He Yue paced anxiously, because she remembered what the Eighth Prince's wife had said.
The comfortable life she had led over the years had made Heyue forget about this incident. Seeing that her children were all healthy and well, Heyue originally thought that things would be different because of her involvement.
When Hongjiao fell ill, Heyue became anxious, fearing that history might actually be repeating itself in Hongjiao's case.
He Yue used warm water to reduce Hong Jiao's fever and stayed by his side day and night without sleep. In addition, the imperial physicians dared not neglect their duties under the Empress Dowager's orders. After a week, Hong Jiao's condition finally improved.
Two weeks later, Hongjiao had fully recovered.
Heyue never believed in gods, but she couldn't help but thank God in her heart for not taking Hongjiao's life.
Hongchang and Hongtun have always been at odds, and Hongchang is always vying for favor with Heyue. However, these days he has been unusually quiet and well-behaved, often asking Heyue if Hongjiao's illness has improved.
Fearing that the illness might affect the other children, Heyue had someone watch over them and prevent them from coming into contact with Hongjiao. However, they were all worried about Hongjiao, which made Heyue very gratified.
Three months later, the emperor returned to the capital, and the thirteenth prince was finally back.
Hongtun, who had never been separated from Thirteen for so long, and Hongchang, Tongxuan, and Tonghui, who had finally returned to their father and mother's side, all cheered and rushed towards Thirteen the moment they saw him.
Since Heyue and Shisan returned to the capital, Hongchang, Tongxuan, and Tonghui have not been close to Shisan, but only to Heyue. Now, the estrangement has been truly resolved, and the family is happy together. That evening, they had a lively reunion dinner in the main room.
At night, Thirteen held Heyue in his arms and said with emotion, "I never felt like I was a real father before. I didn't know how to get along with them. I always felt that I had nothing to say to these little kids. Today I truly experienced what it feels like to be a father. It turns out that the feeling is so wonderful."
"It's amazing you can still remember your father's identity." He Yue was speechless at how long it had taken Thirteen to come to this realization, and couldn't help but complain.
It's not hard to see that women and men are very different in this respect.
A woman truly experiences the joy of being a mother when her child is still in her womb. As she witnesses her child's growth day by day, her maternal love grows stronger, and at that moment, she already knows the obligations she will have to fulfill in the future.
It often takes men a long time to understand the responsibilities of being a father, and some may not even understand them until their children have grown up. Before that, a man can only be considered a big boy and has not yet fully matured.
What angered Heyue even more was that Shisan was clearly not prepared to be a father, yet he kept insisting that Heyue have a child. After the child was born, he abandoned the child and took Heyue away to live a carefree life.
He's a completely irresponsible father.
Thirteen realized it too, and laughed sheepishly, "Okay, okay, I was wrong, I won't do it again."
※
In July of the 56th year of the Kangxi Emperor's reign, Tsewang Rabtan of the Dzungar Khanate led his troops to attack Tibet, killing Lhazang Khan and imprisoning the Dalai Lama.
Lhazang Khan requested the Qing court's support, which enraged Emperor Kangxi, who then dispatched General Erlunte of Xi'an, along with his bodyguard Sereng and others, to lead troops to Tibet.
In August of the following year, news came that Erlend and his entire army had been wiped out.
The government and the public were shocked.
Then, the North and China were embroiled in a dispute over whether to send troops to suppress Tsewang Arabtan again, and who to send to Tibet.
Some ministers proposed releasing the deposed crown prince and having him lead the troops, while others proposed appointing Prince Yong as Grand General and sending him to Tibet.
After all, one was the former crown prince who had accompanied the emperor on many military campaigns, and the other was the eldest son besides Prince Cheng.
Prince Cheng was a scholar and naturally could not lead troops into battle, so Prince Yong was the only one left to lead the army.
Prince Yong had accompanied the emperor on three campaigns against Galdan in his youth, so he was naturally a suitable candidate.
The matter has been debated for a long time in the court, and remains unresolved.
Thirteen has been quite anxious lately.
He Yue knew what was happening in the court, and naturally understood why the Thirteenth Prince was anxious.
Seeing that Thirteen had been staring at a map since returning to the manor, sometimes frowning in thought, sometimes looking irritable, He Yue walked over and saw that Thirteen had a map of the Northwest in front of him.
He started fiddling with this as soon as he got back, which shows how much he cares about this military operation in Tibet.
"Have you made up your mind?" Heyue asked him.
Thirteen snapped out of her daze, glanced blankly at Heyue, realized what Heyue had said, and sighed in distress: "What's the use of my decision? In the end, it's Father Emperor who decides."
"What are your thoughts, Fourth Brother?" Heyue didn't discourage him or say anything to encourage him to persevere. Instead, she asked about Prince Yong.
"Fourth Brother means that we must strive to be selected as the Grand General this time, no matter what. Fourth Brother hopes it will be me, and even if it's not me, it can't be Eighth Brother or the others. But with so many brothers ahead of us, how could it be my turn?"
Thirteen was clearly not optimistic about the situation and was quite dejected.
Heyue held his hand: "No matter what, we have to try. How will we know it won't work if we don't try?"
Historically, the Grand General in this event was the Fourteenth Prince, but the Thirteenth Prince was imprisoned, so the Fourteenth Prince was chosen to lead the troops.
Since the thirteenth prince is not currently under house arrest, he is superior to the fourteenth prince in terms of both age and experience.
With the thirteenth prince as a variable, it may not be the fourteenth prince this time.
At least that's what Heyue thinks.
Although the Fourteenth Prince did drive away Tsewang Arabtan when he led the troops, it doesn't mean the Thirteenth Prince was incompetent. Perhaps the Thirteenth Prince could have done better than the Fourteenth Prince.
He Yue also knew a bit about the ins and outs of the matter. It was said that Prince Lian was in charge of the Ministry of Revenue, which meant he controlled the grain supplies in the rear.
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