Chapter 136: When Yulang returned home in the evening, Yi'an had gone to the palace again. That afternoon, Gao Lai…

When Yulang returned home in the evening, Yi'an went to the palace again.

In the afternoon, Gao Laixi's godson came by and said that the eldest prince had been acting strangely all afternoon in Yuqing Palace, and that Yi'an had to go back to the palace to calm him down.

"Hey, did you find out about what I asked you to find out last time? Is there anything wrong with the First Prince?"

When Yu Lang ascended to the position of Minister of Revenue, he was only thirty-seven years old. He had been busy for over ten years, thinking he would have to keep working, but it wasn't until he actually became Minister of Revenue that he realized that once he reached a certain position, there weren't as many specific things to do.

"Madam is going a bit too far. How can such things be so easily found out? Do you think I would openly ask the First Prince if he has homosexual desires?"

Speaking of this, Yu Lang felt a headache coming on. A few days ago, Shen Wanqing mysteriously pulled him aside and said with a serious face that she wanted to discuss a very important and sensitive issue with him.

In that instant, Yu Lang's neck went numb, and a shiver ran through his body, causing goosebumps to rise up his tailbone. He even wondered if some rumors about him that he himself didn't know had been spread outside, and someone had reported it to Shen Wanqing.

It wasn't until Shen Wanqing whispered her doubts into his ear that Lord Yu was so startled he almost jumped up on the spot.

Yu Lang never expected that Shen Wanqing would think of going to this place; she dared to say it, but no one dared to listen. However, Shen Wanqing asked in a very serious tone, so Yu Lang had no choice but to agree.

I thought she would just ask and forget about it in a few days. Who would have thought that almost two months have passed and she would bring it up again.

"Did Dai Jia send you some new books recently, or did those storytellers find something new somewhere? Why are you asking about this again?"

"No, don't blame everything on her. It was only last time, right...?"

"Right? Right what? I think Grandma has been living too leisurely these past two years. Why don't you find something to keep her busy?"

Since Yinreng ascended the throne, Shen Wanqing immediately began to scale back all her businesses.

Back then, from the southeast to Shengjing and even the entire northwest desert, Shen Wanqing wanted to reach out like an octopus everywhere. In the end, she was still unsure where she would be exiled if she were really implicated in the matter of the deposed crown prince.

Now that the dust has settled and Yinreng has successfully ascended the throne as Crown Prince, the situation is about to change. Could the wife of the Minister of Revenue be a miser? Could she be so greedy, constantly taking advantage of the people? In time, even without impeachment by the censors, Emperor Yinreng would be the first to object.

So in the first year of Yuanzheng, when the new emperor, along with Yulang, Yinzhen and others, were busy consolidating the government and preparing to handle the things that the late emperor wanted to do but dared not do in the last few years of his reign, Shen Wanqing was gradually breaking down or entrusting her business to others.

There has always been business dealings between the second branch of the family and the Xu and Shi families in Fuzhou. Shen Wanqing asked Hui Zhong and Pusa Bao if they would be willing to go and try to take over the business.

Tu Nan is a steady and reliable person. After getting married, he did quite well in the Imperial Guard and is now a second-class Imperial Guard. He has always had a good relationship with Yu Lang, and Yinreng also values ​​him because of Yu Lang. He never thought about doing anything special; he just felt that his life was good enough as it was.

However, Huizhong and Pusabao became more and more arrogant and unrealistic as they grew older, lacking both ability and boasting.

Tu Nan and Yu Lang had a very similar opinion on this. They were young and didn't understand things when the family was going through a difficult time. But by the time they were old enough to understand, Yu Lang and Shen Wanqing had already taken on the responsibility of the family. They just needed to be the masters of the Hesheli family.

Such personalities would do more harm than good to stay in the capital, but fortunately, neither of them were stubborn and both were fairly obedient. Yu Lang called the two to his study and talked for half an afternoon, after which they nodded in agreement to leave the capital for Fuzhou.

A few years ago, He Yi was transferred from Fuzhou for a period of time, and two years ago he was transferred back to Fuzhou as the Provincial Treasurer. This transfer almost confirmed that He Yi had no intention of returning to the capital from now on, and his next return to the capital might not be until after his retirement.

Sending Huizhong and Pusa Bao there and having him oversee them means they won't amount to much, but at least they won't cause any major trouble. Pusa Bao also got married a few years ago. After marriage, the two branches of the family lived separately but not in separate households. This arrangement was better for him and the second branch than for Shen Wanqing to keep it all to herself.

Anyway, the business in Fuzhou relies on the boat guilds, and the root of the boat guilds is controlled by the Xu family. As long as the Shi family and the Xu family don't fall, Shen Wanqing will definitely get her share.

Shen Wanqing drafted a list of caravans heading to the northwest and transit points in Suzhou, along with lists of Shen Hongji and Shen Feng, and asked Yu Lang to submit it to the Emperor.

The reason why the caravans were able to travel so smoothly through the Northwest route back then was from the very beginning to keep an eye on Mingzhu's grain procurement and prevent him from making any underhanded moves.

As the caravans grew larger, their function as information hubs never diminished. Even if they couldn't compare to the legendary imperial bodyguards, at least half of the caravans were able to obtain news from the Northwest, including the Mongolian Plateau and the Dzungar Khanate, faster than local officials.

When Yinreng was still the Crown Prince, Yulang and Shen Wanqing could be in full charge of this caravan with intelligence-gathering capabilities. They only needed to report any important information in a timely manner.

But now that Yinreng is the emperor, how can Yulang, the Minister of Revenue, who has already become the moneybag, also be the head of the secret guards? It would be better to hand over the two in charge of the caravan, Shen Hongji and Shen Feng, to him and let him decide whether to continue to let the Shen family manage this business or to slowly find someone else to take over.

The Shen family has made a lot of money over the years by taking advantage of the caravan route and has opened several warehouses along the way. In addition, the business that Shen Wenbo manages in Shengjing is still operating normally. Even if they completely withdraw from the caravans in the Northwest, it won't be a major blow.

So, all Shen Wanqing has left are a few large shops in the capital, a breeding farm in Zhuangming Lane, Dongzihuo pigs, and the hybrid pigs from the north and south that have not yet been stabilized.

In other words, Shen Wanqing only focuses on the end-user market now. She doesn't care how you do business on the road, nor does she care what you do with this logistics line. She is only responsible for managing the shipment from the capital and earning her share of the profits from the shipping and caravan services each year.

With Fang Liang, the shop manager, still in the capital, Shen Wanqing had much less to worry about. As a result, Dai Jia, who had been doing business with Shen Wanqing for many years, also had some free time.

This person always finds ways to amuse herself when she has free time. She doesn't know if it's because she's getting older, but she can now listen to operas that she used to find incomprehensible with great enjoyment.

Not only did she listen, she also took the initiative to find the owner of the opera troupe, showed him the scripts she had collected, and asked him if she could stage a new play based on the content of the scripts.

Shen Wanqing was generous; where there's money, there's art. Why couldn't she do it? Before long, not only did opera troupes start staging new plays, but storytellers and folk singers also followed suit.

Aside from people like Yu Lang and Yi An who are particularly picky and meticulous about listening to storytelling, even the Empress and concubines in the palace have listened to these new plays and stories to pass the time.

Dai Jia was an outgoing person by nature. Ever since she became obsessed with the new play and the new book, she would send new ones to Shen Wanqing every few days.

Twice, Yu Lang happened to glance at it and put it back, speechless. It wasn't until that evening that he repeatedly told his grandmother, Shen Wanqing, that those things were just for show and shouldn't be taken seriously. Now that Shen Wanqing had brought up the old matter again, he couldn't help but think of Dai Jia Shi again.

"Don't try to fool me. I've been bringing this up with you for ages. It's impossible that there's no progress at all."

"That's really not true. You said you're worried that the First Prince might have inappropriate feelings for our Yi'an? Twenty years ago, there were rumors in the palace that the Crown Prince kept me by his side every day because he had those kinds of intentions."

Yu Lang also knew that some things could just be rumors. That year, Shen Wanqing made herself a light camel-colored brocade cloak and wore it into the palace. At the time, besides saying that the Crown Prince valued Yu Lang and his wife Shen Shi's good relationship, some people also whispered that the Crown Prince might have other intentions in keeping such a handsome guard by his side.

"Really? I've never heard of that before."

Years later, ever since Yu Lang started that trend, in the palace, if there are particularly favored guards, they will make their own light-colored cloaks and coats to wear into the palace in autumn and winter. As a result, light camel-colored brocade satin becomes fashionable every two or three years, and everyone has gotten used to it.

Shen Wanqing genuinely didn't know about this. If she had known, she would have definitely used it to tease Yulang back then. But it's pointless to bring it up now; after all, everyone in the palace treats it as commonplace, so there's no point in teasing about it anymore.

"Did you tell Grandma? Are you going to let her lead the ridicule of me?"

Lord Yu rolled his eyes at Madam Shen in annoyance, then reached out and poured the freshly peeled pine nuts into her palm. "I really didn't find out whether the First Prince has any homosexual tendencies, but I heard that a palace maid in the Fifth Palace of Gandong is pregnant."

"At this time? Who is it?" Logically speaking, the grandchildren should observe a year of mourning for the late emperor. According to this time, it has long passed. Even if a concubine in the harem is pregnant, it would not be considered a violation of the rules.

But the Emperor is still observing mourning in the palace, and most of the time, except when he goes to the Hall of Mental Cultivation, he only goes to the Empress's Palace in Yongshou Palace. For you, as the son, to be so eager to have a child with a palace maid at this time seems a bit too careless.

"Second Prince Hongjin. I heard that Consort Lin was so angry when she heard the news that she cried, and that very day she took the Second Prince to Yongshou Palace to apologize."

Hongjin was born to Lin, a concubine in Yuqing Palace. She has been temporarily conferred the title of Consort but has no official title. In the palace, she is generally referred to as Consort Lin.

This is not a good thing, but since it has already happened, we should accept it. If you are pregnant, take good care of yourself. If you can give birth and raise the child, it's impossible for the emperor to be unhappy about having his first grandchild.

But your actions have made things awkward for everyone. Those who know better understand that Consort Lin and the Second Prince don't want to displease the Emperor, while those who don't might think that the Empress is intolerant and can't stand the Second Prince having a child before the First Prince.

"The Second Prince is only thirteen this year, and he already understands human affairs?"

"How would I know? Back when I was in Yuqing Palace, I never inquired about the Crown Prince's inner quarters. If it weren't for the eldest madam insisting that I ask, I wouldn't care about any of this."

Both being relatives of the emperor, the Shi family cared far more about these matters than Yu Lang did, because their support came from the Crown Princess. Yu Lang, the leader of the Hesheli family, was entirely focused on the Emperor, and as for what happened in the harem, at least during the years Yu Lang was in power, he would never interfere.

Even after investigating the matter at the Fifth Bureau of the Eastern Region, they found nothing amiss with Hongxi's side, and Shen Wanqing's last bit of worry subsided. After all, to her, it was perfectly normal for Yi'an to want to leave the capital, as long as the reason for leaving wasn't suspicious.

"Lord Yu, Minister Yu, please sit down. I have something to tell you."

"W-what...what is it? No, Jiyun, don't scare me. My health isn't what it used to be. I can't take your scare."

Yu Lang instinctively tried to slip away, but Shen Wanqing pulled him back and told him everything about Yi An's desire to leave the capital.

"Your son doesn't want to stay in the capital. Lord Yu, you'd better think about how to pave the way for this boy in the future."

Shen Wanqing originally thought that Yulang would be unhappy to know about this, after all, the two of them only have two children. If Yi'an leaves the capital again, then Sui Ning will only be left by his side.

To everyone's surprise, Yu Lang slapped his thigh and seemed particularly happy, "I told you this kid is smart. I couldn't leave back then, but if I could leave the capital, I would definitely take you with me on a few years of service before we came back."

"You really think so? Then when I go to the palace tomorrow and the Empress brings up Yi'an's marriage to me, I'll really say that."

"That's right. Yi'an is different from me. When I was his age, I was struggling on my own for several years. If he stays in the capital, he will always be pampered, which is not a good thing."

Moreover, the succession of imperial power has never been without exception. His life was already tied to the emperor, and he could not change course. Consequently, Yi'an could only stand on the side of the eldest prince, Hongxi.

But one can't stay on a pedestal forever; it's too easy for problems to arise. If the problems occur in the next few years, it's manageable; Yulang can cover for his son. But if the problems occur in ten or twenty years, it could be a devastating blow that could destroy the family and clan.

Since that's the case, it would be better to take advantage of the fact that the eldest prince is still young and go out to gain experience for a few years. When he comes back, his temperament and methods may be completely different.