In the afternoon, Yinzhen led Qingyan to the entrance of the fishing village. The yamen runners quickly stepped forward to inquire, and Yinzhen chatted with the guards with a smile. He even gave the guards some purses, saying that his business needed to import seafood.

The guards dared not make the decision themselves and quickly reported the news to their superiors.

They were specially dispatched, and their provisions were all collected locally, some even directly from the Yuelai Inn. Discovering that they came from the Yuelai Inn, we had to be extra careful.

According to Cao Yin, the manager of Yuelai Inn was the Fourth Prince's wife, and Yinzhen was training in the military port, so they were all on edge.

Qingyan blinked, watching Yinzhen's retreating figure, a slight smile playing on her lips.

Originally, she thought she would have to step in and get more information out of it so that Fei Yanggu and the others could better determine whether there were any spies in the fishing village.

"Brother, why is this fishing village sealed off? We were just saying we wanted to buy some pearls in the village to make jewelry. Could you please make an exception?" Yinzhen had learned to pretend, and in front of the yamen runners, he acted as a rich young master.

"No!" the constable replied decisively.

As soon as he finished speaking, Yinzhen frowned slightly, pondering how to approach the fishing village.

They realized that it was no longer possible to climb over the fence from the side into the fishing village.

"Don't even think about it. I advise you to do your business properly and get seafood from somewhere else." The constable gave Yinzhen the truth because of the considerable amount in his purse.

ah? !

Yinzhen looked completely bewildered, while the yamen runners chuckled inwardly. This rich young master knew nothing; no wonder he needed to bring a female relative with him at his age.

"I'll say a few words to you because of this," the constable said to Yinzhen, gesturing with his purse. "The fences around the fishing village are all covered with hidden explosives. If you try to force your way in, you'll get injured by landmines no matter what you do."

After he finished speaking, Yinzhen asked in surprise, "Isn't there anywhere else? Our family has always ordered pearls from here. After all, good quality pearls are hard to come by. Besides, some of the pearls at Linglong Pavilion are also sourced from here."

The constables chuckled and said, "Linglong Pavilion is the property of the Fourth Prince's wife. How can it be compared with others? The manager comes here often, so of course we have to take the time to receive him! They can't enter the fishing village; at most, they can only trade on the outskirts of the village."

Ugh!

Qingyan stood behind, looking utterly shocked.

Recently, the manager of Linglong Pavilion has come to us several times, hoping to change suppliers. They are carefully looking for alternative villages, but unfortunately, there are not many people in these villages who farm pearls.

Since the fishing village was sealed off, the managers of Linglong Pavilion have been extremely anxious, hoping to obtain more of these rare pearls. Currently, Linglong Pavilion in this area is basically using its previous stock.

"Sir, when will this area be open?" Yinzhen put aside his airs and began to negotiate with the yamen runners, hoping to get more clues from them.

The constables exchanged glances and then looked Yinzhen up and down, realizing that he probably didn't come from the military port; otherwise, the constables on the outside would have given them a hand signal.

"Since you seem honest, I'll tell you the truth. You'd better find a new place to source your goods. This place... may not be able to recover. These people should be fine going out to sea to fish, but if they want to trade with the outside world, it will probably take about half a year," the constable said in a low voice.

They dared not let the villagers know that in a month, their right to go out to sea to fish might be taken away, as the authorities were investigating the scholar's incident, which was said to be related to almost every famous scholar in the village.

"What? We need to find a new place?" Yinzhen asked in surprise.

The fishermen in the village certainly couldn't wait half a year. After all, they had to go out to sea to fish. If they couldn't do business with outsiders, they wouldn't be able to meet the purchasing needs of Linglong Pavilion and Yuelai Inn, and the village elders would have to lose money.

The constables nodded: "A couple of days ago, the manager of Yuelai Inn came to collect the goods, but we didn't let him in. The manager said that if the supply couldn't meet the contracted quantity, the fishermen would have to pay compensation according to the contract. Those people were begging and pleading, but the manager didn't soften his heart!"

In fact, the officials felt sorry for the fishermen; they had probably suffered an undeserved misfortune.

"I may sympathize, but I cannot allow my family's business to suffer." Yinzhen cupped his hands in thanks to the yamen runners. "Thank you for your advice, gentlemen."

Yinzhen took Qingyan back to the Yuelai Inn. Their appearance was somewhat abrupt, and they would definitely have to stay here tonight. They couldn't let those people see through their disguise.

Inside the inn's private room, Yinzhen looked at the tea in his hand with a serious expression. What could they do to help the fishermen reduce their losses?

In the past, Yinzhen would have definitely submitted a memorial to Kangxi, requesting that the fishermen be thoroughly investigated in advance to minimize their losses.

Now, however, he could not do that. The churches along the coast had really developed, and many villagers had become believers. Their faith no longer belonged to the Qing Dynasty. They would do many things for the church, making it impossible for Yinzhen and others to find fault with the pastors.

“Little Darling, things are not looking good lately. There might be hidden churches in these two fishing villages!” Yinzhen felt that the villagers were not as devout in Buddhism as before, and the usual liveliness was gone before each voyage.

What? !

Qingyan looked at Yinzhen. Was there a ceremony before setting sail?

“In the past, I accompanied Father Emperor to watch the fishermen leave the port, and I have never seen such a lively scene here!” Yinzhen said to Qingyan.

Qingyan was suspicious. If what Yinzhen said was true, there really were some people who gathered information from outside the village.

"Could it be that the higher-ups didn't go into the village to check?" Qingyan didn't believe that Kangxi would let go of such a good opportunity. He must have sent people in, but the villagers protected each other and didn't investigate the truth.

"Of course we went, but we didn't find a single clue. Judging from what the constables said, they were clearly implying that the villagers here would probably remain besieged and unable to go out to do business. The manager of Linglong Pavilion also said that they have started to develop other sources of pearls." Qingyan was not worried at all. Linglong Pavilion's top-quality pearls would not be out of stock; they always had a considerable amount in stock every year.

Qingyan frowned, pondering how to infiltrate the group. Even the shopkeeper said that when he went there, those people were very strict, saying that they couldn't even bring in goods, and only allowed the fishermen to bring their goods out.