Chapter 76: The Qing Dynasty's Comprehensive Jade World

  Yaksha's filial piety ended and it was already the fifth year of Yongzheng. He hadn't even had time to submit his resignation when he wanted to spend a few more leisurely days with Songli, but he was directly caught by Yongzheng and sent back to the Imperial Household Department as a strong soldier. Although the Imperial Household Department was no longer as chaotic as it used to be after Yaksha's rectification, it was still very different from when he was there during his three-year absence.

  As the first person in the imperial palace, Yongzheng felt most intuitively. In the past when he followed Kangxi, everything he used was top-notch, but the Imperial Household Department not only didn't have a deficit every year, and the output of the imperial family's farms and shops were quite good, with considerable profits.

  In the three years since Ya Ge left, things were fine at first, but gradually the quality of goods has been declining, and annual profits have been decreasing. However, the people he sent to investigate couldn't find any problems, even in the sticky situations, they just reported that the timing was bad, resulting in low yields and decreasing profits year by year.

  If Eighth Brother doesn't behave and show filial piety, Yongzheng is ready to go directly to the Zhuangzi and drag him out!

  Thanks to the existence of Yasheng, at the end of Kangxi's reign, neither the national treasury nor the imperial household had a deficit as severe as in history. Especially when Yasheng was in charge of the Ministry of Revenue, with Kangxi's trust and without any ulterior motives, all the owed silver was recovered.

  Unlike Hei Feng's straightforwardness, Ya Ge's gentle surface hid extremely ruthless means, which the families being pursued for debt repayment deeply recognized. From initially needing him to come to their homes for tea, to later everyone proactively returning the owed silver to the national treasury.

  No more debts, and with the help of this financial godfather, the imperial family has opened up new revenue streams, and the national treasury is very full. It's natural that Yongzheng wouldn't become an emperor who confiscates property, and also, because of the clean and efficient way he handled the case of the Imperial Bodyguards in the past, officials still have a lingering fear.

  Although the young master has gone to the suburbs of Beijing to observe mourning rites, the current emperor still trusts him extremely. Who knows that after the mourning period is over, he might be appointed to a new official position and make them cry out in anguish? The officials are more cunning than those who can only serve as slaves for the imperial family, and while they cannot avoid being greedy, as long as they do not cross the bottom line too much, those above will turn a blind eye.

  Indeed, the newly appointed Grand Minister of Internal Affairs, Prince Qing, launched another massive purge as soon as he took office. Although this time it was relatively short-lived and didn't quite reach the scale of the numerous household purges during Kangxi's reign. From then on, under the joint efforts of several princes, the Qing dynasty flourished day by day. Some people broke free from their historical trajectory, while others continued to follow theirs.

  In the eighth year of Yongzheng, Prince Yi Xiang died; in the ninth year of Yongzheng, Empress Ulanara died. Then in the thirteenth year of Yongzheng, Yongzheng passed away in the Qianqing Palace, and the fourth son of Xi Guifei, Hongli, succeeded to the throne, changing the era name to Qianlong the following year.

  This emperor, although somewhat clever, was not as wise and powerful as Kangxi, nor as diligent as Yongzheng. He was arrogant and had a small mind, and would hold grudges for life if things didn't go his way. At first, he did well on the surface, taking on the responsibilities of an emperor, but as time passed and he firmly grasped imperial power in his hands, he began to quietly suppress his uncles.

  Only Ya Ge, Yin Tan and Yin San's families emerged unscathed from this purge. Ya Ge knew the nature of Qianlong early on and had made arrangements, while his two younger brothers followed him closely whether it was during Yongzheng's reign or Qianlong's succession, so he naturally had to instruct them as well.

  In the third year of Qianlong, the three men jointly submitted their resignations and gave up their actual positions, returning home to enjoy their later years. Yage also let Hongxue retire due to his own iron-hat king title, without a real position. Qianlong, who was narrow-minded and had a small heart, finally spared the three families in this suppression.

  As for Yongzheng's other brothers, Yajiao also privately greeted them, but they didn't believe it and couldn't do anything about it. Hongli had always been good at pretending, and when Yongzheng was still around, his attitude towards his uncles was very respectful. Even in the first two years after he took power, he was very indulgent towards them. But this time... not only did they lose their actual power, but their titles were also suppressed to varying degrees. The better ones were only demoted one level, while those with particularly bad relationships were almost completely stripped of their titles.

  Watching all this, Yajiao just sneered and closed the door, living a good life with Song Ge.

  In the fifth year of Qianlong, Songge Ri, who was fifty-six years old by the Chinese calendar, passed away with a smile in his sleep. Yage, who looked like he was only around forty despite being sixty years old, fell seriously ill and although he eventually recovered, he handed over the management of the Prince's estate to Hongxue and his wife, and retired to the countryside.

  He claimed to outsiders that he didn't want to continue living in this place with Song Zhi, but in fact, he was preparing for the branch task arranged by the system from the very beginning.

  Songguri was the only true companion that Yagao had truly loved in his recent few task worlds, but he had already adjusted his mentality long ago. Songguri was just his companion in this task world, she couldn't always be by his side. For her departure, he was only a little sad and reluctant to part with her. After all, no matter how clear-headed he was, he was still emotional, he couldn't let go that quickly.

  Although his illness was caused by his own actions, he didn't want to see anyone else at that time. In the end, what he loved most was himself, and for the sake of the mission, he even used Songlei's death. Yage stood in the courtyard, gazing up at the full moon hanging in the sky, narrowing her eyes - if it weren't for that damn side quest, she should have left this task world long ago!

  The main task of Liang Fei and Ba Fu Jin's happiness has been completed, but the branch task of Qiong Yao's character is still hanging high on the system interface! Although some things were originally what Ya Ge wanted to do, he was still beautifully angry.

  The fate of Qianlong and some characters can be predicted from this.

  In the 25th year of Qianlong's reign, the 50-year-old emperor brought his son and a group of officials to Xishan for a hunting trip. However, he ended up bringing back an injured young girl to the palace and adopted her as his own daughter, bestowing upon her the title of Rouran Hezhuo Gege. This marked the beginning of the story in Qiong Yao's novel. At the same time, Yage, who was already 80 years old but still robust and energetic, put down the paper in his hand and burst out laughing with great amusement.

  For twenty years, Qianlong has been increasingly tolerant of him, and although he has offended the Aixinjueluo clan with his great power, he can only watch coldly. He even sealed three kings of different surnames because of a small matter, which made his relationship with the imperial clan almost reach the freezing point.

  Of course, Qianlong himself was unaware of this. He had already lost himself in the flattery and sycophancy of the imperial concubines and high-ranking officials of the previous dynasty. At most, he just felt that the princes were becoming less and less troublesome for him, which was a great blessing for him!

  It's okay, both Prince Qi and Prince Yu have already died in battle, leaving behind only one orphaned daughter each. Now, the orphaned daughter of Prince Qi, Lan Xiang, is being raised under the name of Empress Dowager Ula Nara, while the orphaned daughter of Prince Yu, Qing Er, is being taught by Empress Dowager Niohuru. Upon saying this, Ya Ge couldn't help but sigh again.

  They were all the orphaned children of princes, one was the empress's adopted daughter, and when she got married, she could be granted the title of Heqie Princess. One said that she was favored by the empress dowager, but in reality, she did the work of a senior palace maid. Yage really didn't know what Qianlong was thinking, if he wanted to take care of the orphaned children of Zhonglie, shouldn't they all be adopted as daughters? But because Nian Xialing liked her, Qing'er was left by her side!

  If the old lady is really lonely, wouldn't Emperor Qianlong have a daughter of just the right age to give her to raise?!

  These two orphaned princes of different surnames are still fine, but what left everyone speechless is the Duke Rui's wife, Fu Cha. She has no talent to speak of, yet she puts on a high and mighty air as if looking down on everyone else. Her inner courtyard is in complete disarray. It's true that noble families value their legitimate sons, but even when they treat their illegitimate children poorly, it's usually done discreetly. Who would do it so openly like the Duke Rui's wife, Xue Ru, making sure everyone knows about her illegitimate son's misdeeds?

  The Duke Rong and the Duchess are both out of tune, one will invite a Hui ethnic minority dancer to be sealed as a concubine, and the other has no dignity as the mistress! And their two sons' names are even better, one is Hao Zheng, and the other is Hao Xiang. Even if Qianlong doesn't get along with his talented uncles, can he really give such names?

  Yue Li never thought that the name he gave his son would conflict, and Qianlong also didn't notice, instead praising Xiao Zhen's bravery and martial arts skills when he was six years old for catching a white fox and then releasing it.

  Yahuo thinks it's a pity that the versatile and talented Qianlong is so worthless in Kangxi and Yongzheng's eyes, if they knew about this, wouldn't they be so angry that they would come back to life from their coffins?

  "Sir, the two girls you summoned are here." A white-haired old man with a somewhat shrill voice stood up and said respectfully.

  "Let them in." Yage burned the note, "Su Peisheng, let others do these things, pay more attention to your old arms and legs."

  Su Peisheng smiled, his face full of wrinkles but unexpectedly not unattractive: "The most useful person by your side is still me. At the beginning, I had to leave you and serve under the previous emperor, it's not easy to come back now, can't you let me do a bit more?"

  Yage helplessly shook his head, he really had no way with this loyal and dedicated old eunuch. In the past, in order to take care of Liang Fei, he had mistakenly saved a small eunuch in the palace, from then on, the eunuch became Yage's subordinate in order to repay him.

  Originally, I wanted to find time to bring this little eunuch to my side, but as a result, Kangxi took the lead and assigned this little eunuch to the Fourth Prince's mansion. At that time, even Yaqi didn't think that this little eunuch would be given the name Su Peisheng by Yongzheng, and eventually became his most trusted general eunuch. However, it was also because of this eunuch that many of Yaqi's plans were able to proceed so smoothly.

  Yongzheng was after all a astute person, if it wasn't for the several hidden chess pieces arranged by Yaqi early on, perhaps later some things would have been discovered. Mainly because after Kangxi left, Yaqi's nerves which had been tense for a long time relaxed slightly, and as a result almost caused big trouble.

  The door curtain was lifted, and two slender girls walked in. Especially the one being supported, a pair of big watery eyes seemed to be crying and misty at the same time, making men can't help but feel a few points of pity.

  Two women were sizing up Yage with trepidation and caution. When a group of eunuchs and guards arrived at the brothel, they thought that Xiangyun had succeeded in her escape and Emperor Qianlong had come to take them into the palace. But it turned out not to be so. They were taken to a villa on the outskirts of Beijing, where an elderly eunuch said that their master wanted to see her.

  No matter what, having a eunuch attend to one side was definitely an imperial family member. Xia Ziyu still raised a few points of hope. Perhaps this eunuch's "master" was the person her father Qianlong had sent to take care of her?

  "Xia Ziwei?" Yage still sized each other up, took a sip of tea, and spoke in a light tone.

  She pursed her lips, and Xia Ziwai pushed open the golden lock, stood up straight, and bowed: "I am a commoner."

  "I am Aixinjueluo Yinxiang." Putting down the tea bowl, Yage said so, but made Xia Ziyu and Jin Suo's eyes widen.

  Although the current Emperor is no longer the same as before, his reputation and prestige are still remembered by many people. Xia Yuhe may not have been very good at educating her daughter, but most of the important figures in the imperial family had roughly told her about it.

  He must be over eighty years old, but why does he look so young? Could they have been deceived? Xia Ziwai's pupils contracted slightly as she quietly leaned in a bit closer.

  Ignoring the two girls' fright, Yage continued to throw out thunder: "Do you know? The emperor has just recognized a adopted daughter as Huanzhu Gege and will take her to worship heaven in a few days. This gege, named Xiaoyanzi, comes from the banks of Daming Lake."

  Author has something to say: Thank you Red Dust Guest for the rocket cannon and landmine, thank you eblue for the landmine, hug Crazy Momo~

  Song Ge's age was already considered long-lived in that era, so don't feel regretful, she couldn't have accompanied Ya Ge for much longer anyway.

  Even with a few points of fondness, she was just Yakumo's mission target.

  The Book of Songs has been gradually arranged since several years ago, and now more than 70 years have passed. Finally, his wish can be realized while completing the task.

  The Qing dynasty is bound to perish, and at such an advanced age, it's impossible for him to become emperor again.

  So in the end it will be the Twelfth Prince who becomes the first monarch of constitutional monarchy, and reform will officially begin!