Chapter 49: The Praise of the Thirteenth Prince, Yinxiang

Hongli did not say anything further, only walking toward the Gate of Congratulations and Fortune (Jingyun Gate) alongside Yulu and Yixi.

"Oh Hongli, Hongli, you truly have a silver tongue!"

The Sixteenth Prince wagged a finger at Hongli, his face wreathed in smiles as he teased him.

Yixi chuckled along, "Indeed, even as your uncle, I find myself feeling a bit intimidated!"

Hongli smiled in response, "I was merely discussing the matter strictly on its merits. I must ask my two uncles not to mock their nephew."

"This is no mockery. Since you are now an imperial prince, you ought to carry yourself thus. The Twenty-first is quite right; His Majesty's ultimate choice of the Fourth Brother is very likely tied directly to you, Hongli!"

Yulu placed his hands behind his back, looking at Hongli with a solemn expression.

Yixi chimed in, "Naturally. Otherwise, before his final moments, His Majesty would not have singled out Hongli alone among all the imperial grandsons."

To this, Hongli gave a noncommittal response, merely shrinking his neck slightly.

"Brrr! It really is freezing today!"

Uncles like Yulu and Yixi, who belonged to the faction supporting Yongzheng, could use the tactic of praising Hongli to legitimize their own support for Yongzheng.

However, Hongli himself could not afford to lose his head and enthusiastically endorse the notion that he was destined to be the next Son of Heaven.

After all, excessive words lead to missteps. No matter how much Yongzheng favored him, Yongzheng was an autocratic monarch whose desire for absolute power was no less than Kangxi's.

Until the very final moment, no one could be certain whether unforeseen variables might arise.

Take the Second Prince, Yinreng, for example. As Kangxi's only son born of the primary empress, he had been clever and eager to learn from a young age, deeply favored by Kangxi. When the Eldest Prince tried to vie for favor, he simply could not compete.

Yet in the end, Yinreng was deposed—and deposed a second time, at that.

Therefore, Hongli knew he had to maintain a proper attitude promptly, firmly uphold Yongzheng's absolute leadership, and rally closely around him. He must not form cliques behind Yongzheng's back or overly court his two imperial uncles, Yulu and Yixi, to build his own political base.

Seeing that Hongli made no further remarks and merely lamented the cold weather, Yulu looked upon him with even greater satisfaction, nodding repeatedly to himself in approval.

Once Hongli, Yulu, and Yixi left the Gate of Congratulations and Fortune and headed toward the East Glorious Gate, they spotted Yongzheng and Yinzhi still conversing there.

"Greetings to Imperial Father and Thirteenth Uncle."

Following the bows of Yulu and Yixi, Hongli offered his own salutation.

Yongzheng nodded in acknowledgment, then turned to Yinzhi and said, "Hongli has been constantly talking about you. For a time, because he hadn't seen you, he was utterly distracted. Even at the grand banquet celebrating my Imperial Father's sixty years on the throne, he remained melancholy despite being rewarded with a golden ruyi scepter."

"Is that so?"

Pleasantly surprised, Yinzhi walked over to Hongli, placed a hand on his shoulder, and gave it a gentle squeeze. Then he smiled and said, "Your shoulders are quite sturdy! It seems you haven't slackened off in practicing archery and firearms!"

Hongli replied, "Though my skills aren't that remarkable; I can still only pull a standard bow."

"How old are you yet, and already wishing to pull a heavy bow?"

Yongzheng interjected from the side with a stern face.

Hongli gestured toward Yixi. "Twenty-first Uncle isn't much older, yet he can pull a heavy bow to shoot consecutive arrows."

Among the Manchu Eight Banners, the ability to use a heavy bow to shoot consecutive arrows was considered a supreme honor, and those who achieved this were generally selected for the elite Imperial Bodyguard (Bayara).

Hongli's remark not only demonstrated his proactive and driven mindset but also expressed his admiration for Yixi right in front of Yongzheng, reciprocating Yixi's support of him earlier in front of Hongchun.

Yixi lacked political artifice. Upon hearing this, he could not help but reach out with his plump hand to stroke the top of Hongli's head. "I am different."

"True, your Twenty-first Uncle's talent in archery, horsemanship, and painting is praised without cease even by your Imperial Grandfather. If you wish to surpass him in archery and horsemanship, it will be quite difficult," Yongzheng remarked.

Yinzhi patted Hongli's shoulder. "No matter. Once Thirteenth Uncle has some free time, I shall request an imperial decree from your father to select an exceptional man from my old subordinates to be your personal page (Hahachuju). I guarantee your archery and horsemanship will advance by leaps and bounds!"

"Then I thank Thirteenth Uncle in advance."

Hongli hurriedly cupped his hands and smiled.

Yongzheng gave a dry chuckle. "You certainly don't stand on ceremony!"

"Why should I stand on ceremony with Thirteenth Uncle? Father, haven't you said yourself that Thirteenth Uncle is the most magnanimous of all your brothers?"

Hongli knew that Yongzheng was actually quite pleased to see his son close to the Thirteenth Uncle, rather than associating with the Eighth, Ninth, or Fourteenth Princes.

This was because Yongzheng deeply feared that the latter group might manipulate his son to wrest power from him.

The Thirteenth Uncle, however, was different. He was a remnant of the old Crown Prince's faction. After the Crown Prince's downfall, the vast majority of his influence had been purged by Kangxi, leaving behind only some middle- and lower-ranking military officers.

Those middle- and lower-ranking officers had only recently been promoted to the Imperial Guard Camp and the Vanguard Camp.

Even so, the severely weakened Thirteenth Uncle could not compare to the Eighth, Ninth, and Fourteenth Princes.

One must remember that among the current six chamberlain-in-chiefs of the imperial guards, four were men of the Eighth Prince. As for the commanders of the Eight Banners—figures like Duke Yexin, Fahui (the second son of Tong Guogang), and Guangshan—they were all military officers who had forged deep bonds with the Fourteenth Prince during his campaigns in the northwest.

Therefore, historically, when Hongshi continued to ally closely with the Eighth Prince while Yongzheng was attempting to consolidate power and discipline the Eighth Prince's faction, he truly lacked political foresight.

Of course, from Yongzheng's perspective, it was not that he wished the younger generation to entirely avoid easing internal clan tensions or making conciliatory gestures toward the followers of the Eighth and Ninth Princes; rather, such gestures required proper timing.

Hearing Hongli speak thus, Yinzhi felt exceptionally pleased and gave a grand wave of his hand. "Indeed! With your Thirteenth Uncle, there is no need for formalities!"

Although Yongzheng was naturally stern-faced, his heart was genuinely overflowing with joy. He deliberately admonished the Thirteenth Uncle, "Alright, Thirteenth Brother, don't spoil him too much, lest he become increasingly lacking in decorum."

"And as for you two, Sixteenth Brother and Twenty-first Brother, if Hongli steps out of line, do discipline him properly. Exercise your authority as uncles; don't hold back just because he is now an imperial prince."

Yongzheng also reminded the Sixteenth Prince, Yulu, and the Twenty-first Prince, Yixi.

The two men hurriedly cupped their hands. "Understood, Your Majesty."

"Thirteenth Brother, let us go. Once day breaks, there will be countless major affairs awaiting our attention."

With that, Yongzheng addressed the Thirteenth Prince.

Yinzhi nodded and turned to follow Yongzheng out of the East Glorious Gate.

Upon stepping out of the East Glorious Gate, Yongzheng turned back to instruct Hongli, "Be diligent in guarding the palace portals. Do not slack off or dump all the work onto your two uncles!"

"This son understands. Please rest assured, Imperial Father!"

Hongli solemnly cupped his hands, cooperating fully to display the proper respect and decorum a son should show to a strict father like Yongzheng.

Yongzheng nodded in satisfaction.

After Yongzheng and the others departed, since the entire Forbidden City contained no other external males aside from the duty officers, Hongli, along with Yulu and Yixi, had the guards lock the East Glorious Gate, the Gate of Congratulations and Fortune, and the others.

Once the three of them personally watched the keeper of the keys store the keys away in a designated box, they returned to Kangxi's catafalque to burn some ritual paper money for him.

As for Yongzheng, rather than letting Yinzhi return to his own residence, he had Yinzhi accompany him to the Yong Prince Manor.

Since Yinzhi was the very first brother to join his faction after the first deposition of the Crown Prince, he enjoyed the utmost trust of Yongzheng.

Presently, Yongzheng relied entirely on Yinzhi's influence among the military officers of the capital's major garrisons and the remnants of the old Crown Prince's faction to compel the other powerful adult imperial princes to acknowledge his imperial legitimacy.

Therefore, Yongzheng could not do without Yinzhi at present; accomplishing many of his tasks required Yinzhi's cooperation.

Not only did Yongzheng bring Yinzhi home, but he also immediately arranged for Yinzhi to meet the Primary Consort of the Yong Prince Manor who had returned ahead of them. Yongzheng instructed her, "Have a guest courtyard prepared so the Thirteenth Brother can rest. We must enter the palace early tomorrow morning; numerous important matters are waiting to be handled."

"Knowing that Thirteenth Uncle was coming, I have already had it prepared."

The Primary Consort replied with a smile.

Ordinarily, unless someone was truly regarded as close family or a trusted confidant, a household head would not casually permit outside guests to meet the inner female quarters. Thus, Yinzhi felt deeply grateful.

Yet Yinzhi had weathered numerous political struggles and had even languished in prison; having matured considerably in political acumen, he did not commit any breaches of etiquette and quickly expressed his thanks, "Thank you for the trouble, Fourth Brother and Fourth Sister-in-law!"

"What are you saying such things for between us brothers?"

Yongzheng waved a hand, his expression growing even more cheerful. Right in front of Yinzhi, he turned to ask the Primary Consort about domestic affairs, "After I sent Shushen away, how has Hongshi been progressing with copying the Buddhist scriptures?"

"I asked Supeisheng about it. He hasn't even finished half of it, and is still frantically rushing to finish now that he's back," the Primary Consort replied.

Yongzheng's face turned cold. "He lacks staying power!"

Then, Yongzheng inquired further, "And Hongli?"

"According to Haitang, he has already copied the Diamond Sutra no less than ten times. I had someone bring it over for me to inspect; he copied it with great care, every single character neat and proper!"

With that, the Primary Consort handed the Buddhist scriptures copied by Hongli over to Yongzheng.