Chapter Ten

  The heavy snow had been falling for three days, and everywhere was covered in a thick layer of silver. Guan Pei wore a bright red star-patterned cloak, with a white fox fur hat on her head, collecting the snow from the branches into a bottle to make tea. Birds that had come out to find food stood on the branches, shaking off the snowflakes, and then flew away chirping. Guan Pei seemed to have thought of something, hesitated for a moment, handed the bottle to Xiao Yue, and went back inside the house.

  In the copper basin, charcoal was burning, and the kang was also hot. Under the bed, there was a smoke box, and the snow on her outer clothes melted quickly, flowing all over the floor, warm and humid. Quan Pei changed her clothes and walked to the desk, while Xiao Rong hurriedly spread paper and ground ink.

  The sky was very cold, and in the large and small rooms of the Ministry of Revenue, there were charcoal basins everywhere, but there was nothing to do, so they all gathered together to drink tea and chat, which could also warm them up a bit. In Yongzheng's room, there was a small kang, and he was sitting on it looking at the leftover roots of the officials' memorials from previous years. Su Peisheng came in from outside, bringing a gust of cold wind with him. Yongzheng looked up, and he hastily presented a piece of paper to Yongzheng: "It was sent by Madame Fu."

  I don't know what's written on the note, Yongzheng randomly guessed and thought it was funny. Quan Pei always did things with a solid foundation, the words on the note were powerful and didn't seem to be written by a woman. "Two days from now, there will definitely be heavy snow, beware of houses collapsing." Yongzheng was stunned for a moment, put on his coat and went out, facing a cold wind head-on, the rooftops in front of him were covered with thick snow. If it snows heavily in two days, house collapses would definitely be another disaster, but if today can mobilize the people to quickly clear the snow from their roofs, unnecessary losses can be reduced.

  The weather was cold, but the gray sky seemed to still show a shadow of the sun. Would it really snow tomorrow? Where did Quan Pei know from again? Yin Zhen turned around in place for a few circles and decided to head to the Observatory first.

  He came out of the Qintianjian and hesitated for a while, thinking for half a moment before going to the Qianqing Palace again.

  The Da A Ge and the Crown Prince, as well as several senior officials, were all inside. Yin Zhen went in and stood aside with his hands hanging down, listening. Galdan had taken action again, and the day to attack Galdan was getting closer and closer, just waiting for the grain and military rations to be fully prepared. The Emperor even intended to lead the expedition himself, but the ministers all disagreed. Kangxi only said a few words and didn't want to say more, then asked Yin Zhen: "What's this about?"

  "The heavens bestow great snow, a beautiful sight indeed. However, I fear that tomorrow will bring even more heavy snowfall. If the people do not clear the accumulated snow in time, I worry that it may become another disaster."

  The eldest brother glanced outside: "Qin Tian Jian didn't say it would snow heavily, looking at the weather it seems like it's going to clear up, where is there any snow?"

  Kangxi smiled: "You have this heart is indeed good, not only focused on the present beauty, but also think of the hardships of the people, this is very good."

  The eldest brother was left aside somewhat uncomfortably, the City Patrol Battalion was under his command, if the Emperor really wanted to send someone to clear the snow, it would likely be his men again.

  The crown prince also seemed to have thought of it: "I think this matter should be taken seriously, if there is no heavy snow in the next two days, it would be good. If there is, it will definitely be a disaster. Preventing it beforehand won't cause any loss, why not do it?"

  Suo E Tuo also chimed in: "Your humble servant thinks this is absolutely right!"

  Kangxi also had a balance in his heart, and before the eldest brother spoke, he said: "Alright, go and clean up, it's not a bad thing. The city patrol battalion is under the control of the eldest son, you just go down and arrange for the people to clear the snow!"

  If it snows and they don't clear it thoroughly, the trouble is theirs; if it doesn't snow, then the suffering from the cold is also theirs. The eldest brother felt extremely uneasy, as if Yinreng and the Crown Prince were ganging up on him. No matter how he looked at it, he couldn't help but feel that Yinreng was not pleasing to the eye.

  Yin Zhen said: "It was I who brought up this matter, and I am willing to lend a helping hand to my elder brother."

  Kangxi smiled and said: "Good! You two brothers together will make things even better!"

  The crown prince glanced at Yongzheng, this fourth brother was really stubborn, why did he have to find fault with himself? Although he thought so, his heart felt extremely comfortable, because he saw the eldest brother suffer a loss. What kind of weather is this that it's snowing? It's just suffering in vain.

  The Fourth Prince didn't go out with the soldiers, he just gave a few orders to his subordinates. The cold streets were so chilly that if you didn't wear a hat to cover your ears, they would almost freeze off. Many people didn't want to come out, but the soldiers went in and shouted them out. Yongzheng personally followed along, sometimes even taking the lead in shoveling snow himself, and assigned a team of soldiers to shout at the villagers outside the city to come shovel snow too. Not a few people pointed fingers at Yongzheng, and the soldiers also had some complaints about him, saying: "This is our Fourth Prince, he said that there will be heavy snow in the future, so you have to shovel snow!"

  Some people sneered and some were disdainful, but in the end no one dared to make trouble.

  The sky was almost dark, and Yongzheng was still following the soldiers. When people do things, it's not good to be too harsh. It would be nice to have a hot meal with his dozens of soldiers. The soldiers were all straightforward and had a good impression of Yongzheng, thinking that the Fourth Master was actually not bad!

  The eldest brother pretended to ride a horse from outside the palace and returned after finishing his business, but unexpectedly fell off the horse as it was dark and the road was slippery.

  Yongzheng returned home after a busy day and fell asleep as soon as he lay down. Quan Pei saw that he was sleeping and knew that his hands must have been frostbitten, so she ordered someone to prepare dry mugwort, made it into a bundle, placed it on his hands, and ignited it for moxibustion. Yongzheng felt somewhat uncomfortable and vaguely opened his eyes, seeing Quan Pei, he asked: "How did you know it would snow?"

  The wind outside was howling loudly, and Guan Pei said, "It's already started."

  Some people wish for snow all night, while others wish it won't snow, but the heavens will never be swayed by human will.

  Yongzheng suddenly sat up and shouted out: "Has it snowed?"

  There was a reply from outside: "Master's words are right, it's heavily snowing, it has been snowing for the whole night and it's still snowing now."

  He let out a long sigh and turned to see that Quan Pei had also woken up dazedly, so he reached out to touch her cheek: "If you're tired, just sleep for a while."

  The eldest brother hurt his leg, and Empress Hui was very heartbroken. When she heard that it was all because of Yongzheng, she looked up at the eldest brother: "You have made great achievements and also hurt your leg, the emperor will surely reward you heavily, what are you still angry about?"

  "After all, it's still up to Lao Si to take the lead!"

  "This fourth brother is quite formidable, without anyone's help or support, he has steadily made it to this day. He does things with such finesse, making people think that there must be a brilliant military strategist behind him."

  The eldest brother only thought of his own affairs: "I'm afraid that after this matter, the fourth elder has really entered the emperor's eyes, and the crown prince has gained another helper..."

  Thanks to the timely clearing of snow, although it had been snowing heavily for two more days, there was no great loss after all. The Emperor was very pleased and rewarded Da A Ge and Bing Ma Si, and especially called Yin Zhen to have lunch together.

  Following the emperor to dine, only three mouthfuls of each dish could be eaten. After the emperor was full, Yongzheng was only half full. After dinner, he chatted with Yongzheng for a few more sentences, asking him what he thought and did at that time, smiling and patting his shoulder: "You have a good way of doing things, you really have grown up and made progress." He rewarded him with many things, and finally added: "From now on, I allow you to walk in front of the palace."

  In Kangxi's view, Yinzhen, who emerged in this matter, was a pragmatist and a usable material that could be used.

  Among several adult princes, except for the crown prince, only the eldest prince has this privilege now. This sentence means that after Yongzheng, he can enter the political core of the Qing Dynasty and gain the trust and recognition of the emperor!

  Although he was calm in front of the emperor, when he saw Quan Pei, he was so excited that he almost hugged him: "Thanks to you, from now on I can also walk in front of the emperor!"

  "I just said one sentence, if you can't even handle your own affairs and get the emperor's reward, in the end it's your own path that you decide for yourself, not me."

  He somewhat flusteredly kissed Xiang'er's cheek and said: "In short, your merits are not small!"

  The quilt still carried the scent of roses, and Empress Hui sat on the kang with a quilt draped over her legs. A palace maid came in and whispered in her ear: "Fourth Mistress..."

  The Empress frowned and rubbed her forehead: "......Alright."

  The weather was cold, so Guan Pei stayed on the kang and read a book. Xiao Yue came in from outside: "The matter has been spread out..."

  Xiao Yue saw Quan Pei's fingers pause on the book and knew she had heard, so she stood by and waited.

  In the imperial garden, several bright red plum blossoms had bloomed early, and Empress Hui was delighted. She invited many of the palace's consorts and noblewomen to admire the plum blossoms together. At present, no one dared not to give face to Empress Hui; if it weren't for some major event, everyone would have attended.

  A waterside pavilion with windows open on all sides, where one could see the red plum blossoms in full bloom at a glance. The brazier was lit and charcoal basins were placed inside the pavilion. As soon as everyone entered the house and took off their heavy coats, they felt that the temperature was just right. There were seats arranged on the floor and on the heated platform, where Empress De and several others sat on the platform or on couches, while those sitting below were some ordinary consorts and noblewomen. The room was very lively, with Grand Consort helping to entertain the guests.

  The steaming pear blossom wine was sweet and mellow. San Fu Jin said in a soft voice: "After all, there are many good things about Concubine Hui."

  In the end, wasn't this banquet also a show of force by Hui Fei? De Fei was sitting opposite Yi Fei. She turned her head and saw Quan Pei, smiling as she beckoned to Quan Pei: "Come sit next to Er Niang."

  Hui Fei heard this and smiled, saying: "You two really have a good relationship."

  De Fei smiled: "This child's goodness, you don't know." Her eyes sparkled with light, and she lowered her head to take a sip of hot wine.

  Huifei turned her eyes and said: "Are you still so fond of the fourth house even if fourteen has a daughter-in-law? Aren't you afraid that fourteen and fourteen's wife will be jealous?"

  De Fei covered her mouth and smiled lightly: "It's true, I'm not comparing with your sister, there's only one who doesn't have such a heart."

  Hui Fei's eyes twitched, and the chopsticks in her hand creaked. The palace maid brought over a large Qinghua porcelain bowl of sweet soup. Da Fu Jin smiled and beckoned to Quan Pei: "You're doing well like this, come over and help out, don't dodge the work."

  She smiled and stood up: "Alright."

  The palace maid handed a large bowl of sweet soup into Quan Pei's hands, and Da Fu Jin reminded her on the side: "Be careful not to spill it."

  Ruan Yu's mistake was to push the tray to one side, and as a result, the sweet soup was handed directly to Empress Fu. The empress was taken aback for a moment before taking it in her hands. Palace Consort Wang, who was sitting nearby, turned around and whispered something to someone else, but all that could be heard was a sudden shrill cry from one of the palace maids, and the entire waterside pavilion fell silent.