Before they even reached the tent, Kangxi had the twins' clothes, and even the bedding from Youyou's carriage, sent to the Imperial Hospital. Imperial Physician Yuan personally examined them and found something harmful to the children hidden in Yiken'e's blankets.
"Fourth Prince, why did Father Emperor change all the bedding for the twins? Something's not right." Kangxi rarely touched Yin's things; he wasn't a child anymore and couldn't manage the family business properly.
“There’s a problem.” Yin looked at the memorial, which detailed that there were unclean things on Yiken’e’s quilt and on Hutuli Fengsheng Zhalafen’s clothes.
Yin handed the memorial in his hand to Qingyan to look at, and then he took a sip of tea.
Snap!
She slammed the folded document on the table, hands on her hips, fuming. She truly couldn't believe someone would dare lay a hand on the children. She would absolutely not tolerate it. They would discuss how to handle the situation once the truth came out.
"Father will personally look into it." Yin had to admit that some of the medicines or unclean things mentioned in the memorial were medicines that ordinary people could not buy.
Besides those exclusively supplied by the Imperial Household Department, many upper-class court officials also received some. Of course, the Mongol leaders would also receive some.
"Why didn't you take precautions before, instead of personally overseeing this?" Qingyan said angrily.
Yin covered her mouth, warning her to be careful what she said.
"Little darling, Father Emperor is too busy with so many things, he probably won't notice the children's little matters." Yin persuaded, and he already felt fortunate that the children were sleeping safely in the stroller. "From now on, we'll take the children with us when we go out."
He no longer trusted anyone else to take care of the children. He trusted Consort Tong to take care of them, but Consort Tong had too many things to do and couldn't keep an eye on the children all the time.
Yin put his arm around Qingyan, and she complained in a low voice, which he listened to patiently.
"Little darling, you can say as much as you want in front of me, but you're not allowed to say anything more in front of Father Emperor," Yin comforted Little darling.
She nestled obediently in his arms, patting him gently. In a few days, they would be returning to the capital.
The Mongol tribes had some taboos regarding twins, and some small tribal leaders became even more loyal to the Qing Dynasty after the birth of twins.
Those leaders who wanted independence hated the twins to the core, so the number of people being investigated kept increasing, and he had to appease the irritable little darling.
"Hmm, do those Mongol leaders all have a motive to do this?" Qingyan looked at the children, her heart filled with even more worry.
He looked out the window and saw Mongolian guards standing watch around the camp, their eyes glancing towards the prince's tent.
"We can't say that for now; there are motives from the east as well." The fact that the crown prince had no legitimate son was a hidden worry for Kangxi and his court officials.
The legitimate son?!
She wrote two words on the paper, and Yin nodded.
"Fourth Master, there's movement in the east. Prime Minister Suo has sent someone to pay his respects. What are they plotting in the east now?" A guard from the Blood Droplets said respectfully at the door of the study.
When the two masters were in the study, the messenger would stand outside to deliver messages, afraid of seeing something he shouldn't.
"A conspiracy?" Qingyan leaned against him, listening to the news outside.
Since their return, the Crown Prince has not made any public appearances. He even declined to attend the welcoming banquet prepared by Emperor Kangxi, citing illness.
When the Mongol leaders saw that the Crown Prince had not appeared, they understood the implication and outwardly congratulated Yin and his son, but their words were full of probing.
"Yes, your servants and others have discovered that Prime Minister Suo arranged for some people to help the Crown Prince on his way back to the capital," the Blood Droplet said in a low voice.
The tents were not well soundproofed, so when the Flying Guillotine appeared, Su Peisheng would kill all the guards to prevent Kangxi's men from getting wind of it.
"Keep a close eye on the east, make few moves, and secretly inform the Dragon Guard so that Tulichen can handle it," Yin said with a sneer.
They had been suppressed by the Crown Prince for too long. The Crown Prince's behavior in recent years had become increasingly strange. He had planted spies around the princes, and news about the princes was constantly being relayed to him.
Emperor Kangxi was also aware that the crown prince was wary of his brothers. As the princes grew older, the pressure on the crown prince would increase. To consolidate his position, the crown prince would turn a blind eye to some of the actions he took.
However, if court officials were to collude with the princes, Emperor Kangxi would resolutely suppress them.
Many court officials avoided any involvement with the princes to prevent suspicion, and even when they were involved, it was done through several roundabout ways.
"Fourth Prince, Father Emperor dislikes ministers being implicated with the princes. Is Prime Minister Suo courting death?" Qingyan pouted.
Every time she went to pay her respects, Madam Suo and Madam Tong Guowei would make things difficult for her, as if she had committed some heinous crime.
"No, we can't, but the Crown Prince can," Yin explained helplessly.
From a young age, they understood that they were very different from Yinzhi. Even the concubines in the palace always taught them to be respectful to the Crown Prince. At the very least, during Kangxi's reign, the concubines treated the Crown Prince very well.
To prevent the Crown Prince from getting too close to the concubines, the Empress Dowager forced him to stay in Cining Palace for extended periods, and the concubines rarely spoke to him.
For a time, Consort Tong had a good relationship with the Crown Prince. When the Empress Dowager found out, she found an excuse to confine Consort Tong to her quarters for six months.
At that time, Emperor Kangxi was preoccupied with the Rebellion of the Three Feudatories and had no time to consider the issues concerning the inner palace.
After the Three Feudatories were abolished, Emperor Kangxi learned from Li Dequan about the punishment of Consort Tong, and he frowned.
"The Crown Prince?!" Qingyan exclaimed in surprise.
What Yin said was somewhat different from what Fei Yanggu said, and the court officials would not try to get close to the crown prince.
"Yes, the crown prince needs the approval of the court officials, so Father rarely speaks ill of the crown prince." Yin thought to himself with some emotion.
The court officials had differing opinions, and in order to avoid being resented by the other princes, they did not associate with the crown prince at all.
"Fourth Prince, we've contacted too many people in the east; the higher-ups won't allow it." Qingyan pouted; Kangxi was truly a contradiction.
Previously, she found Kangxi's behavior strange. The crown prince, who was in his twenties, could only teach the younger princes in the palace, while the other princes were busy with various tasks from their teens onwards. There was a big difference between the two.
The crown prince envied the other princes, but the princes envied the crown prince even more.
"Yes, Kangxi took care of the Crown Prince from a young age. Many times, Kangxi would defend him and would never think that he had failed in educating his child." Yin smiled, just like with Yiken'e, Yin had taken care of him since he was 3 years old and would not let outsiders say anything about Yiken'e.
“I will personally take care of Yiken’e, and I won’t accept what outsiders say about it,” Yin said directly.
Leaning against him, she pondered how to ease the tension between father and son. Yinzhen would eventually ascend to the throne of Emperor Kangxi, and Yiken'e would be the eldest son, making his position as crown prince more secure than that of the heir apparent. Furthermore, with Empress Ulanara holding military power, there would undoubtedly be concerns, potentially straining the relationship between father and son. (To be continued. If you enjoy 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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