As Yinzhen listened to Yaoxian praising the young lady Nian's extraordinary beauty, proper manners, and good temperament over and over again, he wanted to laugh: "What's wrong? You like her that much? If you really like her and want to live in the same household as her, I'll give you an idea."
Changning turned to look at him.
"You don't need to be my concubine, just be Hongyan's concubine, isn't that enough?"
ah?
Changning was stunned.
"How old is Hongyan?"
Is your ten-year-old son about to be betrothed to a concubine?
Yinzhen disagreed: "A few years older doesn't matter. When choosing a wife, choose virtue; when choosing a concubine, choose beauty. Since Lady Nian is exceptionally beautiful and her father and brothers are capable, wouldn't it be good for her to be Hongyan's secondary consort?"
"Furthermore, in a few years, when Hongyan grows up and Nian Shi has matured, she will be more suitable to have children."
Changning was shocked.
So this is how royalty chooses wives?
Does it seem like it's easy to have children?
That being said, it seems that the four concubines in the palace did indeed have the most children and received the most favor.
Moreover, there's another reason, which he doesn't mention, but Changning already knows.
The Nian family is someone we must win over.
Recruiting Nian Gengyao was like recruiting a fierce general.
The Fucha clan was indeed outstanding in military affairs, and Changrong was now the leading military general in the capital.
But who would complain that their wings aren't fully grown?
However, Changning still opposes the idea of having Nian Zhiyi become his son's concubine.
It wasn't that she was a saint or anything; she also knew that as Yinzhen's successor, Hongyan's harem women would definitely need to be arranged, and it was impossible for him to completely consider his own wishes.
But Changning knows history!
The Nian family will eventually be purged!
In other words, whoever marries Nian Zhiyi will actually have an extra layer of vigilance from Yinzhen, which will hinder their chances of seizing the throne!
How could this incident hinder her son's chances of ascending the throne?
Changning immediately refused.
Seeing her firm opposition, Yinzhen didn't say anything. Of course, he had to consider Yaoxian's feelings.
Putting that matter aside for the time being, the two of them started discussing accounts again in bed.
They didn't stop until midnight.
Changning's mind was still racing that night.
But at this moment, he wasn't thinking about the Nian family, but about Emperor Kangxi.
Speaking of Emperor Kangxi's health, it seems to be worse than in history. He used to have the strength to fight and kill people, but recently it is said that he just lies in bed and needs to be served.
As the emperor's health deteriorated day by day, Yinzhen's prestige grew ever higher.
Changning also began to have some expectations.
Changning's thinking is correct. Kangxi has indeed been ill for a long time, and he himself has been aware of it, but he is just desperately unwilling to accept it.
But tonight's violent coughing, and seeing the bright red stain on the handkerchief, made Kangxi suddenly feel tired. He collapsed onto the bed, as if he could no longer hear the sounds of the outside world.
Looking back on his life, he ascended the throne at the age of eight, took personal control of the government at the age of fourteen, eliminated Oboi, and quelled the Rebellion of the Three Feudatories. He considered himself a wise monarch who had governed the Qing Dynasty in an orderly manner. In this way, even if he went to the underworld to meet the late emperor, he would not feel ashamed.
The only source of his heartache was the relationship between father and son.
There are no fathers and sons in the imperial family.
He recalled his first son, born to Consort Rong, of the Ma Jia clan, who died young, and then Baoqing, then Baocheng, and now he couldn't even remember how many sons he had.
All his sons were outstanding, each a fierce wolf in battle.
Unfortunately, two tigers cannot share one mountain.
Kangxi closed his eyes wearily. He couldn't be wrong; he was the emperor, and the emperor could never be wrong.
With the Emperor seriously ill, the atmosphere in the Forbidden City seemed to change all at once.
Yinzhen was also very busy, spending almost every day in the palace.
I had promised to bring them back to the park after winter, but now I can't keep that promise.
Although it was a pity that Changning did not visit the Yuanmingyuan again, the Prince's Mansion was much larger and more spacious after the renovation, making it more convenient for relatives to visit each other and exchange information, which was much more convenient than in the garden.
So she quickly received news from Changhua that the smallpox vaccine had been successfully piloted in Beijing and that the vaccine would be rolled out nationwide. She was overjoyed.
With the availability of cowpox vaccination, vaccination at Hongmin and Hongchen clinics will be safer, and people across the country will be safer as well.
So when this news spread, it almost caused an uproar.
Prince Yong and the Fucha family became famous throughout the country.
As long as smallpox vaccination continues to be promoted, more and more people will love and respect him.
This is the will of the people.
I heard that some people who had suffered from smallpox had already made a Buddha statue for Yinzhen and were kneeling and worshipping it day and night.
Previously, Yinzhen would have been extremely afraid that such news would reach his father's ears and cause the opposite effect.
However, Emperor Kangxi is currently in a coma and is almost never awake, so all government affairs are forbidden from being submitted to higher authorities, and this news cannot get through.
Therefore, with the tacit encouragement of the thirteenth and fourteenth princes, as well as the fifth and seventh princes, Prince Yong's reputation grew even greater.
Of course, with Yinzhen's tacit approval, the news that Changning had first proposed smallpox vaccination was gradually made public.
The story of Prince Yong and his wife became a celebrated tale in the capital.
The officials in the court were originally very dissatisfied with Prince Yong because of the Ministry of Revenue's collection of silver, feeling that he was a tough nut to crack and a path for a loyal minister.
Who would have thought that he would actually manage to pave the way for this isolated and loyal minister?
It seems that this hidden dragon is about to emerge from the abyss.
Changning felt a headache coming on when he saw dozens more boxes of visiting cards in front of him. He waved his hand irritably and said, "Take them all away!"
Tingfeng and Yuxia hurriedly instructed the eunuchs to remove the invitations, and then personally poured tea, served fruit, and added incense to avoid troubling their master.
Seeing that Changning was irritable, Zhuiyu was determined to please her: "Master, is there anything you'd like to eat? I'll have someone make it for you. Or shall we go for a stroll in the garden? The weather is warm now, and the fish in there are splashing around!"
At this time, the capital was in a state of panic. No one knew whether Emperor Kangxi was about to die, and no one dared to cause trouble. However, there were undercurrents of unrest.
Changning didn't want to think about these brain-draining things, feeling that life was too short to miss out on enjoying it!
So, holding a cup of grape milk tea and munching on the potato chips that Eunuch Ma had just fried, she started teaching the maids around her how to play mahjong.
The mahjong set was ready a long time ago, but I just hadn't found the time to play it until today. It's the perfect opportunity to play to my heart's content.
Upon touching the familiar "One of Bamboo" (a type of amulet), Changning almost burst into tears.
Having lived in the Qing Dynasty for so many years, if I didn't constantly remind myself, I might really think that traveling back to the modern world was just a dream!
"Master, how do you play this mahjong set? It's so exquisite, it looks a bit like leaf tiles." Zhuiyu asked with great interest, eager to pick it up and start playing.
Changning waved her hand and told Chuixue, Zhuiyu, and Tingfeng to play with her, while Yuxia was responsible for making a profit.
"Splash, splash~"
Ah! It's the same familiar recipe!
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