The Red Mansion.

Chapter 44: Emperor Taishun Decides to Take Action (Part 2)
When Prince Zhongyi heard the name "Wang Ziteng," his brows furrowed. He spoke carefully, "Your Majesty, Wang Ziteng is arrogant and domineering. I'm afraid it's not appropriate for him to be the general of the Western Expedition."

Emperor Taishun gave a wry laugh, tapping his fingertips lightly on the table. "I know he's arrogant, but he was once my father's imperial guard, a trusted confidant, and a true military leader."

Prince Zhongyi pressed the issue, "If Wang Ziteng becomes the Grand General, who will succeed him as the Jiedushi of the Beijing Camp?"

"Lukodo." Emperor Taishun responded helplessly.

Lukodo was also a close confidant of the retired Emperor Jingning.

There was silence in the warm room for a moment.

The Jiedushi of the Beijing Camp was an important position related to the military power in the capital, and was directly related to the safety of the retired Emperor Jingning. The retired Emperor Jingning would naturally arrange his own confidant to take the position.

Prince Zhongyi was silent for a moment, then couldn't help but speak, "Your Majesty, I have something to report. It concerns Fourth Brother... It concerns Brother Yi, and it also concerns Wang Ziteng."

Emperor Taishun suddenly looked up: "Yier has come to the capital? Why is Wang Ziteng involved?"

More than ten years ago, Emperor Taishun, the fourth prince, was in Jiangning and personally named his illegitimate son with Jiang Xuelian, Yuan Yi!

However, in order to conceal the identity of Jiang Xuelian and Jiang Nian, the mother and son, Emperor Taishun asked Jiang Xuelian to give the illegitimate son another name. The surname was set as Jiang, and Jiang Xuelian named him "Nian", which means that she missed Emperor Taishun, and hoped that Emperor Taishun would always miss her and her son.

"Yuan Yi" was Jiang Nian's royal name. If one day Emperor Taishun recognized him as a prince and he were accepted into the royal family, he would be Yuan Yi. If he remained unrecognized, he would always be Jiang Nian.

However, even though Emperor Taishun had not yet recognized this prince, he always called him "Yier".

Prince Zhongyi knew about this.

Prince Zhongyi immediately recounted the story of Jiang Nian's conflict with the Xue family and Wang Ziteng. He recounted everything from Jiang Nian's encounter with the Xue family on the Qinhuai River, to Xue Pan's gathering of people to cause trouble at the Jiang family's home, to the intervention of Tang Jina, the governor of Jiangning, to the rescue of the Xue family on the Grand Canal, to the Xue family's written agreement to take a concubine, to Wang Ziteng's threats, and to Qin Ye's unjust death. He laid it all out in detail.

After listening to Prince Zhongyi's report, Emperor Taishun frowned and snorted, "This boy has just arrived in Beijing and he's already restless!"

In fact, he deliberately arranged for Jiang Nian to live in an old small house in the eastern suburbs of Shenjing City, mainly because he hoped that this illegitimate child would behave well after arriving in the capital, and not think that he would become a prince after arriving in the capital...

He still doesn't recognize Jiang Nian as the prince for three main reasons.

One is that they are worried that the emperor will be dissatisfied with this.

The second reason was that he had only been on the throne for more than two months, his power was strongly restricted, he had many enemies, and his brothers who coveted the throne were eyeing him covetously. It was inconvenient for him to reveal that he had an illegitimate son who was living among the people.

Third, he did not want Jiang Nian, an illegitimate child, to disrupt the royal family.

Prince Zhongyi paused for a moment and said, "I personally believe that this is not Yi Ge'er's fault. Yi Ge'er is only fifteen years old and has a crush on the daughter of the Xue family. Furthermore, he has done a great favor to the Xue family, so it is reasonable for him to want to take the daughter of the Xue family as a concubine to repay her kindness."

He paused and continued, "Brother Yi also told me that when he proposed taking a concubine, the Xue family wanted him to marry a daughter of the Xue family, but he decisively declined. Because his parents had ordered it and the matchmaker had said so, his marriage should be decided by the emperor."

Emperor Taishun felt a little satisfied when he heard this. Although he hadn't yet acknowledged this son, he was relieved that his son knew that his father should make the decision on marriage. If Jiang Nian hadn't even had this awareness and had agreed to marry Xue Baochai without authorization, Emperor Taishun would have been extremely dissatisfied...

Emperor Taishun sneered and said, "Yi'er is my own flesh and blood after all. How can I allow the daughter of the Xue family to be my legal wife? Even if Yi'er falls into poverty, she is still not something the Xue family can afford to marry!"

Prince Zhongyi was not surprised by this. He had long known that his fourth brother actually cared about his illegitimate son Jiang Nian.

Prince Zhongyi continued, "Wang Ziteng is naturally to blame for this. He was arrogant and lawless, threatening Yi Ge'er and even mobilizing troops to round up Yi Ge'er's entire family. If Yi Ge'er hadn't sent He Yun to urgently find me and intervene, Yi Ge'er might have been murdered. Although Yi Ge'er was fortunately able to escape, Wang Ziteng actually murdered Qin Ye, which is truly despicable. Your Majesty, I dare to suggest that you take this opportunity to punish Wang Ziteng. How can such a person be appointed as the general of the Western Expedition? He should no longer be allowed to hold the position of Jiedushi of the Beijing Camp."

Upon hearing this, Emperor Taishun had a complicated expression. He looked at Prince Zhongyi and said, "However, Wang Ziteng is now the governor of the Beijing camp and a close confidant of my father. It is difficult for me to punish him!"

Prince Zhongyi's eyes were like torches, and he said resolutely, "Then I will report this crime to the emperor and ask him to punish him."

Emperor Taishun smiled bitterly: "Father will definitely ask about your relationship with Yi'er. Do you want me to speak nonsense to him about this matter?"

Prince Zhongyi said in a decisive tone: "Then tell your father the truth about Brother Yi!"

Emperor Taishun suddenly opened his eyes wide.

The warm room fell silent again for a moment.

The green smoke from the bronze incense burner seemed to have suddenly stopped curling.

The birds outside the window seemed to have suddenly stopped chirping.

Prince Zhongyi lowered his voice and said, "Fourth brother, now that Yi Ge'er has arrived in the capital and Wang Ziteng has caused a stir, the fact that he is your son cannot be concealed for long. The emperor has many eyes and ears throughout the country, especially in this capital. He will probably know sooner or later that Yi Ge'er is your son. Rather than waiting for the emperor to find out from others, why not tell the emperor the truth in person now? It's just telling the emperor the truth, not announcing it to the world right now."

He paused, his Adam's apple sliding, and continued to persuade, "I think that although the emperor may be displeased with Fourth Brother because of this matter, he will not punish Fourth Brother for such a thing. After all, Fourth Brother is now the Emperor of Daqing, and since ascending the throne, he has worked hard day and night, diligently on government affairs. I think it is worthwhile to tell the emperor the matter of Brother Yi and punish Wang Ziteng!"

He spoke the last sentence with extreme solemnity.

If someone else had advised him in this way, Emperor Taishun would most likely not agree, and might even get angry.

However, the one who is persuading like this now is Prince Zhongyi, the Thirteenth Prince, the thirteenth brother of Emperor Taishun!

Emperor Taishun felt that what his thirteenth brother said made sense. He could no longer sit still, so he stood up and paced in the warm room, thinking as he walked.

Suddenly, he reached out and grasped the imperial seal, thinking of the power and majesty it represented. Then, he couldn't help but think of that third day of the third lunar month, more than a decade ago. He remembered witnessing the birth of the illegitimate child, and holding the infant's hand in his own. The imperial seal was hard and cold, while that little hand was soft and warm.

Finally, Emperor Taishun nodded to Prince Zhongyi: "Okay, I will tell my father the truth about Yi'er!"

This means that he has decided to take action against Wang Ziteng!
Outside the warm room, there are several ancient cypresses, their branches and leaves swaying gently in the wind, as if they have realized something, or as if they are whispering something...

(End of this chapter)