Getting Rich from Legend of Zhen Huan

Chapter 142: The eldest prince Shun Anyan and rumors

Kangxi was already busy preparing for the Empress Dowager's birthday celebration, and he also had to worry about the selection of a husband for the Fifth Princess.

Today, either the Nianhulu clan promoted their own children, or the Hesheli clan's side branches came out to perform. Among them, the most eye-catching one, and the one that Kangxi had planned in his mind, was naturally Shun Anyan.

But before Kangxi could discuss it with the Empress Dowager, his plan was disrupted by a piece of news.

No one knew where the news came from in the capital, but everyone knew that the eldest grandson of the Tong family was going to marry a princess.

Kangxi frowned when he heard the news. Although Shun Anyan was indeed to his liking, how could he bring up something that had no trace? What was being a princess? Was this something that could be discussed casually?

The Tong family was also looking for who leaked the news. Last time, they asked Kangxi to give Tong Jia the position of imperial concubine, but Kangxi declined on the grounds that the war was approaching. Tong Jia also learned her lesson and would never ask for something that Kangxi had not confirmed.

I had thought that Princess Shang had grasped Kangxi's mind this time and was taking steady steps, but how come the whole capital suddenly knew about it?

In the end, they searched everywhere but still couldn't find out who did it, but it was definitely someone who disliked Tong Jia.

But over the years, Tong Jia had the support of Kangxi and had offended countless people. The matter of the Fifth Princess choosing a husband was also not secret. Everyone knew that the Tong family had the best chance, and who wouldn't want to take advantage of the opportunity?

Before one crisis is over, another one arises; rumors change their meaning as they spread.

"Do you know why Shun Anyan was able to marry the princess?"

"Why else? He is the emperor's nephew!"

"From what you said, the emperor has so many relatives, why did he choose Shun Anyan?"

"you know?"

"Because Shun Anyan found a backer who gave him the test paper in advance!"

"Who? Prince?"

"No, the oldest one!"

"Isn't that the great...(Chitose)?"

"Shh!"

What the common people knew was what they could only make up on their own. Combining previous unofficial historical anecdotes and opera stories, they made up a story about the eldest prince revealing the question in advance and Princess Shun's marriage to Yan Qiao.

The fifth princess has reached marriageable age, and the emperor wants to choose a husband for her.

How to choose?

Naturally, it was like what was sung in the opera, first compare literary talent and then martial arts. This question was not made casually, and it must have been that the important officials in the court racked their brains to come up with a few questions that were more difficult than the imperial examination, in order to select the best prince consort for the princess.

Shun Anyan wants to marry the princess, but he is not sure he can pass the exam.

How to do it?

Find your backer - the eldest prince. The eldest prince naturally came to help, secretly looked at the test paper, and revealed the questions to Shun Anyan.

Shun Anyan was fully prepared and naturally shined, so Kangxi directly appointed him as the son-in-law of the emperor.

This story is bizarre and tortuous, portraying the eldest prince and Shun Anyan as treacherous ministers who want to control the government and have evil intentions. Everyone who has heard the story is gnashing their teeth at the two of them, and is worried that the princess has married the wrong person and will suffer in the future.

In fact, anyone in the family who understands the imperial system knows that these rumors are all fabricated.

Putting aside the question of why the princess has to take exams to choose her husband, and why she has to take both literary and martial arts tests, it is outrageous enough that the important officials of the court gathered together to rack their brains to come up with questions. She is just a princess, so why should the important officials have to spend so much time thinking for her?

The rest is even more speechless. The eldest prince peeked at the test paper. No matter what the test paper was, it would be kept secret in front of the emperor. The eldest prince dared to do this. He was not afraid that the emperor would punish him for spying on the emperor and treason. Shun Anyan was no different from cheating in the imperial examination. He might even be punished more severely for fooling the emperor.

So no one took this rumor seriously at first, but after thousands of years of keeping the people ignorant, how could the people know so much? They only knew that the emperor was deceived by the eldest prince and Shun Anyan, and that Shun Anyan was going to successfully marry the princess.

This was a serious matter. As the dynasty that was most adept at using literary inquisition, Kangxi's face turned black when he saw the remarks presented to him.

Doesn't this mean that I am a tyrant who can't distinguish between loyalty and treachery? But this matter was perfected by your words and my words, and it is too difficult to find the culprit.

Kangxi could only focus all his attention on the source of the rumors - the eldest prince and Shun Anyan.

There was nothing that Kangxi couldn't know, only things that he didn't want to know. Besides, Shun Anyan had never concealed his optimism towards the eldest prince.

The rumors that inexplicably spread in the capital were correct in only one thing: Shun Anyan was indeed the eldest prince's woman.

It can be seen from the Tong family's surname that they are actually of Han descent. They made contributions following the Manchus and were assigned to the Han Army Banner. They also had this destiny. A girl from the Tong family who entered the palace gave birth to the next emperor. Even if the girl did not enjoy any benefits brought by this child, this child continued to benefit the Tong family.

First, the Tong family was moved from the Han Army Banner to the Manchu Bordered Yellow Banner. And not just the branch that Kangxi's biological mother belonged to, but all the Tongs in the Tong family were moved to the Bordered Yellow Banner.

Then, when she brought her cousin into the palace, when the highest rank in the harem was a concubine, Da Tongjia became a noble concubine right after she arrived;

As for the continuous promotion of Tong family members over the years, it is the most insignificant matter.

Kangxi had two uncles. The eldest uncle Tong Guogang was a decent but strong-willed man. He was the most grateful for Kangxi's promotion. As the head of the Tong family, he always knew when to advance and when to retreat. However, things did not go as planned. Tong Guogang died in the battlefield during the expedition against Galdan in the 29th year of Kangxi's reign.

After his brother's death, the second uncle Tong Guowei became the head of the Tonggiya clan. Tong Guowei did not understand the boundaries between the monarch and his subjects as well as Tong Guogang. He often relied on his status as Kangxi's uncle to get more than he wanted, which made Kangxi dissatisfied. But thinking of the help his uncles had given him on his way to ruling the country, Kangxi chose to be gentle with them.

But Tong Guowei was a fool. He wanted the Tonggiya clan to continue to prosper. Could Kangxi guarantee the prosperity and wealth of his uncle, his cousins, and his nephews?

Even if Kangxi never changed, he was still a human being, and humans would grow old, get sick, and die. Even if people shouted "Long live the emperor" every day, it was just flattery. It was rare for a person to live to be eighty. The Tong family couldn't gamble the future of the entire family on how long Kangxi would live!

This is also the understanding of everyone in the Tong family, so it is necessary to invest in the next emperor. However, no one has reached a consensus on this candidate. Some people are optimistic about the crown prince, some think that the eldest prince has a better chance, and some want to invest in the princes who are further behind.

Shun Anyan was just one of them. Perhaps because he enjoyed the preferential treatment of being the eldest son, he chose to support the eldest prince without hesitation.

The eldest prince naturally accepted this with a smile. As the future ruler of the Tong family, wouldn’t he be a fool if he didn’t accept himself?