In early May, Emperor Kangxi went on an inspection tour to the border regions.
In May of the 47th year of the Kangxi Emperor's reign, the emperor toured the northern frontier, ordering his crown prince, eldest son, and sons of the thirteenth, fourteenth, fifteenth, sixteenth, seventeenth, and eighteenth years to accompany him.
First came the first storm.
The eighteenth prince, Yinxi, fell ill with an acute illness, causing Emperor Kangxi great anxiety, but the crown prince remained indifferent.
On the one hand, Emperor Kangxi doted on his young son, who was born in his old age. On the other hand, he recalled an incident that had troubled him for over a decade: In July of the 29th year of his reign, on the eve of the Battle of Ulan Butong, Kangxi fell ill on his journey beyond the Great Wall and ordered the Crown Prince and his third son to rush to his aid. When Yinreng arrived at the temporary palace and saw his father's ailing appearance, he showed no sign of worry. Kangxi concluded that this son had no loyalty to his father and ordered him to return to Beijing first.
Yinreng, who was only 16 years old at the time, may not have realized his father's dissatisfaction, but Kangxi believed that this showed that the crown prince was unfilial and unfit for important positions.
The eighteenth prince suffered from an acute illness and soon lost his life.
This clearly provoked Kangxi. The youngest son naturally deserves to be loved, and the Crown Prince remained calm, showing no signs of anxiety.
This is actually normal. In the Crown Prince's eyes, how could a son born to a lowly Han woman move the noble Crown Prince?
Emperor Kangxi was furious and severely reprimanded the Crown Prince. In fact, it wasn't just the Crown Prince who was like this; the other princes, except for the Fifteenth and Sixteenth Princes who shared the same mother, were only superficially worried.
This included the eldest son, Yinzhi, but it was different. In Kangxi's eyes, the Crown Prince was different. The father and son had spent a long time finding warmth in each other in the cold palace, so Kangxi had high expectations of him, which led to this sudden outburst.
For the first time, in front of all the ministers and princes, Kangxi rebuked the crown prince for not acting like an elder brother and for having no compassion.
It can be said that Kangxi's actions surprised not only the ministers but also the princes.
However, the Crown Prince not only refused to accept the criticism, but also became furious and argued back with his father.
The princes looked at each other in bewilderment: Is this still their father? Wasn't their father the one who loved the crown prince the most?
However, the princes didn't fare any better. Except for the fifteenth and sixteenth princes, who shared the same mother as the eighteenth prince, the other princes were also forced to kneel. This included the eldest prince, Yinzhi, who was already a grandfather.
Kangxi was only attracted by the Crown Prince's indifferent performance. The other princes were not unaware of their thoughts; they were all just pretending to care, but in reality, they were indifferent to the matter.
However, different expectations lead to different approaches. Kangxi was only disappointed by his son's actions, not saddened.
Subsequently, a hothead submitted a memorial impeaching the Crown Prince, alleging that he was tyrannical and cruel, arbitrarily beating princes, nobles, and ministers, to the point that soldiers "rarely escaped his tyranny," and that he intercepted Mongolian tribute and allowed his wet nurse's husband, the Grand Steward of the Imperial Household Department, Lingpu, to extort money from his subordinates. All these acts of cruelty greatly displeased Emperor Kangxi. Some of these reports were untrue, but Emperor Kangxi believed them without question. Most importantly, he was not only angered by the Crown Prince's tyranny but also dissatisfied with his overstepping of authority. He believed the Crown Prince's actions were: "an attempt to divide my authority and act arbitrarily."
This hothead is the Fourteenth Prince. When Consort De lost power, the Fourteenth Prince fell from his position as Kangxi's favorite youngest son. However, the impact was not significant because he was cute and, despite his young age, his martial arts skills were among the best of the imperial princes.
Therefore, she did not fall out of favor.
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