Extra lunch boxes are being distributed
The old man took his children and grandchildren on a trip, and several funerals were held in Beijing during the trip.
At the end of the Kangxi Emperor's 45th year, the Eastern Palace paid several funeral expenses. One was for the Crown Princess's grandmother, a sum that could not be saved. Another was for Kuifang's wife, Jueluo, a princess of the imperial clan and related to the Shi family. And the last, absolutely unavoidable, was for the wife of Prince An.
The old lord of the Xirut family held a high-ranking imperial title, Kuifang's wife was a legitimate princess, and Prince An's wife was both Soetu's sister and a member of the imperial clan. All three of them were entitled to state funeral benefits. A report was sent to the capital, and Kangxi learned of it, and so did Yinreng.
Kangxi sighed when he read the news. Three people, just follow the usual procedures. However, Hesheli's funeral came at a truly unfortunate time. The old man wanted to clean up the Prince An's mansion again, but now that the old lady had died, Kangxi was embarrassed to take drastic measures at this moment, so he could only keep it under wraps.
It's unclear whether Hesheli's fate was good or bad. She was still a registered woman during the Shunzhi period. If she had really entered the palace, she would have been a cannon fodder, or at best, a background. In the Shunzhi palace, Dong Efei was the only one who could hold the fortress, and no one else could. Sony was also capable. He didn't know how to do it, but he took his daughter out and married her off.
Marry someone, and surprisingly, she married Yue Le! Yue Le's two wives had already died (a feat comparable to Kangxi's), and he was much older than Hesheli, making a young wife an unsuitable match. Unexpectedly, Yue Le and this third wife were a perfect match, giving birth to sons and daughters in quick succession! Yue Le's career also shone brightly, becoming a prince and bestowing titles upon several of his sons.
Everything was going smoothly. Yue Le died, her son's succession to the throne was demoted, and Kangxi began to settle accounts. However, his granddaughter was assigned to the prince, which really made it difficult to understand the emperor's mind.
Well, no matter what, the Prince An's Mansion withstood the pressure, and Kangxi also had to save face. The two sides held their ground, but life was manageable. With the Eighth Prince as his grandson-in-law, life was peaceful, if not wonderful. Then, the scandal of his son Zhenyan was exposed.
The old lady fell ill in anger. She was old and although she was taken care of by her children and grandchildren, she died soon and did not even have the chance to eat the dumplings made in the 46th year of the Kangxi reign.
Kangxi thought to himself, since Prince An's Mansion is already in this state, let's just let it go for now. After all, they are members of the imperial clan, right? Kangxi's goal has never been to exterminate the imperial clan, but rather... to draw some power from certain overpowered princely mansions to create a balance.
Kangxi instructed the Ministry of Rites to carry out the procedure according to the regulations.
Yinreng looked at Kangxi's instructions and saw that the person who was to write the epitaph for Kuifang's wife was Nian Gengyao. He couldn't help but be concerned. This man had some ability. He had entered the civil service through the imperial examinations, passed the imperial examination, and entered the Hanlin Academy. He had now become a lecturer. He was also Guanyinbao's brother-in-law. Unfortunately, his wife had died, and he had remarried the year before last.
After watching Kangxi finish his instructions, Yinreng withdrew his gaze, thinking: Prince An's Mansion has escaped disaster again. He then asked Kangxi: "Khan Ama, how should Jingxi deal with this matter? The longer this matter is delayed, the more discussion will grow. It's almost the New Year, and you will have to go south next year. What do you think?"
Kangxi gnashed his teeth in anger. Thinking his own eldest son had been imprisoned, he truly wanted to imprison Jingxi as well. He was actually prepared to do so, but then… Jingxi's mother had died. Would he be allowed to mourn at her funeral? Kangxi seized Yarjiang'a's petition, and with a stroke of crimson cinnabar, he blackmailed Jingxi into serving in the Uliastai. He also blackmailed several of Jingxi's brothers, who had a closer relationship with him, into the same category, claiming they often drank together and were restless, thus saving him several pennies on their salaries.
Yinreng raised an eyebrow. The punishment was severe, but the An Wang branch remained unscathed. This was truly troubling! No one in power could allow a certain mansion to have too much influence in a certain banner. The An Wang Mansion had to be reduced. There were only so many bannermen in total. If they weren't reduced, where would Kangxi's sons, and Yinreng's sons, be placed?
This trip was a way to relax, pay respects to the deceased, and build closer ties. But the shadow of the capital kept chasing them until the emperor returned to the capital for the New Year.
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At the turn of the 45th and 46th years of the Kangxi reign, two distinct atmospheres emerged in the city. The powerful and wealthy were in a state of depression, and the intermarriages between families were complex. The deaths of the three women implicated a large number of people who had to come to mourn. Even if celebrations were necessary, some caution was advised. For example, if you had relatives with the Mingzhu family, use fewer firecrackers, and don't force their family members to attend New Year's performances and drinking.
The mistress of the Shi family lost her mother, so the family's life became less lively. The family's in-laws were spread all over the capital, so the liveliness was greatly reduced.
The Jueluo and Hesheli families were both relatives of the royal family and clan. With a boss in charge in the palace, they could be open and not shy, but the other princely palaces outside the palace had to be restrained.
The most depressing situation was in the Eighth Prince's mansion. The Eighth Concubine's grandmother had passed away, and while this person, not her biological grandmother, had taken care of her for many years, they still had some affection. Furthermore, the Eighth Prince was also considered a relative of Mingzhu through Concubine Hui, and now that Kuifang's wife had passed away, he had to pay his respects as well.
The Eighth Prince had another worry: the old man had already made his move, what was he to do? He was popular, to be sure, but how many of these people would still be so determined to support him and fight to the bitter end against the current emperor and the successor?
A huge question mark! The Tenth Prince's maternal uncle was a powerful force, and they had a good relationship with him until the enthronement of the Crown Prince, when they were still on ambiguous terms. Once the Crown Prince was enthroned, they were reduced to a drinking buddy. Then there was the Tong family. During the Kangxi era, the Tongs were incredibly powerful, rivaling the five great aristocratic families. But now, only Longkodo remained close to him. Tong Guogang's branch had already been making subtle inroads into the organization. While Tong Guowei hadn't given up, he was sitting on the Diaoyutai, refusing to express his stance, with no sign of "I support you."
After much deliberation, the Eighth Prince decided to attend Hesheli's funeral as usual, but he wouldn't help with the formalities. The Eighth Lady, weeping profusely, washed her face, cleared her head, and urged him to help take care of the funeral: "Uncle Prince An is so ill he can't really manage. Hua Qi is still young and originally had several uncles... and now... you can help take care of the front."
The Eighth Prince said, "This isn't my responsibility. There's the Ministry of Rites and the Imperial Household Department. If I interfere, it'll make them look like they can't handle the job. I'm feeling a bit uncomfortable right now, and it wouldn't be good to argue with you about this."
The Eighth Lady was anxious for a moment, but the Eighth Prince refused to give in. "Don't be so anxious. It's especially important to stay calm at times like this. The more you rush, the more chaotic it gets. You should go to the back and comfort your aunt. There are so many people and things to do here, it's not like our mansion. The women should stay in the back. I can handle things in the front."
With a combination of fighting and defense, the Eighth Concubine was forced back to the inner house, and the Eighth Prince himself refused to make any move.
In contrast, the grassroots cadres and masses of the Eight Banners were delighted. "Your Majesty is wise, Your Majesty is benevolent, Your Majesty is truly a good Emperor! He is our great savior. With just one word of exemption, we've been exempted from all those "loans." Hehe, we can now enjoy a prosperous new year!
The women prepare all sorts of food at home. The food for the Lunar New Year is prepared before the Lunar New Year, so all they have to do is steam, boil, heat, and eat. The men call their friends and go out for a few drinks before the Lunar New Year.
In this strange situation, the 46th year of the Kangxi reign arrived.
This year, the palace was also unhappy. Kangxi was thinking about traveling south to the Yangtze River, wanting to bring his sons closer, but something was on his mind. Yinreng thought that this trip south to the Yangtze River, leaving Beijing again, would not allow him to interact with the court officials much, which was not a good thing. Although he no longer needed to deliberately win over the nobles, he could not alienate them.
Shujia thought about how her grandmother had passed away, how her mother couldn't visit her at the palace this year, and how her fourth sister would be running for the imperial examination after the Lunar New Year, by which time she would have already left the capital. Furthermore, the death of Kuifang's wife, Jueluo, made her think of one of Jueluo's nieces: Guanyinbao's wife, Nalan.
I don't know why, but there's been no news of Nalan's family for so many years! Nalan's sister married Nian Gengyao and had no children for several years. Finally, she gave birth to a child, but the adult died and the child was sick. What should I do?
I couldn't help but sigh.
"Mother, I'll always be good! Please don't be like this~ah~ah~" Hongtong drawled. He had been given a spot on this southern tour; Yinreng had taken Hongxi off and let him take over. He'd been having a blast these past two days.
Seeing him like this, Shujia threw all her worries aside. "Listen to me, I can't see you outside, but there are other people around. Your third brother will keep a close eye on you. Don't run around outside, especially on a boat. Falling into the water is no joke!"
Hongtong stuck out his tongue: "Son, I understand~"
"Yes, son." He jumped out.
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Looking at Hongtong's cheerful back, Shujia felt that it would be great if his father could be half as optimistic as him.
The Crown Prince has been prudent in his dealings over the years, but he has also been making subtle moves in secret. For example, he has planted some trusted people in the hope of getting more inside information.
The scribes were not high-ranking officials, but they were very interesting as they had access to all kinds of documents.
Special memorials, like secret memorials, were inaccessible even to the Grand Secretaries, so it was normal for them not to know about them. However, they could see the contents of ordinary memorials. In the Ministry of War, they could see all its correspondence; in the Ministry of Rites, they could see its correspondence… and so on.
Secretary is really an important position.
This time, the secretaries delivered a crucial piece of information. A memorial from Tongzhengshi Cao Yin, a regular greeting, wasn't a secret one, but rather a simple one, and someone paying close attention had seen its contents. After attending his daughter's wedding, Cao Yin returned to Jiangning to resume his duties. Upon his arrival, he wrote a memorial to Kangxi expressing his gratitude and loyalty.
Kangxi gave a reply. In addition to reminding Cao Yin to do his job well, he also said in a proud tone that he had also thought about the future of Cao Yin's second daughter. Maybe she would not be as good as the iron-hat prince, but she would not be bad either. The child in front of me said, "She is also my child." Everything is good, and he asked Cao Yin to work hard: work hard, I will not treat you unfairly.
To get married, there must be a man and a woman. The woman has been decided, but what about the man?
There are many who are inferior to the Iron Hat Prince. There are not many whose marriages require the Emperor's attention. Even for those in the capital who have reached the rank of Prince of the Imperial Court, Kangxi cannot arrange marriages for them one by one, and many marry on their own. The person the old man is arranging this time can't be bad, who could it be? In front of the Emperor... "He's my child too." The fifteenth prince was destined to be a son-in-law to the Shi family, and he wasn't even sixteen or seventeen yet.
After calculating their ages, the prince discovered that his son Hongxi was also of arranged marriage age. He didn't want to marry early, but wanted to settle down first. Could he be marrying my son? No, how could my son marry his daughter?! Are you kidding me?
Yinreng collapsed.
Shujia said in disbelief, "The Cao family's having a royal concubine is already eye-catching, how could they be blessed with such an unprecedented grace?"
Yinreng glared at her. "Don't be afraid of a thousand things, just be prepared for the worst! In the past, I wouldn't have worried about this, but now, Nersu has been... killed. Is Hongxi more valuable than an iron-hat prince?"
Shujia shut up. The Crown Prince was also a foolish father when it came to his children’s affairs.
After a while, seeing Yinreng's gloomy face, he couldn't help but say, "If Khan Ama had any ideas, could you change them? Even if he really pointed out a girl from the Cao family, could you refuse? Nersu is living a good life now."
"Narsu's father is dead!"
Shujia asked, "If his father were alive, could he be more capable than Khan's father?"
"We should take precautions if we can. Let Hongxi lie low first. I'll sound out Khan Ama on the way. This is a secret. Khan Ama can't know that I know he approved Cao Yin's memorial."
"Instead of doing that, why not take the initiative and decide on someone? Since you don't know, just say Hongxi is young and our first son to get married, and we're worried. We must choose an older, more stable girl. Cao Yin's second daughter is younger than Hongxi."
Yinreng laughed and said, "When it comes to these things, you women are the ones who know how to handle them."
Shujia rolled her eyes at him. "You're such an idiot! How could it be Hongxi?"
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It turned out that the Crown Prince was overthinking it. Kangxi had assigned Cao Yin's second daughter to a son of a prince, who was now a first-class guard in the Palace of Heavenly Purity. Wasn't this happening right before Kangxi's eyes?
Of course, this is a later story.
Anyway, after the emperor arrived in Jiangning, Kangxi finished dealing with the public affairs and called Cao Yin to his inner chamber to speak. When Cao Yin entered, there was no one else there, only the crown prince and the grandson of the emperor. Before they had spoken a few words, Kangxi suddenly summoned a guard and sent him out to pass on a message. Then, he said to Cao Yin, who was standing nearby, "What do you think of this boy?"
Cao Yin replied, "Everyone around the master is excellent."
Kangxi laughed and said, "It seems you are satisfied with this son-in-law?"
When Yinreng heard this, his heart was relieved.
Life is so hard when you have a crazy dad.
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If I say there will be lunch boxes tomorrow...
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