The fight for the throne gradually became fierce. The crown prince had been deposed, and the faction of Yinzhi, the eldest prince, gradually became active. Yinsi, known as the Eighth Wise Prince, also had many supporters, and of course the third prince also had some.
Even the Tong family was secretly standing behind Yinzuo, but everyone remembered what Kangxi had said to the brothers, that Yinzuo would not become their enemy. He had been obsessed with writing books in recent years and was the least ambitious among the brothers.
Calculating in this way, the eldest son is naturally the most likely to ascend to the throne. Even Yinzhi himself thinks so, so he can't wait to ascend to the throne and become the legitimate crown prince. He actively wins over court officials and even frequently meets with some sorcerers to estimate his fate, intending to spread some words of destiny to force Kangxi to follow the will of heaven and make him the crown prince.
Kangxi reprimanded him in public in the court: "I have no intention of making Yinzhi the crown prince. Yinzhi is impatient, stubborn and stupid. How can he be made the crown prince?"
The eldest brother then realized that he had never been the candidate that the emperor father had intended to appoint as the crown prince. After returning to the mansion, he closed the door, saw no one, and hid in his room until he got drunk.
He was filled with hatred.
"Father Emperor! You are so unfair! Yinreng, you were just born into a good family. Hahahaha, I can't be the crown prince, and you can forget about standing up again!"
Bang! The wine bottle hit the door frame and broke into pieces.
He stood up, staggered to the desk, and wrote a letter.
The last two sentences are: "If we want to execute Yinreng now, it doesn't have to come from the hands of the emperor's father."
The memorial was sent to the emperor. After reading it, Kangxi was so angry that he yelled in the imperial study: "This wicked and heartless person! He actually wants to kill his own brother!"
Liang Jiugong shuddered and wished he was deaf and didn't hear anything.
"Go! Call Yinzuo into the palace!" Kangxi, who had grown disappointed with his eldest son, now urgently needed his most obedient and filial son to warm his heart.
The eunuch who went to invite Yinzuo had just left the Qianqing Palace when the third son Yinzhi arrived first. It is unknown what the father and son talked about in the imperial study, but the Ministry of Internal Affairs was immediately ordered to send a new set of tea sets to the imperial study.
When Yinzuo arrived at the Qianqing Palace, the third brother just came out.
"Third brother."
There was a wound on Yinzhi's forehead. He said awkwardly, "It's Yinzuo. The emperor summoned you, right? Come in quickly."
"Okay." Yinzuo didn't dare to ask. After all, the wound was so fresh that it was obviously caused by the emperor.
As soon as he walked in, he heard the emperor's instructions.
"Xiao Liu, my head hurts a little. The technique you gave me before was very good. Come and rub it for me." Kangxi lay on the couch, looking a little tired.
"Yes, let me wash my hands first."
While Yinzuo was washing his hands, he asked Liang Jiugong who was standing beside him, "Did your Majesty not sleep well last night?"
"That's right. When I met Prince Cheng just now, the Emperor was very angry. I overheard outside and it seemed to be related to the deposed Crown Prince."
Yinzuo paused in his action of splashing water, then nodded as if nothing had happened.
"Please bring the small porcelain bottles I presented to the Emperor a few days ago. They will be useful later."
"I'll get it right away."
After Yinzuo wiped his hands, he walked to the chair in front of the emperor and sat down. He opened the small porcelain bottles on the tray held by the palace maid one by one, sniffed them, chose one of them, poured a few drops into the palm of his hand, dipped it with his fingertips, and rubbed it to warm it.
Then he placed his fingertips on Emperor Father's solar plexus and began to rotate it slowly but forcefully.
"Does Your Majesty think this force is okay?" Yinzuo asked.
"Hmm, just right. What's that smell? It makes me feel refreshed and clear-headed when I smell it."
"This is peppermint essential oil. During the months I spent in Jiangnan, I made several essential oils with refreshing smells. This is one of them. If Your Majesty feels dizzy and uncomfortable, you can pour a few drops on your palm and apply it on your forehead. It may help. But remember, it is not suitable for use at night. If you can't sleep at night, you can change to other essential oils."
Yinzuo suddenly thought that he could use essential oils to make some fragrance.
"Well, you have always been the most filial. It seems that those few months were very fulfilling."
In this comfortable atmosphere, the father and son chatted about many topics about Jiangnan, and Kangxi's spirits improved a lot.
"Xiao Liu, you have been living in Tantuo Temple in recent years. Have you heard of the art of exorcism?" Kangxi suddenly changed the subject.
Yinzuo maintained his posture and thought for a moment before saying, "Of course there is. The abbot has helped people to resolve this kind of evil spell that harms people. It is nothing more than using the victim's birth date or personal belongings to cast a curse."
"Can this kind of magic of exorcism be used to control people's words and actions?"
Yinzuo said uncertainly: "I have never seen it with my own eyes, so I can't make any rash statements. Some say it is possible, while others say it is nonsense. I think it is reasonable to believe it or not."
"The art of exorcism has existed since ancient times, and has been passed down among the people and the court for generations. I think it must have existed. Yinreng spied on me for no reason that day. I was just angry at first, but now that I think about it, I find it very strange. Yinreng has always been proud and abides by the virtues of a gentleman. This behavior is not like his character."
Yinzuo began to sweat on his back. He kept the silk book written by the prince close to him every day, and he was a little hesitant as to whether he should take it out at this opportunity.
"I also think my second brother is not that kind of person, Father Your Majesty. When I was a child, I often went to my second brother's Yuqing Palace to play. Whenever my second brother mentioned you, Father Your Majesty, he was very respectful and admiring. He said that you are as good as any emperor in both civil and military skills. My second brother was raised by you personally. Father Your Majesty, you know that he is the most filial. There must be some misunderstanding."
Yinzuo did not dare to say much, for fear that the emperor would get angry again and make his second brother completely hopeless. He could only weigh every word and be cautious with every sentence.
"You are right, it must be those treacherous ministers who deliberately instigated the father-son relationship between me and Yinreng! Especially Soetu, I really want to kill him a thousand times!" Kangxi's eyes were very sharp.
Yinzuo gritted his teeth and knelt on the ground.
"Father, I am guilty of going to see my second brother without permission. My second brother has a letter for me to present to you. Please take a look!"
Yinzuo took out the silk book from his arms, lowered his head, placed it in his palms, and raised both hands high above his head.
Kangxi sat up, squinted his eyes and stared at the thin silk book for a long time without saying a word.
Fine beads of sweat began to appear on Yinzuo's forehead. Over time, the beads flowed down the sides of his face to his chin and dripped onto his clothes.
"Yinzuo, you are so brave. I have said that no one is allowed to visit the deposed crown prince." Kangxi said this slowly and softly.
But Yinzuo felt that it was very oppressive, and he said stubbornly: "I am willing to accept any punishment, just because I don't want to see the emperor who has always loved me sad, and I don't want to see my second brother who has taught me since I was a child suffer an unjustifiable crime."
Kangxi closed his eyes, sighed, and said softly: "Get up, bring the things here, I will take a look."
When Yinzuo stood up, he staggered. The floor was very cold in the winter. Liang Jiugong was quick to help him stand steadily.
Kangxi took the silk book, looked up at him, and said unhappily, "Go warm it up by the charcoal fire. Don't freeze yourself and make your two mothers worry."
"Yes." Yinzuo obediently sat next to the charcoal fire, warming himself by the fire while rubbing his frozen knees.
After reading the silk book, Kangxi did not say anything. Instead, he invited him to have lunch and then let him go back.
Two days later, the third brother Yinzhi publicly exposed in the court that the eldest brother Yinzhi used the magic of warding off evil to murder the deposed prince. Kangxi immediately ordered a search and found the magic of warding off evil in the eldest brother's mansion. Inscribed on it was the birth date of the deposed prince Yinreng.
Kangxi was furious and said bluntly: "The eldest prince Yinzhi committed treason and cursed the crown prince without any regard for his parents and brothers. I order him to be stripped of his title and imprisoned in the palace for life!"
At this point, the eldest brother had completely fallen. Kangxi knew that if this continued, his sons would continue to fight each other to the death, so he simply announced publicly in the court that he would appoint a crown prince and asked the ministers to submit memorials to recommend their own candidates.
Yinzuo naturally also had the right to submit a memorial, and before he put pen to paper, he went to the next door.
"Brother, do you want to be the crown prince?"
Yinzhen smiled. He seldom smiled, and when he did, his smile was not bright but only shallow.
"Brother, you are laughing. What are you laughing at? I am asking you seriously."
Yinzhen put away his smile and said, "I thought you would unwaveringly support my second brother."
"Second brother, he is certainly very good, but he doesn't know how to control his people. He is easily deceived by his subordinates and has been used by others to do many wrong things in the name of the Eastern Palace. I think he is too kind. Brother, you are more suitable for that position than him. You can intimidate the ministers under you!"
"I am very happy to have your approval, but this time, you have to petition to reinstate the crown prince."
"Why? I've already told you that my second brother is not suitable." Yinzuo didn't understand what he meant.
"Be obedient, I'm always doing good for you."
Because their emperor had been in power for decades and his word was final, he now believed that all the mistakes made by Yinreng were instigated by his subordinates, and that it was the boss who used the art of witchcraft to murder Yinreng. Yinreng was innocent. In his mind, Yinreng was still the good son who was taught by him personally and made him proud. No matter what, he would reinstate Yinreng as the crown prince.
If he ran into the gun at this moment, he would be courting death, and he, Yinzhen, would definitely not be the first one to do so.
So, just like in his previous life, he chose to petition for the restoration of the crown prince, and asked his subordinates to petition for the enthronement of the eighth prince.
Sure enough, just like in the previous life, all the princes were summoned to the Qianqing Palace, and Yinsi was reprimanded in public.
Kangxi threw the memorial in his face and said, "You are colluding with your cronies and plotting to be crowned as heir. Before Yinzhi was imprisoned, he reported to the emperor that a fortune teller said that the eighth prince would be very rich in the future. This person is Zhang Mingde. Is he your man?"
Yinsi knelt on the ground and looked at the memorial spread out on the ground, which was written by Yinzhi himself.
"I am wronged."
How could Kangxi listen to his argument? He directly ordered to deprive Yinsi of his title of Beile and handed him over to the Council of State for trial.
From then on, Lao Ba was out.
Yinzhen looked at the Thirteenth Brother who was safe and sound beside him, and the Fourteenth Brother who stuck close to Yinzuo, and he breathed a sigh of relief. It was great.
Even though half a month later, the investigation found that Yinsi was not guilty and he was reinstated as Beile, everyone knew that he would never have a chance to sit on the throne.
Yinreng became the crown prince again. On the same day, the third son Yinzhi, the fourth son Yinzhen, the fifth son Yinqi and the fourth son Yinzuo were conferred the title of princes, the seventh son Yinyou and the tenth son Yin'e were conferred the title of princes, the ninth son Yin'er, the twelfth son Yin'er, the thirteenth son Yinxiang and the fourteenth son Yinzhen were conferred the title of Beizi.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
