The Prince's Ultimatum
The eunuchs served the Crown Prince even more attentively, and the entire Yuqing Palace seemed exceptionally harmonious, but the Crown Prince was unaware that he was furious. He had never known there were so many twists and turns here, nor that the eunuchs' work could be so technical.
I don't know how many times I've been secretly cheated by these guys before! I don't know what these dogs and slaves have been up to behind the scenes! The anger of the crown prince, who is used to being high and mighty, is understandable. He has always believed that slaves should serve their masters and do their best. He also thought that their "honesty" was "dedication."
I didn't expect them to have another expression. Some of them use insidious methods to make you feel helpless and feel that you are actually being treated unfairly, but the operation is reasonable and legal.
The enraged Crown Prince would never reflect on himself. Oh, even when he was sober, he hadn't evolved to that level of self-reflection. Currently, he was merely reflecting on his relationship with his father and his attitude toward the courtiers. Now, reality forced him to confront the feelings of these servants, and one could imagine his frustration.
I feel even more insulted. I could do better, but you guys are just passive and lazy. Do you think I'm a fool?!
Claiming to be taking a lunch break, he dismissed everyone except a young eunuch who remained outside, ready to be called upon at any moment. Yinreng didn't want to go back and frighten his wife and children. A man's duty was his duty; it was a principle. Especially when it came to such a difficult situation, it was too embarrassing to speak it out, so he decided to keep it to himself.
No, he still wants to beat them to death!
He sat up with a whoosh. He couldn't clean up everything, but he could probably clean up one or two. The young eunuch outside had already begun to doze off. When he heard the noise inside, he jumped up and stood up, saying cautiously, "Prince? It's not the time you said yet. You can rest for a while."
"Get out!" he roared, pounding the bed twice more, feeling a little relieved. He treated the quilt in his hands as if it were the bastards' necks and strangled them. Yinreng hadn't completely lost his mind. Knowing Kangxi, at least in life, he was very caring towards him. It was impossible for him to authorize such a thing. This was entirely the eunuchs' personal behavior.
The young eunuch outside shrank his neck, wondering what was going on. This master's temper used to be beyond description, but it had become much more restrained since the wedding. And in the past two days, ever since Gao An'da and Jia An'da 'sacrificed themselves to protect their master,' he could almost be described as affable.
Looks like it's time to sound the alarm again.
Frankly speaking, in the minds of the servants, while the masters certainly hold the power of life and death, they are also the objects of our work, and we have our own ways of dealing with them. The Crown Prince is merely the object of our work, with low emotional intelligence. We never know when you will lose your temper, so we have to say less, do less, and make fewer mistakes. If this causes you any harm, it is unavoidable; the risk is simply too great.
Not to mention Gao Sanxie and the others, even Cui Yuzhu, Yinreng's beloved servant, was also trying to find a way to deal with him: whatever the prince likes, he will do it, and he will never object, no matter whether it is right or wrong! In this way, Cui Yuzhu had a smooth journey, acting tyrannically until he was put down.
For slaves, their lives were in the hands of others, so they had to be flexible. Slaves suffered far more than their masters. Therefore, those with good relationships would often band together, sharing information and discussing how to "serve" their masters in order to do their jobs well. This was pure survival instinct; those who were not well-informed were destined for elimination.
The prince, who was born to be the master, would never think of such things. If he were to follow his mind, he would definitely want to beat these bastards to death right now.
He was terrified and fearful of Kangxi; he was his father, the Emperor, and it was only natural. He was wary of Soetu, partly out of sympathy for his hard work and partly out of fear of any negative influence. But these servants! They were sent by Kangxi, and he couldn't let his Khan displeasure. Yinreng, though disregarding everything when his temper flared, still maintained a certain affection and respect for his father.
Yinreng had to make a choice: to destroy the father-son relationship for the sake of momentary pleasure, or to endure it and prepare for revenge later.
This choice was painful, more painful than a math problem, and definitely the most difficult. He had to fight against the ideology he had formed over the past twenty years: even a prince had to put on a smile for the lowly servants who served him.
It was damn hard! Harder than sincerely calling Yinzhi "good brother"! Harder than deciding to retire Soetu! Almost as hard as calling Nianhulu "mother" back then. He was so upset then, but he still did it. Was he going to have to endure the humiliation again now?
Yinreng's mouth was bitter. He admitted that he was a bit cowardly. He actually hid in the tent and worried like an ignorant woman. But reason told him that if he jumped out of bed now, he would definitely not be able to control his emotions. He was afraid that he would do something that he would regret later.
He needed some time, a space to sort out his thoughts. Too many things had happened recently. He had just weathered the first wave of shock, but this second wave was even more devastating to Yinreng's existing cognitive system than the previous one.
Regardless, no matter what else he had to do in the afternoon, he had to find a quiet place. He got up from the bed, and the eunuch hurried over to help him dress. Yinreng was now annoyed by the sight of eunuchs, but fortunately, this eunuch was originally from the Yuqing Palace, and he was smart and easy to use. Yinreng also needed someone to serve him, so he didn't kick him out.
Jia Yingxuan was in Dunben Hall, preparing the things he would need for the Crown Prince's afternoon audience with the court officials. When he heard the Crown Prince had gotten up, he quickly sped up his work: "You, go to the tea room and tell them to prepare it. Where's the ice? Bring some more..."
"An Da, the prince didn't come back after he got up. He's sitting in the study thinking about something."
"...Why don't you go to the study and serve?"
"The prince kicked everyone out, saying he had something to think about."
“…”
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The study was Yinreng's private space. Even someone as close as Soetu rarely set foot there. After their wedding, the Crown Princess rarely visited there either. Yinreng, on the other hand, would often visit his wife's study, invading her private space.
Summer had arrived, and while the Crown Princess's study remained largely unchanged, the details had been renovated to create a cozy and comfortable space. The pillows, mattress, and curtains were all painted in shades of green, and a large potted green plant stood in the corner, adding a touch of coolness to the sweltering summer heat.
Yinreng liked the look and renovated his own study in the same style. It seemed like a wise move now; at least the sight of the colors calmed him down a bit. He leaned back on the couch, a pillow behind him, and began to grind his teeth.
He had to tell himself that he still needed these servants to convey information to his Khan Ama and couldn't strangle them now. He had to tell himself that now was not the time to be willful. He was a man with a family and a career, and he had to consider his wife and children. He also had to tell himself that destroying the servants given by his Khan Ama would be a slap in the face of his Khan Ama. Since facing reality and knowing that Kangxi would not indulge him in everything without principles, Yinreng's temperament became much deeper and more restrained.
The current eunuch incident had once again brought home to him the reality that life wasn't easy. Even if you were a crown prince, you couldn't ignore the feelings of the eunuchs. Imagine, what would have happened if Gao Sanxie, a eunuch favored by his Khan-father and specially placed by his side, had unkindly reported his misdeeds to him? Rumors can melt gold, and accumulated criticism can destroy a person. The cause might simply have been the seemingly normal distinction between master and slave.
Expanding the scope, starting with the consulting firm, this guy was relatively honest, but what about Liang Jiugong? What about Wei Zhu? What about the rest? Even if he didn't care about any of that, Yinreng had secretly heard Cui Yuzhu mention these two people with envy. They were truly glorious, the role models and goals for the eunuchs. But... they were definitely not good people! Greedy for money! Power-hungry!
Yinreng believed he'd been quite friendly with the eunuchs and maids around Kangxi. From a purely etiquette perspective, he'd been polite to those serving his elders. But he couldn't stand the way others were so servile and flattering. Yinreng was certain he'd never given any gifts to these two—ugh, the thought of giving gifts to eunuchs made him sick—but since they were so enviable to Cui Yuzhu, they clearly had a lot of people giving them gifts. Did they show some favors to those who gave them? For example, if the boss gave them a favor, would they remind him?
It turns out… the prince’s job, besides attending to government affairs, being cute, marrying a wife, and having children, also involves restraint and patience. He has to endure everything that goes against his nature, put on a forced smile, and be unfathomable.
Yinreng once again reminded himself sadly: Khan Ama is the emperor, and he won't just let his temper run wild. Even in ordinary families, a father has no obligation to make his son happy. He let out a listless breath, his expression dull and wooden. He closed his eyes, trying to gather his emotions.
He muttered, "My boss is going to be crowned king, I have to hold my ground. Soetu is no longer useful, I can no longer be willful. The road ahead is getting more and more difficult, I can't let my relationship with Khan Ama fall out."
He patted his face and exhaled a breath of muddy air. Suddenly he laughed. Things have been going smoothly lately, but the frequency of his sighs has really increased dramatically!
Gao Sanxie, who had just recovered from his foot injury, came over to remind him dutifully: "Your Highness, the Grand Secretaries have arrived."
Yinreng replied casually, "I see." He glanced at Gao Sanxie casually and frowned. "Didn't I give you leave and tell you to rest well? Why not rest for a few more days to avoid developing chronic illness?"
"I am already well, how can I rest? I feel more at ease serving the Crown Prince."
"Really? Let's go then."
The muscles on his face trembled unnaturally, and Yinreng found that he could actually smile, smiling at a eunuch. Damn! I have fallen to this point!
The hot summer wind blew on his face, and Yinreng felt lost. He seemed to have gained something, but also lost something that he was unwilling to lose but had to lose.
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"Villains are always to be feared. In the past, despite his high position as prime minister, a member of the imperial family, and a hero of the founding of the nation, Zhou Bo was humiliated by jailers. He bribed them with a thousand gold coins before his scheme was finally implemented. When Marquis Jiang was released, he said, 'I once commanded a million troops, but how could I know the value of jailers?' Han Anguo was also deceived by him, and there are rumors of a resurgence."
When Shujia said this, Yinreng was sitting next to her. He couldn't help but sigh to his wife: "Villains are so scary! Otherwise, why do they say it's better to offend a gentleman than a villain?"
It was fine to not tell my wife about the embarrassing and embarrassing things, but I didn't expect it to lead to this. Hasn't she always been dull? Shouldn't this be the time to advise a gentleman on the virtue of selflessness and condemn the villain?
"Even if this villain is rampant, Marquis Jiang has been wronged enough."
"It would be unfair for the whole family to be convicted of treason."
Yinreng seemed to be thinking deeply, and said, "You also know about this kind of economics?"
Shu Jia was surprised and said, "Is this economics? We learned about it when we were studying. As for the serious classics and history, Sima Qian wrote them down. The current official is not as good as the current manager. Who told us to fall into the hands of others? I think it means that when people are in power, they should not do things to the extreme. They should always leave some room for maneuver. Who knows what the other person's situation is? Even if they are prisoners, they may have been wrongly imprisoned. There will be a day when they will be released."
Yinreng put his hand to his forehead. "As expected!" He found the second half of Shujia's words ambiguous, but he agreed deeply with the first half. He knew the principles, but he had never been able to connect theory with practice. It seemed that he needed to read the history books again.
History books are often ridiculed as "genealogies for emperors and generals," and this is true. There are so many people in history that only the prominent ones can be recorded. Prominent people are often those who have made great achievements, aren't they emperors and generals? Yinreng read about people as stories, never considering that he himself was one of them, one destined to be recorded and judged by future generations.
He needed to analyze it carefully, or more accurately, to look up the deeds of previous princes to see how they overcame this difficulty. Unable to hold back, he grabbed his wife's face and squeezed it, deforming it. Then he shook it from side to side: "You are so kind."
Shujia was furious. She hadn't even used this move on the fat kid yet, and now the fat kid's crazy dad was using it on her?! Rage welled up in her heart, and she reached out and grabbed his ears.
The servants around were vomiting blood and watching. The fat boy watched his parents' fight with great joy, clapping his hands loudly. After being teased by him, the two parents realized that they had been childish again. They both took action awkwardly. Yinreng's ears were pulled red and Shujia's hair was shaken into a mess.
With a cough, Shujia blushed as she went to fix her hair. The palace maids and eunuchs, waking from their dreams, came to help. They all surrounded the Crown Princess, but didn't dare to provoke the Crown Prince. Yinreng lowered his head and reached out to poke the fat boy's bald forehead, pushing him flat on his back. The fat boy smiled and grabbed Yinreng's fingers, using them to grind his teeth.
"How can you put everything in your mouth?" The Crown Princess came over to stop the little fat boy, "Your father didn't wash his hands..."
Yinreng was speechless and choked. After a long moment, he said, "Isn't it just a squeeze?"
The Crown Princess held a grudge and ignored him. Yinreng felt relieved after this incident and approached his wife to be affectionate and affectionate. Shujia spat at him lightly: "You are becoming more and more unruly."
The prince, who had originally had a scoundrel look on his face, suddenly sat up straight. "I'm becoming more respectable," he muttered quietly. "Just let me walk around here. When I get out, I'll be a respectable prince again."
Shujia felt sad when she heard it, and didn't know what it was for a moment: "Okay."
Seeing her expression becoming serious, Yinreng relaxed his tone: "It's not a big deal. I just felt unhappy and wanted to explode, but I held it back and ended up suffocating myself. I pinched your face and you pulled my ears, but Khan Ama has never pulled them before." When he mentioned Kangxi, he paused again.
Shujia rubbed his ear. "Does it hurt?" Gao Sanxie had sprained his leg a few days ago, and she couldn't even get the limited information she had. Oh my God, what happened? No, Gao Sanxie seemed to have called off his leave. She would ask him tomorrow.
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There was no new news from Gao Sanxie, and Yinreng, on the other hand, seemed increasingly calm and composed. Shujia noticed that he had been spending more and more time in his room at night lately—reading. He was reading history, picking out the Crown Prince's dark histories and poring over them with great intensity. The more he read, the darker the look on his face grew. Starting with the "Records of the Grand Historian," the "History of Ming" wasn't finished yet, but as the Crown Prince, Yinreng still read some of the manuscripts.
In history, there has been no crown prince who was not targeted by others, starting with Fusu (who had no title of crown prince, but was the eldest son of the First Emperor), and then the first crown prince in history, Liu Ying, who was almost deposed, followed by Liu Rong, Liu Ju... until Zhu Biao who died early in the Ming Dynasty, the fat Zhu Gaochi, and even Chongzhen's nephew who was killed by Wei Zhongxian before he was born.
Dark clouds cover the sky!
The prince finally discovered that he was now doing one of the top three most dangerous jobs in history, and he was squatting on the crater.
I'm such a fool, really. Why didn't I see this before? Why was I so complacent, thinking my future was bright? It was completely bleak!
You can't just sit there and wait for death! However, in history, no prince has ever successfully rebelled. For example, Li Chengqian, who even found a famous general like Hou Junji as an external aid, was defeated. There is no need to think about anything else. Yinreng was unwilling to turn against his father.
After several days of hard thinking, Yinreng finally chose Zhu Gaochi of the previous dynasty as his role model. Regardless of how short-lived this guy was, he finally made it to the end! Furthermore, their situations were quite similar. Of course, Yinreng believed that his conditions were much better than Zhu Gaochi's!
Compared to the fates of the unfortunate princes, being kind to the eunuchs wasn't a big deal. Meanwhile, even the prince's airs had been lowered, so there was no reason to hesitate about letting Soetu retire. I'd sacrificed so much, and that was the prince's dignity. You're just retiring, what's there to complain about?
The prince has decided to confront Suo Etu! He will do so as soon as he returns.
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Kangxi returned to Beijing in November, and the weather was already cold, but the necessary procedures still had to be followed. The Crown Prince led the people to greet him, and work reports were made. After everything was done, Kangxi looked at Yinreng's face and felt that something within him had changed. It was like a piece of unpolished jade being polished into the Heshi jade.
He was polite and tolerant. Regardless, this was a good change, and Kangxi was satisfied. He listened to Yinreng's detailed report: "I have already agreed on the procedures for the Fourth Princess' marriage with the relevant officials. However, the escort has not yet been decided. I would like to ask Khan Ama for instructions." He also handed over the dowry list and the list of attendants.
Kangxi took a quick look and said, "Well, let's ask the seventh one to go."
Let people with weak legs and feet run a trip, this...
Yinyou was delighted. He told Nara to pack up, and he went to his biological mother, Concubine Cheng, to kowtow and say goodbye. Concubine Cheng stopped him and gave him a long lecture. The mother and son smiled at each other. Even though it was a difficult task, it was an important one, and for Yinyou, it was a rare opportunity.
The things that the Seventh Prince has to do are accompanied by bustle and chaos, while the things that the Crown Prince has to do are extremely depressing.
Gao Sanxie could hardly believe his ears. Over the past few months, he'd been exposed to some of the Crown Prince's private affairs. Not all of them were glorious, but neither were they shocking secrets. Today, when Soetu arrived, he wasn't turned away. Gao Sanxie ignored Soetu's surprised look. When the Crown Prince said, "He's here, why don't you tell me?" he couldn't help but feel a tinge of joy.
Soetu continued his usual remarks: "I have already contacted someone to write a memorial, and I can submit it after the Fourth Princess leaves. This time I have put in a lot of effort, and many people have signed it." As he said this, he handed over the memorial.
The prince took it and threw it directly into the brazier.
Soetu almost fell into the brazier to retrieve the memorial that had already been lit: "Prince, what are you doing? Oh, it's so difficult to get them to sign it together!" He picked up the memorial with the tongs and was about to pick it out. By the time he took it out, the flammable material was already half burned.
Suo Etu slapped his thigh and said, "What should I do? I've put so much effort into this..."
Yinreng exerted great effort to finally utter the following words: "You have toiled for the country for so many years. Don't worry about it anymore."
Soetu was still clapping his hands on the memorial, then slowly stopped, staring at Yinreng in disbelief. Yinreng's cheek muscles twitched. "A joint petition? Not a request for a title, not an urging for the emperor to be virtuous, but... a fight for fame and fortune over the same person! What's the point?! Linking them together is fine! But you can't use them to dictate to the Khan! Do you understand?"
Suo Etu's lips trembled: "This slave... This slave is..." He had never thought that Yinreng would treat him like this. Although he had opposed it before, now it seemed like he was turning against him. Suo Etu stared at the crown prince blankly, as if he didn't recognize him.
Everything is difficult to change, but now that the decision has been made, it's a fight to the death, with no retreat. Even though Soetu now looks like an ordinary, frail old man, Yinreng's eyes are even more resolute: "More than ten years ago, you dismissed me, citing old age and illness as the excuse. Now that you're over sixty, it's time to enjoy a peaceful life. But you shouldn't do things like this."
He reached out and pulled the half-burned memorial from Soetu's hand: "I will pretend I didn't see this. No matter how much effort you put in, it will not be delivered to Khan Ama. How many people have you found? How many of them are sincere and how many are forced?"
Suo Etu was distraught, and heard the ultimatum in his ears: "Retire."
The author has something to say: I'm sorry for the late update. I was called to work overtime while I was typing. What a tragedy!
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