Secrets of Yuqing Palace

Yinreng looked straight at Hongli, his eyes full of oppression.

"You, Khan Mafa, have formulated a series of new rules in order to suppress the ambitions of the bannermen and prevent them from causing chaos in the palace!"

"Do you think that Gao Bin's service in the previous dynasty means there are no more people in the harem?"

"You should understand that he originally made his fortune as a bondservant. As he rises in rank and becomes more established in front of the Emperor, his influence in the harem will only become more secure!"

"Plus, his daughter is in the harem, so he will only put a lot of effort into recruiting people in the harem!"

"It's precisely because he was so powerful in the previous dynasty and Gao was a noble concubine in the harem that it was easy for him to develop his network!"

"Now you are not only raising the flag for the Gao family, but also giving the Gao family such a high position, which will only further stimulate the ambitions of the bannermen!"

"The palace's food, clothing, housing and transportation are all taken care of by the Baoyi."

"If the bannermen unite, how will your concubines and offspring protect themselves?"

"Even you, the Queen Mother, the Empress, and the legitimate son will be unsafe!"

"It's just stupid and arrogant!"

Hongli broke out in a cold sweat after hearing what his father said.

Honggui was so shocked by his father's aura that he dared not speak and could only curl up in his chair without moving.

Seeing the atmosphere become tense, Wanyu looked at Yinreng and whispered advice.

"Okay, kid, you don't know the reason."

"Besides, this is his first time as emperor, so it's natural that he might make mistakes occasionally."

"Now that you know this, just mention it to him more."

“I’m not afraid of making mistakes. What I’m afraid of is not knowing that I’m wrong and making the same mistake over and over again.”

Yinreng snorted coldly.

"I've had Hongxi take care of you both since you were little, and the fourth brother has always been training you as my heir. How could I have known you would be so arrogant the moment you became emperor?"

"Why don't you think about the purpose of the rules set by the previous emperor?"

"Do you really think it's just corruption?"

"If it was just corruption, why would there be such strict restrictions on the imperial concubines?!"

"Don't think you're the only smart person in the royal family!"

Yinreng became more and more angry as he spoke, while Hongli and Honggui lowered their heads lower and lower.

The room was silent for a long time before Yinreng said, "Now that Gao has been canonized as a noble concubine by you, you are forbidden to have children from now on."

"And don't let her reach too far. You need to restrain her more!"

Hongli nodded, "Yeah."

Seeing that he was listening, Yinreng couldn't help but say a few more words.

"Now that you know the truth, you must not act carelessly in the future!"

"We must not relax our precautions against the baoyi. We must not repeat the regrets you suffered in Khan Mafa's early years."

"Even if you don't want to overly favor the Manchu nobles and are worried about the monopoly of power by your in-laws, you can still accept women from smaller clans into the palace."

"You have only just taken power, so you must understand that the Manchus are the foundation of the Qing Dynasty. You cannot shake the foundation until you are sure of it!"

"But at the same time, you must also understand that the people of the entire Qing Dynasty are your subjects. You cannot ignore the Manchus, Mongols, and Han Chinese."

"You are different from ordinary ministers with selfish motives. You are the emperor who controls the life and death of all people. As long as you are capable enough, they can all be yours."

"You don't need to care whether they are Manchu, Han, or Mongolian. As long as they are loyal to you, you can use them for your benefit."

"So after you completely take power, you can bring the three tribes out to check and balance each other."

"Whether it's the Manchus, the Mongols, or the Han Chinese, you can be on guard against suppression, but don't suppress them too much, otherwise it will only backfire."

The more Hongli listened, the more serious his expression became.

In the past, whether it was Khan Mafa or Khan Ama who taught him, he was told that he was a Manchu, this was the Manchu world, and he had to defend the Manchu territory.

We must always be on guard against the Han and Mongolian people and not give them any chance to undermine the interests of the Manchus.

Yinreng only said one sentence at the end.

"Hongli, you must remember, you are the emperor!"

"The emperor is the master of the entire dynasty, not just the master of any one faction."

"You can have preferences, but you can't be biased towards only one side!"

Hongli nodded seriously, "Son, I understand!"

The couple played the good cop and the bad cop respectively, leaving Honggui and Hongli stunned.

Wanyu saw that they had almost finished talking and it was getting late, so she interrupted.

"Okay, Yuanshou is back. You'll have plenty of time to chat later. It doesn't matter if you wait a little longer."

"The servants should have prepared dinner. Let's go and eat first."

"Let Honggui and Yuanshou have a good night's rest."

Yinreng then dropped the serious expression on his face and said, "Listen to your mother."

After the four of them arrived at the dining table, Hongli and Honggui both looked puzzled and looked at their parents opposite them.

Honggui asked, somewhat baffled, "Mother, when did you start liking this bright red and purple porcelain?"

"Not only are the colors bright, but the floral and bird designs are all in large expanses, making it look like a riot of colour, quite dazzling."

"Son, remember that you used to prefer plain and simple things, with only the occasional brightly colored item?"

"Dad, why did Mom's preferences change so much?"

Yinreng didn't say anything. Wanyu looked at her two sons opposite her with a smile.

He asked softly, "What do you think?"

"Does it look good? Do you like it?"

Honggui and Hongli looked at each other, and Hongli really couldn't say the words "good-looking" and "like".

Honggui smiled awkwardly, then said involuntarily, "It's... okay."

Wanyu looked at Hongli persistently, "What do you think, Yuanshou?"

Hongli glanced at Honggui, who was standing beside him with a serious look.

He smiled gently at Wanyu: "My son likes everything that his parents prepared."

Wanyu did not feel pleased with Hongli's sweet talk at this time.

She continued, "By the way, when your eldest brother came back a few years ago, I asked him to bring you gifts."

"Do you like the gifts Mom prepared?"

Honggui seemed to have thought of something funny and couldn't help but burst out laughing.

"Mom, why did you prepare a box of different seals for my fourth brother?"

"You don't even know that when the eldest brother gave the things to the fourth brother, he himself felt embarrassed."

Wanyu pretended to be distressed and regretful.

"Mother doesn't know what Yuanshou likes, but she had a dream for a while that Yuanshou seemed to like seals."

"Although I don't know whether it's real or fake, ever since then, whenever I see a distinctive seal, I collect it, thinking of giving it to Yuanshou one day."

"It just so happened that your eldest brother came, so I asked him to take it back to Yuanshou."

Honggui laughed heartily with joy.

"No wonder, my eldest brother said that mother asked him to stare at the expression on my fourth brother's face after he received the gift."

"So he wanted to let Big Brother see if Fourth Brother liked the gift."

Wanyu looked at Hongli, who was feeling a little uneasy.

"Yuanshou, mother never knew what you liked, so I used this stupid method."

"Tell me what you like in your daily life, and I will know what gifts to give you that will make you happy."

Hongli pursed his lips and smiled.

"My son likes all the gifts my mother prepared."

"But maybe my son has inherited my mother's preferences. He also likes simple, quiet and elegant things."

"As for seals, my son has quite a few, so I don't have a particular preference."

"If a mother wants to prepare a gift for her son that he likes, she can prepare two sets of clothes or a purse for him herself."

Wanyu breathed a sigh of relief and smiled.

"Good good."

"Tomorrow I will take your measurements and make you two sets of clothes myself."