vstars Chapter 143 If you often walk by the river, how can your shoes not get wet?
Chapter 143 If you often walk by the river, how can your shoes not get wet?
To be fair, Kangxi really did fall for Yinzhi's charm. When Yinzhi clung to his arm and acted coquettishly, the serious expression on his face immediately crumbled. Yinzhi was always good at taking advantage of situations, and seeing his father's expression soften, he was overjoyed and immediately pressed on.
"Father, you always dote on your son the most. Look at my wrist! It's so swollen from copying scriptures these past few days. If I keep copying, it'll be ruined. Although I think being a one-armed knight is pretty cool, I'm worried that you'll feel sorry for me. How about this: starting tomorrow, I'll come to Qingxi Study every day to help you with your greetings. Please forgive me this time, considering my sincere repentance?"
Copying books was never an easy task, and Emperor Kangxi's method of requiring hundreds of copies was even more inhuman. Yinzhuo felt that if he obediently copied the Diamond Sutra more than three hundred times as Kangxi had instructed, he might even ascend to heaven on the spot. So, in order to avoid continuing to copy books, Yinzhuo was quite willing to go all out. Wasn't it just dealing with those rambling and verbose greetings every day? No big deal. As long as he wasn't forced to continue copying books, he could tolerate all of that.
Even if Yinzhuo hadn't offered to come to Qingxi Study every day to help process the memorials of greeting, after seeing his swollen wrists, Kangxi didn't intend to make him go back to copying scriptures. His purpose was to teach Yinzhuo a lesson through copying, not to find ways to torment him.
As for whether Kangxi punished Yinti and Yinreng after Yinzuo's act of hiring someone to copy scriptures was exposed, the answer is of course no. In fact, Kangxi was not very angry about Yinzuo asking Yinti and the others to help him copy scriptures. In fact, he was happy about it. After all, who doesn't want their children to get along well?
Although Yinzhuo promised Kangxi that he would go to Qingxi Study every day to help him process the memorials of greeting, in reality, there were only so many memorials each month, and there were simply not enough for him to process. So most of the time, Yinzhuo only needed to go to Qingxi Study after waking up each day to clock in, and the rest of the time was his own.
It's springtime now, and the weather is neither too hot nor too cold—perfect for an outing. Yinzhuo, Yintang, and Yinxi are all currently idle, with plenty of time to spare. When they have nothing to do, they either take people back to the capital for a stroll or wander aimlessly around the outskirts of Beijing. Emperor Kangxi turns a blind eye to their idle behavior, pretending not to hear or see anything as long as the brothers don't go too far.
But as the saying goes, if you walk by the river long enough, you're bound to get your shoes wet. Sure enough, these three little tyrants got their dad into a bit of trouble that day.
“Say it again, you lot, who did you beat up today?”
It's no wonder Kangxi was so shocked. The fact that the person Yinzhuo, Yintang, and Yin'e had beaten was quite unexpected for Kangxi. After all, this person was not only much older than Yinzhuo, Yintang, and Yin'e, but also of a different generation. Surfa was the second son of Dorbo, the adopted son of Dorgon, the regent of the Qing Dynasty. He was granted the title of Gushan Beizi in the twelfth year of Kangxi's reign and was only appointed as the Manchu Commander of the Bordered Yellow Banner at the beginning of this year. Kangxi couldn't understand how he, at the age of thirty-five, could have a conflict with these three half-grown children, Yinzhuo, Yintang, and Yin'e.
"Father, you don't need to doubt it, you heard right. The one we beat up is the one you're thinking of, Surfa, our cousin."
But whenever a conflict occurs between two sides, there must be a reason, or a trigger. At this time, what Kangxi was most curious about was what kind of trigger would cause several of his imperial relatives to have a conflict in the street.
"One of you, please tell me what exactly happened. Sulfa knows all of you, so why would he clash with you under these circumstances?"
Upon hearing this, Yinzhuo's already unpleasant expression turned even more so, and Yintang and Yin'e also showed signs of anger on their faces!
“Normally he wouldn’t clash with us, but he’s been drinking today, hasn’t he? Father, you don’t know, our uncle usually seems quite honest, but once he drinks, he’s like a completely different person. Just because a beggar blocked his way, he actually ordered his guards to break the beggar’s leg. Sixth Brother asked Hatu to stop him, but unexpectedly, he turned around and started harassing Sixth Brother. Sixth Brother was so angry that he went up and beat him up without saying a word.”
Well, now it wasn't just Yinzhi who looked grim; Kangxi's expression also turned ugly after hearing Yinzhi's words. Kangxi never expected that this Suerfa would be so perverse. He beckoned the pale-faced Yinzhi to his side, examined him thoroughly, and, finding nothing amiss, patted Yinzhi on the back reassuringly.
"Yinzhuo, don't be angry. Your father will definitely give you an explanation for what happened today. That brat Sulfa has been getting more and more outrageous lately. I will never let him off the hook."
Yinzhu's displeasure wasn't because Suerfa dared to harass him in the street; he was angry because these Manchu bannermen simply didn't care about the lives of ordinary people.
“Father, you cannot let him off lightly. These days, I have been wandering around the capital and have seen many troublemakers from the Eight Banners on the streets. The Eight Banners are the foundation of our Great Qing Dynasty. If we let them continue like this, they will surely become a great threat in the future. So today, you are not just giving me an explanation, but also giving an explanation to the ordinary people who have been bullied by these Eight Banners.”
Kangxi was well aware that allowing the Eight Banners' descendants to continue their idle ways would inevitably lead to future troubles, but he had no choice but to do so in order to strengthen imperial power and weaken the power of the Eight Banners' leaders.
"I am well aware of this principle, but matters in the court are always interconnected, and even if this matter is resolved, it requires careful consideration..."
At this point, the topic was effectively dead. Yinzhuo actually knew what Kangxi was thinking: he wanted the Eight Banners soldiers to maintain their superior fighting ability while also being able to control them well. However, one can never have both fish and bear's paw.
"Father, I believe that it is always better to deal with things sooner rather than later. If we wait until things have become too deeply entrenched, it will be much more difficult to deal with them then."
Kangxi glanced at Yinzhuo, whose brows were furrowed and whose face seemed to say "bitter and resentful," and patted his forehead.
"Alright, Father, you can take care of this. You've been out all day and had a fight with someone, so you must be tired. Go back and rest. You don't need to worry about the rest; I'll handle it."