My father is Yongzheng, and I am Qianlong?

Chapter 90: Yongzheng's Reprimand!
Hongshi was quite astonished.

"Answer me!"

Yongzheng suddenly shouted.

Hongshi could only lower his head and say, "Yes."

"Do you even know what loyalty and filial piety mean?"

"A person should uphold the virtues of loyalty and filial piety! At the very least, one should never fail to tell one's parents what one has received or what one has gained from them!"

Emperor Yongzheng sternly reprimanded Hongshi.

Hongshi hadn't expected Yongzheng to rebuke him for being disloyal and unfilial, so he immediately knelt down and said, "Father, since you say so, then I, your son, will ask you from the bottom of my heart!"

"What are you asking?"

Yongzheng looked coldly at Hongshi.

Hongshi said, "Since you know about this, you should also know that it wasn't just me who took money from Ninth Uncle, but also my fourth and fifth brothers. Why don't you ask them?"

Are you accusing me of favoritism?

Yongzheng asked.

Hongshi kowtowed without hesitation: "Your subject dares not!"

"You've already dared to do it!"

Yongzheng sat up and glared at Hongshi.

Hongshi trembled: "Father, please calm down, I was wrong!"

But then Yongzheng threw himself onto the couch like a pillow, and looked at Hongshi, saying:

"Since you ask, then I will tell you that Hongli and Hongzhou have already informed me of this matter and handed over all the money that Yinzhen gave them!"

"But what about you? The first time you took his money, you didn't even tell me, and this time you still didn't tell me either."

"You have disappointed me greatly!"

Yongzheng sat up again, slammed his hand on the table, and pointed at Hongshi.

Then, Yongzheng paced around the room with his hands on his hips.

Hongshi paused for a moment, then looked up in surprise.

While pacing back and forth with his hands on his hips, Yongzheng continued to rebuke Hongshi, saying, "You made a mistake, but instead of reflecting on and admitting it yourself, you only cared about dragging your brothers down with you, as if you were afraid they wouldn't suffer the same injustice as you!"

"You call this brotherly love and loyalty?"

"You follow the teachings of the sages, protecting one's own relatives; how could I possibly blame you?"

As Yongzheng spoke, he began to ask about Hongshi.

Hongshi was on the ground for a moment.

He truly hadn't expected that Hongli and Hongzhou would remain indifferent to the large sum of silver given to them by the Ninth Prince, but instead take the initiative to tell Yongzheng so quickly.

You should know that he specifically counted the money when he went back this time, and the Ninth Prince gave him more than 500,000 taels of silver. Naturally, the amount given to Hongli and Hongzhou would be about the same.

Hongshi could only continue kowtowing: "Father, you are right, I was wrong! I shouldn't have tried to argue at this time, only trying to drag my two younger brothers into this mess and to avoid reporting the news in time."

"But Father, I originally wanted to tell you that too, but I was thinking of telling you when I went to the Hall of Mental Cultivation to pay my respects tomorrow."

"You are right!"

"After all, unlike my two younger brothers, I still live in the inner court, so I can't come to tell you at any time, which is why I'm a step behind my fourth and fifth brothers."

At this moment, Hongshi also began to explain himself.

Yongzheng chuckled coldly.

Then, Yongzheng asked Hongshi, "Why didn't you ask your two younger brothers to pass on the message when they entered the inner court?"

Hongshi was speechless for a moment.

His lips trembled involuntarily.

He never expected that Yongzheng would be so good at finding loopholes in his words.

This made him so anxious he wanted to cry.

Why do you always think you're so clever, believing that I can't see through your true thoughts?

Yongzheng looked at Hongshi and asked in a deep voice.

Hongshi's face turned pale, and his heart was pounding in his chest.

He's genuinely scared now.

"Father, please forgive me! Father, please forgive me! Your son was indeed foolish and forgot to do that!"

Hongshi kowtowed again.

"You have disappointed me greatly! But I hope you can truly correct your mistakes, otherwise, don't blame me for not warning you!"

Yongzheng returned to his seat on the couch and said, "Get up and hand over all the money that Yinzhen gave you."

Hongshi paused for a moment, then cupped his hands and said, "Yes, Your Majesty!" Yongzheng then waved for Hongshi to leave and summoned Hongli and Hongzhou, saying to them, "You heard what your third brother said. Remember, don't imitate him!"

"I'll remember this!"

Hongli and Hongzhou quickly replied.

Emperor Yongzheng nodded: "Kneel and take your leave."

"My son, please retire!"

After leaving the Hall of Mental Cultivation, Hongzhou took the initiative to say to Hongli, "Fourth Brother, it's fortunate that we listened to you this time. Otherwise, if Father Khan knew that we didn't tell him about our Ninth Uncle's money, he would probably be very angry."

Hongli smiled and said, "It is the most basic principle of loyalty and filial piety not to hide things from Father Khan."

Hongzhou nodded: "Mm!"

To their surprise, when the two went to school together the next day, they saw Hiroshi carrying a box and walking towards them with a gloomy face.

Upon arriving, Hongshi immediately questioned Hongli and Hongzhou: "If you two were going to tell Father Khan, why didn't you tell me first? Are you even brothers?!"

Hongzhou was at a loss for words.

Hongli replied, "Third Brother, you are the elder brother, and we are the younger brothers. How can we, as the younger brothers, teach you, the elder brother, how to do things? Besides, we thought you could speak for yourself!"

Hongshi was at a loss for words after hearing this, and he had no way to vent his anger. He just snorted and left.

Upon seeing this, Hongzhou couldn't help but ask Hongli, "Fourth Brother, have we completely offended Third Brother?"

"If he really offends him, then he'll be even more confused."

"But Third Brother shouldn't be that confused."

Hongli replied with a couple of sentences, and then said nothing more.

He felt nothing but disdain for Hongshi's furious expression.

In his view, the point now should be made that it wasn't him who offended Hongshi, but rather Hongshi who offended him.

In order to show that he cared about his brother's studies, he scolded him in front of everyone, saying that he should have cared about Hongzhou, and now he was blaming him for not reminding him.

Hongli felt that Hongshi truly treated him as an older brother, but the key point was that he didn't act like an older brother at all. Instead, he was a villain who would only betray his brothers at crucial moments.

Hongshi came to the inner court at this time to present a memorial to Emperor Yongzheng, so that he could hand over the money that Yinzhen had given him.

After receiving Hongshi's money, Yongzheng did not let Hongshi leave. He then summoned Hongli and Hongzhou and said to them, "Take back the money that Yinzhen gave you. As for Hongshi's share, you two will share it equally!"

Hongli was greatly surprised.

Hongzhou was also speechless.

Emperor Yongzheng slightly raised the corners of his mouth: "This is a reward for your loyalty to me!"

"Shekhan Ama!"

The two quickly thanked him.

At this moment, Hongshi's eyes widened, his teeth clenched his lips, and his fists were tightly clenched.

He didn't understand why Yongzheng would do this in front of him.

Yongzheng did provide Hongshi with an answer, at which point he took the initiative to ask Hongshi, "Are you feeling very unhappy?"

Hongshi gritted his teeth and said, "Thunder and rain, all are the Emperor's grace! Your son is not unhappy. This time it was indeed your son's oversight. Therefore, Father only rewarded my two younger brothers generously. Your son is completely convinced!"

"Your patience is indeed quite good!"

"But I still maintain that being patient is not enough; more importantly, one must have a righteous heart and not be arrogant!"

"Understand?"

"Just like the money that Yinzhen gave you, I can return it to you, but you must report it to me beforehand!"

"Don't think that just because Yinzhen has given you so many benefits, you've forgotten who you are!"

Emperor Yongzheng then gave Hongshi a few more words of advice.

Hongshi cupped his hands again and said, "Your subject will remember your teachings, Father!"

Yongzheng then dismissed the three men from the Hall of Mental Cultivation.

After the three left, Hongshi did not speak to Hongli and Hongzhou.

Hongli could tell that Hongshi was in a very bad mood.

Hongzhou didn't say much. After returning home, he saw Wang Mama by Geng's side and told Geng about the day's events with a smile. He also showed Geng the membership tickets: "Princess, following Fourth Brother was definitely the right choice. Otherwise, we wouldn't have so much money all at once!"

Madam Geng was also very happy: "Yes, the Fourth Prince is indeed someone the late Emperor valued, and he understands the Emperor best. With so much money, you won't have to worry about leaving the palace in the future."

Furthermore, not long after Yinzhen was imprisoned in Kangxi's Jingling Mausoleum, he also received an imperial edict from Yongzheng reprimanding him.

"You harbor selfish motives and seek to sow discord between my father and me. You are extremely cunning and treacherous, devoid of your former pure and kind nature. Your perverse and sinister character is so outrageous that it arouses the wrath of both gods and men!"

"But you should be disappointed that my father and I are doing well now, and they have both truthfully confessed everything you have done with them! Now, you should also put away your evil thoughts and settle down to guard the late emperor's tomb and fulfill your filial duty! Since you have no loyalty, you cannot be without filial piety, otherwise, even if I can tolerate you, Heaven will not tolerate you!"

(End of this chapter)