Chapter 113
Yinzuo was not an unfilial son. When they were playing outside, they did not forget their old father at home. Although the emperor could not go with them, the letter written by Yinzuo was long-winded and detailed, and he did his best to make Kangxi feel as if he were there.
He wrote down in detail all the interesting, fun, delicious and fresh things he encountered during the trip and sent them to his father. He also sent all the local specialties that could be sent along with the letters to his father.
Not only that, there are even paintings made by the Crown Prince and him. I said before I came here that I wanted to show his Great Qing Empire to his Royal Father, and now I will try my best to let his Royal Father see it.
As for Kangxi’s feelings after seeing it, well, he didn’t feel much of his son’s filial piety!
What an unfilial son!
Kangxi read every thick letter or scroll he received carefully, but felt annoyed and disgusted after reading them.
Just imagine, if you are busy with work, but someone always brags to you about how relaxed he is and how much fun he is having outside, would you be happy?
Alas, the emperor is not that broad-minded.
Especially after Yinzuo left, he no longer had anyone he could see to relax, and his life was not going well.
During the Chinese New Year, when Yinzuo and his family finally arrived in the capital, Kangxi had to admit that he missed his son.
Yinzuo came back and spent some time with Kangxi and his mother, but wanted to leave again not long after the New Year.
It is not easy to bring people back to their original places after they have gone wild, and they have only traveled a small part of the Qing Dynasty map.
In this way, Yinzuo and the prince wandered outside for another two years, and countless things happened in the capital during these two years.
The eldest prince, the third prince, the fourth prince, the eighth prince, the ninth prince and others were scolded and punished in turn. Yinzuo and the prince could hear some of the noise even though they were thousands of miles away. Today this adult was dismissed from office, and tomorrow that family was exiled.
However, although these princes fought fiercely, Kangxi was not too old and still had absolute control over the Qing Dynasty. So he was like a stabilizing force. No matter how these princes fought, they could not shake the rule of the Qing Dynasty. The turmoil in the upper class did not have much impact on the lives of ordinary people below.
In the beginning, apart from the crown prince, the eldest prince had the greatest power. However, after two years of fighting, the eldest prince's faction had withered and the eighth prince stood up.
The Eighth Prince was quite capable. During his several missions outside the capital, he left a good reputation even among the local people. In addition, he already had a good reputation in the court.
In this way, doesn't it mean that from top to bottom, both inside and outside the court, the Eighth Prince has a very good reputation and is very popular?
Another unexpected person is the Ninth Prince, who is also one of the candidates for the position of Crown Prince. Although the Ninth Prince had a bad reputation in the past few years, he has recovered in the past two years and proved his outstanding talent.
Even the Fourteenth Prince below came out and jumped around for a bit, but after just a few jumps he was hit by a few sticks and knocked back down.
Next is the third prince, who is also an older prince and has presided over the work of editing the book. He has gained a lot of support among the literati.
As for the Fourth Prince, although he is not as sociable as the other princes, he is a man who gets things done and has achieved remarkable results.
It was dizzying to pick and choose among these princes, but Kangxi could never find one that particularly satisfied him. Every time he picked one, he would subconsciously compare it with his "predecessors" and always felt that there was something missing.
The eldest brother was not as smart as the eighth brother, so he was played by others and was eliminated. The third brother was jumping around, but in fact, he only won over some fence-sitters. The eighth brother's reputation for virtue spread widely, but he tolerated all the dirty and smelly things, which was not majestic enough. The fourth brother was too harsh and offended many people. As for the ninth brother, the black and white things he did in the past could be easily dug up by others as a handle, and there was no need to mention the fourteenth brother...
Kangxi kept picking and choosing, and under the mutual attacks between the parties, a number of ministers in the court fell, and some of the court officials became numb and did not want to get involved anymore.
At this time, Yinzuo and the prince had finally finished their visit to Ryukyu, and received another letter from Kangxi asking them to return to Beijing.
Just go back.
When he finally returned to the capital, Yinzuo was of course very excited and happy to face his emperor father whom he had not seen for a long time.
Kangxi didn't buy into Yinzuo's "missing my father" at all. Missing him? Missing him, why couldn't he call them back in the first letter? Missing him, having so much fun playing outside?
Oh, we were almost at Ryukyu, and there was only one step left out of ninety-nine steps. How could we not go?
Having fun outside does not conflict with missing his emperor father at all. Since his emperor father cannot come in person, he just helps his emperor father and has fun together.
Kangxi listened to Yinzuo's specious arguments and nonsense, and for a moment he felt a little nostalgic.
Kangxi listened to Yinzuo happily chattering about what happened outside for a long time before he said, "Don't go out again when you come back this time."
"Your father is old too."
The smile on Yinzuo's face froze.
His royal father was too cunning. How could a child tolerate his parents saying that he was too old?
But, but Yinzuo saw the signs of old age in his father. He was not so bad before when he was in Beijing, but now, whether it was because they had not seen each other for a long time or because his father had really aged quickly in the past two years, Yinzuo felt as if his father had also entered the ranks of old men.
Yinzuo stared at Kangxi blankly, his heart aching and his eyes almost wet.
Kangxi smiled and said, "What's that expression? I thought I would never get old?"
Yinzuo hugged Kangxi's arm, his voice a little hoarse, his head against Kangxi's shoulder, and said, "My son never planned to go out again."
"Father, please don't play tricks on me and say such things. I feel very uncomfortable when I hear them."
His son was still as clingy as he was when he was little, but Kangxi didn't push him away. He just patted him on the shoulder in annoyance and said, "Do I need to play tricks on you?"
Humph, if you don’t play tricks, won’t you be unable to do anything to me every time?
Yinzuo hugged Kangxi's arm and said, "Your Majesty is still young. I hope you live a long life." Yinzuo did not say empty words, but in his heart he hoped that Kangxi could live a long life.
Kangxi thought to himself, if I live to be a hundred years old, all of you brothers will be worried sick.
In recent years, Kangxi has watched his sons grow up to be as aggressive as wolves and tigers. Although he has been able to suppress them, he has also become more aware of his age. His sons are becoming stronger and stronger, ambitious and energetic, while he, who is entering his twilight years, cannot avoid being like a sunset on the west mountain, getting weaker and weaker.
Telling Yinzuo that he was old was also Kangxi's inner feeling, but of course, he also intended to use this to control his son.
Seeing that his son had become confused by this sentence, Kangxi added uncomfortably: "However, I can still protect you for a few more years without any problem."
Time is merciless and always makes people sad. Without talking any more on this topic, Kangxi and Yinzuo went to the Defei Palace together to have a meal.
Yinzuo wandered around the Qing Dynasty. Although Kangxi had always covered for him, Defei, as his mother, was very meticulous and actually had some guesses in her mind.
So after seeing Yinzuo, he looked at him from front to back, and Yinzuo felt sad and said, "I will live in the city from now on."
Concubine De: "Okay, that's good."
Kangxi met Yinzuo openly, and as for the other rebellious son, he also met him privately.
In the suburban royal estate, Kangxi saw Yinreng and called him "Asshole!"
"Unfilial son!"
Yinreng's mouth twitched, and he said to Kangxi: "Father, you can change your scolding to something more creative."
Kangxi was even more furious: "You and your sixth brother are not learning well together!"
Yinreng sighed inwardly. Before he resigned from the throne of crown prince, his royal father was wary of him and always picked on him. And after he resigned from the throne of crown prince to his royal father, his royal father disliked him even more and would scold him every time he saw him.
Yinreng was now able to listen to his royal father's scolding calmly, not taking it to heart and being very patient. He was even worried that his royal father might be thirsty from the scolding, so he handed him a cup of tea.
Kangxi felt that he hardly recognized his second son. His second son used to have such a strong sense of self-esteem, why did he become so shameless now?
Kangxi angrily poured himself a cup of tea and said to Yinreng, "Tell me what you saw and heard outside."
Of course, there were delicious food and fun things to do along the way, but in addition to eating and playing, the Second Prince Yinreng had been a high-level manager for many years, so it was natural that he would see the omissions in the management of the court and the people from his own perspective.
You don't need to pay special attention to it, you have already noticed it and your brain has already started thinking about it.
After hesitating for a while, Yinreng told Kangxi what he had noticed and thought about.
Kangxi listened, and after listening, he said to Yinreng: "You are not the crown prince now, and you should not interfere in politics. In what capacity do you care about these things?"
"These things have nothing to do with you anymore."
Yinreng was silent, then said to Kangxi: "I am not the crown prince, but I am still a prince. I just give advice to the emperor."
Kangxi stared at his son, his eyes seemed to be able to see through a person's bones and muscles. He asked, "Can you let it go?"
Kangxi stood up and said, "I will ask you one last time, do you regret it now?"
Kangxi said: "You said you were tired at the beginning. Now you have been playing outside for three years. Have you rested enough?"
"Still tired?"
Yinreng's eyes widened and his heartbeat instantly quickened.
"Emperor Father?"
Kangxi's face was tense. It was not that he wanted to choose this bastard, but after comparing his other sons, he always felt that they were not as good as this bastard.
This bastard has become much thicker-skinned now, and his mental strength should have improved as well. I want him to try again.
Thinking back to when this bastard was around, he could help him handle a lot of official business, making his life a lot easier. But in recent years, the emperor has been given a lot of headaches, and it's almost like he's back to the time when he first ascended the throne.
Humph, he is tired too!
Furthermore, Kangxi was unwilling to accept that the prince he had cultivated for so many years had gone to waste.
Kangxi was really embarrassed as a father and emperor today, but this was the last time he asked. If this bastard continued to be pretentious, he would not lose face and give him another chance!
(End of this chapter)
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