"What did you say? Eight... He's already been beheaded?" Honghui was shocked to hear this news, his eyes filled with disbelief.
The eunuch beside him knelt and kowtowed deeply: "This servant dares not deceive Your Highness. It is indeed so. The imperial edict issued by His Majesty himself a few days ago was carried out yesterday!"
“But…” Honghui hesitated, “Eight… He is, after all, the Emperor’s own son, the Emperor’s brother. Wouldn’t it be against human ethics and natural law to execute him?”
The eunuch, upon hearing Honghui's words, trembled with fear: "Your Highness! Please don't say such things again! If this reaches the Emperor's ears, who knows what trouble it will cause! If the Emperor also thinks you are a disloyal and unjust person, that would be terrible!"
Honghui sighed with a bitter face: "I just feel it's a pity, I'm afraid that Father's reputation will be tarnished. Father has already had a good reputation since he ascended the throne. People and officials alike love and respect him, and his virtuous name has spread far and wide."
But now, with rampant killings within the inner court and constant turmoil among officials, even the murder of his own brothers… I truly can't help but worry for Father!”
Seeing that the eldest prince's words were becoming increasingly outrageous, the eunuch broke out in a cold sweat, soaking his clothes and robes: "Your Highness! This is the Forbidden City! Be careful what you say!"
Honghui realized the seriousness of the situation and knew he shouldn't say anything more. As he shut his mouth, he regretted it. Why had he said all that? It sounded like he was dissatisfied with his father's actions.
But actually, no. If these words were to get out, wouldn't there be a rift between Father Emperor and himself? Thinking of this, Honghui felt extremely guilty and remorseful.
However, I heard that the root of this problem lies in the Empress's desire to purge the staff of the Imperial Household Department and promote female officials.
Female official...
Honghui had to admit that Consort Chun was more decisive and had more ideas than his own mother.
However, this move was too risky, and it even affected his second sister. Honghui didn't know if she would continue to persist.
Meanwhile, inside the Hall of Mental Cultivation...
Yinzhen looked at the memorial handed over by the Minister of Justice, which recorded how Niohuru colluded with officials of the Imperial Household Department and passed the information to the Eighth Prince, thus deceiving everyone.
"Excellent, excellent! If this hadn't happened, I wouldn't have known there were so many corrupt officials in the court!"
A glint of light flashed in Yinzhen's eyes. He was never a smooth talker. Back then, he dared to take the path of a lone minister on his own, taking the initiative to collect the Ministry of Revenue's debts and standing against all the ministers. This was enough to prove that he was a man of firm character who would never tolerate any wrongdoing.
An ordinary monarch might have considered the large number of officials involved and dealt with them leniently, but he would never have done so. Moreover, Changning and the child were his Achilles' heel, and he would never let anyone off easily if they touched them.
"If that's the case, these officials have no reason to keep their official hats. After their entire families are executed, their relatives will be barred from holding office for a hundred years."
After Yinzhen issued the decree, the entire court and the public were greatly shocked.
He/She shall not be allowed to re-enter officialdom for a century...
To put it bluntly, it's uncertain whether the Qing Dynasty could have lasted another hundred years.
This statement effectively severed all hope and escape route for these families to rise again.
At this point, the ministers finally understood Emperor Yongzheng's style of doing things.
This was by no means a weak and conservative monarch. His political achievements, military style, and handling of officials all revealed his decisive and ruthless nature.
For the Qing Dynasty, this was a good thing.
For some officials, this may be quite a bitter experience.
By the time the matter with Hutuli is almost resolved, it will already be autumn.
The system of female officials established in Changning was already taking shape.
Nowadays, the inner court has established a relatively complete and rigorous system of female officials.
Many palace maids and nannies with real talent and skills have now taken up the position of female officials. Among them, Chuixue, Yuxia, Tingfeng and others who are by Changning's side hold important positions and are now female officials with official ranks.
This time, they have realized their lifelong dream. They are not only palace maids who serve others, but more importantly, they can have the power and status that belong to women, just like other stewards of the Imperial Household Department. They have the freedom not to get married or become nannies.
This system was destined to be recorded in the annals of the Qing Dynasty.
But that's not enough. Changning plans to hold another selection next year, choosing a group of female officials from among commoners and members of the imperial family.
But before that...
She needs to arrange a meeting between Yierha and Fashan...
Changning remembered that she had promised Consort Mao that she would give Yierha a chance to meet her future husband in the spring. Who knew that due to the establishment of the female official system, coupled with the incident of Hutuli's murder, it would be almost autumn now…
No, we need to put it on the agenda as soon as possible.
Just as Changning summoned Consort Mao, intending to urgently discuss with her how to arrange a meeting between the two, Yierha and Hutuli were in the South Third Palace, listening to the Third Princess of the Third Uncle's Mansion talk about Fashan.
“I met Fashan once with my brother. My brother said he was quite tall, strong, and had a scholarly air about him. He seemed quite intelligent, and he was also quite humble and low-key, without many of the spoiled brat traits.”
As expected of the daughter of Consort Tian, the Third Princess is a professional when it comes to gossip.
Besides the information that is publicly available, she also asked some more private questions.
"I've heard that there isn't a single woman in Fa Shan's backyard..."
The girls were whispering amongst themselves. The maids and nannies who were supposed to serve them had already been sent away by Hutu, so they could talk freely without worrying about the rules.
Ever since Hutuli was murdered and asked Yinzhen to let several of her young ladies enter the palace to keep her company, Yinzhen seemed to have suddenly become enlightened.
He felt that his daughter was somewhat lonely on weekdays. There were only two girls of similar age in the palace, Hutuli and Yierha, which was indeed a bit too few.
At this age, the girl is at the stage where she loves to chatter and call her friends, so Yinzhen agreed to Hutuli's request and allowed her to frequently invite these good friends to the palace to play.
Now, the Third Princess of the Third Prince's Mansion, the First Princess of the Seventh Prince's Mansion, and Wanji are all frequent visitors to the harem.
They also often brought gossip from outside the palace to amuse the two princesses.
This time, the news brought is about Fashan.
"Really? This...you even managed to find out this news?" Hutuli had to admit she was a little impressed with the Third Princess.
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