The swansong of the swansong

Chapter 191 Is there a successor to the throne?

At this time, Lao Jiu was about to speak, but he saw Lao Ba come close to his ear and whisper something in a low voice.

Lao Jiu's face immediately changed, and he quickly whispered, "Brother Ba, this is inappropriate, isn't it?"

Lao Ba blinked and said, "Xiao Yongzao would never lie to me."

Xiao Yongzao, the Grand Secretary of the Cabinet, sounds like a Han minister, but in fact, he is a genuine bannerman and belongs to the Han army of the Bordered White Banner.

It’s a pity that he is not the fourth brother’s servant!
Lao Jiu quickly turned around and told Lao Shi: "You and I will tell everyone to change their words and speak up for that poisonous snake Xiao Shiwu."

Everyone passed the message on through whispers, one person told ten, ten told a hundred.

As a result, right under the nose of the fourth brother, the eighth brother's people suddenly changed their minds. They all spoke with one voice, and the censors actually accused Yinyou of nothing.

The fourth brother was also dumbfounded. How could this be possible?
At the same time, the flag owners and kings of the Council of State also received notification from Lao Jiu.

So, everyone agreed and changed their tune.

In the end, when the memorial was submitted to Emperor Kangxi, it became a slander against Yinyou by the censors out of thin air.

When Yinyou received the secret letter sent by the fourth prince, the Council of State Affairs and the six ministries and nine officials had already reached a conclusion.

After reading the secret letter, Yinyou put it close to the candle and burned it to ashes.

"Xiao Suzi, go tell my fourth brother that they are treating Khan Ama as a fool!" Yinyu smiled and said confidently, "They will definitely shoot themselves in the foot."

Su Peisheng bent his waist and said in an unusually respectful manner: "Fifteenth Master, our master said that he cannot speak for you publicly, so as not to arouse suspicion of forming a faction."

Yinyou nodded and said with a smile, "Isn't this just nonsense?" He looked as if he was disgusted with the fourth brother being too long-winded.

Su Peisheng thought about it and realized, yes, who is the one between Yinyou and the fourth brother?

There is really no need to say such meaningless nonsense!
"Master, I climbed in through the left wall. When I go back, I can only go out through the right wall." Su Peisheng is indeed a smart man taught by the fourth brother. He knows that both the front door and the back door are watched by spies.

"Wulin, go and make careful arrangements." Yinyu called Wulin and told him, "Make sure to check the situation outside first before sending little Suzi out."

"Master, don't worry. The little tiger that I raised with my own hands has long known how to patrol the alleys!" Wu Lin showed off with some pride.

Yinyou smiled silently. Wulin was very smart and was indeed no worse than Su Peisheng.

The little tigers are actually the fierce mastiffs raised by Wulin, and there are eight of them in total.

Whenever Yinyou wanted to do something shady, he would first release the mastiff through the dog hole and then climb over the wall with a ladder to get out.

After Su Peisheng left, Nian Guanyin ground ink while Yinyou continued to practice calligraphy patiently.

How many years did Sima Yi wait before he discovered Cao Shuang's weakness?

Yinyou is only twenty-one years old this year.

Even if Kangxi became suspicious and gave up on Yinyou, he made him a prince of leisure.

Haha, Yinyou could totally learn from the Thirteenth Prince’s approach and secretly win over the middle and lower-level officers in the Tongzhou camp.

From a strategic point of view, if Kangxi gave up Yinyu, it would allow Yinyu to achieve greater success.

Think about it, as the son abandoned by the late emperor, the fourth brother’s love for him is unquestionably not enough!

No matter how you look at it, Yinyou is the winner!
Kangxi walked around the room with his hands behind his back. Suddenly, he stopped and asked, "Chen Heng, what do they want to do?"

Zhang Tingyu's vest was already soaked, but he had no choice but to bite the bullet and whispered, "Your Majesty, Prince Yu has offended too many people."

Kangxi nodded and continued to ask Zhang Tingyu: "What else?"

Zhang Tingyu was forced into a corner. He had no choice but to kneel on the ground and asked Kangxi: "Please forgive me for speaking frankly. If Prince Yu falls, who will benefit the most?"

Kangxi sneered, "They have learned to be clever and want to kill someone with a borrowed knife. Call him Haiqing!"

Soon, Haiqing, the first-class sword-bearing guard in front of the emperor, knelt at Kangxi's feet.

"Haiqing, why did such a change occur?" Kangxi asked Haiqing coldly.

Hai Qing fell to the ground and said in a trembling voice, "Your Majesty, it was after the Ninth Prince sent the letter that the flag owners and kings suddenly changed their tune."

"Very good, you have not let me down and dare to tell me the truth!" Kangxi suddenly turned his head and ordered Zhang Tingyu, "Hengchen, draft the edict."

"First-class guard Hai Qing is promoted to deputy commander of the right wing of the Tongzhou camp and will take office immediately."

"The emperor's grace is so great, how dare I not die in service?" Haiqing, who had risen to fame overnight, cried out in excitement.

"Go, take care of the troops for me!"

"Whoo!"

"Minister Heng, draft another decree. First-class guard Yin Da will be promoted to deputy commander of the left wing of the Miyun camp."

"Minister Heng, draft another decree. The Minister of the Imperial Guard, Bahunde, will also be in charge of the Cavalry Battalion."

"Hengchen, it's going to rain and my mother is getting married, what can I do?"

How could Zhang Tingyu dare to respond to such a fatal sigh? After school, the Sixteenth Prince came to the palace specifically to comfort Yinyu.

When the Sixteenth Prince saw Yinyou in the backyard, he discovered that Yinyou was following several carpenters to learn the art of planing wood.

"Brother, why are you learning this?" The Sixteenth Brother asked Yinyou curiously.

Yinyu smiled and explained: "My two little princesses are growing up day by day. I want to make a fall-proof bicycle for each of them to learn to walk."

The Sixteenth Prince thought that Yinyu was in a bad mood and deliberately did carpentry to relieve his boredom, so he advised: "Brother, no matter how stupid Khan Ama is, he knows that you are a loyal minister."

Yinyou smiled and said nothing.

Oboi had no intention of usurping the throne. At most, he was reluctant to give up power. What was his fate?
Loyalty is not static, but can change at any time according to the needs of the emperor.

Your Majesty, you cannot not follow, but you cannot follow too much!
As the saying goes, too much is as bad as too little!

However, Yinyou was not in a position to tell the Sixteenth Prince about these things for the time being.

After all, Old Sixteen is too young and there is no point in saying more.

After dinner, Yinyou led the Sixteenth Prince into the pleasure boat on the lake.

"I plan to double the size of this lake. From now on, when the weather is hot, we will spend the night on the boat!"

After hearing this, Old Sixteen felt sad.

In the past, whenever Kangxi went to Rehe to escape the summer heat, he would always bring Yinyou with him.

Now, from what Yinyou said, it is obvious that he wants to stay in the capital and endure the scorching heat.

"Brother, it's good to take a break. You're only in your early twenties, but you already have gray hair. I really can't stand it." Old Sixteen sighed, "I still remember you once said that if there was a royal manor in the suburbs, you could live a carefree life for a few days!"

"Well, what you said is exactly what I want." Yinyu said with a smile, "I will take the two little princesses to the imperial farm early tomorrow morning."

Old Sixteen frowned and reminded, "My two nieces are still too young. I'm afraid they can't stand the fatigue of traveling."

"It's okay. Just make the cushion thicker and walk slower!" Yinyu picked up the teacup and took a sip. "To be honest, in the early years, I only wanted to have a prince's mansion, and I would be satisfied! Who would have thought that I would have earned such a large fortune?"

"Yes, tens of thousands of acres of imperial estates, I dare not even think about it!" Old Sixteen suddenly said indignantly, "All the important officials in the court hate you for not dying earlier, and Khan Ama doesn't even say a word for you. Isn't this trying to push you into a dead end?"

Yinyu smiled faintly and said, "Sixteenth brother, the life of a leisurely prince is actually quite good."

It is really good, not fake good!

If Yinyou was an idle prince, as long as he helped the fourth prince to stabilize the Tongzhou camp when the mountain mausoleum collapsed, his status and actual power would definitely be higher than that of the thirteenth prince.

By that time, the first vice emperor of the Yongzheng Dynasty could only be Yinyou.

"Yeah, I think it's a good idea too, so that we don't die without a burial place and regret it too late. It may not be too late to retreat now!" Old Sixteen was angry and spoke very impolitely.

However, when the Sixteenth Prince lowered his head to serve tea, he suddenly saw a pair of black boots appear behind Yinyou.

"How dare you..." The Sixteenth Prince was about to scold the eavesdropper, but when he looked up, he saw Kangxi staring at him expressionlessly.

"Ah..." Old Sixteen was so frightened that he fainted. His mind went blank and he stared at Kangxi.

Yinyou sensed something was wrong and turned around to see Kangxi with a gloomy expression. As he knelt down to salute, he took the opportunity to pull at the hem of the Sixteenth Prince's robe.

"Your Majesty, I, Yinyu, respectfully greet you!"

The Sixteenth Old Man suddenly woke up and quickly knelt down, saying subconsciously: "Your Highness, I, Yinlu, respectfully wish you the best!"

"Yinlu, what did you say just now?" Kangxi called him by his name very impolitely.

Generally speaking, Kangxi addressed his sons according to their brotherly order.

Once you call it by its name, it means that a storm is coming.

The Sixteenth Brother had always been a coward, but this time he was so angry for Yinyu that he stiffened his neck and said, "My Lord, I advise my Fifteenth Brother to retreat while you can, or you will die without a burial place."

"Sixteenth brother, stop talking nonsense!" Yinyu was worried that the Sixteenth Brother would suffer a great loss, so he hurriedly tried to stop him.

Unexpectedly, the Sixteenth Prince was so angry that he shouted back, "You don't have the throne to inherit, and you're offending people everywhere. Why bother? I think you might as well go to the Eighth Prince and apologize, kneel down and beg for his forgiveness. Then he can spare your life in the future!"

Yinyu didn't have time to think about it, he raised his hand and slapped Old Sixteen, "Pa."

"Don't talk nonsense." Yinyu shouted at the Sixteenth Brother, and then he knelt down and explained to Kangxi, "Sixteenth Brother is young and hot-tempered, and is used to talking nonsense. It's all my fault that I didn't discipline him well. Please punish me severely, Khan."

Kangxi's expression changed unpredictably, from gloomy to bright, but he remained silent for a long time.

Zhang Tingyu, who was standing aside, knew clearly in his heart that not only did Kangxi fail to uphold justice for Yinyou in a timely manner, but he sent the impeachment letter to all the ministers for discussion and punishment. It seemed that the imperial party was about to be seriously divided!
The Sixteenth Prince was indeed right. Yinyou had no throne to inherit, so why would he offend the powerful Eighth Prince?

Even from Zhang Tingyu's absolutely cold perspective, there is really no other explanation for Yinyu's repeated attempts to sacrifice his life to protect his master except the son's loyalty and filial piety to his father!

Yinyu offended the Eighth Prince for the sake of Kangxi, but Kangxi handed Yinyu over to the ministers for public display. No matter how you look at it, it is extremely disheartening!

PS: The second update is here. I will continue writing and there will be no less than four updates.

(End of this chapter)