My father is Yongzheng, and I am Qianlong?

Chapter 155 The Infantry Commander Presents a Generous Gift!
When Hongli shouted at him, Aqitu trembled and immediately realized that he had made a very serious mistake.

at the same time!

Aqitu also clearly realized that the Fourth Prince in front of him was genuinely trying to help him, which was why he took the initiative to remind him.

Therefore, this made Azitu feel extremely grateful to Hongli.

At the same time, Azitu also greatly admired Hongli, admiring that he clearly understood better than himself how to please the emperor.

"What you say is true, Fourth Master. This servant thanks you for your guidance!"

So Azitu immediately kowtowed, his head hitting the ground with a loud thud.

Hongli simply waved his hand: "Step down. Remember, there is only one cloud above your head, and that is the Emperor!"

"Whoo!"

"Slave, please resign!"

Aqitu respectfully withdrew, secretly resolving in his heart that he would definitely have the opportunity to thank this Fourth Master properly in the future.

Because he knew that if he could survive and continue his official career, it would definitely be thanks to this Fourth Master.

He now owes this Fourth Master a huge favor!

Azitu then requested an audience with Emperor Yongzheng: "This servant has come to Your Majesty to plead guilty and beg Your Majesty to punish me!"

"What are you guilty of?"

Yongzheng looked at Aqitu with a calm expression.

Azitu replied, "This servant has committed at least two major crimes."

"Tell me."

"Whoo!"

"My crime is that I knew anonymous accusations against Prince Yi had appeared in the city, yet I failed to promptly admit my negligence to His Majesty, and even dared not investigate because I suspected it was the work of Nian Gengyao's men."

"The second crime is that after Nian Gengyao was transferred to Hangzhou, he was afraid of being punished by His Majesty, so he went to see the Fourth Prince first instead of his master. It seems that he wanted to save his life and official position through the Fourth Prince, and he only wanted to please the Fourth Prince, forgetting His Majesty's intentions."

"You wretch, you've lost your mind. You shouldn't have forgotten that there's only one cloud above your head."

Azitu sincerely kowtowed in reply.

At this point, Yongzheng asked Aqitu, "Did Hongli teach you all these things?"

Yongzheng's question sent chills down his spine.

Because Aqitu did not expect that Yongzheng already knew that he had met with Hongli.

Aqitu dared not hide anything from Yongzheng any longer, and answered truthfully: "Your Majesty, these two major crimes were thought of by this servant himself; however, the saying 'only one cloud over this servant' was reminded to this servant by the Fourth Prince."

Yongzheng asked Aqitu, "Do you know why Hongli still wanted to see you even after he realized you shouldn't have?"

Azitu was in a state of panic.

He knew that if he answered incorrectly, he would really be punished.

“This is not about the face of a servant. No matter how high a position a servant holds, he is still just a servant. Only the face of His Majesty matters.”

"Therefore, this servant believes that the Fourth Prince only saw this servant because of his master."

"This servant dares not be complacent just because the Fourth Prince is willing to see this servant and remind this servant, and thinks that the Fourth Prince only values ​​this servant and has nothing to do with His Majesty."

After Azitu answered, he began to sweat profusely, as if he had been drenched in water.

June weather is always very hot, especially when a downpour is imminent.

However, Emperor Yongzheng wasn't that hot.

The gentle breeze fanned by Su Peisheng and the cool air rising from the solid ice in the copper basin beside him calmed him as he reviewed the memorials. He said to Aqitu, "The fact that you can understand this level means that you can still be saved."

When Aqitu heard Yongzheng say this, a weight was lifted from his heart, and he kowtowed heavily on the gold brick: "This servant is sorry for Your Majesty!"

boom!
He was promoted to this position by Emperor Yongzheng based on his military achievements, and he was known for his immense strength, so his impact was like thunder.

Yongzheng trembled slightly and stopped writing: "Enough. Considering it's your first offense and your careless nature, I'll just dismiss you from your post and temporarily deduct half a year's salary. I'll order you to atone for your crime and perform good deeds. At the same time, you should read the classics and historical texts of the Han people and learn the rules!"

"Thank you for your great favor, Your Majesty!"

Seeing Aqitu's obsequious and pleased expression, Yongzheng couldn't help but grin.

At the same time, Yongzheng thought that when Hongli asked Aqitu to see him, he would take the initiative to remind Aqitu, and more importantly, he always knew his own position. Therefore, he was more satisfied with Hongli and more at ease with him.

Emperor Yongzheng then said to Aqitu, "People should know how to be grateful. The Fourth Prince reminded you, so you should thank him for his kindness. I also allow you to have private contact with him."

Azitu was taken aback, but without asking any further questions, he simply kowtowed and replied, "This servant obeys the decree!"

Next, Azitu left the Hall of Mental Cultivation.

Afterwards, Azitu visited Hongli again, bringing a gift with him.

Hongli asked him, "Why have you come to see me again?"

"Your Majesty, I was granted permission by His Majesty to come and see you. His Majesty allowed me to meet with you privately and even felt that I should be grateful to you."

"This servant naturally agrees with His Majesty's words. If it weren't for Fourth Prince's reminder, this servant might not even know how he lost his head."

"Since I have heard that Your Highness enjoys appreciating calligraphy and painting, I have dared to present you with a copy of Huang Tingjian's 'Songfeng Pavilion Poems' which I acquired in the past, for Your Highness to enjoy and appreciate in your leisure time. I hope Your Highness will do me the honor of accepting it!"

As he spoke, Aqitu presented the calligraphy work to Hongli.

Hongli glanced at Aqitu.

Although he loved calligraphy and painting, after all, the Chinese culture they embody has great aesthetic value. When he had no free time, especially during moments of wisdom, appreciating the calligraphy and paintings of masters was very pleasant and made his soul feel cleansed. It was a luxurious experience that he could hardly have had when he was an ordinary person in his later life.

Because many priceless treasures are hard to see even in museums, and even if they are in museums, they are usually behind glass cases and cannot be touched or viewed up close, which greatly diminishes the aesthetic experience.

But he didn't expect that the outside world had mistakenly thought he was very obsessed with calligraphy and painting.

However, Hongli didn't say much, after all, Huang Tingjian's "Songfengge Poetry Scroll" has always been hailed as the "ninth best running script in the world", and he was also interested in seeing it.

Hongli simply instructed Li Yu, "Open it and take a look." "Yes, sir!"

Li Yu then took it from Aqitu and opened it in front of Hongli.

Looking at Huang Tingjian's work, Hongli couldn't help but nod, thinking to himself that he was indeed a master and wrote better than himself!
Chinese characters are indeed great!
When it is finished, it truly seems to contain endless charm.

Hongli is now also diligently practicing calligraphy.

Because he has now begun to learn about politics and his influence in the court is growing stronger, many high-ranking officials, especially some elders of the royal family, ask him for calligraphy during festivals.

Even though no one would say anything if his writing wasn't good, and those who needed to flatter him would use all sorts of nice words to praise him, he still didn't want his handwriting to be too shabby.

After all, men have pride!
Antiques in prosperous times, gold in troubled times.

Calligraphy and paintings by famous people are usually categorized as the former.

We're not in a chaotic time now, so collecting more calligraphy and paintings by famous people isn't a bad thing.

At that moment, Hongli said, "Take it."

"This servant thanks Fourth Master for the honor."

Azitu was overjoyed and bowed in greeting.

Hongli then raised his hand to let Aqitu stand up.

He was satisfied with Azitu's performance.

Although Achitu came to express his gratitude on the orders of Emperor Yongzheng, the fact that he dared to offer such an expensive gift as a token of thanks showed that Achitu was genuinely grateful and held him in high esteem.

In contrast.

Hongli felt that Nian Gengyao's two sons, Nian Fu and Nian Xing, who were officials in the capital, were very insensitive. To put it bluntly, they didn't respect him, the fourth prince, and didn't know how to thank him.

Regardless, when many court officials were calling for Nian Gengyao's execution, I spoke well of the Nian family.

In this lifetime, from a certain perspective, it was because of him that Nian Gengyao was able to continue serving as the General of Hangzhou.

Nian Fu and Nian Xing have yet to come and pay their respects to the Fourth Prince, which has more or less disappointed Hongli.

Hongli knew that not everyone in this world knew how to be grateful.

Some people even take others' kindness for granted.

As the saying goes, a small favor is appreciated, but a large one breeds resentment.

I gave Azitu a little pointer, and he was very grateful.

As for the matter of whether to kill or spare Nian Gengyao, he spoke well of Nian Gengyao, but Nian Fu and Nian Xing have not yet expressed their gratitude or made any effort to pull strings.

of course!

This is also related to the fact that Emperor Yongzheng only transferred Nian Gengyao to the position of Hangzhou General, and did not treat him too harshly at the beginning.

This led Nian Gengyao's son to still harbor illusions about Yongzheng, believing that Yongzheng wouldn't be too harsh on their father and that Consort Nian and the Eighth Prince still held significant weight in Yongzheng's heart.

Therefore, even though he was an official in the capital, he didn't know to be grateful for the good fortune and prosperity of the year. Perhaps he just felt there was no need to be grateful.

Anyway, his fourth prince is so magnanimous that he won't hold a grudge.

This time, they were only helped because of Consort Nian and the Eighth Prince, so they didn't need to express too much gratitude to the Fourth Prince.

As it happened, perhaps the two were rather lazy, so they simply didn't come to pay him a visit.

However, this was just Hongli's guess.

Hongli could only lament that Nian Fu and Nian Xing were executed by Yongzheng and Qianlong respectively, which was largely due to their lack of understanding of the law.

However, he cannot simply bestow favors; sometimes, he must also establish his authority.

After all, petty people fear power but do not cherish virtue.

On this day, thanks to a timely rain, the sweltering capital city temporarily became cool.

Emperor Yongzheng then took Hongli incognito and left the palace to conduct a surprise inspection of the construction project of Prince Bao's Mansion.

After Emperor Yongzheng bestowed the former Prince Yong's Mansion upon Hongli, the mansion was to be transformed into Hongli's future residence, serving as the place where he would get married and live.

Originally, the Yongwang Mansion was intended to be converted into a Beile Mansion, but now that Hongli has been promoted to Baojun Prince, it will naturally be converted into Baojun Prince Mansion.

Of course, a Prince of the Second Rank is still one rank lower than a Prince of the First Rank, so according to the requirements of etiquette, the former Prince Yong's residence still needs to be renovated to meet the architectural standards that a Prince of the Second Rank can enjoy, so as not to be considered overstepping his bounds.

"Although your sixteenth uncle is quite capable and cautious, he is not very responsible when it comes to matters. Therefore, he delegates more authority to his subordinates. As a result, the officials under the Imperial Household Department may try to find ways to use inferior materials when building the Prince's Mansion."

"And even if you discover problems in the future, you will have to swallow your anger for the sake of your sixteenth uncle. So I will have to come and see for myself to make sure they don't dare to be careless, and also to see the place where they used to live."

When Yongzheng, disguised as a commoner, brought Hongli to the former Yong Prince's residence, he told Hongli the reason for his visit and handed Hongli a dog that he was holding in his arms so that Hongli could hold it.

His arms were a little sore from holding her for so long.

Emperor Yongzheng brought his dog along because he wanted his favorite dog to see the place where it had lived.

Hongli took it, and while petting the dog, he said, "Thank you, Father, for being willing to keep an eye on things for me!"

"It's not just for you; my former residence as a prince cannot be allowed to have any tampering!"

After saying that, Yongzheng asked Hongli, "Has the gift that Nian Gengyao sent you arrived yet?"

"arrive!"

"But for some reason, Nian Fu and Nian Xing have not come to see me yet!"

"I wonder if it was because Nian Gengyao didn't remind them, or if the two of them are even more arrogant than their father?"

At this moment, Hongli decisively began to sow discord between Nian Gengyao's two sons.

Upon hearing this, Yongzheng's face darkened.

(End of this chapter)