108. Chapter 108
"none"
The Eighth Prince and the others were just watching the show from the side. Hongxi was pushed to the side by the Fourteenth Prince. He stumbled back a few steps, waving his arms to barely stand firm, his face pale and at a loss.
Qi You stood calmly, facing the Fourteenth Prince who rushed towards him like an angry lion, without even blinking.
Childish and arrogant!
Another prince who was spoiled by Kangxi and became lawless!
Qi You was gentle, but not without principles. He was rarely in the capital, and the others had never interacted with him, so they knew very little about him.
Whether he was in the imperial court or in the local areas, officials either looked at him with awe or treated him with great respect.
Don't take the initiative to cause trouble, but don't be afraid of trouble either.
As the mind changes with the environment, so too does the body. He cultivated his imposing and majestic aura through hard work. Just like the Fourteenth Prince, he was spoiled and arrogant because of Kangxi's favor.
Once the two face off, the winner will be immediately apparent.
In the past, in front of everyone, Qi You would have settled the matter peacefully and taken Hong Xi away, ignoring Fourteen's provocation.
Now he will not give in, otherwise, he will become a soft persimmon in their eyes and everyone will come forward to step on him.
It's time for him to establish his authority and let them know his aggressiveness.
Whether it was Prince Cheng or Fourteenth, if they bumped into him, he would fight back immediately.
Fourteen was half a head shorter than Qi You. He met Qi You's calm gaze, and for some reason, his heart tightened uncontrollably.
In terms of age, Qi You is the eldest. In terms of status, Qi You is a prince.
No matter which one it is, if he dares to take action, he will be committing an insubordination and lacking etiquette.
There were already court officials outside, walking towards the imperial study in groups of three or four. If he dared to take action, he would inevitably be known as an impulsive and violent person.
In his entire life, he had been favored by Kangxi, and no one had ever dared to offend him like this. The rage lingering in Fourteen's chest had not yet subsided. He clenched his fists and waved them, lowering his voice and gritting his teeth, saying, "If you have the guts, let's go to the training ground and see for ourselves."
Qi You's mouth twitched, and without even giving him another glance, he turned and left.
Fourteen was completely ignored, and the air coming out of his nose was like two pillars of fire, wheezing loudly.
The Eighth Prince watched calmly, then stepped forward, pulled him aside, and whispered a few words of advice, "Let's go to the Imperial Study first, or we might upset Khan Ama later."
The Fourteenth Prince looked up and saw Liang Jiugong standing outside the imperial study with a smile on his face, greeting Qi You.
He snorted heavily and said disdainfully: "Look at Liang Jiugong's fawning look, he's really a good lackey!"
The Eighth Prince's expression changed slightly. He turned around and looked around. Seeing the Fourth and Fifth Princes approaching together, he quickly pushed Fourteenth Prince and said, "Stop talking. Walls have ears."
Fourteenth finally shut up in disappointment and walked towards the imperial study with a cold face.
Qi You greeted Liang Jiugong and said to Hong Xi, who had his head bowed, "Straighten your back and cheer up!"
Hongxi straightened his chest and raised his head, forcing a smile from the corners of his mouth.
Qi You listened to the deafening sound of Fourteen's footsteps behind him, glanced at Hong Xi who was smiling uncomfortably, and expressed his disgust in silence.
After entering the room and paying their respects, they took their seats one by one. Kangxi raised his head from behind the imperial desk, his eyes sweeping over everyone, pausing briefly on Qi You, Hong Xi and the Fourteenth Prince, then lowered his eyelids and continued to look down at the memorial in his hand.
After everyone arrived, Kangxi ordered Liang Jiugong to lead the eunuchs serving in front of the emperor, and handed each of them a copied document.
Everyone read the document from beginning to end, all confused and unable to help but whisper to each other. Li Guangdi held the document and subconsciously looked at Qi You, who was sitting upright with his hands empty.
The Fourth Prince looked around and noticed that Qi You's hands were empty. He knew at once that the document must have been written by him.
Others also discovered it one after another. The Eighth Prince turned around and said something to the Ninth Prince. The Ninth Prince immediately looked at Qi You and signaled to the Fourteenth Prince with his eyes.
Fourteen quickly raised his head to look at Qi You, his suppressed anger gradually reviving. Unable to contain himself any longer, he stood up and said loudly, "Khan Ama, the situation recorded here is truly incredible. We don't understand it. Please explain it to us, Khan Ama."
Kangxi raised his eyelids and looked at him, then raised his hand and waved him back, "If you don't understand, just listen carefully." He turned to look at Qi You, "Seventh Brother, please explain it to me."
Qi You responded and stood up, walked to the center of the room and stood still. He calmly explained the source of the data recorded in the document and the harm of inbreeding to future generations.
He cast his gaze towards the Chief Physician and the other doctors at the Imperial Hospital. "Many diseases are unheard of before they occur. After being discovered by doctors and physicians, they delve into their research and seek treatments. However, to date, there is still no cure for hysteria or various birth defects. Some hysteria is congenital, while others are acquired. In either case, we must prevent and avoid it as much as possible."
Everyone's attention was drawn to Qi You. His voice was clear and gentle, his words articulated clearly, and his demeanor was unparalleled, with occasional well-placed gestures.
Qi You paused at this point and pressed his hand down for emphasis: "In summary, the court must call for a general meeting of the people. Marriage between cousins within the fifth degree of mourning is not permitted. The Banner people are small in population, and they have intermarried for many years. For the sake of future generations, intermarriage between Banner people and Han people will no longer be restricted."
Everyone came to their senses and were filled with surprise, confusion, contemplation, and ridicule. All kinds of emotions were intertwined, making it very exciting and lively.
All the old and new grudges surged into his heart. Fourteenth jumped up first, his mouth curled downward, and he said coldly, "Seventh Brother, for thousands of years, cousins have been allowed to marry each other. This is the experience passed down by our ancestors. Can the ancestral rules be wrong? I beg to differ with you. Forbidding cousins to marry each other is a decision that is too frivolous."
Some officials in the prefecture who had cousin marriages were filled with doubt and followed suit: "People from the same clan cannot marry. Maternal cousins are relatives on the mother's side. Bloodline comes from the father's side of the family and has nothing to do with the mother's side."
"Yeah, yeah, I've never seen the children they gave birth to. They're all idiots."
However, they didn't have much confidence in saying this. It wasn't uncommon for children born to cousins in the capital to be foolish. Even if they weren't quite foolish, they certainly weren't smart. Some people seemed normal, but in reality, their brains weren't very bright, as if they were blocked, always feeling suffocated.
In other cases, there is no difference in the sons' generation, but when it comes to the grandchildren's generation, they are plagued by illness and die early.
The biggest example is Nalan Mingzhu. The Nalan family frequently intermarried with the royal family, especially Nalan Kuixu, whose biological mother was a member of the Jueluo clan, and who then married the granddaughter of Anjun Wang Yuele, but had no offspring.
Qi You replied calmly, "That's because some of their children died young, or were miscarried while still in the womb, never having the chance to be born or grow up. As for bloodlines, some come from the father's bones and blood, and some from the mother's bones and blood. Why do some people resemble their mothers, or even their grandmothers? Daughters resemble their fathers, and sons resemble their mothers. This is a very common phenomenon. You can see it by just looking around; it's a real-life reality. For example, Fourteenth Brother, you look exactly like Concubine De's mother."
The Fourth Prince couldn't help but look at the Fourteenth Prince with a complicated expression. The Fourteenth Prince not only looked like the De Fei, but also had a similar personality. He was just as stubborn and unrepentant, making him extremely annoying.
Fourteen opened his mouth, but was choked for a moment. He couldn't say in front of everyone that he was just Kangxi's son and had nothing to do with Concubine De.
Qi You laughed and said, "Of course, the court is just doing its duty and sincerely hopes that you and the people of the world can be safe and prosperous. If you really don't believe in evil, the court will not force you to stop it."
The powerful and wealthy wanted to ensure their prosperity for generations to come, and the common people wanted to ensure their descendants. Qi You didn't believe that they would take such an important risk.
Even in later times, when medical science was more advanced, cousins still secretly married. Some wealthy members of the royal family, in order to maintain the purity of their bloodline, married close relatives. This wasn't limited to cousins; it even included siblings, and even cousins.
The end result, of course, is that their offspring will be plagued by genetic diseases. They could have done various genetic tests before they died to avoid giving birth to unhealthy children. But with today's backward medical technology, we can only rely on luck.
Qi You pointed out the dangers of inbreeding, achieving two goals at once, and his main purpose was to allow intermarriage between Manchus and Han people.
Fourteen was speechless after hearing what Qi You said. He glanced at Kangxi and saw him leaning back in his chair, his face expressionless, listening to everyone's discussion without saying a word. Fourteen suddenly felt uneasy and sat back down in frustration.
Seeing Fourteenth's defeat, Ninth Prince stood up, a sinister glint in his eyes, and said to Qi You with a forced smile, "Seventh Brother, there's something I don't understand. What ulterior motive do you have in allowing the Banner-Han marriage and confusing the Banner-Han bloodline?"
Qi You replied calmly, "In the Qing Dynasty, there are both Bannermen and Han Chinese. If we make a clear distinction, the Bannermen and Han Chinese will become estranged. Khan Mafa once ordered intermarriage between Bannermen and Han Chinese. Could it be that Khan Mafa also has ulterior motives? Of course, I emphasize again that those who wish to marry Bannermen can continue to do so. Those who wish to marry Han Chinese will no longer be prevented by the court."
Seeing that there were choices, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Some of the smart ones were now looking for the children of Han officials for their own children.
Qi You smiled at the Ninth Prince and asked, "Ninth Brother has always had a wide circle of friends, is generous and charitable, and generous with his money. He considers Western missionaries to be close friends and sorcerers and lay people to be honored guests. I don't understand. Does Ninth Brother think that the Han people are even inferior to Westerners? Or does Ninth Brother only associate with useful Han people, but in fact he looks down on them?"
Shunzhi set an example by appointing a Han Chinese concubine as his first wife. The Ninth Prince's face flushed red. He dared not say Shunzhi was wrong, let alone look down on the Han Chinese. Inside the room were Han officials like Li Guangdi and Zhang Tingyu.
What made the Ninth Prince vomit blood the most was hearing Qi You mention his generosity.
The princes and nobles were allowed to set up their own residences, but they were not allowed to move the houses, imperial farms, and household items that they were allocated.
The harvest from the imperial farm, plus the salary, had to support the servants, the wives, concubines, and children who filled the house, as well as the daily social expenses. Life was quite comfortable, but it was definitely not enough to support his "generous charity."
His biggest income came from tributes from Jiangnan and salt taxes from Lianghuai. With money, he could be generous, win over people from all walks of life, and buy their hearts.
Now that this source of income was gone, he was no longer the same as before. Without money, the number of people following him gradually dwindled. Even the talent that the Eighth Prince had once displayed among the scholars of Jiangnan was no longer as abundant as before and was almost exhausted.
Kangxi then spoke up, saying, "The facts and evidence are before us, leaving no room for doubt. This matter is settled as the Seventh Brother said. Upon your return, you will inform the various prefectures of the court's decision, and read it to the people, explaining it. After the selections are held in two months, you may marry your daughters to Han Chinese or to bannermen. It is your decision. Withdraw."
When everyone heard Kangxi speak, they didn't dare to discuss it anymore and quickly stood up to greet and leave.
Qi You was not worried that they would refuse to marry the Han people. The descendants of officials like Li Guangdi were several times more powerful than many nobles who were only good for show and would definitely become popular.
Marriages have always been about matching social status, with no significant difference in social class. The powerful married the powerful, while ordinary bannermen married ordinary Han Chinese.
Soon, intermarriage between the Manchus and the Han will become popular.
Hong Xi witnessed Qi You speaking eloquently in front of all the ministers, responding to accusations and questions with reason and evidence, counterattacking and leaving the other party speechless. He was so excited that he followed Qi You out, with a lot of questions waiting to be asked.
Liang Jiugong stepped forward, bowed, and said to Hongxi, "Big Brother, the Emperor has asked you to stay for a while."
Hongxi stopped and said to Qiyou, "Seventh Uncle, Khanmafa has kept me here. I'll come find you later."
Qi You understood, smiled and agreed, then left without looking back.
Hongxi turned back and went forward to greet him. Kangxi was very kind and told him to sit down. He said, "You went to wait for your seventh uncle early this morning. What have you learned from him?"
Thinking of Qi You's previous teachings to him, Hong Xi's heart tightened, and he stammered, "Seventh Uncle taught me the ways of the world, and I learned a lot of truths."
Kangxi uttered an "oh" and asked curiously, "What social etiquette has your seventh uncle taught you?"
Hongxi had been with Kangxi for a long time and knew how difficult it was to be with the emperor. After weighing the pros and cons, he told him everything about his meeting with Qi You.
Kangxi just lowered his eyes and listened, humming from time to time.
Kangxi still had some considerations about letting Hongxi stay with Qiyou and was not completely at ease.
First, teaching an apprentice will starve the master to death, and a teacher will always keep some tricks up his sleeve when teaching his students.
Unexpectedly, Qi You taught Hongxi more carefully than Yinreng taught his son. He taught him in detail and without hiding anything.
Secondly, there are two kinds of teaching: teaching for the good and teaching for the bad. Qi You's teaching Hong Xi was not just a superficial effort to show his brotherly love.
Compared to when Concubine Liang died, the Ninth Prince and his men held a funeral at the Eighth Prince's residence, where they arranged for him to have a large number of guests and a bustling crowd of people. Qi You's care and cultivation of his brothers and nephews, teaching them how to fish, is what can be considered true brotherly love.
Hongxi was unsure, so he made up his mind and told the whole story of the quarrel with Fourteenth Uncle in detail: "Khan Ama, it's all my fault. I got Seventh Uncle into trouble."
What happened in the Palace of Heavenly Purity could not escape Kangxi's eyes. He did not know the specific content of the quarrel, but Shi Sidu rushed towards Qi You like a calf. There must have been a big conflict between the two.
No wonder Fourteenth had been finding fault with Qi You before. Kangxi couldn't help but frown.
Fourteenth and Qiyou brothers had only met a few times. The only reason for their conflict was the instigation of the Eighth Prince and the Ninth Prince.
The marriage between Manchus and Han people that Qi You mentioned not only concerns the relationship between Manchus and Han people, but also the safety of the country.
Fourteenth Prince failed to distinguish between public and private matters, and regardless of the fact that he and Yinreng were blood brothers, he acted arrogantly and bullied his nephew Hongxi.
The same goes for the Ninth Prince. He makes money everywhere and buys people's hearts for the Eighth Prince. Both of them are really hateful and stupid!
What made Kangxi even more disheartened and wary was that several of his sons, like crazy, surrounded the Eighth Prince and fought for him.
Kangxi spoke a few words to Hongxi in a gentle voice, asking him to study hard under Qiyou, and then let him leave.
The imperial study became quiet, and Kangxi sat alone in front of the imperial desk, lost in thought.
After a long time, he spoke in a hoarse voice, called Liang Jiugong forward, spread out paper and ground ink, and stood solemnly beside him to serve.
Kangxi finished writing on the paper, checked it again from beginning to end, took out his private seal and stamped it, and then stamped it with the imperial seal.
Liang Jiugong, watching from the side, shuddered. He lowered his head, not daring to look any further. But he secretly rejoiced and breathed a sigh of relief.
The author has something to say:
The main text is almost finished, so don’t keep the little angels anymore, they are fat and ready to be slaughtered.
In addition, let's take a look at the advance collection of "Becoming a Big Boss After Transmigrating into the Best Female Supporting Character in the Book", which is self-reliant and has a lot of feelings. Please collect it. Thank you to the little angels who voted for me or irrigated nutrient solution during 2022-12-17 23:58:35~2022-12-18 23:39:21~
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