Rong Fei is not honored

Chapter 711 The Supernatural Powers Were Withheld

"Say Yin Cha Hun!" Kangxi's voice was full of threat.

Emperor Kangxi was unwilling to lash out at Saiyinchahun in front of outsiders. As the emperor, even the slightest like or dislike would be magnified. If Saiyinchahun were punished in public today, his absurd reputation would spread throughout the capital before tomorrow.

Therefore, even if this wretched child needed to be disciplined, it should be done in private. Kangxi warned Saiyinchahun, wanting him to relinquish his supernatural powers, and then casually found an excuse to give the father and son a way out.

"Father Emperor?" Saiyinchahun tilted his head, looking at his father with his wet eyes, which were filled with innocence.

Seeing this, everyone began to doubt themselves. Had they misunderstood? Was the prince not deliberately playing a trick on them, but genuinely doing it out of kindness? But they had only ever heard that this prince was a troublemaker, never that he had any mental problems!

That makes sense. In any family, having a child with mental problems would be a scandal, let alone in the royal family. Consort Rong and Prince Chengrui are favored, so it's possible that they might keep Prince Saiyinchahun out of consideration for them; the royal family can afford to raise him.

Yes, that's absolutely right!

No wonder His Majesty indulged his son's mischief in the Forbidden City; no wonder that out of so many children in Zhongcui Palace, only this son was sent to Shou Kang Palace to be raised; no wonder the Empress Dowager gave Prince Saiyinchahun such a special name.

Looking at the utterly sincere Prince Saiyinchahun, they all believed he was a pure and harmless good child, and then completed the logical self-consistency in their minds.

Some people were looking at Songgotu with suspicion. They didn't know the prince's situation, but the Hesheli family, with their extensive influence, certainly did. So, was Songgotu's preemptive strike to expose this secret?

This is so unfair! Soetu himself isn't afraid of offending the Emperor, but he doesn't care about them at all? They have absolutely no desire to know the secrets of the royal family.

Or should we just play dumb and get away with it?

So the question is, did they remain silent, or did they praise the prince for being filial to his father and considerate of his subjects?

Seeing the changing expressions in the eyes of his ministers below, Kangxi closed his eyes, feeling utterly hopeless.

Now, Chengrui was truly panicked. If even his father didn't care, what would become of Saiyinchahun today? Was it too late to ask his mother for help? No, no, with so many officials present, his mother couldn't come.

"Sainchahun, take all the charcoal braziers out!" Cheng Rui glanced at Liang Jiugong, who was pretending to be dead, and knew that he couldn't bypass his father and directly order the palace servants of Qianqing Palace. So he thought that he should let Sainchahun clean up the situation himself, so that he could at least salvage the situation a little.

"Brother, don't worry. Although red charcoal and silver frost charcoal are precious, there is plenty in the palace. We won't run out."

Cheng Rui was about to say something when Kangxi, realizing something was amiss, interrupted him, "Sainchahun, what do you want to say?"

Soetu sneered, "What else can we say? The court has been exhausted by the natural disasters these days, so they complained a bit. I'm afraid the prince heard it and is now retaliating against us."

Cheng Rui retorted without holding back, "I've heard that Lord Suo is quite capable, which is why he was able to suppress the late Emperor's mother's biological father, make his own brother the head of the Hesheli family, and make the Crown Prince more affectionate towards you, his maternal uncle, rather than his maternal grandfather..."

"What does this mean, brother?" Soetu's face darkened.

"It doesn't mean anything, I just wanted to remind Lord Suo that if you can slander the Emperor without any evidence, then you are definitely not as good as me at spreading rumors."

Soetu's face turned green. Although Prince Chengrui admitted that he was spreading rumors, he also labeled his words as "rumors".

Moreover, he even threatened him, no longer bothering to pretend, and bluntly warned him that if he continued to "slander" his brother without providing concrete evidence, he would dare to retaliate by spreading rumors.

Soetu could only suffer a setback, not because he was afraid of a mere child, but because Prince Chengrui had Consort Rong standing behind him. Although she couldn't exert any influence in the court, she was powerful in the harem...

Leaving aside the threat to the Crown Prince's position, we also need to consider the power of influence from his wife's pillow talk. It's just a verbal dispute; what harm is there in taking a step back?

Prince Chengrui's words could be described as presumptuous, but His Majesty made no response whatsoever, not even a superficial gesture, which shows His Majesty's attitude towards Suo'etu.

Even so, it seems that Songgotu is still unaware of his predicament, or perhaps, even if he is aware, he doesn't care? Could it be that he really thinks the Crown Prince is the Hesheli family's get-out-of-jail-free card?

Many people think this way, but they seem to have forgotten that it was clearly Suo'etu who provoked them. Cheng Rui's words were outrageous, so Suo'etu suddenly became disciplined?

Kangxi was speaking to his son, so why was Suo'etu interrupting? Besides, Suo'etu was bullying his own son. Even if the other party wasn't Suo'etu, but a trusted confidant, Kangxi would still stand up for his son.

Emperor Kangxi's eyelids drooped, obscuring the expression in his eyes.

“Sainchahun, continue.”

Sainchahun smiled innocently, as if he hadn't noticed the exchange between Suo'etu and his elder brother just now.

"Father is the master of the Golden Palace, civil and military officials are the pillars supporting the palace, and local officials are the tiles that shelter from the wind and rain. In the past, I thought that the people under the rule of my Great Qing were the bricks that formed the foundation."

But after listening to the ministers these days, I realized that my son was wrong. How could commoners be floor tiles? They are not even qualified to be the charcoal in the charcoal brazier. At best, they are just consumables for burning charcoal.

Our Great Qing Empire has a vast territory and countless people under its rule, requiring an immense amount of resources! Therefore, Father Emperor, you need not worry about running out of charcoal; there is plenty.

Children's innocent words usually don't attract much attention, but when Prince Saiyinchahun compared the common people to consumables, everyone was stunned, and then felt a burning pain on their faces.

How embarrassing!

I initially thought the prince was just fooling around, but I never expected him to be using this way to satirize their disregard for the lives of ordinary people. Being lectured by a nine-year-old child was truly humiliating.

Some people tried to defend themselves, saying, "Natural disasters are merciless, and their harm is unpredictable. If we were to take all the people into account, the court would have to expend an unknown amount of manpower and resources."

“Yes, yes, Sainchahun knows, Sainchahun understands. It’s too much of a loss to spend so much money to save the people who are being used as expendable resources. It’s not worth it.”

"No, that's not how it's said..."

No matter how the others explained, Saiyinchahun always had an air of "Yes, I know you're right," and then emphasized how lowly the common people were, how it was a waste to spend so much effort to save them, and how the lords were all far-sighted and skilled in calculation.