novelonline Chapter 1973: Sharing the Emperor's Grace
Chapter 1973: Sharing the Emperor's Grace
Chapter 1973: Sharing the Emperor's Grace
Seeing the Ninth Prince whispering to the Twelfth Prince and the Thirteenth Prince talking to the Fourth Prince, the Fourteenth Prince felt uncomfortable.
Okay?
Everyone is a good brother or a good younger brother, but you are the only one who is alone?
The Fourteenth Prince wanted to find the Eighth Prince, but after looking around, he couldn't find anyone.
Fortunately, there were people around him, so it didn't seem awkward.
On his left was Prince Ping, and on his right were the Fifteenth, Sixteenth, and Seventeenth Princes.
Several of the younger princes still look like children, but Prince Ping is already fourteen years old, which is not considered young.
However, because he was still studying in the upper study, Prince Ping rarely scheduled classes.
The Fourteenth Prince was looking forward to Prince Ping's visit to the court.
The two are grandfather and grandson in terms of generation, but are actually two years apart in age, which makes them no different from brothers.
Prince Ping inherited the title of Prince of Merit, and was ranked second among the princes, only after Prince Xin.
He lost his father at a young age and was raised in the palace. He will definitely be reused after he starts working, just like Yarjiang'a.
Prince Ping could feel the Fourteenth Prince's closeness to him, and he was also really close to him, so he asked, "Is your uncle busy working in the Ministry of Revenue?"
The Fourteenth Prince puffed out his chest and said, "It's okay. I just have to learn some trivial tasks. I'm still looking forward to going to the Ministry of War. When you leave the Upper Study, we can go to the Ministry of War together."
Prince Ping's eyes sparkled, and he said, "My grandson is also looking forward to this. If my uncle becomes a general one day, I would like to be his deputy general!"
The Fourteenth Prince smiled and said, "It's settled then. When the time comes, we will work together to build achievements and accumulate merits!"
*
At the Jianting, Prince Gong dismounted from his horse. The Eighth Prince was beside him and stepped forward to support him, bypassing several of his cousins.
Prince Gong waved his hand, took the cane from the saddle, and said, "I can do it myself..."
The Eighth Prince looked worried and said, "Uncle Wang..."
It’s not far from here to the Qianqing Palace, but everyone will have to follow the emperor to the Ningshou Palace in a while.
Prince Gong said, "It's not a problem. It's only a few steps away."
This was the first time Prince Gong appeared in public since the Lantern Festival.
When he arrived at the Qianqing Palace Square, he immediately attracted everyone's attention.
The princes all came forward to pay their respects, and the princes of the royal family also came forward.
Prince Zhuang widened his eyes and looked at Prince Gong and said, "Didn't you say you caught a cold? Why have you lost so much weight?"
Prince Gong laughed and said, "Money can't buy you a slim body when you are old..."
Sunu also came forward and said, "The weather is getting warmer, and Uncle Wang's illness should be gone. I am looking forward to fishing with Uncle Wang."
Prince Gong nodded and said, "Yes, yes, let's go fishing in Shichahai in a while."
The other princes standing by did not interrupt as they were younger.
The Ninth Prince, the Fourth Prince, and the Thirteenth Prince had just visited Prince Gong a few days ago and knew that he was suffering from diabetes, so they were a little worried.
The Ninth Prince looked towards Prince Gong's feet.
Prince Gong was wearing new boots and nothing could be seen.
He stepped out of the crowd, and the Tenth Prince followed him out.
The Ninth Prince whispered to the Tenth Prince, "See? My brother being the Emperor is different from my father being the Emperor."
Even if he was not feeling well, he still had to show up to celebrate the birthday.
The Tenth Prince nodded and said, "Yes."
No wonder Prince Gong is cautious.
This is the fiftieth birthday. Even if the emperor has repeatedly ordered a simple celebration, who would dare to be negligent?
The Tenth Prince thought about Prince Gong's complexion and thought that he must have put on powder, and there was no black or yellow color.
The east is white.
Mao Zheng.
The people who were originally talking in groups of three or four now stood in their respective positions, waiting for the Holy Man to come out.
At the foot of the Qianqing Palace steps is the imperial chariot.
As the door of the Qianqing Palace opened, Kangxi walked out of the palace wearing court robes.
Everyone knelt to welcome the Holy Emperor.
Only when Kangxi got on the imperial carriage and called out did everyone stand up.
As the whips sounded, the crowd surrounded the emperor and marched towards Ningshou Palace in a mighty procession.
In Ningshou Palace, the empress dowager was still wearing her court robes and crown.
Kangxi usually came to pay his respects, but today he came to pay his respects.
Apart from the tablet in the Taimiao, the only person in the world whom Kangxi could have a grand audience with was his biological mother.
"Your son greets you, Mother. Today is my son's birthday. Thank you for your upbringing and teaching me..."
Kangxi performed the kneeling ceremony.
The Queen Mother accepted the greeting, stood up and helped Kangxi to stand up, saying: "I only hope that in ten or twenty years, the Emperor will still be as healthy as today and come to pay his respects to me..."
Kangxi supported the Empress Dowager and said, "Then I will follow Eneji's advice and wear colorful clothes to entertain my parents when I am in my seventies or eighties."
The mother and son sat down and thought about the more than 40 years of dependence on each other, both of them were deeply moved.
Today, the world seems to be at peace, but the thrilling early years of Kangxi's reign seem like just yesterday.
It is so difficult to come here step by step.
If we are not careful, we will be crushed to pieces and our country will be destroyed.
The mother and son share the hardships and prosperity together.
Kangxi thought about Prince Gong's pulse diagnosis and became worried about the Empress Dowager's health. He said to Nanny Bai beside him, "From now on, everything that Eunuch eats must be approved by the imperial physician. The same applies to new menus. They must all be approved by the imperial physician."
The royal elders are few and far between.
With the Empress Dowager around, Kangxi felt at ease.
Nanny Bai responded respectfully.
The Queen Mother looked at Kangxi and said, "Don't just think about taking care of me. You should also take care of yourself... The royal family is not short of heirs now, so the emperor's health is the most important thing..."
Normally, the Queen Mother would never say such words, nor would she interfere in the affairs of the harem. She only gave this warning because she was frightened by Prince Yu's illness.
When you get older, you have to accept your age.
Especially when it comes to women, if you indulge in them, you will harm your body.
Kangxi nodded and said, "I know that there are no maids in the Qianqing Palace who can serve as concubines. I plan to let them go."
The Qing Dynasty's harem was different from that of previous dynasties. There were not many palace maids, but more women servants.
One quarter of these palace maids were assigned to the Qianqing Palace.
Among them, the majority have no successor.
Among the older ones, Kangxi planned to give low positions and place them in the six palaces in the east and west, and release some of the younger ones as well.
The Queen Mother was eager for this and nodded, "The Emperor is kind and benevolent..."
The princes and ministers were still waiting outside. After the mother and son talked for a quarter of an hour, Kangxi got up and came out.
The group of people surrounded the imperial carriage and returned to the Qianqing Palace.
In front of the Qianqing Gate, there was a dragon throne.
It’s similar to the position where he usually holds court.
On the left and right of the throne were guards, the princes of the royal family sat on the east steps, and the ministers sat on the west steps.
Kangxi sat on the throne, and everyone took turns to kowtow to him and congratulate him on his birthday.
First came the Crown Prince and the other princes, then the princes headed by Prince Kang, the Minister of the Imperial Guard headed by Fushan, the Grand Secretary headed by Ma Qi, and others...
By the time the whole circle of birthday celebrations was over, half an hour had passed.
The Ninth Prince was standing in the queue and felt that it would be better to have a proper banquet.
That way there would be a seat, and you wouldn’t have to stand like this!
After a long birthday celebration, the imperial edict came.
This is to be promulgated throughout the country, and contains 38 articles of grace to benefit local people.
After the imperial edict was issued, silver was given to those who came to celebrate the birthday.
This was an unexpected surprise.
The Ninth Prince immediately became alert.
Because there were many people to be rewarded, there was no specific number in the oral order.
However, the Ninth Prince estimated that with his status, he would need a starting salary of one thousand taels.
If you don't have enough to reward me, I won't be able to show it off.
However, looking at the huge crowds of people in front of him, plus the guards everywhere, the Ninth Prince did some calculations in his mind and realized that it would cost at least 100,000 taels of silver.
He began to feel sorry for the money in the treasury again.
You know, I had already rewarded him twice during my southern tour.
Those two times, the escorts were from the royal family, ministers, and guards, and each time cost thirty to forty thousand taels of silver.
The total amount of the three rewards was two hundred thousand taels of silver.
There were many people in the palace, so he resisted the urge to talk too much. After he left Donghua Gate and got on the carriage with the Tenth Prince, he said, "Khan Ama is too generous. Not only did he not accept any expensive gifts on a birthday, he also gave out so many gifts..."
If one wants to enjoy the emperor's grace, it will not be limited to the previous dynasty, but the harem will also be rewarded.
The Tenth Prince seemed to be thinking about something, and said, "I guess he gave too many rewards during the southern tour, and he was afraid that there would be dissatisfaction in the capital, so he gave another reward."
It's okay for others, but it's not easy to distinguish between the imperial guards and the grand secretaries, so as to avoid resentment among the people.
The Ninth Prince raised his eyebrows and said, "So... are we lucky enough to do this?"
Then didn't he get a great deal?
The bodyguards who accompanied him on the southern tour had received rewards twice before.
The tenth prince said, "There should be some members of the royal family below who are not doing well, and my father-in-law is kind enough to help them..."
The Ninth Prince nodded and said, "I guess that's the reason. Normally there's no reason to reward so many people. It just so happens that the name of the Longevity Festival..."
Today I went to the palace to celebrate his birthday. I got up very early and worked the early shift. The two brothers didn't plan to go to the yamen.
Everyone went back to their own homes. Without an imperial decree, the emperor's grandchildren could not enter the palace to celebrate the birthday. However, even if they were in the mansion, they had to kowtow towards the palace to celebrate the birthday...
*
In the palace, the Fourteenth Prince was pestering the Thirteenth Prince about the reward.
"Will it be according to the title and salary? I remember clearly that in the thirty-eighth year, when Khan Ama rewarded the princes and dukes, my ninth and tenth brothers were still bald princes, but they were also rewarded with silver according to the previous brothers with titles..."
The Thirteenth Prince couldn't say for sure what arrangements the Emperor would make.
However, referring to the silver awarded during the southern tour, several princes were also divided into different levels.
Fourth brother and ninth brother are in the same group, and my share will be halved.
This makes sense if it is based on the title.
Because the Fourth Prince and the Ninth Prince were both Beile, he was not given a title, but was prepared to be given the title of Beizi, one level lower than his two brothers.
These were not what the Fourteenth Prince wanted to hear, so the Thirteenth Prince did not say anything more and only said, "Just wait. The person who was sent by the Emperor to give the reward will come down in the next two days."
The Fourteenth Prince said: "It would be best if Khan Ama put the prince in a separate category..."
*
The Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Revenue were together, and the Third Prince and the Fourth Prince left the palace together.
The two brothers also talked about the reward.
The Third Prince muttered, "Last time I awarded silver to the Duke of Zhenguo, this time it should also go to the Duke of Zhenguo. There are too many royal family members below, and they are all far away..."
The fourth prince nodded and said, "Third brother is right."
The Third Prince blinked his eyes. The last time silver was bestowed, the Eighth Prince and above were all given the same level of silver as the Dukes, not just according to their titles.
This time the reward was from the adult prince to the fourteenth prince.
The amount of silver bestowed can show the extent of the emperor's favor.
The Third Prince was somewhat expectant.
He also secretly hoped that he could be ranked with the eldest prince and suppress the other princes, but he didn't know if he would get his wish...