Chapter 143: In this troubled time, all kinds of worries come to mind...
It was a turbulent time, with all kinds of worries coming to his mind. Emperor Kangxi was always feeling depressed during this period.
The Fourth Princess chatted with him, which made him feel relaxed for a moment.
The child was filial and sensible, and he never caused him any worries.
Emperor Kangxi looked at Mu Xue and said, "It's been hard for you to run around these days, transporting so many livestock and winter clothes, and allocating manpower. Even in this desolate wilderness, all supplies are as usual."
"This is what a daughter should do," Mu Xue said, "I'm just afraid that I won't do it well enough and make Khan Ama uncomfortable."
“It’s a lot of expense, isn’t it?”
"It's nothing, it just costs some money. Thanks to my father, I am financially well off now."
Emperor Kangxi said: "You have some talent in business, but I see that you are not extravagant in your daily life, which is good. I heard that you are kind and generous, and you have donated schools to the countryside and grasslands."
"I learned from you to do good deeds and accumulate virtue. Besides, I also have my own selfish motives. Since living here allows the people to live and work in peace and be educated, I will feel at ease living here for a long time. After the war, didn't you exempt Shanxi's taxes?" Mu Xue said with a smile.
Emperor Kangxi nodded slightly and said: "You understand the principle of living in harmony with the people better than some people. You should do the same in the future."
He pondered for a moment and felt that the Fourth Princess deserved a reward to show that he, as a king and father, would punish mistakes and reward merits, so he said, "You serve me wholeheartedly, and I, as your father, will not let you suffer any loss. I heard that there is lake salt in Mongolia. In the past, people made and sold salt on the grasslands themselves, and were not allowed to enter the Great Wall. So, I will give you an opening. You can sell Mongolian salt from Shaohukou to Shanxi, and the annual export limit is 10,000 stones."
This is actually giving away real money.
Mu Xue was delighted and declined, saying, "My father-in-law is very considerate, but I am just doing my duty as a son. How can I deserve such a reward? I appreciate the kindness, but I dare not accept it."
"You should accept the gift from your father and emperor," Emperor Kangxi said, "I believe you know your limits."
Since he said so, Mu Xue had no choice but to thank him and accept the reward.
The father and daughter were enjoying themselves when they suddenly heard a message saying that Prince Zhi wanted to see them. Emperor Kangxi was in a good mood at the moment, so he summoned him directly. "Let him in."
The eldest brother strode over and bowed to greet her. Mu Xue also bowed to him.
Seeing Mu Xue was there, the eldest prince said directly to Emperor Kangxi: "I want to talk to Khan Ama alone, but I'm afraid it's not convenient for my fourth sister to be here."
It was true that Emperor Kangxi criticized the eldest prince for being straightforward, Mu Xue complained in her heart that if it were anyone else, they would have implicitly asked for a separate report, but he just directly and openly said that he was an eyesore.
She looked straight at Emperor Kangxi, and if he nodded, she would leave immediately.
But it was obvious that Emperor Kangxi was a little speechless. He said, "Your fourth sister is not an outsider. If you have something to say, just say it. Why are you hesitating? It's not something shameful. If it is, then don't talk about it. It makes me upset."
The eldest prince stepped forward and said, "I didn't mean that. I just wanted to say that when I said Yinreng was bad before, it was definitely not just because he coveted the throne. He was just bad in many ways and made Khan angry!"
"So?" Emperor Kangxi's tone was slightly impatient. "What do you want to say?"
"I am loyal to Khan Ama. Even if you say in public that I cannot be the crown prince, I will still be loyal." The eldest prince said loudly, "As long as it is not Yinreng, the position of crown prince can be given to someone else. For example, if it is someone like Yinsi, Khan Ama, if you choose him as the crown prince, I will have no objection."
Mu Xue felt something was wrong as she listened. Where did this story about the Eighth Prince Yinsi come from? He was even in the capital, but his reputation had spread here. It seemed that the Eighth Prince was very popular now.
She raised her eyelids and quickly glanced at Emperor Kangxi's expression. Hmm... the old man's expression immediately turned gloomy.
"Yinsi? Oh, he's not here, it's hard for you to remember him." Emperor Kangxi said with a gloomy face, "I underestimated the Eighth Prince in the past."
There is something sarcastic in these words.
The eldest prince realized something and explained, "I was just giving an example. Yinsi is a good man."
"That's enough." Emperor Kangxi raised his hand impatiently and said, "You all go down and have a rest."
Walking out of the city in silence, not far away was the tent of the eldest prince. The ninth prince was standing by the tall lamp in front of the camp, eating spiced beef jerky with a silver pot of wine. Seeing Mu Xue, he greeted her: "Hello, fourth sister, do you want to eat some? This beef jerky is quite fragrant."
"Thank you, but no, it was shipped from Guihua City, right? I ate a lot." Mu Xue said, "It's getting late, I'm going back."
"Fourth sister, wait a minute. I'm going back too. We can walk together for a while."
The Ninth Prince greeted the First Prince and caught up with Mu Xue.
It was already late in the evening, and the grassland was pitch black, with only some light from the lamps.
Mu Xue walked with her head down, not saying a word.
The Ninth Prince was fat, and because he followed her steps, he walked fast and panted slightly: "I have been in Guihua for a few days, and I have seen that the various businesses under the name of Fourth Sister, such as Dashengkui, are really doing well."
"Um."
"Since Fourth Sister is well versed in business, you must have heard of the story of rare goods being valuable."
It refers to the story of Lu Buwei, a businessman who invested in the King of Qin but had not yet sent him as a hostage.
Mu Xue sneered softly: "I have no experience and have never heard of it."
"Fourth sister, you are joking. Mother often mentioned that you love reading. You didn't bring much rouge and powder with you when you got married, but you did bring two carts of books as your dowry."
"oh."
The Ninth Prince leaned forward to block her way.
"Fourth sister, you and I are both good at business, I think we should have something to talk about."
Mu Xue looked up at him and smiled gently, but the smile did not reach her eyes: "I think our paths are probably different. But there is one thing I want to remind you."
"I'd like to hear more about it."
"It's good to be loyal to your brothers, but before you act, you have to think of Yi'er Niang." Mu Xue said, "You have to remember that she always cares about you."
Mu Xue left her words, changed direction, avoided the Ninth Prince and continued walking forward.
If it weren't for Concubine Yi, she wouldn't have said this.
Early in the morning, the emperor set off.
The return journey was very fast. The officials along the way only briefly greeted Emperor Kangxi and did not talk much. He was eager to return to the Forbidden City. In this way, he soon arrived at the border of the capital.
The older princes, including the Third Prince, the Fourth Prince, and the Fifth Prince, received the news and waited outside the capital city early in the morning to welcome him.
When they saw the dragon flag, they immediately came over to pay their respects.
Emperor Kangxi said a few polite words and ordered everyone to continue forward and return to the Forbidden City.
The flags of horses and soldiers rolled forward, and the Fourth Prince was riding on his horse, a little absent-minded.
He quietly slowed down the horse's pace until it was level with Muxue's sedan.
Mu Xue opened the curtain and saw him. She knew what he was worried about. At this moment, the Fourth Prince was a bit like an invisible prince's party, so she said, "Everything was fine on the way."
Both the Second Prince and the Thirteenth Prince were closely watched. However, she took care of their food, clothing, shelter and transportation during the journey, so they did not starve.
The Fourth Prince understood and nodded slightly. This was not the place to talk, so he did not ask any further questions.
After returning to the Forbidden City, Emperor Kangxi immediately summoned all the ministers and once again announced the decree to depose the crown prince. In front of the ministers, he spoke of his pain and shed tears: "... I have no choice but to depose him from the position of crown prince." He also reiterated that he trusted Prince Zhi very much, but that Prince Zhi was reckless and straightforward, and he had no intention of making him the crown prince.
Although they had heard about the dethronement of the crown prince in advance through the urgent imperial edict, they were still shocked to hear the emperor's words in person. Everyone's hearts were in turmoil, and each of them had his own calculations.
In comparison, Mu Xue is considered to be a more leisurely person.
The fourth princess of the capital had prepared in advance and used aromatherapy, which made her feel at ease. After she washed up in a hurry, she lay down on the soft embroidered quilt and slept soundly for a whole day, finally regaining her energy.
When the sun came out, the maids took out the clothes they wore on the journey and the winter clothes that had not been worn for a long time and stored in the capital city to dry. In the pavilion in the backyard of the princess's mansion, various clothes were hung out to dry on bamboo poles. The moon-white, azure blue and light purple clothes, with the sunlight shining on the brocade, were quite comfortable to look at.
The property manager in the capital had prepared everything early. Cui Niang brought a large box of freshly made snacks and asked Mu Xue to enjoy them slowly. She also reported the situation of the property in the capital to the princess.
"…The pawnshop has now opened its fourth store, and the profits are very good. Here is the account book, please have a look, Princess."
Mu Xue took a piece of chestnut cake, bit off half of it, and flipped through the account book with her other hand. The amount was growing steadily, which was very good.
"You have worked hard, and I will give you a separate reward at the end of the year."
As he was talking, Rong Er came in to greet him: "My Lord, the Fourth Prince is here to visit."
"Got it. Take him to the warm room and prepare some fruit cakes."
Muxue gave Cui Gu a few instructions and then stood up to go and deal with the Fourth Prince.
There are some things that she will say, but there are things that she cannot reveal, and she will not say a word, even to the Fourth Prince.
However, the Fourth Prince was also tactful. When he saw her, he said something nice first: "I heard that Fourth Sister took good care of Second Brother and Thirteenth Brother on the way. Even if I were here, I wouldn't do better."
Mu Xue said: "I don't understand anything else. They are all flesh and blood. Even if the bones are broken, they are still connected by tendons. I should take care of them if I can."
The Fourth Prince looked at her and said, "Fourth sister has become more calm than before."
There was no sign that she was crying when she was getting married.
"It's the same with Fourth Brother." Mu Xue pursed her lips.
In recent years, the Fourth Prince has become increasingly good at self-cultivation, and he was very calm even when dealing with such a major matter as deposing the Crown Prince.
The two exchanged glances, seeing through the situation but not saying it out loud. They chatted about some family matters and asked about the wife, the prince consort, and the children.
"Your sister-in-law is still the same, but she has become a little depressed since we lost Honghui." The fourth prince said calmly, "I have bought a farm near Changchun Garden outside the capital. I plan to take Fu Jin and others to the farm to farm and weave in my spare time. Perhaps it will help to relax."
"It sounds great. If I have the chance, I would also like to go and take a look." Mu Xue said.
After talking for a while, the Fourth Prince stood up to say goodbye. Muxue politely wanted to keep him for dinner, but the Fourth Prince just said that he had something to do and invited Muxue to visit him next time.
After the Fourth Prince left, Rong'er watched the little maids pack up the tea sets and whispered to Muxue, "This Fourth Prince came and went in a hurry, and it seemed that he didn't have anything important to say."
Mu Xue just smiled faintly.
She and the Fourth Prince both knew tacitly what should be tested and what should be said.
It seems that the Fourth Prince has chosen a path of keeping a low profile, which coincides with her opinion.
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