Chapter 54: The Emperor's Mind Technique

  The Crown Prince Yinre was determined to clear himself of suspicion in front of Kangxi, and he also hated Xu Yuanzheng's sinister intentions. This memorial was merciless, intending to put Xu Yuanzheng to death. The crime of 'alienating flesh and blood relatives' alone would be enough to have Xu Yuanzheng's family exterminated.

  Xu Yuanzheng did not expect that the first to jump out would be the Crown Prince, and An's crime name was frighteningly large. The crimes of being disloyal to one's own flesh and blood and causing chaos in the imperial court were enough to destroy the Xu family for nine generations. His face suddenly turned white as snow, but he had no choice but to force himself to calm down, tightly grasping the golden brick on the ground, not allowing others to see his inner weakness.

  Tong Guowei, as the chief minister of the Grand Council, was originally prepared to step out and rebuke Xu Yuanzheng, slightly redeeming some dignity for Kangxi and Yin Zhen. However, with Yin Reng's sudden intervention, Tong Guowei was immediately intimidated. This situation seems complex and unclear; it's better to observe first.

  Another senior minister of the Supreme Council, Ma Qi, had been cautious since being ruthlessly suppressed by Kangxi last year for recommending the crown prince. Seeing that this situation was even more complicated than the struggle between the two parties, he immediately sealed his lips and pricked up his ears to listen.

  The left censor of the Ducha Yuan, Mu Dan, was both anxious and angry. As a Manchu official, the Ducha Yuan had one Manchu and one Han left censor, with the Manchu being more esteemed. Xu Yuanzheng did not even consult him on this matter. If Kangxi were to become enraged and assign blame, he would be unable to escape being accused of either dereliction of duty or complicity in wrongdoing. However, Yinreng's crime was truly too great; Mu Dan was worried for no reason, but nor did he dare to clear his own name in such a situation, so he could only silently curse in his heart.

  The other princes and ministers in the palace, seeing this sudden change of events, couldn't help but feel a sense of bewilderment. At the same time, they were also confused in their hearts: wasn't Xu Yuanzheng supposed to be one of the Crown Prince's faction? Then which camp did he belong to with this sudden move? Was there any backup support behind him?

  Xu Yuanzheng is the most unexpected one. Since he is not a member of the Crown Prince's party, what faction does he belong to? He can't be from Shanghai, as officials from Shanghai have investigated and couldn't find his name. Is this a trick by the Fourth Brother? Does the Fourth Brother not communicate with the Crown Prince? The Left Censor-in-Chief of the Office of Scrutiny is a high-ranking official, but he was sacrificed just like that. The eight charges really shocked him, as it's true that the more you do, the more mistakes you make. Fortunately, they don't know about the land purchase in Shanghai yet, otherwise, it would be nine charges. As for other charges, he didn't take them seriously, but returning to Beijing privately was indeed an oversight on his part, forgetting that he also held a special envoy position. He's really muddled.

  Kangxi saw that it was not the Crown Prince Yinreng's doing, and he also let out a sigh of relief in his heart. Although he suspected Xu Yuanzheng's motives, this was not the time to investigate. The problem was that all the charges Xu Yuanzheng had listed against Yinzheng were true; how could he defend him? He glanced at Yinzheng, who was still kneeling below, and saw that he looked calm and collected, which made Kangxi raise an eyebrow. "Yinzheng, do you have any defense against Xu Yuanzheng's impeachment?"

  Yin Zhen was shocked, Old Kang, you can't be so unscrupulous, this is not how to play, it's in broad daylight, I consulted with you on everything and you agreed, there are secret letters as proof. Seeing the faint smile in Kangxi's eyes, Yin Zhen thought helplessly, today is the Emperor's birthday, let's just humor him. "Replying to the Emperor, the concubine I took in has already been adopted by my subordinate, Negelei Qi Buchen, as a foster daughter and entered the Han military banner, where did this talk of a Han civilian woman come from? As for not being able to propose marriage when taking a concubine, I am truly ashamed, because it was my first time taking a concubine and I had no experience, and I was taken advantage of. Next time I take a concubine, I guarantee I won't be cheated again."

  Kangxi and the other ministers listened to him speak until this point, almost unable to hold back their laughter. However, Yin Zhen continued: "As for privately recruiting customs officials, I had no choice. The Jianghai customs officials all resigned and the court did not send anyone to replace them. This Jianghai customs office cannot be left unattended, so I had to invite people to take over temporarily. As for buying people's hearts, my reputation in Shanghai is 'lustful and greedy'. If this is also considered buying people's hearts, then I have nothing to say. Whoever wants this reputation can go buy it themselves, I don't care."

  When he heard this, someone finally couldn't help but laugh. Kangxi knew that this guy was trying to curry favor with him and make him happy, but he also couldn't help but smile slightly. Yinzheng had been watching Kangxi's expression all along, and seeing him crack a smile, he felt a bit relieved and continued, "As for the price of cotton cloth, I can only say that Lord Xu doesn't understand economics. Buying cotton cloth requires setting up shops, storing it in warehouses, and transporting it, so naturally the price will go up. If we sell at a loss, I really won't be able to fill this gap."

  Article 6: As for the private control of the cotton trade, I am in Shanghai to supervise the Jianghai Customs and build a naval academy. It is impossible to do everything personally, so it is unavoidable to ask others to help. This is a crime of dereliction of duty and deceiving the emperor, and I humbly decline.

  As for articles 7 and 8, I am thinking of our Imperial Father and want to give him a surprise on his birthday, and I beg the Emperor to punish me.

  Everyone saw Yinzhen's humorous jokes, and Kangxi also smiled, his mood slowly relaxing.

  Kangxi was quite satisfied with Yin-zhen's adaptability, nodded and said: "Yin-zhen, the Beile, is not aware of the violation of etiquette, and is punished by deducting his salary for one year. Without an imperial edict, he privately returned to Beijing, which violates the laws of the court, and his title as Beile is stripped, demoted to Beizi. Xu Yuanzheng, the left vice censor-in-chief of the Ducha Yamen, did not follow the path of a subject, deducting his salary for one year, demoting him three ranks, leaving him in office, and ordering him to close his door at home and reflect on his mistakes for three months."

  Is this a mistake? Yin Zhen was speechless at the time, and being penalized for his salary was nothing, but he didn't rely on that little salary, demotion, this punishment is too severe. However, as soon as Kangxi spoke, he had no choice but to kowtow and thank him sincerely, "Your son thanks the Emperor for his great kindness."

  Xu Yuanzheng had thought that he would be met with thunderous anger, but instead it was so light, and he hastily knocked his head to the ground in gratitude, then got up and left the grand hall to return home and reflect on his actions.

  Everyone thought that the matter would be settled with just a smile from Kangxi, but unexpectedly, the punishment was so severe that they all felt a chill. Before anyone could react, Kangxi smiled and asked: "Are you not satisfied, Beizi?"

  "Thunder and rain are all your grace, how can I have a disobedient heart? Moreover, I indeed made mistakes. The Emperor's reward and punishment are clear, I obey with my heart and mouth." In his heart, Yin Zhen was secretly scolding him, what kind of taste is this to humiliate someone so much, stripping away his title and still teasing him in public? But he continued to respond: "Today is the Emperor's birthday, if it can make the Emperor happy, it's not a waste for me to travel thousands of miles to come to Beijing to pay my respects."

  "You little scamp." Kangxi muttered a curse under his breath, then stroked his beard and smiled, "Your birthday gift should have arrived by now, hurry up and present it."

  Not much time left on the list, what should be collected will be collected.