Although Xiao Yanzi did not approve of Qianlong's actions, Qianlong had already made up his mind, and there was no point in her saying anything more, so she had no choice but to keep quiet.
“Little Swallow, I know you're upset and don't agree with Father Emperor's actions, but what he said isn't without reason. We can't just passively wait for them to come after us one by one to seek revenge, so…”
Xiao Yanzi explained, "Yongqi, I know, but what I'm thinking is, isn't it a bit unfair that those who have no idea about this matter have to be punished because of those who did bad things? Even if they have to be punished, we can make a decision based on their behavior!"
"If some people know they were wrong, show remorse, and genuinely didn't participate in these activities, can their sentences be reduced?"
Yongqi nodded. "What you said does make some sense. I'll go write a memorial to Father Emperor and try to communicate with him again. But don't have too high hopes. Father Emperor has been doing things this way for so many years. To get him to change, frankly, it's extremely difficult!"
"Let's give it a try first, and if it really doesn't work, then we'll see!"
Xia Ziwei suddenly said, "Little Swallow, you told me before that the palace goes to the Summer Palace to escape the summer heat every year. When are we going this year?"
Upon hearing this, Fu Erkang casually replied, "If nothing unexpected happens, we should set off on the first day of June this year."
Xia Ziwei immediately looked at Fu Erkang and said excitedly, "So, there's less than a month left! That's great! I can't wait to see what the Summer Palace is like!"
Fu Ertai continued, "After we go to the Summer Palace, we should be able to go hunting with the Emperor around mid-July. We'll be quite busy in the days to come!"
"Little Swallow, I think the activities in the palace are quite interesting!"
Little Swallow sighed, "That's because you've just arrived. Once you've been in the palace for a while, you'll realize how boring it is to live year after year."
Xia Ziwei asked curiously, "So, what kind of life do you think is interesting?"
Little Swallow laughed and said, "Of course, it's about experiencing life in the martial world and seeing all walks of life. Life outside the palace is much more interesting. Every day I meet different people, see different new things, and learn a lot!"
As she spoke, she suddenly turned to look at all of them and asked slyly, "You young masters have probably only ever eaten pork, but do you know how much pork costs per pound in the capital, and how much it costs per pound in other places?"
"Let me ask you again, do you know how much an ordinary person in the capital earns in a month?"
Apart from Xiao Jian and Xia Ziwei, who had traveled the world with Xiao Yanzi, everyone else shook their heads, clearly unaware of the situation.
"The average person in the capital earns only 2 taels of silver a month, and a waiter in a teahouse earns about 1 tael of silver a month. They only earn 10 or 20 taels of silver a year. But what does that amount of silver mean to you young masters?"
Everyone fell silent. They spent money like water, unaware of how hard people outside had to work to earn their annual income.
Little Swallow sighed, "So, whether you're a ruler or a minister, you must truly understand the suffering of the people in order to know how to help them."
"I've heard that Emperor Kangxi used to enjoy traveling incognito to experience the lives of ordinary people. Yongqi, why don't we reduce the number of people when you lead the incognito tour and truly experience the hardships of the common folk?"
Looking at Xiao Yanzi's sly eyes, Yongqi knew it was probably nothing good. "Tell me, what do you want me to do?"
"We all need to eat rice, so why don't we experience firsthand how rice is produced?"
"..." Yongqi and the Fu brothers swallowed hard, but since Xiaoyanzi had spoken, they didn't dare to disobey!
Yongqi forced himself to nod and agree, "Okay, as you say!"
"Then, gentlemen, I'd appreciate it if you could all go and review the theoretical knowledge in the coming days. Otherwise, when you actually get there, you might find yourselves clueless!"
Even Xiao Jian was a little overwhelmed by what happened today. He had never actually planted rice before!
Xiao Jian smiled helplessly, "Since the princess has given her order, then we can only obey!"
Xia Ziwei had been in the palace for a little over a month when she went to the Summer Palace with the rest of the group.
Upon entering the Summer Palace, Xia Ziwei's astonishment was no less than that of Xiao Yanzi back then, "This is so beautiful!"
"Ziwei, Qing'er, shall we go out for a walk the day after tomorrow?" Xiao Yanzi couldn't stay still after arriving at the Summer Palace. "Since we're already out here, let's not stay in here all the time!"
Xia Ziwei and Qing'er naturally had no objections, but Yongqi and the others didn't even mention it. Yongqi looked at Xiao Yanzi helplessly, "Alright, I'll talk to Father Emperor. We'll go out by ourselves then, and we shouldn't bring so many people with us. It'll be too conspicuous."
Just bring a few guards to help carry things, so that if anything unexpected happens, you can quickly return to the manor to find someone to help you.
"Finally out!" After staying in the villa for two days, Yongqi persuaded Qianlong to let everyone out.
Xia Ziwei looked at Xiao Yanzi curiously and asked, "Xiao Yanzi, where are we going?"
"Our task today is to shop without worry and have them help carry things!" In a good mood, and now that she had the opportunity, she was naturally going to buy clothes and jewelry without restraint!
After visiting two or three shops, Yongqi and his companions were already carrying a lot of things. "Let's go, let's find a place to sit down and eat something, and let Yongqi and the others rest for a bit!"
They never expected that their rest would lead to a murder.
The place where they were resting was quite close to the local government office. While they were eating, they saw the yamen runners setting out. Little Swallow was a little curious, "Why don't we go and take a look?"
Yongqi nodded, "Alright, if there's anything we can help with, we're happy to lend a hand!"
Anyway, their purpose in coming out was to relieve the pressure on the people, so Yongqi had his men send the things they had bought back to the manor, and the masters of the manor ran off with the yamen runners.
"Father, Mother, you must be lying to me, please wake up..."
"Ms. Gao, please accept my condolences!"
"Boss, what killed Master Gao and Madam Gao was the tea served by their maid, but that maid is already dead..."
"Boss, I've found a letter..."
Little Swallow saw the appearance of the two dead people. "They died of poisoning, and they look like they just died recently..."
Xia Ziwei asked, "Little Swallow, guess what was written in that letter?"
Little Swallow whispered, "They're just scapegoats anyway. The person behind this might be right here!"
Yongqi frowned and asked, "Little Swallow, should we make a move?"
Little Swallow shook her head. "Let's wait and see what their leader has to say."
"Boss, what did that letter say?"
"The letter said that Master Gao was lustful towards her, and she poisoned him to protect herself. As for Madam Gao, she was killed by mistake. She knew she had done something wrong, so she committed suicide as well..."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com