Jinjiang's beating hurt me
From a sociological perspective, the optimal male-to-female population ratio is 105-106:100. Anything more or less can easily lead to social problems. From this perspective, Kangxi's family was a destabilizing force—they often had more sons than daughters. Kangxi himself is a prime example.
Today, Kangxi's surviving sons number twenty, with more than fifteen still alive and around ten married and having children. Conversely, the number of princesses during Kangxi's reign is pitiful: only ten hold the title, half the number of princes. Of these ten, only eight survived to marry, and including the adopted daughter of Changning, there are only nine.
Of these nine, only four remain to visit their old father. The Seventh Princess died unmarried, the Fifth Princess passed away a few years ago, the Eighth Princess died of an emergency last June, and the Tenth Princess died of illness in December. Of Kangxi's aunts, only the Eldest Princess, the Second Princess, the Fourth Princess, and the Ninth Princess remain.
The four princesses had their own residences in Kyoto, so the palace didn't need to make any extra preparations. If anything, it was just a place for them to stay when they came to the palace to "attend to the sick." Upon entering the palace, they first paid their respects to the Empress Dowager.
By the time the princesses arrived at Ningshou Palace, the news was already known throughout the palace. The imperial concubines and the crown princess were required to be present, and many of the wives of the emperor's wives had also gathered. Upon meeting, they embraced each other and wept bitterly. At that moment, everyone in the room was truly weeping. As mentioned before, stroke is a devastating disease, resulting in either death or disability, often leading to mental impairment and serious consequences.
You said, if something really happened to the emperor, among all the women in the room, only two of them could maintain their original quality of life and even improve it - the empress dowager and the crown princess.
The others were out of fashion, and all the concubines, whether they had titles or not, had to be imprisoned in Ningshou Palace to live out their days: since none of Kangxi's empresses were still alive, there was no one to lead the way and move to Cining Palace, so they had to live with the empress dowager. Their lives were left with chanting scriptures and reciting Buddhist scriptures, and they rarely even saw their children and grandchildren.
As for the princesses, they claim to be the prince's sisters, but none of them share the same mother. When your father was still alive, he missed you and would stay with you during his tours of the Great Wall. He felt sorry for you and sent a doctor to offer you warmth, and you felt the care and concern of your loved ones. But when someone else, someone you didn't know well enough, didn't mistreat you, you didn't feel so comfortable anymore—that's how love works.
The wives of the emperor's wives also had a hard time. The difference between the princes and the younger brothers was quite large. Not to mention the soft conditions such as psychological distance, the hardware was also very different: the princes were treated like princes, while the younger brothers were treated according to their titles. The same was true for their wives. Currently, no princes have been awarded the title of prince!
But did the Empress Dowager and the Crown Princess have it any easier? The answer is no.
The Empress Dowager cried the most bitterly. She was a simple-minded woman, concerned least about her treatment and conditions, thinking only of the filial piety Kangxi had shown her over the decades. So what if he wasn't her biological son? How many biological sons could possibly show the same respect for their stepmothers that Kangxi did? Her heartfelt sorrow was unwavering.
Her already calm heart was ached again by the arrival of her married granddaughter. Like any mother in the world, the old lady wept bitterly for her son.
The Empress Dowager changed her handkerchiefs three times and began to tremble with sobs. The women in the room rushed to persuade her, "Grandma, the Emperor/Khan Ama will be fine." If you cry any more, we will be guilty of a great sin. The women were frightened and stopped crying, not daring to cause the old lady to cry.
Shujia's mindset was complex. If Kangxi were to pass away, the Eastern Palace would undoubtedly be the biggest beneficiary. She had lived in fear for over a decade, her biggest fear being that Kangxi would one day dislike the Eastern Palace and depose it. But when the situation finally came to a head, she hesitated again.
Kangxi reigned for sixty-one years, as written in black and white in the history textbooks published by the People's Education Press. He still had more than a decade to live. Shujia reminded herself of this, and she remained calm.
However, as time went on, Kangxi's condition worsened, and she couldn't help but feel nervous. Why wasn't he still getting better? She knew the symptoms of a stroke, and unless Kangxi had a golden finger, he would be in grave danger. Based on past experience, the old man was one of those people who were often deceived by fate.
Shujia was anxious. "No way! Butterflies and all that? That's a bit too much." Yinreng hadn't made any major mistakes so far, but that could be attributed to her long relationship with him. Yinreng wasn't a bad person, and Shujia had simply given him a push. But Kangxi, this was too mysterious.
Honestly, Kangxi was very kind to the Crown Prince, eager for his husband to ascend the throne. This was a disguised way of wanting him to see his ancestors. It was truly heartless. Like the Crown Prince, the Crown Princess was also tormented, but she had spent less time with Kangxi, so her sadness was not as severe as Yinreng's.
Some people, when they are alive, you feel they are like a wall, blocking you and annoying you, but if they disappear, you will feel cold.
Shujia felt uneasy, always feeling that she needed to see Kangxi's condition again before she could feel at ease. As for whether she would feel at ease only when she saw him dead or alive, she herself couldn't tell.
Pulling the handkerchief in her hand, Shujia said to the Empress Dowager, "Grandma, the princesses are here to visit Khan Ama, but we're afraid there might be foreign ministers in the Palace of Heavenly Purity. Shouldn't we send someone there first to tell everyone who should leave? Also, the concubines can't go to the Palace of Heavenly Purity all the time due to etiquette, and they're worried. We sisters-in-law should also go there to pay our respects and attend to the sick."
The Queen Mother cried so much that her body was still shaking slightly. She hiccuped and said, "I'll go with you!"
ah?
It's so scary. How can you be in this state, old man?
But the Empress Dowager was determined. A person without a strong opinion can be very formidable once she makes up her mind. The others had no choice but to comply. Fortunately, the old lady was of high rank, so she was carried there, not having to travel through the sun herself.
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In the Qianqing Palace, the four people on duty are Hongdan, Yinzhi, Yinyou and Yinzhen. They are taking turns talking to Kangxi, trying to make the old man say, "It's so noisy, shut up." But they failed.
Someone came to Ningshou Palace again and said that the Empress Dowager wanted to bring all the female relatives to see the Emperor, and all men should get out of the way.
Hongdan asked first, "Apart from the Empress Dowager, are all the imperial concubines here? Are all four princesses here? Who of the concubines came?"
The eunuch of Ningshou Palace replied, "The Empress Dowager and the ladies of each palace are here. The eldest, second, fourth, and ninth princesses are here too, as are all the wives in the capital."
Hongdan sent his eunuch to tell Yinreng that the Empress Dowager was coming with her army of women. He then said to Yinzhi, "Uncle, there must be at least 20 or 30 people here. Since the Empress Dowager needs people to serve her, most of them will definitely be maids. Even if there is enough room here, there won't be enough space. We need to clear out another room over there as a backup."
Yinzhi was quite good at math: "That's right. We also need to prepare things for the waiters and other places."
Yinyou looked around and realized it was not the right time to speak, so he volunteered: "I'll go over there and take a look. I know a little bit about what the Empress Dowager likes."
Yinzhi said, "You go."
Yinzhen said, "Also, although the Qianqing Palace is the inner court, it is where government affairs are conducted after court is dismissed. Apart from other things, there are still a few guards and ministers on duty. They should be asked to leave."
Yinzhi thought for a moment and looked at his nephew: "What does the Crown Prince think?"
"Then I'll have to trouble Uncle Fourteenth."
Yinzhi spoke again: "Hurry up, this matter involves Khan Ama. Our ancestors always say that wind is rain. It's not surprising that it has come to this now."
Finally, Hongdan asked Yinzhi to explain the arrangement to Yinreng: "My nephew is waiting for the old ancestor here. When she arrives, someone must report Mafa's recent situation. I'll have to trouble my uncle to tell my father-in-law about it."
It wasn't that Hong Dan wanted to exclude his three uncles, but rather that they needed to avoid the female members of the family. When the Empress Dowager arrived, someone had to greet her, and since he was younger, he was more likely to be exempted from the strict rules regarding sex.
Now everyone was given a task and worked separately.
The female army arrived quickly. The Empress Dowager, concubines, and princesses came forward. After the wives of the young ladies paid their respects, the Crown Princess led the way and retreated to the outer room.
The Empress Dowager sat down beside the Emperor's bed, held Kangxi's hand and kept nagging: "Emperor, the maids are here to see you, you must get better soon." Everyone in the room wiped their tears quietly.
Besides expressing grief, the Fourth Princess, a bit more assertive, inquired about the medical situation. Hongdan replied, "We saw the opportunity early, so there's no delay. The Imperial Hospital wants to use acupuncture and is considering it." Acupuncture is a hallmark of Traditional Chinese Medicine, but it also requires a high level of skill from the practitioner. Furthermore, since the Emperor is particularly sensitive, caution is required.
The fourth princess sighed deeply. No matter how resolute and decisive she was, she couldn't make up her mind. The group of women looked at each other in confusion.
They care too much about this person, so no one dares to give orders lightly for fear of making any mistakes.
After staying for a while, the women's army retreated because Kangxi was unable to interact with them.
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The Crown Prince was troubled. This year, the court was facing more trouble than usual. First, there was the case of the Jiangsu Provincial Governor, who had embezzled treasury silver. A total of 160,000 taels was still outstanding and needed to be recovered. Furthermore, locusts had plagued Zhili, Shanxi, Henan, and Shandong since last year, and the situation has continued this year. They were urgently needed to be hunted.
Also, the issue of soldiers eating empty salaries. Everyone is used to it, it is the norm. Since Zhao Shenqiao exposed this matter, the court has realized that the amount of empty salaries is a bit large.
The so-called "empty salary" refers to the fabrication of personal names to falsely claim wages and rations. Zhang San, Li Si, and Wang Ermazi exist only in two-dimensional space. The court and the emperor who pay their salaries cannot recognize each person by name, and they cannot remember them all. Three-dimensional military officers can break through the dimensional wall and use these two-dimensional names to collect the salaries of dozens or even hundreds of people in the three-dimensional world, making a small fortune.
But Zhang San and Li Si can't break through this dimensional wall on their own. When a war breaks out, the higher-ups call for several thousand people from a certain place (Zhang San's unit) to go suppress bandits... Zhang San doesn't exist. If Zhang San and others are deducted from the several thousand people, and if there are only two thousand and eight thousand left from the three thousand, then the war can still be fought; if the number is half that, it's simply a rip-off!
Now the number was already trending upwards from 2,800 to 1,500. How could the Crown Prince not be anxious? He'd paid for thugs, only to be taken advantage of. He'd spent the money, and when he needed the machine of violence, he found it was missing a part and couldn't function. This was murder!
Since when did this country become so rotten?
An urgent order was issued, urging military officers to reflect on their actions and wipe their butts immediately. Also, everyone was urged to go catch locusts, as locust plagues have a greater psychological impact on people than floods or droughts.
After arranging all this, the tense mood of the past few days finally eased. Just as he was about to rest, the Empress Dowager sent a message: "Please ask the Crown Prince to come to Ningshou Palace to discuss things."
The old lady took the initiative to discuss things with him?
Yinreng was full of doubts, but he still went to Ningshou Palace. When he arrived at Ningshou Palace, he was shocked to see his wife and sisters there. What a scene!
The princesses still had to pay their respects to the crown prince. Shujia also stood up. She didn't have to do any grand formalities. She exchanged glances with Yinreng. Yinreng clearly saw that Shujia's eyes lingered on Princess Rongxian for a while. He forced a smile and said, "It's already this late. Let's put aside these empty formalities for now."
He then asked the Empress Dowager what was the matter.
The Empress Dowager said, "I've thought about it. It's not a good idea for all the concubines to wait at home like this. We need to decide where they will go first to put people at ease. Otherwise, dozens of families will be guessing and making things uneasy."
"Grandfather, do you have an idea?" Yinreng asked cautiously.
The Queen Mother nodded: "Yes."
"What do you mean?" Want to arrange a marriage? Please don't do anything rash, Khan Ama, please get well soon. Humans can no longer stop this old lady.
"You come and do this."
"Huh? Didn't you have an idea?" The Crown Prince was exhausted both physically and mentally in recent days and could no longer keep up with the Queen Mother's thoughts.
"My idea is to ask you to come and get this done!"
"..." She was truly impressed. "How can this be done? It should be Khan Ama who makes the decision." How did the old lady come up with this idea? Someone must have taught her.
No one really taught me this, it was just women talking together. Where there are women, there is gossip, and where there are women gossiping, there is gossip. From Kangxi's illness to the princess's demise, the Crown Princess traveled with her daughter-in-law, and Gegentana's mother, the Third Princess, who died in March of this year, was among the gossips, which naturally made everyone sigh.
Her aunts and in-laws all comforted Gegentana in unison: "If you're still sad, wouldn't she be worried even if she went there? Seeing that you have such a home, your mother will be relieved. Look at your mother-in-law, she's so good to you, and she treats her daughter no better. Live a good and peaceful life."
The Empress Dowager suddenly had an idea and asked Princess Rongxian, "Is your maid selected this year?"
Indeed, after hanging around the Empress Dowager for a long time, the old lady immediately remembered: "We must give her a good home."
Princess Rongxian was both happy and frustrated. She was happy because her daughter had the old lady's protection and would not suffer any harm; she was frustrated because she had just said that Gegentana had married well and her mother had died peacefully, and the Empress Dowager had promised her that she would find a good family for her daughter. This...
The Empress Dowager continued to kill people without being noticed.
Princess Rongxian, however, did not dare to agree to this matter: "What's the harm in asking the girl to wait? There are so many families outside..." Subconsciously, she was still worried about Kangxi. Everyone knew that a stroke was incurable. At the same time, she hoped that Kangxi would recover.
The two ideas were contradictory, and Princess Rongxian was also conflicted. She didn't want her father to die, believing he could survive, but she was also afraid that if something happened to Kangxi, her daughter would be safe. If she missed this opportunity, she would never get it again.
The Empress Dowager, who had always been a bit dazed, also had some common sense about stroke. She wavered for a moment, and this scene happened.
The author has something to say:
**You weakling, I can't climb up here no matter what I do TT. Don't blame me for not being able to update before midnight. I kneel down to you.
PS: **I have been doing all kinds of things for these days and have deleted many long reviews. The day before yesterday, I couldn’t stand it anymore and poked the editor of Mutong. Today I finally found it back~
Yurika-san, Xiaobao, Xianhui Fengya, Xiaoxiang... your comments are all in. Actually, what I wanted to say is, "Why is it so noisy?" This sock puppet reminds me of my own. They're both catchy when recited silently, but hard to say out loud.
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