There is no such thing as the Kangxi and Qianlong eras

Chapter 285 Winter of the Third Year of Jiaqing

The winter of the third year of the Jiaqing reign was destined to be an eventful one.

The heavy snow in the Forbidden City broke the three eaves of the Qianqing Palace. The 88-year-old Emperor Qianlong was huddled in the warm pavilion, wrapped in a fur coat, reviewing memorials and war reports.

These battle reports had already been replaced by Heshen beforehand, and all of them were now marked with red circles indicating victory.

Heshen's reason was that the Emperor Emeritus had just suffered a serious illness (acute stroke) and it was really not appropriate for him to get angry easily.

On the advice of Wang Jie, Liu Yong, and others, Emperor Jiaqing remained silent.

Yuqing Palace.

"Your Majesty, the person has been brought here." Chief eunuch Zhang Jinzhong entered the hall to pay his respects.

Upon hearing this, the impatient Jiaqing immediately stood up to greet him: "Quickly...quickly let him in."

"Whoo!"

Zhang Jinzhong acknowledged and withdrew.

Before long, they returned, followed by two elegantly dressed Manchu girls.

The two women looked quite young, and when they saw the Jiaqing Emperor standing in the hall staring directly at them, they immediately shrank back and trembled with fear.

Zhang Jinzhong scolded, "What are you standing there for when His Majesty is right in front of you?"

"This servant, Fucha Minxiu (Fucha Wanrong), kowtows to Your Majesty!"

Upon hearing this, the two Manchu noblewomen from the Fucha family immediately bowed respectfully.

But Emperor Jiaqing seemed not to hear at all, and continued to stare intently at the two of them.

To be precise, he was staring at the faces of the two girls, those thirteen or fourteen-year-old girls whose faces had not yet fully matured.

"So alike, so very alike! Hahaha!" Jiaqing suddenly burst into laughter.

Zhang Jinzhong quickly lowered his head and glanced at the two Fucha girls who were still in a daze, feeling a pang of regret.

Don't misunderstand, he was a eunuch, of course he couldn't be interested in women, especially not the women of his masters.

Women within the Manchu Eight Banners could hardly be expected to be particularly beautiful. Take Consort Xiang, for example. In "Princess Pearl," she was depicted as someone who could attract butterflies and emit fragrance, but in reality, Consort Xiang entered the palace at nearly thirty years old, and she was a Hui princess who entered the palace through a military marriage.

The only reason why Emperor Qianlong favored Consort Xiang was that the Hui people behind Consort Xiang supported the Manchu Qing dynasty, and the Manchu Qing dynasty also needed the strong support of the Hui people to suppress and restrain Khoja.

Oh, and there's also Dayuer, whom Dorgon "loves" to the point of obsession. She's also a Mongolian concubine from the Khorchin tribe of the grasslands, and she's 100% muscular.

The struggle between Dorgon and Huang Taiji for Dayuer was essentially a contest for the support of the Khorchin tribe.

The Horqin Grassland has a unique geographical location, and even within the grassland itself, it is a key force that determines the rise and fall of the grassland and the succession of the Khanate.

"Zhang Jinzhong, take them away and proceed to the Imperial Household Department to enter the names into the register as usual." Jiaqing looked at them for a moment, then withdrew his gaze and solemnly instructed them.

As a trusted eunuch of Emperor Jiaqing, Zhang Jinzhong understood the gravity of the matter and immediately bowed, saying, "This servant obeys the decree."

After Zhang Jinzhong led the two bewildered women away, Jiaqing finally breathed a sigh of relief, feeling that his back was almost soaked with sweat.

This was the first risky move he took after three years of biding his time and acting as a puppet emperor.

Recalling that not long ago in the palace, there were two faces that looked exactly like Empress Xiaoxianchun in the portrait in the Khan's study, especially the youngest of the two women, who looked seven or eight parts like the portrait in her memory.

These two noble ladies from the Fucha family were related to Empress Xiaoxianchun. Their grandfather was Fucha Fuguang, an important minister during the Qianlong reign, and their great-grandfather was Fucha Maqi, a veteran of the Kangxi, Yongzheng, and Qianlong reigns.

With such a distinguished status and being born into the Fucha family, she should have entered Jiaqing's harem as an appendage to maintain the political balance between the Manchu Eight Banners.

It's a pity, since they both look so much like the late Empress Xiaoxianchun.

This was Emperor Qianlong's white moonlight in his youth, whom Emperor Jiaqing had never even met. He could only recognize her by looking at the portrait in his study. It was only when the opportunity came that he remembered her that he could not resist.

A few months ago, Emperor Qianlong was so anxious about the war reports from the south that he suddenly suffered a stroke and was almost paralyzed. When Emperor Jiaqing arrived, he heard Emperor Qianlong vaguely calling out a name in his delirium.

Later, after asking Wang Jie and Liu Yong, he learned that it seemed to be the name of Empress Xiaoxianchun. From that time on, Jiaqing had been thinking about this, and now the time was almost ripe. Several months had passed since Qianlong's stroke, and Qianlong was slowly recovering.

Although his speech is still not very clear, he has no problem reviewing memorials and using simple words.

Emperor Jiaqing summoned Wang Jie and Liu Yong for a secret meeting overnight to discuss the matter.

Liu Yongxian said, "Now that the people have been found, we can start by having them quickly familiarize themselves with court etiquette, so that when they meet the Emperor Emeritus, they will not be disrespectful in front of the Emperor and thus jeopardize important matters."

Upon hearing this, Wang Jie shook his head and retorted: "There is absolutely no need for that. Although the person has been found, this matter cannot be kept from Heshen. Now that the Emperor Emeritus has just recovered from a serious illness, Heshen's power is at its peak. We must either not make a move at all, or if we do, we must succeed so that Heshen and his cronies have no chance to react!"

Emperor Jiaqing wholeheartedly agreed with Wang Jie's words.

In fact, he was more anxious than anyone else; otherwise, he wouldn't have held a secret meeting that very night after bringing the people over during the day, without giving any consideration to the two elders, Wang Jie and Liu Yong.

Emperor Jiaqing asked, "When do you think is the safest time, Minister Wang?"

"Tomorrow," Wang Jie answered without hesitation.

Emperor Jiaqing was taken aback: "So fast?"

Wang Jie said, "Delay may cause complications. Tomorrow, His Majesty can take people to meet the Retired Emperor under the pretext of paying his respects as usual."

Jiaqing frowned: "If we offer a daughter under the guise of paying respects, what if the Emperor Emeritus blames us?"

Wang Jie stroked his beard and smiled nonchalantly, saying, "It is an elegant matter for a son to be filial to his father and for the Emperor to be filial to the Retired Emperor. In addition, the two women's descriptions are indeed similar to Empress Xiaoxianchun, so the Retired Emperor will only praise the Emperor and will not blame him."

Upon hearing this, Emperor Jiaqing's brows immediately relaxed, and he nodded gently: "What Minister Wang says is true. Then I will go and pay my respects to the Emperor Emeritus tomorrow."

Liu Yong, not to be outdone, chimed in, "Your Majesty, this servant may go with Lord Wang tomorrow to invite Heshen out. Your Majesty can then enter the palace to pay your respects after Heshen has left. This way, the situation will be more secure!"

"It is Liu Aiqing who has taken such good care of you," Jiaqing said, clapping his hands in praise.

The next day.

Heshen, carrying a forged and embellished memorial, prepared to meet Emperor Qianlong.

Suddenly, Wang Jie and Liu Yong blocked their way. To be precise, they didn't just block their way, but started hurling insults at each other.

Wang Jie angrily denounced Heshen as a treacherous minister who had ruined the country, while Liu Yong, acting as a good-natured person, stepped in to mediate.

This didn't arouse Heshen's suspicion, because Wang Jie was truly outspoken and had publicly pointed at Heshen's nose and cursed him several times. Heshen did want to get rid of Wang Jie, but since Emperor Qianlong liked Wang Jie's personality, he always stepped in to smooth things over and protect Wang Jie.

To put it simply, Wang Jie is like the "Ji Xiaolan" in TV dramas. Emperor Qianlong knew that Heshen was greedy and that Wang Jie disapproved of Heshen. Emperor Qianlong needed Wang Jie to keep Heshen in check and prevent him from becoming too unruly.

Liu Yong was a Han Chinese lackey whom Emperor Qianlong found convenient to use, unlike Wang Jie.

The three of them started hurling insults at each other on their way to the Qianqing Palace.

Wang Jie, who was almost thirty years older than Heshen, pointed at Heshen's nose and berated him mercilessly until Heshen's face darkened, yet he couldn't easily lose his temper.

While they were arguing, Jiaqing led the two women into the Qianqing Palace.

"Your Majesty, the Emperor has come to pay his respects!"

"Um……"

Emperor Qianlong squinted, still wrapped in a fur coat. Since his stroke, he had become increasingly sensitive to the cold, and even his old eyesight was growing increasingly dim.

Hearing footsteps entering the hall, and realizing there was more than one person, Qianlong looked up to get a closer look.

"Ok?"

In a daze, Qianlong seemed to see his Empress Xiaoxianchun, who had passed away many years ago.

"Lang~hua!?"

(If there's really no real historical record, then let's use the kind of material commonly used in film and television adaptations!)
(End of this chapter)