I was a concubine in Legend of Zhen Huan

Chapter 128 Fu Cha Yi Xin (33)

The emperor was initially unwilling to appoint another empress, nor to discuss the selection of a crown prince. But as he grew older, he gradually began to consider the selection of his successor.

He now had only five sons. Hongshi was dull, Hongli was humble, and Hongzhou was naughty. Apart from these, the other three were all princes born to Han women.

Now, only the two sons of Concubine Zhuang are the children of Manchu noble women, and their status is more noble.

Although both Hongxian and Hongxiao were born to Concubine Zhuang, the emperor only favored Hongxian. In addition to the fact that he personally took care of Hongxian for a while when he was a child, the emperor also saw his own shadow in Hongxian.

Perhaps because Hongxian and Hongxiao were not much different in age, Concubine Zhuang gave birth to Hongxiao when Hongxian was only four years old. With a younger son, Concubine Zhuang felt that the younger son needed more care, so she unconsciously focused more of her attention on Hongxiao.

Although Concubine Zhuang seemed to treat both children equally, Pang Ju could tell that she loved her youngest son more. Although Concubine Zhuang always had dishes that both sons liked on her table, Pang Ju could tell that Hong Xiao liked one more dish than Hong Xian.

Moreover, during lunch, the imperial concubine picked up food for Hongxiao more times than Hongxian. She also wiped Hongxiao's mouth with her own hands, but Hongxian did not receive such treatment!

The emperor had mentioned that he should treat the two children equally, but the concubine only scolded him: "What are you talking about? I have always valued the two children equally. What Hongxiao has, what does Hongxian lack? Whenever I give Hongxiao something, Hongxian must have it. Even at mealtime, as long as the two children come to eat, I will prepare their favorite meals. Isn't what I do fair enough?"

Yi Xin's purpose was to make Pang Ju speechless and make him feel even more distressed for Hong Xian. How could she possibly let him find fault in such a big matter?

Fat Orange opened his mouth, wanting to tell about the facts he observed, such as "Yixin's face was all smiles when she was concerned about Hongxiao, but she became a typical rule-abiding person when she asked about Hongxian's recent situation."

But talking about trivial daily matters would make him seem too fussy as an emperor. And human emotions are the most complicated. Can he force Yixin to show a standard smile with eight teeth when she cares about Hongxiao, but you are not allowed to show only six teeth when you care about Hongxian?

He was full of grievances but had nowhere to complain. Looking at Hongxian's innocent smile, Pangju felt his whole heart aching.

Good, good, good! Since you favor your younger son, I will double the maternal love that Hongxian lacks!

Therefore, although Pang Ju still said in the court that he would secretly appoint a crown prince and only write the imperial edict behind the "Zhengda Guangming" plaque, he made Yi Xin the successor, moved Hong Xian to Yuqing Palace, and brought him to the Imperial Study to discuss matters with the ministers without any hesitation, which showed his position with practical actions.

Although Yi Xin was made empress in the ninth year of Yongzheng's reign, everyone was already mentally prepared when the emperor asked her to manage the affairs of the harem and asked all the concubines to pay their respects to her.

After becoming the queen, Yi Xin was the nominal master of the harem and the nominal mother of all the emperor's children.

Seeing that the concubines had been educated almost completely by her after the annual study of palace rules, Yi Xin extended her "claws" to the children.

First of all, there is Hongshi. He was born in the 43rd year of Emperor Kangxi's reign. Now he is almost 30 years old, but he doesn't even have a wife or a concubine. He is still confined to study in the upper study room. It's outrageous.

This year happened to be the year for a talent show, so Yi Xin asked Pang Ju to grant Hongshi a wife.

It is time to bring back the mother and son of Yupin and Hongli from the Old Summer Palace. This year, Hongli is already 21 years old, and even the fifth prince Hongzhou is 20 years old. These two can also be chosen as wives. (It is not known how old these three are in the TV series, so the ages in the official history are used here.)

As for Concubine Yu, she had been at ease in the Old Summer Palace for so long, it was time for her to return to the embrace of palace rules. She promised to let An Lingrong and Xia Dongchun use their rich experience in fighting wits and courage with the concubines to learn palace rules, and control Concubine Yu completely and strangle all unstable factors in the cradle.

Yi Xin mentioned that his three sons were all of marriageable age, and even when the Third Prince was this age, Yunqi would have been a widower and remarried during the reign of Emperor Kangxi! It was only then that Fat Ju remembered that, yes, his son should have been married a long time ago.

But Pangju did not feel guilty at all for not caring about his children and for not being a competent father.

He fully understood and implemented the principle of "It is better to blame others than to waste time on yourself". Fat Orange first blamed the late Queen Yixiu for being a vicious woman. She was not good at managing the harem and raising children. She didn't care about the children's needs. Then she blamed Yi Xin: "Why didn't you tell me earlier?"

Yi Xin said confidently: "I was only a noble concubine at that time. Wouldn't it be overstepping the boundaries for me to interfere in the affairs of other royal heirs?" The implication was that if you had asked me to be the queen when Yi Xiu had just died, I would have said it long ago.

Fat Orange was very angry, but Yi Xin was right. Don't meddle in other people's business.

At this time, he was actually glad that he had made Yi Xin his successor this year. If he had made Yi Xin his successor next year, wouldn't Hongshi and the others have to wait another three years?

Fat Ju readily agreed, and at Yi Xin's suggestion, he asked Concubine Qi and Concubine Yu to also discuss the selection of their own sons' wives. As for the Fourth Prince, Yi Xin would help with the consultation.

To be honest, Yi Xin didn't really want to interfere in anything that happened to Hongli, the ungrateful little bastard. But Li Jingui died early, and now she was the queen, so she had to bear as many responsibilities as she enjoyed. Yi Xin had no choice but to hold her nose and call Hongli over to ask for his opinion.

After being influenced by Yi Xin's palace rules for so many years, although Concubine Qi is still not very smart, she at least knows to follow Yi Xin's opinion in everything; Concubine Yu knows that it is all thanks to the Queen that they and their son were brought back to the Forbidden City, and even that Hong Zhou could choose his wife, so she also came to ask Yi Xin for her opinion obediently.

Seeing that they were sensible, Yi Xin did not embarrass them. Her origin from the Manchu military flag was her greatest confidence. As long as her Hong Xian was alive, no one else would have the possibility of ascending to the throne. It was also because she knew this that Yi Xin could tolerate the three princes, the third, the fourth, and the fifth.

Hongshi chose Dong E as his wife, and Zhong and Tian as his concubines; Hongzhou's wife was Wu Zha Ku, and his concubines were Zhang Jia and Cui Jia. These were their official matches in history. It is not known whether Hongshi and Dong E had a good relationship, after all, Hongshi had died at that time in history, but Hongzhou and Wu Zha Ku had a good relationship. In history, Wu Zha Ku and Hongzhou had six sons.

These two people are easy to deal with, but Hongli has more ideas.