Chapter 44: The Jade Certificate (Part 2)

  Although he had made up his mind, Emperor Kangxi felt suffocated and really wanted to talk to someone. However, after thinking about it, in such a vast imperial palace, there wasn't a single person with whom he could share his innermost thoughts, which left him feeling rather desolate.

  So, the infinitely depressed Kangxi old master decided to turn his sorrow and anger into motivation, and solve the problem of Uya Shi, this hypocritical woman, as soon as possible. He personally went to Cining Palace, told Empress Dowager about the whole incident that happened in the Fourth Beile Mansion recently, and the backstage black hand - De Fei, and his decision.

  The Empress Dowager was shocked upon hearing the news. Although the women in the harem were not exactly kind-hearted, it was rare for them to do something like this to their own flesh and blood. Since Laifu was her own child and did not hinder her interests, the Empress Dowager could not understand why she would do such a thing. As a result, she strongly supported the Emperor's decision.

  With the support of Empress Dowager, Emperor Kangxi did not stop and efficiently summoned Prince Yu Fuquan and Prince Jian Yalang'a in the middle of the night. The three men had a secret meeting in the Palace of Heavenly Purity for over an hour. After that, Prince Yu Fuquan and Prince Jian Yalang'a hastily left the palace.

  After the two men left, Emperor Kangxi summoned a group of imperial relatives and nobles again.

  Those who serve in the court are all astute, seeing the emperor summon so many imperial relatives at midnight, making such a big commotion, it must be something major. Each and every one of them is nervous, sending people out to inquire about what happened, just to be prepared.

  Not to mention the ministers, even the princes and young masters couldn't sit still, all sending trusted people to inquire. Of course, among them, the fourth prince was the calmest, with the gates of his mansion tightly closed, as if it had nothing to do with him.

  Unfortunately, the people summoned by Emperor Kangxi were all prestigious members of the imperial clan, so no matter who came to inquire, they would grit their teeth and refuse to sell, including even the princes. After all, they didn't need to gamble on the merits of following the dragon like the high-ranking officials in the court did, in order to gain greater benefits. Because whoever became emperor would be surnamed Aixinjueluo, with an unbreakable blood connection that was the same for all of them.

  In an instant, the already bustling Forbidden City became even more lively, the only difference being that beneath this liveliness was a sense of tension and unease that seemed to foretell a storm.

  In the midst of everyone's anxiety, the days passed one by one, and still, there was no movement from Emperor Kangxi. Everyone's heart felt like a cat scratching, itching and somewhat restless, until May arrived.

  May is not like the severe cold or sweltering heat, floating clouds are gently smearing in the sky, a gentle breeze is softly whispering among the trees, with a faint scent of pagoda tree flowers carried in the wind, and occasionally a few small petals quietly fall, blooming with a subtle color.

  On this day, Kangxi suddenly issued an edict summoning all the imperial consorts, princes' consorts, noble relatives and all Manchu and Han ministers to the Palace of Heavenly Purity.

  When Xiǎo Huán received the imperial edict, he rushed to the Palace of Heavenly Purity and found that the grand hall was already packed with people.

  In the eyes of the crowd, he calmly walked to his position and gently closed his eyes. The chilling aura surrounding him caused people around him to retreat a few steps, lest they be frozen into ice sculptures.

  Third Brother and Fifth Brother were tragic, one on the left side of Yongzheng, one on the right side of Yongzheng, really having no way to retreat, in the sympathetic eyes of everyone, shivering with cold.

  "The Emperor has arrived!"

  Li Dequan's sharp voice was no less than heavenly music to the Third and Fifth Princes, who were on the verge of tears with gratitude.

  Kangxi sat high on the throne, and after everyone had finished paying their respects, he said in a loud voice: "I have summoned you all today to announce an important matter!"

  Everyone heard this and their hearts tightened, they were not fools after all. They naturally guessed that it was related to Kangxi's summons of the clan relatives more than a decade ago. They hastily bowed and replied in unison: "We obey Your Majesty's instructions."

  De Fei stood among the many consorts and concubines, hearing these words, only to feel a wave of cold air wash over her, with an ominous premonition in her heart. Someone said that women's intuition is very accurate. Indeed, Kangxi's next words confirmed the correctness of this statement.

  "Empress Xiaoyiren of the Tunggiya clan, not only is she my cousin, but also my childhood sweetheart and wife. Since her passing, I often miss her."

  As soon as Kangxi's words came out, the concubines below heard that their faces all turned green. It turned out that these living beauties were not as good as that dead one? So, the vinegar jar was knocked over, and the whole hall was filled with sour air.

  The faces of all the princes were also full of complex and indistinguishable expressions.

  All the officials held their breath and didn't dare to make a sound, lowering their heads even further. In their hearts, they grumbled: Your Majesty, if you miss her so much, why not just miss her quietly? Why must you say it out loud in front of all of us? Is it that today you summoned so many people just to tell us how much you miss Empress Xiaoshengxian?

  "Especially in recent months, I have often been unable to sleep at night... Last month, the Empress Dowager appeared to me in a dream, saying that the late Empress Xiaoyiren was extremely worried about her youngest son, Yongzheng, who had been raised by her since childhood. Even after ascending to heaven, she could not put her mind at ease and was constantly tearful. I am deeply concerned! Considering the late Empress Xiaoyiren's boundless maternal love, I have given this much thought and discussed it with the Holy Mother Empress Dowager. We have decided to change the jade tablet, effective immediately, and place Yongzheng under the name of the late Empress Xiaoyiren, née Tunggiya..."

  A loud rumble——

  This remark was like a thunderclap on a clear day, without any warning, and it shocked the people in the hall so much that they were stunned.

  Kangxi's old master really made a big deal out of this, to the point where all the Oscar-winning actors present couldn't hide their expressions, causing their faces to contort unnaturally, and their eyeballs almost fell to the ground. Especially the eyes of the princes, filled with envy, jealousy, and hatred, were like raging flames that couldn't be extinguished.

  Perhaps the only one who seemed relatively calm was Yongzheng. Except for hearing that Kangxi changed his jade pendant to his foster mother's name, he suddenly raised his head and his pupils contracted slightly, then he returned to his usual expression. When kneeling down to thank him, he looked calm and unruffled, as if he were not the protagonist of this storm.

  "No"

  De Fei finally reacted with a sharp cry, and the entire hall's gaze suddenly focused on her.

  Kangxi's sharp eyes stared at De Fei, his low voice had some unclear meaning: "What? De Fei, do you have any objections to my decision? Hmm?"

  "Yes!" De Fei did not dodge at all, her eyes staring straight at Kangxi, saying firmly: "Your Majesty, I disagree!"

  "Oh! Speak and let's hear your reason?" Kangxi sat high on his throne, nodding to indicate that De Fei should speak.

  "Yinreng is the son I bore after ten months of pregnancy, how can his jade emblem be changed?"

  "Hmph!" Kangxi snorted, "What merits do you have besides giving birth to Yongzheng? Fourth brother, that was your cousin's careful nurturing and upbringing. Isn't it said that the kindness of raising is greater than the kindness of giving birth? Moreover, can you consider Yongzheng as your own son?"

  "How can I not consider him as my son? No matter what, Yongzheng is still the one who came out of my belly, so why isn't he my son?"

  "If you really regarded Fourth Brother as your son, would you have refused to raise him when his mother had just passed away? If you really regarded Fourth Brother as your son, would you only have pointed out Hanxiu's daughter to him while the daughters of the Fourteenth Prince are all Manchu noblewomen? If you really regarded Fourth Brother as your son, would you have told the Fourteenth that he has only one son? If you really regarded Fourth Brother as a son... never mind." Kangxi looked at Fourth Brother who was lowering his head with an unclear expression and at the Fourteenth whose face was twisted in anger, embarrassment, and sadness, and waved his hand. "Other even more shameful things, I won't mention!"

  Kangxi's series of "If you really treat the fourth as your son" rhetorical questions came one after another, causing Empress De to turn pale and almost collapse. Her body went limp, but she was caught by the wet nurse behind her, preventing her from falling to the ground in a most undignified manner.

  De Fei leaned on the wet nurse's body, her dull eyes slowly shifted to Yi Tan, who was standing straight behind her. Suddenly losing control of her emotions, she shouted at Yi Tan: "Now you've got what you wanted, thoroughly and completely becoming the son of that cheap woman Tong Jia Shi! Are you satisfied? I knew that cheap woman Tong Jia Shi had a heart as venomous as a snake or scorpion..."

  "How dare you speak of Her Majesty like that!" Yongzheng's voice was very calm, but those who knew him understood that he was furious.

  "What? You've actually dared to rebel against me! You're indeed the kind of child that woman from the Tongjia clan would raise!" The Empress Dowager's eyes were filled with madness, her mouth curled up in a mocking smile. "I knew long ago that you were an ungrateful wolf, which is why I refused to raise you back then. In my life as a member of the Uya clan, the thing I hate the most is giving birth to a monstrous child like you."

  Yin Zhen lowered his eyes and walked slowly to the front of Empress De, lifted his robe and knelt down at her feet. However, his back remained straight. "Mother, this is Yin Zhen's last time addressing you! From now on, we are no longer mother and son. Please take care of your noble body!"

  After finishing speaking, Yongzheng heavily kowtowed to Empress De nine times. The sound of his kowtowing was so loud that it could be heard clearly throughout the entire grand hall. By the time Yongzheng lifted his head, a bright red blood mark had appeared on his forehead.

  Yongzheng didn't care about Empress De's reaction, and walked straight to Kangxi's front, also with a swing of his sleeve, and nine loud knocks on the ground! Instantly, the fresh blood on his head dripped down from the corners of his eyes, drop by drop, but fell onto everyone's heart.

  Everyone did not know what Yongzheng was going to do, they just quietly watched, so that the hall was quiet enough to hear a pin drop.

  Yin Zhen raised his head, without getting up, and directly turned around on his knees, facing De Fei, and shouted: "The ancestors of the Aixinjueluo clan are above, I, Aixinjueluo Yin Zhen, return to Uya Shi's birth mother with my heart's blood. From now on, I, Aixinjueluo Yin Zhen, am only the child of Tong Jia Yue Ya, and have nothing to do with Uya Shi again!"

  As soon as the words fell, Yin Zhen's right hand grasped a knife that had been pulled out at some unknown time and stabbed it fiercely into his heart, pulling it out instantly. Scalding hot blood spurted out, splashing several of his brothers who were standing nearby all over their faces.

  Everyone was shocked by Yongzheng's fierce move and stared blankly at the blood flowing all over the ground, at a loss for what to do. Yongzheng's mouth curled up slightly, and he smiled silently, forcing himself to say to Empress De: "Empress De, you and I are now even..."

  After finishing speaking, everything in front of him turned black and he fainted.

  "Damn it! What are you staring at? Quickly call the imperial physician! Call the imperial physician!" Kangxi's eyes blazed with anger as he jumped down from his throne, supporting Yongzheng and bellowing at the people around him who were frozen in shock.

  "Fourth Brother!"

  "Fourth brother!"

  "Fourth Brother!"

  "Fourth Prince!"

  In an instant, the great hall was in a state of utter chaos, with people tumbling about and animals running wildly.

  Just nonsense, doesn't conform to historical facts, don't take it too seriously.