Where is Father Emperor?

The Crown Prince had something to discuss with Emperor Kangxi, but it wasn't anything major.

"Your Highness, His Majesty and the Empress have gone out."

"He went out. When did he leave? Did he say when he would be back?"

Upon hearing this, the eunuch smiled and said, "This servant truly does not know."

The Crown Prince then realized he shouldn't have asked that question, and said, "I'll come back when Father Emperor returns." With that, he left.

Suzhou in June is a city shrouded in moisture.

Water is plentiful here. The two of them traveled on the water in a boat, watching the vendors' cries from both banks, which were full of life and local flavor.

"They have boat cuisine here, how about we have that for dinner tonight?"

Emperor Kangxi naturally agreed.

Boat cuisine, as the name suggests, is food eaten on a boat. Some businesses here rent out boats, which are fully equipped with chefs to serve customers. You can order food from all over the country.

It is said to taste very good.

Of course, the corresponding price is also extremely attractive.

However, neither of them were short of money, so whether they ate such a meal really depended on their mood.

As darkness fell, the two changed boats. This boat was much larger than the one they had used during the day. Apart from the cook, the rest of the crew consisted of people close to Emperor Kangxi, which was also for safety reasons.

"Your Majesty, the kitchen has prepared the food. Shall we serve it now?"

This food should naturally be eaten while it's hot. Since it's ready, let's eat it.

One dish after another was served.

Youqing ate it and found it to be quite delicious. She has a northern palate, and while she doesn't particularly like strong flavors, she doesn't particularly enjoy bland food. She wondered how the chef managed to make such seemingly bland dishes so flavorful.

"The taste is good, but the portion size is really typical of the South."

A dish is gone in just a few bites; if there weren't so many dishes, it would be hard to fill one's stomach.

The capital city is in the north, so even in wealthy families, the portions of a single dish are quite large. But it's different in the south; the portions are always small.

After eating and drinking their fill, the two began to enjoy the night view.

Along the way, there were very few places where the lights stayed on all night; if they did, it was only during festivals.

But it's different in Suzhou. Even without holidays, there are still night markets, and they're quite crowded.

Even on the ship, you can encounter many other ships of the same kind.

Honestly, Suzhou is much more bustling than Beijing, but this place also has its own love, hate, and grudges.

For example, the four major families of Suzhou.

That's right. It's often said that art is inspired by reality. In period dramas, there are always four great families, and in fact, there are many places where four great families exist.

These families often intermarry, check and balance each other, and develop together, but behind the scenes they each have their own calculations.

You might say they don't get along, yet they're happier than anyone else when it comes to marriage. You might say they're harmonious, but there's always unspeakable strife between the families. Back and forth, that's how it is with the four families.

These four prominent families of Suzhou have indeed a long history, and this is one of the reasons why Emperor Kangxi planned to stay in Suzhou for a longer period of time this time.

Since ancient times, the Jiangnan region has produced many talented people. The literary style is more prevalent here, and the cultural heritage is more profound. Emperor Kangxi intended to reform the imperial examination system because, under the influence of the Qing dynasty, he had realized that the current imperial examination system was gradually no longer meeting his plans for the future court.

However, since he was the emperor, he couldn't simply change the imperial examination system at will. If he wanted to make changes, the first thing he needed to do was to deal with the scholars in Jiangnan.

Scholars in Jiangnan tend to admire the four major families of Suzhou, as these four families jointly control the academies of all sizes in Jiangnan.

Few members of the four great families pursued official careers. Half of the family members were engaged in business, and the other half were studying. However, they only studied and almost none of them entered officialdom. Of course, they still took the imperial examinations, but that was all they did. Some of them became teachers after passing the examinations, while others continued to take the exams. After passing the exams, they served as officials for two years before resigning and returning to Jiangnan to teach.

It can be said that most of the scholars in Jiangnan had studied under the four great families. The relationship between master and disciple was like that between father and son. Gradually, the four great families became the bond that led to the rise of a powerful force in the imperial court.

This force is not conspicuous now, but Kangxi has noticed it. In addition, with the reform of the imperial examination system, he can no longer allow these four families to continue to develop wildly in this area.

"Your Majesty, the Li family's ship is right here."

Who's on the ship?

The Li family was the head of the four major families in Suzhou. Emperor Kangxi had seen their family structure and knew that there were ways to deal with them.

"It's the third young master of the Li family."

Upon hearing this, Kangxi immediately understood. In fact, the reason Kangxi knew about this person was because of his ignorance and incompetence.

This Third Young Master Li was the eldest son of the third branch of the Li family, and in theory he should have been living a good life. However, the truth is that the Third Young Master Li has become a disgrace that the Li family is unwilling to mention.

Actually, he didn't do anything heinous; he just didn't accomplish much.

He neither went into business nor put in the effort to study. He spent all his time with a group of frivolous friends, squandering a lot of money without developing any skills. Of course, this was only how he presented himself to outsiders.

Kangxi originally thought this was true, but later he discovered something else that made him change his mind.

If this young master Li is used properly, he can be extremely useful.

"Have someone keep an eye on him and see what he's doing."

“Zha”

After the people below left, Youqing asked, "What happened?"

Although the two shared the same study, they were each busy with their own things, so Youqing was unaware of the so-called four great families of Suzhou.

Of course, these four families are just names used in secret, since no one dares to make such a thing public.

Emperor Kangxi said, "He's quite an interesting person."

If it could amuse Emperor Kangxi, then it must truly be interesting.

"Tell me about it?"

Kangxi then told her.

"Suzhou has four major families. The Third Young Master Li I just mentioned is the eldest son of the third branch of the Li family, which is the head of these four families. He seems to be ignorant and wasteful of the family fortune, but he has done a lot of things in secret, which is quite impressive."

"What did he do?" Youqing asked curiously.

"He plans to ruin the Li and Cui families."

"The Cui family?"

"The third branch of the family is a family that is slightly inferior to the Li family. The current wife is a girl from the Cui family."

"The current wife? Isn't this Third Young Master Li born to Madam Cui?"

Kangxi nodded: "Yes."

She's a stepmother! No wonder.

"What did the Li and Cui families do to make Young Master Li hate them so much?"

Kangxi continued, "That's a long story."

"Then let's get to the point. There's no rush to go back. Let's hear what's going on."

In ancient times, entertainment was scarce, and even reading storybooks occasionally wasn't very satisfying or enjoyable. Listening to stories about the love, hate, and grudges of a large, real-life family was a good way to relieve boredom.