The swansong of the swansong

Chapter 259 Sowing the Seeds of Disaster
Tong Guowei was in excellent spirits, speaking in a booming voice, and his thoughts were exceptionally clear.

Tong Guowei called his eight sons, three nephews, and more than a dozen grandchildren to his bedside one by one and gave them his instructions.

However, Yuzhu waited outside for a long time, but Tong Guowei completely forgot about him.

Longkodo, who had been silent all along, could no longer hold back and said in a muffled voice, "Father, Yuzhu is still waiting outside to see you!"

Tong Guowei glanced at Longkodo with displeasure and said indifferently, "What's the rush?"

Longkodo was not afraid of Tong Guowei; otherwise, he would not have been able to defy Tong Guowei's roar and forcefully take his father-in-law's concubine.

However, with Yinwu present, Longkodo hesitated for a long time before finally deciding not to be too presumptuous, and only hummed, "Father, they are both my flesh and blood!"

Upon hearing this, Yinwu couldn't help but find it amusing.

It takes two to tango. Since Tong Guowei's heart is set on the moon, it's no wonder that Longkodo complained in public.

However, Longkodo's complaints provided Yinwu with an opportunity to speak.

Logically speaking, Yinwu shouldn't have interfered in the Tong family's internal affairs.

However, Yuzhu was Yinwu's trusted confidant, Haha Zhuzi, which made things different.

When faced with matters of principle, one should always side with one's own people, regardless of the truth; one's own side must always be on one's side!

If Yinwu doesn't stand up for Yuzhu now, Yuzhu may very well be branded as unfilial and never be able to hold his head high again.

"Father-in-law, why don't we meet Yuzhu?" Yinwu deliberately didn't follow the fourth prince's lead in calling him maternal uncle, but instead chose the more distant father-in-law.

Tong Guowei didn't look at Yinwu, but glanced at Shun'an Yan. Sigh, when you're under someone's roof, you have to bow your head!

"Then let him in!" Tong Guowei was really fed up with Yuzhu.

Alas, whenever Tong Guowei saw Yuzhu, he couldn't help but think of Li Si'er, who was filthy from head to toe.

After Yuzhu entered, he knelt down beside the sickbed and whispered, "Grandson Yuzhu, may Grandfather be well!"

"Get up. From now on, listen to Prince Yu's orders." Tong Guowei only said this one sentence and then ignored Yuzhu.

"You may all step back, I'm exhausted!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Tong Guowei suddenly felt as heavy as Mount Tai on his eyelids, and all his energy was drained away.

Almost in the blink of an eye, Tong Guowei went limp and fell into Lao Si's arms.

In the fifty-eighth year of the Kangxi Emperor's reign, the current emperor's maternal uncle, Tong Guowei, passed away.

Tong Guowei's death was an extremely heavy blow to Lao Ba.

In the past, Lao Ba could use Tong Guowei to say what he wanted to say but dared not say.

Throughout the entire Qing Dynasty, only Tong Guowei dared to smash a cup so brazenly in front of Emperor Kangxi.

On his way back to Beijing, Emperor Kangxi learned of Tong Guowei's death and immediately broke down in tears.

The high-ranking officials and princes accompanying him pleaded with him for a long time before Kangxi finally stopped crying and wrote the edict himself.

"By the grace of Heaven, the Emperor decrees: The nation values ​​the selection of pillars of the state, and the merits of the people are paramount. The court bestows honors and robes, rewarding those who have rendered meritorious service in accordance with established rites. The highest rank is above the fifth class, and the imperial decree should be bestowed from the highest imperial palace. You, First-Class Duke, Minister of State Affairs, and maternal uncle, Tong Guowei, have suddenly passed away. I am deeply saddened by this. I hereby grant you a state funeral to express my condolences. Alas..."

The person who issued the edict was none other than the famous "Feast-Eating Prince," the twelfth prince.

In the Qing Dynasty, if the twelfth prince did not personally preside over the funeral rites of the top nobles, it meant that Emperor Kangxi did not value them. After returning to Beijing, Emperor Kangxi personally visited the Tong family in Dongjiadao three times to pay his respects.

On the day of Tong Guowei's funeral, Emperor Kangxi specially sent his fourth son and Yinwu to escort the coffin to the burial site.

The Tong family's ancestral graves are located in Qianzhuang, Huairou. Qianzhuang is also known as Tongjiazhuang.

Qianzhuang in Huairou has a very unique topography, with an exceptionally clear and beautiful dragon vein. The dragon vein rises majestically to the sky, with dragon towers and phoenix pavilions rising from the ancestral mountain, stretching for dozens of miles. From within this large tent, the vein emerges, the great dragon moves forward, and at its end, a smaller tent forms the burial site, surrounded by layers on all sides, shaped like a lotus flower, with the burial site at the center.

Therefore, since ancient times, Qianzhuang has been a place where high-ranking officials and nobles have competed to be buried.

Not to mention others, even Emperor Kangxi himself once considered building his imperial mausoleum here.

Yinwu, who was half a horse's length behind the fourth prince, knew better than anyone else that having the fourth prince escort Tong Guowei's funeral in place of Kangxi was actually more symbolic than having Kangxi perform the sacrificial rites to Heaven and worship at the temple.

Besides Yinwu, there were no fewer than seven other princes who represented the emperor in offering sacrifices to Heaven and visiting temples.

As the saying goes, things are valued for their scarcity; things that are available to everyone are not so precious!
Under the system of family, nation, and the world, the current emperor's family affairs are, in essence, more important than national affairs.

The fact that the fourth prince helped Kangxi send off his maternal uncle at the funeral vividly highlights his special place in Kangxi's heart.

Unless Emperor Kangxi was senile, there was absolutely no way he would have arranged for Yinwu to be the representative.

The combination of real power and prestige is like adding wings to a tiger!
The filial sons and grandsons of the Tong family all wore mourning clothes, walked along the way, cried, and kowtowed in return.

Yinwu sighed softly. "Being unfilial while alive and pretending to be filial after death is all an act for outsiders."

To put it bluntly, when Tong Guowei was alive, which of his eight sons was truly filial?

The larger the family, the deeper the internal conflicts!

It was common knowledge that Tong Guowei favored his eldest son Ye Keshu and his eldest grandson Shun'an Yan.

As elders, they would love to pour most of the water into the eldest son's branch of the family. How could brothers possibly be as close as siblings?
In his last memorial, Tong Guowei earnestly requested Emperor Kangxi to grant Ye Keshu the hereditary title of First-Class Duke of Cheng'en.

This was equivalent to detonating a 5000-megaton "Tsar Bomba" in mid-air, with an astonishingly powerful force!

If they weren't still in mourning, the eight members of the Tong family would very likely have started fighting in public.

During a break, Longkodo approached Yinwu and whispered obsequiously, "Your Highness, are you tired? This servant has arranged a place for you, everything is provided!"

Yinwu glared at Longkodo with annoyance. Was this guy really out of his mind to try and inherit the title?

Based on Yinwu's understanding of Longkodo, this guy's so-called "everything is provided" must have included a top-notch feast and a beautiful young wife, just waiting for Yinwu to enjoy them.

However, on the way to Tong Guowei's funeral, Yinwu not only feasted on fish and meat, but also embraced and kissed a beautiful woman. Wasn't he just courting death?
If the news reaches Kangxi's ears, Yinwu will definitely be in deep trouble and will certainly not have a good ending!
However, Yinwu could indeed understand Longkodo's feelings.

The hereditary title left by one's own father, and it's even a first-class duke. Anyone who wouldn't want it would be truly foolish.

According to objective laws, the one who inherited the title of First-Class Duke, and his descendants, became the main line of the Tong family!

The other seven who did not inherit the title could only decline further with each generation.

A clear example is right before our eyes: after Prince Yu, Fuquan, passed away, Baotai inherited the title of prince, while his younger brother, Baoshou, only received the consolation prize of the title of Duke of the Second Rank.

The difference in treatment and status between Prince Yu of the First Rank and Duke Feng'en was as vast as the difference between heaven and earth!
The fourth brother was nearby, but Longkodo did not invite him to join in the fun.

How could the fourth brother, who wasn't exactly known for his magnanimity, not be angry?

(End of this chapter)