My father is Yongzheng, and I am Qianlong?

Chapter 16 The Princess Was Under My Control
But Hongli placed his hopes on the fourth son, who later became Yongzheng.

Naturally, he needed to do his best to complete the tasks assigned to him by Yongzheng.

Hongli also felt that what Yongzheng said made sense. When he entered the palace to accompany Kangxi, the eighth and fourteenth princes would inevitably feel that Yongzheng was a great threat to their fight for the throne.

And with Princess Shushen by Kangxi's side, things would be much better.

This will force the Eighth and Fourteenth Princes and others who are afraid that the Crown Prince will be reinstated to continue to focus on preventing the Crown Prince from being reinstated.

Once bitten, twice shy.

Kangxi had reinstated his second son, and no one could guarantee that he would not do so again.

Therefore, after returning to Changchun Garden, in addition to studying with Kangxi, Hongli would also take the initiative to chat with Princess Shushen in his spare time.

Moreover, recently, Hongli also told Princess Shushen the story of "Dream of the Red Chamber".

Strictly speaking, "Dream of the Red Chamber" was not a banned book in the Qing Dynasty. It was only in the middle and late Qing Dynasty that some local officials banned the book, and most of the banned books were sequels to "Dream of the Red Chamber".

Qianlong, Cixi, Yin Jishan and many other princes and ministers were loyal readers of this book and copied it to each other.

Therefore, Hongli knew that there would be no problem if he said this.

In his previous life, he often read novels to pass the time while invigilating and talking to school leaders. He even read "Dream of the Red Chamber" no less than ten times.

Moreover, Hongli discovered that after he traveled through time, he suddenly remembered clearly what he had read.

This was naturally a pleasant surprise for him.

As a noblewoman, Princess Shushen was indeed very vulnerable to tragic novels like "Dream of the Red Chamber" which describe the lives of aristocratic daughters.

"And so, Baoyu paused in thought, and heard him weep: 'Flowers fade, flowers fly, filling the sky; their red fades, their fragrance vanishes, who will pity them?...'"

"She was humming and sobbing, and she was crying even harder, but she didn't realize that the person listening to her had already fainted."

When Hongli was talking about Daiyu burying flowers that day, he decisively found an opportunity to stop talking. He saw that Princess Shushen herself had fainted in a daze, with red eyes.

Princess Shushen also looked up at Hongli because of his sudden pause: "Go on, what happened later? Was Sister Lin sad? Did Baoyu comfort her?"

"Imperial sister, I'm thirsty."

After Hongli said this to Princess Shushen, he lay down on the chair.

Every time Hongli came to Princess Shushen, Princess Shushen did not prepare tea for him.

Hongli also knew the reason. It was simply that she was too particular about cleanliness and didn't want her teacup to be used by others.

Therefore, she only prepared a special teacup for Kangxi, and no one else had one, and no one dared to blame her for being rude.

But now, Hongli wanted to punish Princess Shushen and not let her listen to him in vain.

Princess Shushen cut her teeth here.

Afterwards, she stamped her feet and said to the servant in front of her, "Bring me the Dingyao cup I got the other day and pour tea for Hongli!"

"Whoo!"

Soon, Princess Shushen personally placed a cup of tea in front of Hongli and said, "Drink it."

"You're getting a great deal! This Dingyao cup is a top-grade gift from my uncle Thirteenth on my birthday. I'm reluctant to use it myself."

"Next time you come here, I'll use this cup to make tea for you. You don't have to worry about not having tea to drink when you come to my place."

Then Princess Shushen muttered a few words.

Hongli said, "Since my sister is reluctant to leave, I'd better go back and have some tea."

Having said this, Hongli was about to stand up.

"Don't!"

Princess Shushen pushed Hongli back and put on a gentle smile: "My dear brother, I am not reluctant to let you go, but I am afraid that you will not cherish it."

"alright."

Hongli picked up the cup of tea.

He saw the smooth green teacup, and when he drank the tea, it was like drinking from a clear stream in a secluded valley. It really made the tea taste much better. He smiled and said, "No wonder the imperial sister was reluctant to part with it. Drinking tea from this cup is indeed very interesting."

Princess Shushen smiled awkwardly: "As long as my brother likes it."

"Good brother, after you have your tea, go ahead and continue your story to your sister."

"What happened after Lin Daiyu recited 'Song of Burying Flowers'?"

Princess Shushen then asked Hongli for help.

Hongli continued to tell Princess Shushen the story, and even talked about the place where Xue Baochai chased butterflies in the Dicui Pavilion. But Princess Shushen seemed to be still unsatisfied.

But Hongli didn't plan to say more. He had to keep it to whet Princess Shushen's appetite, so that she wouldn't really want to ask for permission to leave Changchun Garden early.

"Royal sister, I'm leaving now. I won't bother you anymore."

"Good brother, sit for a while."

"No, I still have to review the lessons that Khanmafa assigned me."

Hongli left Jifengxuan and returned to Guanlanxie with his arms folded.

A month later, it was the eve of Mid-Autumn Festival.

More of Kangxi's concubines also arrived at Changchun Garden, preparing to reunite with the emperor here.

After Concubine De came to Changchun Garden, Hongli had to pay his respects to her.

Because Concubine De was his adoptive grandmother.

When Hongli came to Defei's bedroom in Changchun Garden to ask for an audience, he did not see Defei immediately. Only Yinshuang, a female official beside Defei, saw him and took him to a warm room to rest for a while.

After Hongli entered the warm room, he looked around the furnishings there.

Noble women in the Qing Dynasty seldom went out and did not have high requirements for the layout of their courtyards, but they pursued exquisite furnishings in their houses.

Therefore, after visiting several places such as the bedrooms of wives and princesses, Hongli became interested in appreciating the furnishings in the homes of these aristocratic women.

After looking at the exhibits for a while, Hongli discovered apples on an agate plate on the table. However, apples at that time were rare foreign fruits that had just been introduced to China.

Because the apple native to China is called "nai", also known as sand apple, which is different from the apples that Hongli saw in later generations.

Hongli took a closer look at this fruit because he had rarely seen it elsewhere.

"Please don't move, Fourth Prince. This is what our Queen is going to give to the eldest prince in the Fourteenth Master's mansion."

The official girl Yin Shuang looked at Hongli warily at this time.

Hongli didn't say much, just returned to his chair, but he felt a little unhappy.

After all, he hadn't touched it yet, and a slave girl actually thought he was going to eat it, and looked at her warily, treating her as a thief.

Not long after, Consort De arrived, and Hongli quickly bowed deeply: "Greetings to Grandmother Consort!"

"no."

After exempting herself from formalities, Concubine De simply greeted Hongli with a few words.

After Hongli answered truthfully, he didn't stay long and found an excuse to leave.

He knew that although both Yongzheng and the Fourteenth Prince were born to Concubine De, Concubine De was more partial to the Fourteenth Prince. As he was Yongzheng's son, Concubine De naturally did not take him seriously.

If not, he is now the imperial grandson accompanying Kangxi, I am afraid Concubine De would not even bother to meet him.

The apple just now is proof of that.

He had never heard that Concubine De gave any delicious food to him and Hong Zhou.

He thought that it was likely that Hongshi didn't have it either.

However, before Hongli left the courtyard where Concubine De lived, Yinshuang suddenly found him again: "Fourth Prince, please stay!"

Hongli no longer had a favorable impression of her, so his expression was naturally indifferent: "What's the matter?"

"Our Queen hopes that the Fourth Prince can help his Fourteenth Uncle and take advantage of the opportunity to be with His Majesty to find a way to get Princess Shushen to leave Changchun Garden and return to the deposed Crown Prince's residence."

"Our queen can't speak in person about this matter, so she asked this servant to convey it."

Yin Shuang folded her hands and bowed in reply.

Snapped!
After hearing this, Hongli knew that Yinshuang or the people behind her thought that he was just like Hongshi, really on the side of the Fourteenth Prince or was afraid of the Fourteenth Prince's power, so they dared to make such demands on him.

But how could Hongli help the Fourteenth Prince to target Princess Shushen?
He would only help Yongzheng to improve his relationship with Princess Shushen and prepare for reforms after Yongzheng ascended the throne.

Moreover, after thinking about Yinshuang's previous behavior, Hongli felt that this was an opportunity to teach Yinshuang a lesson while rejecting this request.

then……

Hongli kicked Yinshuang hard on the spot.

"You bastard slave! How dare I give you face? You're here to sow discord among the royal family!"

Yinshuang fell to the ground, her eyes went dark, and then she saw stars. She felt a sharp pain in her abdomen as if her intestines were broken.

(End of this chapter)