The swansong of the swansong

Chapter 265 The Fourteenth Prince is Getting Arrogant

I will only obey my father's orders!
Yinwu's words were absolutely correct, leaving the fourteenth prince with no room for rebuttal.

The fourteenth brother could only say dejectedly, "Then the two of us brothers can only wait and see how things unfold!"

We'll see.
Hmph, you fourteenth brother, you really are arrogant beyond measure!
Yinwu smiled slightly, thinking to himself, "Fourteenth Brother, we'll see!"

During the audience with the Emperor, Kangxi, for the first time in history, granted him a seat.

The fourteenth prince glanced at Yinwu, who was standing beside him, and proudly raised his chin, as if to tell Yinwu that it was not too late for him to regret it!
Yinwu deliberately lowered his head and refused to look at the fourteenth prince again, so what harm was there in letting him be smug for a few seconds?
In front of Yinwu and Maqi, Kangxi not only offered them seats, but also gave the fourteenth prince tea and a handkerchief to wipe his face.

With such great favor bestowed upon him, the fourteenth prince couldn't help but get carried away and began to boast wildly.

"Father, the enemy thought I was cowardly and dared not advance quickly, but I insisted on leading only light cavalry and galloping forward, catching the enemy completely off guard..."

Emperor Kangxi listened with great interest, nodding frequently and praising his fourteenth son from time to time.

"Good, good, Fourteenth Prince, you truly deserve to be called the unparalleled brave warrior of our Great Qing Dynasty..."

Ma Qi glanced at Yinwu secretly and found that Yinwu not only did not show any signs of frustration, but his face remained calm and composed.

Hmm, what a fine fifteenth prince! Just as the Fourth Prince said, he is very composed!
"Ma Qi, draft an imperial decree to reward the Fourteenth Prince with ten imperial horses, one thousand taels of gold, and fifty thousand taels of silver." After a moment of contemplation, Kangxi instructed Yinwu, "Also reward him with four girls from the Ruizhu Academy. As for the Fifteenth Prince, you will personally select the girls for your Fourteenth Brother. You must not disgrace me."

"Yes, sir." Yinwu bowed his head and agreed.

The fourteenth prince, seemingly wanting to stir up trouble, casually said to Kangxi, "Father, the fifteenth brother has made meritorious contributions in coordinating the front-line battles; he should be rewarded."

Kangxi glanced at Yinwu, who had his head down, and said indifferently, "Giving him treasures is already more than enough."

Ma Qi knew things were going badly, so he quickly lowered his head, fearing he might get into trouble.

That's enough. This is clearly a veiled warning from Kangxi to Yinwu, though he didn't say it outright.

Yinwu was already in a state of complete indifference, not backing down at all. Instead, he said with a smile, "Father, I am short of money."

"Hmph, kneel down and leave!" Kangxi glared at Yinwu with annoyance, then waved his hand and began to dismiss him.

After Yinwu and Ma Qi left, only the Fourteenth Prince and Kangxi remained in the room.

In public, Yinwu never spoke more than half a word to Maqi, and Maqi clearly shared the same sentiment.

After leaving the palace, Yinwu parted ways with Ma Qi.

The following afternoon, the fourth prince led Yinwu to see Consort De, but unexpectedly, they were turned away at the door.

Qin Sichun, the head eunuch of Yonghe Palace, bowed deeply and said tremblingly, "Fourth Master, Fifteenth Master, Her Majesty's headache has flared up again and she needs to rest..."

The fourth brother remained expressionless, barely managing to hold back his outburst.

Hmph, the fourteenth prince's sedan chair is parked outside Xihua Gate. What kind of headache is this again?
Yinwu naturally couldn't openly sow discord between the fourth prince and Consort De, so he quickly stepped in to smooth things over, tugged at the fourth prince's sleeve, and whispered, "Fourth brother, since Mother Consort has given the order, shall we come to pay our respects another day?"

The fourth prince lightly stamped his foot, turned around and left, and Yinwu immediately followed.

Qin Sichun breathed a sigh of relief. As long as the fire didn't reach him, he was already extremely grateful.

Before leaving the palace and boarding the sedan chair, the fourth prince suddenly turned around and coldly asked Yinwu, "The fourteenth prince hasn't left yet, has he?"

Yinwu deliberately spread his hands and said, "Fourth Brother, didn't you see it?" Yes, the Fourth Brother had already seen the Fourteenth Brother's sedan chair and entourage, but he deliberately asked Yinwu, clearly harboring resentment.

"Where do you plan to go?" The fourth prince didn't want to go back to the Ministry of Revenue, so he asked Yinwu where he was going.

Yinwu smiled and said, "I don't want to go anywhere. I just want to go back to the manor, have some dishes, and two pots of good wine."

The fourth prince originally wanted to go to Yinwu's place, but then he thought that he had just been turned away by Consort De. If he drank too much and said the wrong thing, it would only make Yinwu look down on him.

"I'd better go back to the Ministry of Revenue!" The fourth brother waved his hand, boarded the sedan chair, and left, fuming.

Since Yinwu said he wanted to return to his residence, he simply went back to his own home.

Cuiqing noticed that Yinwu was in a good mood, so while she was changing her clothes, she whispered, "Your Highness, Consort Nian has come again. Guanyin accompanied her to the back garden and served her wine and dishes."

Yinwu nodded and said, "They are sisters, and Fourth Brother loves them very much. He can't bear to interfere with them at all. Why should I meddle? Let her have her way."

Cuiqing understood immediately; Yinwu really hoped that Nian Guanyin and Nian Haitang would get closer.

In fact, whenever Nian Haitang had free time, she would always come to see Nian Guanyin, and she also secretly intended to support Nian Guanyin.

Although Guanyin gave birth to a son for Yinwu, her rank remains that of a lowly princess in a royal household.

In the royal palaces of the Qing Dynasty, married women were ranked from highest to lowest as follows: primary consort, secondary consort, concubine, maidservant, and princess.

In reality, the so-called "concubine" was merely an internal honorific used by the servants of the Prince's mansion to refer to a favored concubine.

It is worth mentioning that the concubines in the Prince's Mansion were actually influenced by the Han officials and literati who divided concubines into noble concubines and good concubines based on women's birth. This was an intentional addition of a rank to the lowly princesses.

In short, whether they were concubines or secondary wives, they were not officially recognized.

Yinwu naturally knew what was going on. Nian Haitang often came to visit him because she wanted him to elevate Nian Guanyin to the rank of concubine.

The problem is that Nian Guanyin has a bad reputation as a vixen in the eyes of Emperor Kangxi. If Yinwu were to elevate her status, it might actually harm her.

Anyway, once the fourth prince ascends the throne, as long as Nian Haitang is willing to whisper sweet nothings in his ear, it will be effortless for Nian Guanyin to become a concubine.

As Yinwu sat down to drink tea, a report suddenly came from outside, "Your Highness, Consort Nian from the Fourth Prince's residence has sent someone over, saying that she wants to pay her respects to our Princess Consort."

"You go see her, I'm going to the study first!" Upon hearing this, Yinwu immediately put down his teacup, got up and walked out.

The strict rules of etiquette and propriety were exceptionally rigorous!

Especially with the fourth prince's beloved son, there must be no connection or entanglement whatsoever. If Yinwu doesn't leave now, when will he?

Cuiqing also knew that Nian Haitang probably heard that Yinwu had already returned to the mansion.

After Nian Haitang left the Prince's Mansion, Nian Guanyin brought her son to find Yinwu.

Disregarding the tradition of holding grandchildren but not sons, Yinwu placed the second prince Hongxin on his lap and was having a great time playing with him when he heard Nian Guanyin whisper, "Your Majesty, my third sister said in private that she must come to see me often."

"Yes, I understand!" Yinwu narrowed his eyes, thought for a moment, and then nodded knowingly.

Haha, the fourth brother is indeed a cunning fellow; he's thought of everything so thoroughly!
The fourth prince cleverly used the close relationship between Nian Haitang and Nian Guanyin to send a message to Yinwu at a crucial moment, truly keeping his intentions hidden!
(End of this chapter)