The Destiny of Going to Hell

Chapter 194: Startling Steps 8 Fu Jin 24

The assassination has been investigated almost thoroughly, and the result is that the White Lotus Sect and the Tiandihui were colluding with each other.

Minghui was lying on the couch embroidering a bellyband for her unborn baby, but when she heard the news, she felt something was wrong.

Although the trip and return were grand, there were of course tricks and confidentiality involved. How was it that the White Lotus Sect and the Heaven and Earth Society knew the specific itinerary and even knew exactly where to ambush?

There must be something fishy going on here.

Cuizhi sighed, "The White Lotus Sect and the Heaven and Earth Society are so rampant!"

Minghui's face was very calm. "The White Lotus Sect has a history of nearly a thousand years. Although the Tiandihui was founded less recently than the White Lotus Sect, its degree of harm is no less than that of the White Lotus Sect."

Cuizhi asked in confusion, "Why is the White Lotus Sect so powerful that no dynasty has been able to wipe it out?"

"Because the White Lotus Sect is not just a sect, but a general term for all folk sects. As long as it is a folk sect that promises to save the poor masses, believe in the Old Mother, and establish a paradise on earth, it can call itself the White Lotus Sect."

"That's why the members of the White Lotus Sect are springing up like bamboo shoots after a rain. They can't be killed or slain. After a thousand years, they still have a huge influence."

Lan Yue was curious, "What about the heaven and earth meeting?"

"As for the Tiandihui, they are a group of lunatics who want to overthrow the Qing Dynasty and restore the Ming Dynasty! The Tiandihui, also known as the Hongmen, has a very wide influence among the people with the purpose of overthrowing the Qing Dynasty and restoring the Ming Dynasty."

"The members of the Tiandihui are spread across all social classes, including officials, merchants and farmers. They protect their own interests through secret associations and strict organizational discipline."

"Compared to the White Lotus Sect, it is a greater threat because although the White Lotus Sect has participated in rebellions in every dynasty, it has never succeeded in any dynasty."

"But the Tiandihui is under the banner of overthrowing the Qing Dynasty and restoring the Ming Dynasty, and it has a lot of response among the people. Although it will not cause any serious damage to our Qing Dynasty, it is like a maggot attached to our bones and is extremely disgusting."

Cuizhi and Lanyue were both indignant. "No matter how powerful the White Lotus Sect and the Heaven and Earth Society are, they are no match for the imperial court. They actually dared to assassinate His Majesty and the Empress. They are simply courting death!"

In the evening, Kangxi came to accompany Minghui for dinner and happened to talk about this matter. After thinking for a moment, he said, "Perhaps there was negligence in management and the news was accidentally leaked."

Minghui thought of a crucial point. She said, "If the news is leaked, it means there may be accomplices in the Ministry of Internal Affairs."

Kangxi nodded in agreement, "Hui'er's words make sense. I will ask people to pay more attention to it."

"Xuanye, you must not underestimate the Imperial Household Department. In fact, this is the government office with the most employees in our Qing Dynasty. It is like a huge beehive, densely packed with people."

Minghui looked serious, "Although they are just servants of the royal family, their tentacles are extremely long and they are too close to the royal family."

Kangxi actually didn't care much about Minghui's words. After all, a slave is a slave, no matter how bad things turn out, he is still a slave.

How can the dynasty be shaken?

"It seems that they don't directly interfere in the affairs of the court, but in fact, their shadows are everywhere in the court. Many places have been quietly infiltrated by them, just like a group of invisible bees, silently building their network."

Minghui enumerated, "Let's not talk about anything else. Concubine Hui was born in a bondservant family. Her father held an important position in the Ministry of Internal Affairs and held a lot of real power."

"De Fei, her grandfather and father both worked in the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The power of her family should not be underestimated."

"Concubine Yi, although her father is not working in the Ministry of Internal Affairs, many relatives of the Guoluo family are in the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and the relationship is complicated."

"Rong Fei is also a bannerman from the Imperial Household Department, and has a close relationship with the Imperial Household Department."

"If you think about it carefully, the four concubines are all from bannermen families, and they all have close ties with the Imperial Household Department."

Listening to Minghui's detailed analysis and examples, Kangxi's eyes widened. If Minghui hadn't said it, he really wouldn't have noticed it!

"Xuanye, don't you think there might be something wrong here? Is the Ministry of Internal Affairs secretly manipulating something, or are they using these concubines to place some pawns in the court? These questions are worth our deep consideration."

Kangxi's brows were tightly knitted together, and his eyes revealed a thoughtful look, as if he was weighing every word Minghui said in his mind.

"In addition to them, there are also quite a few concubines who were born in Baoyi families! Moreover, among the princes and princesses who are still alive today, the birth mothers of most of them were also born in Baoyi families, and their relationship with the Ministry of Internal Affairs is also very close."

Minghui made a straightforward analysis: "As for those concubines who were born into the Eight Banners noble families, their families may have had intricate connections with the Baoyi."

"Who can ensure that these people are not colluding with each other? And the Imperial Household Department, as the final destination of the bannermen, has a lot of water behind it!"

Hearing Minghui's words, Kangxi broke out in a cold sweat.

He immediately adopted Minghui's suggestion and said gratefully: "Thank you Huier for your reminder. I now understand. The Ministry of Internal Affairs does need to be restrained and cannot be allowed to continue to expand its power. No matter who is involved in the assassination this time, the Ministry of Internal Affairs should conduct a thorough cleanup and rectification."

Kangxi thought about it and felt that restricting the Imperial Household Department was of great significance to the political stability of the dynasty.

As the institution in charge of palace and royal affairs in the Qing Dynasty, the Imperial Household Department had extensive and complex functions, involving many affairs within the palace and the inner court. It had a huge organization and many subordinate officials.

By restricting the Imperial Household Department, we can prevent it from gaining too much power and becoming a factor of political instability, thus maintaining the rule of imperial power and the stability of the court.

And most importantly, he also participated in assisting foreign affairs through the Ministry of Internal Affairs and its staff, established relatively direct interaction and contact with missionaries, obtained Western news, and then formulated and implemented missionary policies.

Therefore, restricting the Imperial Household Department would not only help maintain internal stability, but also help it better handle external affairs and consolidate its ruling position.

Minghui realized that his goal had been achieved, so he said no more, for fear that too much talk would lead to mistakes and thus backfire.

She gently picked up the fragrant pigeon soup on the table and served a bowl to Kangxi. The soup was steaming and had an attractive sheen of oil.

Afterwards, she began to taste the delicacies on the table with a satisfied smile on her lips. Kangxi slowly finished the bowl of pigeon soup, with a hint of satisfaction flashing in his eyes.

It is these ordinary days that soothe people's hearts.

He stood up and said a brief goodbye to Minghui. Then he turned and left, walking steadily towards the imperial study.

Minghui still slowly enjoyed the food in front of her, chewing every bite meticulously, but her heart was like the surging waves, difficult to calm down.

She was sure that in this assassination incident, one of the four concubines must have taken advantage of the opportunity to fish in troubled waters, and might even be the mastermind behind it!

This thought pierced her heart like ice, making her feel a chill.

It was Cuizhi and Lanyue's words that were like a flash of lightning that cut through the fog in Minghui's heart.

She suddenly realized why the arrow in the previous assassination attempt on Kangxi was shot straight at her?

Perhaps, from the very beginning, this assassination was not just aimed at Kangxi, but someone secretly planned it and intended to eliminate her as well!

What's worse, maybe someone wants to take this opportunity to catch them all in one fell swoop!