The Qing Palace Never Meets Spring

"Sir, something terrible has happened."

Zhang Rui, disregarding Yinxiang's preparation to go to sleep, hurriedly rushed into the tent.

Yinxiang sat up abruptly: "What happened?" The biggest issue this time was Yinxi's illness.

But now that the person is gone, he couldn't think of anything else that could be bad.

Zhang Rui hurried over to him and whispered, "Just now, a guard from His Majesty's side came to report that the Crown Prince was spying on His Majesty's tent today, which alarmed His Majesty, and His Majesty sent men to arrest him."

Because the person on duty today is on good terms with Prince Zhi, I'm afraid Prince Zhi will arrive soon. Please, Your Highness, make a decision quickly.”

Yinxiang had a bad feeling, but he also felt that nothing would happen, because it would be fine if it were anyone else, but it was the Crown Prince.

The Crown Prince has done many outrageous things over the years. In his early years, he was known for his homosexuality, taking cooks and grooms to bed. Emperor Kangxi was furious about this and could not eat or sleep properly.

In the end, Kangxi only executed or replaced those around the Crown Prince, but the Crown Prince remained firmly in his position.

But this time, with Yinzhi falling ill, no matter what others thought in their hearts, they all put on an act of deep brotherly affection and extreme concern in front of Kangxi.

Not to mention the grief of Yinzhi's elder brothers, Yinwu and Yinlu, who were born of the same mother. This grief, which was only three parts for Yinzhi and others, brought out a full ten parts.

Only the Crown Prince didn't seem to care. Despite his advice, the Crown Prince remained unmoved.

After Yinzhi's death, the Crown Prince only made one appearance, let alone stay by Kangxi's side or by Yinzhi's side like them.

Emperor Kangxi usually enjoyed seeing his princes being friendly and respectful to each other, so the Crown Prince's actions this time greatly disappointed him.

Yinxiang struggled repeatedly between the possibility of the Crown Prince getting into trouble or not, but he never thought it would be very serious. He just knew he would definitely have to go to see Kangxi once.

He stood up and said, "Help me change my clothes first."

Before he could even finish dressing, Zhang Chun burst in and said, "Master, His Majesty's guards have arrived. They are all trusted confidants, armed with swords, and there are quite a few of them."

Now that things have come to this, although Yinxiang doesn't know what else has happened, he's afraid it won't be a light matter.

He had no choice but to beckon Zhang Chun to come forward and whispered to her, "After I leave, you must quietly ride back to the capital and tell the Fujin (wife) that if anything happens to me, she should not concern herself with it or ask any questions, and she should not look for her father. Just close the door and wait for me to return."

"My lord, what exactly happened? If the princess asks, how am I supposed to answer?"

Zhang Chun was so frightened that she started to cry.

"Be more responsible, don't cry all the time." Zhang Rui was much more capable than Zhang Chun, but Zhang Rui was the chief eunuch by his side, which was too conspicuous.

As for what happened, he himself didn't know, so what could he tell Qingwan? He was just thinking that if something really happened and the news got back to the capital, Qingwan wouldn't panic.

After they went outside, the head guard said, "We servants pay our respects to the Thirteenth Prince. His Majesty has summoned the Thirteenth Prince for a talk."

Yinxiang slightly raised his hand to let them stand up: "Then let's go, don't delay."

Even with the commotion tonight, even with his gut feeling that something was about to happen, and even though he had already sent Zhang Chun back to report, deep down he still felt that Kangxi and the Crown Prince were still the same as before.

Upon entering Kangxi's tent, the one kneeling was the Crown Prince, and the one standing was Yinzhi.

Before Yinxiang could even utter his greetings, he heard Kangxi say, "Yinxiang, do you know your crime?"

Yinxiang closed his eyes and knelt on the ground.

From the moment they came into contact with power, these people secretly recruited ministers and bribed princes and nobles behind Kangxi's back, trying every means to place their own people in important official positions. But when Kangxi really wanted to punish them, no matter how many people he had won over, he couldn't use them.

"Your subject does not know what crime you have committed, and begs Your Majesty to explain."

In the palace, Qingwan drank the calming soup that had just been brewed, but her restlessness only intensified: "I don't know why, but I always feel uneasy, as if something is about to happen."

Mu Xiang took the bowl from her hand and said, "Princess Shi Jia's pregnancy is unstable, and the master is not here. The princess is always thinking about it, which has affected her."

Just a few days ago, they were telling Princess Shijia to take less medicine, but now the Princess Consort is using it herself.

"You've taught me a lesson. What does this have to do with Yingyu? She just said something bad about the Eighteenth Prince before, and since you're by His Majesty's side, I wonder how they're doing?"

I wonder if my master will send any more letters before he returns.

Having just entered the room and only caught half of what was said, Chenxiang smiled and said, "Master just sent a letter a few days ago. Even if there is more, it's probably still on its way. In the past, when Master went out, I didn't see the Fujin worrying too much, but now she's thinking about him all the time."

Chenxiang went to see Yingyu as instructed. Qingwan noticed that although her face was still full of worry, she did not continue what she had just said, but only asked, "How is Yingyu?"

Chenxiang said in a low voice, "When I left, Princess Shijia had already gone to sleep."

Her maid, Manao, said that Shi Jia Gege never allowed anyone to watch over her when she slept, even during her pregnancy. She hadn't paid much attention to it before, but Shi Jia Gege had been sleeping even worse since she stopped taking her medication.

Every time I woke up, my clothes were soaked with sweat, so I would take some calming medicine.

Agate and Pearl, fearing repercussions, quietly entered the room to serve her. They overheard Princess Shijia calling for her sister when she couldn't sleep without sedatives.

“Sister? I remember she wasn’t an only child.” Qingwan recalled the information Yingyu had gathered when she first entered the palace.

"If the Lady remembers correctly, when she entered the palace, she had an older sister of the same age who was not yet engaged."

Later, some of the women below them secretly discussed that they might have sent Yingyu in because she was more beautiful, but now it seems that this is probably not the case.

Qingwan's sisters, even though they weren't born of the same mother, had always been close, so she didn't think about it that way for the time being.

"If you really can't persuade her, then just let her be. We've already discussed her situation with the master. We can't really stop her from taking her medicine, can we? If something happens after she stops taking her medicine, it will be even harder to explain."

"As long as she can hold on until Master returns, we can explain things clearly and that will be enough to settle things." That was all Qingwan could say.

"Fortunately, the Princess Consort had already informed the Master from the beginning, and the Master is fair, so it seems unlikely that the Princess Consort will be implicated."

As the calming medicine took effect, Qingwan felt sleepy. She rubbed her head and said, "Send someone to inquire in the inner court and Changchun Garden to see if there is any news from His Majesty."

"Is Your Highness still worried? The Master has been by your side for so many years and has never had any mishaps. Your Highness need not worry so much."

"That's true. I hope I'm just overthinking it. Please take my hair out and I need to rest."