Chapter 47 Kneeling Before the New Sovereign

"Forgive me, Fourth Brother, but I truly did not hear clearly just now. Since there is an imperial edict, we shall follow it."

"If Fourth Brother is indeed to ascend the throne, I am willing to assist you and persuade Fourteenth Brother to prioritize the greater good of the realm."

After a brief moment of silence, the Eighth Prince raised his hands in a respectful bow toward Yongzheng.

From his perspective, the Fourth Prince's faction was small, whereas the Fourteenth Prince commanded numerous officers and men among the Eight Banners. Supporting the Fourth Prince promised far greater benefits.

Moreover, considering the overall stability of the Great Qing Empire, acknowledging the Fourth Prince as Emperor was the wisest course of action to extinguish the sparks of a massive civil war.

More importantly, before his death, the Kangxi Emperor had entrusted the majority of his personal guards to the Twelfth Prince. Yet the Twelfth Prince, who had always remained aloof from the succession struggles, had accepted the Fourth Prince as Emperor and assisted the Thirteenth Prince in seizing actual military control of the Garden of Perfect Brightness and the capital!

Added to this, the Commandant of the Gendarmerie, Longkodo, and the Commander of the City Guard, Tulisen, were both men of the Fourth Prince.

If he refused to compromise today, Yongzheng and the Thirteenth Prince might well harden their hearts to eliminate their rivals and secure the capital.

Even if the Fourteenth Prince were to deem Yongzheng a usurper upon learning of the deaths of the Eighth, Ninth, and Tenth Princes, and consequently raised an army to avenge them—and even if he eventually succeeded—the ultimate beneficiary would still be the Fourteenth Prince alone.

As for himself, his soul would already have returned to the netherworld.

Furthermore, he had never truly harbored any genuine intention of supporting the Fourteenth Prince.

Therefore, the Eighth Prince ultimately chose to compromise.

Standing nearby, Hongli smiled inwardly.

He had to admit that because the Kangxi Emperor had distributed banner command among his sons and grandsons, and then suddenly passed away, securing the loyalty of the princes holding vital military power for the new monarch—while avoiding bloodshed—required negotiation and compromise.

Thus, he could easily foresee that if Yongzheng wished to centralize power and accomplish his goals in the early years of his reign, he would inevitably have to take action against his brothers.

After all, he was not Kangxi.

Kangxi could command his sons by virtue of his paternal authority and the enticement of the succession.

Regardless, the Eighth Prince's choice to support the Fourth Brother successfully averted a scenario where the succession struggle degenerated into a military conflict right within the capital.

"Eighth Uncle!"

Hongchun cried out, still somewhat unwilling to accept this outcome.

As for Hongxi, having traveled to the Northwest at the beginning of the year to serve alongside the Fourteenth Prince, he was not present and remained unaware that his Thirteenth Uncle had chosen to support the Fourth Prince.

Once again, the Eighth Prince ignored Hongchun.

The Ninth Prince walked over with a smile and said, "Your Fourth Uncle and your father are born of the same mother, so this outcome is not bad at all. Besides, many of our uncles and brothers have stated they clearly heard the late Emperor's final decree bequeathing the throne to your Fourth Uncle."

The Tenth Prince lowered his head and remained silent.

Hongchun stood frozen in place, speechless, his breathing noticeably heavy.

Yongzheng merely patted the Eighth Prince's shoulder and said, "Since that is the case, lead them to retrieve the imperial edict to quell all public doubt!"

The Eighth Prince nodded and walked out first.

The Third Prince sighed once more and followed behind.

The Ninth Prince, Tenth Prince, and the others followed suit.

All the imperial princes and grandsons stood up, headed toward the Forbidden City, and collectively ignored Hongchun.

Hongli followed as well, but looking back, he noticed that Hongshi had also remained rooted to the spot, his mouth half-open, with the tip of his tongue left hanging out, forgetting to pull it back.

He appeared even more uncomposed than Hongchun, who was standing in place clenching his fists.

Hongli did not call out to him, continuing instead to follow the crowd forward.

The road to the Forbidden City was not short; one had to traverse the Imperial City and pass by the Taiye Pool in the West Park before entering the palace proper.

The Imperial Guard, formed by the Lower Five Banners, was responsible for the security of the Imperial City.

However, now that the senior princes holding real power over the Eight Banners had reached a consensus, the guards of the Imperial City naturally would not bar their entry, nor would the guards of the palace city.

Before long, Hongli followed the throng into the Hall of Mental Cultivation, where he, alongside the various princes and high ministers, witnessed the retrieval of the imperial edict.

"The fourth imperial son of Prince Yong, Yinzhen, possesses a most precious character and deeply resembles my own person. He is fully capable of carrying on the great succession."

"He shall succeed me upon the throne as Emperor. Let the established rites be observed for mourning, and let the mourning attire be set aside after twenty-seven days. Proclaim this to all within and beyond the realm so that all may know."

Upon obtaining the edict, Longkodo read it aloud before the assembled princes and grandsons.

Yongzheng, who had also arrived, listened to the decree, then immediately slammed his head against the ground and broke down in weeping, crying out, "Imperial Father, you have placed this crushing burden upon your son's shoulders—how can your son possibly bear it!"

Having finished reading the edict, Longkodo took the initiative to help Yongzheng up and guide him to a seat, saying, "Your Majesty, please restrain your grief!"

Then, Longkodo dropped to his knees and kowtowed to Yongzheng. "This humble servant Longkodo pays homage to the new Sovereign!"

Yongzheng said nothing, merely lifting his gaze to sweep across the gathered assembly.

At this moment, the Thirteenth Prince, Yinzixiang, the Twelfth Prince, Yinzitao, the Sixteenth Prince, Yinlu, the Seventeenth Prince, Yinli, and the Twenty-First Prince, Yinxixi, all dropped to their knees, declaring, "We, your subject brothers, pay homage to Your Majesty."

Hongli knelt as well, proclaiming, "Your son Hongli pays homage to Imperial Father!"

Hongzhou likewise performed the grand kowtow.

Although Hongshi had ultimately followed them here, he still remained entirely unresponsive, as if his reflex arc had suddenly become exceptionally sluggish.

Being slower to react than Hongli, who already knew the answer, was one thing; but being even slower than Hongzhou was quite inexcusable.

Hongli noticed that Yongzheng did not seem angry. Today, he appeared remarkably magnanimous, capable of tolerating everything as he simply waved a hand at Longkodo.

"Show the imperial edict to everyone so they may examine it."

"As you command!"

Holding the imperial edict, Longkodo walked first to the Third Prince.

The Third Prince, Yinzhi, cast a single glance at it before dropping to his knees. "Your subject pays homage to Your Majesty!"

Following suit, the Seventh Prince, Yinyou, and the others knelt as well.

The Ninth and Tenth Princes exchanged a look with the Eighth Prince.

Staring at the imperial edict for a long time, the Eighth Prince finally gritted his teeth and knelt. "Your subject brother pays homage to Your Majesty."

The Ninth and Tenth Princes knelt down along with him.

The Grand Secretaries of the Inner Chamber and Grand Secretariat, Maqi, the Grand Minister of the Imperial Guard Marsai, Arsongga, and others, having inspected the edict, also dropped to their knees.

"Your humble servants pay homage to the Sovereign!"

...

After everyone had completed the three kneelings and nine kowtows, Yongzheng raised a hand. "Rise, all of you!"

The assembly expressed their gratitude and stood up.

At that moment, Minister Longkodo stepped forward with advice once more: "Your Majesty, please restrain your grief. The late Emperor has thoughtfully considered the grand plan and entrusted you with the state; we should first settle this paramount affair before handling all funeral rites."

Yongzheng nodded and looked toward Yinsi. "Eighth Brother, you have always been prudent and wise. How do you propose we handle all these matters?"

Yinshi turned and bowed to Yongzheng. "In this humble subject brother's view, we must first change the late Emperor's attire and perform the encoffining, escorting the late Emperor back to the palace, while strictly observing the imperial mourning garments prescribed by Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang."

"Very well!"

Yongzheng nodded and stood up. "Return to the Garden of Perfect Brightness."

Thus, the assembly returned to the Garden of Perfect Brightness.

Along the way, the autumn moon hung high in the empty sky, casting a silvery glow across the earth.

Once again, everyone remained silent, their expressions growing even more complex.

Hongli sighed inwardly, thinking that he had finally become an imperial prince!

Upon arriving at the Kangxi Emperor's quarters in the Garden of Perfect Brightness, Yongzheng threw himself to the ground in agonizing grief, crawled on his knees to the side of the couch, and wept bitterly as he stroked the late Emperor's feet.

Only after being urged repeatedly by the crowd did he finally compose himself.

Subsequently, Yongzheng personally changed the Kangxi Emperor's attire.

Following this, Yongzheng and the various princes and high ministers began discussing the grand funeral rites, finally issuing his orders: "Seventh Brother, having difficulty with his legs, shall remain behind to guard the Garden of Perfect Brightness and command its guards and personal troops; Twelfth Brother shall go to the Hall of Mental Cultivation to set up the mourning altars; Sixteenth Brother, Twenty-First Brother, and Hongli shall strictly guard the palace portals; Thirteenth Brother and Uncle Longkodo shall prepare the ceremonial guards and clear the imperial path."

"Your will be obeyed!"

Hongli sighed inwardly at this. As expected, Yongzheng unhesitatingly and heavily rewarded those who demonstrated loyalty; thus, both he and Yinxixi had been assigned important duties so quickly.

Afterward, to manifest his filial piety and win the hearts of the people, Yongzheng would undoubtedly lavish generous rewards upon those who had contributed to maintaining order during the mourning period for the late Emperor.

At that time, both he and Yinxixi would inevitably receive titles and enfeoffments.

With this realization, Hongli could not help glancing at Yinxixi, only to find that Yinxixi was also looking at him, casting a gaze filled with gratitude.