Changsheng: Peak at the Beginning

Chapter 153: Legend of Zhen Huan 25

The emperor did not really intend to let Ma Qi be solely responsible for recovering the debts owed to the national treasury. In fact, he also knew that with Ma Qi's ability, he could at least recover half of the debt. After all, judging from the memorials submitted by Ma Qi, Ma Qi really had an idea, but because of the presence of Concubine Jin and the Sixth Prince in the harem, he could not be too prominent.

That's right. Following Yi Xin's reminder, Ma Qi divided the debtors into three categories. The first category was those who had some money at home to support their spending, but because it was easier to get money from the treasury, they borrowed heavily from the treasury; the second category was those who had temporary difficulties at home and really needed cash flow, so they borrowed money from the treasury and could guarantee to pay it back in full later; then of course the next category was those who borrowed money from the treasury due to temporary difficulties, but could not pay it back afterwards.

Finally, there are those who borrow money and can pay it back at any time just to blend in with the crowd.

Ma Qi really worked hard. He even made a detailed classification of those who could pay back the money and those who could not but could use their family property to offset the debt. The emperor felt embarrassed to make things difficult for Ma Qi after seeing this. When Ma Qi was ill, the emperor went to visit him in person and had a deep talk with Ma Qi.

Ma Qi also admitted that now that Yi Xin in the palace has given the emperor a healthy-looking sixth prince, the Fucha clan's glory is at its peak, and the only flaw is that the next generation has not grown up yet. But when the sixth prince grows up, maybe the next generation of the Fucha clan will also grow up.

"...There are precedents of such wealth and glory as the Guarjia clan, the Niuhuru clan, the Hesheli clan, and the Tonggiya clan. Although the Fucha clan wants glory and power, I am still clear-headed and know the huge hidden dangers behind such glory and power. I have no intention of usurping power, and neither do the Fucha clan members. But if the Fucha clan can really achieve glory to that extent, I think it would be a relief..."

These words were so blunt and bold that the emperor could not help but believe them. Recalling Yi Xin's indifference to fame and fortune in the palace, the emperor had to admit that the Fucha family was indeed very enviable.

As soon as the emperor was happy, this huge reward went into the pockets of Chengqian Palace and Ma Qi. Among the concubines above the rank of concubine in the palace, only Wanpin expressed envy and jealousy. Everyone else hated Yi Xin, especially Hua Fei and the Queen.

In the previous dynasty, Concubine Hua had a very capable brother, Nian Gengyao. The war in Junggar depended entirely on the efforts of General Nian, so she only thought that the emperor rewarded Ma Qi in order to divide the power of the Nian family. She was afraid that Yi Xin would be led astray by her parents' family even after she had a prince, because she was following this path.

The queen was worried that her position as queen would be shaken by Yi Xin. After all, Yi Xin's family background was several times better than hers, especially when the Ulanara family was dwindling and the Fucha family was getting better and better. Most importantly, Yi Xin had a healthy prince of her own!

The Queen couldn't do anything to Yi Xin, because she was under close watch by the Queen Mother in the harem, but she could instigate Concubine Qi to harm others. She didn't even have to say anything in person, she just had to ask someone to whisper in Concubine Qi's ear. It was true that Concubine Qi didn't dare to do anything else to harm others, but if it was for the future of her son Hongshi, she would dare to do anything.

When spring came and flowers bloomed, the sixth prince Hongsheng was already a child of seven or eight months old. With the occasional feeding from Yi Xin, he could crawl very swiftly. The emperor was very happy about this. Sometimes when he was tired of reviewing memorials, he liked to take Hongsheng to him to cultivate the father-son relationship and relax at the same time.

Therefore, the person the Queen found only whispered in Concubine Qi's ear once, saying things like "The Sixth Prince is the Emperor's favorite prince" and "The Sixth Prince is from a prominent Manchu family and has the greatest chance of inheriting the throne in the future", which made Concubine Qi consider taking action against the Sixth Prince.

As long as the weather was good, Yi Xin would take Hong Sheng out to play, so with Concubine Qi's attention, it was easy for her to get close to Hong Sheng. However, Concubine Qi's ill will towards Hong Sheng was very obvious in Yi Xin's eyes. She would not stop Hong Sheng from going out or contacting other people just because of Concubine Qi. She would only wait for a suitable opportunity to make an example of Concubine Qi.

In Yi Xin's eyes, Concubine Qi is a very contradictory person. She is only in her early thirties this year, but the emperor has completely disliked her. If she had not given birth to Hongshi, the emperor's de facto eldest son, the emperor might not want to see her.

She was very kind to her son Hongshi, so kind that she even forgot that if she took action against other princes, she and her family would suffer.

Moreover, she looked like a reckless person, but in fact, if she felt that someone threatened Hongshi's position, she would kill that person directly. However, until now, only Hongsheng made her feel threatened, so even though Hongsheng was a little fat boy who was loved by everyone, Concubine Qi still had no hesitation in wanting to kill him.

After realizing Concubine Qi's ill will towards Hong Sheng, Yi Xin had been asking the system and Xizhu to pay attention to the news from Concubine Qi. However, the system was more convenient. It was the first to discover that Concubine Qi had obtained a small bottle of juice soaked in oleander leaves, and the one who worked for her was a little maid in the cold palace.

With the help of the system's tracking, Yi Xin confirmed that the little palace maid was exactly the Queen's own person.

So, even though Hua Fei has been the one who is actually in charge of affairs most of the time since she entered the palace, most of the people she has gathered were hired by her at great expense. If someone more generous and powerful than Hua Fei comes along, those people will most likely go elsewhere, so Hua Fei actually does not have many people she can use.

But it was different for the Empress. Ulanara originally did not have many capable people in the harem, but she later extended a helping hand to the Empress Dowager when she was in power. Therefore, almost all the people trained by the Empress Dowager over the years were used by Ulanara.

Concubine Qi came to Yi Xin and Hong Sheng with a plate of snacks poisoned with oleander. Hong Sheng had been taught by Yi Xin since he started eating complementary food that he should not eat anything delicious casually, so even though he smelled the sweet taste and was drooling, he still just looked at it with great excitement, sucking his fingers.

Before Yi Xin could say anything, Concubine Yue got angry first: "What are you doing here today, Concubine Qi? You pinched the Sixth Prince in public yesterday, and it's not over yet. Concubine Jin didn't go to the Emperor to complain for the sake of the Third Prince, otherwise you would still be able to go out today?"

Concubine Qi, a concubine, was scolded by Noble Lady Yue like this, of course she would not tolerate it, but she had brought something to harm the Sixth Prince today, so she could not help but scold Noble Lady Yue in a timid way out of guilt: "Concubine Jin hasn't said anything yet, what do you have to do with this, Noble Lady Yue?!"

Yi Xin snorted coldly and said to Concubine Qi: "Concubine Qi, I respect you for serving the emperor. I want to remind you that some things are not as simple as they seem."

Concubine Qi had a quick wit at this time. She pushed the cakes on the stone table and said to Yi Xin with forced calmness: "I also know that I was wrong yesterday, so I brought some cakes today to apologize to you and Sixth Prince..."