It was said that Eldest Prince Yinzhi was quite handsome and straightforward by nature, earning him the title "Prince Direct."
It was this very Prince Direct who had brought down the Crown Prince, giving the other brothers a chance to vie for the heir's position. Yet he himself was stripped of his title and placed under house arrest for using sorcery.
Sorcerey mainly involved "praying" for someone else's misfortune, but at its core, it was no different from burying little wooden effigies. It was also highly suitable for framing others.
By Kangxi's generation, the Qing Dynasty had become very wary of the Central Plains' witchcraft, especially as Kangxi grew old.
Eldest Prince Yinzhi was nothing like Kangxi. Instead, he resembled the Qing regime beyond the pass—ignorant and rough. At only eighteen, he followed his uncle Fuquan on campaign against Galdan. Perhaps Kangxi had hoped he would learn more from Fuquan.
Unfortunately, Eldest Prince Yinzhi failed to grasp the lesson. Or perhaps he was unwilling to remain merely a great general-prince and insisted on fighting the Crown Prince to mutual destruction.
Nalan Mingzhu was not unrelated to this. Behind the struggle between Eldest Prince Yinzhi and the Crown Prince over the succession lay the conflict between the Ming Party and the Suo Party.
After their weddings, the imperial princes had to move out of the palace and live in princely residences outside. Among ordinary people, it was like sons each starting their own families, while the father would ultimately live with one son. That son would inherit everything his father left behind, especially the ancestral home, where the brothers would still gather during holidays and festivals.
Other families were lively and harmonious, an enviable sight. In Kangxi's fiftieth year, a Banquet of a Thousand Elders was held. All those elders had