Having not slept all night, everyone returned to their own courtyards to rest in the early hours of the morning. Qingyan held a warm teacup, staring blankly at the ground.
Today, Emperor Kangxi unveiled his benevolent facade, interrogating the assassins and uncovering more and more royal secrets. Both Lady Yin Genjueluo and Lady Qingyan were primary consorts, yet neither had been involved in these royal secrets.
The Crown Princess was different. She shared palace affairs with Consort Tong and learned many secrets. Some of these secrets were even transmitted to the Guarjia clan in secret codes. Shi Bingwen used these secrets to blackmail those families.
"Fourth...Will I also be feared by Father?" Qingyan didn't like to know too many secrets; those were buried with blood.
Yin walked to her side, turning her around on either side, and gently patted her back with his large hand.
He hoped to protect her, but things didn't go as planned; Kangxi wanted Qingyan to join the party.
"No!" Yin shook his head.
Emperor Kangxi had been preparing for the Qing banquet for a long time. Fei Yanggu and his two sons were her biggest backers, and she would not suffer any difficulties.
"Will the Crown Princess find out?" Among the people sent by the Eastern Palace, one was from the Guarjia clan.
It's obvious that the Crown Princess has always hoped that the Crown Prince would ascend to the throne, and therefore, she would pay extra attention to the birth of the legitimate son.
Before leaving the capital, Lady Guarjia advised the Crown Princess that she should give birth to a legitimate son for the Crown Prince, or else send the Crown Princess's younger sister to the Eastern Palace during the next year's imperial examination.
"The Dong'e sisters from the three mansions have already sounded the alarm for Father Emperor. Even if the youngest legitimate daughter of the Guarjia clan enters the palace, Father Emperor will not allow her to enter Yuqing Palace." Even if sisters are men's dreams, they should be able to enjoy the blessings.
In Yinzhi's residence, the Dong'e sisters caused chaos and disorder. The concubine was drugged by the primary wife and could no longer have her own child.
A few days ago, Emperor Kangxi received news that Consort Dong'e was planning to switch the baby with a pregnant one. She had her eye on a pregnant princess in the mansion and planned to bring the baby to the princess on the day of delivery, regardless of whether it was a boy or a girl, and have the maids give the princess a stillborn baby.
"A stillborn child?!" Qingyan looked down at the memorial Yin handed over and was startled.
Did the "switching the dragon for the phoenix" tactic from the novel *Plum Blossom Mark* also appear in the Qing Dynasty?
"For a concubine to be so delusional, you've also given birth before. During your pregnancy, countless people were watching you. She wouldn't have such an opportunity." Yin smiled, this concubine was truly lawless.
Yinzhi, however, looked completely unaware. The Third Prince Consort even stated directly that since the Second Prince Consort was favored, Yinzhi had made it clear beforehand that she could not manage the Second Prince Consort's courtyard.
Consort Tong wanted to punish the Third Prince's wife for her lax household discipline, but the Third Prince's wife blocked her with this excuse.
"Father Emperor chose to be patient and didn't sow discord, so there must be more to this than meets the eye." Qingyan pondered for a moment. Given Kangxi's temperament, the crime of switching children would certainly be a grave offense, and now...
Yin nodded. There were many strange things happening in Yin Zhi's residence. Consort Rong looked as if she had arranged everything according to the divination of a high monk.
Upon hearing this, Consort Tong found herself in a difficult position, as those transgressions were also revealed by the divination.
"Fourth Prince, this is interesting. Did the Crown Prince and Third Prince discover that Father Emperor is not here?" Qingyan blinked her watery eyes and asked with a gossipy look on her face.
If an emperor suddenly disappears, it's considered quite good if the truth can be concealed for two or three days.
Yin nodded. On the third day after he left, someone discovered that the Empress Dowager had been instigated to storm the imperial boat, and the guards who remained were punished with caning.
The Empress Dowager's arrogance continued to rise, and the concubines who had accompanied her stayed obediently on their respective boats, rarely visiting each other.
"Three days is enough to enrage the Empress Dowager. If it were longer, those guards would probably be dead." Yin sneered, the Empress Dowager was losing her temper.
When accompanying the emperor, she actually brought along a noblewoman recruited from Mongolia, saying that the Fifth Prince had grown up and could no longer be with him at all times. Even Lady Tatara was constantly harassed by the Empress Dowager.
"Heh, the Empress Dowager's reach is quite far. Father mentioned before that the Empress Dowager wanted to raise Yiken'e, saying that he was a third-generation descendant, but not the Crown Prince's legitimate son." Qingyan was furious when she thought of this.
Despite Kangxi's efforts to suppress all the news, Fei Yanggu's spies hidden within the palace still managed to leak the information, putting Kangxi in a very passive position.
"Little Darling, be careful what you say." The Empress Dowager was, after all, an elder, and Little Darling's careless words were inappropriate for outsiders to hear.
She pouted, turned her head, and faced him directly with the back of her head.
The Empress Dowager was preparing to take her son away, and she couldn't even complain.
"The matter hasn't been settled yet, but your father-in-law has already made a scene in front of Father Emperor. What do you think?" Yin asked, pinching her little nose.
Qingyan looked at the roof and sighed softly.
"Father acted impulsively, but the spies in the palace were not eliminated." Qingyan couldn't understand why Kangxi, who clearly knew about Fei Yanggu's spies, hadn't removed them.
“That was prepared for you. Father Emperor believes that your father-in-law loves his daughter dearly. Those servants have been well-trained. Except for those involved in the Qingyan banquet, they will leave the palace, and the rest will keep their mouths shut.” Yin understood Kangxi’s thoughts; Fei Yanggu would never get involved in the struggle for the throne.
Even some of the hidden secret guards were trained by Fei Yanggu, and Kangxi trusted him very much.
She leaned against him, shifting her body to find a comfortable position.
"Fourth Prince, is Father using this opportunity as an excuse to bring all his spies into the open?" Qingyan recalled that Fei Yanggu sighed, the road ahead would become increasingly difficult. Of all those who had been hiding around Kangxi, only five remained hidden, which could be considered the trump card that the family had kept secret.
Yin admired Fei Yanggu more and more. This man was the most courageous. He lived by constantly pushing himself to the limit.
"Hmm, little darling, don't go to Cining Palace too often. During the Southern Tour, try to avoid the Empress Dowager." The Empress Dowager had not given up and had arranged for Yiken'e to have a close relationship with the direct line of the Mongols, which would allow Hutulifengsheng Zhalafen to marry into the Mongol family.
ah? !
Qingyan understood the Empress Dowager's intentions and would try her best to avoid the Empress Dowager's sharp edge for the sake of her two children.
"No, I haven't done anything wrong," Qingyan said confidently.
Her haughty little expression made Yin laugh.
"Little darling, avoid their sharp edge. The Mongolian noble lady is coming here. The Empress Dowager no longer needs your constant companionship." The Mongolian noble lady was specially prepared for Kangxi. That princess had a very strong temper, and even said behind her back that the Empress's position belonged to her.
Many palace concubines, hearing rumors of his overestimation of himself, mocked him, and the noblewomen of Mongolia became increasingly unable to see reality. After the Empress Dowager's departure, the noblewomen of the various Mongolian tribes largely abandoned their rules, and infighting began on the grasslands and continued into the inner palace.
Hehe!
Qingyan sneered. To put it bluntly, the noble ladies were just sent into the palace for free. Many Mongolian concubines had been neglected by Emperor Kangxi. In addition, the Qing Dynasty stopped marrying princesses to Mongolia. The Mongolian leaders had no one left to retaliate.
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