The death of the Empress Dowager was a fatal blow to Emperor Kangxi.
Looking back on his ascension to the throne and his subsequent personal rule, the Empress Dowager had been like a pillar of strength behind Kangxi, always supporting and accompanying him. But now, he had lost the grandmother who had cared for him most in the world.
Emperor Kangxi was overcome with grief.
Sumala personally applied makeup to the Empress Dowager, tidied her clothes, and tearfully saw her mistress off on her final journey.
When Wan Anran met Yinzhen in Cining Palace, the mother and son didn't even have time to exchange words. Next to them was Yintao, who was brought in by palace servants. The young Yintao didn't understand why his father was crying. Before Wan Anran could stop him, he ran over and wiped his father's tears with a handkerchief: "Father, don't cry, don't cry. Ukuma said that a real man shouldn't cry."
Wan Anran's heart was in her throat.
Looking at his youngest son's innocent face, Kangxi choked up, "But Father, I will never see Grandmother again."
Yin Tao's eyes were wide open.
"Grandma Empress Dowager? Is it Grandma Ukuma?" He looked around, belatedly realizing something was amiss. Yintao strode forward, reaching out to grasp the Grand Empress Dowager's hand: "Grandma Ukuma?"
His audacity was something no one had anticipated.
Sumala hurried forward, gently took Yintao's small hand, and choked with emotion, "Twelfth Prince..."
Yin Tao slightly raised his head.
For the first time, Sumala, who was always smiling, pursed her lips, tears welling in her dark eyes. Sumala said softly, "The Empress Dowager has... gone to the Buddha's side."
"Can't Buddha give it back to us?"
"cannot."
"Will they never come back?"
“…Hmm.” For the first time, young Yin Tao understood what the pain of losing a parent was. He sobbed, then burst into tears, crying even louder than Emperor Kangxi.
Emperor Kangxi was startled.
Seeing Yin Tao crying loudly, he couldn't help but ask, "You just said that a real man shouldn't cry?"
Yin Tao sobbed, "Your subject is still a lowly person."
The grief in Kangxi's heart was somewhat relieved. He rubbed Yin Tao's head, signaled Yin Zhen to come over and pull Yin Tao away, and then Kangxi, holding back his tears, helped the coffin towards the East Prince's Hall.
The wailing continued unabated.
The Crown Prince arrived last. He was saddened and wept, but he did not forget to deal with court affairs. He was busy running around and could only instruct his third and fourth brothers to take care of their father. The eldest prince, Yinzhi, who was excluded, looked angry, but he could only swallow his anger because he was at the funeral of Ukuma Mama. This was a good opportunity to show filial piety, but the Crown Prince took it all.
Yinzhen saw it all, but lowered his eyes to hide the coldness in them.
Instead of rushing forward to claim credit, he comforted his younger brothers, instructing his sixth brother, Yinqi, to hold down his ninth brother, Yintang; his seventh brother, Yinyou, to watch over his tenth brother, Yin'e; and his eighth brother, Yinsi, to watch over his eleventh brother, Yinzhi, while he himself looked after Yintao.
The timid little princes huddled together obediently, while the eldest princess followed suit, taking care of her younger sisters in an orderly fashion, which made people sigh at the royal demeanor.
From before the Lunar New Year to after, the shadow of the passing of the Empress Dowager loomed over everyone's hearts, and even the fact that Consort Ping had successfully given birth to the Fourteenth Prince could not stir up the slightest ripple in his heart.
Consort Ping originally thought that this child would bring her good luck, but she never expected that the child's timing was not so good, so much so that even the child's full moon celebration was ignored by everyone.
Consort Ping was filled with sorrow.
This wasn't the first piece of bad news. What was even more unacceptable to her was that the emperor, who had finally recovered from the grief of the Empress Dowager, issued his first imperial edict, naming the fourteenth prince Yinzhen and then entrusting him to Sumala for upbringing.
Consort Ping was completely dumbfounded!
She panicked and tried to plead with the Emperor, the Empress Dowager, the Empress, and even the Crown Prince.
However, everyone remained indifferent.
The Empress coldly rebuked, "This is the late Empress Dowager's last wish. Consort Ping, are you trying to defy the imperial decree and refuse?"
Consort Ping collapsed to the ground, unable to escape the fate of having her child taken away. Although both children were raised in Ning Shou Palace, the difference between being raised by the Empress Dowager and being raised by Su Ma La was like night and day.
Consort Ping felt dizzy and lightheaded.
The smugness she felt during her pregnancy, the flattery and praise from others felt like slaps to her face, hard and heavy. She sent someone to Yuqing Palace to request an audience with the Crown Prince, but Yuqing Palace refused to see her. The eunuch was indifferent, his voice strained as he replied, "This is Yuqing Palace, not a place for imperial concubines to come to! I'll spare you this time, but if you do, send you straight to the Department of Punishments!"
The eunuch turned around and walked through the gate.
The gate slowly closed in front of the palace maid, leaving only the eunuch's dissatisfied rebuke: "Tsk, what bad luck."
Bad luck? Bad luck!?
Consort Ping was completely numb.
Tears streamed down her face, making her appear as if she had aged more than ten years in an instant. What had she been working so hard for? In the end, she had ended up like this.
The palace maid, Shaoyao, knelt beside Consort Ping.
She gently comforted him, "Your Highness, let's think about how Aunt Sumala once took care of the Emperor. She will surely be able to take good care of the young prince. Moreover, with the Ning Shou Palace protecting him, the young prince will definitely be able to grow up safely!"
Consort Ping remained silent.
After a long while, she finally sat up and answered in a trembling voice, "Yes, yes, that's it."
Wan Anran sat in Chuxiu Palace.
Upon hearing that Consort Ping had sought help everywhere but was turned away, she felt a pang of melancholy. How had she struggled to finally hand over her child when it was taken away in her previous life?
Yin Tao threw himself onto Wan Anran's knees.
He clutched at Wan Anran's robe, crying, "Mother, Mother!"
Wan Anran regained her composure.
She looked at Yin Tao gently: "What's wrong, Yin Tao?"
Yin Tao proudly raised his head.
Ding Lan held up the Xuan paper with both hands: "Master, look, this is what the young master wrote!"
Wan Anran looked up and immediately burst into laughter.
On the rice paper was a line of large, crooked characters. After reading it for a while, I thought it should be written as... "At the beginning of life, human nature is good?"
There were a few more people, but two fewer acts of kindness.
Wan Anran watched, not knowing whether to laugh or cry, and hugged Yin Tao, teaching him to write characters step by step.
In the blink of an eye, Yin Tao was already three years old.
Just after the Empress Dowager's funeral, another major event occurred in the court.
Guo Xiu, the censor of Jiangnan Circuit, impeached Nalan Mingzhu.
The deeply entrenched Mingzhu Party was wiped out almost overnight, and at the same time, the name of Wanliuhatuheqi resounded throughout the court.
While everyone else was avoiding the Mingzhu Party, he stood up to protect the River Conservancy Governor, Jin Fu.
Wanliuhatogqi and Jin Fu had absolutely no relation, and besides, he was a military general. Kangxi was immediately displeased when he saw him emerge: "Togqi? What are you doing out here?"
"This servant has been away for many years and has crossed the Yellow River many times." Tuoheqi and Consort Qi look five or six parts alike, especially their doe-like eyes, which are as if they were carved from the same mold.
Kangxi's anger immediately subsided by three points.
Tuoheqi's eyes were clear and bright, his gaze as open as water. He answered loudly, "The common people do not know the names of the prefect and the governor, but they all know the name of Jin Fu, the capable minister in charge of flood control. Children even sing nursery rhymes about Lord Jin Fu who was on the embankment 365 days a year. How could an official who can be remembered and praised by the people be a corrupt official?"
Emperor Kangxi was slightly taken aback.
Suddenly, he seemed to return to a few years ago, when he left the capital to travel around, to understand the people's sentiments, and it was because of the people's praise that he promoted an honest official like Jackie Chan.
Emperor Kangxi tapped the armrest with his fingertips.
Amid the astonished gazes of the court officials, the Emperor decided to temporarily retain Jin Fu's position and ordered Grand Minister Tong Guowei, Minister of Works Chen Tingjing, and others to go to Jining Prefecture to investigate.
Not only was he not reprimanded by the Emperor, but he even changed the Emperor's mind. Wanliuhatuheqi's actions immediately attracted the attention of the court officials. Of course, he still broke out in a cold sweat afterward, and when he returned to his residence, he couldn't help but feel lingering fear: "Fifth Prince, Fifth Prince, this has really caused this servant a lot of trouble."
Fortunately, he had been away from home for many years and had no connection with Nalan Mingzhu while serving in the military; otherwise, he might have been implicated himself.
In the Imperial Study, upon hearing that the Emperor had protected Jin Fu, Yinzhen's lips curled up slightly, and a hint of joy appeared in his eyes.
In his previous life, Jin Fu was dismissed from his post during the Mingzhu Party incident. Although his rank was later restored by the Khan, he was not reinstated to his original position. At most, he could only hold behind-the-scenes positions such as advisor and staff. Chen Huang, whom he recommended, was only restored to his honor after his death.
Most importantly, after suffering several setbacks, Jin Fu was physically and mentally exhausted and died in office four years later. Even before his death, he was still thinking about the river management. His water management strategies benefited people for decades and were still in use until his death in his previous life.
Yinzhen went so far as to contact his maternal uncle, Tuoheqi, to save Jin Fu. Of course, he also had another idea: to sever the ill-fated relationship between Tuoheqi and the Crown Prince, preventing them from getting involved with the Crown Prince's faction!
Tohchi: "Ha-choo!"
He rubbed his nose and sighed, "I originally wanted to keep a low profile in the capital."
Now my name will be known throughout the capital tonight, right?
Completely unaware of what her nine-year-old son and elder brother Tuoheqi had done, Wan Anran had been busy talking to the Empress Dowager and teasing the Fourteenth Prince, Yinzhen.
Yinzhen nestled in the cradle like a glutinous rice ball, his chubby little hands clenched into fists, his eyes wide open as he looked around, a spirited little fellow indeed. Apart from the Fourth Princess, the Fourteenth Prince was the second child raised in the Cining Palace. Rather than saying he was raised by Su Ma La, it would be more accurate to say he was raised under the Empress Dowager's care.
Wan Anran poked Yinti with great interest.
Yinti hummed and hummed again, until finally he let out a loud groan and took Wan Anran's finger into his mouth.
Wan Anran laughed: "The little guy has quite a temper."
The Empress Dowager nodded emphatically: "Indeed! If you throw a tantrum over the smallest thing, what will you do when you grow up?"
Wan Anran was overjoyed, her body trembling with delight.
Speaking of Yinzhen, she also thought of someone, and looked around: "Speaking of which, Consort Ping...didn't come today?"
I used to see it every day.
The Empress Dowager's face darkened when she spoke of Consort Ping: "You come here for no reason and make me angry. Since you don't want to come, I'll tell you not to come again!"
Wan Anran was slightly taken aback.
The Empress Dowager grew increasingly irritated, rambling on and on: "Tell me, what exactly is Consort Ping thinking? First she was running around like a fly, then she put on this bitter and resentful act, looking completely panicked when she saw Su Ma La taking care of the Fourteenth Prince. It's truly unbelievable—"
The Empress Dowager was known for her good temper.
If she was this angry, it's clear that Consort Ping had truly angered the Empress Dowager.
While comforting the Empress Dowager, Wan Anran was inwardly puzzled. When she turned to speak with Empress Xuanfei, she couldn't help but shake her head: "Pingfei didn't seem like such a stupid person before, did she? The Empress Dowager is kind and gentle, and Sumala is meticulous in her work and treats the children very well. How could Pingfei be like this?"
Wan Anran became more and more puzzled: "They are not other concubines. The Empress Dowager and Su Ma La would not refuse Ping Pin and the Fourteenth Prince's closeness. It is much better than being adopted by others."
Consort Xuan scoffed, "What else could it be? It's because the expectations were too high, and the disappointment was even greater. Consort Ping thinks she's adding to the Crown Prince's power, but she doesn't even consider whether the Crown Prince wants such a help."
Wan Anran's lips twitched.
Her lips twitched: "I've heard some of these rumors, but I never expected... that Consort Ping would actually believe them?"
Consort Xuan shook her head: "...Who knows?"
Wan Anran felt that all of this was simply outrageous, utterly absurd!
No way, no way, the Fourteenth Prince wants to be the Crown Prince's younger brother? Hmm? Consort Ping, do you think you're like the late Empress, or do you think you can become the Empress or the Empress Dowager?
Wan Anran's eyes were vacant.
After a long pause, she murmured, "To be able to hold the rank of Consort Ping, she has to thank the Crown Prince."
The Empress's lips curled up slightly.
Listening to Consort Qi and Consort Xuan bickering, a smile flashed across her eyes, but she made no mention of how much effort she had put into dealing with these rumors.
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