The swansong of the swansong

Chapter 249 I wish to pass the throne to you
"Reporting to Father, Second Sister-in-law has passed away!"

Yinwu reported this extremely regrettable news to Emperor Kangxi.

Emperor Kangxi paused for a moment, then sighed, "Poor, unfortunate people! Order the Ministry of Rites to offer sacrifices."

The dead cannot be brought back to life; those who are alive are the most important!
Moreover, Yinwu's principal wife also belonged to the Guarjia clan, so naturally she wouldn't dare to fight for anything for the deposed crown princess!
However, to Yinwu's surprise, not a single person in the Ministry of Rites, from the Minister to the Secretary, dared to draft a eulogy for the deposed Crown Princess.

Yinwu didn't need to think much to understand the key point.

The deposed crown prince, who had reigned for decades, was someone Emperor Kangxi was reluctant to kill. Would the new emperor also be reluctant to kill him?
As long as the responsibility is traced back, the person who drafted the eulogy for the deposed crown prince will inevitably face political reckoning!
The deposed crown princess was not only Yinwu's wife's elder sister but also his second sister-in-law. It would be utterly inappropriate if there wasn't even a eulogy for her after her death!
Whether for public or private reasons, Yinwu could not stand idly by.

"Your Majesty, the people in the Ministry of Rites are afraid of being held responsible in the future, so they dare not draft the sacrificial text." Yinwu spoke skillfully, deliberately striking Kangxi's most sensitive weakness.

Kangxi glanced at Yinwu and asked in return, "The Ministry of Rites is afraid of being purged in the future, aren't you afraid?"

Yinwu straightened his back and said without hesitation, "No matter what, she was still my second sister-in-law. Respect for the dead is paramount!"

“I knew it, you’re still the same loyal and affectionate Fifteenth Prince!” Kangxi was clearly touched by the old kinship. “Guarjia is a good child, it’s a pity she met the wrong person.”

"By imperial decree, Lady Guarjia shall be buried with the rites due to a Prince's consort, and the Twelfth Prince shall preside over the funeral. The Hanlin Academy's Attendant Readers and Attendant Lecturers are hereby ordered to draft the eulogy. Anyone who dares to disobey this decree shall be dismissed from office and never be employed again."

"Yes, sir." After receiving the order, Wei Zhu went out and headed straight for the Hanlin Academy.

Yinwu found it amusing; the Twelfth Prince would definitely never be able to shake off the nickname "Eating Prince"!
On the day the twelfth prince received the imperial decree, he felt that the matter was very difficult, so he took the initiative to seek help from Yinwu.

"When my second sister-in-law was buried, it was customary for guards to accompany her. However, all of her guards were dismissed." The twelfth prince sighed heavily. "I do have guards, but without an imperial decree, who would dare to wade into such bottomless murky waters?"

Yinwu knew that the twelfth prince was somewhat favored, but not greatly, and he had no confidence to discuss this matter with Kangxi.

However, the funeral rites for the burial of a prince's wife were clearly stipulated in the Qing Dynasty's official regulations.

In the Qing Dynasty, with its strict etiquette, no mistakes could be tolerated in funeral rites. Otherwise, one would face dire consequences.

Since the twelfth prince took the initiative to ask for help, Yinwu naturally had to give him face.

"Alright, I'll put in a good word for you with Father Khan." Yinwu only agreed to help, but didn't say to what extent.

The twelfth prince, however, knew that Yinwu's words carried great weight in front of the emperor!

"Thank you for your help, Fifteenth Brother. In the future, if there is anything I can do to help you, just let me know and I will do my best to do it." The Twelfth Brother was just making a gesture.

Basically, he only asked Yinwu for help when he needed it, and never the other way around.

To be honest, the only true friend who truly understood and appreciated Yinwu was the thirteenth prince.

However, out of consideration for the feelings of the fourth prince, Yinwu could not openly associate too closely with the thirteenth prince.

As for the seventeenth prince, he is at most Yinwu's follower and younger brother, and cannot yet be considered a good friend.

Those who remained neutral—the fifth, seventh, and twelfth—could only be considered old acquaintances.

In the imperial court, the relationship between half-brothers of the royal family was fundamentally one of rivalry over the division of inheritance, rather than that of good friends.

Yinzhi played chess with Emperor Kangxi and lost five games in a row. Kangxi not only grinned from ear to ear, but also teased Yinzhi, saying, "Little Fifteenth Prince, your chess skills haven't improved at all!"

Taking advantage of Kangxi's good mood, Yinwu subtly brought up the matter of the lack of funeral guards at the funeral of the deposed crown princess.

Emperor Kangxi thought for a moment, then sighed and said, "When a person dies, it's like a lamp going out. She was a pitiful person. So, I order Longkodo to take thirty guards and go to her funeral!"

According to the regulations of the Great Qing Code, the funeral procession of a prince's primary consort is carried by twenty guards.

Now, Kangxi has sent the commander of the infantry with thirty guards to escort the funeral procession, which is clearly the standard for the Crown Princess!
Emperor Kangxi's attitude toward Yinreng was actually quite similar to that of Emperor Zhu Di toward Crown Prince Zhu Gaochi.

Back then, Zhu Di greatly admired Zhu Gaoxu, who was brave and skilled in battle and had saved his father many times. He considered several times deposing the fat and mentally challenged crown prince who needed help to walk.

However, this did not affect Zhu Di's fondness for Crown Princess Zhang and her son Zhu Zhanji.

Since Kangxi was so accommodating, Yinwu naturally played to his tastes and lost five more rounds.

"Haha, little fifteen, you still need to stay with your father and be more careful!"

However, Kangxi covered his mouth halfway through his laughter, and the laughter stopped abruptly.

"Alas, joy turns to sorrow. I'm getting old, getting old, and I've lost another tooth." Emperor Kangxi sighed for a long time, clearly realizing one thing: he was truly getting old!

Yinwu quickly comforted Kangxi: "Father, how are you old? Perhaps, in a few days, I will have another younger brother."

"Alas, don't try to comfort me. I'm really old, and I'm getting more and more useless every day!" Kangxi said, his words slurred.

Wei Zhu cleverly brought over a rinsing bowl and a cup of warm water, and busied herself serving Kangxi as he rinsed his mouth.

Seeing that Kangxi was vomiting blood, and the brocade handkerchief with dragon pattern was almost piled up on the tray, Yinwu quickly suggested, "Father, swallow your saliva, that will stop the bleeding faster."

Kangxi listened to Yinwu's advice with some skepticism and began to swallow hard.

Within half an hour, the blood clot in Kangxi's mouth had begun to solidify.

"Little Fifteen, you are a good child who values ​​friendship. I was right about you!" Kangxi sighed. "Even the Twelfth Prince is afraid of offending the future emperor and dares not come to me to talk, but you are not afraid of making me angry."

Yinwu quickly explained, "Father, your praise makes me extremely ashamed and embarrassed. In reality, I am not that good. I was only praising my wife's elder sister because I couldn't bear to see her funeral being too meager!"

"Hmm, I like your compassion." Kangxi suddenly stared at Yinwu's face. "You are both scholarly and martial, it's just a pity that you were born into a poor family, otherwise, I really would like to pass the throne to you."

Yinwu sneered inwardly; Kang Mazi was deliberately lying to him!

As he aged rapidly, Kangxi's greatest fear was that Zhu Wen would meet a tragic end, being murdered by his own son.

As long as he could win over Yinwu, Kangxi had little to worry about the old incident at Xuanwu Gate.

"Father, the banner lords and princes all look down on me, and I look down on them too." Yinwu did not say it outright, but only subtly hinted to Kangxi that he had no ambition to covet the throne.

(End of this chapter)