The scorching summer day pressed heavily, and although the palace hall was equipped with ice mirrors to cool the air, Yinreng’s sweat still poured out rapidly.
Countless thoughts raced through his mind.
About the Imperial Household Department, Hesheri, Jiangnan… none of these alone seemed enough to explain why His Majesty would put on such a stern display.
Even if he had committed a grave mistake, he was the son personally raised by His Majesty, the Crown Prince of the Qing.
His Majesty might be furious and scold him, ordering him to reflect and repent, but he would never look at him with such calm disappointment.
He knelt stiffly, his throat dry and hoarse.
“Your humble son does not know what mistake he has committed to deserve such severe reprimand. I beg Your Majesty to enlighten me.”
Kangxi replied coldly, “Inciting a selected lady to elope, disgracing the royal family’s dignity, and conspiring with Ling Pu to resell official verifications and road passes. What other mistakes do you intend to make?”
Yinreng felt a sudden relief and quickly explained in a strained voice, “Your Majesty, although I have not been on good terms with Imperial Noble Consort, I do agree with what she said during my trip to Jiangnan.”
“A fly will not bite a spotless egg. If that selected lady had not been shameless and reckless, disregarding her family’s safety to secretly consort with an outsider… If Imperial Noble Consort had not interfered with ancestral regulations and acted capriciously, I wouldn’t have been able to plot against them. All of this is the fault of that lady herself.”
“Though my actions were unorthodox, they were desperate measures. I wanted Your Majesty to see just how flawed the selection system is.”
“As for the resale of official verifications and road passes…” Yinreng’s eyes flickered as he lowered his gaze, looking aggrieved.
“Ling Pu is my nurse brother, but he is not always within the palace. He takes advantage of the favor his birth mother once received serving me to act recklessly outside. I have admonished him several times, but out of respect for my nursemaid’s feelings…”
Before he could finish, Kangxi threw the memorial he was reading directly at Yinreng’s face.
Yinreng’s forehead throbbed painfully.
He covered it, bewildered, shock spreading across his face.
Even when His Majesty was angry before, he never threw things at his face.
If his appearance were disfigured, how could he serve as Crown Prince?
Could it be that His Majesty intended to depose him?
All for such trivial matters?
He trembled as he picked up the memorial, forcing down his anger as he carefully unfolded it.
As soon as he read its contents, his expression instantly darkened.
It was Ling Pu’s confession.
Though Ling Pu was stubborn, the interrogation methods of the secret guards were so cruel even they could hardly bear them, let alone Ling Pu, a commoner.
The confession detailed how Ling Pu colluded with Suo’etu, using debts to gradually control court officials.
Most of the silver gained was funneled into Yuqing Palace.
Having been taught by Kangxi, Yinreng understood the dangers of official debts and borrowing silver within the capital immediately and panicked.
“Your Majesty, I had no knowledge of this!” Yinreng knelt forward a few steps, his voice trembling.
He never expected Ling Pu to dare commit such acts.
Though he had vaguely suspected Ling Pu’s crimes went beyond selling official titles, he had not asked in detail for the sake of the silver gained and a chance to absolve himself if discovered.
That now only gave him a desperate excuse.
“Do you believe me? No matter how useless I am, I would never joke with the fate of the Qing Dynasty. Ling Pu and Suo’etu acted on their own; I truly did not—”
“Does that matter?” Kangxi interrupted coldly.
He stood and looked down at his son, the one he had pinned his hopes on since infancy.
“You have repeatedly condoned Suo’etu’s faction forming cliques and even bribing Jiangnan literati. I have been lenient, giving you chances to reflect. Is this how you reflect?”
“If it were not for your indulgence, for letting them do shameful deeds using your Crown Prince’s authority, would they have dared act with such arrogance?”
Yinreng lifted his head, his voice more urgent, “Your humble son knows his fault. I truly did not expect their foolishness…”
Kangxi cut him off again. “You claim ignorance, yet nearly a million taels of silver were sent to Yuqing Palace. Don’t tell me you can accept this with a clear conscience while turning a blind eye to the source!”
If that were the case, Kangxi would only be more disappointed.
As the future emperor, though angry, he understood the Crown Prince’s desire to win over officials and the dangerous ambition that came with it.
If his son could not comprehend the flow of great sums of silver in his circle, especially involving corruption, when he ascends the throne he will be unable to cleanse the bureaucracy, allowing the entire court to rot.
Such a Crown Prince was unacceptable to the Qing.
Yinreng understood this as well.
He paused, his mind racing.
Faced with such a serious matter, he had to accept a lesser mistake.
His complexion turned pale, though his eyes reddened.
“Your humble son only thought they privately sold minor official posts to gain favor among court officials…”
He pressed his forehead against the stone floor.
“I know my mistake. I will never dare do it again!”
Kangxi stared coldly at Yinreng trembling on the ground.
At that moment, he knew Yinreng was indeed his son — even now, calm enough to use every leverage to soften his heart.
The Crown Prince’s errors were graver than his brothers’, but to a vigorous Kangxi, they were still children.
People were not saints; as long as they recognized and corrected their mistakes, that was enough.
What he could not tolerate was Yinreng’s indulgence of subordinates breeding treasonous ambitions.
In the past, Kangxi would curse him loudly, even punish him with corporal punishment, force him to copy books, and confine him for reflection — as harsh as possible.
But this time, aside from his initial words, Kangxi was too tired to even scold him.
He turned and returned to his desk, sitting calmly and tossing another memorial to Yinreng’s feet.
“I have chosen a Crown Princess for you, known for her virtue. She will be among the candidates in the upcoming selection. You are grown now; it is time to marry.”
Yinreng was stunned.
He carefully picked up the memorial and looked at Kangxi, hesitating. “Your Majesty…”
Kangxi’s tone softened, “The deeds of Ling Pu and Suo’etu are partly my fault. I should not have repeatedly allowed you to err.”
“I will handle this matter myself. You need not attend court before your marriage. Return to the study.”
Ignoring Yinreng’s pale face, Kangxi stood and walked out, leaving behind a final sentence.
“You were a child before, but once married, you are an adult.”
Children can err and still have a chance to amend themselves.
Adults must bear the consequences of their mistakes.
Kangxi didn’t have to say this for Yinreng to understand.
After Kangxi left, a flush of heat surged to Yinreng’s face.
With a sudden ‘plop,’ he spat out blood.
Staring at the blood on the floor, confusion lingered in his eyes, ‘How did the Imperial Noble Consort know about this? Thinking back to her behavior that day, it must have been when she discovered Ling Pu’s trail.’
But that didn’t make sense!
Even if she was a schemer, his earlier schemes were conspicuous, and the elopement was extremely secretive.Â
Even Suo’etu did not know, so how could the Imperial Noble Consort have detected it?
If not Imperial Noble Consort… then she must have discovered some clues and reported them to the throne, making it easy for His Majesty to investigate.
That meant there was a traitor close to him.
His Majesty had been sending people to watch his every move.
He staggered to his feet, wiping the blood from his lips, eyes dark and gleaming as he glared toward Chunhui Hall with a cold smile.
He, the Crown Prince, was merely a scapegoat His Majesty set up to stabilize the court and pacify the world after quelling the Three Feudatories.
If His Majesty truly wanted him to succeed, why would he guard him like a prisoner, hoping to make him a flawless puppet?
Only when he returned to Danning Residence did Yinreng open the other memorial Kangxi had thrown him.
It detailed the chosen Crown Princess’s biography — Guarjia Xiuying, daughter of Shi Wenbing, the commander of the White Banner Han Army.
“A gentleman without guile, and full of grace,” it said.
Yinreng sneered.
If His Majesty wanted him to be a noble and upright man, did he not want that too?
But His Majesty’s favoritism toward the eldest son and the Imperial Noble Consort’s children forced him into underhanded tactics.
Which upright Crown Prince in history ever survived to inherit the throne?
His Majesty must have read the history books until his stomach ached!
Yinreng tore the memorial to pieces.
His imperial father wished him to be a gentleman without guile; then he would be just that.
The violent storm in his eyes raged ever stronger.
Whether he would be a king or a loser in the future was still unknown.
Back in Chunhui Hall, Kangxi unleashed his fury, summoning Zhao Chang to the throne room and issuing three secret edicts.
Irgen Gioro Yueshu was returned to her clan, her father demoted three ranks and assigned to oversee the Imperial Mausoleum under the Ministry of Rites, Right Division.
Once Abukai knew of his daughter’s disgrace, he would not allow the scandal to spread.
Yueshu had only two paths — a sudden death or a life of strict Buddhist penance.
As for her lover, Feng Gege, who incited the selected lady’s elopement and attempted to damage the royal family’s reputation, he would be executed by slow slicing, like Ling Pu.
The third edict also involved Ling Pu, ordering the execution of his entire family, including his estates and descendants, leaving none alive.
If not for suppressing the scandal and protecting the Crown Prince’s reputation, Kangxi would have executed Ling Pu’s entire clan.
However, this edict was issued to Suo’etu.
When Zhao Chang handed the edicts and the accounting books from Ling Pu’s villa to Suo’etu, he conveyed Kangxi’s verbal instructions.
“His Majesty said to let Xin Yu and Prince An personally handle this. Ma’erhun, you inform the others. Not a single tael of silver in these accounts is to be spared.”
Xin Yu was Hesheri’s fifth son and had conspired with Ling Pu managing outside debts.
Since being demoted to Idle Imperial Clan, Xin Yu had done many shady deeds for his elder brother.
Prince An’s mother was Suo’etu’s younger sister and Xin Yu’s elder sister.
Because Anjun Wang Manor’s position in the capital was precarious, and Ming Shang’s daughter Guoluoluo Yinghui had taken half the manor’s official wealth as dowry, mother and son had gotten involved.
Though the emperor had not reprimanded Xin Yu in words, Suo’etu understood that these edicts and verbal orders were only one message: Suo’etu, don’t force me to kill you!
Suo’etu collapsed to the ground in a sweat, panting heavily.
Their schemes had been so secret — how could His Majesty have known?
The sums involved were nearly two million taels of silver, likely requiring the emptying of the Hesheri household and Anjun Wang Manor to make up.
What exactly had Ling Pu done?!
Outside the palace, the Hesheri Mansion and Anjun Wang Manor quietly but anxiously carried out the orders.
Inside, Kangxi’s mood was grim.
By June, the selected ladies had entered Chuxiu Palace to begin learning court etiquette and prepare for the final selection.
Kangxi still showed no sign of easing.
Fang He brought an ice bowl freshly prepared from the small kitchen into the hall and saw Kangxi with a stern face, playing chess alone.
Whenever his mind was unsettled, he liked to use such distractions to keep calm.
Fang He washed her hands, holding the ice bowl, and personally fed it to Kangxi’s lips.
“Take a few bites. I had lotus seeds candied in rock sugar added to cool your heat.”
Kangxi opened his mouth and ate, frowning slightly, “You eat it. I don’t like sweets.”