The swansong of the swansong

Chapter 215 The Crucial Connection

When Yinyou and the Thirteenth Prince agreed, the Fourth Prince would mostly listen to them.

"Okay, I'll listen to you. Send Hongshi to Jietai Temple and let him stay there for half a year!" The fourth brother also knew that he could not continue to spoil him.

After having dinner at Prince Yong's Mansion, Yinyou wanted to say goodbye and leave, but unexpectedly, Nian Haitang sent someone to tell the Fourth Prince that she wanted to meet Yinyou and the Thirteenth Prince.

In fact, Yinyu had wanted to meet Nian Haitang for a long time. However, due to the strict rules for men and women, Yinyu could not take the initiative to make such an impolite request.

The fourth brother really doted on Nian Haitang, and he gave the order without any hesitation.

"Someone, please ask Haitang to come out and meet the two uncles."

In the Qing Dynasty, uncle refers to the husband's younger brother, while uncle is a respectful title for the nephew to his father's younger brother.

The room was filled with younger brothers who were much closer to him than the Fourteenth Brother, so the Fourth Brother did not order anyone to put up a screen.

If the fourth brother hadn't told him, the thirteenth brother would have had no idea that the concubine's nickname was Haitang.

In the Qing Dynasty, where ethics and morals were strictly enforced, only her husband and close relatives could know a woman's nickname.

"Greetings, Uncle Thirteen and Uncle Fifteen." After Nian Haitang entered the room, he stood very politely with his feet parallel, his hands on his knees, and his waist bent, with his knees slightly bent as if he was in a half-squat position.

Yinyou had long heard that Nian Haitang was a peerless beauty who would bring disaster to the country and the people. When he saw her today, he found that her reputation was indeed well-deserved.

Let’s put it this way, even with Yinyu’s great insight, he had to admit that Nian Haitang’s beauty was the best in the entire Qing Dynasty!
The Thirteenth Prince and Yinyou almost dodged to the side at the same time, not daring to accept Nian Haitang's full courtesy.

Both of them follow the fourth brother, and they must give due respect to the fourth brother's favorite concubine.

Nian Haitang pestered the fourth brother, saying that she wanted to meet the thirteenth brother and Yinyu, but the only person she really wanted to meet was Yinyu.

Among the three sisters in the Nian family, the eldest sister Nian Haitang was really unlucky as she married the very unsuccessful Hu Fenghui.

The Hu family and the Nian family are old friends. The eldest sister of the Nian family married into the Hu family, which was an arranged marriage.

Hu Fenghui is now over 30 years old and still has no proper job. He can only follow the fourth brother to do odd jobs.

After Yongzheng ascended the throne, Tian Wenjing, Li Wei and Ortai, who were not old members of the Yongzheng clan, were all given special positions.

Hu Fenghui, an old member of the royal palace, had the support of Concubine Nian and Nian Gengyao, but he was only promoted from a seventh-rank county magistrate to the Suzhou Weaving Supervisor.

It is conceivable that Hu Fenghui's ability is not at all in the eyes of the fourth brother.

Hu Fenghui and Yinyou are like a chicken compared to a phoenix; they cannot be compared at all.

The fourth brother also knew what Nian Haitang was thinking, so he took her hand and introduced her to Yinyu, saying, "Your sister-in-law has been looking forward to meeting you and the thirteenth brother every day, and today she finally gets to see you."

Since the fourth brother had directly determined Nian Haitang's identity, Yinyu took the initiative to bow and said, "My younger brother Yinyu, please be well, sister-in-law."

The Thirteenth Master and the Fourth Lady have a very deep relationship and they sincerely don't want to acknowledge Nian Haitang as their sister-in-law.

However, under the gaze of the fourth brother, the thirteenth brother had no choice but to hold his nose and bow his hands and said, "My younger brother Yinxiang, I wish my sister-in-law the best of health."

"Uncle Fifteen, my second sister is a poor person. Please have more mercy on her." Nian Haitang squatted down and saluted again.

Yinyou knew that Nian Guanyin, as the legitimate daughter of a frontier prince, was demoted to a princess in a Beile mansion, which was even lower than a concubine. It was completely an unprovoked disaster.

Who asked Nian Guanyin to be too coquettish when she participated in the selection, which aroused the hatred of the current empress dowager towards Dong Efei?
So, for this person, luck is extremely important!

However, as long as she had Nian Haitang's support, after Yongzheng ascended the throne, Nian Guanyin would inevitably be given the title of prince's concubine.

According to the regulations of the Qing Dynasty, a Heshuo Prince could have four concubines, while a Jun Prince could only have two concubines.

When the current Empress Dowager was still alive, even if Yinyu wanted to promote Nian Guanyin as a concubine, he did not have the courage to submit a petition.

You know, Kangxi is famous for pretending to be filial to the current Empress Dowager.

"There are no outsiders in the room, so let's all sit down and talk." After the Fourth Brother said this, the Thirteenth Brother finally understood that the Fourth Lady had been marginalized in Prince Yong's Mansion.

Don't talk about beauty, just talk about utilitarianism.

The five brothers of the Fourth Lady were all the kind of people who played with birds in cages and slept with prostitutes, but none of them was capable of anything.

On the other hand, in Nian Haitang's maternal family, her second brother Nian Gengyao was the governor of Sichuan and Shaanxi who rose to prominence at a young age. Her eldest brother Nian Xiyao liked Western things and was particularly proficient in firing porcelain, which was considered quite a feat.

Nowadays, we are not afraid of not knowing the goods, but we are afraid of comparing the goods.

With Nian Haitang's unparalleled beauty as a backdrop, how could the Fourth Lady, who was already of average appearance, compare with her?

After the guests and hosts were seated, Old Thirteen was shocked to find that not only was Nian Haitang sitting next to Old Four, but the couple's hands were actually holding each other tightly.

Damn, this is too disgusting. Old Thirteen couldn’t bear to look at it and turned his head away.

Yinyu looked at the fourth son who was showing off his affection with a smile, and couldn't help but think of the classic comment: I am such a person, such an emperor! Others had no idea, but Yinyu knew that the fourth son's low profile was a complete disguise.

Nian Haitang gently pinched the fourth brother's hand, and he immediately understood, and said to Yinyu with a smile: "Second sister of the Nian family, it's boring to stay in your backyard. You should go out and walk around more often."

In fact, Yinyu had long wanted Nian Guanyin to come over and accompany Nian Haitang more often, but he just didn't have a good excuse.

Since the fourth brother took the initiative to speak, Yinyu naturally followed suit and said with a smile: "Fourth brother, you are right. Later, I will ask her to come to your place more often to chat with my sister-in-law, go shopping, and listen to operas!"

Following the fourth brother's interest, Yinyu deliberately expanded the scope of activities of the two Nian sisters.

The reason why Nian Haitang died young was actually similar to the early death of Qianlong's white moonlight, Empress Fucha: the death of one of her own sons after another was too depressing.

In history, Nian Haitang had three sons. If any one of these sons had lived to adulthood, Hongli would have had no chance of succeeding to the throne!

The same tragedy happened to Qianlong's Empress Fucha. As long as one of her two sons survived, Jiaqing would have to be content to be a virtuous prince.

Yinyu's idea was not complicated. He just wanted to take advantage of the convenience of Nian Guanyin's ability to enter and exit Prince Yong's Mansion at any time, and secretly adopt various modern means to prevent Nian Haitang's sons from dying young.

In Yongzheng's later years, the Thirteenth Prince died early due to poor health. The affairs of the new emperor had nothing to do with him.

Given how devoted the fourth brother is to Nian Haitang, Nian Haitang's son must be the new king.

At that time, among the important ministers entrusted by the fourth prince before his death, if Yinyou does not take the lead, who will be qualified to lead?

Historically, the first of the prime ministers arranged before the death of the fourth prince was the sixteenth prince, followed by the seventeenth prince, and Ortai and Zhang Tingyu were behind.

To take a step back, even if the fourth prince is afraid of Yinyou at that time, as long as the sixteenth prince stays among the ranks of the important ministers, everything can be done!
Su Peisheng was very smart and came in to serve tea himself to avoid being seen by outsiders. Nian Haitang and Lao Si sat side by side, holding hands in an unruly manner.

In front of the fourth brother, even though Nian Haitang had countless things in her heart that she wanted to tell Yinyou, she couldn't say them out loud.

There is no other way, the two sisters can only wait until the Nian Guanyin comes and then they can have their heart-to-heart talk.

After returning from the fourth prince's place, Yinwei's carriage had just stopped in front of the mansion gate when he saw Qinshu and several noble ladies coming out of the corner gate.

When Qinshu saw Yinyou coming back, she quickly squatted down to greet him and introduced her friends one by one.

"Sir, this is the wife of the assistant commander, this is the wife of the deputy commander, this one is very special, she is the wife of the first-class Haicheng Duke..."

Yinyou was slightly stunned. He did not expect that among Qinshu's friends, there was actually a duchess.

The current first-class Haicheng Duke is named Huang Yingzun, who is the great-nephew of the first Haicheng Duke Huang Wu.

It was Huang Wu who proposed the infamous order to move the country to the sea when Taiwan was annexed.

During the Three Feudatories Rebellion, all the descendants of Huang Wu were killed by Geng Jingzhong.

In order to show sympathy for his meritorious officials, Kangxi not only issued a special decree to allow the title to be inherited 12 times, but also let Huang Wu's nephew Huang Fang inherit the first-class Haicheng Duke.

Yinyu knew all about the important officials in the court. He knew that Huang Yingzun had no ability and was just guarding the title and living off the capital left by his ancestors.

Aman's bad habits were nothing more than a disguise and protective color of Yinyou.

Once the number of cases of stealing other people's wives increases, everyone in the capital will be in danger.

That reputation is really bad!

Out of respect for etiquette, Yinwei simply nodded slightly and walked straight into the palace in square steps.

The next morning, when Yinyou entered the Qingxi Study, he was shocked to find Nian Gengyao kneeling beside Kangxi.

Given the fourth prince's temper, if Nian Gengyao had informed him of the news in advance, he would definitely have hosted a banquet for him and asked Yinyou and the thirteenth prince to join him.

Yinyou sighed secretly, alas, Buddha only saves those who are destined to be saved!
For a guy like Nian Gengyao who refused to repent, there was no way Yinyou could help him even if he wanted to.

Seeing Yinyou coming in, Kangxi smiled and said, "Liang Gong has great ambitions. He only needs 5,000 soldiers and horses to destroy the Dzungar Khanate!"

Yinyou curled his lips. Nian Gengyao really dared to brag just to please Kangxi!

This is just like pacifying Liao in five years. The emperor feels comfortable when hearing this, but in reality, it is impossible to do it!
Historically, if a great plague had not broken out among the Dzungars, giving Emperor Qianlong the opportunity to seize it, the issue of Western Xinjiang would probably have remained unresolved until the end of the Qing Dynasty.

Kangxi was in high spirits, so Yinyu naturally couldn't say anything to spoil his mood, so he echoed: "Liang Gong has such ambition, which is a blessing for the court and the country!"

In Kangxi's later years, his biggest concern was the deadly threat posed by the Dzungars to the Qing Dynasty.

"Little Fifteen, if we want to send troops to the western border, who can be the commander?" Kangxi asked Yinyou with great interest.

Yinyu said without hesitation: "Reply to Khan Father, Liang Gong is good!"

To pacify the Northwest, at least hundreds of thousands of people are needed!
Given Kangxi's temperament, how could he possibly give such great military power to Nian Gengyao?
It would be a waste if Yinyou didn't do a favor, and Nian Gengyao would definitely appreciate it!
(End of this chapter)