Stealing Husband and Dead Wife
March 18th was Kangxi's birthday, and it should have been a grand occasion. However, due to the heavy workload this year, including river defense and the examination of scholars, and the emperor's move to Changchun Garden with his family, Kangxi ordered the ceremonial banquet to be suspended, thus saving himself a burden.
The gifts that should be given should still be given.
Kangxi possessed a wide range of interests. Besides Manchu archery and Han Chinese poetry, he also favored Western learning. Of course, it's worth noting that his poetry was barely above the level of doggerel—Shujia, having memorized one of his poems, honestly felt it wasn't as good as Yinreng's. At the time, she hadn't yet been chosen as Crown Princess, so her assessment was quite objective. Furthermore, Kangxi, despite his relatively good musical skills, actually sang rather poorly. Furthermore, while he was skilled in archery and horsemanship, he was also somewhat of a show-off. He loved to line up a row of guards and then, with a wave of his arm, push them over. He'd even just extended his hand to push them over, so how could anyone dare not fall?
Oh, what were we talking about? Yes, gifts. Gifts should cater to the emperor's tastes. Kangxi was fond of Western learning, especially clocks. Giving a clock as a present would be damned unpleasant, and it would be best if it wasn't sent by the Crown Princess. So Shujia prepared two pocket watches, having a skilled craftsman add a longevity pattern to the original plain gold cases.
The rest of the items, such as ruyi, clothing, and curios, were of course prepared, as were a few small toys presented in the names of the sons. The first item, however, was a screen with Kangxi's poems written in Yinreng's own handwriting, modeled after the crown prince's handwriting, and engraved on the glass screen by skilled craftsmen.
This gift pleased Kangxi very much, and he placed it in Danningju.
Prince Jian Yabu, who had been summoned to the meeting, couldn't help but glance at the screen twice. Kangxi was about to speak, but when he saw where Yabu was looking, he stretched out his thumb and smoothed the two small moustaches on his lips: "This is what the Crown Prince copied. How do you like it?"
Yabu had been detained that morning to discuss matters within the imperial clan. He was now in charge of the Imperial Clan Office, so he felt obliged to come. Unexpectedly, after he had only glanced a few times, the emperor changed the subject. Don't be too complacent in your words.
Yabu thought to himself, "You've already shown off the prince's calligraphy to everyone more than once. Is this really necessary?" He added, "The prince has been practicing calligraphy since he was young, and he's making great progress now."
Kangxi was satisfied and coughed, "I've kept you here today for one thing. The population of our clan is growing rapidly. How many men and women are there now?"
Yabu was in charge of this. The Zongrenfu's main tasks were roughly these: 1. Regularly inspect the population of the imperial clan and keep a register; 2. Imprison anyone found guilty of breaking the law (only relatives could be imprisoned); 3. Report any issues concerning titles, ranks, or succession to the higher authorities. While there were other minor duties, none were as important as these three.
After coughing twice, Yabu began to memorize the data.
Kangxi heard this and asked, "How do the idle members of the royal family who have no official duties make a living?"
This question hit the nail on the head. Yabu said, "If they have some basic resources and don't squander them themselves, then sending servants to run the business is fine. Although they can't compare to people with official positions, it's still acceptable."
Then he asked, "What about your children's marriages? The extravagant weddings in the capital are becoming more and more popular. Can they still cope with it?"
Kangxi was recently inspired by the preparation of the dowry for the fifth princess. First, his daughter's marriage to the Tong family meant one less resource for maintaining internal stability in the court and pacifying Mongolia; second, his daughter's dowry was indeed a huge expense, which was a big blow to Kangxi, who now had to fill the bottomless pit of river engineering.
Yabu Mo, after a long pause, finally replied tremblingly, "Marrying a son is fine, but marrying a daughter is really..." In the marriages of the powerful families in the capital, the man provides the betrothal gifts and the house, while the woman provides the dowry and decoration. Normally, the dowry is higher than the betrothal gifts, so raising a daughter at this time is really a loss of money without explanation.
Raising a son in the imperial clan was profitable, as the betrothal gifts and other gifts were all stipulated by law and didn't need to be excessive. For families with high nobility, state agencies would even cover the costs. Raising a daughter was different, as the dowry and other gifts still had to represent face.
Kangxi was silent for a moment, then said, "If there are daughters of the imperial clan, such as the Jurchens, who wish to be raised by me, I will raise them and marry them off. If there are daughters who are older and whose parents cannot marry them off, I will also marry them off on their behalf. Please investigate and make a report."
Yabu was coughing violently, and Kangxi said, "Please sit down. Are you not well yet?" With a wink, the young eunuch from Danningju came up quickly to massage his back and serve him tea.
After Yabu finished his reply, he sat down and took a deep breath before he replied respectfully, "The imperial physician sent by the emperor is very capable. I feel better now. Perhaps it's the phlegm disease I had this spring." But in his heart he said, Your Majesty, I'm not feeling well. Please be considerate and don't scare me! Everyone knows that a daughter in your hands is like a meat bun... ahem, is she going to throw it to Mongolia?
Even if I didn't love my daughter, I wouldn't do this. You left the Fifth Princess in Beijing, and now you're looking for someone to take her place? Well, I have several unmarried women in my family. It's okay, I can afford this little dowry!
He still agreed verbally.
Kangxi said, "You are not in good health now. After you finish this mission, take some rest. At our age, good health is more important than anything else."
Yabu said: "How can a servant compare with the emperor? Now I am becoming more and more useless."
"Why be so modest? I'll have another horse race with you next year when we go out to the frontier."
“Yeah.”
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After completing this task, Kangxi abandoned the Empress Dowager and the others in Changchun Garden and fled back to the Forbidden City with the Crown Prince. This year, in addition to the regular three-yearly Spring Examination, there was also a selection of tribute scholars from various regions. Kangxi would hold a banquet for the selected candidates.
The remaining concubines, who had originally thought they had landed a good job, felt a bit embarrassed. Ahem, those who stayed in the Forbidden City were blessed. Well… in comparison, it must be said that the Crown Princess' move to keep the two concubines by her side was absolutely the right one.
Everyone has their bottom line, and you have to avoid it when doing things. For ordinary men, you can be nice to them, soften them up, and make them wiser when there's a conflict between the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, mediate between the two sides, and make the mother-in-law treat you well; but you can't force him to admit, "If your mother and I fell into the water, you had to save me first!"
For a man of the Crown Prince or Emperor's stature, you can improve your own character, understand his preferences, and make him want to be with you, so that his eyes will revolve around you. Never force him to agree to "I only want you." Doing so will only lead to hard times! Are you talking about Gudu Jialuo? Come on, she just swore to her husband not to have illegitimate children, and now he's hugging his concubine. If the baby isn't born, it doesn't count as a breach of contract.
Therefore, Shujia’s strategy was to be nice to Yinreng and make him feel comfortable and inseparable from her.
Then use Kangxi's preferences to restrain him. It's strange to say, Kangxi's harem never stopped having new people, but everyone thought he was a man who didn't like to be close to beautiful women.
From this point of view, Kangxi can be said to have "used court-like management of the harem personnel" to make people think that he was a fair emperor who was not blinded by women and did not let whoever he favored take the throne.
Yinreng was one of those who was deceived.
Once he formed the conclusion that "Khan Ama doesn't like men obsessed with beauty," he would consciously follow it. Besides, he and his wife were compatible, so there was no need to hunt for food. Even so, just to be on the safe side, Shujia still brought her two concubines along. Just because she wasn't obsessed didn't mean she wouldn't be tempted, right?
The men left, and the women were free to chat with the Empress Dowager. The Empress Dowager kept saying, "The Emperor left yesterday and hasn't come back yet."
Please, stop nagging! If you keep nagging, the faces of these concubines and imperial concubines will turn from green to black! They thought that only a few of them would share the emperor, but the emperor ran away, leaving them with nothing to share.
Shujia said, "Grandfather, look how much I've been waiting for you. With you here, how could Khan Ama not come back? Khan Ama has important matters to attend to right now. How long can one try take? He'll be back the next day." Well, with Yinreng's inside information, being someone's first wife comes with these perks. Of course, the Crown Prince and his wife's humiliating lifestyle last night also played a significant role. Ahem, after His Royal Highness pays the grain tax, it'll probably take two days for the warehouses to empty before... As the Buddha said, it cannot be said, it cannot be said.
Concubine Tong and the others were psychologically comforted and said with a smile: "The Crown Princess is still very clear. We are just here worrying along with the old ancestor."
The Empress Dowager nodded repeatedly. "Yes, yes, yes, in that case, let's just wait. Oh, and by the way, their wives said they would come over to pay their respects in two days. It's been two days, and why haven't they come yet? More people will come, and it will be more lively."
Concubine Yi replied, "The fifth daughter-in-law said that the eldest daughter-in-law was ill, and they went to visit her."
Shujia also said, "What the imperial concubine said is true. I also received the letter and sent someone to see her. He came back and said that he had called the imperial physician, and the prescription was also decided and the medicine was taken. I was just thinking of asking the old ancestor for leave, and when our master comes back, I will go to visit my eldest sister-in-law."
The Empress Dowager agreed: "That's great! When Yinreng comes back, just tell him and he'll be fine." Then she sighed, "He's so young, how can he be so sick here and there? I, an old woman, have had fewer illnesses, what a shame."
Concubine Tong said: "That is a blessing from God. Why is the old ancestor sighing? It's just that the eldest daughter-in-law is young after all..."
Concubine Tong's words were exactly what everyone was thinking. The first wife had been dragging it out for so long. Ever since she gave birth to her second daughter, her health hadn't improved. And then she gave birth to three children in quick succession. The saying "no filial son for a long-term sickbed, no one trusts a shepherd boy" goes something like this: When the same thing is repeated so often, people become numb to it, just like the bystanders listening to Xianglin Sao's sobbing complaints.
Everyone chatted about the eldest wife, and the conversation turned to skincare. Which pills were best, which soups were nourishing? Everyone had their own secrets, just revealing a little bit of the surface. Shujia said, "It's like a doctor treating a patient. It depends on the individual's constitution. Some prescriptions may be suitable for you, but not for me."
Concubine Tong agreed with this: "That's right. Those with cold bodies need warming and nourishing, while those with hot bodies need to clear away toxins and reduce internal heat."
This county woman never goes off topic when she speaks.
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Just as Shujia expected, a few days later, Kangxi packed up his prince and returned to Changchun Garden.
A brief absence is like a new marriage, and the tenderness of love goes without saying. It's a fact that if you have the same man, others can't. The two concubines, especially Li Jia, are finding life less comfortable than before. Their goal now is clear: to raise their son well. If the Crown Prince treats her and her son better, then that's good; if not, then it's not a loss either. They just need to please the Crown Princess and cultivate a good relationship with the Third Prince.
But what was it to watch her husband being so affectionate with the Crown Princess every day? Out of sight, out of mind, that was fine, but now this was... She was even more aggrieved than the Crown Princess!
Li Jiashi was a man with ambitions, so even if it was a little annoying, at least she was one step closer to the prince. But it was a pity that the prince ignored her.
When you want to start a relationship with someone that may be tortuous, long-lasting, earth-shattering, or inexplicable, you must remember to first find out what he is interested in, or at least know what he is thinking!
Although Li Jiashi didn't have such a clear guiding ideology, her goal was clear: to give birth to a son so she could have someone to rely on. The prerequisite for having a son was having sex with the crown prince, and there was no IVF in those days.
Li Jia changed her strategy and first went to the Crown Princess to get close to her and inquire about the Crown Prince's recent situation.
Shujia was a little amused. How did you know I would tell you? Yinreng complained yesterday: "I almost regretted it. Judging from what Khan Ama has been saying these days, the task of dredging the river bend should be handed over to the eldest brother. In a few days, Khan Ama will take them to inspect the riverbank, so I will stay behind. If it seems appropriate, I will appoint the eldest brother on the spot."
If she had been more malicious, she would have taken advantage of Yinreng's bad mood and instigated Li Jiashi to run into trouble and end up in trouble. Fortunately, the Crown Princess wasn't quite so ruthless. She simply said, "There are some matters at court that are not our business. Now that we're here, don't waste the beautiful scenery and just rest and recuperate. The Crown Prince will be in a good mood one day."
Li Jia's face flushed, and she couldn't help but feel a little resentful in her heart. "Calm down...you're not too calm. The prince is in a bad mood, aren't you also feeling better?"
What made her even more upset was that within two days, Yinreng's aura became noticeably kinder, but he still ignored her.
There was a reason why Yinreng was happy: Kangxi had given the eldest prince a lecture.
After seeing the prince's handwriting, Prince Jian Yabu came to the conclusion: Emperor, you are too good to your prince and love to show him off! Prince Zhi Yinzhi came to the conclusion: Khan Ama, you are too good to the second son and too partial!
When Kangxi summoned Yinzhi that day, he was giving him a heads-up. This time, I'm entrusting you with the task. I've entrusted you with Prince Jian's son, Yarjiang'a, Prince Xi's son, Yuexi, Beile Yanshou, Gong Qiketaha, and Puqi. Your father has been very kind to you, right? You should be grateful, do your job well, and work hard to improve yourself!
If there are any young men among the royal family who are willing to serve, I have instructed the General and Deputy General to dispatch them at their discretion. You will work with the Minister of the Interior to provide public funds for the construction of the ancient city and dispatch military officers. You will also dispatch secretaries. The Ministry of Works will send two officials to record the project. Secretaries and soldiers must be under forty years old. The elderly or disabled will not be dispatched. All other personnel and retired officials who are willing to serve in the dredging of the river are also ordered to go.
I am really training you to choose a good and wise king who can protect the country!
Also, you need to maintain good relations with your partners. They're not your honest uncle, who swallowed the insults we suffered for my sake. You must humble yourself... bulabula, pity the love of parents!
Before I could finish my words, I saw Yinzhi's eyes were very bad! He was actually staring at the kang screen in a daze! Let me explain, this kang screen was placed on the south edge of the kang in the inner room where he received close court officials, right next to him, in order to show off his filial piety as a royal father.
Yinzhi's look made Kangxi very unhappy! I thought the prince was the first to be sensible, and the eldest prince also stopped making trouble. During the period before and after the New Year, everything was much more peaceful. Now it seems that the prince is still sensible and has recommended you. What about you? What's that look in your eyes!
Kangxi changed his words, hinting at Yinzhi: "Don't stir up trouble. This time I want to give you an assignment, but it's to make you more stable, not to make enemies. Don't be arrogant just because others are friendly..." Deflecting the topic is a skill, and Kangxi still shifted it to the relationship between brothers, "especially Yaerjiang'a and Yuexi. They are all members of the royal family. In public and private, they should be filial, respectful, and friendly... I originally wanted to give this assignment to the third or fourth son, and it was the crown prince who recommended you."
(Prince: Khan Ama, you are lying! You are clearly waiting for me to nominate the boss!)
Yinzhi was so frustrated. But he couldn't afford to offend his father, Khan, so he immediately knelt down and admitted his mistakes: "My son was confused before and made many mistakes. I won't do it again in the future."
How could Yinreng not be delighted when he heard this news? This proved that Khan Ama still trusted him as always, and that he was gradually becoming dissatisfied with Yinzhi. He would bet Yinzhi's head that his elder brother would never learn his lesson next time. He admitted his mistake this time, but did it again next time. What kind of sin would that be?
Of course, Yinreng also had spies around Kangxi, but he did not take the upper-level route. He had seen many of those leading eunuchs, so it was difficult to impress them.
Even worse than the young, newly recruited eunuchs. Kangxi's bedroom wasn't a harem; eunuchs were on duty, accessible day and night. When summoning ministers, tasks like moving stools and serving tea were handled by junior eunuchs for ministers of lower ranks.
The young eunuch has just entered the palace, and his emotions are still simple and his greed is small. It is quite cost-effective to invest in him at this time.
He would just say briefly when they were being punished: "Khan Ama has always been kind, and it would not look good to punish him here. Either hand him over to the Ministry of Punishment or let him go." He was absolutely fearless, because according to Kangxi's habit, he would not punish like this. If someone offended the emperor, he would definitely be thrown directly to the Ministry of Punishment. This person might not know his business and offended his predecessors, so he was strangled.
Or, when someone is in trouble, you don’t point it out to them, but just throw a small silver ingot to help them out.
Are you grateful or not?
Every once in a while, someone would whisper to him, "Your Majesty met with Minister X today, and he looked unhappy. He was talking about the Governor of the Rivers and so on. Your Majesty, be careful."
Done!
Prince, you...
At first, he was proud of his own vision, but later he gradually realized that eunuchs were not completely "dog slaves", and he even showed some genuine concern for the young eunuchs. When the young eunuchs gradually grew into senior eunuchs and the prince was still amiable, the emperor asked: "How are the other princes, how is the prince?"
All they had to say was, "The Crown Prince would not mistreat anyone."
When Kangxi asked again, "Why do you say that?"
"In the morning, if others were kind to the masters (referring to the eunuchs), and were punished, some of the masters would plead for mercy, but the servants would pay no attention. Only the Crown Prince and the Eighth Prince would say a few words."
Good, good.
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In April, Kangxi summoned several prominent figures. Despite admitting his mistake, Kangxi remained lenient and continued to allow Yinzhi to lead the mission, even arranging logistics for him. If someone else had been assigned this task, the sheer amount of hassles surrounding wages, food expenses, and materials needed for dredging would have been immense.
Yinzhi had a good father who directly asked the Grand Secretary and the Grand Secretary to support Yinzhi. He also issued an edict, asking the General and Deputy General to select strong men under 40, and asked the Ministry of Works to send technical personnel to assist him.
If I don't do this job well, God will not approve of it.
Yinzhi saw the other side.
Changchun Garden, Danning Residence.
Yinzhi, Yarjiang'a, Yuexi, Yanshou, Ketaha, and Puchi were kneeling on the ground, Kangxi was sitting on the kang, and Yinreng was sitting on the chair below Kangxi.
Kneeling before Yinreng was really something Yinzhi was unwilling to do, but… Behind him was a prince, a county prince, a beile, and two dukes. These people had to stay with him for a month or two. This was completely a permitted collusion! There was also Fei Yanggu and the officials of the Ministry and Court who cooperated.
Could it be that——
Yinzhi was excited! He was enfeoffed into the Bordered Blue Banner, and the Yaerjiang A family was the largest clan in the Bordered Blue Banner. Yabu was in charge of the clan affairs office. This—
Yinzhi was very excited and assured Kangxi: "Your sons and I will do our best."
Yarjiang'a wanted to roll his eyes. "Is that even necessary? Even if I just put a clay figurine there, with Khan Ama's arrangements, it'll work." Oh, I'm wrong. A clay figurine can do the job well, but the eldest prince might not. Okay, stay away from him. Damn it! I came here to achieve some merit, not to be dragged down!
Let me be clear: there is one embarrassing thing about working with the eldest prince: he wants to make all the decisions himself and take all the credit.
Yarjiang'a regretted his active performance.
What he regretted was yet to come. After the briefing, the emperor moved his entire family back to the Forbidden City. Leaving the crown prince to look after the household, he took them on tour. Following the planned procedure, while inspecting the riverbank, he decisively ordered them to dredge the river.
After receiving the order, they had to go to work. To show his performance, Yinzhi personally took care of everything. To complete more, faster, and better work, he urged his subordinates day and night, causing them to wail. However, he was very indulgent towards his relatives, led by Yaerjiang'a.
I would rather he go against me! Yarjiang'a wailed in his heart, it's over, because of his leniency, I have been classified as "the type who doesn't care about his subordinates". Those flag soldiers are still my subordinates. How can I end up like this if you let them do this?
Helpless, he went to beg for mercy. Yinzhi was quite generous: "Since you are my brother and you come to ask for mercy, of course I have to give you this face."
Yarjianga: ...
This brings up the issue of uneven distribution of happiness and suffering, and he has to appease them again.
Yinzhi’s show of goodwill really makes people want to slap him!
It must be said that there is not so much kingly and domineering spirit in this world. Yaer Jiang'a dared to go against the prince before, definitely because he was strong enough. It is impossible for him to turn into the prince's loyal dog just because the prince showed goodwill.
He had tasted the sweetness of his alliance with the Crown Prince, and while his stance had tilted somewhat, it wasn't quite this extreme. He had agreed to place spies for the Crown Prince, and while he had, they hadn't delivered a single piece of useful information. It was just some unhelpful information, like the eldest prince's visit to Mingzhu's home.
But here, Yaerjiang'a was completely furious, Yinzhi, you are a troublemaker. Even if I don't hang out with the prince, I can't let you be so proud.
Damn! I admit it. Don't you think I should be good to you? Fine! I'll find you some help!
My second brother, I am going to be an Infernal Affairs happily!
This effect was definitely something Yinreng hadn't expected! He hadn't thought of Yarjiang'a as naive. The two were of the same ilk, so let's not laugh at each other. They were close, but even Khan Ama wouldn't necessarily be able to make him loyal to him. As long as they were close in terms of position, didn't hold him back, and could occasionally help him out, Yinreng would be content.
Unexpectedly, Yaerjiang'e had become so active. This was because Yinzhi had been busy at the construction site and had not made any other moves except for showing goodwill to the high-ranking officials who had come with him. The strength of the Mingzhu Party had been well known to everyone over the years, and there was really no new information. This made Yaerjiang'e extremely angry and vowed to find the eldest prince's flaws.
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Just when some people in the backyard of the Eastern Palace were dissatisfied and some people at the construction site had ulterior motives, Kangxi returned to Beijing at the end of April.
At this time, news came out that the eldest wife had died!
It's both unexpected and not unexpected.
Everyone hurriedly prepared to attend her funeral, but the eldest prince did not delay at all and rushed home directly from the construction site.
The author has something to say: This title...
Someone started thinking about exercising (well, defending the motherland).
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