allonlinenovel Chapter 200 The dust has settled
Chapter 200 The dust has settled
Chapter 200 The Dust Settles
Fuquan was fully prepared to let the topic end, but he didn't expect Kangxi to actually ask this question at the end. He stared at Kangxi with his lifeless eyes and said, "Haven't you guessed it a long time ago? Xiao Si and Xiao Ba should have people with them on this trip to Jiangnan, right?"
Kangxi was silent. Although the emperor was the highest official in the country, he was also a lonely man. The reason was that he had no one he could trust. He had already arranged for Xiao Si and Xiao Ba to go with him, but Xiao Si was accompanied by the secret guards given by Yinreng, while Xiao Ba had other arrangements.
It's safe to say he knew almost everything that happened to Yinzhen and Yinsi in Jiangnan. Forget the saying "the emperor is far away"; at their level, they'd understand it wasn't that the emperor didn't care, but rather that there were some things he didn't want to get involved in. If he wanted to know something, countless people would be ready to share the information. Furthermore, he had more than just one spy in the Cao family in Jiangnan; many others were hiding in the dark, but simply couldn't be publicly announced.
Prince Yu was quickly taken away, and what awaited him was permanent imprisonment. However, it was announced to the outside world that Prince Yu's old injury had relapsed, and he needed to rest and would not leave the house again.
The incident of Prince Yu did not cause much stir, because there were too many people involved in the Jiangnan case, and many people were in a state of panic. For a trivial matter like Prince Yu's illness, even though he was the emperor's most valued brother, his family members would just prepare gifts and visit him and then leave.
Soon, the imperial envoy from the capital arrived in Suzhou, bringing with him the emperor's edict ordering Prince Lian to return to the capital. Yinsi only then realized that Yinzhen had returned to the capital without his knowledge, and that chaos seemed to be brewing in Suzhou.
It's not his fault that he received the news late. First, Yinzhen was investigating in secret at the time and did not inform Yinsi. Second, Suzhou is some distance away from the capital. The incident happened suddenly, and the emperor issued the order quickly. The imperial envoy had to travel all the way by water. Third, Yinsi did not expect that the backup plan given to him by his elder brother would go wrong. The person in Suzhou was the emperor's confidant, and such a person would fall directly.
With sufficient manpower and solid evidence, the arrest operation was successfully completed. At this time, Emperor Kangxi in the Qianqing Palace was looking at Cao Yin, who was kneeling on the ground and crying, with disappointment.
Kangxi: "I never thought you would betray me. We were fed by the same mother, grew up together, and are as close as brothers. Do you remember the promise you made to me before you left for Jiangnan? Are you worthy of your wet nurse? Are you worthy of the friendship between the three of us?"
When Cao Yin heard the questioning from Emperor Kangxi, he cried even harder. He did not refute but just knelt on the ground and cried bitterly.
Kangxi thought of his three childhood friends who had studied together, practiced martial arts together, and practiced Kubu together all day long. In the end, they defeated and captured Oboi together, and worked together to find a way to solve the problem of the Three Feudatories.
I still remember that the three of them swore an oath of blood, asked for the will of heaven and earth, and secretly became brothers of different surnames, just to eliminate civil strife, flatten mountains and rivers, and build a peaceful and prosperous era together, to welcome peace and prosperity in the country and the people.
But now, Rong Ruo passed away early, Ziqing also betrayed his promise, and only I still remember the oath I made, keep my original intention in mind, and never forget my mission.
Thinking of Rong Ruo, and then of the wet nurse, and of the little things they had experienced together as children, Kangxi finally spoke: "I will find someone to help the wet nurse enjoy her old age. I will also keep the one you sent to the Eighth Elder's mansion, as a kind of shelter for your Cao family. As for the rest, I won't say much, you should understand."
Cao Yin paused in his sobs and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your grace. Long live the Emperor."
Kangxi closed his eyes, waved his hand, and had Cao Yin dragged away.
Then, without anyone noticing, a girl named Cao Gege appeared in Prince Lian's mansion, and she was already more than a month pregnant.
This news turned the Lian Beizi Mansion upside down and also created a rift in the originally strong relationship between the couple.
Yinsi was unwilling to give in. Bringing Cao back to the palace now would not only be useless, but would also give the Emperor a handle. However, Cao was already pregnant, and this matter had been confirmed directly with the Emperor. Not only that, he also had high hopes for this child.
Cao is not Guo Luoluo. She is gentle as water, charming and affectionate. She is the kind of Jiangnan woman who can warm your bones. Even if such a woman is not surnamed Cao, Yinsi would still like her.
What's more, there has been no news of pregnancy in the Lian Beizi Mansion for so many years since Yinsi got married, which has made many of his followers dissatisfied. Even the Empress Dowager and the two mothers in the palace have begun to urge them.
Some people even doubted his physical condition. If only six years had passed and the Anjun Prince's Mansion was still quite powerful, there would probably have been many other women in the mansion.
This time it was an unexpected success. Since she was pregnant, Yinsi definitely wanted to keep her. In this way, Cao naturally became a member of Lian Beizi's backyard.
During this trip to the south of the Yangtze River, Prince Yong made great contributions. The emperor waved his hand and personally drafted the imperial edict, appointing Honghui as the crown prince. At the same time, he granted a marriage between the newly crowned crown prince and the eldest princess of the Ulanara Fuchang family in Jiumen Chengmenling.
Yes, this time Fuchang was also promoted, not only that, but he was directly transferred from the Imperial Guard to the Nine Gates. Although the position of Chengmenling may not sound very impressive, it is actually the position below the Nine Gates Admiral, and can be said to be the closest to the Nine Gates Admiral, and is the second person below Longkodo's position.
What were the responsibilities of the Nine-Gates Commander-in-Chief? He was responsible for the guarding and access control inside and outside the nine gates of the inner city of Beijing (Zhengyangmen, Chongwenmen, Xuanwumen, Andingmen, Deshengmen, Dongzhimen, Xizhimen, Chaoyangmen, and Fuchengmen). He was also responsible for night patrols, firefighting, compiling and checking the militia, issuing prohibitions, arresting people, and judging cases. He was actually the commander of the Qing Dynasty's imperial guards. When he was first established, his rank was "second rank", and later he was promoted half a level to "first rank".
So now Fuchang was directly promoted from a second-rank guard to a second-rank city gate commander, achieving a qualitative leap.
But that was all. As for promoting Prince Yongjun to a prince, Kangxi hadn't considered it yet. He would rule for much longer. If he made the fourth son a prince now, wouldn't he be unable to obtain any more titles later if he made meritorious contributions? What was the point of him working so hard to dethrone Yinreng from the throne?
Isn't it just that he doesn't want to see them holding power and doesn't want others to push him off the throne?
There are rewards and punishments. Because Yinsi had contact with those officials in Jiangnan, although there was no substantial evidence, the emperor still cancelled his reward. Not only was his title not promoted, he didn't even receive any substantial praise. Instead, he once again brought up the issue of urging him to have a baby, and also talked about a selection next year, at which time he would add two more people to his family.
When the dust settled, Yinreng in Prince Chenyuan's mansion also received good news: Zhang Mingde had been found. With a single order, Yinreng quickly dispatched Zhang Mingde to the capital.