The prince only allowed me to have a baby, so the pressure is a bit high!

Chapter 7: Empress Xiaozhuang Returns to the Palace

The imperial carriage soon arrived at the gate of Cining Palace. Led by Noble Consort Wenxi, the concubines and princes and princesses collectively bowed and greeted the Grand Empress Dowager, the Empress Dowager and the Emperor, respectfully welcoming them back to the palace.

Kangxi quickly woke her up, and together with the Empress Dowager, he helped the Grand Empress Dowager get off the sedan chair and returned to the Cining Palace.

At this time, the only ones who could enter the Cining Palace to pay their respects to the Empress Dowager again were the princes and princesses and the four concubines Wenxi, Hui, Rong, De, and Yi. As for the other concubines of lower rank, they were ordered by Kangxi to kowtow at the palace gate as a sign of filial piety, and then they all returned to their own palaces.

A group of people filed in. The imperial physician from the Cining Palace was already waiting there. After taking the Empress Dowager's pulse and finding out that she was in good health but just a little tired, the rest of the people, not without tact, prepared to say goodbye and go back.

At this moment, the third prince Yinzhi stepped forward and saluted Empress Xiaozhuang, then presented her with all the precious medicinal herbs he had collected in the past two days. Concubine Rong also presented her own copy of the Book of Filial Piety. Both mother and son expressed their blessings for the Empress Dowager's speedy recovery.

Kangxi was already holding his anger at this time, but Rong Fei and the Third Prince were indeed filial, and the Empress Dowager accepted it with a smile. He could only hold his anger and did not want to vent it at this time.

When the eldest prince Yinzhi saw that the third prince had stolen the limelight, he was very unhappy. Ignoring Concubine Hui's eyes that tried to stop him, he stepped out and said that he had prepared a lot of precious medicinal materials and would send them over later, and asked the old ancestor to take good care of his health.

Kangxi was completely furious. What had I blocked the news for? These people had ulterior motives. I had already ordered the news to be blocked, yet they were able to find out in advance. It seemed that the palace was leaking like a sieve!

Kangxi: "Humph, since the eldest and third sons are so filial, I can't help but agree. From now on, the eldest and third sons will stay in the Nansan Residency and copy the Filial Piety Classic. Each of them must copy it fifty times, and they are not allowed to leave until they have finished."

Even a fool could tell that Kangxi was angry, and no one dared to say a word. Some people, such as Consort De and Consort Yi, were gloating over the emperor's misfortune. Serves them right! You show off!

When Kangxi saw the others still there, he angrily said, "What are you still doing here? Get out!"

When everyone heard this, they quickly bowed and took their leave. Soon, everyone in the Cining Palace except the Empress Dowager and the Crown Prince had left.

At this time, the Empress Dowager spoke: "Alright, Xuanye, if the palace rules are not strict, let Liang Jiugong investigate strictly. The eldest and third sons are just filial piety, and they have no other ulterior motives. You must be tired after the journey, so take the prince back first. Come to the Cining Palace for dinner, and we will talk again."

Seeing the Empress Dowager looking exhausted, Kangxi took the Crown Prince to pay his respects and left the Cining Palace. Kangxi then returned to the Qianqing Palace, while the Crown Prince returned to the Yuqing Palace. A short while later, the Empress Dowager also returned to the Ciren Palace with her nanny.

Kangxi returned to the Palace of Heavenly Purity. Prince Yu had already returned and was still there, diligently reviewing memorials. He had gone to greet him at the palace gate earlier, but Empress Xiaozhuang had sent him back to continue attending to government affairs. Seeing that the old lady was in good condition, seemingly a little tired, he returned to the Palace of Heavenly Purity. He planned to wait until the Empress Dowager had rested up early the next morning, then take Lady Xiluk with him to pay her respects. He also wanted to return to his own palace to rest, but Kangxi hadn't given him permission, so he had no choice but to continue reading the memorials.

At this time, Kangxi came back, and Fuquan proposed to return the things in his hands, and also asked why the Empress Dowager suddenly fell ill before.

Kangxi did not want more people to know about the prince's affairs, so he vaguely said that the Empress Dowager suddenly fainted and was in a coma for a night, and he was scared. He allowed the prince to take the old imperial physician in the capital to visit her. Later, it happened that Master Pu Du returned to Beijing this year, so he invited him to go. Master Pu Du said that it was nothing serious, it was due to old age, and he was going to chant sutras and pray for the Empress Dowager in the palace for a few days.

This was also Kangxi's excuse for Master Pu Du to stay in the palace for a few days. Master Pu Du would be in the palace for the next few days, and this news would definitely not be concealed for long. Judging from what we saw today, it would probably spread quickly. Since he had already moved in, a legitimate reason must be determined directly. We couldn't let people with ulterior motives spread rumors at that time, as it would have a negative impact.

Kangxi immediately agreed to Fuquan's second brother's request to go back and rest. This was also because what he was about to say was not suitable for his second brother to know. After Prince Yu left, Kangxi called Liang Jiugong in and instructed him: "I will give you three days to sort out all the minions in this palace and deal with them as needed. If anyone tries to spy on the emperor again, I will hold you accountable. Go!"

Liang Jiugong nodded repeatedly in agreement. After Kangxi called him out, he didn't dare to raise his head and hurried downstairs to find his apprentice Wei Zhu. He was away from the palace for a while, and Wei Zhu was watching over the palace. With such a big mistake, he must find out who had revealed the emperor's whereabouts.

After Liang Jiugong left, Kangxi thought for a moment and called out his secret guard leader: "Xuan Yi."

Xuan Yi soon appeared in black clothes: "I am here."

Kangxi: "Go and help Liang Jiugong. With his ability, he should only have found the surface. I hope you can dig deeper, especially in my Qianqing Palace and the Prince's Yuqing Palace. If you find anyone with ulterior motives, kill them all."

Xuan Yi: "Yes, I understand." Then he retreated into the darkness.

After they all left, Kangxi sat on the dragon throne in the Qianqing Palace and thought about what to do next.

At this time, Liang Jiugong had just found Wei Zhu, pulled him into his residence, and asked him what had happened recently.

Wei Zhu had been with Liang Jiugong since he entered the palace. He had a clean background and no connections with anyone in the palace. He was Liang Jiugong's favorite heir, so he had been devoted to him over the years. Given his abilities, the palace shouldn't have been in such a state of chaos during the two months he'd accompanied the emperor to the Rehe Palace.

Sure enough, when asked about the matter of spying on the emperor, Wei Zhu's face was full of bitterness: "Master, it's not that I'm incompetent, but the person behind it is hiding too deeply. I really can't find him. The ones I found in public are basically scapegoats."

Liang Jiugong also felt that the situation was difficult, but the emperor only gave him three days, so he had to get it done. Otherwise, his life would not be in danger, but he would not look good in the eyes of the emperor and would be labeled as incompetent. Then his old rival Dai Ling, the old servant, would take advantage of the situation and he would lose more than he gained.

After thinking for a moment, Liang Jiugong said to Wei Zhu: "Increase your strength. This time, we will send all those people out. If there are any stubborn people, we will just take action. The emperor is waiting for his reply. Don't ruin the master's plan, or you will end up in trouble. Do you understand?"

When Wei Zhu saw his master's serious expression, he knew in his heart that the emperor was definitely angry this time, otherwise his master would not be so strict. He also hated the person who betrayed the Qianqing Palace so much in his heart. If he caught him, he would skin him alive.

Sui also put away his smile and repeatedly assured Liang Jiugong: "Master, don't worry, this time I will use all my strength. Even if I don't sleep for three days, I will catch them."

Seeing this, Liang Jiugong knew that Wei Zhu would not be lazy, so he reminded him again: "This time, the focus is not only on the Qianqing Palace, but also the Prince's Yuqing Palace. I will show you the direction. The Yanxi Palace and Yonghe Palace of the East Six Palaces should also be carefully checked."

Seeing Master say this, Yuqing Palace was not suspicious. Yanxi Palace was Concubine Hui's residence. Since the news came out quickly this time, he would investigate it thoroughly. However, he really hadn't paid much attention to Yonghe Palace in recent years. "Master, good Master, please tell me a little bit. Why do you focus on investigating Yonghe Palace?"

Seeing Wei Zhu so curious, Liang Jiugong whispered a few words in his ear, then pushed the door open and went to serve Kangxi.

Wei Zhu was shocked after hearing this. He had not been in the Qianqing Palace for a long time, and if his master had not told him, he really would not have known about this. However, he did not expect that the Empress Defei, who was usually gentle and kind, was so favored.

However, it would have been fine if I hadn't noticed it on a daily basis. But now that I think about it carefully, it was unprecedented in the palace that Defei was able to be promoted to a concubine in the 18th year of Emperor Kangxi's reign as a palace maid. In addition, Defei gave birth to three sons and three daughters over the years. Although she only raised two sons and one daughter, she was the one who had the most children in the palace except for Concubine Yi.

From this point of view, it is unrealistic to say that Concubine Rong is a favorite concubine. It seems that Concubine De really needs careful attention as Master said.

At this time in Yuqing Palace, as soon as the prince returned to the main hall, he ordered his personal eunuch He Zhu to quickly order hot water. He had been racing horses for the entire morning and was already covered in dirt and sweat, which made him feel very uncomfortable.

When He Zhu heard the prince's order, he smiled and hurried over to greet him, "Master, the hot water is ready. Do you want me to find a craftsman to help you relax and sleep better?"

The Crown Prince was somewhat tempted upon hearing this, but remembering that he would have dinner at the old ancestor's house soon, he was afraid that he might be fast asleep and it would be difficult to wake him up, so he instructed, "Wake me up tonight. I have to go to the old ancestor's house in the Cining Palace later. Has anyone caused trouble in the Yuqing Palace recently?"

While asking, he went to the next room, where a bathtub had already been prepared. With He Zhu's help, the prince took off his dirty clothes, quickly immersed his body in the bathtub, and sighed comfortably.

He Zhu hesitated for a moment before answering honestly, "After you left, the concubine Li Gege wanted to come to the front yard, but I stopped her. Yesterday, Miss Ma asked a servant to take a letter out, but the eunuch at the back door saw it. I took the initiative to stop her. The letter is with me. Would you like to see it, Your Highness?"

The prince held out his hand, and He Zhu quickly took out the letter and handed it to him. The prince opened it, read it, sneered, and threw it away. "Don't worry about it, but you have to keep an eye on the backyard for me. I don't want any news to get out. Li told me to punish her by copying the palace rules fifty times. As for Feng, she will be confined to her house for a year and must kneel and copy scriptures every day. She is not allowed to come out until she has copied them a hundred times. And tell her there will be no next time."

When He Zhu heard Yinreng's words, he nodded repeatedly, pushed the door open and went out to tell the eunuchs to pass on the message. Then he waved for the eunuch who was washing hair to come in.

While there was still time, the eunuch who washed the prince's hair hurried in to wash him, and shaved off the stubble that had just grown in the past two days.

When the prince finished washing and lay on the couch, He Zhu diligently helped him to wipe his hair, and mentioned that some time ago, Ling Pu, the husband's family of the prince's wet nurse, had asked someone to intercede for him. The prince's face turned cold after hearing this. This Nanny Song relied on the fact that she had nursed him for two years and acted like the prince's wet nurse, and her husband's family was doing very well outside because of this.

You have to know that he was the crown prince and he had four wet nurses at that time, and Nanny Song was not the leader, yet she dared to act in his name.

As early as he could speak and Kangxi could listen to his opinions, he had sent away all the wet nurses around him, which means that Nanny Song had left Yuqing Palace for more than ten years.

Why did he suddenly come to ask for help from me now? After thinking about it, the prince sneered again. It was just those filthy people. In his previous life, he had plundered the Ministry of Internal Affairs under his name and participated in buying official positions and titles with his great uncle Soetu.

When the matter was discovered, the blame was placed squarely on their heads. Later, when they saw that the emperor had lightly brushed aside the matter and did not pursue it further, they actually intensified their efforts and started to think about collecting tribute and the salt tax from Jiangnan.

Salt tax was the economic artery of the country. It was not until later that he realized that they had intercepted the salt tax in his name, and then secretly recruited soldiers and horses, preparing to seize power and usurp the throne.

The second time, he was forced to take the risk and rebel because of their coercion and the emperor's indulgence of his elder brother's forces.