Two lunch boxes are sent together
The Eighth Prince's residence was filled with joy. On the fifth day of the first lunar month, the Eighth Prince, plagued by gossip, finally welcomed his first son, his first child. Of course, the child didn't have a name yet. Even more delightful for the Eighth Prince was the news that his other concubine, Mao, was also pregnant. Who says good fortune doesn't come in pairs? Surely good things come in pairs!
The Eighth Prince's residence held a grand ceremony for the baby's third birthday, and the Eighth Concubine strongly invited all the other concubines to attend. The newborn was brought to the Eighth Concubine's care as soon as it was born. Watching the tiny little ball of flesh slowly grow, the Eighth Concubine couldn't help but feel a bit of a mother's heart.
All the sisters-in-law who could still move gave her this honor. Shujia, not yet unable to move, also agreed to go. Upon arriving at the Eighth Prince's residence, she excused herself to being unable to move, briefly showing up before staying inside. The Eighth Lady, not having just given birth, did not need to observe confinement, and she personally presided over the entire ceremony.
He also said excitedly that he had prepared a full moon banquet and everyone must come and attend.
This was natural, and the other wives readily agreed. The Eighth Wife felt quite proud. After all, she had a son, so the full-moon banquet was extraordinarily elaborate. The sisters-in-law, having been personally invited by her, had all agreed in front of everyone, and all of them attended the full-moon banquet.
The Fourteenth Lady looked at her for a moment, tugged at the Fourth Lady's skirt, and whispered, "The child's biological mother hasn't come out yet." By the time of the full-moon banquet, Zhang had already left her confinement, but she wasn't with the Eighth Lady. The Fourth Lady also whispered, "What's the big deal about her coming out now?" The Fourteenth Lady nodded. She understood the reasoning, but it was just gossip.
The topic of the Eighth Prince having a son has been circulating for a month and is no longer new. The concubines have developed a new piece of gossip: In a few days, Kangxi will go on a tour of the suburbs of Beijing. I wonder who will accompany him this time?
The Third Lady laughed and said, "Others may not know this, but whenever the Emperor travels, he always takes the Crown Prince with him." The Ninth Lady said, "The Crown Prince is smart and clever, and His Majesty loves him very much. How could he bear not to take him with him?" The other ladies followed suit and praised him.
When you praise a child, you are praising him or her for the child’s parents to hear.
Shujia listened with a smile, and did not refute the modesty, but just changed the subject: "I heard from the prince that he would bring his eighteenth brother with him this time. I don't know who else will accompany him."
The other wives all started talking about Concubine Wang's good fortune, not only having given birth to three sons, but also being very much loved by Emperor Kangxi. This gossip went on for a long time, and they hadn't finished talking about it until the banquet was over.
When the crowd dispersed, the Eighth Lady met the Eighth Prince and told him the gossip that the Eighteenth Prince would also accompany him. The Eighth Prince pondered for a moment and said, "Khan Ama hasn't called on me yet. I'll ask Liang Jiugong tomorrow."
The Eighth Lady sneered, "I don't know how much money Liang Jiugong, Wei Zhu and the others have taken from you brothers alone."
"As long as it works." The Eighth Prince said indifferently.
This phrase, "useful," fully demonstrates Liang Jiugong's usefulness. Don't think that just because he accepted the Crown Prince's money and passed on information to him, he's loyal to him. At most, he won't say anything bad about you. He accepted rewards from the Crown Prince and from the Eighth Master. He wouldn't dare take your money unless you were up to no good.
No reward without merit, but reward must be rewarded. Liang Jiugong provided a lot of information, all true, even though he had received money from the Eighth Prince. After several verifications, the Eighth Prince still trusted Liang Jiugong's information.
Even if Kangxi didn't say it explicitly, Liang Jiugong, who had served him for decades, could tell. The next day, the Eighth Prince went to Liang Jiugong.
The Eighth Prince wanted to know two things: first, whether he was on the list of those to be sent on tour, which was just superficial; second, what comments did the Khan have about him recently, which was what the Eighth Prince was most concerned about. Kangxi had clearly expressed his dissatisfaction with the Eighth Prince's offspring, and now that his son was a month old, did the old man have any comments?
The second point concerns the vital interests of the Eighth Prince. Only if the old man treats him well can he stand firm.
Kangxi was in a lot of trouble now, so he temporarily threw him aside.
The 47th year of the Kangxi Emperor's reign was a difficult one, the beginning of a difficult era. If we must compare it, only the 12th year of the Kangxi Emperor's reign can rival it. This year did not get off to a good start. In the first month of the year, the "Prince Zhu San" incident arose, a slogan even more troubling than democracy and republic.
The ruling clique, led by Emperor Kangxi, while denouncing the imitation as absurd and ridiculous, also felt a pang of relief—the flag of the former crown prince was too glaring. Kangxi dispatched special forces to eliminate the group, specifically instructing them to kill them alive! He then ordered a search for elderly Ming dynasty eunuchs to verify the authenticity. Shunzhi and Kangxi had already entered the Pass for seventy years, and the Third Crown Prince had been missing for seventy years… what was there to tell? Kangxi was determined to label this person a "fake."
Then, in the first month of the lunar year, we had to continue to worry about the famine caused by the drought in the south last year, and we had to intercept 400,000 dan of grain and sell it at a fair price.
That wasn't all. Lao Zhibian, addressing the soaring rice prices in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, declared, "Please implement a strict maritime ban and temporarily prohibit all merchant ships from traveling. This will eliminate smuggling and stabilize rice prices." Unscrupulous merchants were smuggling rice out of the country. This was a major headache for Emperor Kangxi. Customs lijin (lijin) had become a significant component of national tax revenue. Oh, a maritime ban? You're paying me hundreds of thousands of silver dollars annually? And that figure is constantly rising.
After much deliberation, Kangxi decided not to agree. He rejected Lao Zhibian's request on the grounds of "convenience for the people" and only asked for a strict crackdown on smuggling along the coast. He also ordered Assistant Minister Mu Dan and Academician Er Ge to examine the Dalanshan and Hongmiao cases respectively.
After reviewing the three memorials that had infuriated the elderly man, Kangxi felt his heartbeat quicken slightly and called out, "Liang Jiugong." Wei Zhu approached with a pout, "Master, it's not Liang Jiugong's turn to be on duty today." Kangxi held out his hand, and Wei Zhu stepped forward to help him down. He then signaled for a young eunuch to bring him some tea to calm him down.
Kangxi stood for a while, feeling more comfortable, and then remembered that the list of people accompanying him had not yet been announced, so he asked Wei Zhu to notify them. This time the list included the Crown Prince, the Eighth Prince, the Thirteenth Prince, the Fifteenth Prince, the Sixteenth Prince, and the Eighteenth Prince.
The Eighth Prince had just given Liang Jiugong a red envelope when he ran into Wei Zhu on his way home. Well, the money had been wasted. Liang Jiugong said two things: 1. The Eighth Prince was on the list of people going on tour, and 2. Kangxi was very busy and hadn't said anything to the Eighth Prince recently.
The Eighth Prince gave Wei Zhu another red envelope. Wei Zhu was a master at pinching red envelopes, and she knew the weight was significant the moment she touched it. She put on a smile, thanked the Eighth Prince for the reward, and then calmly returned to report, leaving the Eighth Prince feeling deeply troubled.
The Eighth Lady said, "It's a good thing that you can accompany the Emperor. Why do you look so sad?"
"It's nothing. Mingzhu seems to be seriously ill. If he has an accident while I'm away, don't worry about the money."
"Is that even necessary?"
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Mingzhu was seriously ill. He had endured hardships throughout his life, had held high positions in government, and had enjoyed immense glory. But in his old age, these things were meaningless; what mattered most was his family and his descendants. But it was his family that he found most helpless. His wife had died tragically, two of his three sons had died before him, and several of his grandchildren had died before him.
Even with a huge fortune, a beautiful house and beautiful scenery, I still feel desolate.
Disciples and old friends were turned away from visiting him, leaving only a select few to see him. His surviving juniors, however, all came, and there was nothing more to say to Kuixu; all that could be said had already been said. Unless there was a sudden change after his death, what he had said before would be enough for Kuixu to ponder.
And with Kuixu watching over the grandchildren, nothing bad can happen - it's just that their number is a little small.
Then, looking at her granddaughter, Nalan, who had been married for several years, she was finally pregnant. Mingzhu felt the same old man's worry: pregnancy was so difficult, and they didn't know whether the baby was a boy or a girl. If it was a boy, like Nianxi, it would be a worry.
Nian Xi, the son of Nian Gengyao, gave Mingzhu another headache. This was his great-grandson. Nian Xi's mother was already a little frail and died shortly after giving birth to Nian Xi, and Nian Xi was also a little sickly.
Nian Gengyao was in his prime, so naturally he remarried. Thinking of this, Mingzhu used his usual shrewd mind to remind Nian Xi: "Be filial to your Mafa and get closer to your uncle and father." After a while, he let Nian Xi go home.
Forget it, forget it, your children and grandchildren will have their own blessings.
Mingzhu was just about to rest after sending his married granddaughter back to her husband's home when he heard someone from Soetu had come to see him. It was Soetu's son, Gelfin, who came to greet Mingzhu on behalf of his father: "My father has also been suffering from phlegm these past few days, and he sent me to pay my respects to you."
Mingzhu felt helpless. At this moment, the only person who could make him feel at peace was Suo Etu. He said with some difficulty, "Thank you for thinking of him. I'll bring him back something good."
Seeing that he was really struggling and that Kuixu was already showing signs of anxiety, Gelfin tactfully took his leave. Coming back, he said to Soetu, "Father, your son has taken care of that old Mingzhu, and he's done for." He said this with a hint of a smile on his face.
Soetu was very uncomfortable with what he saw and raised his hand to slap him: "He is much more capable than you. How can I feel at ease when you are so frivolous?" After saying that, he coughed repeatedly.
Gelfin panicked and patted Soetu on the back to calm him down: "Father, calm down. I know I was wrong." Poor Gelfin, his beard was already gray, but he still had to pretend to be pitiful in front of Soetu. After a while, Soetu sighed: "I have fought with him for most of my life, and he is the only one who can possibly convince me. He is not an ordinary person. Don't underestimate his family."
He kept on giving instructions for a long time until he fell asleep due to exhaustion. Gelfin felt very wronged. I said this because you have always been at odds with him. Now I am the bad guy. He stamped his foot and told the maid to keep a good eye on the old man. He ran to his study, brought his son over and scolded him before he felt relieved. His son was confused: What happened?
Since Kuixu was a scholar at the Hanlin Academy and a high-ranking official at court, his family's situation naturally garnered widespread attention. The Eastern Palace also learned of Mingzhu's serious illness, and Shujia, acting in Yinreng's name, sent someone to visit her and presented her with gifts. Gao Sanxie returned, saying, "From my humble perspective, Mingzhu seems to be on her last legs."
Shujia didn't feel sorry for Mingzhu, but she wondered how sad Nalan must be if Mingzhu died. She wondered if it would affect the fetus. She calculated that Nalan was in danger, so she hoped Mingzhu could live a little longer.
Mingzhu was able to hold out, and didn't die until April 15th. The 47th year of the Kangxi Emperor's reign was a leap year, with an intercalary March. When Mingzhu died, the Crown Princess was about to give birth. What made it even more unlucky was that Shujia's birthday was April 17th, and Shujia was already considering whether to reduce the scale of her birthday the day after tomorrow.
Yinreng had already returned with the emperor. After hearing Shujia's words, he said, "You're overthinking it. Just live your life as usual. You think too highly of him. It seems like he's really the case."
Shujia said, "I'm too heavy to join in the fun right now. Even if you ask me to, I can't."
Yinreng smiled and shook his head, but soon he could no longer laugh - after Kuixu reported Mingzhu's death, Gelfen also submitted a memorial, and Soetu also died.
It is said that after hearing the news of Mingzhu's death, Soetu calmly went to sleep and never woke up again.
The two had fought for most of their lives, and though they had reconciled, to outsiders, a lingering grudge remained. Even Ming and Suo themselves dared not fully trust each other. But upon Mingzhu's death, Suo'etu felt not ecstasy but a sense of loss. He fell asleep, dead, without leaving any final words.
Yinreng also felt as if he had lost something.
The Crown Prince's feelings towards Soetu evolved in stages: initially, he trusted him wholeheartedly, then he was filled with suspicion, and finally, he was calm and somewhat tolerant. The fact that he was being tolerant meant that Yinreng also felt that Soetu had done something wrong.
Now that Soetu was dead, Yinreng realized that the memories of him in his mind were mostly of him defending him. He knew he wasn't a good person, but he couldn't forget his kindness. He had been with him during his miserable youth, a memory that could never be erased from his life.
The Crown Prince was so sad! He told his wife that he had to prepare for tomorrow's court hearing, but instead he sat in his study all night.
Kangxi, upon hearing that Ming and Suo had both died on the same day, was also overcome with grief. But then came a sense of relief. The era of factional strife was finally over. He penned an order, granting the customary sacrifices and leaving the imperial sons to offer their condolences. Yinreng wanted to visit Suo'etu's home in person, but after a long pause, he restrained himself, feeling even more distressed.
After just two days of discomfort, the crown prince fell ill.
Kangxi's reaction was immediate. He came to talk to Yinreng and said, "Now that Soetu is gone, you are right to feel sad. After all, he served you for so many years. But you shouldn't have ruined yourself for him!"
Yinreng clutched Kangxi's hand, his eyes reddening. "Khan Father, I know he made many mistakes. I know them all. I was confused when I was with him. It's just... it's just... now that he's dead, I don't want to dwell on his faults. But thinking about his good points all the time makes me feel uncomfortable. I want to gouge him out, but it hurts."
Kangxi patted Yinreng on the chest and said, "Your heart is fine, don't worry too much." He was very angry and thought he should not have allowed the prince to get along with Soetu.
Seeing his son in pain, Kangxi felt pained as well. But Kangxi understood that Yinreng had to fight his way out of this situation on his own. Only by facing Soetu's death did the prince truly break free from the shadows of the past, stepping out of the factional strife and gaining a broader perspective.
If you are sick, just stay in Beijing and watch your wife give birth, and let the warmth of family soothe your wounded heart.
The Crown Prince naturally stayed in Beijing to lick his wounds and, by the way, deal with the political legacy left behind by Ming and Suo.
The author has something to say: Oh~ It’s the holiday season…
Let’s do a survey: Does anyone want to see what happens after the Second Prince ascends the throne?
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