Chapter 53: Impeachment

  On the morning of March 18th, Yin Zhen hastily arrived at the Meridian Gate, hurriedly presenting his card to request an audience.

  This year's Wan Shou Festival, Kangxi originally had no intention of holding it, but after some thought, he could take the opportunity to ease the tense atmosphere inside and outside the capital, so he gladly agreed to the request of the various ministers. On the 18th day, early in the morning, Kangxi led the princes, Beile, Beizi, Gong, Nei Dachen, and Daxueshi to pay respects at Tai Temple, and then moved to Taihe Hall to accept the congratulations of civil and military officials, followed by music played by palace musicians, dance offerings, and after the ceremony, the ministers naturally had to sing praises.

  Kangxi listened and didn't think there was anything special about it. After all, he had heard it for decades, and those clichés were so familiar that his ears were almost numb. It would be strange if they were interesting, but he still patiently smiled and accepted the congratulations of the ministers, occasionally praising one or two sentences. It wasn't until the end was approaching that he slightly moved his foot, and Li Dequan immediately understood and shouted, "The ceremony is over, let's present the birthday gifts."

  When it comes to offering birthday gifts, the natural choice is Crown Prince Yin. This year's gift, he has put in a lot of thought and effort, presenting a jade carving of an old longevity star, with excellent quality and craftsmanship, but what's rare is the implication behind it.

  After the prince, it was naturally a group of princes, each offering books and paintings or pearls and jade, but not enough. Then came a group of noble relatives, and finally, there were many ministers. All the birthday gifts, Kangxi didn't pay much attention to them, he had seen too many over the years, and the good things he had collected were really too numerous. These birthday gifts, he often just took a glance at them, then let Li Dequan put them aside. After all the princes' birthday gifts were presented, he noticed that there was no gift from the 14th this year, and his mind immediately began to wonder, did the 14th not send one? Or did someone intercept the 14th's birthday gift?

  Li Dequan stepped forward and said in a low voice: "Your Majesty, the 14th prince is outside with a nameplate seeking an audience."

  The fourteenth one actually ran back? Kangxi was suddenly delighted and said in a low voice, "Quickly announce."

  Yin Zhen learned from the eunuch's mouth that the longevity ceremony was nearing its end, and he quickly ran to the Taihe Hall. He took a few steps forward and knelt down, "Your son Yin Zhen wishes you a long life, like the Southern Mountain, and may all your wishes be fulfilled."

  Kangxi nodded with a smile, looking at Yongzheng's empty hands and dusty clothes, and couldn't help but feel a little puzzled. This reckless young man actually came to pay his respects with empty hands?

  Yin-zhen's sudden arrival naturally attracted the attention of many princes and ministers, who were also puzzled by Kangxi, wondering how Yin-zhen came to pay his respects empty-handed. The entire hall immediately fell silent, with all eyes fixed on Yin-zhen.

  Under the watchful eyes of everyone, Yin Zhen didn't feel embarrassed at all. He ran too fast, and the little eunuch holding the gift box hadn't caught up yet. But this was hard to explain, so he could only turn his head back and look outside, and this action made everyone understand that it wasn't that he hadn't brought a gift, but rather that the thing was still behind him and hadn't caught up yet.

  Kangxi felt relieved, he was just thinking about how to get around this matter, for this money-making son, he now likes him from the heart, if the ocean-going trading fleet can be successfully established, he will immediately have another 200 million in revenue, which is half of the country's annual total income, with this money, what can't be done?

  Yin Zhen's arrival, Yin Qi, Yin Xiang and Yin Bi naturally delighted, the Crown Prince and other princes were annoyed in their hearts. This old fourteen, actually came from Shanghai to celebrate his birthday, really knew how to curry favor.

  As the birthday gift had not arrived, everyone was even more curious about what kind of birthday gift this Fourteenth Prince Ba Ba had brought from Shanghai. Just as all the officials were guessing and suspicious, Xu Yuanzheng, the left censor of the Imperial Censorate, suddenly emerged and knelt down to report: "Your humble servant Xu Yuanzheng impeaches the Fourteenth Prince Yu for eight major crimes."

  The whole hall was stunned, today is not a court meeting, it's the Emperor's birthday, did this guy take the wrong medicine? He actually chose to impeach Yin-zheng on this day. Kangxi was also stunned, and he had never encountered such a situation on his birthday before. The Crown Prince's party didn't need to be mentioned, they were just waiting to see the excitement, while the Eighth Prince's party was shocked and outraged. As for Yin-zheng, it goes without saying how depressed he was. I haven't even presented my birthday gift yet, and you're already impeaching him in such a hurry, with eight major crimes, is that not exaggerated?

  Xu Yuanzheng, however, ignored the reactions of the crowd. He knew that this opportunity was hard to come by, and before everyone else had a chance to react, he loudly said: "The 14th prince, Yin Zhen, during his time in Shanghai, one, privately took a Han woman as his concubine, not respecting ancestral rules. Two, taking a concubine but also proposing marriage, entering the palace with fanfare, is actually harming the wind and damaging customs, violating etiquette. Three, disregarding the imperial court, arbitrarily changing the customs system, privately recruiting customs officials. Four, arbitrarily adjusting national tax rates, buying people's hearts. Five, artificially inflating cotton prices, filling his own pockets, causing chaos in the local area. Six, using private individuals to control the cotton trade, abandoning public interests for personal gain, deceiving the emperor. Seven, as an imperial envoy, not completing his mission, returning to Beijing without permission, is actually a crime of deceiving the emperor. Eight, with a dusty face and dirty clothes, he appeared before the emperor, losing etiquette in front of him. I request that Your Majesty punish him for his crimes, to correct the imperial rules."

  Xu Yuanzheng finished speaking, but the crowd in the hall was like a wooden statue, and some people who were not related to the matter thought to themselves: "This Xu Yuanzheng is really bold. Whether the charges are true or not, since Xun Zhen dared to do this, he must have communicated with his father beforehand. What's the point of you coming here to stir up trouble? You can die today if you want, but don't drag us down with you."

  As soon as Kangxi finished listening, he began to ponder in his heart. Xu Yuanzheng was the son of Xu Zuo, with the courtesy name Zizhen, from Deqing, Zhejiang Province. He was a 24-year-old jinshi (a successful candidate in the imperial examination) and was good at poetry and literature. He had written "Qingxiao Building Draft" and "Luanpo Stored Draft", each one volume, and had some reputation among scholars in the capital city. He usually adhered to neutrality, so why would he suddenly impeach the 14th prince under such circumstances? Was it to gain fame, or did the 14th prince touch his family's interests, or was he secretly relying on the party of Crown Prince Yinreng? Thinking of this, he glanced at Crown Prince Yinreng.

  Yin Rong heard Xu Yuanzheng's eight solid crimes, and was delighted to see Yin Zheng make a fool of himself. However, he was startled by Kangxi's glance, and immediately realized that Kangxi suspected that Xu Yuanzheng's behavior today was under his own instruction. In an instant, he was frightened and broke out in cold sweat. Today was the Emperor's birthday, if Kangxi thought this way, it would be a great disrespect!

  He immediately thought of a flash, what was Xu Yuanzheng's intention in singing this today? Who was behind it? This is not impeachment fourteen, but to trap oneself in the situation of being unfilial and unjust. Is it the old eight's plan to kill two birds with one stone? However, at this time, he had no time to think more, first, he had to get himself out of trouble.

  Yinreng knelt down and memorialized: "I report to the Emperor, Xu Yuanzhen is arrogant and self-satisfied with his knowledge of books, but he has a wicked heart and does not know how to be cautious as a minister. He speaks falsely and accuses others for his own private gain, causing discord among relatives and chaos in the court. He is truly a treacherous minister of our Great Qing dynasty. I humbly request that the Emperor expel him from the Taihe Hall to serve as a warning to others."