The swansong of the swansong

Chapter 270 Similarity
Emperor Kangxi could never have imagined that Yinwu had no desire for Consort Mi to be promoted to Imperial Noble Consort.

Damn it, Yinwu already holds great power. If he allows Consort Mi's rank to surpass that of Consort De, how will he survive in the Yongzheng era?

Objectively speaking, even if the fourth brother tries to maintain a strong sense of brotherly affection, there will always be some resentment in his heart.

"Your Majesty, I only wish to be a peaceful and virtuous prince, and I have no other ambitions." Yinwu did not care whether Kangxi was trying to test him or not, and directly stated his request, "I only wish to go to Jiangnan."

Emperor Kangxi almost laughed in anger. What a spineless fellow!
Yinwu's desire to go to Jiangnan was nothing more than a risk-free business of robbing money and women.

"You have neither a lack of money nor a lack of women to serve you, so why be so greedy?"

With no outsiders in the room, Kangxi spoke without restraint.

Yinwu deliberately grinned and said, "The more the merrier!"

Back then, when Wang Jian was fighting on the front lines, he would frequently ask Qin Shi Huang for land, which was his way of telling Zhao Zheng that he, the old Wang, had no ambition to usurp the throne.

Now, Yinwu is risking offending Emperor Kangxi by going to Jiangnan to rob silver and women, which is also to tell Kangxi that he has no interest in the throne and only wants to enjoy comfort and pleasure.

"Alright, you can clean it up... I'll let Wang Tan know when to back down, and then I'll do as you say!"

Just now, Emperor Kangxi agreed to promote Consort Mi to the rank of Imperial Noble Consort, but he regretted it as soon as the words left his mouth.

Now is the perfect time to take profits and run!

Anyway, letting Yinwu wreak havoc on the gentry in Jiangnan would not cause any loss to the Qing Dynasty or Emperor Kangxi.

Seeing that Kangxi had chosen to back down, Yinwu secretly breathed a sigh of relief and readily agreed to deal with Wang Yan.

In the capital city today, apart from a few individuals such as Zhang Tingyu and Li Guangdi, the vast majority of Han officials live in the outer city.

Zhang Tingyu was merely the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites. The reason he was able to live in the inner city was mainly because his father, Zhang Ying, had served as the Emperor's tutor.

As for Li Guangdi, this guy was a highly valued senior advisor to Emperor Kangxi, and many bad ideas were suggestions that he took the initiative to make to Emperor Kangxi.

Although Wang Yan was the tutor of the Crown Prince and the other princes, he was not the Imperial Tutor, so he had no choice but to obediently move to the outer city.

However, Wang Tan was, after all, a Grand Secretary of the Wenyuan Pavilion and Minister of Rites, a prestigious high-ranking official.

Therefore, Wang Yan's residence was located in Beixiaoshun Hutong, east of Zhengyangmen.

Yinwu knew that even if he personally visited, no matter how much he threatened or bribed Wang Yan, he would not give in.

However, everyone has vulnerabilities that they care about.

Wang Yan's weakness lay in his son and grandson.

Wang Yan had two sons. His eldest son, Wang Yiqing, passed the imperial examination and served as the Grand Master of the Palace.

Later, because Wang Yan was tactless and repeatedly petitioned to reinstate Yinreng as crown prince, Wang Yiqing took the blame for his father and was exiled to serve in the army in Uliastai.

It is worth mentioning that Wang Chongcheng, the only son of Wang Yihong, the second son and grandson of Wang Yan, was very good at studying and passed the imperial examination at the young age of eighteen.

Faced with the Wang family, whose three members had passed the imperial examinations, Yinwu set his sights directly on Wang Chongcheng.

As a Han dynasty official family that prospered through the imperial examination system, they valued the education of their family members more than anyone else in order to ensure the inheritance of their family power and wealth.

Objectively speaking, in Han dynasty families, if even one generation fails to produce a high-ranking official, the family will inevitably decline in wealth.

Among the third generation of the Wang family, only Wang Chongcheng was good at studying; the rest were useless.

If a trap is set up strategically to ensnare Wang Chongcheng and gain leverage over him, Wang Yan, for the sake of his family's long-term interests, will most likely choose to submit. Frankly speaking, Wang Yan, having risen to the position of Grand Secretary, is certainly no fool.

Wang Yan repeatedly petitioned to reinstate Yinreng as crown prince, wasn't he just hoping that after the emperor's death, the Wang family's wealth and power would rise even higher?

Because of his impure motives, Emperor Kangxi did not show any mercy and directly banished Wang Yiqing to Ulias Utai to eat yellow earth.

However, Kangxi did not expect that Wang Yan, still harboring treacherous intentions, would start spouting nonsense again.

Yinwu secretly kept spies and people around, but using them to do things for Kangxi was like using a sledgehammer to crack a nut—completely not worth it.

Since it involved dirty and unpleasant work, Yinwu naturally thought of Longkodo, who had stolen his father-in-law's concubine, right away.

Therefore, after returning to his residence, Yinwu ordered Wulin to personally go to Longkodo.

About an hour later, Longkodo arrived in a hurry, accompanied by Ulin.

"Your humble servant Longkodo wishes Your Majesty great peace!" Longkodo was as obsequious as ever, his face full of flattery.

Yinwu picked up his teacup, took a small sip, and then slowly said, "Old Long, how did you manage to snatch Yuzhu's father back then?"

If an ordinary person had asked him that question, Longkodo would have been furious on the spot, and might even have drawn his sword.

The problem is that Yinwu is not only the current emperor's biological son, but also Longkodo's superior.

However, as Kangxi grew older and the fourteenth prince gained power, Longkodo's respect for Yinwu decreased by more than 30% compared to before.

"Your Highness, I'm a fool. Since I truly loved Si'er, I decided to go all the way. That day, while my father-in-law was at the yamen, I led my men to his door and forcibly took Si'er away. By the time my father-in-law found out, hehe, guess what? The deed was done." Longkodo proudly recounted the shameful affair of stealing his father-in-law's concubine.

"Hmm, if it were me, I'm afraid I wouldn't dare to do it!" Yinwu deliberately praised Longkodo's audacity in a roundabout way.

Encouraged, Longkodo became even more enthusiastic, speaking with great enthusiasm: "To be honest, Your Highness, there are always people spreading rumors about Si'er. However, this servant really doesn't care. As long as I can be with my beloved woman every day, this servant is not afraid of being scolded."

Yinwu chuckled and said, "You must know about my quirks, right?"

Longkodo didn't dare to respond to such a question, so he could only laugh awkwardly twice, which was considered a barely acceptable response.

As the saying goes, if you are not from the same family, you will not enter the same door.

As the old saying goes, birds of a feather flock together.

Although Yinwu was not as shameless as Longkodo, the bad things he did ruined his reputation!

Since they share similar tastes, they have a common language.

“Old Long, there’s something I need you to do…” Yinwu then entrusted Longkodo with the task of plotting to frame Wang Chongcheng. “If this succeeds, you won’t have to worry about Yuzhu’s future.”

As long as Emperor Kangxi was alive, Longkodo's power had reached its peak, and it was impossible for him to rise to a higher level in the short term.

However, since Yuzhu was not only Longkodo's most favored son, but also Yinwu's beloved son, this deal was entirely feasible.

Longkodo blinked, pondered for a moment, and tentatively said, "My son's qualifications are still too shallow; I'm afraid he's not up to the task."

Yinwu smiled slightly and promised, "I don't have much ability, but helping Yuzhu become a third-class imperial bodyguard shouldn't be too difficult."

Longkodo couldn't contain his joy. It was after serving as a bodyguard that he gained the favor of Emperor Kangxi, which led to his meteoric rise in rank.

"Yes, Your Highness, please rest assured, this servant will handle the matter properly." Longkodo agreed to Yinwu without the slightest hesitation.

(End of this chapter)