Chapter Fifty-Three: Establishing the Grand Councillor's Office

Hearing Hongli ask this, the Fourth Primary Consort by his side glanced at him in surprise.

She truly had not expected Hongli to consider this aspect.

However, the Fourth Primary Consort was unaware that Hongli was essentially taking an open-book exam, noticing things that even Yongzheng himself had overlooked, but which would happen according to history.

Therefore, she had no choice but to admit that the fourth imperial prince she had adopted by imperial decree was indeed as meticulous as a hair.

As far as the Fourth Primary Consort knew, her mother-in-law loved to be flattered.

Now that Hongli had said she was capable of managing the six palaces, her mother-in-law, Consort De, would certainly be willing to acknowledge her ability to manage the six palaces.

Consort De smiled at this and remarked, "Did you need to remind me of that?"

Then, Consort De said, "Rest assured! I am not yet senile to that extent!"

With that, Consort De dismissed Hongli and the Fourth Primary Consort.

Upon leaving Consort De's Palace of Eternal Harmony, the Fourth Primary Consort touched her chest, let out a breath, and then looked at Hongli with a doting gaze, smiling as she said:

"I finally understand why the late Emperor valued you. If not for you today, Your Majesty would truly have been in deep trouble."

"Mother flatters me. If you hadn't joined me in advising her, I'm afraid Consort Grandmother wouldn't have given in so easily."

Hongli also smiled.

What he said was the truth. As the primary mother, the Fourth Primary Consort did not reprimand or suppress him at a critical moment, and she stood up for her husband Yongzheng. This was one of the reasons why Consort De could no longer afford to be willful.

Hearing Hongli speak thus, the Fourth Primary Consort could not help feeling increasingly satisfied with him.

Therefore, upon returning to the Palace of Eternal Longevity, the Fourth Primary Consort took the initiative to say to him, "Accompany mother for breakfast."

"Yes!"

Hongli knew that in this era, legally speaking, the primary mother was the mother of all the children in the household.

Precisely for this reason, Hongli addressed the Fourth Primary Consort as mother, but could only address Lady Niohuru as Gege.

When the primary mother asked a child of the family to do something for her, that child could not refuse, or else it would be unfilial!

Over time, this also became a way for a primary mother to express her fondness and regard for a concubine-born child.

Thus, in *Dream of the Red Chamber*, when Lady Wang asked Jia Huan to copy scriptures, Jia Huan did not dare to refuse.

However, Jia Huan caused trouble while copying the scriptures, so he was no longer given tasks by Lady Wang afterward and was eventually forgotten by her.

Being forgotten by Lady Wang naturally meant that Jia Huan was completely left out in the cold and was not taken seriously by Wang Xifeng, who managed the household.

On the contrary, Jia Huan's full sister Tanchun, knowing how to please Lady Wang, was entrusted with heavy responsibilities by her. Her status in the Jia clan was vastly different from that of her brother Jia Huan.

Although *Dream of the Red Chamber* was merely a novel, it meticulously reflected the internal ecosystem of great families in this era.

Now, the Fourth Primary Consort asking Hongli to accompany her for breakfast was, according to the logic of this era, a sign of high regard, equivalent to an emperor asking someone to dine with him.

Hongli naturally agreed.

"Which one would you like?"

Since the Fourth Primary Consort had not yet been officially proclaimed as the Empress, she was not yet permitted to set up two tables according to the regulations and dine in the same manner as the Son of Heaven. She was still restricted to the rank of a imperial concubine or below, setting up a single table where palace attendants served in order.

Even so, the breakfast was sufficiently rich, far more bountiful than the portions he and Lady Niohuru used to receive.

Upon closer inspection, Hongli heard the attendants announce six types of porridge alone: rice porridge, adlay porridge, Xiliang millet porridge, foxtail millet porridge, broomcorn and bean porridge, and pine nut, water chestnut, gorgon fruit, and jujube porridge. There were also five types of pastries and breads, such as leavened dough, scalded dough, refined starch dough, oil-spread dough, and sprinkled flour.

There were also side dishes, various steamed foods, and dim sum, numbering around a dozen kinds each.

When the Fourth Primary Consort asked him to choose, he found it difficult to decide for a moment.

In the end, Hongli chose a refined starch dough served with Jiangnan black bamboo shoots and sat down at the side seat next to the Fourth Primary Consort to eat.

The taste of this refined starch dough felt somewhat like rice noodle rolls, which made Hongli feel quite warm in his stomach.

Seeing this, the Fourth Primary Consort could not help smiling.

At that moment, someone outside reported that Hongshi and Hongzhou had come to pay their respects.

Hearing this, Hongli put down his chopsticks and prepared to stand up to greet them.

Ever since the Manchus entered the Shanhai Pass, influenced by the customs of the Central Plains, they paid increasing attention to etiquette. Morning and evening greetings from children to their grandparents and parents were a daily must.

One advantage of Hongli being personally brought up by the Fourth Primary Consort now was that he no longer needed to run over to the Fourth Primary Consort's quarters after paying his respects to Consort De and Yongzheng like Hongshi and Hongzhou did. Every morning upon waking up, he could immediately pay his respects to the Fourth Primary Consort inside the hall.

At this time, the Fourth Primary Consort pressed her hand down, signaling Hongli to remain seated, and merely instructed the attendant, "Tell them to kneel and leave."

"Yes!"

The Fourth Primary Consort clearly did not wish for anyone to disturb her breakfast with Hongli.

Hearing this, Hongli said nothing more and simply sat down to continue eating.

"Mother, son has finished his meal and must go find Sixteenth Uncle and Twenty-first Uncle to guard the palace precincts."

Having finished eating, Hongli took his leave of the Fourth Primary Consort.

With a loving and affectionate smile, the Fourth Primary Consort nodded and said, "Go on, and do your work well."

"Mm!"

Hongli nodded and scampered out.

Seeing this, the Fourth Primary Consort could not help calling out hurriedly, "Slow down! You've just eaten, and running too fast will upset your spleen and stomach!"

"This child!"

Seeing that Hongli had already vanished from sight, the Fourth Primary Consort sighed softly, and then instructed her personal eunuch, Chen Shishun:

"Take some digestive Baohe Pills and give them to Lady Niohuru, reminding her to see that Hongli takes them tonight. Also, bestow the bottle of saffron that I recently acquired upon Lady Niohuru as a reward for raising Hongli so well."

"Yes!"

In Chen Shishun's memory, the Fourth Primary Consort had always been reluctant to use this spice herself. Yet now she was rewarding it to Lady Niohuru, which naturally meant he understood that Hongli had truly pleased the Fourth Primary Consort, causing Lady Niohuru to be looked upon with special favor as well.

Meanwhile, after holding the temporary authority of guarding the palace precincts for just one day alongside Yinzhu and Yinzhi, Hongli was relieved of his duties and no longer represented the Emperor in commanding the Imperial Guards and Senior Ministers of State.

Because on the day after the Kangxi Emperor's demise, namely the wuchen day of the eleventh month in the sixty-first year of Kangxi, which was the fourteenth day, Yongzheng established the Grand Council of State.

He appointed Prince Beile Yinsi, the Thirteenth Prince Yinxiang, Grand Secretary Maqi, and Minister Longkodo to jointly manage state affairs.

The guarding of the palace precincts was also entrusted to specialized officials recommended by these four Grand Ministers of State.

Yongzheng officially began to deliberate on all major matters solely with these four ministers, and keeping his promise, he made the Eighth Prince the Chief Grand Minister of State.

The newly enthroned Yongzheng, buoyant with joy, cared much less about his past grievances with the Eighth Prince, the Ninth Prince, and the others; in fact, much of his hatred had diminished.

Right now, he genuinely wanted to work together with the Eighth Prince to govern the Great Qing well.

Moreover, he had originally shared a quite good relationship with the Eighth Prince.

As one should know, in the beginning, Yongzheng only had some reservations regarding the Primary Consort of the Eighth Prince, and it was only later, due to the power struggles of the succession, that minor frictions between the two turned into major conflicts.

Now that the dust had settled, coupled with the Eighth Prince's proactive choice to compromise, Yongzheng was very willing at this moment to display the magnanimity and poise expected of a Son of Heaven.

Thus, upon receiving the two memorials of confession of wrongdoing from Hongchun and Xiao Yongzao, Yongzheng took the initiative to smile and say to the Eighth Prince:

"Eighth Brother, look at this. Hongchun and Senior Official Xiao certainly know when to advance and when to retreat. After Sixteenth Uncle, Twenty-first Uncle, and Hongli reminded them, they are actually willing to take the initiative to confess their wrongdoing!"

"This makes it hard for Us to hold it against them after all, seeing as one is Our nephew and the other is a veteran minister of the court!"

Following this, Yongzheng stood up with a beaming face, stroked his chin, and said, "It's good that they can recognize their mistakes in time!"

"As long as they continue to loyally serve imperial affairs, We are not averse to giving them a chance to turn over a new leaf!"

As it turned out, after being reminded by Hongli, Hongchun and Xiao Yongzao had returned and hurriedly submitted their memorials of confession to Yongzheng through the night.

Because after being rebuked by Hongli, they understood that Hongli's words appeared on the surface to be about them not knowing the rules, but were in reality a threat.

If they did not take the initiative to admit their wrongdoing to Yongzheng, Hongli would take the initiative to lodge a complaint against them.

Therefore, Yongzheng received their confession memorials the very next day.

The Eighth Prince also stood up at this moment and said, "Fourth Brother is entirely correct. According to what they wrote in these confession memorials, it was Hongli who advised them with the grand principles of ruler and subject, causing them to suddenly see the light—which is truly rare! It seems that Hongli, despite his youth, can distinguish right from wrong when it comes to major issues!"

Just as Yinxiang still addressed him as Fourth Brother, Yongzheng, after becoming emperor, also requested that the Eighth Prince continue to address him as Fourth Brother, intending to demonstrate that he would not neglect fraternal bonds simply because he had ascended the throne.

Therefore, the Eighth Brother continued to address Yongzheng as Fourth Brother.

"Eighth Brother is right, it is all Hongli's merit!"

"What is even rarer is that he did not choose to come to Me to complain about Hongchun and Senior Official Xiao, but instead persuaded them to confess voluntarily. This shows he knows that eliminating rifts is far more important than intensifying internal strife!"