The Legend of Zhen Huan: Year after year, we share the spring breeze

After the Mid-Autumn Festival, the palace became strangely quiet.

It was not until October 14 that Nian Gengyao returned to Beijing.

Yongzheng gave a banquet in the Yangxin Palace and summoned Concubine Hua to accompany him. After the banquet, an imperial decree was issued, bestowing upon Nian Gengyao a pair of peacock feathers with two eyes, a robe with four dragon patches, a yellow belt, a purple bridle, and a thousand taels of gold. His father, Nian Xialing, was also granted the title of First-Class Duke.

And he gave Nian Gengyao an imperial edict:

I have received the report of the victory at Xining. This magnificent achievement is due to the spirit of our Holy Ancestor in heaven. From you down to the generals and officers, all those who have sincerely served us are my benefactors. I truly do not know how to love you enough to honor the gods of heaven and earth. I fully appreciate your love for me. The two of us are a model for the relationship between ruler and subject throughout history, a match that future generations will admire and envy.

When the news reached the harem, the temperature there was even colder than in the coldest months of winter.

The queen wasted countless sheets of paper.

Concubine Jing counted bricks all night long.

Concubine Duan didn't get out of bed for three days.

The emperor stayed at Concubine Hua's place for several days in a row. For a time, the Yikun Palace was in the limelight. Even concubines as favored as Zhen Huan and the pregnant Shen Meiyu had not seen the emperor for several days.

In Yonghe Palace, An Lingrong sat on a soft couch, embroidering a large red lion-shaped bellyband. Shen Meizhuang sat beside her, watching her hands fly up and down busily. Soon, a lifelike lion took shape. "Ah, your embroidery skills don't match your personality at all."

An Lingrong bit off the thread, "I just thought my sister was praising me."

Looking at Shen Meizhuang's slightly bulging belly, An Lingrong patted it gently and said, "The palace is not peaceful right now, so we should try to go out less and just make more clothes and shoes in the palace. When the baby is born, I guarantee he will have endless new clothes to wear."

"Of course it's fine, but it will be hard for you!"

"Then sister will ask the small kitchen to make more delicious food!"

"it is good!"

The two of them joked around and the atmosphere in the hall was full of joy.

"Your Majesty, Consort Wan is here!"

"Alas, in this whole palace, only you can hear some laughter here!" Zhen Huan held Jin Xi's hand and walked into the palace.

"What's wrong?" Seeing Shen Meizhuang about to stand up, Zhen Huan quickly took two steps and pushed her down on the seat, and then sat next to her.

"Haven't you heard about the Emperor's decree yet?"

The two nodded, "I heard it!"

"Oh!" All three of them sighed.

An Lingrong couldn't stand the gloomy atmosphere, so she turned to Zhen Huan and asked, "Sister Zhen, I have something I want to ask you."

Zhen Huan smiled when she heard this. "You've always been smart and perceptive. I really want to hear about things that even you don't understand."

"Who can wear the Four Dragon Patching Clothes?"

"According to the regulations of our dynasty, the style of the prince's robe is four dragons, and the style of the county prince's robe is two dragons."

"Where's the yellow belt?"

"Direct descendants of our great-grandfather Nurhaci can wear yellow belts."

"In other words, apart from his title, Nian Gengyao is actually a prince of a different surname!"

Zhen Huan thought for a moment and said, "You can say that."

"Since entering the Pass, how many kings of different surnames have there been in the Qing Dynasty?"

"Kong Youde, the Prince of Dingnan; Geng Jingzhong, the Prince of Jingnan; Shang Kexi, the Prince of Pingnan; Wu Sangui, the Prince of Pingxi; and Sun Kewang, the Prince of Yi."

"How does it end?"

"Except for Prince Dingnan who died in battle, the rest were killed by the imperial court."

An Lingrong shrugged and stopped talking.

Zhen Huan and Shen Meizhuang understood what she meant, "You mean Nian Gengyao..."

"Nian Gengyao has now reached the highest position a minister can reach. If he makes further contributions in the future, how will the emperor reward him? Historically, those who have made great contributions have frightened the emperor, and there is nothing the emperor can reward them with except..." An Lingrong put her hands on her neck and moved them twice, rolling her eyes and sticking out her tongue.

Shen Meizhuang patted her hand and said coquettishly, "Don't act weird!"

Zhen Huan guessed the emperor's thoughts, "Such a reward is unlike your usual style. I think your original intention was for Nian Gengyao to refuse, but he was so arrogant that he accepted it. If he didn't wear the four-dragon robe, your emperor might feel more at ease. If he really wore it because of his great achievements, your emperor would definitely be wary!"

An Lingrong asked again, "Besides, he submitted a memorial on New Year's Eve claiming to have pacified Lobsang Danjin, but it took him over eight months to wipe out the remaining forces. Isn't he just nurturing the enemy to gain power?"

"We'll just have to wait and see."

"But with Concubine Hua's temper, I'm afraid our lives will be difficult!" Shen Meizhuang stroked her belly.

"Don't worry, sister. We still have a card in our hand!"

A toad lies on your feet. Even if its bite doesn't kill you, it will at least make you feel annoyed.

On October 20, Yongzheng ordered Nian Gengyao's elder brother Nian Xiyao, who had been unemployed for many years, to serve as acting governor of Guangdong, and Nian Gengyao's brother-in-law Hu Fenghui was appointed as Suzhou Weaving Supervisor and Suzhou Hushuguan Supervisor.

As the Nian family's reputation grew, rumors in the court also increased.

In Yonghe Palace, Zhen Huan and Shen Meiyu were playing chess, with An Lingrong acting as the referee.

"Nian Gengyao is not polite at all. He parades around the city in a robe with four dragon patterns on it, looking very majestic!" Shen Meizhuang placed a black piece.

Zhen Huan continued, "That's right. I met him at the gate of the Yangxin Palace. He warned me to respect Concubine Hua in every possible way."

"Sister, play here." An Lingrong pointed to an empty space on the chessboard and said to Shen Meizhuang.

Shen Meizhuang was helpless and tapped her head lightly with her finger. "I listened to you in the first two rounds and I lost both. Please just watch carefully and stop talking, okay?"

An Lingrong thought for a moment, then moved closer to Zhen Huan, "Sister Zhen, let me help you."

Zhen Huan smiled and said, "A true gentleman watches chess without saying a word."

"I'm not a gentleman, I'm a woman."

Seeing her cheating, Zhen Huan laughed, "I said the three of us should play cards, but you didn't want to. You insisted that Sister Mei and I play chess for you. What's so interesting about this chess game?"

An Lingrong rolled her eyes. "I always lose to you guys at cards. What's the fun in that? Concubine Jing said playing chess can make you smarter!"

The three of them continued their previous topic. "By the way, sister, I heard that the ministers in the court are very dissatisfied with Nian Gengyao."

Zhen Huan nodded, "It's Zhang Tingyu, Longkodo, and Prince Yi."

Zhang Tingyu was the Minister of Revenue, responsible for preparing food and wages for the army. The monthly expenditure of 1.5 million taels of silver required for Nian Gengyao's 200,000-strong army gave him a headache, while the court only had an annual income of 30 million taels of silver, which was not enough to cover the necessary expenses. Although he knew that Nian Gengyao was wasting money and embezzling money, he dared not say anything because of the emperor's trust in him. He had to work with the emperor to find some wealthy families to confiscate their property and seize their silver, which made the whole court panic. The ministers did not dare to scold the emperor, so they had to direct their anger at him, a Han minister with shallow roots.

During the suppression of the rebellion, Longkodo served as Minister of Personnel. Nian Gengyao repeatedly requested promotions for the officials he recommended, citing his military achievements. His list of recommendations was submitted directly to Yongzheng via secret memorials, who then issued it to the Ministry of Personnel via imperial edict. Because Nian Gengyao recommended so many officials at a time, the Ministry of Personnel was forced to create a separate file for him, known as the "Nian Xuan," which infringed upon the interests of Longkodo, the Minister of Personnel.

When Prince Yi was in charge of checking the deficit in the national treasury, Nian Gengyao repeatedly requested to exempt Sichuan and Shaanxi from various compensations, and to exempt Shaanxi officials from the punishment of dismissal on the spot, all of which were approved by Yongzheng. This practice was also imitated by other provinces, making Prince Yi's work extremely difficult.

In order to reconcile their relationship, Yongzheng adopted Nian Gengyao's eldest son Nian Xi to Longkodo, and awarded Nian Gengyao an enamel snuff bottle made by the Imperial Household Department under the supervision of Prince Yi. He took this opportunity to say, "Prince Yi can be regarded as your best confidant in the world! His respect, love, pity and obedience for you are all sincere." However, Nian Gengyao did not respond.