Set out from Mulan

  Three days later, Fu Heng returned to Beijing as scheduled with his troops. Longyintian ordered the Fourth Prince Yongyan and other princes and ministers to go out of the city ten miles to welcome them, and the Fifth Prince Yongqi accompanied him to watch the ceremony. In addition, Longyintian also set up a banquet in the palace to reward and commend the meritorious generals in this battle, among whom Fu Heng was naturally the most eye-catching.

  Longyitian's arrangement naturally made many people confused, it should be said that at present the eldest brother Yongheng is seriously ill and cannot take on this important task, so it should be the third brother Yongzhang who leads the kings, ministers and officials to go, no matter how they turn, it's unlikely that the fourth and fifth brothers will have a chance.

  Moreover, the Fourth Prince Yongyan was only eleven years old and the Fifth Prince Yongqi was only eight years old. Letting these two young princes handle such a major matter, if something went wrong, who could bear the responsibility?

  Although all the princes and ministers were suspicious, the emperor's edict had already been issued and could not be changed, so they could only handle it with great care, thinking through every detail thoroughly, trying to let the two princes just watch from the side.

  However, Yongyan's performance was a deep surprise to many ministers, and also made the uncles of the imperial family rarely surprised.

  Don't look at Yongzheng, who is only eleven years old. When facing these many tedious affairs, he appears to be very patient. Even if the ministers of the Ministry of Rites have made arrangements, he still personally verifies them one by one. Later, when facing the returning Fu Heng and the tens of thousands of soldiers, he did not show a bit of panic or tension. Not only did he express the emperor's condolences clearly, but at the end, he also showed his admiration and gratitude to the soldiers.

  Yong Qi did well too, but compared to Yong Yan, there was still a significant gap. The most obvious one was that Yong Qi lacked the cunning and means of handling things like Yong Yan did.

  All the ministers were not blind, and they also understood who was good and who was bad in their hearts. They still showed great respect to both princes on the surface, without any bias.

  Just by taking advantage of this opportunity to welcome the returning troops, just by saying a few short words, Yongying successfully made the returning generals have a good impression of him, and even Fu Heng, who was always cautious and calculating, couldn't help but look at Yongying with new eyes.

  It seems that this prince in front of me is not as useless as the rumors say, and indeed rumors are not to be believed. Who knows, maybe these princes will also become like the brothers under Emperor Kangxi's knees, each one a true dragon and phoenix among men.

  Besides, Fu Heng also knew that the Third Prince and Fourth Prince were both personally taught by the Emperor himself. It was only natural that Yong Yan had such elegance and demeanor today. Moreover, a bold thought flashed through Fu Heng's mind: 'Could it be that the Emperor... intends to make the Fourth Prince the Crown Prince?'

  What the various ministers think, Long Hanyan can guess a thing or two, and he has his own considerations for making such arrangements.

  On the one hand, considering Yong Yin's character and intelligence, in a few more years he will have enough ability to start taking on real responsibilities. Now, Long Yintian is letting him show off a bit in front of all the ministers, also with the intention of paving the way for his future; as for Yong Qi, Long Yintian is just using this opportunity to let him see the world and incidentally test the child's intelligence and character.

  On the other hand, it's scorching summer now, and Yongzhang's body can't withstand the turmoil. Moreover, the Mulan hunting season is approaching soon, so in order to let Yongzhang have a good time at Mulan, Long Yitian didn't let him go on this errand that was neither big nor small.

  At the time when all the high-ranking officials were extremely busy and imperial edicts were being issued one after another, the concubines in the harem were also not idle. As the day of the hunting trip was approaching, they tried every means to show off themselves, for who wouldn't want to follow the emperor on the excursion to Mulan?

  It turns out that this entourage actually has a lot of hidden things in it. Firstly, it reflects which concubines are favored and which ones are not liked by the emperor; secondly, the concubines who follow the emperor usually do not exceed three, and this trip is also far away from the dangerous palace, so during this month or more, the opportunity to become pregnant is very high. This is also why all the concubines in the palace are vying for this entourage quota.

  The queen has been worried about this matter of following the emperor for days, and although the empress dowager's side seems to be turning a blind eye, anyone with discerning eyes can see that she is waiting to see how the queen will handle this.

  If she arranged it well, she would naturally score points in the empress dowager's heart; if the arrangement was not proper, the empress dowager would inevitably have to lend a hand and even take the opportunity to teach her a lesson, and the good impression she had on the empress dowager would also be affected.

  In comparison, the most anxious one is still on the emperor's side. The list of people who followed the emperor had been presented to the emperor by the empress three or four times, but each time the emperor would just glance at it and then put it aside, neither agreeing nor disagreeing, leaving the empress anxious and frustrated yet unable to do anything about it.

  The list of those who will follow the emperor has not been released, and the various concubines do not dare to slack off. Every day, they go to Cining Palace and Kunning Palace more frequently than ever before.

  The empress dowager just thought that someone was accompanying her to chat, picking up those unrelated trivial matters in the family, chatting idly, but not mentioning a word about the random driving of Mulan; The queen had long been annoyed by these concubines, and she didn't dare to refuse to see anyone, so although she was angry in her heart, she could only endure it and respond. At this moment, she actually missed the peaceful days of the past.

  Until two days before departure, Long Yitian finally made a decree, allowing Chun Fei, Rong Bin, and Ling Bin to follow the emperor. This result naturally delighted some families and saddened others. The Empress's discontent was self-evident, and the Dowager Empress also slightly furrowed her brow when she first heard the news.

  Fortunately, Consort Chun was also in the entourage, so the Empress Dowager didn't say much and continued to eat vegetarian food and recite Buddhist scriptures peacefully in the Cining Palace.

  In late August, the Autumn Hunt's entourage finally set out from the capital city, majestically heading towards Mulan Weichang. As the Emperor was on an outing, it was naturally impossible to be slow, so this procession of carriages also stretched for several miles, with no end in sight.

  Mulan Weichang is located at the junction of Chifeng City, Ulanqab City, Xilingol League and Chaha'er Right Wing Middle Banner in Inner Mongolia. Due to its dense forests and lush grasslands, it is an ideal place for animals to gather and breed. The hunting ground covers a vast area, with a distance of about 300 miles between east and west, south and north, making it an excellent spot for horseback riding and relaxation.

  This autumn hunt, Longketo not only brought Yongzhao and Yongmo as promised, but also let Wu A Ge Yongqi follow the same journey, leaving behind Si A Ge Yongbin and eight-year-old Ba A Ge Yongsui in Beijing.

  The Eighth Prince is still young and will certainly stay in the palace this time, but the Emperor unexpectedly didn't let the Fourth Prince follow, there's a bit of depth to this.

  But no matter what others think, Yong'an is not dissatisfied with Long Yitian's arrangement. On the contrary, he thinks that although he didn't go to Mulan this time, it's a pity, but he has more time to spend with his mother and eighth brother. Whether it's a gain or a loss depends on how he looks at it himself.

  The fifth brother, Yongqi, was overjoyed when he received the imperial decree. He had not expected that the Emperor would also allow him to follow along. His extremely jealous feelings instantly dissipated, and upon hearing that the fourth brother was unable to follow, he felt even more self-satisfied.

  Because he was still worried about Yongzhang's body, Long Yitian had Yongzhang and himself ride in the same carriage, while Yongqi and Yongyu rode in another.

  Because Long Hui Tian's dragon carriage was the best in every way, Yongzhao didn't feel much bumps and fatigue along the way. Instead, he took the opportunity to appreciate the grassland scenery that he had never seen before, and looked forward to horseback riding and hunting a few days later.

  Although it was a trip to relax, Long Hui Tian couldn't take a single day off. Even on the road, memorials would still be constantly delivered by special personnel from the Grand Council to his carriage, and after he finished reviewing them, they would be sent back to the capital. After all, the country can't afford to have a single day without affairs, and the more state matters are delayed, the more troublesome it will be to deal with later.

  However, Long Yitian had been extremely afraid of heat since he was a child. Because high temperatures would cause his endurance to decline linearly, and his temper would also become much more violent, which is absolutely taboo for an emperor.

  Although it was already late summer and early autumn, the temperature had not dropped much, so after reading a few memorials, Long Yintian couldn't help but feel a bit impatient.

  He casually threw the memorial to one side, raised his hand and rubbed his temples. At this moment, he was extremely nostalgic for the climate of Qinglong Country, because Qinglong Country was like winter all year round, with snow drifting almost all year round, which was actually the most suitable environment for him.

  Yongzhang saw his imperial mother venting her temper in a fit of rage once again, and he felt both heartache and helplessness inside.

  He bowed his head in thought, then finally got up and sat down beside Long Yitian. With a gentle movement, he raised his hand to help massage Long Yitian's forehead, while trying to comfort him: "Your Majesty, you've already reviewed the memorials for over an hour, why not leave the rest until after dinner, when it's cooler outside?"

  Yongzhen's slightly cool fingertips pressed exactly on Longyin Tian's temple, and the annoyance in his heart suddenly decreased a lot. Although he didn't open his mouth to express anything, he was half-closing his eyes and leaning against the soft couch, but it was very clear that at this time he didn't want to think anymore.

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