Of the princes, besides the Crown Prince, Prince Zhi is the most favored. He controls the Ministry of War and his influence in the court rivals that of the Crown Prince. As the eldest son, he naturally rivals the Crown Prince.
Prince Cheng was a mere scholar, showing no ambition whatsoever, and only concerned with his own small plot of land.
Prince Yong couldn't see anything else, focusing solely on managing the Ministry of Revenue or helping the Crown Prince. However, since he was the victor in history, he must have had his own ideas, but with the Crown Prince around, any schemes he had were futile.
Prince Heng grew up by the Empress Dowager's side, and it is said that he did not even understand Chinese when he was young. Prince Chun was lame, so there was no hope for either of them.
Prince Lian was in charge of the Ministry of Personnel and had been highly valued by Emperor Kangxi in recent years, with many duties assigned to him. The Ninth Prince, Tenth Prince, and Fourteenth Prince all followed Prince Lian's lead, making them essentially the Eighth Prince's faction.
The 12th Prince grew up with Su Ma La Gu, was a Buddhist, and did not stand out much or receive much favor. The 13th Prince, on the other hand, is now the most favored prince besides the Crown Prince and Prince Zhi. Even Prince Lian cannot compare to him. The others are too young to be of any concern.
The other favored officials were all older, either of noble status, military merit, or outstanding ability. Only the thirteenth was the youngest. Although he commanded the vanguard battalion, he was only needed when the emperor went on tours. He had never made any military achievements and usually just trained some soldiers.
On the surface, they seem to be favored, but it's all an illusion. Without the emperor's favor, they are nothing. Yet, such people are also the best targets.
After all, Kangxi no longer trusted the crown prince as much as before. Although there were few instances of crown princes being deposed in history, they did happen, and there were quite a few instances of emperors' favorite youngest sons ascending the throne.
Even if the emperor has no intention of deposing the crown prince, the thirteenth prince is on the crown prince's side, and Prince Zhi and Prince Lian are both keeping an eye on him. If he can't deal with the crown prince, he can at least deal with the crown prince's henchmen.
In other words, Thirteen is currently on the edge of a cliff, and could fall from a great height at any moment. Given Thirteen's personality, once he falls, it will be an irreversible disaster for him.
He Yue knew that the greater the favor, the more her thoughts would grow like vines. She said she didn't care, but how could she really not care?
After all, no one is inferior to anyone else, and no one is willing to submit to anyone else.
He Yue understood and knew that even if Thirteen wanted to keep a low profile, he couldn't, but she hoped that he could avoid getting involved in too much trouble this year.
The weather in February was still cold, but the plum blossoms in the yard were in full bloom, which was a pleasant surprise.
Heyue, however, disliked the cold and didn't often go out to see the plum blossoms. So Zhizhu and the others picked a few plum blossoms and put them in a jade vase with lotus patterns, which added a touch of spring to the room.
When he had nothing to do at the age of thirteen, he painted a picture of plum blossoms in winter and hung it in the main room of the house for Heyue to admire.
This year, the capital is not very stable. According to Thirteen, a rebel group led by Zhu San Taizi is plotting a rebellion in Jiangnan and other places. The emperor sent Prince Yong and Thirteen to suppress Zhu San Taizi.
This means we'll be separated for several more months.
Over the years, there have been more than one instances of people causing trouble under the banner of Zhu San Taizi. Each time, people have been sent to suppress them, but each time they have failed to completely eradicate them, and the real Zhu San Taizi has never been captured.
The Ming Dynasty has been gone for so many years, and it's unknown whether this Zhu San Taizi is real or not. But regardless of whether he is real or not, he is a threat to the court. As long as Zhu San Taizi exists, he will affect the hearts and minds of the people.
He Yue sighed inwardly, truly not understanding what those people were insisting on. The Manchus had been in the pass for so many years, and Emperor Kangxi had treated the people fairly well. The people were now living in peace and prosperity, so why stir up more conflict?
In the current situation, most of the loyal and dedicated people who were loyal to the Ming Dynasty in the past are long dead. What about the people who are still concerned about the greater good of the world and the Ming Dynasty?
It's just to satisfy one's own selfish desires.
These people showed no sympathy whatsoever.
In February, Thirteen and Prince Yong went to Jiangnan.
Heyue eagerly awaited news, fearing that Thirteen might get injured again.
Fortunately, nothing unusual happened in the days that followed.
As the weather gradually warmed up, He Yue felt exceptionally happy every day watching Hong Chang and Tong Xuan run around in the courtyard under the care of the maids and nannies, and finally happily throw themselves into He Yue's arms.
It turns out that being a mother is truly a blissful thing.
However, the child's godmother hasn't come for a long time.
In March, Yuxiu gave birth to a boy. Both mother and child were safe and sound, and Heyue went to congratulate them.
Yuxiu was in good spirits, and the baby was very healthy and beautiful, which put Heyue at ease.
Heyue went during the baby's third-day-old celebration.
A month later, in April, Thirteen and Prince Yong returned to the capital. Surprisingly, they actually managed to capture Zhu the Third Prince and his son.
Emperor Kangxi ordered the Ministry of Justice to behead the elderly Prince Zhu and his son at Caishikou, and ordered the Crown Prince and Prince Yong to supervise the execution.
With this, the matter of Prince Zhu the Third was finally put to rest.
Although Thirteen was not injured in this campaign to eliminate Zhu San Taizi, he was quite exhausted, and it is easy to imagine that the process was not easy.
Heyue treated Thirteen to a good "reward".
That evening, Thirteen told me about something.
"I also met someone this time. Although he's far away, he shouldn't be bad."
Seeing his preoccupied look, Heyue asked, puzzled, "Who?"
Thirteen held her in his arms, letting her sit on his lap, and stroked her long, flowing black hair with his hand, saying casually, "It's Ping Gu, the maid that Twelfth Brother used to be, and she's with those traitors."
He Yue sat up abruptly, taken aback.
Thirteen pulled her back into his arms and comforted her with a smile, "Don't worry, maybe I'm mistaken. What a coincidence!"
He Yue didn't believe it, but she was only surprised for a moment before she returned to normal, leaning against him again and closing her eyes: "Whether it is true or not, it has nothing to do with us. Now that the Third Prince Zhu is gone, the remaining people are unlikely to amount to anything. Anything else is just a minor disturbance."
However, if it really is her, it also shows that her infiltration of the Twelfth Prince's residence was not solely for the purpose of avenging her parents.
It was because she couldn't get close to the other princes, or even if she had, she wouldn't have had the opportunity to act, that she chose to target the twelfth prince's offspring. Yuxiu, on the other hand, suffered an undeserved misfortune, losing a child for nothing. All this talk of acting for the greater good, wasn't it all just selfish desires that led her to harm even an innocent child?
He Yue scoffed at the injustice done to Yu Xiu, and felt indignant that her own child had also nearly fallen victim to such a terrible attack.
Thinking of this, Heyue hated Pinggu even more.
Neither of them mentioned it again, nor did they intend to tell the Twelfth Prince and Yuxiu about it.
After a few days of calm, another incident occurred in the palace.
In Yuqing Palace, the Crown Princess was poisoned, and the Emperor was furious. He ordered a thorough investigation, which led to the discovery of Xia Ting, the Crown Prince's concubine.
He Yue was genuinely surprised when she heard this. How could Xia Ting possibly plot against the Crown Princess?
She may be a bit foolish, but she wouldn't do something like that.
Next, Kangxi ordered Xia Ting to be executed. The Crown Prince pleaded for her life, and Kangxi punished the Crown Prince by making him kneel outside the Qianqing Palace.
However, Xia Ting was still sentenced to death, on the very afternoon that the Crown Prince knelt outside the Qianqing Palace.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
