Trouble shooting

  The queen finally straightened up with the support of Gao Wuyong, but her heart was still uneasy. She really couldn't guess what the emperor wanted to do, but in any case, she didn't want Rong Yibai to lose her life because of this matter. After all, in the imperial palace, the only person she could truly trust and talk to was Rong Yibai.

  Although Long Yitian was dissatisfied with some of the Empress's actions, it was clearly inappropriate for him to say so, and Wu Lanala's mind was obviously not as cunning as that of other concubines. If this continued, she would be at a disadvantage in the end. It seemed he had to think of a way to get some capable people into Kun Ning Palace.

  Although there were countless thoughts in his mind, the emperor's face did not show any signs of anger. He looked at Concubine Rong who was kneeling in front of him with a calm expression and said in a flat tone that could not be heard with joy or anger: "Concubine Rong, since you know what crime you have committed, I won't say much more. In consideration of the empress's face, I will just punish you with thirty slaps. You can go and receive your punishment yourself."

  "The slave thanks Your Majesty for your great kindness." Yung Niang was overjoyed and hastily kowtowed to thank the Emperor, because she had not expected that the Emperor would only punish her with a few slaps on the back of the head, without sending her to the Imperial Household Department for investigation.

  Although these thirty slaps would have taken half her life, and she would have to lie in bed for at least a month or two before she could get out of bed, this flesh wound was still much better than losing her life. Moreover, since the emperor was still so considerate of the empress's dignity, it was clear that the empress had not yet lost the emperor's favor. As long as there was still room for redemption, future matters would be much easier to handle.

  The empress saw that the emperor had not intentionally punished Zhen Fei heavily, and her heart, which had been hanging in suspense, was finally at ease by half. It was clear that the emperor still had something to say, which meant that today's matter was far from over. Apparently, the next person to be punished would be the empress herself.

  As expected, after Long Yitian punished Rong Yuanyuan, he shifted his gaze to the Empress, but in his heart, he was still hesitant about how to punish her.

  If the punishment is too severe, the Empress's face will definitely not pass, and it will also affect the Empress's dignity and deterrent power; but if the punishment is too light, Long Yintian is worried that the Empress will not remember for long, and after a few days, she will cause trouble again.

  "After a moment of contemplation, Long Yitian finally spoke up: 'Empress, I originally intended to severely punish you, but considering your position as the head of the harem, I don't want to humiliate you too much. How about this? You can just stay in Kun Ning Palace and reflect on your actions, except for visiting the Dowager Empress every day, at other times, you should honestly stay in Kun Ning Palace and think carefully about where you went wrong, until you understand. Do you understand?"

  The empress slightly pursed her lips, although she was slightly dissatisfied in her heart, but still hurriedly led the decree: "Your servant obeys."

  In fact, Long Yitian's punishment of the empress was neither light nor heavy, and it could also confuse the vision of other concubines.

  In this way, the queen would find it difficult to keep a low profile, and with Wei Zifu being favored at this time, Yanxi Palace would naturally become the target of criticism.

  To put it bluntly, Long Yitian did this simply to see a good show and add some fun to his dull life as an emperor; on the other hand, he is also a person who fears trouble, since he has already established a successor, he has no intention of abolishing him again.

  But this matter is not over yet, Long Yintian then ordered Gao Wuyong to send the palace maid of Kun Ning Palace and the two small palace maids who served the empress to the Nei Wu Fu for severe investigation. In addition, a few new palace maids were selected to fill the vacancies left by these people.

  Gao Wu Yong immediately understood the emperor's intention and after responding, he personally took those few palace maids to the Imperial Household Department.

  The empress, seeing the situation, didn't dare say anything more. After all, the emperor had already pardoned Concubine Yong, and this time sending those few palace maids back to the Imperial Household Department was just a way of making them take the blame. In this way, today's matter would be spread out, and the empress would also have something to say, at most it would be that the emperor was too lenient with his subordinates.

  In fact, the queen can think of this layer, and other concubines naturally also thought of it. This kind of cover-up method is just to make the queen feel better on the surface. As for the true intention of Long Yintian's actions, only Gao Wuyong in this house completely understood.

  After dealing with this troublesome matter, Long Yitian didn't stay any longer and left Kun Ning Palace directly.

  On ordinary days, unless it was the first and fifteenth of the month, he rarely set foot in the Kun Ning Palace. This did not mean that he disliked the Empress, on the contrary, he did so simply because he did not want to hurt the Empress, which had nothing to do with likes or dislikes.

  Because he absolutely wouldn't pay attention to people he didn't care about, not even a bit of concern or tenderness, even in bed it was the same, let alone that he only saw the concubines in the harem as tools for giving birth, nothing else.

  Back in the imperial study, Long Yitian did not see the figures of Yongzhang and Yongyan. After a slight hesitation, he still called Ilaji, who had been guarding the door from outside, to come in.

  Inside this study were all trusted subordinates of Long Yitian, so he didn't waste any more words and directly asked: "Yilaji, where did Third Brother and Fourth Brother go?"

  Since Long Yitian rebuilt the Sticky Pavilion, he had Ira Chi transferred to the Nurturing Heart Palace as a guard. After all, Ira Chi still held the title of Imperial Guard, and this time it was just a matter of moving from a hidden position to an open one. On the one hand, it was convenient for Long Yitian to observe Ira Chi's abilities and loyalty up close, and on the other hand, it made it easier for him to issue secret orders directly and have them conveyed.

  To be honest, although Long Yintian handed over the reconstruction work of the Glue Stick to Irachi, he actually didn't fully trust Irachi yet. So the previous arrangement of Blood Drop and Dark Guard was his test for Irachi.

  If Yilaji's ability to handle affairs is indeed impressive and has been tested over time, and his loyalty can be confirmed, Longyin Tian intends to send him out and help him establish himself in the imperial court step by step. Moreover, Yilaji is also a member of the Manchu Plain Yellow Banner, so those members of the imperial clan will not show any dissatisfaction with this approach.

  Since being transferred to Yangxin Hall, Yilazi naturally did his best. He wasn't a dull person and could guess the emperor's intention. However, everything has two sides, it depends on how he chooses.

  Although he moved from a dark place to a bright one and still served under the emperor's eyelids, if there was any slight abnormality, it would be easy for the emperor to discover; however, on the other hand, being able to work in the Nourishing Heart Temple is something that Manchu people dream of, because this way, they have more opportunities to show themselves in front of the emperor than others, and their chances of promotion also increase accordingly. If nothing goes wrong, it's not difficult to rise through the ranks smoothly.

  "Your Majesty, the Fourth Prince took the Third Prince to the horse racing field."

  Long Hui Tian immediately understood, it must be that Yong Yan felt these days were too dull, so he dragged Yong Zhuo to play, and with Yong Zhuo's gentle and easy-going temperament, he was probably also very difficult to refuse Yong Yan who was more clever than him.

  He glanced up at the sky and saw that it was still early when the dragon would appear, so he didn't say anything else and waved his hand to let Ilachi retreat.

  He immediately sent someone to deliver the edict, urgently summoning Fu Heng and E'ertai to enter the palace for an audience. He also had all of Yue Zhongqi's, Zhang Guangsi's, Nian Gengyao's and Ban Di's memorials delivered to the Grand Council, ordering the Grand Council ministers to draft a result by the next day.

  Those military ministers were also astute, and after reading those memorials, they immediately understood the emperor's intention. Obviously, the prolonged war in Small and Large Jinchuan had already made the emperor extremely dissatisfied, and since the emperor directly summoned Fu Heng to enter the palace, it was likely that he had already planned to replace the general on the eve of battle.

  At one time, the originally quiet military base quickly became like a vegetable market, with everyone having their own opinions on this matter, arguing with each other non-stop, but no one could convince anyone else.

  The Ministry of War also became busy due to the several edicts from Long Yitian, and the hitherto calm imperial court finally revealed a tense atmosphere as if on the eve of battle.

  At the same time, Hong Duan, who had just come out of the imperial prince's mansion, couldn't help but let out a deep sigh. After several months of hard work, he had finally completed the task given to him by his fourth brother, the emperor, and temporarily placated the dissatisfaction from the imperial clan side. For this, he hadn't slept well for a long time.

  Fortunately, Long Yintian only promoted some Han officials in the Ministry of Revenue, and did not make any major moves in the other five ministries, which was also an important reason for Hong Yu to persuade the imperial relatives.

  In recent years, due to various reasons, the national treasury has been gradually depleted, which is a fact that everyone can see. The emperor's dissatisfaction with those officials in charge of the Ministry of Revenue is also justified. Moreover, Hong Yu had a way to persuade those princes who held real power, and others naturally followed suit.

  Until the palace gate was closed, Fu Heng and E'ertai left the imperial palace with the decree of Longyuetian's letter, while the ministers of the Grand Council finally drafted a result, only waiting for the next day's early court to discuss in front of the temple.

  It's just that, no matter what the outcome of the temple discussion is, it's already impossible to change Long Yitian's decision at this moment. Fu Heng had long since followed his orders and left Beijing overnight, bringing a secret edict to gallop towards the Jin Chuan military camp.

  When it was time for dinner, Long Yitian saw that Yongzhang and Yongyan had not returned yet. He suspected that Yongyan might have been too engrossed in play to remember the time.

  As soon as he made up his mind, he didn't send anyone to deliver the message, but instead put on a cloak and decided to go to the school field himself, also riding his horse for a few laps to relax his slightly annoyed mood.

  Author's note: Due to Black Cat's recent busy schedule, updates will be irregular. I'll try my best to code whenever I have time.

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