My father is Yongzheng, and I am Qianlong?

Chapter 59 Hong Zhou's Wisdom

While Hongli was receiving Confucian education from Zhu Shi, Hongzhou had already finished his studies in the Shangshufang and was waiting for him outside the Maoqin Hall.

It is said that after the people of Prince Yong's Mansion moved into the palace, since Kangxi's former concubines basically lived with Concubine De in the six eastern palaces, the people of Prince Yong's Mansion lived in the six western palaces.

In addition to letting the fourth wife and Hongli live in Yongshou Palace, Yongzheng also let Li and Nian live in Yiku Palace and Changchun Palace respectively.

Because Hongshi had reached adulthood, he no longer lived with Li, but lived alone in the South Third House.

Geng was arranged by Yongzheng to live in Xianfu Palace, and Hongzhou naturally lived with Geng in Xianfu Palace.

Since Hongli and Hongzhou now lived in the West Six Palaces, they could naturally return to the palace together after school.

Therefore, after finishing his morning classes, Hongli and Hongzhou left Yuehua Gate together and returned to their respective palaces for dinner.

Hongzhou now particularly admires Hongli.

Because he witnessed with his own eyes the calmness that Hongli showed before and after the death of Kangxi, and he also knew that if Hongli was not so far-sighted, he might have displeased his father, who would become the emperor, by flattering his eighth uncle and fourteenth uncle in advance.

Now, because he only expressed his political inclinations when his father was definitely recognized as the heir to the throne, he did not have to worry about Yongzheng having any opinions about him.

He himself can also be a prince with peace of mind.

According to the Qing Dynasty custom, as a prince, one could actively apply for a title when he reached the age of fifteen.

Therefore, Hong Zhou does not have to worry about becoming an idle member of the royal family.

What's more, Yongzheng had few sons and even fewer older princes. For a prince like him who did not choose the wrong side from the beginning, his situation would definitely not be too bad.

Of course, this also made Hongzhou more convinced of Hongli, and he felt that striking back, not rushing to express one's position, and showing weakness first might be a better way to survive politically.

Because he believed that Hongli was a brother with foresight, he did not ignore the book Hongli gave him, but read it carefully.

"Fourth brother, I read the book you gave me. It's very interesting."

“Are there really giant white bears in the Arctic?”

"Are there really penguins in Antarctica?"

Even Hongzhou was walking in the corridor of the West Six Palaces, chatting with Hongli about the book Hongli gave him.

Hongli smiled and said, "I have heard about it too, but I think it is correct. If there is a chance in the future, I will send someone to check it out and we will know."

"Then Fourth Brother, do you know who is ruling these two places now?"

Hong Zhou looked at Hong Li again and asked curiously.

Hongli was very happy to see the twelve-year-old Hongzhou learn more about the outside world. After thinking for a moment, he said, "There are still no people in Antarctica. As for the North Pole, the treaty signed with Russia during the late emperor's reign has not yet determined the boundaries of some areas. Who knows, there may be a chance to make it part of the Qing Dynasty in the future!"

After hearing this, Hong Zhou nodded thoughtfully.

"I have arrived."

Yongshou Palace is right next to Yangxin Palace, and Yangxin Palace is just opposite Yuehua Gate, so Hongli only took a few steps to reach the Xianhe Right Gate facing the corridor of Yongshou Palace.

Hong Zhou waved to Hong Li and said, "Goodbye, Fourth Brother."

"goodbye!"

Hongli then entered the Xianhe Right Gate, and as soon as he returned to the back hall, he saw Chen Shishun directing a group of eunuchs carrying various gift boxes.

Hongli couldn't help but ask Chen Shishun: "Eunuch Chen, what are these gift boxes?"

"Sir, these are gifts from various palaces to the master. The queen selected some and sent them to you for display and enjoyment."

Chen Shishun knelt in front of Hongli and answered respectfully.

Hongli raised his hand and asked Chen Shishun to stand up. At the same time, he secretly sighed in his heart that these concubines of Kangxi were indeed well versed in the ways of survival in the harem. He had just helped the Fourth Lady to obtain the power to command the six palaces, and right after that, these concubines of Kangxi began to give gifts to the Fourth Lady to show their goodwill.

And he also benefited from it.

Hongli hurriedly thanked them and asked Haitang to take out more silver to reward Chen Shishun and others.

Because the Fourth Lady now held the power over the six harems, she was naturally busier and needed to spend time looking after the various expenses of the harem, so she no longer allowed Hongli to accompany her for meals. This was what Chen Shishun told him after receiving the reward silver.

It was obvious that Chen Shishun was afraid that he would misunderstand and that he was the one who was obstructing the matter.

Hongli naturally understood this. When Concubine De began to admit that he, Hongli, might be the real reason why Kangxi passed the throne to Yongzheng, it was normal for Chen Shishun to be cautious in front of him.

Hongli still had dinner with Niohuru in the back hall.

It is worth mentioning that after Hongli, Yinlu and Yinxi handed over the task of guarding the palace, Yongzheng issued an order today to let the sixteenth prince Yinlu take charge of the Imperial Household Department.

The Imperial Household Department was the agency responsible for managing all matters of the inner court, including the appointment of eunuchs, palace maids, and other palace staff.

Therefore, the Fourth Lady went directly through the Sixteenth Prince and, together with her dowry chef Lu from the Prince Yong's Mansion, entered the Imperial Tea and Food Room and became a palace chef in the Imperial Household Department, specializing in providing daily meals for the Emperor and the Empress.

Of course, the cooking skills of the chef who came with the Fourth Lady's dowry were well-known among the powerful circles in the capital, but after Yongzheng and the Fourth Lady entered the palace, they only ate the meals provided by the chef, also for the sake of ensuring their own safety.

Since Hongli was now with the Fourth Lady, the dinner he had was provided by the cook who came with her as a dowry, so the dinner was more palatable than usual.

After finishing dinner, Hongli looked at the gift box given to him by the Fourth Lady.

These gift boxes contain jade pendants, gemstones, beads, gold, silver and copper carvings, paintings and calligraphy, and other luxury items that can be displayed and played with by both men and women.

Since these were not palace treasures registered with the Imperial Household Department, they could be given away or pawned for money.

After all, Kangxi's concubines did not dare to give away the palace treasures bestowed by the emperor and distributed according to the quota to others.

And this is the most valuable thing for Hongli.

In this era when silver bills have not yet appeared, he will inevitably need to use large sums of money to conduct transactions in the future. At that time, it will be more convenient to bring some expensive jade pendants, jewelry, etc. as collateral to exchange for money than to carry silver directly.

Since the items could be transferred as gifts, in order to show his image as a loving brother, Hongli still selected a few and had them delivered to Hongzhou.

This made Geng very happy. Hongzhou didn't have many treasures to begin with, and now that Yongzheng's family had entered the palace, Hongzhou, as an older brother, would inevitably have to give gifts to Concubine Nian's children on major holidays. The gift from Hongli just solved her urgent need.

Therefore, Geng said to Hong Zhou, "Your fourth brother is really generous. You should get closer to him and don't argue with him. Besides, there's no need to argue about age and family background."

"My son understands!"

Hong Zhou said as he bowed to Geng and said goodbye: "Princess, I'm going to class now."

Geng smiled and nodded.

"Fifth brother!"

Hongli had been waiting for Hongzhou at the right gate of Xian'an, so when Hongzhou appeared, he called out to him with a smile.

Hong Zhou also came over and saluted Hong Li: "Greetings to Fourth Brother, and thank you for the gift of those precious treasures."

"You and I are brothers, why be polite?"

After Hongli helped Hongzhou up, they went towards Jingyun Gate together, because the place where they practiced archery in the afternoon was at the Arrow Pavilion, and the Arrow Pavilion was just outside Jingyun Gate, next to the Imperial Tea and Food Room.

The Arrow Pavilion was built during the Shunzhi Dynasty to prevent the royal family members from forgetting the importance of military preparation.

Yinxi, who was responsible for teaching Hongli and Hongzhou riding and shooting, taught them how to ride horses for a while after they arrived, and then taught them how to practice archery.

Hongli could still only shoot with his bow, but his accuracy had improved a lot, with seven out of ten arrows hitting the target.

Hong Zhou also pulled the bow but was unable to open it. After he secretly saw Hong Li pulling the bow, he gritted his teeth and pulled the bow, and deliberately aimed the arrow crookedly, so that only one arrow hit the target and it hit the edge of the target.

Seeing this, Yinxi couldn't help but exclaimed to Hongzhou: "Hongzhou, you need to practice more!"

When it came to practicing firearms, Hong Zhou was far inferior to Hong Li in aiming. Yin Lu, who was still teaching him firearms, shook his head and said with an embarrassed look on his face, "Sixteenth uncle, don't be angry. My nephew is not talented!"

Seeing this, Hongli couldn't help but comfort Hongzhou: "Don't be discouraged, take your time, you always have your own strengths."

Hong Zhou gave a bitter smile: "Thank you for your comfort, Fourth Brother. They say that I was born with talents that will be useful, but it seems that I am of no use at all."

(End of this chapter)