My father is Yongzheng, and I am Qianlong?

Chapter 404 Implementing an Attendance System and Dealing with the Harem by Emperor Qianlong

The eldest princess suddenly felt a pang of panic and glanced at Ning Ci, who had come with her.

Ning Ci frowned, revealing a look of disgust, but then quickly lowered her head.

Because, at that moment, Hongli was looking at her.

At this moment, Lady Gao walked over to the eldest princess and said, "Is it delicious? This is a token of your father's affection for you!"

As she spoke, Ms. Gao smiled and patted her daughter's shoulder.

The eldest princess hesitated.

Yongkun looked at her and asked, "Little sister, do you not like it?"

"Father, it's delicious, so I even shared some with the head nanny."

The eldest princess responded with a smile.

Ning Ci breathed a sigh of relief.

Hongli nodded, and before he could ask any more questions, he saw that the music had started, so he said, "Let's have our meal."

After the meal, Hongli did not rush to the Hall of Diligent Governance and the Hall of Respect for the Virtuous to handle government affairs.

Despite his keen interest in health, he sat in the main hall of Shaojingxuan, rubbing his stomach to aid digestion while chatting with Madam Gao and her two children.

Hongli first asked Yongkun what books he had been reading recently.

Yongkun replied, "Your Majesty, I have recently been reading the 'Veritable Records of the Ming Dynasty' and I enjoy it very much."

"It seems that, like your mother, you also like the history of the Ming Dynasty."

"very good!"

Hongli nodded, then looked at the eldest princess and asked, "Don't you think this year's strawberries are much sweeter than last year's?"

"I didn't feel that way."

Yongkun replied.

Gao rolled her eyes at her son.

The eldest princess gave an awkward smile: "It seems so."

Madam Gao smiled and said, "I think so too."

Hongli nodded, and soon after, he got up and asked Lady Gao to accompany him for a walk in the vicinity.

Mr. Gao readily agreed.

While taking a walk, Hongli asked Lady Gao, "What is the background of the head maidservant who serves the eldest princess?"

"Her name is Ning Ci, and she is from the Third Banner of the Plain Yellow Banner. Her son is currently a clerk in the Imperial Household Department."

Gao replied.

Hongli nodded after hearing this, and said nothing more.

After his walk, Hongli went to the Hall of Diligent Governance and the Hall of Respect for the Worthy to begin reviewing memorials.

Hongli first saw a secret report from Wang Mo, the provincial governor of Shanxi, which stated that Shanxi had not received any rain since the beginning of spring.

Therefore, Emperor Hongli decided to issue an imperial edict ordering Shi Lin, the governor of Shanxi, to make preparations for drought prevention and to report to the court in a timely manner if a severe drought occurred.

After dealing with this matter, Ortai and Zhang Tingyu presented their credentials and requested an audience.

Hongli then met the two men.

It turned out that the two had come to discuss the attendance regulations, and had already drafted the corresponding attendance regulations according to Hongli's requirements.

This forced Hongli to admit that although officials in the central government offices such as the cabinet and the six ministries were generally lazy and indolent, the ministers of the Grand Council were still very proactive.

of course!

This is understandable, as the Grand Council had become the true central authority of the Qing Dynasty, possessing the power of a prime minister even without the title.

Therefore, the ministers of the Grand Council naturally had different ideas from other ministers.

If they wanted to consolidate their power, they naturally had to make the emperor see their diligence at all times.

"very good!"

"What's remarkable is that you've also put your minds to it, suggesting in the regulations that if high-ranking officials like the Minister and Vice Minister are late or absent, all officials in that department should be held accountable. If a high-ranking official dares to hold a position without doing his job, not only will I not tolerate it, but the officials below him will also not tolerate it!"

After reading the attendance regulations, Hongli praised them with great satisfaction, placed them on the table, pointed at them with his finger, and said, "Immediately issue an edict to implement them! Starting from the beginning of next month, let the officials get used to it for a while."

"Whoo!"

When the attendance regulations were announced, the court officials were indeed in an uproar and discussed them in secret.

"Oh no! Our master not only wants to be a diligent ruler himself, but also wants us to be diligent officials!"

"From now on, we really have to get up early every day to wait in the imperial chambers. After all, if we keep our master waiting any longer, we'll really be punished!"

"Forget it, it's just about getting things done sooner. Anyway, we're old and frail, we can't offer any advice or suggestions!"

“That’s right. If Your Majesty wants to rely on someone with insightful and far-sighted strategies for governing the country, you should ask the Grand Secretary. We should just do our duty. This is the best way to protect ourselves and make Your Majesty rely solely on the Grand Secretary, so that it’s not appropriate to punish the Grand Secretary’s people too harshly.” “While that may be true, I still hope that Your Majesty can soon live a life of peace and harmony, content to be a ruler who maintains the status quo, sharing honor and glory with your ministers. Right now, there are no major events in the world, the national treasury is full, and the people live in peace. What is there to govern?”

Many court officials spoke quite bluntly and directly in private.

Hongli already knew from the previous incident of waiting for ministers that many court officials wanted to attach themselves to veterans like Ortai or Zhang Tingyu so that they could rely on their seniority, feign madness, and live a life of ease.

Therefore, Hongli did not intend to bypass the Grand Council and discuss political affairs with these ministers who were already showing signs of fatigue.

He was simply looking for an opportunity to replace these people in a haphazard, random fashion.

After all, replacing everyone at once would disrupt the operation of the imperial court.

However, by changing positions every now and then, and by leaving one or two rare and desirable positions vacant for the E and Zhang factions to compete for, he had the opportunity to divide and weaken these court officials who had actively formed factions.

at the same time!

This way, he won't have to replace E and Zhang, whom he still relies on quite a bit, too quickly.

Hongli didn't believe that with the sudden addition of a Minister and a Governor, the middle-level officials would really be just like the high-level officials, all taking a passive, non-competitive approach.

"Master, it's time for dinner."

While Hongli was reviewing memorials until noon, the chief eunuch Li Yu came to remind him.

Hongli then suddenly said, "Go and summon the eldest princess to have dinner with me."

"Whoo!"

Hongli did not summon his eldest daughter on a whim; rather, he decided to take advantage of this free time to learn about her situation.

He knew that during the Qing Dynasty, princesses were in a much worse situation than princes.

Therefore, during the reigns of Emperor Kangxi and Emperor Yongzheng, the infant mortality rate of princesses was very high.

When Hongli was a prince, he didn't have the opportunity to inquire about the princesses' situation.

But now that he has a daughter, he naturally wants to be involved.

Otherwise, as a father, he wouldn't be able to find peace of mind.

Moreover, being from the future, he couldn't truly treat his daughter merely as a tool for political marriage.

After the eldest princess saw Hongli return in the morning, she noticed that the stewardess Ning Ci looked unwell.

She knew it was because she hadn't acted naturally and gracefully in front of the Emperor.

But what she felt quite aggrieved about was that, in that situation, it was already difficult for a ten-year-old not to tell the truth that she hadn't eaten any strawberries, let alone to be natural and composed.
“Princess, I have no choice but to teach you properly.”

"Your performance in front of the Emperor today was very poor. You completely lacked the demeanor expected of a princess. You were timid and hesitant, only looking at the servants around you. This will not only damage your own reputation but also leave the Emperor with the impression that you are neither affectionate nor respectful!"

However, what the eldest princess did not expect was that Ning Ci also invited the head nanny Wen Xi, which led to Wen Xi starting to reprimand her.

As the head maid Wenxi spoke, seeing that the eldest princess did not reply, she reached out and pinched the delicate flesh on the princess's arm, giving it a hard squeeze while gritting her teeth.

"No crying or shouting! No talking!"

"Unless Your Highness is willing to wait for the outside world to spread your reputation as willful, capricious, violent, and shameless!"

The head nanny, Wenxi, then pointed at the eldest princess with a stern face and threatened her.

Ning Ci chimed in, "Princess, the head nanny is right. If your bad reputation were to spread, even the Imperial Household Department wouldn't be able to find the source. At most, they could find one or two scapegoats to appease the Emperor, but what good would that do you? Your reputation is already ruined."

Wen Xi gave this a cold laugh.

The eldest princess could only keep her mouth shut and blink her eyes, as if trying her best to stop the tears from flowing.

"Wenxi, why is the eldest princess crying?"

At that moment, Gao suddenly came over.

Wenxi's face turned pale. She and Ningci exchanged a glance, and then both looked at the eldest princess.

Wenxi, on the other hand, was more experienced and composed, and immediately explained with a smile:
"This servant was teaching the eldest princess about etiquette and filial piety, so I brought up how the Emperor and Empress loved her in the past. The eldest princess was so moved that she shed tears. Your Highness can ask the eldest princess to find out."

"is it?"

Lady Gao looked at the eldest princess.

Ning Ci quietly tugged at the back of the eldest princess's clothes.

The eldest princess nodded: "As the head nanny said."

Lady Gao remained silent for a long time. She herself was a bondservant of the Imperial Household Department and knew that these bondservant servants had the ability to ruin her daughter's reputation. In such cases, apart from the Emperor taking precautions through the system, there was nothing a woman like her in the harem could do.

Therefore, she chose not to ask any further questions, and instead said in a very casual tone, "In that case, I'll leave the matter of instructing the princess to the head nanny."

"How could this servant dare not do her best!"

Gao took the eldest princess back to Shaojing Pavilion, but as soon as they arrived, Li Yu rushed over: "Your Majesty has granted the eldest princess permission to dine with the Emperor!"

Wenxi and Ningci were immediately flustered and at a loss for what to do.

(End of this chapter)