When the princes of the northern desert heard that their crown prince had gone to Qingyan's tent again, they began to panic. As soon as Feiyanggu entered the camp gate, they all tried to find someone to restrain their sons. But before they could find anyone, Feiyanggu had already punished them all with caning.
At the entrance to the imperial tent, the princes exchanged glances, each sighing. The heirs they had brought were mostly favored children, and they were unlikely to be disciplined like this today.
"Your Majesty, this servant pays his respects." The princes of the Northern Desert noticed that Fei Yanggu was already standing beside them, and their hearts sank. It seemed that it was too late to plead for mercy.
In Kangxi's mind, the princes were certainly no match for Fei Yanggu, so the princes could only bow their heads and admit their mistakes.
"You're all quite clever, mistaking the Qing camp for the northern grasslands?" Kangxi's deep voice terrified the princes, who quickly kowtowed and claimed they dared not.
The princes, having just been flogged, stood stiffly outside, nearly getting into a fight with the guards of the Ulanara family. These guards were shadow guards trained with the tacit approval of Emperor Kangxi. Who could rival them? These princes were all spoiled rotten. They all knew that Galdan was destined to be defeated in this campaign.
They were brought by the princes only in the hope of gaining military merit.
"What kind of commotion is this outside the imperial tent!" Kangxi ordered Li Dequan to bring the princes in. Yin asked Sulan to take care of Qingyan, and then walked out from the inner tent. Wearing his prince's battle robe, Yin looked at the princes kneeling on the ground and was extremely annoyed. He wished he could kick them away.
"Your servants pay their respects to Your Majesty." The princes wailed one after another, and even Yin turned his head away in disdain. How could Kangxi not be furious? Yin, whom he had personally cultivated, was looked down upon by them. Did they think they were the good ones?
"Damn it, you don't even respect me anymore?" Kangxi wasn't angry, he just pursed his lips. But... he was furious.
Outsiders thought that Kangxi was excited about Galdan's affair, but the princes were witnessing Kangxi's imperial might for the first time. They were all terrified and dared not even breathe loudly. Consort Tong sat to the side, patting Kangxi's arm.
Inside the tent, Qingyan hung her head in distress, knowing that Yincai was being ignored again because of her.
"Eso, is this the heir you personally groomed?" The successors of the Mongol Empire all had to be approved by Emperor Kangxi. Therefore, when Eso learned that his son had offended the Fourth Prince, he didn't take it to heart. He was just a prince.
Besides, there's already a crown prince in the court, so they can just flatter him.
After the Crown Prince ascended the throne, they thought their lives would be much easier. However, they never expected that Kangxi's attitude towards the Crown Prince was not as good as they thought. Instead, the Fourth Prince received more attention from Kangxi.
"This servant deserves to die." Ersuo thought of the eldest son he had brought with him. Fortunately, he had several legitimate sons, unlike most of the others who were illegitimate sons. The Mongols valued the succession of legitimate sons very much. Unless the illegitimate son was much more capable than the legitimate son, the rule of succession by legitimate sons would never change.
When Eso was the first to admit his mistake, the princes understood that Kangxi was merely a warning to the various Mongol tribes. Galdan had received a lot of aid from them, and as long as Galdan was still alive, the Mongol status would not be secure.
Over the years, Kangxi did not marry off any princesses. Everyone was speculating whether the Empress Dowager's health had deteriorated. Kangxi was a filial son. The Empress Dowager had arranged the marriage of Princess Chunxi. Even though Prince Gong and others were very opposed to the decision, they still agreed out of filial piety.
At that time, they were unaware that Kangxi had made arrangements long ago. The woman who would marry in place of Chunxi was merely a maid from Prince Gong's residence, whose family had always been highly valued by Prince Gong.
That girl died a worthy death. With Kangxi's tacit approval, Chunxi married the man she loved. All of this was orchestrated in front of the Grand Empress Dowager. For a long time, the Grand Empress Dowager and the Empress Dowager believed that Chunxi was marrying into the grasslands. Every year, they pressured Kangxi to give the Khorchin greater benefits, which Kangxi found extremely distasteful.
After the Empress Dowager adopted the Fifth Prince, her attitude changed considerably. The presence of Yinqi made the Khorchin tribes less attentive to him.
Inside the palace, Yin often ran into Yinqi. This fifth prince, raised by the Empress Dowager, was somewhat domineering and believed that he was the one most valued by his father, the Emperor, in the palace. In reality, his status was lower than that of others.
When he was first taught, Yinqi couldn't even speak Chinese, and his Manchu was also broken and hesitant. Only Mongolian was the language he spoke best.
Even if Emperor Kangxi had no sons, he would not have allowed Yinqi to inherit the throne. From the moment Kangxi handed Yinqi over to the Empress Dowager, Yinqi was already excluded from the list of heirs.
Yin was determined to make his life easier and to utilize his brothers, Yinqi and the others, instead of always having him and the thirteenth brother working themselves to the bone.
"Yin, go to your mother's place." Fei Yanggu relaxed when Yin appeared. Qingyan and Yin had a good relationship. He had just said he would send her back to the capital, and Qingyan said she wanted to come and see Yin.
"Yes." Upon hearing Kangxi's words, the princes and heirs dared not make any move, for they were truly afraid that Kangxi would take action.
The princes turned to look at their sons' injuries, their hearts filled with conflicting emotions.
“Eso, they’re loitering around the imperial tent. A few days ago, the imperial tent was even attacked by Galdan.” Fei Yanggu stood up and looked directly at the prince of the northern desert. When he first received the news, he was devastated.
Placing Qingyan next to the emperor almost led to Galdan finding her.
Ersuo trembled all over. Shaking, Galdan appeared in the imperial tent just as these princes returned from there. If it were said that they had led them there, Kangxi would agree; it all depended on Feiyanggu's mood.
“Lord Ulanara, you can’t say that. How could we possibly let Galdan harm Qingyan? It’s obvious you’re trying to settle a personal score by saying we led the way,” Eso’s son quickly retorted.
They, father and son, absolutely cannot be accused of such a crime—passing messages to Galdan. On the Mongolian steppe, who doesn't hate Galdan? How could they do such a thing?
“Hehe, no? You’ve been loitering around there since the first day the imperial tent was completed. And can you deny that?” Fei Yanggu’s words left the princes speechless.
Yin leaned against Consort Tong's knees, watching the situation unfold below. Fei Yanggu was really holding back his anger, and Qingyan's crying sounds kept echoing in his ears.
"What are the princes planning to do by bribing the guards?" Yin tilted his head and looked at E Suo, who had already been beaten to death by Fei Yanggu. When Kangxi heard this, his face darkened. They actually bribed the guards. Wasn't this courting death?
Suddenly, all sound fell inside the tent. Yin's words had plunged them all into despair.
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