My father is Yongzheng, and I am Qianlong?

Chapter 405 The Zhu Clan! Don't test my bottom line in protecting imperial power!
When the eldest princess arrived at the Qinzheng Qinxian Hall where he was, he saw that her eyes were a little red and swollen, and his face immediately darkened.

Hongli then asked Li Yu, "When you went there, did you see anything?"

"I saw the head nanny and the stewardess of Consort Gao and the eldest princess there."

"It looks like the eldest princess has just been crying."

After Li Yu finished speaking, she immediately lowered her head and held her breath.

Hongli felt as if his heart had been stabbed hard with a needle.

"Summon them here!"

Hongli immediately gave the order.

"Whoo!"

Hongli then asked the eldest princess, "Did you not eat any strawberries at all?"

The eldest princess suddenly raised her head and opened her eyes wide.

Upon seeing this, Hongli knew he had guessed correctly.

"Don't be afraid!"

Hongli held the eldest princess's arms with both hands.

The eldest princess suddenly frowned.

Hongli noticed this and immediately let go of her hand. At the same time, his face darkened even more, like the sky before a storm, and he gritted his teeth and waved to Jin Yuchai and Cao Lu.

The two approached, their hearts pounding with fear.

"Go to the inner room and examine the eldest princess's arm."

Hongli gave the order in a deep voice.

"Please, Father, don't check!"

The eldest princess immediately knelt down, begging Hongli.

Hongli frowned as he looked at the eldest princess, his tone softening slightly: "Why not? What are you afraid of?"

"The head nanny said that if she were punished, her daughter's reputation would be ruined, and rumors that Yang Qi was bad for her daughter would soon spread outside."

After the eldest princess returned, her eyes welled up with tears again.

Hongli flicked his sleeves and chuckled coldly, "What kind of logic is this? This servant dares to threaten her master!"

then.

Hongli then asked Li Yu, "Who is the head of the Imperial Household Department on duty?"

"Reporting to Your Majesty, it is Fu Nai."

Li Yu hurriedly replied.

Hongli narrowed his eyes after hearing this.

Fucha Fu Nai!

He was born into the Fuca clan of Neyin, and was not of the same clan as the Shaji Fuca clan of the Empress Dowager, but was of the same clan as his Manchu teacher, Fumin.

Fucha Funai belonged to the Manchu Bordered White Banner. He was a former bodyguard of the retired emperor and a former official of the Yongzheng Emperor, which is why he has now been promoted to the position of Director of the Imperial Household Department.

"Summon him here."

After thinking for a moment, Hongli gave the instructions.

Soon.

Concubine Gao, head nanny Wenxi, and stewardess Ningci arrived before the emperor first.

Hongli had already told the eldest princess to get up.

Then, he asked Wenxi, "If you are punished, the princess's innocence will be ruined. Did you say this to the princess?"

"This servant, this servant was only saying that the princess's innocence is of utmost importance, and this servant's life is of little consequence. Perhaps the princess has misunderstood."

Wenxi answered cautiously.

"How dare you!"

"In front of me, you're still trying to shift the blame onto the princess!"

Snapped!
A cup of scalding hot tea flew towards Wenxi.

This was accompanied by Hongli's deafening roar.

Wenxi was still trembling all over, kowtowing incessantly: "Master, spare me! Master, spare me! This servant dares not, this servant will never dare again!"

Ning Ci opened her mouth wide, but could no longer speak.

Even Lady Gao paled. She hadn't expected that the Emperor had already assumed that she and her princess were innocent, and that anyone who questioned the Emperor or his people was already guilty.

At this moment, Fu Nai, the Grand Minister of the Imperial Household Department, came outside and paid his respects to Hongli.

Hongli then directly ordered, "Summon the people from the Imperial Penal Division to drag Wenxi and Ningci away and beat them to death!"

Upon hearing this, Fu Nai immediately kowtowed: "Your Majesty, please allow me to report that the eldest princess's head nanny, Wenxi, is related to E Zhongtang. Disciplining Wenxi might damage E Zhongtang's reputation!"

"Are you teaching me how to do things?"

Hongli laughed.

Fu Nai turned deathly pale, then immediately kowtowed, saying, "This servant wouldn't dare!" "You've already dared!"

Hongli roared, his face contorted with rage, and his breathing grew heavier.

Fu Nai immediately kowtowed, saying, "Your Majesty, have mercy!"

"My lord, have mercy! My lord, have mercy!"

Wenxi and Ningci also joined in pleading with Hongli for mercy.

Lady Gao couldn't help but interject, her eyes brimming with tears, "Your Majesty, the eldest princess's reputation is of utmost importance."

She dared not say that Your Majesty was too impulsive; she could only gently advise him to consider his daughter's feelings.

Hongli gave her a cold look: "The women of the inner palace must not interfere in politics."

Gao had no choice but to shut up.

"Take the eldest princess back first."

Because Hongli thought that what he was about to do was too ruthless and it was not appropriate for his daughter and Gao to face each other directly, he said something to Gao again.

"Whoo!"

Lady Gao seemed to have guessed what Hongli was going to do, so she immediately responded and then left the Qinzheng Qinxian Hall with the eldest princess.

Then, Hongli instructed the eunuch Chen Fu: "Summon Ortai. I want to see if Ortai can really control everything!"

Fu Nai looked utterly shocked.

"Whoo!"

But just as Chen Fu turned around, Hongli called out again, "Wait!"

Chen Fu then turned around and lowered his head.

"Let Zhang Tingyu come along too."

Hongli ordered.

"Whoo!"

After Chen Fu left, Hongli looked at Li Yu and said, "What are you standing there for? Have the guards take these two wicked women to the Imperial Prison and have them beaten to death immediately! Letting them live even a moment longer is a desecration of the imperial law and the national constitution!"

"Whoo!"

Li Yu immediately responded and hurriedly went to the Department of Penal Caution.

The Shenxingsi (責刑司) was the place where palace slaves were dealt with, and it belonged to the Imperial Household Department.

The Imperial Household Department was essentially the emperor's own inner court institution.

Hongli could naturally bypass Fu Nai and issue an edict directly to the Imperial Household Department's Department of Criminal Justice.

Before this, he issued the decree through Fu Nai, but he did not intend to bypass the Minister of the Imperial Household Department and issue the decree directly to his subordinates.

Fu Nai dared not utter another word, silently praying in his heart that Ortai could save his life.

Ortai and Zhang Tingyu arrived here in a hurry not long after.

“I want to punish the two servants who deceived their master, but Fu Nai said that one of them is related to you, E Zhongtang. If I punish this person directly, it will damage your reputation.”

Hongli looked at Ortai and began to speak, then smiled and said, "Lord Ortai, tell me, should I forgive those two servants for the sake of your reputation?"

Ortai immediately knelt down: "This servant has no face in front of his master. The master's face is the servant's face. Fu Nai's words are nonsense. Since those two maids deceived their master, they should be executed! It has nothing to do with whether they are relatives of this servant!"

"very good!"

Hongli clapped his hands in praise, then looked up at the sky.

Then, Hongli looked down at Ortai and said, "Your relative said that if she is punished, the princess she served and taught will have a bad reputation."

"I have to admit that her move really frightened me, as well as the concubines in the harem. Not to mention the princess herself, she was so frightened that she tried to dissuade me from punishing that servant."

"You are a wise and resourceful Grand Secretary, teach me how to defend against the threats posed by this treacherous servant?"

Hongli asked Ortai.

After pondering for a moment, Ortai gritted his teeth and said, "This servant begs Your Majesty to issue an edict that if any rumors that are detrimental to the reputation of a prince or princess appear, the chief nanny, the head maidservant, and the head palace maid around that prince or princess shall all be executed, and their families shall be exterminated and their property confiscated!"

"The parents, husband, brothers, nephews and nieces were all exiled beyond the Great Wall and enslaved by the armored soldiers. The female relatives were given to the families of meritorious officials as slaves."

"Isn't this too strict?"

Hongli asked deliberately.

Ortai said, "If the law is not strict, it is not enough to punish evil and promote good. Since we have received the favor of serving and instructing the princes and princesses, and have been treated with respect by them as elders, we should naturally bear the harm of damage to their reputation! How can we stand aside or even take the opportunity to harm our master?"

"In this way, the servants who remain in the capital can truly take the initiative to protect their masters' reputation, and even take the initiative to conceal their specific duties in the palace, so as not to be ostentatious or arouse suspicion."

"As the saying goes, if a minister is not discreet, he will lose his life. Only in this way can the imperial family and one's own family be safe and sound, and even the state be safe and sound. This can be called a true unity of life and death!"

"Your Excellency is truly a capable minister of our Great Qing!"

Hongli nodded, affirming Ortai's statement.

However, Hongli suddenly said, "Then let's deal with Wenxi's entire clan in the same way!"

Ortai was slightly taken aback after hearing this.

"Regardless of whether the princess is my beloved daughter, what is more important is that this kind of thing—where a slave deceives his master and threatens the imperial authority—must be stopped! Therefore, it is not unreasonable to sacrifice the lives of an entire clan for this purpose!"
"I cannot allow my subordinates to think that I am not ruthless enough, and thus dare to test my limits again!"

(End of this chapter)