The result was as wished—Daiyu could return home and arrange her own marriage. On the Jia family’s side, Tan Chun’s situation was the same as in the Old Madam’s dream world. People from the Crown Prince’s side had interfered, causing her to be eliminated in the second round.
This result left some in the Jia family quite helpless. This wasn’t the result they wanted!
However, after learning of the Lin family’s situation, they became happy again. They had returned empty-handed, but the Lin family’s result wasn’t any better!
If not through draft selection, what kind of noble son-in-law could there be?
After returning, Tan Chun was dejected for quite some time. She had wanted to break free from this family. Her performance had been fine, but those people deliberately found fault. No matter how much she yielded, it was all futile. Being able to return home safely was already the result of her efforts.
After returning… Tan Chun didn’t even know where her future would lie.
Given her legitimate mother’s temperament, it was impossible she wouldn’t “sell” her for a good price.
Lin Daiyu, however, was very pleased. Having her name removed was wonderful!
This was the result she wanted.
She didn’t want any connection with the imperial family at all—not just the Imperial Palace, but the princes as well.
Second Sister was in the Fourth Prince’s household, and the inner quarters there were already few in number and peaceful, yet such dirty affairs still occurred. Going to other princes’ inner quarters, would there be none?
Lin Daiyu held little hope.
Most importantly, if she entered the imperial family and suffered grievances, could she still return home?
But if betrothed to another family found by Grandmother and Father, if she were bullied, they could righteously storm their doors and back her up!
The Old Madam smiled so widely she couldn’t close her mouth, holding Daiyu’s hand and speaking continuously: “Good, good, excellent!” Having passed this hurdle, unless there was an imperial marriage decree, Daiyu’s marriage would be decided by the Lin family themselves.
She was still here, her son was still here, and that Grandmother Jia was already paralyzed—she could no longer influence Daiyu’s marriage!
Old Madam Lin looked back—the Lin family’s grandchild generation had Chen Yu, the great-grandchild generation had Brother Yuan. The Lin family bloodline would not be severed. Daiyu, who met an unfortunate end in the dream world, was clearly about to have a new life. She felt that even if she closed her eyes right now, she would have no regrets.
Lin Ruhai was also happy. Now he could confidently seek out suitable candidates for his younger daughter.
Before long, however, another piece of news emerged. The Second Prince Hongyun of Prince Yong’s household had fallen ill. This originally wasn’t anything particularly special—people ate grains and cereals, illness was unavoidable—but his illness was severe and growing increasingly worse.
The attending servants’ faces showed such bitterness it could drip water. It was clear things were not good.
To avoid suspicion, Luo Yu didn’t even let her several children move about freely, fearing it would give certain people opportunities to splash dirty water on their heads.
Secondary Consort Li guarded the Second Prince’s bedside day and night, using her own blood to copy scriptures, only hoping he could recover his health. But there was no improvement.
Hongyun couldn’t be saved.
He was ten years old this year, already a half-grown youth. With his passing, the blow to Secondary Consort Li was incomparable.
Her son’s temperament was gentle, and he was very considerate toward her as his mother. He was the child she valued most. She had raised him with great hardship to this age, only for him to be gone after one illness!
She couldn’t bear this blow!
Not only did Secondary Consort Li fall ill, even the Fourth Prince drank medicinal decoctions.
Even the Fourth Fujin didn’t want to see this scene. If her Honghui were still alive, Hongyun’s death would be just that, but now the situation was different. Between Lady Li’s two sons, her feelings for Hongyun were somewhat deeper.
Hongshi… he was more stubborn, and his aptitude couldn’t compare to Hongyun’s.
Could he compete with the sons born to Lady Lin?
Luo Yu also became worried. The saying “raising children brings worries until ninety-nine” was true. Her several children were only this small now. There was still so much time before they grew up. One couldn’t be at ease until closing one’s eyes.
This was undoubtedly an earthquake for Prince Yong’s household, but placed in the entire Great Qing dynasty, it was insignificant—at least for now it was.
Time flashed by and arrived at the fifty-first year of Kangxi.
This was a special year.
The Second Miss Yahui of Prince Yong’s household was ennobled as a county princess and married out. This was the first joyous occasion among Prince Yong household’s children’s generation.
It was handled very grandly.
Luo Yu, as secondary consort, also busied herself inside and out for this wedding. After finishing, she had lost two pounds.
Originally, the Fourth Fujin and Secondary Consort Li didn’t want her help, but why shouldn’t she want this authority?
She had three children. Although it was somewhat early, she could still accumulate experience.
This year was one of rising winds and waves. The Crown Prince’s side, whether due to the Emperor’s wariness or the general trend, ultimately still provoked Kangxi’s thunderous action.
Starting with Minister of Revenue Shen Tiansheng’s demand for silver, it implicated a long string of people.
The amount of corruption, speaking truthfully, really wasn’t much. Important figures of the Crown Prince’s party—Minister of Justice Qi Shiwu accepted bribes of three thousand taels of silver, Infantry Commander Tuoheqi accepted bribes of two thousand four hundred taels, Minister of War Geng’e accepted bribes of one thousand taels. What did this amount to?
Who knew how many women’s hairpins amounted to over a thousand taels!
There was also the common saying “three years as a clean magistrate, one hundred thousand silver taels.” With their official positions, perhaps they didn’t even take this to heart… In major corruption cases, these were merely insignificant figures. Only because they were Crown Prince’s party members and the Emperor was wary of the Crown Prince, the punishments were severe—all were sentenced to execution by strangulation, to be carried out after autumn!
Without doubt, the Crown Prince’s party was heavily struck. Other people dependent on the Crown Prince were all anxious and uneasy.
They sensed things were not good. This ominous premonition came true. At the end of September, when Kangxi returned to the capital from inspecting beyond the Great Wall, he announced to the various princes: “Since Crown Prince Yinreng’s reinstatement, his mad illness has not abated, and he has greatly lost the people’s hearts. Our ancestors’ great enterprise absolutely cannot be entrusted to this person. I have already memorialized the Empress Dowager and ordered that Yinreng be detained and guarded.”
The Crown Prince was detained again. The heavens had changed again.
The various ministers looked at the Emperor’s indifferent expression above. For a moment, no one dared speak.
Before the remaining Crown Prince party members could think of ways to respond, the next day, imperial vermillion script announced to the princes, beile, and ministers the reasons for deposing the Second Prince again.
Kangxi: “All should abandon such thoughts, turn your hearts toward the sovereign, and share in peace together. Hereafter, should anyone memorialize that the Crown Prince has already reformed and should be released, I shall execute them.”
These weren’t just words. All those who pleaded for the deposed Crown Prince or for re-establishing the heir apparent met with bad ends.
Once there was a first, there was a second. With the previous deposing of the Crown Prince, this time’s deposing was no longer surprising. This was the second deposing of the Crown Prince. So would there be a second reinstatement?
No one dared guarantee it.
But more people didn’t want a second reinstatement to appear, including Lin Ruhai.
This time, the Crown Prince’s party suffered heavy losses. Quite a few were impeached by Lin Ruhai. He had to impeach them—this was his duty, and it was also the Emperor’s intention.
This being the case, if one day the Crown Prince returned to his original position and ascended the throne, he and the Lin family would not fare well.
Many ministers were also tired. Many people didn’t want to support anyone, but under those circumstances, they had no choice but to wade into murky waters. They switched allegiances back and forth, only to gain nothing and lose their reputations.
A few more times like this, and they’d lose their lives.
Everyone didn’t want this. The Second Prince also hadn’t given up. He himself harbored hope. When imperial physicians were examining the Crown Princess, he used alum water to write letters and contact the outside world. This was again discovered, deepening Kangxi’s vigilance toward the Crown Prince.
He had already been detained—what else did he want to do?
The remaining active Crown Prince party members met with great misfortune—either executed or imprisoned.
Compared to the punishment of the Crown Prince’s party during the last deposing, this time the Crown Prince suffered devastating losses. Years of accumulation were almost completely burned to ashes.
Winds and clouds rose in the capital, but at this time Yun Shuyao could no longer see these storms, because she had traveled far—she went to the northwest to see her son.
Just her alone.
Tang Wanxin also wanted to go, but Brother Yuan was still young, and the journey would be arduous and exhausting. Once Chen Yu’s term ended, he would be transferred anyway. It wasn’t worth it for mother and son to travel such a great distance.
Yun Shuyao was different. First, her health was good. Second, she didn’t need to manage the household—she could leave whenever she said so.
On this trip, the places she visited were numerous. The Lin household guards were all speechless. She was deliberately taking detours, right?
Absolutely deliberately, right?
Although she had said in advance there would be some detours, they hadn’t expected her to detour this far!
Well, it wasn’t impossible. The master family themselves had no problem. They traveled easily and had reward silver. Taking this trip—not a loss.
Yun Shuyao detoured to quite a few places to view heavenly treasures and earthly jewels from the “Catalog of All Things.” Once she came up empty. Although that monk and Taoist had left concealment methods there, someone else had still gotten there first. When Yun Shuyao arrived, the cliff was bare—nothing remained.
One place’s spiritual plants hadn’t matured yet. By the looks of it, they still needed one or two years. However, that concealment formation was intact. Yun Shuyao stayed here for quite some time studying this concealment formation.
That formation was activated using jade stones—jade stones with spiritual energy. Placed outside, they would be supreme jade stones, priceless. Yun Shuyao watched with envy. Such good things were also useful for the Spiritual Mirror’s recovery, but she had no replacements for such things. Once taken away, the spiritual plants here also couldn’t be preserved.
The last one was successfully obtained by her. It was an ancient tree, possibly one that had lived for over a thousand years. In that hollow tree heart grew two mushrooms, one large and one small. The large one was fist-sized, the small one only as big as a pinky finger.
This was a type of spiritual medicine that could restore cultivation—those not of sufficient age had no use.
Yun Shuyao took away the large one.
Along this journey, she stopped and started, tormenting Chen Yu.
Every interval, he calculated the distance. Concubine Mother should have arrived, right?
Hadn’t arrived. Upon receiving a letter and looking, Concubine Mother had taken a detour to tour mountains and enjoy waters.
Fine, going to relax was also good. Returning now, calculating the time, it should be about right?
Still hadn’t arrived. As Concubine Mother walked, she went again to visit famous mountains and ancient sites.
Rarely leaving on a trip, she also hadn’t delayed too long. Where was she now?
Still hadn’t arrived…
Three or four times, Chen Yu was exasperated.
No wonder Concubine Mother’s letter said not to rush—this was advance notice to prepare him mentally!
As a son, what could he do?
It was just that he had good news to tell Concubine Mother and really was somewhat impatient!
When he truly received Concubine Mother’s carriage, Chen Yu sighed deeply: “Concubine Mother, you’ve finally arrived!”
As soon as Yun Shuyao descended from the carriage, what she saw was her son’s resentful gaze. Cough, cough: “Yes, I’ve arrived.”
Even without justification, one must maintain confidence.
“What good news? Didn’t you mention it several times? Go ahead and tell me.”
Speaking of this, Chen Yu put away that unsteady posture that only occasionally appeared before Concubine Mother, suppressed his joy, entered the room, dismissed the others, and then spoke: “Concubine Mother, the seeds you gave me last year—an entire patch had a bountiful harvest! Same plot of land, same care, yet the harvest was a full twenty percent more!”
Planted for several years now, each year’s performance was more excellent than the previous year. This year was the best!
Yun Shuyao was very calm: “Yes, I know. In fertile places in the south, it can be thirty percent more.”
Chen Yu: “!!!” Concubine Mother, how can you be so calm? Do you know what this represents?
Same land, harvest increased by thirty percent—it could feed more people, let more people not go hungry!
Although crops like sweet potatoes, potatoes, and corn had good yields, they also had problems. One was promotion, another was that these things could only crudely fill bellies. The imperial court didn’t recognize them for tax purposes, prices were also low, and people weren’t adapted to eating too much. For example, sweet potatoes—eating too many caused heartburn.
Staple grains were what everyone truly recognized as “food”!
Yun Shuyao: “I know.” If she didn’t know, why would she have labored so hard for so long—for fun? It was just that… a thirty percent increase in yield looked indeed very good, but what was the original yield of this wheat?
Good farmland was only over one hundred pounds per mu! Inferior fields yielded only dozens of pounds per mu!
Even with a thirty percent increase, many places still couldn’t reach two hundred pounds per mu.
So while she was happy—this could bring her fame, status, and merit—her happiness was limited. Looking at things from a farther perspective, ordinary common people’s lives were still very hard. Many people labored their entire lives for just these few words: eating their fill and staying warm.
Even though Yun Shuyao didn’t have that grand sentiment of “the world free from hunger and cold,” facing this harsh reality, her heart still didn’t feel good.