Chapter 49 Intercepting Tribute
"A guilty subject? Longkodo, what crime have you committed?" Kangxi looked at the three kneeling men below, his expression inscrutable.
Seeing Longkodo's slight frown as he referred to himself as a "criminal official," Kangxi knew his cousin well. He was arrogant and unruly, and Kangxi would believe he had done something wrong. However, he turned a blind eye due to Longkodo's status and abilities.
For Longkodo to call himself a "sinful subject"... Kangxi's gaze turned to Yinzhen. It seemed that his fourth prince had discovered something, and it must be something serious. Longkodo couldn't escape it, otherwise he wouldn't be acting so innocent.
But was Yinzhen really so impartial? Even after the property was transferred to the Tongjia clan, and despite the powerful support from the Tongjia family, he could still turn a blind eye? Was his son some kind of modern-day Bao Zheng (a legendary upright official in Chinese history)?
With suspicions about Yinzhen and considerations about Longkodo, Kangxi looked at the three silent men below and suddenly turned to Qian Jinxi.
"Qian Jinxi, you speak."
Qian Jinxi was taken aback when he was suddenly called by his full name. How was he supposed to explain that Longkodo's restaurant was suspected of selling "imperial cuisine"? But he was too timid to intervene, and as a result, the Fourth Prince overturned the table?
"Chen, minister..."
"Father, let me explain. I invited Lord Qian, so he doesn't know the whole story."
Upon hearing Yinzhen's words, Qian Jinxi immediately breathed a sigh of relief. The Fourth Prince was a good person.
Kangxi's attention was also drawn to Yinzhen. He scrutinized his fourth son, who seemed unchanged but exuded a chilling aura and anger. He nodded and said, "Alright, Yinzhen, you speak."
He wanted to see what Longkodo had done to turn on the air conditioning for his fourth son.
"Your Majesty, I have heard of the great reputation of Baohelou Restaurant before, and today I took my wife there for a meal," Yinzhen straightened up and reported to Kangxi, "I gave the meal I ordered to Eunuch Liang. Please allow Your Majesty to present this meal."
"A whole meal? Fourth brother, what are you doing? Trying to curry favor with Father Emperor by bringing things from outside the palace?"
"Yin Zhi!"
Seeing that everyone in the hall was looking at him, Yinzhi realized that he had spoken his mind too quickly.
"Your subject knows his mistake." Awkwardly apologizing, Yinzhi silently moved to the side under Kangxi's questioning gaze, pretending nothing had happened.
Yinreng scoffed, then became very annoyed. How dare someone like Yinzhi compete with him? The worst part was that he sometimes couldn't even win against this guy. Yinreng was frustrated.
Without Yinzhi's interruption, Kangxi looked at Yinzhen for a while, wanting to know what he was up to, and nodded in agreement.
"Okay, bring Liang Jiugong in."
"Yes, sir."
Liang Jiugong responded, and the food box that the Fourth Prince had given him before entering the hall was already arranged by the eunuchs according to the Fourth Prince's requirements. At this moment, the Emperor agreed, and two eunuchs carried in a small table from outside the hall, on which the food brought by the Fourth Prince was neatly arranged.
The small table was placed in the center, so that both Emperor Kangxi on the dragon throne and Yinreng and Yinzhi standing on either side watching the performance could see it clearly.
Because they could see it clearly, all three of them changed their expressions.
Unable to contain his anger, Yinreng spoke first: "Longkodo, how dare you!"
He already disliked Longkodo's arrogant attitude, how he, as the Emperor's maternal cousin, didn't even respect him, the Crown Prince. Seeing the familiar "imperial cuisine" on the table, Yinreng understood perfectly well why his fourth brother was angry. Yinreng also felt deeply offended; with old and new grudges combined, he disliked Longkodo even more.
"I am guilty!" Longkodo kowtowed, the sound of his forehead hitting the ground was crystal clear.
"Baocheng." Kangxi was not very angry at Yinreng for speaking first, but he felt that Longkodo was indeed ungrateful and had failed to live up to the emperor's favor. No wonder he had angered his good son.
Yinzhi couldn't help but roll his eyes. Fine, fine, so you're treating people differently? You get scolded for interrupting, but you don't care when the second prince interrupts. Who can accept that?
"Yinzhen, continue." Kangxi looked at Yinzhen, not believing that his fourth son would get angry over a table of "similar imperial dishes".
"Yes, as Your Majesty saw, the waiter at Baohe Restaurant claimed they could prepare a Manchu-Han Imperial Feast, and that the chef was an imperial chef. I thought it was just boasting from the restaurant, but who knew that when we actually ordered according to the banquet menu, the dishes that came out were not only similar in appearance, but also tasted exactly the same, even..."
Yinzhen suddenly stopped speaking, looked at Longkodo who was kneeling beside him and dared not raise his head, and exuded a chilling aura.
"Even what?" Kangxi was already getting angry, but he restrained his rage and continued to ask.
"The taste is even better than that of a palace banquet."
After saying this, Yinzhen fell silent. Both Kangxi and the Crown Prince were furious. Only Yinzhi, who still didn't understand, looked at the silent Kangxi and couldn't help but ask, "How is that possible? No matter how well the food outside is imitated, can it taste better than the palace food? The ingredients used in the palace are all the best..."
As Yinzhi spoke, he noticed the anger in Kangxi's eyes and suddenly understood, "Tribute..."
"Yin Zhi!"
"Your subject knows his mistake." Hearing Kangxi's roar, Yinzhi knelt down with a thud. Damn it, he said it again. Yinzhi couldn't help but close his eyes. Why did he have to come and join in today's trouble? He should have left the palace as soon as he finished paying his respects to his mother. Why did he have to get involved in this mess?
"You kneel facing the wall for me. If you say another word, you'll be made to kneel outside!"
"Yes, Your Majesty, I obey." Yinzhi dejectedly moved to the wall, silently regretting his words. Why had he said anything? He'd incurred his father's wrath. He shouldn't have come…
Yinreng couldn't even muster up any schadenfreude anymore; he looked at Longkodo as if he were a dead man. Intercepting tribute—what audacity!
After venting his anger on Yinzhi, Kangxi looked at Longkodo with shame and anger at being betrayed and deceived. Before he could retaliate, Qian Jinxi suddenly kowtowed and confessed his guilt.
"I am guilty! I truly knew nothing about the tribute..."
Qian Jinxi knew that speaking up now was like stroking a tiger's whiskers, and a tiger that was raging. But he couldn't deny it; intercepting tribute was a far greater crime than selling imperial food. What if he was branded an accomplice for not admitting guilt? He didn't want his entire family to be wiped out.
He really didn't know. If he had known earlier, he would have known earlier... If he didn't dare to arrest anyone, wouldn't he have dared to report it?
"You are guilty! You have served as the Prefect of Shuntian Prefecture in vain!" Kangxi rebuked, clearly aware of Qian Jinxi's previous failure to report the matter. However, no matter how angry he was, Kangxi remained rational. He knew that Qian Jinxi was at most afraid to speak out because of Longkodo's power. But he wouldn't dare to get involved in the tribute matter.
The thought that Longkodo's power came from him, and that Longkodo, relying on his favor, dared to deceive the emperor and embezzle tribute, made Kangxi unable to control his anger. Forcibly suppressing his emotions, Kangxi pressed, "Yinzhen, how did you determine that Longkodo was behind this restaurant?"
It wasn't that he didn't believe Longkodo was behind it; on the contrary, once the matter became clear, Kangxi couldn't think of anyone else with the audacity to do such a thing besides Longkodo. But no matter how angry he was, he couldn't help but wonder: had Yinzhen truly discovered it by chance, or had it been premeditated? Was he genuinely selfless, or did he have ulterior motives?
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