The swansong of the swansong

Chapter 223 It’s about the fate of the country
Kangxi favored the fourth son, but it wasn't too obvious before.

Now, Kangxi not only awarded the Old Summer Palace to the fourth son, but also found an excuse to add three Niulu to him.

In this case, not to mention Yinyou, even Zhang Tingyu had already seen through it.

With Zhang Tingyu's accurate political vision, how could he have easily defected to the emperor if he had not seen for sure that the fourth prince would ascend the throne?

On the day of Hongyun's full moon, according to Manchu customs, Yinyou had to hold a grand "full month banquet" even if he was unwilling.

According to the customs of the Banner people, the full-month banquet should be hosted by the woman’s family.

If Kangxi had not promoted Wang Xiyue to be a concubine, according to etiquette, Hongyun's family could only be Cuiqing's relatives.

That's different now.

In the morning, Wang Xiyue, who had just finished her confinement, hugged little Hongyun tightly and went into Jingren Palace where Concubine Mi lived with Yinyou.

Hongyun was Concubine Mi's first grandson, so she was naturally very happy and couldn't stop smiling. She held Hongyun tightly and refused to let go.

"This little guy has eyes like you and a mouth shaped like Xiyue. He will definitely be a blessed person in the future..." Concubine Mi was so happy that she couldn't stop praising him.

"Mom, please praise me less, otherwise the child will not be able to bear it!" Yinyu glanced at Wang Xiyue seemingly unintentionally.

Wang Xiyue quickly said with a smile: "Aunt, Hongyun doesn't have a nickname yet, so can you please give him a name?"

When Concubine Mi heard this, she felt even more satisfied and said with a smile: "According to the rules in our hometown of Hangzhou, when a child is too young, he must be given a humble name so that he can live a long life. Let me think about it, hmm... why not call him Tiger Egg?"

"Thank you, mother, for giving me the name." Yinyu quickly bowed and thanked her.

His son's full name was chosen by Kangxi, but his nickname had to be decided by Concubine Mi.

Not to mention calling him Tiger Egg, even if he was called Sha Egg, Yinyou would have to accept it with a pinch of his nose.

Concubine Mi glanced at Wang Xiyue and felt somewhat proud.

If Concubine Mi had not forced Wang Xiyue to be Yinyou's concubine, how could Wang Xiyue have the honor and glory she has today?
After the Qing Dynasty established its rule in the Central Plains, many of its rituals, laws and rules were almost all plagiarized from the previous Ming Dynasty's regulations.

However, slightly different from the previous Ming Dynasty, the royal nobility of the Qing Dynasty was divided into four levels. Among them, the wives of the Beile and Beizi other than the princes could not be called Fujin, but could only be called Beile Madam or Beizi Madam.

According to the customs of the former Ming Dynasty, Wang Xiyue's current status is equivalent to that of a prince's concubine.

Wang Xiyue’s rapid rise to fame was all thanks to Concubine Mi!
The more Concubine Mi thought about it, the more proud she became, and she gave Hong Yun a hard kiss on the forehead.

"You still want to go back to your mother's home, right?" Seeing that it was getting late, Concubine Mi urged Yinyou and Wang Xiyue to go to Wang's house quickly.

When she heard that she was going back to her parents' home, Wang Xiyue couldn't help but straighten her back.

Things are different now!

When she returned to the Wang family, even her grandfather Wang Guozheng and grandmother Huang had to bow down to Wang Xiyue and pay their respects.

More importantly, in order to snatch the good position of Yinwei's concubine, those sisters who had fought openly and secretly with Wang Xiyue were all stepped on.

Humph, my good sisters, when we meet again, you will all have to look at my wife's face!

When they arrived at the gate of the Wang family, Yinyou just got out of the sedan chair and saw his grandfather Wang Guozheng, leading all the men of the Wang family, waiting obediently on both sides of the gate.

The uncles and aunts of the Wang family, relying on the power of Prince Yu's Mansion, only knew how to eat, drink and have fun, spend money like water, and constantly take in concubines. No one could help Yinyou do anything serious.

To be frank, the only difference between the Wang family and the Jia family in Dream of the Red Chamber is that Yinyou is more powerful than Wang Ziteng.

But no matter what, the Wang family is indeed Yinyu's legitimate maternal family.

When Wang Guozheng led his entire family to kneel down and pay their respects, Yinyou stepped aside.

Surrounded by the Wang family, Yinyou and Wang Xiyue walked into the Wang family's house through the main gate side by side.

In the past, Wang Xiyue was not qualified to enter the main gate when entering and leaving the Wang family, and could only use the small corner door on the left.

Xiao Hongyun's eight wet nurses all came here today.

Originally, Yinyu felt that there were too many wet nurses because little Hongyun was very picky about food and only drank the milk of wet nurse Zhang.

However, Wang Xiyue insisted on taking all the wet nurses, nannies, maids, and nearly a hundred people, back to her parents' home in a grand procession.

It's normal for women to be a little vain, so Yinyou didn't say anything else.

In front of the hanging flower gate, Huang led the women of Wang's family, squatting together, bowing respectfully.

Wang Xiyue saw it at a glance and wanted to compete with her for the man, but she was unlucky and could only marry her third cousin who was a sixth-rank official.

"Third cousin, it's been a long time since we last met?"

When passing by her third cousin, Wang Xiyue deliberately threw away the handkerchief in her hand, stopped, raised her chin and greeted her.

The third cousin secretly clenched the handkerchief in her hand, but said with a smile on her face: "How can a humble concubine have the qualifications to enter and leave the palace at will?" In the Qing Dynasty, after a woman got married, whether she had prestige when she returned to her parents' home depended entirely on the status and position of the man.

Hearing her third cousin modestly calling herself a humble concubine, Wang Xiyue couldn't help but smile smugly. You are still a little naive if you want to snatch a man from me.

When Yinyou brought the Wang family back to the palace, he found that the alley in front of the palace was already packed with people.

However, with the Fourth Master, the Fourth Lady and Nian Haitang helping to entertain the guests, no one dared to make a fuss even if there were some lack of etiquette.

This person has double standards!
The fourth brother was both powerful and a prince, so even if he wasn't very considerate, everyone was tacitly tolerant of him.

Since Yinyou gave birth to three sons in a row, three full-month celebrations were held not long after each other.

Cui Qing, the housekeeper, couldn't help but sigh, "The treasury in the mansion is almost full!"

Yinyou took a sip of tea and smiled slightly. The imprisoned eldest brother had three sons and one daughter. Who would dare to send gifts to visit him?

It is human nature to seek benefits and avoid harm!
On this day, Kangxi read the petition submitted by Yinyou and found that there were more than ten people who suggested immediate execution. He sighed and said, "Only if we practice benevolence instead of tyranny will the people of the world be convinced."

Yinyu knew that Kangxi was old and his hands were weak, so he explained: "Khan Ama, these Han ministers read the books of sages, but their hearts are evil and stinky. If we don't kill a few of them, it will not be enough to appease the people's anger."

Seeing that Kangxi still didn't take it seriously, Yinyu continued, "Khan Ama, other things can be ignored. But if the right path to the imperial examination is blocked, I'm afraid it will discourage scholars all over the world!"

"Do you really want to kill Zhang Tingzan?" Kangxi sat up straight and asked Yinyou with a serious face.

"He is the chief examiner. How can we convince the people if we don't kill him?" Yinyou said in a loud voice.

"His father, Zhang Ying, is my teacher. He cannot be killed!" Kangxi hesitated for a moment. "How about dismissing him from his post and never employing him again? Let him return to his hometown and study behind closed doors?"

"Khan Ama..." Yinyou wanted to persuade him again, but was stopped by Kangxi with a wave of his hand.

"It's settled!" Kangxi's firm attitude did not allow for any doubt, so Yinyou had to shut his mouth.

After the imperial edict was issued, Zhang Tingyu couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. He had finally saved Zhang Tingzan's life. It was a close call!
As a close minister, Zhang Tingyu knew Kangxi's temper very well.

If Yinyou suggested lenient punishment for Zhang Tingzan, Zhang Tingzan would most likely lose his head!

Because Kangxi would inevitably suspect whether Zhang Tingyu and Yinyou were secretly colluding with each other?
Don’t think that Kangxi practiced benevolent policies in his later years, but that only applied to the provincial governors.

Kangxi always kept a close eye on the ministers around him, especially Yinyu and Zhang Tingyu.

If the two of them were in collusion with each other, Kangxi would definitely not be able to sleep!
However, Zhang Tingyu was also very clear in his mind that he did not join Yinyou but went to join the fourth brother, so it was impossible for Yinyou to not have a grudge.

However, the family motto left by Zhang Ying was that the Zhang family would support whoever became emperor!

Zhang Tingyu's choice undoubtedly maximized the interests of the Tongcheng Zhang family!
After Zhang Tingzan was driven back to his hometown of Tongcheng, Anhui, he felt extremely depressed and lasted for more than half a year.

What Zhang Tingyu never expected was that when Zhang Tingzan was hiking in the mountains to relax, he encountered a mudslide that had not been seen in a thousand years and unfortunately died.

In fact, as long as Zhang Tingyu stayed by Kangxi's side, from the governor of Anhui to the magistrate of Tongcheng, who would dare to disrespect Zhang Tingyu?
This person, it’s all due to the time and the fate!
When you’re unlucky, even drinking cold water can get food stuck in your teeth!

In the imperial family of the Qing Dynasty, the task of raising young masters was almost entirely accomplished by wet nurses and nannies.

Wang Xiyue and Nian Guanyin never fed their children a single sip of milk after they gave birth.

After they finished their confinement, they would dress up beautifully every day, waiting for Yinyu to call them to sleep with him.

After all, Yinyou was the soul of a modern man. His three sons and two daughters were raised by his side and placed in different small courtyards in the main courtyard.

After leaving the yamen, the first thing Yinyu did was to play with his daughter and hug his son and nibble on him.

The parent-child relationship must be good, and there should be no overindulgence.

Otherwise, if Yinyou reached the pinnacle of power in the future, the tragedy between Kangxi and Yinreng would happen again.

After Kangxi deposed the crown prince for the second time, he refused to appoint a new crown prince because he had completely understood the logic behind it.

No matter who sits on the throne of the crown prince, the final outcome will surely be a fratricide between father and son.

If William II had continued to follow the governing principles of his grandfather William I, Germany would have had a good chance of unifying the whole of Europe.

After Yinwei outlasted the fourth son, he was already in his early forties. How many more years could he still struggle?
Therefore, he cultivated a good parent-child relationship in advance, educated his sons well, made the young ones truly identify with him, and continued along the path of industrialization he designated.

This is a matter concerning the destiny of the country and must not be taken lightly!

Thousands of years of history have proved a rule: when a person dies, his government ceases to exist.

Shortly after spring, Kangxi issued an edict to prepare to set off for Rehe to escape the summer heat.

After Yinyou learned the news, he couldn't help but smile. The famous eagle-killing incident had already begun.

Anyone familiar with Qing history knows the fact that the eagle-killing incident intensified the dispute over the succession to the throne in Kangxi's later years.

PS: There will be two updates today, this is the first one!
(End of this chapter)