Chapter 2
"Khan Ama, Concubine De."
Yinreng entered the room and greeted the two of them one by one. Depin turned away and refused to accept. Yinreng raised his eyebrows. Depin was always gentle and cautious, and was even more proper in etiquette. Even though he only gave a half-salute, Depin still avoided it.
"Baocheng① come here quickly!" Kangxi smiled and pulled him to his side: "Why are you here?"
Yinreng snuggled into Kangxi's arms and said, "I heard that my sixth brother is ill, and I want to come and see him."
A pair of eyes rolled around looking at the baby in the cradle, and he looked up and asked, "How is Sixth Brother?"
"I took the medicine and the fever has subsided a little. The doctor said it's under control for now."
Temporarily? Yinreng turned these two words in his mind twice, which means that the disease may recur at any time. His disease was so serious a while ago because it recurred several times.
Yinreng's heart tightened, he stole a glance at Kangxi, then looked at Yinzuo beside him, and tugged at the corner of Kangxi's clothes with a depressed look: "Khan Ama!"
My nose felt a little sore and my voice was a little choked.
Kangxi was very surprised: "What's wrong?"
This question seemed to arouse all the grievances and sadness in Yinreng's heart. He cried and said, "Khan Ama! Aunt Lan took me to the Imperial Garden today. I heard from people in the palace that I got sick a while ago because of my sixth brother."
Kangxi's face darkened, and Concubine De was even more nervous.
Unexpectedly, Yinreng changed the subject: "I don't understand. The imperial doctors all said that people who eat all kinds of grains will get sick. I get sick twice a year. If you want to talk about seriousness, the smallpox I had two years ago was just as serious, and my sixth brother wasn't even born at that time. How could it be because of him? They say it's fate conflict. Khan Ama, is that really the case? If there is such a thing as fate conflict, then I just happened to be fine, and my sixth brother got sick. Is it because of me?"
"Nonsense!" Kangxi slammed his palm on the table, "Who said that!"
All the servants in the room knelt on the ground trembling with fear.
Yinreng was not afraid. At present, people outside only said that the Sixth Prince was his nemesis, and the word that he was his nemesis had not yet been officially spread. But if he did not take action in advance, it would be soon.
He burst into tears and hugged Kangxi tightly: "That's it! Otherwise, how could I be born without a mother! Khan Ama, I killed the Empress Dowager! It's all my fault! Khan Ama, I don't want to be born anymore, can you please bring the Empress Dowager back?"
Speaking of Hesheli, Kangxi was filled with grief. Seeing Yinreng crying breathlessly, saying that he would rather die than let his mother live, Kangxi felt like a disaster. Kangxi felt even more distressed. He could only hold him in his arms and comfort him softly.
Yinreng was not acting in this scene. It was true that he had recovered his memories of his past life, but he was also Yinreng himself. His sadness was real. The difference was that half a month ago, he understood that Kangxi was busy with government affairs and was unwilling to bother him with such a small matter. Now, he understands better what it means that "the crying child gets the milk."
This outburst gave him an outlet for all the emotions buried in his heart. He couldn't stop crying until he was tired of crying and fell asleep in Kangxi's arms.
Kangxi had no choice but to carry him back to Yuqing Palace.
Depin looked at Kangxi's receding back, feeling mixed emotions. Yuchan poured some water and handed it to him, "Madam, we have to think positively. The Emperor will definitely not send the Sixth Prince away after the Crown Prince made such a fuss."
He would not be sent away. Even if he was sent away at this time under the pretext of keeping the Sixth Prince alive, the real reason was clear to everyone except a fool. This was equivalent to tacitly accepting the theory of fate. It was all the words of fate. If you admit that the Sixth Prince defeated the Crown Prince, you have to admit that the Crown Prince also defeated the Sixth Prince and killed the Empress.
Kangxi would never allow the prince to bear such a reputation. Therefore, the Sixth Prince must not be sent away.
Depin waved her hand to let Yuchan leave, and sighed while gently rocking the cradle.
She didn't want to send the Sixth Prince away at first. It was just that the rumors about the "lucky star" in the palace were inexplicable and fierce. Before this wave was over, there was another saying that the prince was unlucky. The prince was the crown prince and the emperor's sweetheart. She could still take the former for a while, after all, Kangxi was not stupid and would not do anything to her and the Sixth Prince because of a rumor. The latter was really fatal.
She knew that Kangxi had already started investigating. It was true that someone was behind this, but even if the mastermind was found out, since it concerned the life of the crown prince, would Kangxi really not be afraid at all? Would he really have no grudges? With Kangxi's partiality towards the crown prince, she didn't dare to bet. So she had to take action first.
The rumors were rampant and could not be stopped, so she might as well try another approach. She could only let the Sixth Prince get sick once, turning the Sixth Prince's unilateral affliction on the Crown Prince into a mutual affliction. Then she would ask Kangxi to send the Sixth Prince away and take the initiative to avoid him. If he didn't agree once, she would persuade him a few more times and it would always work.
Although it seems that the Sixth Prince is at a disadvantage now, Kangxi will definitely remember this affection. Don't look at how special Kangxi is to the Crown Prince now. Thirty years in the east, thirty years in the west. Can the Crown Prince guarantee that he will never make mistakes and win the emperor's favor for his whole life? If something happens in the future that disappoints Kangxi, the Sixth Prince's active avoidance at this time will be regarded as the Crown Prince's inability to tolerate his brothers. At that time, Kangxi will only feel more distressed for the Sixth Prince.
Besides, there are many princes in the palace. The eldest princes are Huipin and Nalan. The third prince is Rongpin's son. Rongpin served Kangxi for many years and gave birth to five sons. Four of them died young, leaving only Yinzhi. Even for this reason, Kangxi would love him more. The fourth prince...
The fourth prince is now being raised in the Tonggiya palace. The fifth prince is being raised by the Queen Mother. No one should be underestimated, and the sixth prince really has no advantage in this.
It would be different if he was sent out. Since he had avoided the limelight, the ministers chosen by Kangxi would not only be powerful, but also have good family backgrounds. Because of the Sixth Prince's status, they had to protect him and dared not neglect him in the slightest. With this relationship, the Sixth Prince would be a natural ally when he grew up.
Her family background was not as good as other high-ranking concubines, and she did not have a powerful maternal family, so she could only use such a roundabout policy to help the Sixth Prince.
After thinking it over, she felt that this method was really good. After all, the Sixth Prince was not going to come back. After a few years, when things had calmed down, she could bring him back to the palace. Over the years, she would often send gifts to him, and would also ask the Wuya family to visit more often. Not in the palace, it would be more convenient to travel, and the Sixth Prince would be able to have a closer relationship with his maternal family.
For this reason, she deliberately made her son sick. Of course, she was also afraid that something might happen to her son, so she was very measured in her actions. In addition, Doctor Sun from the Imperial Hospital had an old relationship with the Wu Ya family and would help her.
She had planned everything. But she didn't expect that it would be ruined by the prince's few words. Thinking that she had worked so hard, but couldn't stand up to the prince's two sobbing words, Depin was very depressed. But what could she do? Just like Yuchan said, she could only think positively.
…
Yuqing Palace.
Yinreng was awakened by a burst of crying. He rubbed his eyes and just got out of bed when he saw Aunt Lan rushing in from outside. She knelt down at his feet and said, "Prince! I am innocent! I am your servant. I will not give face to the monk, but to the Buddha. How can they do this to me?"
Yinreng yawned: "What did they do to you?"
This reaction is different from what I expected? Aunt Lan paused. At this time, the person chasing had already reached the door. It was Liang Jiugong's new apprentice, Xiao Lizi. Seeing this scene, Xiao Lizi's face was as dark as water. He was very angry at Aunt Lan, but he did not forget to salute Yinreng respectfully and answered obediently: "The emperor has given an order. The master asked the servant to ask Aunt Lan to go and question him."
Aunt Lan's eyes were red. What did she mean by "scream"? It was clearly about arresting. This attitude was definitely not a simple question, but a censure. If Liang Jiugong came in person, she would not dare to act rashly. But a little Li Zi was not worthy of being so disrespectful to her!
Yinreng looked down at Aunt Lan in confusion: "Khan Ama is just asking questions, why is Aunt Lan so serious?"
Aunt Lan lowered her head and cried bitterly: "The emperor asked questions, and I dared not disobey. But Eunuch Li started talking about the Imperial Garden, implying that I had bad intentions and was plotting against the prince."
"Do you have any?"
Yinreng's words successfully made Aunt Lan's heart choke, and the rest of the words were stuck in her throat. The prince... The prince seems to be a little bit wrong.
Little Li stamped his feet anxiously. He was really wronged! How could he say such a thing in the territory of Yuqing Palace! Aunt Lan was clearly trying to instigate the prince to deal with him!
Liang Jiugong originally planned to do this job by himself. However, the rumors in the palace involved many people with problems, and he had to watch the interrogation and had no time. Little Li volunteered to take the task. Before coming, Liang Jiugong also specifically instructed to take Aunt Lan away quietly and not to disturb the prince. Aunt Lan has taken care of the prince for several years and has a special relationship with him.
How could he not understand what this meant? But who would have thought that when Aunt Lan heard that the emperor wanted to ask about the Imperial Garden, she ran to the prince's bedroom. Fuck!
Little Li wanted to argue for himself, but Yinreng waved his hand and said, "Go out and wait for a while. I will talk to Aunt Lan."
Little Li was reluctant. If Aunt Lan could make trouble in front of the prince, he would be punished. If Aunt Lan could deceive the prince with sweet words and ask the prince to come out and stop him from taking Aunt Lan away, he would be finished. But he dared not disobey the prince, so he could only grit his teeth and retreat, glaring at Aunt Lan, wishing he could eat her alive.
Yinreng and Aunt Lan were the only ones left in the room. Aunt Lan finally breathed a sigh of relief, "Prince, I have never met those two gossiping palace maids. This matter has nothing to do with me. Besides, it was Your Highness's sudden decision to go to the Imperial Garden today. How could I know there would be such a coincidence?"
Yinreng tilted his head: "Is it just a spur of the moment?"
"Your Highness said..."
Yinreng interrupted him, "After lunch, you said that I have been depressed and low spirits since I recovered from my illness, and you advised me to go out for a walk. I stayed in the house for half a month and finally agreed. As we were walking, you said that it is now late spring in March and the flowers are blooming. The flowers in the Imperial Garden must be beautiful."
Aunt Lan was speechless. This was not what she thought. She had raised the prince and he was very dependent on her. With her understanding of the prince over the years, when she heard her say this, she should have assumed that she had gone to the Imperial Garden and had met the two palace maids by chance. How could it be...
She tilted her head and started crying again: "Your Highness, I said this. But I really just wanted Your Highness to relax, I have no other intentions. I am Queen Hesheli's person. When the Queen left, I..."
Before she could finish, Yinreng asked, "Are you?"
Aunt Lan was anxious: "I have served the Majesty for many years, how can Your Highness doubt this."
"Does serving the Empress Dowager mean you belong to her? Even if you did in the past, do you still belong to her now?"
Aunt Lan choked.
Yinreng sneered, "Aunt Lan, I am a child, indeed, young. But I am not a fool. You and those two palace maids may really be strangers. But not knowing them does not mean that you cannot use them. The palace maids who have been in the palace for some years know to be cautious in what they say and do.
"Those two maids had obviously only been in the palace for a short time and had not yet experienced the cruelty of palace rules. It is not impossible that they were led to the Imperial Garden to talk about something. Besides, when you met those two maids, you were holding me.
"If you didn't want me to hear those words, you could have just carried me away, or stepped forward to stop them when they started talking. But you didn't leave, and waited until they had finished saying everything they needed to say before you stepped forward. When I asked you questions, you even said that Khan Ama treated Sixth Brother differently and was trying to sow discord between me and Sixth Brother."
Aunt Lan shook her head vigorously: "Your Highness, I didn't mean that. I am wronged."
"If you were really wronged, why didn't you stop me when I ran to Yonghe Palace in anger? Don't say you didn't make it in time. It's true that I ran there. But you could have run, too. You're an adult, how could you be outrun by a six-year-old child like me?"
Aunt Lan was stunned. She had served the prince for six years and knew he was smart, but she never thought he was so clear-headed. If the prince didn't believe her and refused to protect her, then she...
Thinking of this, Aunt Lan trembled all over.
Yinreng recalled the past few years of getting along with Aunt Lan, who was left to him by Hesheli. Since he was born, Aunt Lan has taken care of all the affairs around him. He has no mother, and although Kangxi loves him, he cannot always be with him. Therefore, he spends more time with Aunt Lan.
Aunt Lan took care of him day and night, and because of this friendship, he treated her as a relative. Because of this, Aunt Lan felt superior to others and had some signs of overstepping the boundaries. When he was young, he paid great attention to Aunt Lan and ignored some details.
If he didn't have the memory of an extra life, without those insights and experiences, maybe he would really think that he just happened to overhear the palace maids talking. Given his personality, even if he told Kangxi about this, he would never mention Aunt Lan.
Aunt Lan probably knows this too, and she dares to do this because she has this in mind.
But she didn't expect that Yinreng had changed and sold her out. She told Kangxi directly that it was she who took her to the Imperial Garden. Kangxi would never let it go. She was scared and wanted to survive, so she could only ask Yinreng to come forward. Unfortunately, Yinreng had already seen through her thoughts.
Yinreng no longer paid attention to Aunt Lan, and went out and called Xiao Lizi over: "Take her away."
Little Leo was a little surprised.
Yinreng smiled and said, "Khan Ama just asked her to go for questioning. If she didn't make any mistakes, Khan Ama wouldn't do anything to her. I believe in Khan Ama! Maybe anyone in this world would hurt me, but Khan Ama would never! If Khan Ama thinks she has no problem, she will come back soon. If Khan Ama thinks she has a problem, then she definitely has a problem. Khan Ama can't be wrong!"
These words were spoken in a childish but powerful voice, with a hint of pride in her tone, full of admiration and trust for Kangxi.
The author has something to say:
①Baocheng: the prince's nickname.