When they arrived at the dock, it was already midnight. Kangxi took advantage of the darkness to board the imperial ship directly. Yin returned to the ship, put the two children in the stroller, and was instantly relieved.
"Fourth Prince, wash up and go to sleep first. Tomorrow, we will definitely have to pay our respects to the Empress Dowager." Qingyan saw that Yin looked tired and quickly rested.
To save time, Yin hadn't had a proper rest for several days, so Kangxi urged the carriage to speed up.
"Hmph, Real Madrid should stop pressuring Father Emperor by ordering the imperial fleet to speed up." Yin said to the Empress Dowager with some displeasure.
During each southern tour, Emperor Kangxi would travel alone, accompanied only by one favored concubine and two or three princes; this had become an unwritten rule.
This time, the Empress Dowager accompanied them, but they almost made a fool of themselves.
With the Empress Dowager in charge, the Empress Dowager could remain calm. This time was different. The Empress Dowager made a southern tour without the Empress Dowager's company. Under the instigation of some unruly servants, she began to act against her father, the Emperor.
This was clearly a provocation against the authority of the imperial family. Kangxi had been on the throne for many years, and this small gesture from the Empress Dowager would make him think much more about it.
As the morning sun rose, Qingyan and Yin got ready early to go to the imperial boat to pay their respects, waiting for the appropriate time to join Kangxi and Consort Tong in paying their respects to the Empress Dowager.
To avoid trouble from the Empress Dowager, Qingyan specially changed into a light blue palace dress and styled her hair into a simple double bun, which was simple and neat.
When the couple arrived at the imperial boat, they found the Empress Dowager's servants standing at the door. Yin felt a pang of anxiety; had the Empress Dowager come to cause trouble so early?
"Fourth Master, the Master wants you to come in." Li Dequan looked at Yin reassuringly, trying to ease his mind.
"Thank you, Anda." Yin thanked Li Dequan, then noticed that the old women in Cining Palace were all giving him unfriendly looks. He moved closer to Qingyan so that their gazes wouldn't fall on Qingyan.
"Fourth Prince, I think this is a trap, there's definitely trouble in it." Qingyan was glad that the two of them hadn't brought the twins, otherwise, the Empress Dowager would have made things even worse.
When the twins were born, the Empress Dowager wanted to take Yiken'e away to raise. One of them, Yinqi, was fattened up by the Empress Dowager, and Kangxi did not want his only legitimate son among the princes to fall into the hands of the Borjigit clan again.
Upon entering, Qingyan and Yin knelt on the ground together to present the Empress Dowager with her luggage. Yin noticed that Kangxi and Consort Tong were still kneeling on the ground, and his heart skipped a beat.
In front of the servants, the Empress Dowager did not even give Kangxi any face. Soon, Kangxi will surely regain this dignity from Borjigit.
The Empress Dowager did not tell them to get up, and neither did Yinhe and Qingyan dared to rise.
Today, the Empress Dowager came to the imperial ship to show off her power. Su Mo'er was beside her, feeling anxious. Kangxi's face was calm, but his eyes were filled with anger.
"Your Majesty, your mother is punishing you for your own good." The Empress Dowager also tried to save face for herself, "As the highest-ranking concubine in the palace, Consort Tong did not know how to fulfill her duties, but instead instigated the Emperor to stay outside for many days."
The Empress Dowager directly exposed the truth, and Kangxi's anger flared up instantly. He stood up abruptly and then turned around to help Consort Tong up.
"Fourth Prince, get up," Kangxi said calmly.
At this moment, Yin and his wife also arrived, standing at the door in a dilemma.
"Come in, all of you!" Kangxi glanced calmly at Yin and gestured for the couple to enter as well.
"Your Majesty, what do you mean?" The Empress Dowager felt that the Emperor had undermined her authority.
"Mother, please come out." Empress Dowager Tong also boarded the imperial boat. Kangxi was being harassed, and Empress Dowager Tong wanted to come out directly to demand an explanation, but the Emperor Emeritus held her back tightly.
After saying this, Su Mo'er's face turned deathly pale; she realized that the problem was serious.
Emperor Kangxi should have already known about what the Grand Empress Dowager had done to help the Empress Dowager back then.
"You..." The Empress Dowager was shocked to see the woman walking out of the guest room. After many years, Empress Dowager Tong's appearance was still so young, but she seemed to have aged more than ten years.
"Borjigit, you actually still remember me!" Empress Dowager Tong's voice was icy.
The old nannies around the Empress Dowager were all terrified, trembling uncontrollably.
Back then, when the Empress Dowager ordered the Empress Dowager to carry out the deed, they were all involved to some extent. The poison that Empress Dowager Tong had been taking was delivered to her through their hands.
"You're surprised?!" Empress Dowager Tong laughed.
Su Mo'er understood that all those around the Empress Dowager were to be silenced, and the news of Empress Dowager Tong's reclusion must not be leaked.
"Granny Su, you can choose whether to stay by the Empress Dowager's side or go to the Imperial Mother's coffin to keep her company." Kangxi was very grateful to Su Mo'er, after all, this old woman had also taken care of her.
When the Empress Dowager was preparing to take action against Empress Dowager Tong, she secretly had someone give Empress Dowager Tong a heads-up.
"Your Majesty... Empress Dowager..." Su Mo'er knew that any further explanation would be futile.
Yin and Yin were summoned in because they had been accompanying Kangxi to pick up people.
Crown Prince!
Su Mo'er suddenly thought of him. The crown prince was not favored by the emperor, and in the end, he would probably make a lonely exit.
Unwilling to accept defeat, the Empress Dowager meticulously orchestrated a scheme to replace Empress Dowager Tong with Consort Dong'e, and then used the Grand Empress Dowager to seize Kangxi's custody. Having held the position of Empress Dowager for many years, these were all assets she possessed.
"You're still alive." It's amazing that someone could find an antidote for the Qiyan clan's secret medicine.
Empress Dowager Tong was helped to sit down by Emperor Kangxi, and the corners of her mouth turned up slightly.
"After you entered the palace, you schemed to find a beauty to replace me. Fortunately, His Majesty saw that Xuan Ye had already been born, and your Borjigit clan still wanted a child of Manchu-Mongol blood, so you wouldn't be too fixated on Xuan Ye. Dong E was also caught in the trap, and Boguor was also killed by you?" Empress Dowager Tong never understood why, after years of struggle, the Grand Empress Dowager could persuade the Imperial Concubine to kill her own son.
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