Soon, the shopkeeper rushed up from downstairs. As soon as he entered, he saw a girl dressed as a waitress kneeling there. His hair stood on end. It seemed that something had really happened.

"Master!" the shopkeeper greeted respectfully.

Qingyan pointed to the person kneeling on the ground and asked the shopkeeper to take a look.

Do you know her?

“Yes, this person is a child from a nearby family,” the shopkeeper quickly replied. “She has parents and four older brothers, all of whom are in the army. She comes out to help support the family. She is a member of the Han Banner Army. After investigation, this is confirmed.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Yin frowned. This was clearly cutting off the trail. With all four of his older brothers in the military camp, it would be difficult to handle.

"Which military camp is it in?" Qingyan asked directly upon seeing Yin's gesture.

"The three elder brothers work for the master's brother, and the other one is at the West Mountain camp." The innkeeper's answer sent chills down everyone's spines.

"What did that person make you do?" Qingyan softened his tone as he spoke to the girl.

The four older brothers are all capable and shouldn't make any mistakes. The girl did this to protect her mother and didn't cause any harm, so they can understand.

"He wants me to keep an eye on when the master arrives, and then I can go and tell them so that Mother can go home!" The Han army banner is also part of the banner, and Yinzhen knows everything about it, so it's very troublesome to deal with.

"You went and told them?"

"No, I hadn't even gone out yet when you called me!" The girl shrank back, her face already pale; she was truly terrified.

"Eru, have someone check on her first. If she is telling the truth, then let her go back!" Yin and Yin exchanged a glance, and Yin gave the order directly.

The lackeys of the Eight Banners should be treated differently; they should not be easily punished unless they committed serious offenses.

"Yes, Your Majesty!" After Erlu led his men away, the atmosphere in the room became tense.

They caused too much trouble along the way, and after arriving in Jiangnan, they were targeted by salt merchants who clearly didn't want them to have an easy time.

"What are the backgrounds of the salt merchants here?" Yin asked the shopkeeper.

There were many salt merchants in Hangzhou, and they had the best relationship with Li Xu. Cao Yin mostly contacted the salt merchants through Li Xu. To outsiders, Cao Yin had no connection with the salt merchants at all.

"Many officials in Jiangnan come from salt merchant families. These people are qualified to study. In the past few years, there have been instances of italics in the imperial examinations at the Jiangnan Examination Hall. His Majesty has investigated several times but has not been able to find the exact individuals responsible," the shopkeeper quickly said.

Qingyan's mouth gaped open in surprise. It was as if the exam questions had been sold!

"Are you telling the truth?!" Even though Yin didn't care about the imperial examinations, he understood that they were for selecting capable people for the royal family. Now, however, the court officials were using money to bribe Xiao Fei.

"Yes, sir, it started a long time ago!" The shopkeeper didn't dare to say more and could only answer questions.

"Little darling, you accompanied Consort Tong to meet many female relatives. Did you notice anything unusual about these people?" Yin asked Qingyan.

Qingyan had dealt with people in the business world; those ladies were all carefully cultivated, and their influence was ingrained in their very being. Yin Genjueluo was puzzled; they had all met together, weren't they all pretty much the same?

"Fourth brother, are you sure there's something different inside?" Yin Genjue Luo Shi and Yin exchanged a glance. He shook his head at her. It was best not to meddle in the affairs of the fourth brother and his wife.

"I won't ask Xiao Guai anymore. Even if a salt merchant's daughter is carefully raised, some of her inherent business acumen is unavoidable, and she can't switch freely like Xiang Guai." Yin didn't stop Qingyan from associating with people in the business world. On one hand, he hoped to broaden her horizons, but more importantly, he hoped that the little girl would get rid of her habit of not interacting with people.

“There are a few who don’t look like ladies from prominent families. Didn’t you say that Han women and Manchu women don’t communicate? What if they are from those boudoirs?” Qingyan shook her head, really not wanting to say more.

Her hasty conclusion might distract Yin and could confuse their speculations.

"Uncertain?!" Yin was also very concerned about this issue. They had very few clues under their control, and they wouldn't let go of any more clues they could get their hands on easily.

Qingyan nodded. There were too many traces that those people were deliberately hiding, so she had to observe more closely.

"It's too deliberate. Besides, those women have been married for many years and have long since lost any trace of being young ladies. It's really too difficult to find any trace of them after only two or three meetings!" Qingyan said.

Yin Genjue Luo nodded. Qing Yan was right; those people didn't seem like it.

"After serving as an official's wife for two or three years, this petty attitude will change to some extent. Besides, among the names the manager sent up, there are several mothers-in-law who are very capable and skilled at training their daughters-in-law," the manager said from the side. These two families were under Li Xu's command and were in charge of the salt business, so their marriage to the daughters of salt merchants was somewhat related to them.

What?!

The four of them looked at the shopkeeper in surprise. His Majesty had mentioned that salt officials must not have any dealings with salt merchants.

"Fourth brother, I remember Father Emperor said that salt merchants and salt officials are involved, right?" Yin looked at Yin, who had always been concerned about the rules of the military camp but did not know much about these things.

"Yes, that's what Father Emperor said." Yin nodded. "Those salt merchants who are related to the Cao family?"

The shopkeeper nodded. He had sent people to check several times, and there was absolutely no chance of anything going wrong.

“I’ve been keeping an eye on these people for my master for more than a year or two. I’ve been watching their every move. They’ve all changed their maternal families and married into their husband’s families. If it weren’t for the fact that their dowries were too lavish and my people found a loophole, we wouldn’t have thought of it!” The shopkeeper said with great regret. “They’ve been trained slowly since they were 5 years old. Very few people can tell the difference.”

"The letters they sent home were messages between Li Xu and the salt merchants?" Qingyan suddenly realized that the women had also asked about the letters.

"A letter?" the two Aisin-Gioro brothers asked in unison.

"Oh, right, Madam Li asked how often she should correspond with the family!" Yin Genjue Luo Shi recalled what the women had said.

“Yes, some people even boast that they can communicate with their maternal family every day!” Qingyan pursed her lips, feeling very sad. “Even my father can’t see me every day.”

Yin Genjue Luo smiled, thinking that Xiao Guai was an anomaly among the royal wives. She had been pampered by Emperor Kangxi and Consort Tong since childhood, and in their eyes, Xiao Guai was a target.

The harmonious relationship between the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law was something they envied. The fact that Guarjia and Dong'e always got along with Qingyan was largely due to this.

"What? Every day?" Yin was stunned.

"That's what they say. I feel resentful because I have comfortable communication with them every day." Qingyan pouted. Originally, she felt satisfied with the status quo, but now she also felt that some people needed to be taught a lesson.

"The letters that come out of the government's backyard have all undergone layers of inspection. If there is any problem, they will never be sent out," Yin said with certainty.

Qingyan rested her right elbow on the armrest, her hand supporting her small head. She seemed to be observing the scene from that day, as if everyone had become accustomed to it. (To be continued. If you like this work, please vote for it on Qidian.com. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please read at m.qidian.com.)