87. Chapter 87
"none"
It was impossible for Qi You to tell the whole conversation with the eldest prince. He insisted that if he couldn't tell the truth, he should just keep quiet.
Qi You is not someone who would stab someone in the back. Since the eldest prince trusts him, he must be worthy of this trust.
Kangxi looked at Qi You with increasing suspicion. The anger in his eyes was like the changeable summer sky, dark clouds gathering. He said coldly, "Even if you don't answer, I know that the boss has been dissatisfied for a long time. He always thinks he is invincible. He is the boss and deserves everything. No matter how much I give him, it will not be enough. He will not be satisfied unless I give up this throne!"
This is a serious accusation!
When Qi You learned about his past life, it seemed the eldest prince had met a tragic end. The outcome of his struggle with the crown prince depended on Kangxi's attitude.
He would only be defeated if Kangxi was dissatisfied with the eldest prince.
Unless the eldest prince really led his troops to storm into the Palace of Heavenly Purity, all the evidence and so-called proofs are nonsense.
Because the Forbidden City is not a place for reason and law at all.
When a neighbor becomes suspicious, he will subconsciously look for clues to support his suspicions. Kangxi is showing this kind of behavior now.
The ice is three feet thick, and it didn't freeze overnight. No matter how many errands the eldest prince has received, or how much trust he seems to have gained from Kangxi on the surface, these are all superficial.
The royal family has to maintain its reputation. As the eldest son of Kangxi, it is impossible for him to strip the title and imprison him just because of the so-called witchcraft curse.
Moreover, Kangxi was not a believer in supernatural beings. During his tour of the south of the Yangtze River, he scoffed at all the "visions" that his officials claimed to have, and used them to curry favor with him.
Qi You knew that Kangxi would not believe anything he said. According to the principle of self-preservation, he should avoid it, but he couldn't do it because he would feel guilty.
After a moment of silence, Qi You followed his true inner thoughts and said, "Khan Ama, my brother is not like that. At the beginning, he was a little emotional, but it passed quickly. He even joked with me about Fu Jin."
Kangxi squinted at Qi You and snorted in displeasure, but his expression softened a little. "You are so kind that you still speak up for him at this time."
Qi You didn't let his emotions get the better of him, nor did he sugarcoat his eldest brother's story. He simply told the truth: "Khan Ama, I told the truth. My eldest brother was really angry for a while. He made fun of me for knowing nothing about the streets of the capital and even asked me to go shopping with him."
For some reason, Kangxi trusted Qi You and felt extremely relieved that Qi You did not take advantage of his misfortune or protect himself.
Kangxi feigned impatience and waved his hand, saying, "Okay, okay, I get it. Stop speaking for him all the time. Don't I know what he's really like after all these years? Publicly and privately, if he dares to get angry, it's unfilial of him!"
With so many sons, it's a wonder that there are no disputes in the family. They can range from small disputes over bedding to big disputes over the country.
What's more, Kangxi had sons one after another, and he had one of the largest number of children among all emperors in history.
Qi You believed that the mistakes were equally shared between the eldest prince and Kangxi.
Qi You said helplessly: "Khan Ama, big brother is a human being, and everyone has his own temper."
Kangxi was almost amused by Qi You's persistence. He glared at him and said, "What about you? Don't you have your own temper? The boss comes to you again and again, and as he is, he just relies on his status as the eldest brother and orders you around. And you're not angry at all?"
The eldest prince and Qi You are close because of their friendship in the upper study.
They were all young at the time. The eldest prince and the crown prince were naturally at odds, and the third prince followed closely behind. The fourth prince was distracted by the affairs of Concubine De and the sixth prince.
The other brothers were young, and the eldest brother was old enough to disdain their association. By the time they all grew up, the brotherly love between them was thinner than paper and would break at the slightest poke.
Qi You had been in contact with them since he was young, but later he lived alone and did not get involved in the interactions with his brothers.
In the eyes of the eldest prince, Qi You, this seemingly harmless disabled brother, is undoubtedly his best friend.
Qi You laughed, shook his head, and said, "Khan Ama, I'm really not angry with my elder brother."
Kangxi knew that his son never lied, and there was no need for him to lie about such a small matter. He stared at him in disbelief, speechless.
Qi You explained: "I'm too busy to argue with Big Brother, let alone take these little things to heart."
Kangxi burst into laughter, and had nothing to say to Qi You. This was his true strength, ignoring the other party and letting him get bored.
Kangxi thought he could not be so gentlemanly and open-minded. He looked at Qi You with a softer look and said lovingly, "It's cold outside. You can stay in the palace for lunch later."
Qi You agreed as it was getting late. At this time, Liang Jiugong came forward to report that the prince had arrived, and Kangxi asked him to be summoned.
The prince quickly came into the room to pay his respects, and Qi You stood up and they greeted each other.
Kangxi asked the prince to sit down, and Qi You hurriedly gave up the seat below him and stepped back in turn.
The prince thanked him and sat down. He looked at Qi You and asked with a smile, "I didn't expect that my seventh brother is here too. I hope I didn't interrupt your work."
So boring!
The prince clearly wanted to know whether Qi You came to see Kangxi for any big or small matter, but he asked so many questions in such a roundabout way. He must have been as suspicious as Kangxi.
Qi You didn't like this way of talking, so he simply answered without any hesitation, saying, "No need to bother, I've already finished talking to Khan Ama."
As expected, the prince's expression changed slightly, and he shifted in his chair. He quickly stole a glance at Kangxi, and seeing that his face was expressionless, he quickly sat up straight.
The prince felt uncomfortable, but he didn't dare to say anything in front of Kangxi, so he reluctantly said, "That's good."
Kangxi frowned slightly and asked the prince, "What brings you here?"
The prince quickly replied, "I have completed the errand that Khan-Ama assigned me a few days ago, and I came to report back to you."
Qi You listened to the prince's report. The task assigned to him by Kangxi was to ensure that nothing went wrong in the capital and that there must be peace and harmony during the New Year and other festivals.
The snow was still falling outside, and it looked like it was getting heavier. The heavier the snow, the more difficult it would be for the poor people.
Especially in dilapidated courtyards where many families live together, roof collapses caused by heavy snow and fires caused by heating are of paramount importance and need to be strictly prevented.
The prince was on a mission so quickly, just finding an excuse to meet Kangxi and find out the reason why Qi You entered the palace.
Kangxi hummed, without comment, and warned: "The snow is still falling, don't let your guard down."
The prince was stunned for a moment, then quickly agreed, trying to make amends, "Khan Ama is indeed thoughtful. The snow is still falling, so we can't let our guard down yet. Don't worry, Khan Ama, I'll be watching again tomorrow."
He turned to look at Qi You and asked with a smile, "I wonder if Seventh Brother is free. Why don't we go take a look together tomorrow? It just so happens that you haven't been to the capital for a long time, so you can walk around and get familiar with the place."
Qi You flatly refused and said, "I'm sorry, I have an appointment with Fourth Brother tomorrow and I have something to discuss with him."
The prince forced a smile and said it was a pity, but his heart began to feel uneasy again.
After Qi You returned to Beijing, he had close contacts with the Fourth Prince and the Eldest Prince. It is not known whether he stood on their side.
The prince is becoming more and more suspicious. As long as he doesn't ascend to the throne, he will not be able to fully trust any of his brothers.
Qi You was not in the capital, and the prince knew his character and that he never formed cliques.
The prince was worried about his other brothers, fearing that they would try to win over Qi You.
The prince had long witnessed Qi You's abilities. In addition, Qi You was capable and highly valued by Kangxi, so the prince could not give him up no matter what.
Even if it is ruined, it is better than Qi You supporting anyone.
Unfortunately, they all met at Qi You's mansion. The eunuch who served him closely in the mansion was Gao Guihe, who had been away from him all year round, away from the complicated forces in the palace.
The slaves from the various banners assigned by the Ministry of Internal Affairs had no way of getting in touch with them. Qi You was like an isolated island. Not to mention the Crown Prince, even Emperor Kangxi had no way of getting in touch with him.
Qi Youzhen made an appointment with the Fourth Prince to discuss the details of the river together tomorrow and was too lazy to care what the Crown Prince thought.
He had been tested many times by Kangxi today. Serving an emperor was like serving a tiger, and serving a half-emperor was something he really couldn't handle and was exhausted.
Kangxi hummed and said, "Seventh Brother is busy, so you can go on this errand by yourself. Why drag him along?"
A look of embarrassment flashed across the prince's face, and he lowered his head in response.
Kangxi glanced out the window and said, "The snow is getting heavy. Don't wait until tomorrow to go out and check. Go back home, have dinner, and go for a walk while it's still light. Tell them to be careful and not to let their guard down."
The prince lowered his eyes, agreed to everything, stood up and respectfully took his leave.
Qi You was secretly surprised when he saw that Kangxi did not invite the prince to have dinner.
The prince was given the task of maintaining the capital's security. According to Qi You's previous understanding, he was just going out for a walk and supervising the people on duty to run errands.
Since Kangxi personally asked the prince to go out, he would never dare to act rashly again. In the heavy snow, he had to walk around and check.
It seems that Kangxi is not very satisfied with the crown prince. Qi You thought about it again and soon felt relieved.
Kangxi was getting older and older, and facing the prince who was in his prime all day long was like a constant reminder to him that the throne under him would sooner or later change hands and be handed over to someone else.
This is a very subtle psychology, as being the crown prince is equivalent to being guilty of possessing a treasure. The prince also served as regent many times, and the older Kangxi got, the deeper his sins became.
Of all the crimes that led to the dethronement of the crown prince, the most genuine was: "He wanted to divide my authority so that he could act as he pleased."
When only the father and son were left, Kangxi became much more easy-going and chatted with Qi You like any ordinary person.
The royal family and the common people were equally busy during the New Year and other festivals. The common people had to prepare New Year and festival gifts, while the royal family had to reward the royal family and ministers.
In addition to various banquets, every time at this time, the Imperial Household Department received a lot of tribute, but also took out a lot.
When Qi You heard Kangxi say that Cao Yin had written a memorial asking to borrow silver to trade copper, he was startled and asked, "Cao Yin wants to borrow 100,000 taels of silver? Khan, how does he plan to pay it back if he loses money? No, did he specify a repayment date and how much he plans to pay back?"
Kangxi paused and said, "Cao Yin said that copper is expensive in the north and cheap in the south. If we sell copper to the south, we will definitely make money."
Qi You was speechless. If only doing business were that simple.
One hundred thousand taels!
The monthly salary of a prefect was only 120 taels. Cao Yin generously borrowed 100,000 taels to do business. The prefect would have to live for 833 years, a thousand years, to get such a salary.
To use another method, if this money is used to increase the salary of the prefect, their current salary will be multiplied fivefold, which is 600 taels per year.
If one could receive salary for thirty years in office, the court could pay the lifetime salary of five and a half prefects.
This number may seem small, but there are only 177 prefectures and cities in the entire Qing Dynasty.
This was just one of the sums of money Cao Yin borrowed from Kangxi. Qi You didn't know how much he had borrowed so far.
Without beating around the bush, Qi You asked directly, "Khan Ama, how much silver does Cao Yin owe you in total?"
Kangxi handed over the salt business in Lianghuai to the Cao family. Even though many other things were not taken into account, the Cao family still suffered a deficit of nearly two million taels of silver.
Kangxi was silent for a moment, then told the story of the salt business and the Cao family. "It's difficult for Cao Yin, too. The salt business is too complicated to sort out all at once. It's all because those merchants are cunning. He really tried his best."
Qi You understood that the 100,000 taels Kangxi gave to Cao Yin were not a matter of profit or loss. He had no intention of returning them and was secretly filling the gap for Cao Yin.
Suddenly, Qi You understood the injustices of the eldest prince and why the Cao family was confiscated.
A new emperor appoints new ministers. The Cao family received too much favor, so much that it annoyed too many people.
Although the Cao family was Kangxi's spies placed in Jiangnan, the Li family, Cao's in-laws, were also Kangxi's spies. There was a huge difference between the Cao family and the Li family.
Kangxi had many wet nurses, not just Cao Yin's biological mother, Sun. Only the Cao family had such an honor.
After Cao Yin's death, the Cao family's favor towards Emperor Kangxi faded a lot.
Kangxi was not as generous to Cao Yin as he was to his own sons, including the crown prince.
If it weren't for the age discrepancy, Qi You would have suspected that Cao Yin was Kangxi's biological son and the one he doted on the most.
The most fundamental reason, of course, is Cao Yin’s years as an imperial guard.
Qi You's mind raced as he reviewed all the officials who had been imperial guards but had risen to prominence and become Kangxi's confidants.
The number was enough to shock Qi You. He lowered his eyelids slightly, hiding the emotion in his eyes.
Qi You was extremely depressed. The reform of the imperial examination system had little effect.
Kangxi's nepotism was the root cause of the corruption in the Qing government. As long as he was in power, the Qing government would never improve.
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