Chapter 55

  The eldest brother wrapped in a black sable fur coat came in from outside, bringing with him snowflakes. Yongzheng stood up from beside the charcoal brazier and slowly folded the letter in his hand: "I didn't think it was snowing so heavily outside."

  The Eldest Prince nodded slightly: "Emperor Mother happened to catch a cold and was feeling unwell, I just so happened to be passing by and brought Fourth Brother along to pay respects to Emperor Mother."

  Su Peisheng has already put Yongzheng's cloak on his shoulders and helped him tie it up.

  "I'm going too."

  The curtain of the tent was lifted, and the snowflakes rushed forward in a flurry. The two brothers walked side by side in the heavy snow, letting the snowflakes fall all over their bodies. It was the elder brother who spoke first: "The snow is so heavy, I'm worried about the horses, so I called someone to come and guard them. It's not that I look down on your abilities, fourth brother, but this is a big deal, after all. The more people, the safer."

  Recalling the letter sent by Quan Pei, Yongzheng knew that Da A Ge had also received news from Beijing. His heart rose with a few ripples, and he bowed his fist to Da A Ge: "Thanks, big brother, not yet!"

  They walked in silence for a while, the snow getting thicker and crunching under their sheepskin boots: "Although we're working together, I won't let others think we're together. You're the prince's person, Big Brother won't make things difficult for you."

  Yinzheng's footsteps paused, looking at the broad and sturdy back of his eldest brother from behind. It seemed to be the same when they were young, playing together with their brothers, and whenever something happened, the eldest brother would always be willing to take responsibility. For a moment, Yinzheng thought that if the eldest brother became emperor, it wouldn't be a bad thing, at least he was better than the crown prince.

  After a slight hesitation, Da'ergun entered Kangxi's imperial tent first, and Yinreng followed shortly after.

  The weather outside the Great Wall is unpredictable, and since leaving the capital, Kangxi's spirit has not been great. He has been holding on but now can't bear it anymore. The few sons and close officials following him only knew when he finally couldn't hold on. Inside the warm tent, it felt a bit stuffy. Kangxi lay under thick quilts on the couch, still listening to subordinates talk about Galdan's movements. Several sons stood by with their hands hanging down until they heard Kangxi's suppressed cough and hurriedly came forward to gently advise: "Your Majesty's body is heavy, why not return to the capital?"

  Kangxi waved his hand: "No need to say more, I have made up my mind. If Geladan's head does not fall to the ground, I will never return to Beijing!"

  It was not until nightfall that the snow finally stopped, but everywhere was pitch black. Even with the lamps lit around the campsite, they could not dispel this boundless darkness, and the light could only shine so far. The fodder for feeding the horses was still relatively dry, stacked in a simple tent, several dark figures moved around the fodder like mice, when suddenly a torch lit them up, revealing pairs of terrified eyes.

  Kangxi sat at the top wearing a large cloak made of dark fox fur, and the eldest son stood at the bottom to respond, with several people dressed in Mongolian clothes beside him.

  "The son was originally just afraid that something would go wrong, so he dispatched a few more people to secretly patrol the horse herd and the grassland. However, they unexpectedly caught a big rat. These people sprinkled ground croton powder on the grass, and when the horses ate it the next morning, they would definitely fall ill one by one. In a few days, we will be fighting against Galdan, but our horses are weak and powerless. How can we win against the enemy?!" The eldest brother paused, turned his head to look at the kneeling men, and coldly snorted: "I thought it was Galdan's subordinates who were causing trouble, but I didn't expect that they were all our own people."

  Several people kneeling on the ground had their hats removed, revealing shiny braids, and it was clear from their appearance that they were not Mongolians.

  Kangxi's eyes gradually deepened, and the imperial tent fell silent. After a long while, Kangxi suddenly burst into violent coughing. Li Dequan, who was attending to him, hastily came forward to serve Kangxi a cup of hot tea. Only after a while did they hear Kangxi say to Da A Ge: "You've done well in this matter, and I'll remember your merit. Now, I have an important task for you - investigate thoroughly and find out who is behind this treacherous act!"

  The big brother's eyes flashed with a hint of light: "Your son obeys the order!"

  He got up in the middle of the night and worked hard again, Kangxi felt more and more unwell, took a dose of medicine, covered several quilts, and finally fell asleep with some difficulty.

  "...the people sent out were all caught by the eldest brother, and the emperor ordered the eldest brother to thoroughly investigate this matter...it's just that although this thing didn't succeed, it still brought back a big piece of news...the emperor is critically ill..."

  Kang Shizi's mind was still reeling from the news that had just been transmitted, and as he lifted the curtain, he caught a whiff of strong medicine. He couldn't help but furrow his brow. The imperial physician recommended by Consort Hui was personally decocting medicine and bowed to greet him upon his arrival. Inside, Kang Shizi's wife lay on her bed, silently gazing at the snowflakes swirling outside, looking as if she had lost a lot of weight compared to a few days ago.

  He walked in silently and stood beside Princess Consort of Gong: "Is it better now?"

  Kang Qinwang's consort turned her head and glanced at him, sneering as she smiled: "What's the point of asking these questions? Have you ever cared about my life or death?"

  Kang Qin Wang frowned: "You know, I didn't mean to hurt you."

  "Really?" Guan Pei could also guess that Kang Shizi wouldn't hurt her, but she still brought in a doctor because she knew there were others in the mansion. But why had Kang Shizi never thought that when she was trapped in the cage, anyone could take advantage of her?

  She was too lazy to say anything more to Kang Qianwang, the decades of husband and wife affection, turned out to be so fragile that it couldn't withstand a blow, making her heart shattered.

  Prince Gong looked silently at Princess Gong for a while, then remembered he still had things to attend to and didn't have the patience to stay any longer. He only left with one sentence: "Take good care of yourself, you'll be fine soon."

  The weather was originally getting warmer and warmer, but unexpectedly it suddenly snowed. I heard that the Empress Dowager's body is not suitable, and several concubines and granddaughters-in-law in the palace all came to visit her.

  The potted evergreen on the floor was lush and vibrant, but Empress Dowager, lying on the couch, looked unwell. The crimson velvet quilt covering her made her complexion look even more sallow. She was talking to the Crown Princess: "I didn't have anything wrong with me originally, it's just that I heard the Emperor's health is not good, so I became like this. It's freezing cold outside, and the Emperor... really makes one worry..."

  On the side, De Fei, Yi Fei, Hui Fei and Rong Fei's faces all showed a sorrowful expression without realizing it, some even had red eyes, but they didn't dare to cry. This atmosphere made people feel as if something big really happened to the Emperor, making everyone anxious and worried, as if the sky was about to collapse.

  The crown princess gently comforted the frail empress dowager, but in her heart she was thinking that the emperor's critical illness might be nearing its end. If not, why would the women in the palace have such expressions? As she thought this, she tightened her grip on the empress dowager's hand, causing a change in the empress dowager's eyes...

  The Empress Dowager, sitting at the head of the table, sniffed the tea bowl with a faint scent of red robe, thinking that the tea was not bad, and it could be seen that the Empress Dowager was also a person who knew how to enjoy herself. She glanced at the thoughtful Crown Princess, then looked at the group of concubines with sorrowful expressions on one side, and suddenly felt that the Crown Prince was very sad, even though he had ability and talent, but there were so many people around him who would hinder him all the time.

  The news that the Crown Prince was going to take action soon spread quickly to everyone who wanted to know, and so everyone set a trap for the Crown Prince without exception. "The Emperor is indeed critically ill, this matter everyone knows, but it's just not publicly acknowledged", waiting for the Crown Prince to jump in, then tighten the pocket, everyone together will give him a good beating, if they can beat him to death that would be best, if not, it will also plant a thorn in Kangxi's heart, one day he will definitely be implicated, at that time who knows what the situation will be like...

  Everyone has their own plans, but somehow they always seem to converge on Taizi.

  Ruan Yu carefully observed everyone's expression, wondering if the person who trained the palace maid was also among them.

  Outside, the snowflakes were still fluttering about, but inside, it was warm and cozy like spring. A familiar-looking eunuch brought medicine to the empress dowager, and Quan Pei paused for a moment with a hint of a smile at the corner of her mouth. This empress dowager was really interesting, and she had somehow found another person who looked similar to the late Li Yuanzheng to be by her side. It was probably not a real eunuch either. Looking at the empress dowager lying down, it seemed comical no matter how one looked at it...

  Knowing that Quan Pei was back, Bao Ge ran to find her. Quan Pei hugged Bao Ge and sat him beside her, stroking his head and asking: "Were you well-behaved when your mother wasn't around?"

  "Good boy!"

  Bao Ge'er replied without hesitation, and the nurse on the side chimed in: "Big brother is very well-behaved, he knows how to eat by himself when eating, and he also knows how to drink water by himself, completely unlike those spoiled young masters from other families."

  Bao Ge'er was not very happy, and felt that Nai Nai had said what he wanted to say himself. He kept waving his hand at Nai Nai, as if chasing her away. Nai Nai looked a bit embarrassed, straightened up and took a few steps back.

  The child is young, but also has his own views.

  Yatou reported that Nalan Mingyue had come to pay her respects, and Quan Pei nodded for her to enter.

  Look, Baoge is in front of him. Nalan Mingyue was clever and sat down on several chairs behind him, as if afraid that the cold air on her body would freeze Baoge.

  "...in a few days it will be the Spring Examinations, and several brothers from our household will be coming to the capital to take the exams. I was thinking that since they are family members, I would like to host them and provide hospitality when they arrive, but I'm not sure if this is proper etiquette, so I wanted to mention it to you early on and hear your thoughts."

  Nalan Mingyue's family had several jinshi, and it was also a scholarly family. Originally, there was another Nalan clan in the capital, and this matter could be considered tolerable whether Nalan Mingyue managed it or not. After all, he was a jinshi, and after becoming a jinshi, he might soon become an important official in the imperial court. It wasn't a bad thing to get involved with these people. After hearing what the Nalan clan said, Nalan Mingyue still had to go ask for Quan Pei's opinion.

  "This is all as it should be. When the time comes, ask Li Shen to take over and have him stay in the front courtyard. Just let me know when you plan to enter the capital."

  For a princess like her, this was a great honor. Nalan Mingyue's face lit up: "If we don't delay on the road, we can enter the capital by February 9th!"

  At first, choosing Nalan Mingyue was because of the potential power behind her, perhaps it won't take long to reveal itself.

  Nalan Mingyue returned to Ruiyuan with a joyful expression, but catching a glimpse of the fleeting figure in the window across from her slightly dampened her excitement. As soon as she entered the house, without even removing her cloak, she loudly instructed: "In a few days, my several brothers will be coming to the capital for the imperial examination, and Furen has invited them to stay at our estate, so we need to tidy up everything that needs tidying!" After finishing speaking, she couldn't help but glance over at the window across from her once again.

  The courtyard was quiet, Wu Ruoxi listened to Nalan Mingyue's words clearly, she stroked her already bulging belly and thought, this must be Nalan Mingyue's greatest advantage...