The swansong of the swansong

Chapter 44 The bet was right

In the main hall of the Ministry of Revenue, after setting up the incense table, Liang Jiugong slowly walked into the center of the hall and stood facing south and back to the north.

Inside the hall, everyone, led by the fourth brother, knelt together to listen to the emperor's order.

"The Cabinet has received an imperial decree that the third daughter of Shi Wenbing, the former general of Fuzhou and a third-class earl, Guaerjia, is virtuous and dignified... and is to be married to the fifteenth son of the emperor, Yinyu, as his principal wife. The second daughter of Nuomuqi, a Manchu bannerman, is to be his concubine. The old Taobeizi Mansion in Qingshuiqiao Hutong is granted to Yinyu... I decree this."

The answer was gradually revealed in Liang Jiugong's droopy voice, but Lao Si was completely confused.

All previous arranged marriage decrees, without exception, were received by the bride's father, who would personally kneel outside the Meridian Gate to listen to the decree.

This time, the marriage order was actually sent to the Ministry of Revenue. This is too unreasonable. What the hell is going on?

Also, since the Qing Dynasty entered the Pass, the decree to marry the prince's principal wife actually also designated a concubine as his wife. This is simply unheard of!
Historically, in the will of Emperor Daoguang, he first named Yi Xin as a prince and then named Yi Zhu as the crown prince. So they can barely be compared.

However, Yinyou knew in his heart that Kangxi wanted to muddy the waters and was deliberately arranging a match for them.

Giving the prince's sister-in-law and the fourth prince's sister-in-law to Yinyou at the same time was obviously an attempt to restrain the prince.

After issuing the decree, the fourth brother, as usual, asked Liang Jiugong to stay for a cup of hot tea and give him some silver.

After all, the fourth prince was a prince and had always held real power, so Liang Jiugong went with the flow and agreed to stay for tea.

Taking advantage of the opportunity to support Liang Jiugong, Su Peisheng secretly stuffed a meeting ticket into his sleeve.

As soon as Liang Jiugong touched the paper of the membership ticket, he knew that a membership ticket worth 500 taels of silver was indeed not a small amount.

Yinyou saw the secret gestures made by the fourth brother and knew that there were some questions that had to be asked in private, so he deliberately did not follow him into the house.

In the room, there was no one else except the fourth brother and Liang Jiugong.

"Manager Liang, it's unprecedented to have someone come to the Ministry of Revenue to deliver an imperial decree..." The fourth brother understood Liang Jiugong's temper. If he asked him directly, it would be impossible to explain clearly. He had to elicit Liang Jiugong's hint in a roundabout way.

The eunuchs in the palace have to take money to do things without getting into trouble, which is an essential money-making skill.

When the prince asked Emperor Kangxi to grant him marriage to his younger sister, Guaerjia, Liang Jiugong happened to be serving beside him.

Others may not understand, but Liang Jiugong saw clearly that Crown Prince Yinreng wanted to take advantage of the marriage to test the Emperor's attitude towards him.

His Majesty, however, went along with the prince's request, but he still had some tricks up his sleeve.

Hehe, when it comes to political intrigue and schemes, ten princes are no match for His Majesty.

"Master Fifteen is a blessed man!" Liang Jiugong knew very well that talking too much would lead to mistakes, so he just said it briefly.

The fourth brother appears to be very honest and respectful on the surface, but in fact, he is very cunning and is always trying to figure out Kangxi's thoughts.

Liang Jiugong seemed to have said nothing, but in fact, he was telling the fourth brother in a roundabout way that Yinyou turned a disaster into a blessing and was valued by Kangxi.

If there is blessing, there will be no disaster.

It's worth spending 500 taels of silver to buy Liang Jiugong's hint!

After sending Liang Jiugong away, the fourth brother told Yinyu in person: "Hurry up and write a letter of thanks and take it to the Qianqing Palace immediately. Liang Jiugong said vaguely that it is a blessing, not a disaster, so you can rest assured."

As usual, the fourth brother was very frugal with his words, but he always hit the nail on the head.

According to the rules, after the emperor showed favor, the ministers who received the favor had to rush to the palace gate as soon as possible and hand in a sign to ask for an audience and express their gratitude. After Yinyu entered the palace with the letter of thanks, he was turned away outside the Qianqing Palace.

The first-class guard Wu Shi, bent over and said with embarrassment: "Master Fifteen, the Emperor is summoning important ministers. I'm afraid he doesn't have time today..." He deliberately only said half of the sentence.

As the saying goes, one must listen to the tone of the words. Since Kangxi doesn't want to see him, then he can just not see him!

After Yinyou handed the letter of thanks to Wu Shi without hesitation, he turned around and walked away in a leisurely manner.

When Wu Shi went in to report, Kangxi narrowed his eyes and asked him calmly, "Did the fifteenth prince really leave directly?"

Hey, Wu Shi just felt his scalp tingling. The feeling of being caught between the emperor and the Fifteenth Master was really terrible.

Since Kangxi asked, Wu Shi dared not not answer, and had to say cautiously: "Your Majesty, the Fifteenth Prince heard that you were summoning important ministers, and he didn't say anything. He gave the memorial to me and left." He racked his brains to avoid angering Kangxi.

Distant relatives should not separate close ones. This is a universal truth. Whoever violates it will be in trouble.

"Hmph, this unfilial beast who has no king or father!" Kangxi was still irritated and scolded Yinyou angrily.

Wu Shi secretly breathed a sigh of relief. If the emperor was really angry, he would definitely not scold him like that.

However, Wu Shi really admired Yinyou's extraordinary courage.

Let me ask, among so many princes, who dares to disobey the emperor in person?
Oh, the emperor is too busy to see you today, and you turned around and left without even waiting for an hour. Do you still have the emperor and your father in your eyes?
"Someone come here..." Kangxi kept cursing, and became extremely agitated, and suddenly had a fit.

"Your servant is here." Wu Shi hurriedly dug a deep hole, with the sapphire on his hat almost touching the ground, for fear of attracting the wrath of thunder.

"Go, catch that evil creature... Never mind, just let him go, alas!" Kangxi's sudden change of words made Wu Shi break out in a cold sweat.

It was a close call. Wu Shi’s vest was almost completely soaked in an instant.

"Wu Shi, I heard that your eldest prince is the closest to you?" Kangxi took a deep breath, barely suppressed his restless emotions, and took the initiative to talk to Wu Shi about family matters.

Distant relatives should not be separated, distant relatives should not be separated. Wu Shi silently repeated the mantra to save his life in his heart, but said: "Your Majesty, although the palms and backs of your hands are all flesh, but as a servant, I can only protect one son at most."

Wu Shi's explanation may seem off topic, but in fact, it profoundly illustrates his real difficulties.

It is an objective fact that Wu Shi has many sons. However, Wu Shi does not have the status and strength to support all of them.

Therefore, Wu Shi could only concentrate all the family resources and work hard to cultivate the most promising eldest prince of the Wu family.

The resources of any middle-class family are limited. Focusing on training the eldest son is equivalent to giving up the rest of the sons.

Based on Wu Shi's understanding of Kangxi, his answer was as unbiased as possible and would not give Kangxi the misunderstanding that he was speaking for anyone else.

"Alas, parents all over the world are so pitiful. They are all made of flesh and blood!" After expressing his deep feelings, Kangxi sighed softly and said, "Kneel down and be at peace."

"Hmm." After Wu Shizhaqian saluted, it seemed as if he had a pair of hot wheels under his feet. In the blink of an eye, he disappeared into the room.

This guy runs away so fast!

Kangxi glanced at Wu Shi's fleeing back, then turned his head to look at the huge sandalwood burner under the steps outside the glass window. He made a decision almost in an instant on the matter that he had hesitated about repeatedly.

(End of this chapter)