My father is Yongzheng, and I am Qianlong?

Chapter 277 The Demeanor of a Crown Prince
This official was none other than Chang Shou, the newly appointed Minister of Rites.

Because Yunzhi had been extremely respectful to Yongzheng recently, often referring to himself as a servant, Yongzheng had restored his title of Prince.

Hongli breathed a sigh of relief and gave Changshou a grateful look.

He knew very well that someone was trying to intimidate him. If Changshou didn't admit to the matter today, he could very well be falsely accused of "summoning prostitutes to the yamen" through rumors!
Then, he had to beg the third brother to cover up this shameful affair that had arisen out of nowhere.

But he still asked Changshou with a stern face, "Tell me properly, what happened! Who gave you the audacity to do this!"

Chang Shou replied, "Fourth Master, it's nothing. I just found the place boring and thought you wouldn't be here until tomorrow, so I summoned two of my favorite prostitutes to keep me company while I drank and had fun. I never expected that you would arrive today."

"So you're blaming me for catching you in the act?"

Hongli asked in an unfriendly tone.

Although he was grateful to Chang Shou for getting him out of trouble, he still had to pretend to be angry on the surface.

Chang Shou said, "This servant wouldn't dare! Even if you don't discover it, Prince Cheng will still find out!"

“Hongli, don’t misunderstand. I really didn’t mean to stumble upon Changshou’s affair. If I had known this would happen, I wouldn’t have come to the Ministry of Rites today.”

The third son, Yunzhi, also looked very remorseful at this moment, and after speaking to Hongli, he also glanced at Changshou.

Snapped!
Hongli kicked Changshou directly.

Chang Shou collapsed to the ground and curled up.

"You worthless lackey! You're blaming my third uncle? You'll have to explain yourself to Father Khan later!"

Hongli was also saying this to his third son.

The third son himself looked aggrieved, and said to the scholars he had brought with him, "You can go to the Ministry of Rites to register yourselves. I have to go to the palace immediately to apologize to my master!"

The third prince is now, at least on the surface, quite obedient, and addresses Yongzheng as his master, even in front of Hongli.

"Respectfully seeing off Your Highness!"

The third brother had already turned and walked towards the Forbidden City, waving his hand and then saying anxiously, "What kind of mess is this? I really didn't expect to encounter this. Now it's like it really concerns me!"

Hongli understood that his third brother's words of regret were meant for him, and that he hoped he wouldn't misunderstand him.

Hongli was too lazy to investigate whether this matter was related to the third prince, but he had to admit that his visit to the Ministry of Rites was indeed different from his previous visit to the Court of Colonial Affairs.

The interest group associated with the Court of Colonial Affairs, including the Mongol princes and princesses, was greedy, corrupt, and selfish, but not cunning enough to be a major headache to deal with.

However, the interest groups associated with the Ministry of Rites were mostly scholar-officials who had passed the imperial examinations. They were indeed quite cunning. Even though I was careful, I was still almost forced to owe Prince Cheng a huge favor.

Prince Cheng was a virtuous prince highly regarded by the scholars and officials! Even Zhang Tingshu mentioned in his notes that Prince Cheng should be established as the heir apparent.

Therefore, he didn't bother to ask whether Prince Cheng was the mastermind or someone who had manipulated him.

He only remembered that during the Ming Dynasty, there had been an incident where someone broke into the Eastern Palace with a stick and beat people, which caused a huge uproar in the Ming Dynasty.

As for why this person was able to easily break into the Eastern Palace of the Ming Dynasty, it's just as baffling as when Wang Dachen easily broke into the vicinity of the Qianqing Palace with a knife in the early Wanli period.

The imperial guards of the Qing Dynasty and the Ming Dynasty seemed to be made of paper.

Of course, this is not surprising.

During the Ming and Qing dynasties, some eunuchs or soldiers at the grassroots level who were responsible for the gates of the imperial palace and the imperial city would inevitably be tempted by large sums of money and lucrative rewards to bring people into the palace.

Not to mention the historical records of ministers directly entering the Qianqing Palace with knives and storming the East Palace with weapons, as well as the White Lotus Religion breaking into the palace and almost killing Emperor Jiaqing.

It is said that some scholars recorded in their notes how they bribed eunuchs to enter the palace for sightseeing and to take photos, and how vendors entered the palace to sell their wares with the help of eunuchs and imperial guards.

Hongli was certain that the guards and officials of the Infantry Commander's Office who were on duty at the Daqing Gate today were going to be in trouble, regardless of whether they were just doing their jobs for money or tacitly allowing people recruited by high-ranking officials to pass through.

After all, some things may not seem significant until weighed, but once weighed, they can be as heavy as a thousand pounds. They can do it by quietly letting some people in under the green light to earn extra income when things are going smoothly, without worrying about any major problems. But if they run into trouble, they can only accept their bad luck.

Hongli then ordered his guards to detain the two prostitutes and send them to the Censorate prison.

Because the Infantry Commander's Office is no longer suitable to be involved in this matter.

Since this matter involves officials, it is naturally more appropriate for the Censorate to detain these two prostitutes.

The two prostitutes naturally felt wronged and cried uncontrollably.

After all, they were only sent there by a wealthy man at great expense, thinking they were just there to drink and sleep with the officials in the Ministry of Rites. Who knew they would end up in prison because of it?

But Hongli had no time to sympathize with them; he could only sigh that the two of them were brainless and didn't know that this place was not to be visited lightly.

At the same time, Hongli also had Changshou write a letter of apology and submit it.

Not long after meeting the third prince, Yongzheng also met with him and Changshou.

"I know that Changshou is innocent in this matter, and I also guessed that these things might happen. That's why I instructed Changshou to be waiting outside the Ministry of Rites at all times today, and to do everything in my power to help you out of this predicament."

Yongzheng seemed to see through everything. He did not fly into a rage, nor did he show any disappointment towards Hongli. He simply spoke calmly.

Chang Shou also remained calm, seemingly used to this kind of thing.

Then Yongzheng looked at Hongli and said with a smile, "I also learned from Changshou that you claimed you would go to the Ministry of Rites tomorrow, but you obviously played a trick and came today."

"You did very well!"

"Managing the Ministry of Rites means managing all the scholars and officials in the land; one must be shrewd!"

"But they are indeed very cunning. They guessed that you might come today, so they prepared an ambush long ago."

At this point, Yongzheng stood up and walked to Hongli's side, patting him on the shoulder: "Don't be discouraged! You know how to be cunning, you know they are treacherous, so you won't lose!"

"Your subject will remember your father's teachings."

Hongli replied, deliberately showing a touched expression.

This made Yongzheng particularly satisfied, as he felt that Hongli was expressing his gratitude and comforting him.

Then, Yongzheng said to Hongli, "Changshou will naturally be dismissed from his post, so the Ministry of Rites will not have anyone suitable to cooperate with you and help you out of this predicament. I plan to appoint your third uncle's person as the new Minister of Rites."

After hearing this, Hongli asked, "What else did Third Uncle promise?"

"He exposed Cha Siting!"

"Perfect timing! Let's use this case to give a warning to those Han gentry who want the Ministry of Rites to be controlled by the Hanlin Academy and its elite officials, just like in the Ming Dynasty!"

Yongzheng replied.

Upon hearing this, Hongli felt a jolt in his heart, thinking to himself that even after Longkodo completed his diplomatic mission, the ancestor of a certain famous novelist in later generations would still inevitably suffer misfortune.

It is worth mentioning that Hongli was unsure whether contacting these scholars who had been persecuted by Yongzheng or who opposed Yongzheng, such as Cha Siting and Zeng Jing, in advance would cause him trouble. Therefore, as a prince, he did not contact these scholars in advance, nor did he interfere with their fate.

Only now, with a legitimate opportunity for contact, did Hongli say after Yongzheng spoke, "Your subject requests permission to first meet Cha Siting's son, Cha Keshang!"

Chak is currently serving as a secretary in the Imperial Secretariat in the capital, so Hongli can meet him immediately.

Upon hearing this, Yongzheng turned and glanced at him disdainfully, then revealed a meaningful smile: "Granted!"

Then, after Hongli left the Hall of Mental Cultivation, Yongzheng sighed:
"He truly has the bearing of a crown prince!"

(End of this chapter)