On the morning of the eleventh day of the twelfth lunar month, Yinhe and Qingyan had breakfast, changed into their winter clothes, put on a mink cloak, and left the Yuanmingyuan Garden in a carriage.

This morning, Yin made a special trip to pay his respects to Emperor Kangxi and Consort Tong, informing them that he needed to go to Linglong Pavilion to inspect the imperial orders, as the royal orders were quite large and therefore, the master of the house had to be there to oversee the process.

Without saying a word, Emperor Kangxi immediately allowed the two to pass.

After observing for several years, Kangxi discovered that Qingyan was quite capable in business, and Linglong Pavilion was indeed able to fulfill the role of an imperial merchant.

Although everyone in the upper echelons of the capital palace knew that behind Linglong Pavilion were the Fourth Prince and his wife, the actual managers on the surface were the servants.

"My dear, Father Emperor said that if the New Year's goods can be handled well this year, he will grant Linglong Pavilion the status of a royal merchant, allowing them to exclusively supply the palace with jewelry and imported goods." Yin said, looking at Qingyan.

Tribute? Imperial merchants?

Qingyan refused, saying, "I'm not willing. If I have to come here every year, I estimate my life will be over soon!"

One-third of the servants in Linglong Pavilion have now put down their work and begun to focus on preparing things for the royal family.

Every time they went there, the shopkeepers would mention the servants of the Imperial Household Department. Whenever they came out, they would look arrogant and do nothing but nitpick.

"Fourth Brother, I'm really worried about whether Linglong Pavilion can handle this!" Qingyan rubbed her temples. When will this end?

"Don't you have confidence in your own shop?" Yin asked curiously.

Qingyan has always been very confident. As long as it's her own shop, she will do her best in everything and seize every opportunity. But this year is different.

“Of course not. Several times we’ve come here, and the manager has said that the stewards in charge this time might have a grudge against us. They’ve actually asked us to make changes again and again. We’ve already done it according to the Imperial Household Department’s requirements, but then they overturned them and we had to start all over again. This not only wastes a lot of time, but also a lot of raw materials, which increases the cost even more.” Qingyan added, adding, “These things prepared for the palace can’t be allowed to circulate among the common people, so there’s no profit to be made from sending them as tribute to the palace. On the contrary, we’ll lose money!”

Qingyan doesn't want Linglong Pavilion to use the imperial merchant as a shield. As long as they can do good business, behave themselves, and make money, that's enough.

"Loss? No profit at all?" Yin knew perfectly well that no one would be willing to do a business that didn't generate any profit.

“Yes, we already lost money last year, and this year it has tripled. We received the list on the second day of the twelfth lunar month, and as of today, the shop has already exceeded the budget given by the royal family!” Qingyan began to complain to Yin.

The title of "Imperial Merchant" is impressive, but it doesn't mean she should lose money in business; no businessman would be happy about that.

"Little darling, are other shops like this too?" Yin's heart skipped a beat, and he decided to find out more details first.

“We’ll be at Linglong Pavilion soon. Why don’t you go and ask the manager yourself?” Qingyan said to Yin.

The carriage stopped at the entrance of Linglong Pavilion. They found that Xiao Sula from the palace was guarding the entrance. Just as Yin and Qingyan were about to go in, Xiao Sula stopped them.

"Linglong Pavilion is not doing business today." Xiao Sula's tone was very arrogant. Although Yin was very magnanimous, he did not take it to heart.

Whether they were princes or members of the royal family, the masters rarely went out to buy things; instead, they all sent their stewards to order custom-made headwear.

"Not doing business? Linglong Pavilion is still open for business!" Qingyan retorted, looking at Xiao Sula.

Xiao Sula's expression changed slightly when she heard Qingyan's soft voice, while Yin's cold aura continued to emanate from her.

“I think the lady should be given to an official’s wife. Right now, the head of procurement from the Imperial Household Department is discussing matters with the shopkeeper, so we’re not accepting business for the time being!” Little Sula said in a low voice. “Please don’t think I’ve done anything wrong; this is the rule!”

Qingyan's face darkened. No wonder the surrounding merchants were afraid of being noticed by the royal family.

"Let's go, let's have a meal first!" Yin said nothing, glanced at Erlu, and had him send a servant to wait for the purchasing manager to leave. He wanted to see who dared to act so arrogantly.

After taking their seats in the private room, Qingyan looked in Yin's direction, sipping warm tea, seemingly unconcerned about the Linglong Pavilion incident.

"Why didn't we go in then?" Qingyan asked, puzzled.

Yin placed the teacup on the octagonal table, looked at the intricate patterns on it, and said with a slight parting of his thin lips: "This matter was definitely not done by the stewards of the Imperial Household Department. It must have been someone below putting on airs."

The stewards of the Imperial Household Department all knew that Emperor Kangxi kept a close eye on procurement during the New Year period, and no one would dare to disobey the emperor's wishes to make money.

"The people below, but the manager said that the person he was discussing business with was definitely a general manager!" Qingyan shook his head in disbelief.

“I’ve sent someone to stay behind. In a little while, we’ll find out who’s causing trouble. You know the people in charge of the Imperial Household Department.” Yin reassured Qingyan.

Linglong Pavilion's business was disrupted for the entire day. People who wanted to go in to buy things were always chased away by the little Sulas, and the little Sulas' expressions were all very unpleasant.

"This won't do. It's completely ruining Linglong Pavilion's business. If this continues, who will dare to buy things from Linglong Pavilion?" Qingyan slammed her hand on the table, her face full of anger.

"The facts are still unclear. You should sit down and relax. Would I let you suffer a loss?" Yin was determined to protect Qingyan, so of course he would stop Qingyan from making any rash moves.

He finally found a breakthrough, and he certainly won't give up now.

"Fourth Brother, you need to know that the daily losses are definitely no less than several hundred thousand taels of silver." Qingyan exploded.

During holidays and festivals, Linglong Pavilion's business is at its best. Now, she has to hand over all the profits to the Imperial Household Department, and she really can't swallow this insult.

The royal offer was too low, and the people who accepted the gifts had extremely high demands, making it a thankless task.

"Do not act rashly for now. After this incident, I will ask Father Emperor for compensation!" Yin reassured Qingyan.

Emperor Kangxi specifically instructed Yinzhi to take advantage of this opportunity to thoroughly investigate the activities of the people in the Imperial Household Department. If any suspicious persons were found, they should be dealt with directly. Of course, these people had been in the Imperial Household Department for many years, and without some solid evidence, it was absolutely impossible to control them.

"Hmph, they always say that. The Ministry of Revenue is so slow at disbursing silver; we have to urge them many times every time!" Qingyan said with dissatisfaction.