Pigs are also divided into different types
The new head of the Imperial Household Department naturally required some adjustment. Xiong Cilü was also a veteran official. Part-time officials in the Imperial Household Department had some familiarity with him, and full-time officials more or less acknowledged his scholarly abilities. With the titles of Grand Secretary and Minister of State, Xiong Cilü was still quite capable of commanding the situation.
Yinreng was delighted. Zhang Ying had made his position clear before leaving; at least he wouldn't ruin his plans with Kangxi. And Xiong Cilü, his former teacher, though their relationship had become mediocre, was still on his side. This feeling had become increasingly apparent since the farewell and welcome banquet. Yinreng's ability to handle affairs was already strong, but now that he was treating interpersonal relationships as a priority, he was making rapid progress and achieving excellent results.
He was studious, courteous, and concerned about the people. When a new employee of the Chancellery came from a difficult family, he received a hundred taels of silver from the Crown Prince. It was not a large amount, but it was very heartwarming.
Yinreng also had another cunning side. Every time he met with Zhang Ying and Xiong Cilü, he would first discuss government affairs, talk about the developments at court, comment on the people in the Zhanshi Mansion, and then... discuss homework! Since they were a teacher-student relationship, it was perfect for him to use this as a topic of conversation.
As time goes by, intimacy naturally develops. When discussing homework, if too much talk gets in the way, tea is the next thing to go. "What kind of tea does Master like? I have a few..." The conversation then broadens to encompass the basics of life.
Then it became clear that Zhang Ying had a lighter palate, while Xiong Cilü preferred dishes with more seasoning. One day, when things were getting busy and discussions were running late, Yinreng wanted to keep him for dinner, but Zhang Ying said, "I am an outsider and cannot stay in the palace without permission. The Crown Prince should investigate and be cautious."
The next day, Yinreng innocently confessed to Kangxi. Kangxi laughed and said, "What's the value of a meal? If it's late in the future, you can keep him for a while."
Yinreng received the assurance, and the next time Zhang Ying was forced to work overtime, Yinreng said first: "I know that you are abiding by the rules. I have received the oral instructions from Khan Ama. I will ask Gao Sanxie to run to the Qianqing Palace to report and then go to the palace gate to say hello. You can leave after you have dinner."
Zhang Ying couldn't refuse, but during the meal, he was surprised to find that everything on the table was delicious. The prince was becoming more and more like his father, the emperor; his attention to detail was quite like Kangxi's. Yinreng pretended not to notice Zhang Ying's surprise, not even mentioning that it was specially prepared. Furthermore, such overtime meals were not a regular occurrence; Zhang Ying had only had the privilege of enjoying them twice during his tenure as the Chancellor of the Imperial Household.
Xiong Cilü continued the tradition of Zhang Ying's time with overtime meals. It was already late November when he arrived at the Zhanshi Mansion, the end of the year approaching, and he was busy with summaries, reports, New Year's greetings, and plans for the coming year... This kept him busy, and meant more opportunities for overtime.
The meal was simple, the prince having abandoned his extravagant ways and eating from standard fare. They ate in the Yuqing Palace at the back, Yinreng's standard bedroom, naturally lavishly decorated. Xiong Cilü took a quick look around and noticed that some of the decor was a bit dated, not new, indicating that he had indeed made many recent improvements.
The prince's performance increasingly satisfied these old Neo-Confucian ministers.
Once your senior staff are satisfied, they'll naturally push you to improve. Who told you to behave? Who told you to have a future? To use a crude analogy, if you consistently rank last in a class, the teachers will eventually grow tired of you. But if you're already doing well, if you've made progress, if you've clearly improved by two places on this exam and two more on the next, the teachers will be happy to promote you, won't they?
When I am close to you, I will talk to you more.
"Furen is also a Grand Secretary. Your Highness, don't be too cold when you meet him." Xiong Cilü warned earnestly.
Yinreng asked Xiong Cilü very seriously, "Master, I do have some dislike for Fulun, but—is it that obvious?"
Xiong Cilü thought about it seriously: "Just looking at how Your Highness treats him, there's nothing wrong with it. It's just that people are afraid of comparison. Although Zhang Ying and I have known Your Highness for a long time, we are closer to him than Fulun and his generation. Your Highness, people are afraid of comparison."
The muscles on Yinreng's cheeks twitched, and he couldn't help but say, "I still can't smile at him." As for Mingzhu, it can be said that it is paralyzing the enemy or something. Fulun is one level lower than Mingzhu. He has to smile when he sees the enemy's leader, and he still has to smile when he sees the enemy's minions. The prince is not a person who sells smiles.
Xiong Cilü was speechless, suddenly realizing that the Crown Prince was still the same Crown Prince, the same six-year-old Crown Prince who had been wearing a polite veneer but was actually incredibly proud. No matter how many years had passed, no matter how much had happened, some traits never changed.
Xiong Cilü also knew that after so many years of teaching, he still hadn't changed his mindset, so it was impossible to change his mindset with just one sentence. He could only shake his head and hope that by nagging him a few more times, he would appear to be more amicable.
Yinreng knew from Xiong Cilü's expression that he was not very satisfied. After thinking for a moment, he added, "He is too narrow-minded."
This is the truth, Xiong Cilü said, "The emperor uses him because of his ability, Your Highness can see it clearly. You should not be biased because of your own likes and dislikes." He hinted righteously, I know that guy is from Mingzhu's party and has been against you for a long time, but you have to look at him objectively.
Yinreng agreed reluctantly: "I understand." Let's give it a try.
Xiong Cilü's head hurt. It was as if he saw that six-year-old prince again, stubborn as a bull. It wasn't his expression, it was his actions. No matter what you said, he wouldn't force himself to do anything he didn't want to do. He might agree to your face, but behind your back, he'd absolutely ignore your words!
However, when I think about how hard the prince is working now and how he has improved a lot and restrained himself a lot since he was my student, I can't bear to give up.
Xiong Cilü was conflicted.
Yinreng laughed back, "Master, why are you like this? You're not avoiding me anymore. Everyone knows I don't get along with them. If I smiled at them one day, they'd probably think the Crown Prince was up to something bad again. Don't you think so?"
Xiong Cilü was speechless.
Besides that, the prince was very receptive to Master Xiong Qian's advice. He told him to study more, to be friendly with his brothers, and to be nicer to Emperor Kangxi, which would be even more filial.
Xiong Cilü was puzzled. Shouldn't the Crown Prince and the eldest prince be sworn enemies? Why would he ignore the leader and go all out against the minions?
Yinreng explained, "My brothers are all very good people. It was just these little villains who instigated us. How many years have we been 'at odds'? Ten years at least? How old were we then? Even if there were some disagreements, they were mostly minor matters. Why did they become such a fuss and become known to everyone? Since when did the eldest prince and I become enemies? It is truly despicable that they are driving the royal family apart for their own selfish reasons."
Of course, these words reached the ears of Kangxi.
Xiong Cilü agreed with this. Without Suo Etu and Mingzhu, the Crown Prince and the eldest prince would not have been able to cause any trouble. However, if the eldest prince had no ideas of his own, how could he have been used by others? As a Confucian scholar with a high academic level, Xiong Cilü conducted in-depth research on this issue.
Ultimately, it was concluded that the Crown Prince's abandonment of Soetu was a wise move, consistent with his aforementioned remarks. This was because Soetu was a close relative of his mother's clan and a recluse, so he avoided the topic in conversation. As for the eldest prince, he wasn't a good person. He was still hanging out with Mingzhu, so he must have some ulterior motive.
Master Xiong added something to Yinzhi, forgetting that the original intention of this conversation was to persuade the prince to be more polite to Fulun.
When he next remembered and came over to continue his "frank and extreme advice" to the prince, he found a meat ball sitting on the prince's knees!
When did Yuqing Palace become a nursery? And the Crown Prince turned into a male nanny? Xiong Cilü stepped back, examined the plaque inscribed with "Yuqing Palace" in both Manchu and Han script, and then walked forward. Squinting, adjusting to the light, he realized that not everyone could sit on the Crown Prince's knees. This particular person was perfectly qualified.
The little girl was wrapped in a dark blue, four-hemmed gown. Her round, plump face and dark eyes looked at him curiously, then softened from the prince's body and stood obediently beside the prince's chair.
Xiong Cilü met Yinreng, who waited for him to finish his formalities before politely inviting him to take a seat. He smiled and said, "This is Hongdan." So it was him! This kid is so... adorable, isn't he? Everything about him is round. You can tell he's pretty good-looking, but just the roundness makes him so funny. Luckily, he's still a little cute now. If he stays like this when he grows up...
While Xiong Cilü's mind was working at a speed rarely seen in old age, Yinreng had already introduced someone to his son: "This is Master Xiong, who taught me before."
Then, the little fat man walked up to him with square steps and bowed deeply.
Xiong Cilü quickly jumped up: "No way."
The prince did not stop him from speaking, but just looked at his son TX his teacher with an eye of watching a good show.
The little fat boy blinked his eyes and asked sincerely, puzzledly, and inquiringly, "Shouldn't we respect our teachers? That's what my father and mother taught us. You are my father's teacher, someone I should respect. Shouldn't I respect you too?"
He kept saying "respect" and made Master Xiong Qian sweat profusely. Your father wasn't this well-behaved when he was a child!
Xiong Cilü said, "There are five human relationships: Heaven, Earth, Sovereign, Parents, and Teacher. My young prince is the sovereign, and the minister is the minister. The sovereign is above the teacher... Do you understand?"
The little fat boy was young after all, so he understood the first two sentences, but was completely confused by the long explanation that followed - some things were different from what his parents said.
Adhering to the good habit of asking questions when one does not understand something, TX began: "You haven't told me yet, do you want to respect the master?"
“…” Can I say no?
"Then... is your relative also in the master's place?"
"Yes." Anyway, all your relatives are my king.
"Mother said that if you disrespect the master, she will come back and beat me. So, you still have to respect him, right?"
“…” I was wrong, I was really wrong. Your father was much more obedient than you when he was a child.
Having said that, my overall impression of Yuqing Palace has improved a bit.
The crown prince had had enough of the drama and came out to explain: "Respecting teachers and respecting morality comes before respecting morality. Otherwise, why would the court offer sacrifices to Confucius and Mencius?" He sighed to the old man and the child, "Respecting in a low position is not as good as respecting in a high position."
The prince's theoretical level was already very high, and now he took the opportunity to teach his son a lesson: "Life is full of constraints, some of which suppress one's true nature. Only when these constraints are removed can a person's true nature be truly seen. As the saying goes, wealth and honor cannot corrupt, poverty and humbleness cannot move, and power and force cannot bend. If a person is poor, he cannot enjoy pleasure, and it is poverty that suppresses the desire for pleasure. Only when he is rich and noble can we know whether he is truly content with simplicity..."
The little fat boy looked at his father with a half-understood look. His father said this partly to teach him and partly to show off to Xiong Cili. He reached out and touched his head: "Take the words you just wrote and go to your mother to see your brother. We will continue the lesson when we go back tonight. Don't tease your brother anymore. He really can't speak now."
The little fat boy hung his head in disappointment. Seeing that Jia Yingxuan had already collected the papers on the table and handed them to Zhao Guoshi, he silently reached out, stood on tiptoe, and stretched out his arm to pull up the papers and take them himself. Zhao Guoshi glanced at Yinreng, got his tacit approval, and lowered himself to hand it to him.
Hongdan carefully rolled the paper into a round, uneven roll, and then asked Yinreng to take his leave. He bowed his head and said goodbye to Xiong Cilü: "Master, I'm leaving now." (Hey, that's the Grand Secretary, not the gatekeeper.)
"This brat can't even speak," Yinreng said to Xiong Cilü with a smile as he watched the chubby boy, Yuanrun, walk out of the palace. He refused to be carried and insisted on walking on his own, practically crawling across the threshold. "That's just how he is. He goes to Ningshou Palace with his mother to pay his respects every day, making such a fuss! We should just send him to Mother Suma to cultivate his character. He'll be much better behaved."
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When Hongdan got to the back, his brother was still sleeping with drool all over his body. He ran to his mother like a spoiled child and found her lying down to rest.
Hiding the paper roll behind her back, she said, "Mother, I'm back."
"What did you talk about today?" Shujia perked up. It was almost Chinese New Year, but she couldn't find peace. Not only did she have to pay her respects and meet people, but she also had a sick patient to visit—Princess Gulun Shuhui, Kangxi's aunt, who was so ill she had moved to the capital to recuperate.
Hongdan took out the paper rolled into a strange shape and said, "Father, teach me how to recite and recognize characters."
Open it and read "On the Overthrow of Qin". Yinreng, you can do it!
Shujia thought, are you comparing yourself to Qin? Stop kidding, I have to teach my son the poem "On the Six Kingdoms": "Today we cede five cities, tomorrow we cede ten cities..."
This is a joke, of course. He has to memorize the current passage before he can memorize the next one. Even if a child has a good memory, it's not the way to use it.
"Have you memorized it?"
"I had it written on one end and I was carrying it on my back. I had just been carrying it on my back for a while when an old man came over and said he was my master, Master Xiong!"
Xiong Cilü? Shujia thought about it. He was on the New Year's gift list. I heard that he was not well off, so he gave more practical things in the gifts. But he didn't dare to give money openly. His sons were still very young, so he was considered a child in his old age. Shujia had already prepared a few red envelopes. When Madam Xiong came to the palace during the New Year, she would give them as New Year's money to her children.
"Mother?"
"Oh, come on, recite it to mother."
Testing her son's homework gives her a great sense of accomplishment, because... her son never has trouble memorizing his lessons, so she doesn't have to worry about, "Oh, what if I gave birth to a stupid son?"
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However, Master Xiong's impression of Yuqing Palace was growing better and better, and he was certainly partial to her in his words and deeds. However, he was someone Kangxi trusted more than anyone else, and he was extra careful in his daily work, so he couldn't find any evidence against her.
Someone is angry.
Yinzhi lost his temper at Mingzhu: "That Xiong Cili, it's a pity that Khan Ama praised him, but he's nothing but a hypocrite seeking fame and reputation. He made a mistake in his own draft and tried to shift the blame to his colleague Dulide, rewrote the draft, and then took it and criticized it privately, which is unbecoming of a minister. His brother's reply was deceitful..."
Mingzhu was frustrated. He'd worked so hard for so long, and even though he'd been punished by the Emperor, he'd already been holding the Crown Prince back. Victory seemed within reach, but then the Crown Prince unexpectedly changed his ways, making things extremely difficult. The Crown Prince was becoming increasingly difficult to deal with. He was reflecting, correcting his mistakes, and hiding deeper, akin to a demonic transformation into a celestial being. How long had it been since they'd been able to find any evidence against the Crown Prince?
And this guy in front of me, all he does is 'kill him!' He doesn't seem to be making any progress at all! He's getting more and more aggressive!
Mingzhu gradually lost her patience with Yinzhi. Distance truly makes beauty. Before, one lived in the palace, the other outside. Their meetings were often due to pressure from external enemies, and whenever they met, they would discuss countermeasures. Now, they had both moved out together, and they would visit from time to time... Mingzhu was getting a little tired of it, at least.
Mingzhu was very depressed. After Yinzhi proclaimed himself king, he became increasingly arrogant. He used to act on his own occasionally, but now he was constantly making small moves. Mingzhu felt that he had done his duty well for Yinzhi, helping him fight the crown prince, helping him win over court officials, and giving him advice. When Yinzhi was short of money, he provided money and advice.
As a result, Yinzhi felt that it was not enough, so he secretly asked someone to open a jewelry shop.
Is it that easy?
Ming Xiang, the opponent is as ferocious as a wild boar, and the teammates are as stupid as domestic pigs, what should we do?
Yinzhi grumbled for a long time but couldn't come up with a good idea. He suggested impeaching the emperor, as the Xiong Cilü incident was already in the past. He could point the finger at the crown prince, as the crown prince had already removed the rotten flesh.
Mingzhu sighed in her heart: "No matter how anxious you are, you have to wait until the end of the first lunar month! Don't forget what time it is now." The New Year is coming soon, and everyone only reports good news and not bad news. If you want to fight, aren't you asking for trouble?
Yinzhi said unhappily: "Then just watch?"
"Didn't you build a temple? Go there more often to show its tranquility and inaction..." Xiangzhu began to talk about the art of war, how to confuse the enemy and then attack them when they are unprepared.
Yinzhi left with satisfaction.
The one who had sent him off was Kuixu, who didn't have a very good impression of the eldest prince. He bent down, head bowed, to avoid letting Yinzhi see the impatience in his eyes. Every time this guy came, it was when his father was unhappy. As a father, beating the child in the rain or in the cloudy weather was a good thing. When he was in a bad mood, he took it out on his son.
The brothers of the Mingzhu family all have a bad impression of the eldest prince.
Yet, this troublemaker was still trying to be friendly and asked, "Is your mission going well lately?"
Good luck to you! It would be good without you, dear God~ The Eighth Prince has a much better future than this guy!
After seeing Yinzhi off, he mentally prepared himself, head bowed, ready to listen to lectures like, "What are you doing here? Why don't you persuade the eldest prince more often? How did he become so impulsive?" But Mingzhu rolled her eyes and looked him up and down, then raised her shoulders, body language saying, "I'm ready, go ahead and scold me."
Mingzhu didn't scold him, but just asked him to spread the message: "Don't get involved in trouble during the New Year or not." Without Mingzhu, the eldest prince was completely alone and couldn't even think of making trouble.
Is it too late to change careers now? Can I choose again?
The author has something to say: I don’t believe this! Keep posting, I’ve registered a new album, this is the third one TT
Eighth Master's Characters
and beauty
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