"No, the Emperor knows me well. If I really wanted to plead for her, I wouldn't have gone to the Palace of Heavenly Purity to apologize."
"I understand."
In the Palace of Heavenly Purity, Kangxi looked at the Crown Prince with satisfaction. His son still knew his limits and did not show favoritism to Ling Ma just because she was his wet nurse.
However, he was very surprised that Ling Pu did such a thing behind their backs. It seemed that Ling Pu was not as loyal to him as he imagined.
Kangxi originally thought that Ling Pu had merely embezzled tributes, so he did not seem very angry. He just let the prince handle it himself and send the embezzled items to the national treasury when the time came.
He thought the matter was simple, but when the prince brought back to the treasury cartloads of things that were better than what the emperor used and that he had never even seen, he became angry.
"So I, the emperor, am just a decoration. Ling Pu, a general manager of the Imperial Household Department, uses things that are better than mine. He really thinks I'm a fool.
Their entire family is in jail, right? Take them all to the Meridian Gate and behead them. And while you're at it, thoroughly investigate the banner families. I don't believe the other families are innocent."
No one expected that Kangxi would vent his anger on all the banner families because of the raid on Ling Pu's house. Therefore, they had not reacted when his decree was issued, which resulted in many families being found to have a lot of contraband.
"They are truly my good servants. I thought they were all loyal to the royal family. Even if they had some ulterior motives, it wouldn't matter. After all, I know that when water is too clear, there will be no fish. I didn't expect them to be so greedy."
"Father Emperor, I am sorry for causing you so much trouble. I never thought they would do such a thing. It is all because of my failure to discipline my subordinates. Please punish me."
"This is none of your business. I know you're feeling bad. Go back and rest. As for those bondservant families, it's time to suppress them."
Kangxi was serious. If he allowed them to become more powerful, he, the emperor, would have to act according to their wishes. Since they dared to do such a thing, they should be prepared to be dealt with by him.
"Yes, I understand."
The prince was glad that Mu Sili discovered Ling Ma's methods, otherwise if he let them continue, they would definitely become a means for his political enemies to attack him one day.
After the Baoyi families were liquidated, the concubines in the harem who were Baoyi were also affected. Kangxi treated them with indifference, which gave them a headache but they could do nothing about it.
Just like Concubine De, she has always been favored, but she looks down on Yinzhen in every way. Even though he is her own son, she doesn't like him.
Now that her family was being suppressed, she planned to ask Yinzhen to plead for them, because they had done many things in private that were costly and expensive to the people, and Kangxi was ready to punish them severely.
Yinzhen couldn't help laughing after hearing Defei's request. In her opinion, she would only remember him as her son when something happened. After all, she didn't like him on weekdays.
"Mother, why are you telling me all this? The Emperor has his own decision. It's not up to him to say anything. Since the Emperor has made the decision, they just have to accept it. If I go to plead for mercy, it will implicate me.
If I remember correctly, my fourteenth brother is quite favored by the Emperor. If my mother insists that someone go to plead for my grandfather's family, it would be better to let my fourteenth brother go. I will never go."
Concubine De looked at him with an expression that said, "As expected." This son was right. He didn't have her as his biological mother at all in his heart, and his usual filial piety was just an act.
She underestimated him, thinking that he would never watch his family in law fall into trouble no matter what. If she hadn't been worried that Fourteenth would be scolded by the Emperor if he went to the Palace of Heavenly Purity, how could she have asked him to plead for Uya?
"It seems that I have been too indifferent to you on a daily basis and didn't even know that I could be so cruel. Since you don't regard the Uya family as your outside family, then I will treat you as if I don't have a son."
"Hasn't that what you've always done? If you hadn't taken your son back and treated him coldly, he wouldn't have grown up so quickly. Mother, you should think more about yourself.
My son has something else to do, so I'll go back to the prince's residence first. Fu Jin is still waiting for my son to come back. If you have any instructions, just inform my fourteenth brother. It's useless to tell my son that I won't help you. "
Upon hearing this, Concubine De became unhappy. This was her good son. She was right not to be close to him in the first place. After all, having such a son was really suffocating.
"Get out of here! You're no match for the Tonggiya clan, you're just as disgusting and abhorrent as she is. I'll just pretend I don't have a son like you. You don't need to come to Yonghe Palace anymore. You're not welcome here."
"Since mother has said so, I will go back first. From now on, I will not come to pay my respects to you unless you give me any instructions. This is to avoid making you angry and causing harm. Then I will be the one to get scolded."
Yinzhen looked at her coldly and returned to the prince's residence. As soon as he returned, he met the worried eyes of the Fourth Lady. He felt a little relieved. At least he and the Lady could share the joys and sorrows. It was worth it.
"Master, this time you and Mother have such a bad relationship, will the Emperor blame you for not being filial enough?"
"No, my second brother said that since my mother doesn't treat me as her own son, it's better to distance myself from her completely, so as not to implicate me. Look, didn't this incident today almost implicate me?"
Yinzhen was very grateful to the prince. He had no idea about the position of prince now and just wanted to be a good minister. The prince predicted the fate of Uya and reminded him, otherwise he would definitely go to plead for them today.
"That's indeed the case. I wonder if you've noticed, but the Crown Prince has changed a lot since Concubine Li became pregnant. He used to look very arrogant, but now he seems much more approachable and is even willing to consider his brothers."
"You know what, it really makes sense. Second brother seems to be learning to be a good crown prince. I've always known that he's arrogant, but the fact that he's willing to lower his head and consider us proves that he really wants to be a good brother."
"I'd better go to the Emperor for this matter today. After all, she is your biological mother. It would be a shame if the Emperor becomes estranged from you because of this."
"That's what I think too."
As soon as Yinzhen arrived at the Qianqing Palace, he saw Liang Jiugong standing there helplessly and shaking his head. After seeing him, he shook his head even more vigorously.
"What is Liang An'da doing? Is the Emperor angry? That shouldn't be the case. Even if the Emperor is angry, he will wait until I come to get angry. Isn't it a waste of time to get angry now?"
"The Emperor is indeed angry. The Crown Prince is arguing with the Emperor about you. I see that the Emperor is very angry. This is the first time in all these years that the Emperor has been this angry. You'd better not go in."
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