I open a history tutorial class in Daming

Chapter 161 Since it’s not bitter, just eat it

The fifteen-year-old Hongli still had an immature look on his face, looking like a real teenager.

He had a fair and clean long face and a pair of slender phoenix eyes. In addition, he had the temperament cultivated by growing up in the palace and the Forbidden City. Even if he was standing in a busy city, one could tell at a glance that he was an absolutely handsome and noble young man.

But Hongli understood very well that a tree that stands out in the forest will be destroyed by the wind.

Even though he was intelligent and had a secure position, and was almost universally recognized as the crown prince, he was well aware that there were still many people in this world whom he must not offend.

Su Peisheng in front of us is one of them.

And the quantity is quite important.

"Eunuch Su, I wonder why Khan Ama called me in?"

Although his way was blocked and he was forced to enter the Palace of Tranquil Longevity, Hongli was not too panicked. He knew he could not panic, so he adjusted his mentality in just a few breaths and followed Su Peisheng.

He smiled and said:
"At this time of day, Khan Ama is in the Yangxin Palace, reading memorials and handling government affairs. I came to bring soup not expecting to see him, but I was worried that Khan Ama might have a cough, so I wanted to ask him to drink some soup to make him feel better during his busy schedule."

"I don't know why..."

Hongli deliberately did not finish his words and waited for Su Peisheng to take over.

This eunuch Su was Khan Ama's confidant who had been following him since Khan Ama was still in the palace. After Khan Ama ascended the throne, he was also highly valued. All the big and small matters in the harem were under Eunuch Su's nose, and he could even have a say in the violent organization like the Sticking Rod, which was only responsible to Khan Ama.

Often, a word that Su Peisheng let out between his teeth could give people in the palace more advice than half a year of painstaking investigation.

This person is always a smart guy, there is no way he didn't know what Hongli meant.

But Su Peisheng just smiled like before and became his usual cheerful and amiable servant who treated everyone equally.

"The Fourth Prince is a very filial son. I think the Emperor knows that."

"But the emperor summoned you today for a reason and consideration. Don't think too much about it. Maybe the emperor was just moved when he heard that you came to deliver soup in the snow, and wanted to talk to the fourth prince."

"What's more... I was just talking to you outside. It wasn't me who spread the news that the Emperor wanted to see you. I don't know why."

Su Peisheng was comforting himself.

Hongli's heart was filled with alarm bells!

What he brought today was just a bowl of throat-soothing soup, which was indeed a filial act. But Su Peisheng would always take the initiative to tell me when he saw me, because this old servant knew that Khan Ama liked him and wanted to build a good relationship with him in order to...

But what does it mean now? What is Su Peisheng trying to comfort?
Yes, the reason why Hongli appeared today and at this moment was indeed because a messenger near the Imperial Hospital came to report that the Emperor had summoned the imperial physician to the Yangxin Palace. Considering that Khan Ama had been coughing a few days ago, Hongli asked his mother and specially sent the soup that had been prepared in the small kitchen to please Khan Ama.

But this does not mean that he was spying on the saint. Anyone who has tasted the soup would know that it was indeed boiled for several hours. Even if he came at the same time as the imperial physician, the time spent on it was real...

Hongli was in a state of confusion, with countless thoughts racing through his mind.

He must have done something wrong and be punished, right?

Otherwise, why would Su Peisheng comfort him for no apparent reason?
The Hall of Nourishing Heart.

Hongli stood at the door. After Su Peisheng carefully brushed the snow off his body, he walked into the east warm room with cold hands and feet.

As soon as the door behind him creaked shut, the warmth in the room quickly enveloped him, making his brain, which had been frozen a little, work faster.

"Your Majesty, the Fourth Prince is here."

Su Peisheng waited by the side and said respectfully.

Hongli followed his gaze and saw Khan Ama leaning on the warm couch, his clothes were neat and tidy, he was very sober, and there was no sign of laziness. It seemed that he had not taken off his clothes for a nap, but there was a quilt placed casually next to him. He didn't know what was going on.

It was hard to describe the expression on Khan Amma's face.

Contemplation, gloom, anger, realization, surprise... or maybe all of them?
It's different from the past.

Khan Ama has always been a person who never shows his emotions. Although the concubines and princes all know that he actually lives a rather twisted and pretentious life, with many thoughts and suspicions, he always hides these emotions well in front of his children. The kindness and severity of a father are more real than the majesty of an emperor, so much so that Hongli has almost never seen him like this.

What's more, Hongli was only fifteen years old and was still studying. He had not yet married and had not started working. Naturally, he had no chance to see what Khan Ama looked like in the court.

After a while, Khan Ama on the couch raised his eyelids, but did not respond to him and said to Su Peisheng:
"How long did I take a nap just now?"

Su Peisheng didn't say a word, but answered with a flawless smile and concern:
"The emperor has been sleeping for a full half hour, and he is sleeping soundly. I am afraid he is tired from being busy with government affairs these days?"

Hongli felt confused.

What does this mean?
I haven't heard that Khan Ama has the habit of taking a nap... And why does he need to call the imperial physician for a nap? Calculating the time, the first ear-reporting god who just delivered the message came about half an hour ago, which means that Khan Ama had just fallen asleep when the imperial physician came.

After hearing the news, he immediately changed his clothes, went from his elder brother's residence to his mother's palace, and asked someone to prepare loquat and pear soup. Then, in order not to appear to be following the imperial physician so deliberately, he deliberately slowed down his pace on the way, which also allowed the loquat and pear soup to cool down a little and let more snow on his body, so that Khan Ama would know his hard work.

After two trips back and forth, exactly half an hour had passed by the time they arrived at the Palace of Tranquil Longevity.

and many more!

He was instantly frightened and a layer of white sweat broke out on his back.

Since it is impossible for Khan Ama to call the imperial physician while taking a nap, then... doesn't that mean that the word "nap" was just an excuse?
The imperial physician who was summoned to the Yangxin Palace just now might not have been sent by Khan Ama himself.

Khan Amatha... fainted?!

"Hongli."

Lying on the couch, Yinzhen looked at his fourth son with no expression on his face, just like before, but the meaning in his eyes seemed particularly oppressive for some reason.

Hongli immediately knelt down and saluted:

"Your son greets Khan Ama. Your son has the audacity to come here today because..."

He pushed the food box on the carpet beside him, trying to quickly tell the reason why he came.

But he failed.

Yinzhen waved his hand and interrupted him lightly:
"You knew that the imperial physician was coming to the Yangxin Palace, so you hurried over to visit me with pear soup to show your filial piety."

"Your method is not very clever, it's too naive. Didn't your mother teach you that these things must be done cleanly from beginning to end, and you can't be too hasty. You have to find the right time, just one step ahead of others, but not too early, otherwise you will be exposed."

"Don't you know that the imperial physician invited to the Yangxin Palace today was invited secretly? Haven't you noticed that all the imperial physicians invited have never returned? They are all staying next door." Hongli's body, which was lying on the ground, suddenly froze, as if struck by lightning.

Of course he doesn’t know…of course he doesn’t know!
He knew that the Yangxin Palace never invited the imperial physicians in a big way, but in secret, so as not to cause panic in the harem. But if he knew that all the imperial physicians who came today were detained in the Yangxin Palace and had not returned, he would never have made this trip!
He was terrified, but he controlled himself so that he would not tremble and let Khan Ama see that he was a person who could not bear any difficulty.

"My dear father, I know I was wrong. I shouldn't have snooped into the Yangxin Palace!"

"I have a servant at the Imperial Hospital. Khan Ama has been coughing for a while, so when the Yangxin Palace asked for the imperial physician today, I went to my mother's place immediately after hearing the news. The prince's residence does not have a small kitchen, so my mother and I discussed yesterday about sending loquat and pear soup. The soup has been waiting for several hours, but I am afraid of disturbing your work."

"Today, I heard that you might not be feeling well, so I hurriedly asked Mother to prepare some soup and send it to me. Mother didn't know about this before, and she tried to persuade me, but I was stubborn... Please, Khan, punish me alone, this is all my fault!"

While speaking, he didn't even dare to raise his head.

It was eerily quiet in the eastern warm room of the Hall of Mental Cultivation. Su Peisheng seemed to be holding his nose to hold his breath. Hongli could only feel the sound of his own heartbeat like a drum and Khan Ama's breathing in the room.

Hongli felt hot all over and as if there were thorns in his back.

At this moment, he finally understood what thunder, lightning, rain and dew meant, all of which were the grace of the emperor.

He even hoped that Khan Ama would scold him or beat him with a stick...it would be better than continuing in this stalemate.

Yinzhen looked at Hongli's thin body lying on the ground, and the corners of his mouth twitched unconsciously.

Not happy.

He was mocking himself, thinking that he had been a little stupid before.

How come I didn’t realize that Hongli was such a thoughtful child?

Of course, none of the children who grew up in the Forbidden City had a clean heart. Whether their brains were good or not was another matter. There was no absolute relationship between being bad and being stupid.

Yinzhen himself grew up in the palace, and he had seen many more tricks than Hongli, so he was qualified to say that he was "too young" about palace fighting. But even he did not dare to put his eyes in the Imperial Hospital when he was fifteen years old. If he was discovered, it would not be a small trouble, but he would completely lose the emperor's favor.

It is just as the teacher and classmates in that mysterious tutoring class said just now, those who can stand out among a group of smart people are much stronger than those who don't.

Hongli was loved by the imperial father since he was born. When he was in his teens, he obviously gained the preference and favor of his imperial father. He was intelligent and good at reading, excellent at riding and shooting, and had never suffered any hardship. No one was able to compete with him.

I have learned everything I can to be bold, careful, and thick-skinned.

She dared to send people to spy in the Imperial Hospital, and was able to prepare pear soup in the harem in advance as a tool to please others. Now she can suppress her fear and be humble in front of me, and by the way, she cleared all the others, appearing to be able to take responsibility without going too far, because whether it was delivering the soup today or clearing off the mother concubine, it could be explained away by the word "filial piety".

Indeed, it was not a big deal. In the past, Yinzhen, who valued fatherly kindness and filial piety, would not have taken it too seriously and would have let it go lightly. He would not even point it out and would have just criticized him.

Unfortunately, Hongli was still one step behind and did not anticipate the existence of tutoring classes - naturally, Emperor Yinzhen did not expect this either.

As a result, Yinzhen no longer looked at him as his son, but instead examined and thought about how miserable his death would be if Hongli were placed in the period when the nine princes were competing for the throne.

Considering that the other party is only fifteen years old, and that he usually deliberately ignores these thoughts, Yinzhen is not surprised.

If Hongli had grown up about another ten years, by the time he ascended the throne as Emperor Qianlong, he would have mastered this shameless, duplicity, and saying one thing and doing another style to perfection.

He even... dared to overturn what had been decided by his father, the Emperor, and abolished the policy of integrating officials and gentry and paying taxes as officials, thus greatly reducing the effectiveness of the land-based tax system. He allowed the gentry to regain power, and cut the results of his efforts for more than ten years on the throne in half in one fell swoop.

I don’t know how much time has passed.

Even though there was a thick, warm carpet on the ground, Hongli still felt his knees ache and swell from kneeling. In addition, he wore thick clothes when he went out, and did not take off his cloak when he entered the Yangxin Palace, so his lining was now soaked with sweat.

The reason why the East Warm Pavilion is called the Warm Pavilion is because it is warm inside, with a temperature similar to that in spring.

But even though his face was flushed with heat, Hongli still felt that he was vulnerable to the gaze of Khan Ama.

It’s so scary… so scary!
He deeply regretted it.

Why didn’t I listen to my mother? Why didn’t I wait a little longer? Why did I just think that this was just an ordinary way to show filial piety?

How dare he? !
"Hongli."

Suddenly, Yinzhen spoke lightly.

Hongli was startled and bowed his head quickly:

"My son is here!"

There was a very faint smile in Yinzhen's voice, and he seemed very happy, but the smile did not seem very real.

"You just said that I should only punish you and not implicate innocent people... You are very responsible, and you are capable of taking responsibility."

"Since you asked me to do it yourself, I just happen to have a few things for you to do. It's not a punishment, but it will be a bit more difficult. Are you willing?"

Hongli didn't care what it was and responded quickly:
"Please give your orders, Khan Ama!"

Things have come to this point, no matter what kind of work it is, he has no right to refuse.

Yinzhen tapped the low table on the couch with his fingers rhythmically and said:

"During the reign of Emperor Kangxi, the emperor regarded river management as one of the three major issues of the court and attached great importance to it."

"Now Prince Yi - your thirteenth uncle - has been in charge of the farmland and water conservancy. This year, seventy-four counties in Zhili were flooded, and eighty percent of them suffered disasters. You are fifteen now, so you can go out and take a look. After the New Year, you can find time to help him and inspect the water conservancy projects in Zhili."

"By the way, Jiangnan is also a place where floods occur frequently. Yinxiang is not in good health and cannot leave the capital. The inspection of Jiangnan is also handed over to you. Don't worry that you can't do it. When the time comes, I will assign two people who are proficient in this field to visit Jiangnan incognito."

"It just so happens that there are many corrupt officials in Jiangnan, and water workers are especially good at making money. I will give you the right to act at your convenience. At that time, you must investigate and kill more tyrants and powerful people who bully the people in the countryside. It doesn't matter if you confiscate the property of corrupt officials. The new policy is most hindered in Jiangnan, so you can do me a favor. Afterwards, I will tell the world about your contribution. How do you think?"

Hongli had raised his head unconsciously, staring blankly at the emperor and father in front of him.

This seems to be a very important matter indeed... Asking me to go out on errands cannot be considered a punishment, because although these two tasks are hard, they are indeed very important.

But, but...

If he did this, wouldn't he be seriously offending the Han officials?
Yinzhen smiled at him.

Since you have never suffered since birth, just endure it a little.

Wasn't it the same way when I was the so-called cold-faced beile and Prince Yong?

(End of this chapter)