" Kangxi felt a pang of sadness. The Crown Prince had matured and was becoming more thoughtful.
Emperor Kangxi was very disappointed in Yinzhen. According to the information he had, his most favored son had made his move. (To be continued. If you like this work, please vote for it on Qidian.com. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please visit m.qidian.com to read.)
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