Fukang'an breathed a sigh of relief, beads of sweat forming on his forehead. Yan Ning had never seen him like this before; even when he stormed the enemy camp alone, he hadn't shown any fear. Yan Ning reached out and wiped the sweat from his brow, saying softly, "You look tired too, rest for a while!" Fukang'an closed his eyes and shook his head, "It's almost time for court!"
The door to the main room creaked open, and the maids who had been helping Fukang'an change stood waiting outside the inner chamber's curtains. Fukang'an called out softly, "Come in!" The curtains were then lifted, and four maids stood up, carrying his court robes, court hat, wooden basin, and morning tea. While Fukang'an was drinking his morning tea, Yan Ning relayed Consort Rong's instructions to him.
He placed the covered bowl on the table and pondered for a while. After waving the maids away, he looked at Yan Ning and said calmly, "The marriage between Fengshen Yinde and the Tenth Princess was proposed by the Fifteenth Prince. The Fifteenth Prince merely wanted to use the Tenth Princess to exchange for Heshen's loyalty. The Emperor agreed to this marriage because he feared Heshen's future fate would be too tragic. With the Tenth Princess around, Heshen would be a member of the imperial family. On a deeper level, the national treasury is currently heavily depleted, yet Heshen's faction shows no restraint, continuing to amass wealth regardless of the lives of the people. The Emperor is also using the Tenth Princess to reassure Heshen, allowing him to run rampant for now. In the future, the Fifteenth Prince only needs to eliminate Heshen's faction to replenish the national treasury's deficit."
After speaking these words in a calm tone, Fukang'an sighed softly, "His Majesty is now failing to consider things thoroughly!" To Yan Ning, this sentence did not sound like his regret for the state of affairs, but rather like her son's helplessness towards his father.
The ancients said that serving a ruler is like serving a tiger, but in Yan Ning's view, the emperor was a tiger disguised as a fox, controlling everyone under his thumb. He favored Heshen, making Heshen devoted to him, allowing Heshen to embezzle, thus paving the way for the new emperor's future. After the new emperor ascended the throne, he would also praise the late emperor's merits, having received favors from him. The emperor's affection for the Tenth Princess was ultimately due to her being a woman, a sacrifice for imperial power. The emperor's cunning was so profound that even his pawns, knowing they were pawns, willingly became pawns. This, perhaps, is the nature of an emperor's emotions, every detail inextricably linked to political power.
Seeing Fukang'an rise, Yan Ning also stood up and picked up the court hat from the table to put it on him. She was curious about his earlier words, "You're not in the capital, how do you know so much about court affairs?"
Fukang'an, with a touch of childlike mischief on his face, smirked and said, "Where would I find the time for such leisure? It's just that General Agui was tricked by the Heshen brothers and punished by the Emperor. He was idle at home and came up with these ideas. As soon as I returned to the capital, he summoned me to his residence and poured out his pent-up resentment!"
Military generals are born to be on the move, and they fear nothing more than idleness. Fukang'an, years ago, was tricked by the Empress Dowager into remaining in the capital in a high position, doing menial tasks. His heart was heavy with frustration, his brow furrowed constantly. Yan Ning, thinking of Agui's godlike demeanor, now that he was idle at home with nothing to do, surely he'd want to turn over the entire stone path in the mansion, couldn't help but feel a surge of joy, just like Fukang'an.
Fukang'an took a few steps, then turned to Yan Ning and instructed, "Listen to Consort Rong! Find a courtyard for Yunwan to recuperate. I will take care of everything with the imperial physician!"
Yan Ning nodded and watched him leave, her heart filled with worry about what the future held for Yun Wan and De Xuan. If she truly could not return to her original era, and Yun Wan, being a woman, did not leave her name in the annals of history, then why was there not a single word about her or De Xuan in the historical records?
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