Chapter 27

  In the Yangxin Hall, the Emperor had just discussed with several senior officials and the Minister of War the geographical features of Galdan's territory, including Feiyanggu. Although military campaigns are full of variables, a general plan must be formulated. After experiencing a severe winter, all Mongolian tribes were exhausted, and it was a time when people and horses were weak. Attacking Galdan before summer arrived would be the best opportunity.

  The ministers had just withdrawn, and Kangxi was still looking at the map, when Li Dequan came in from outside and said: "Fourth Fu Jin requests an audience."

  Kangxi frowned: "What is a woman doing here? Tell her to go back."

  "Look at the four imperial consorts still holding a memorial in their hands. Does the emperor want to see it?" Li Dequan ventured to say.

  Kangxi glanced at Li Dequan, and Li Dequan only felt his whole body stiffen. In all conscience, he hadn't accepted any benefits, but he thought that the matter of the fourth imperial concubine still needed a bit more effort, who knows when he would need to find this capable imperial concubine again in the future.

  After a moment of silence, Kangxi said: "If you come in to cry and whine to me, then don't come in."

  Li Dequan hastily responded with a "yes", and Si Furen looked at him without any intention of crying, but was quite calm instead.

  Outside the palace, Li Dequan smiled and said to Quan Pei: "The emperor doesn't like to see people crying, I'm just reminding you, be careful when you go in!"

  The famous eunuch smiled and nodded: "I know the Duke helped, I'll remember this favor."

  Li Dequan's eyes lit up, this Fourth Mistress was indeed a clever and intelligent person, it was easy to get along with her, he hurriedly said: "Mistress, you're too kind!"

  Kangxi sat in the Xiqin Hall of the Palace of Heavenly Purity, with a map of Mongolia still hanging on the wall and several stacks of memorials placed on the kang, his vermilion brush laid aside. Seeing Guan Pei enter, he looked her up and down several times. Even among his daughters-in-law, it seemed that not even the Crown Prince's consort had ever dared to request a private audience with him. Was this Fourth Concubine unusually bold or simply reckless?

  The Empress Dowager stood in front of Kangxi, her eyebrows and eyes calm, her expression serene, not a hint of panic or tension visible, although she deliberately showed a few points of respect, but Kangxi knew that this Fourth Imperial Concubine did not have much fear for him.

  Kangxi fell silent for a moment, as if the air in the hall had become heavy and oppressive, but Quan Pei seemed to have not noticed, still looking the same, with the golden hairpin on her head not moving at all.

  After a brief pause, Kangxi spoke up first: "What brings you to see me? I've already said it before, if you're here to plead for the Fourth Prince, then don't bother speaking."

  Kangxi was obviously making things difficult for Quan Pei, guessing that Quan Pei came over just to plead for Yin Zhen. With these words, wasn't Quan Pei's path completely blocked?

  Qian Wan lowered her eyes and handed over the memorial: "The daughter-in-law is not here to plead for mercy, but only to finish what our father did not have time to do."

  Kangxi raised an eyebrow, rarely showing a few threads of surprise. Li Dequan handed the memorial to Kangxi, who opened it and found that it was indeed written by his fourth brother. It seemed that he had planned to present it in the next few days. Inside, not only did it mention Guo Shilong's embezzlement of river engineering funds, but also his occupation of good farmland belonging to ordinary people, as well as a series of evidence of bribery and corruption. Kangxi read with a cold smile, then slapped the memorial heavily onto the table: "How dare you!"

  Li Dequan's heart skipped a beat, he looked up to see Quan Pei still standing motionless in place, and he couldn't help but wipe away sweat. These four consorts must not be provoked into angering the emperor, otherwise he would also suffer along with them.

  "Is His Majesty angry because he thinks our father wrote something wrong or because he thinks Guo Shilong did something wrong?"

  Kangxi looked at Quan Pei and smiled: "Then what do you think I'm angry about?"

  "It's only natural that Guo Shilong, this deceitful and treacherous official, would be angry. He thought he could deceive the Emperor and get away with it, but he forgot that there are still many loyal and righteous officials under the Emperor. Major court affairs cannot be taken lightly, and the Emperor's eyes can only see so much. All the officials see more, and we have officials like us who would sacrifice everything for the great Qing dynasty. The Emperor will naturally be pleased."

  Neither arrogant nor servile, with reason and evidence, it's clear that Kangxi was infuriated by Yinreng, yet he could still say such things. Yes, his son dared to risk incurring his wrath by submitting a memorial, which shows that he has the Qing dynasty at heart. This is something to be delighted about, and it's not as if he can't get angry anymore.

  She said it wasn't to plead, and it seemed like she wasn't pleading, but every sentence was speaking on behalf of Yongzheng. This woman seemed to be well-versed in the ways of emperors, and her words were such that he couldn't even get angry if he wanted to.

  Kangxi lightly tapped on the purple sandalwood desk and looked at Quan Pei with a serious gaze: "Then what do you think I should do?"

  "The daughter-in-law is just here to finish what we couldn't, these major family matters are not something the daughter-in-law can interfere with."

  She also knew when to stop and show the humility that a woman should have, not provoking Kangxi's anger in any way, making him look at her with new eyes.

  The image of Wei Qing's archery skills reappeared in Kangxi's mind, and he suddenly wondered how Fei Yanggu had raised this daughter. Being able to raise such a daughter shows that Fei Yanggu himself is also an extraordinary person. Previously, he was hesitant about sending out the great general, but now it seems that there is no need to hesitate anymore.

  His Majesty always had to be profound and unpredictable, stopping at this point and refusing to reveal more of his thoughts. He waved his hand and let the eunuch retreat, and in the Western Warm Pavilion, only the sound of flower pots and bluestone bricks colliding could be heard, step by step, as if they were all stepping on a certain rhythm, elegant and noble.

  This fourth wife still hasn't lost her composure up till now, as if she has everything under control.

  Kangxi's gaze fell on Yin Zhen's memorial again, originally thinking that his son was just talking nonsense, but now it seems that he has indeed put in some effort, just as Quan Pei said, his son is really trying to get things done, not just paying lip service. Guo Shilong is guilty, but because of Kangxi's own momentary fondness for him, he was not punished, so does this mean that from now on, the court officials will also dare not speak out, allowing such a pest to wreak havoc?

  Although he was indeed not in a good mood, Kangxi did not want to let Yin Zhen go now. He wanted to hone this sharp sword and wait for a while to see if there would be any unpredictable events or if someone would come out to plead for mercy.

  Mr. Qing received Xiaomantou's message, pondered for a long time, and ordered the servant: "Go and find out where Commander-in-Chief Yu Chenglong is staying!" Madame Fu's intention was still to intercept Yu Chenglong's memorial to the Emperor in the next few days. If he had offended the Emperor, it would not be easy for Fourth Master to rescue him. After so long, it was finally time for him to take action.

  Yu Chenglong was a famous upright minister, he did things well, but he was straightforward and blunt. He was frustrated with Guo Shilong's case, but he would not give up easily and would continue to impeach him in his memorial to the emperor. Even if the emperor would not take action against Guo Shilong because of Yu Chenglong's impeachment, he would still be annoyed by Yu Chenglong.

  The teahouses in Sicheng were lined up, and almost every one had a tea doctor who told stories. Yu Chenglong sat in the back row listening to the tea doctor's story about Guan Gong's defeat at Maicheng, and he couldn't help but show a look of regret on his face. Someone said, "Sir is so leisurely."

  He turned his head and saw a middle-aged man in green clothes, who also looked like a scholar. He listened to the words with meaning and couldn't help but ask: "What do you mean by this?"

  "The adults in the imperial court reported that Guo Shilong was innocent, and even the fourth prince was implicated and entered the Imperial Clan Court. Who would have thought that you were actually carefree?"

  The person in front of him knew so much about the affairs on the imperial court that he couldn't help but show a few points of vigilance: "You seem to know quite a bit, sir."

  "I also know that you adults will continue to impeach Guo Shilong, and I also know that this impeachment is just another way to provoke the Emperor, which is of no help to the matter."

  Mr. Qing showed his divine calculation skills once again, astonishing Cheng Long: "Sir is truly a godly person! I wonder what profound insights sir has?"

  "There is only one way for this matter to succeed, and that is for the ministers of the Qing court to jointly sign a memorial to the Emperor. The wording must be sincere and give the Emperor an opportunity to save face. Although the Emperor is wise, he also needs to maintain his dignity. You have always been reckless and impulsive, but in the end, you are pleading on behalf of the people. What you want is for the matter to succeed, and then return the silver for the river works as before. You know that the imperial court is also short of money now, so if some can be dug up from Guo Shilong's side, why wouldn't the Emperor agree?"

  "Mr. Cheng Long almost clapped his hands in praise: 'Sir is really a godly person! I didn't expect this level, thank you sir for your teaching, what should I call you?!'"

  Everyone called me Mr. Qing. Mr. Qing stood up and bid farewell.

  Mr. Qing walked away, and the young servant hurriedly said, "You just believed this one?"

  "Believe it? Of course, he's been mentioning the Fourth Prince in every sentence, isn't that a clear indication that he's one of his people? In short, he doesn't want me to submit the memorial right now and is giving me a hint. He clicked his tongue: "I didn't expect the Fourth Prince to have such a strategist by his side, I won't dare underestimate him. Alright, delaying the submission for a day or two won't matter, the Fourth Prince will still be in the clear!"

  The courtyard of the Fourth Prince was quiet, with not even an extra maid under the corridor. Song Shi sat straight on a stool at the door, seemingly sunbathing, but actually keeping an eye on everyone's movements in the courtyard, fearing that any mistake would affect Madame Fu and Master. Seeing Quan Pei walking in from outside, she felt a great relief and hurriedly went to greet her: "Madame Fu is back!"

  Wei Ting nodded slightly: "But has anyone come to ask?"

  "The Crown Princess, the Third Lady Fu, the Fifth Lady Fu, and Consort De all sent people to come and ask after Lady Fu, telling her not to worry."

  As they entered the house, Li Shi and Nalan Mingyue also rushed in to attend to Quan Pei's change of clothes. This time, Nalan Mingyue had learned her lesson and didn't dare to speak rashly. Instead, it was Li Shi who spoke first: "Is everything all right, Mistress?"

  Ruan Wan took a sip of the sweet osmanthus tea, as if it were a beautiful and serene ink painting: "Go down and rest, nothing big is going on, we'll talk about it tomorrow."

  Three people seemed to have put their minds at ease, and they didn't dare disturb Rong Bao again, quietly retreating. It was only then that she once again deeply felt the unshakeable position of Fugui in this courtyard. Besides Fugui, who else could remain calm and composed in the face of such things?