The Empress of the Qing Dynasty is from the Northeast

When Yinzhen returned, it was already the 20th day of the twelfth lunar month.

The mansion is busy decorating as the New Year's Eve is just three days away.

Yinzhen rode at full speed all the way and first arrived at the Qianqing Palace in the Forbidden City.

When the Imperial Household Chief Liang Jiugong saw Yinzhen, he first bowed with a smile and said, "The Fourth Prince is back? You must have had a hard time on the journey."

Yinzhen hurriedly pulled him back and said, "Eunuch Liang, there is no need to be so polite. I am here to report to the Emperor. Does the Emperor have time now?"

"Yes, the prince is talking to the emperor inside, and he just mentioned the Fourth Prince."

"The prince is here too, so please inform him, Eunuch Liang."

"No need to inform, Fourth Prince, please come in with us now. The Crown Prince just said that the footsteps outside sounded like you, and the Emperor said that if it was true, you can come in directly."

Looking at Liang Jiugong's appearance, Yinzhen had an idea in his mind.

It seemed that the emperor was very satisfied with the briefing he had sent earlier. The heart that had been hanging in the air along the way finally relaxed. Yinzhen slightly adjusted his robes and strode in.

Inside the Qianqing Palace, Kangxi was talking with the Crown Prince, chatting and laughing, looking like a loving father and son.

When Kangxi saw Yinzhen coming in to pay his respects, he smiled and said to the prince, "It seems that Baocheng really understands the fourth brother. He can even hear his footsteps clearly."

The crown prince was in his prime this year, gentle as jade, and full of ambition and vigor. He did not have such a deep conflict with Kangxi at the moment, so he smiled and replied, "I have always been close to the fourth son. We lived together in Tong E's mother's Chengqian Palace. How could I not be aware of his footsteps?"

"Yes, you lived with your cousin before." When mentioning Tong Jia, Kangxi's cousin, Empress Xiaoyi Ren, Kangxi's eyes were full of nostalgia.

However, the emperor's feelings would not last long. Kangxi quickly came to his senses and asked Yinzhen to report in detail on the journey to the south.

Yinzhen had previously written a brief report on the general situation and sent it to Kangxi by express horse. Now it was time to explain in detail the twists and turns and solutions, especially the words and deeds of the officials involved in the case.

Seeing that Kangxi looked quite angry, Yinzhen knelt on the ground and spoke firmly, but he was asking for forgiveness.

"There are a total of 18 officials involved in this exam cheating case. Two of them attempted to escape and their words were quite disrespectful to the Emperor and the Qing Dynasty, so I will execute them on the spot."

At this point, Yinzhen paused, kowtowed and whispered, "Although I have received the emperor's order, I do not have the power to punish officials. Therefore, I plead guilty and ask the emperor to punish me."

As soon as these words were spoken, there was silence.

Yinzhen had to admit that he was still a little nervous. After a while, Kangxi's voice sounded, but it was not directed to Yinzhen, but to the prince.

"Baocheng, what do you think?"

The prince ignored the pressure from the Qianqing Palace, smiled faintly, and looked directly at Kangxi, "Father, I am happy. I am happy to have a brother like you who has a noble character, and I am happy that the Qing Dynasty has a brave and decisive minister like Yinzhen!"

"Hahahahahaha well said!"

Kangxi clapped his hands and laughed, "Bao Cheng is indeed a worthy heir to the throne of the Qing Dynasty! The fourth son is also a capable and loyal minister!"

After hearing this, Yinzhen's heart finally settled down.

Coming out of the Qianqing Palace, Liang Jiugong smiled and held up two boxes, one for the crown prince and one for Yinzhen. These were the gifts given to them by Emperor Kangxi, who was very pleased with him.

After the Crown Prince and Yinzhen thanked Liang Jiugong, they left the Qianqing Palace together.

"Second brother, thank you so much for what you did just now." Yinzhen thought about it and decided to accept the favor from the prince.

Prince Yinreng didn't care about this. Among the first few brothers, the eldest was reckless, the third was a sour scholar, the fifth couldn't speak Chinese fluently, the seventh was a cripple, and the eighth was too scheming. Not to mention the rest.

Only with regard to the fourth brother, the prince felt that his judgment was correct.

When they were young, they went to school together, studied together, and walked the cat and dog together. Now they are still as close as ever.

The prince really treated Yinzhen as a brother.

"Old Fourth, you did a good job this time. The Emperor didn't mean to blame you. But you will inevitably have a bad reputation among officials for doing this. It's too inhumane."

Listening to the prince's words, Yinzhen knew that he was truly thinking about him.

but……

Yinzhen still remembered Dai Duo whom he met in the south.

He said that this was the path chosen for him by the emperor, and that by accepting this trip he was also accepting the mission to assist the prince wholeheartedly.

Just a capable minister, who only needs to be loyal and capable.

He had no choice but to continue on this path.

No one can oppose the emperor's plan, not even the prince.

After returning to the mansion, Yinzhen wanted to go see Changning, but finally went to Fu Jin's courtyard first.

It was snowing hard outside, and Yinzhen brought a chill with him when he entered the room. He had come back on horseback, so his cloak was covered with snow and dust, and his inner clothes were also quite wet.

When Fu Jin received the news that the Fourth Master had returned to Beijing, she had already prepared hot water.

Su Peisheng first helped Yinzhen bathe and change clothes.

In the outer hall, Fu Jin was telling Aunt Fu to serve the meal, "Master has been traveling all the way, so I guess he can't eat too much. Bring some easy-to-digest food."

When Yinzhen came out, he saw a table full of soup.

He was really hungry... He rode back to Beijing at full speed overnight, hoping to be back before the New Year's Eve, and then hurried to the Qianqing Palace. He has not had a drop of water since then.

Yinzhen sighed and drank two bowls of mutton soup. Only then did he feel his face, which had been numb from the vicissitudes of life and the conversations in the Qianqing Palace, slowly recover.

However, when he looked at the other dishes, he lost his appetite and stopped eating. Fu Jin also stopped eating.

Looking at Yinzhen's weathered face, Fu Jin felt a little distressed. She didn't know whether she should tell him about the things in the mansion now. Should she let him have a good rest?

However, Yinzhen was too lazy to play along with Fu Jin, so he asked directly, "Has everything been going well in the mansion these past few months?"

Fu Jin nodded and replied, "Yes. Sister Fu Cha, Doctor Bai takes her pulse every day. I have read the pulse records and the fetus is very stable. In the palace, my mother caught a cold a few days ago. I went to take care of her for half a month. Now she is well again."

Yinzhen frowned. "Mother is ill? But the weather is cold. Did she catch a cold?"

Fu Jin thought about it, and hesitated to speak, but still said it under Yinzhen's gaze, "This is the tone of Yonghe Palace. However, Fourteenth Brother visited Mother the day before she fell ill."

Yinzhen was even more angry, "It's the Fourteenth Master again."

Yinzhen really had a headache. Since he was not in the capital, the fourteenth prince should be more filial to his mother, so why was he doing such evil?

"Okay, I got it. You've worked hard these days, go and have a rest. I'll go see Fu Cha."