Chapter 651: Old

Changchun Garden, Empress Dowager.

We will set off to Rehe to escape the summer heat tomorrow. The Empress Dowager is in a very good mood. Many concubines in the harem are here to chat and laugh. In addition, they are just the scenery of Rehe Palace.

Concubine Yi was the most well-behaved. She knew that the Empress Dowager believed in Buddhism and was talking about how magnificent the temples over the Rehe River were, how monks were so profound in Buddhism.

The Empress Dowager smiled and looked forward to tomorrow's trip.

Although it is not the first time I go back to Rehe, women like them, who have no chance to see the scenery outside besides traveling with their entourages.

What's more, when we arrived in Rehe, there were also Mongolian kings who were visiting. Among them, there were many brothers, nephews and grandchildren of the old empress.

Concubine De was also in front of the empress dowager, but she looked old, not as much as Concubine Yi. She held a string of hand beads and smiled at the audience.

The old man is old and is quite greedy. When talking about Korqin's wild fruits and wild vegetables, he has a hint of yearning on his face.

After hearing this, Concubine Yi smiled and said, "After all, the Lord Lady has seen a lot, and we have never heard of it. My sister-in-law came to the palace yesterday and brought some wild side dishes outside. I was preparing to give it to Lord Lady. Even if it was not as good as Korqin, Lord Lady would appreciate his face and taste it for him, which is our filial piety."

The queen mother asked with a smile: "Is there any shepherd's purse? The shepherd's purse buns from last month had a very bright taste."

"Yes, I know that the fragrance of the Lady Buddha enters, so I specially asked someone to pick the tender leaves." Concubine Yi smiled and nodded.

Just as he was talking, he heard an eunuch outside the door report loudly: "The emperor is here!"

After hearing the sound, all the concubines stood up and knelt to greet them.

Kangxi came in, first greeted the Empress Dowager, and then waved his hand to order the concubines to get up.

The Empress Dowager looked at Kangxi sitting and said with a smile: "Our mothers are talking about the mountain snacks outside. How is the emperor's appetite recently? Is it delicious to eat?" The next sentence was directed at Kangxi's close servant Wei Zhu.

"Reply to the Lord Lao Fu, Master Long Live has a great appetite these two days. He got up early and bought two big bowls of old yellow rice porridge and ate two sheep-eyed buns." Wei Zhu bowed and replied.

The Queen Mother nodded and said to Kangxi: "It's good to have the fragrance in it. The Ai family has just felt that their teeth are loose recently and they can't even bite the hard-mouthed buns. They can only pick up soft and bite them."

After hearing this, Kangxi showed some concern and said, "Mother, why don't you let the imperial physician come and have a look? Maybe it's better to take two doses of medicine."

The queen mother smiled and waved her hand, saying, "Emperor, the Ai family is seventy-six. The old concubine outside has all lost all her teeth at this age. I'd better drink a few sips of those medicine juices, please see the Buddha's blessing." Speaking of this, she said, "By the way, have the officials in the escorts settled this time? How did Lao Qi's son-in-law build a garden in Rehe? Speaking of which village is a lot of delicious food. Although these young couples are all soft-hearted, their lives are booming."

Kangxi knew the queen mother's worries and said, "Cao Yong's job is fine. This time, his father Cao Yin was ordered among the ministers who followed him. At that time, the father and son would not be in vain."

After hearing this, the empress dowager nodded and said, "It's better for the emperor to be polite to his subjects. Speaking of which, the little boy of the Cao family is the emperor's grandson-in-law, so he should take good care of him."

Speaking of this, the Queen Mother frowned and said, "By the way, why did the Ai family hear in a daze that the princess of whom is gone?"

"It's the second princess of Yinzhi, and the princess Li Shuao, the princess." Kangxi also sighed a little when he remembered the memorial he read in the morning.

Although I don’t remember the second princess’ appearance, I feel uncomfortable being a grandfather after all.

"Second Princess, poorly, the Ai family remembers that they are about the same age as the 14th Prince, and they are less than thirty." The Empress Dowager shook her head and said, "The Ai family is so lucky that they are the great-grandmother. How uncomfortable is Concubine Hui's biological grandmother?" Speaking of this, she ordered Concubine De, "You will come over and see her later. You will say what the Ai family said, and it will be annoying to her. Children and grandchildren have their own blessings, and they just think that it was the Buddha who summoned her."

Concubine De responded respectfully. Although Concubine Yi still remained calm, she felt quite uncomfortable. Looking at the empress dowager's posture, she seemed to regard Concubine De as the number one person in the harem. Where can she put her face?

So far, it happened that the ceremony was at the time of the grand ceremony, and her position was also before Concubine De.

However, she felt much more relieved when she thought that Concubine De was not following the entourage this time and stayed in the capital to manage official duties. She brought a few young noble men to follow her, so she felt much more relieved.

Although Concubine Yi was in her fifties, she still looked like she was about forty because of her good maintenance. In addition, she was lively and able to speak. Although Kangxi no longer summoned her to bed, she was summoned to speak with her every now and then.

When Kangxi saw Concubine Yi, he remembered something and asked, "Have all the people who traveled with Yinyi been arranged? He is still young, and it is the first time he goes out, so he needs to be more careful."

Concubine Yi smiled and said, "No need to worry about the emperor. After I can get the news, I started to arrange it and it has been arranged properly. Although I was not born, I have raised it for several years. Speaking of which, I am more dedicated than when the Ninth Prince first took over the escort."

After hearing this, Kangxi nodded, the queen mother smiled and pointed at Concubine Yi and said, "Look at this thick-skinned person. Before others could praise him, she only performed her merits. She has great-grandchildren, but she still doesn't know how to be steady."

Concubine Yi smiled and flattered, "I will live to ninety-nine, and I will also be thinking about the praises of Lord Lady. At that time, my hair will turn white, so I will wear a big red flower to entertain my relatives with the colorful clothes of Lord Lady..."

After a few words, the Queen Mother's face was filled with joy.

Kangxi said a few more words with him, and because there were still many memorandums to be reviewed, he got up and returned to Qingxi Bookstore first.

Before we reached the entrance of the bookstore, we saw the Seventh Prince and the Sixteenth Prince standing there with a hurried face.

When they saw Kangxi, the two brothers stepped forward quickly. The sixteenth prince was still fine, and the seventh prince was sweating heavily, blushing and gasping.

"Emperor..." The Seventh Prince's voice was already choked.

Seeing the two of them panicked, Kangxi's expression sank, "What's the matter? It's so panicked?"

The seventh prince had red eyes and couldn't speak.

The Sixteenth Prince stepped forward and said, "Emperor Ahma, the prince Cao Yong of Heshuo sent his family back to Beijing day and night to deliver a letter... Chu Yu was assassinated and the situation was dangerous. Please ask the Sixteenth Prince to ask for his orders on behalf of him and ask two good imperial physicians to come and help him!"

After saying this in one breath, the Sixteenth Prince couldn't help but feel moved and whispered: "Emperor..."

When Kangxi heard this, his face was already unpredictable. He looked at the Sixteenth Prince and said, "What's going on? The dignified Princess Heshuo, what's wrong with my granddaughter?"

"Being attacked by an assassin hurts my heart." The sixteenth prince said gritting his teeth, taking out Cao Yong's handwritten letter from his sleeve, and handing it to Kangxi with both hands.

Kangxi opened it and read it. The handwriting inside was a bit sloppy. It seemed that it was written by Cao Yong when he was restless. However, when he mentioned Chu Yu's condition below, he was particularly careful. He thought that he wanted the Imperial Hospital here to prescribe the right medicine and send people the right symptoms to avoid delaying the opportunity to save people.

Anger was already emerging on Kangxi's face. I wonder if it was annoyed by Cao Yong's implication of his wife or the person behind the scenes.

He did not respond immediately, but threw Cao Yong's letter into the arms of the sixteenth prince and entered the bookstore with his hands behind his back.

"Emperor..." The Seventh Prince was excited and chased in. Although the Sixteenth Prince knew that it was inappropriate, he was afraid that the Seventh Prince would be punished for losing his etiquette, so he followed him in.

"Seventh Master...Sixth Master..." Wei Zhu was very embarrassed and should have stopped him, but looking at the red eyes of the Seventh Prince, he also felt a little afraid. Moreover, it was Cao Yong's family affairs, Wei Zhu was also a little worried, so he slowed down and let them go in.

Kangxi didn't even look at the Seventh Prince, and said to the Sixteenth Prince: "Take the letter to the Imperial Hospital, find two Imperial Doctors, and set off immediately to Cao Gong, Rehe to obey the orders."

"My son obeys the order!" The sixteenth prince couldn't help but say "Kneel down and rest assured" and was about to run out immediately without waiting for Kangxi to say "Kneel down".

"Let's go!" Kangxi frowned and called out, "Where is the person who sent Cao Yong back to deliver the letter? It's heard, I have something to ask."

The sixteenth prince hesitated for a moment and went out to respond.

The Seventh Prince had already calmed down and bowed and said, "Emperor Ahma, Erchen is really worried. Please ask Emperor Ahma to agree and let Erchen take the imperial physician to Rehe."

"You just have a daughter? If your daughter is injured, you have to put aside your escort's responsibilities and leave the capital to visit the daughter in advance. The eldest prince's second daughter is gone, should he still let him out to celebrate the filial piety?" Kangxi said, already a little angry, and scolded: "The dignified Prince Duoluo is at a loss when he encounters something. What kind of morality is it?"

The Seventh Prince was so excited that he was already kneeling down.

"...Isn't it just that I don't care about my own blood? I still know that I have no conscience... If you are willing to be more content, how could these changes happen?" Kangxi didn't know what he was angry about, and pointed at the Seventh Prince and said angrily.

The seventh prince bowed his head and knelt on the ground, and he was confused. However, when he saw that the emperor's father was extremely angry, he did not dare to argue. He could only say in his conscience: "My son knows the crime, please calm down the anger. My son knows the crime, please calm down the anger..."

Seeing his timid appearance, Kangxi wanted to scold him a few more words. His eyes fell on the seventh prince's legs and sighed in his heart, and finally stopped.

The room was silent. After a while, Wei Zhu came in and reported: "Long live the master, the family of Heshuo's son Cao Yong, Wei Hei, brought him."

"Biography!" Kangxi said with a stern face.

"Yeah!" Wei Zhu responded, turned around and brought Wei Hei who was waiting outside.

I think someone had taught Wei Hei the rules just now, so he didn't dare to look up. When he entered the house, he knelt down on his knees and said, "The villain Wei Hei has seen the emperor."

When Kangxi saw that he was blind and looked at the grassroots, he felt a little displeased. However, since he sent him by Cao Yong, he was naturally his confidant. He also saw that his clothes were full of wrinkles and dusty, and he thought he was rushing on the way non-stop.

Therefore, Kangxi nodded and said, "What happened in the Rehe area? What are the details? You report them one by one."

Wei Heiyuan was still a little afraid of the emperor, but after thinking about it, could he be better than a demon and a monster when he was just an old man in a dragon robe?

So, he suppressed his panic and told the story of what happened at the Bachelor's House the afternoon of the previous day.

This is much more detailed than in the letter and it sounds much more thrilling, but Kangxi's face is getting worse and worse.

"What happened to the woman outside the border? Could it be that Cao Yong really killed someone and abused the law?" Kangxi's voice was a bit sharp.

"Unforgivable, Your Majesty!" Wei Hei was anxious when he heard this, and couldn't help but raise his head and whisper.

Wei Zhu was afraid that he was not a rude person, so he annoyed Kangxi, so he stepped forward and said shrillly: "Don't be rude! Don't make noise in front of the emperor. Whatever the emperor asks, you will answer!"

Kangxi stared at Wei Hei. Even though Wei Hei had seen the world, his back could not help but feel cold, and he felt like his body was cut by a knife.

He swallowed, lowered his voice, and replied: "Your Majesty, the Lord of the villain was ordered to go to the ranch outside the mouth to count the number of frozen animals. The villain also followed him, so he knew the details. He encountered only wind and snow along the way, and there were no quarrels with others. Several adults who were traveling with Taipu Temple can testify."

Kangxi looked at Wei Hei's face and saw that he was not lying, he believed it a little. After all, Cao Yong's identity and personality were not the ones who took human life at will.

He frowned and asked, "Since that's the case, why did the woman say that?"

"Reply to the emperor's words, the little master did not encounter any quarrels in the spring of the previous year, but according to Mr. Zhuang's knowledge, someone did buy a murderer and wanted the little master's life. For this, Mr. Zhuang also made a special trip to send someone to support him. However, they did not conflict with the thief along the way. Perhaps because the matter was exposed, the woman's husband was destroyed." Wei He hesitated for a moment and told the truth about the previous year.

Just to prevent problems from happening, he did not mention Cao Yin, but pushed it all to the deceased Mr. Zhuang.

Wei Hei knew Mr. Zhuang's identity. Therefore, he didn't know how much of the things that happened back then were known by the emperor and how much they didn't know.

"Cao Yong mentioned the reward in his letter. What does this mean?" Kangxi asked with a calm face.

"Return to the emperor's words, before the woman committed suicide, Lord Yi asked her if she came because of the reward order. Looking at her, she knew that the villain's master was an enemy who killed her husband, so she came to assassinate her in a crazy way." Because she was afraid of making a mistake, Wei Hei was afraid to say it, and said these two sentences carefully.

Kangxi snorted angrily, his face so dark that he was afraid of others.

Looking at the Seventh Prince who was still kneeling aside, he waved his hand impatiently and said, "Get down and have a good time, go to the Third Prince to pass on my oral orders, so that he can bear your shortcomings tomorrow."

After hearing this, the seventh prince came over and kowtowed, "I thank the emperor, Ama, for sympathy."

Kangxi turned around and ignored him.

The seventh prince retreated, and Wei Hei knelt on the ground, thinking about the other end of the Imperial Hospital.

He kept whipping day and night, and it took only a day and a half to go from Rehe to Beijing. The imperial physician with old arms and legs was not allowed to rush like this.

I forgot to mention to the Sixteenth Prince that I should not only choose those with excellent medical skills, but also those with better physiques.
To be continued...