Chapter 193 Gift for the Crown Prince
The folded white paper contained the recipe for milk candy that Yin'e had prepared in advance. As for the recipe for the sugar coating, it wasn't that Yin'e didn't trust Wulinzhu and Wuxiha, but he only remembered the general method for making the sugar coating, and the recipe wasn't completely perfected yet.
Now, the recipe for the semi-finished product is handed over to Wulinzhu and the other person. I wonder how many attempts they will have to make, how many failures they will experience, and how many materials they will have to use before they can finally make the sugar coating successfully.
Rather than waiting for them to slowly research it, it's better for Yin'e to do it himself. After all, Yin'e had read too many fragmented books in his previous life, so he had the knowledge in this area, knew a clear direction, and knew which way to focus his efforts.
After handing over the tasks and arranging the work, and giving the start-up funds (including the wages for the seven people) to Sarigul, who was leading the team to Mongolia, and to Tela, the leader of the four who remained in the capital, Yin'e and the Ninth Prince planned to pack up and leave.
Since they rarely leave the palace, they certainly wouldn't waste all their time on this matter. They would definitely have to stroll around the bustling Qianmen Street a few times, otherwise, wouldn't their trip to the outer city be a waste, without seeing any excitement or buying anything?
As for whether Yin'e was worried about Sarigul and Tra running off with the money after handing over a thousand taels of silver, he really didn't need to worry about it. All seven of them had signed long-term contracts, and none of them were alone. Unless they had lost their minds and abandoned their families, they wouldn't do something so short-sighted.
Even if one of the seven was ruthless enough, and another was bold enough to offend the prince, where could they possibly run off with the tainted silver?
While the Qing Dynasty did not have the same level of surveillance and ease of finding people as later dynasties, the power of the Qing government should not be underestimated. Even if Yin'e did not use his status as a prince to ask the government for help, the Duke of Guoyi's mansion and the Niohuru clan alone could easily bring back the person who absconded with the money.
Yin'e and the Ninth Prince, who didn't like tea and didn't even ask the waiter to bring tea to their private room, left directly. The guards who had been resting in the next few private rooms immediately followed and escorted them out of the teahouse.
As Yin'e walked out of the teahouse, he said to Faka, who was walking beside him, "Uncle, this is the first time Ninth Brother and I have left the palace. We plan to take a good stroll around Qianmen Street. We'll say goodbye to you now."
"Thank you so much for this, Uncle." Yin'e said this with genuine gratitude.
If it weren't for Faka's help, it would have been difficult for Yin'e and the Ninth Prince to leave the palace and recruit the seven people from Sarigul. They didn't know when they would have been able to start their business.
In such a short time, it was no easy task to select six people from the Plain Red Banner and find Sarigul, who came to the capital to make a living. Faka must have put in a lot of effort, and Yin'e had to remember this favor.
Even the Ninth Prince was very satisfied with the seven people, including Sarigul. He gave Faka a grateful look, nodded slightly, and then echoed, "Indeed, we must thank Duke Guoyi."
Fakalian said, "It is my honor to be able to help the two princes. I dare not accept your thanks."
Getting this done wasn't too difficult for Faka, and he wasn't doing it for free.
Putting aside the fact that she had established a relationship with the two princes, done them a favor, and won their favor, the fact that Consort Guang promised to take care of his daughters after they entered the palace for the imperial concubine selection and to help them find good families was enough to make Faka willingly do this for Yin'e and recruit Sarigul and others.
After parting ways with Faka, Yin'e and the Ninth Prince stood at the entrance of the teahouse, staring blankly at each other in the unfamiliar Qianmen Street, not knowing which way to go, where to go for a stroll, or what fun things to do.
Blinking, Yin'e rubbed his stomach and suddenly asked the Ninth Prince, "Ninth Brother, are you hungry? It's already noon, why don't we have lunch first?"
After leaving the Tong residence, they headed straight for Qianmen Street without stopping for lunch. Now it was noon, and the sun was high in the sky; it was time for lunch.
The Ninth Prince opened his mouth, about to speak, when his stomach rumbled in his place. His face flushed red, feeling quite ashamed. After a long pause, he managed to squeeze out a sentence through gritted teeth: "...Let's go find a place to have lunch."
"I wonder where Fifth Brother went." Walking on the wide and flat street, listening to the Beijing accents spoken by the passersby, Yin'e said to Ninth Prince with a smile, "Fifth Brother got hungry as soon as he arrived in the outer city and went to Qianmen Street to look for food. I wonder where he is now and whether he has found a few good restaurants."
Tilting his head and thinking for a moment, the Ninth Prince really couldn't remember which way the Fifth Prince had gone. Shaking his head, he shrugged helplessly: "Who knows where the Fifth Prince went? I'm afraid we'll have a hard time running into him. We can only meet up with him when we get back."
Although the princes scattered in twos and threes to stroll along Qianmen Street, there was no need to worry that they would get lost or lose each other, since the location of the eldest prince was certain.
The eldest prince had already told the other princes that he would stay at the tavern that advertised "Southern Route Liquor." If the princes didn't want to go shopping anymore and wanted to go back, they could simply go to that tavern to meet him.
Yin'e hummed in agreement, saying, "Indeed, there are too many people on Qianmen Street, and both sides of the street are lined with shops. It's not easy to run into Fifth Brother and the others. Let's just stroll around on our own."
The guards following behind Yin'e and the Ninth Prince pointed out a restaurant to them. On the way to the restaurant, Yin'e's eyes swept over the dazzling array of goods sold in the shops on both sides of the street. He suggested to the Ninth Prince, "Ninth Brother, after lunch, let's go for a walk and buy some novelties that are not available in the palace to take back with us."
Since we're all out "traveling," we should definitely bring back some souvenirs.
Yin'e mainly wanted to buy some things to give to the Imperial Concubine. Before the Imperial Concubine entered the palace, she may have gone out shopping and may have laughed and enjoyed herself like other noble Manchu women.
However, after entering the palace, the Imperial Concubine was confined to the inner palace for most of the year. Even when she occasionally accompanied the emperor on his inspection tours, she probably had no chance to stroll around the streets. Although the items provided by the Imperial Household Department were all carefully selected high-quality products, they were all the same and lacked any novelty. How could they compare to the freshness sold in the countryside?
The Imperial Palace, the Qianqing Palace.
After taking a nap, Emperor Kangxi woke up refreshed and continued reviewing the memorials he hadn't finished reviewing that morning.
While they were busy, Liang Jiugong, the chief eunuch of the Qianqing Palace, suddenly tiptoed to Kangxi's side, bowed and reported, "Your Majesty, the Crown Prince requests an audience."
The vermilion brush, used for reviewing memorials, paused on the memorial. Kangxi hesitated for a moment before nodding, his tone somewhat conflicted, and said, "Let the Crown Prince in."
Previously, the Crown Prince could enter the Qianqing Palace without prior notice.
However, after Emperor Kangxi personally led an expedition against the Dzungars in August and fell ill at the front, the Crown Prince went to visit him but was indifferent, which led to a conflict and a quarrel between the father and son. After that, the Crown Prince had to report to the Emperor in advance, just like everyone else, before he came to the Qianqing Palace.
Although Emperor Kangxi and the Crown Prince had reconciled at the Mid-Autumn Festival family banquet on the fifteenth of August, their relationship had warmed up quickly over the past few days, and some warmth had reappeared between father and son, showing signs of reconciliation, the rift had not been completely healed. The Crown Prince's privileges in the Qianqing Palace and the Forbidden City had been quietly reduced to some extent.
"Father." After entering, the Crown Prince first bowed to Emperor Kangxi before explaining his purpose.
It wasn't a big deal, really. The Double Ninth Festival was just around the corner, and the Crown Prince came to ask Emperor Kangxi how he planned to celebrate it this year, whether he wanted to hold a palace banquet or a family banquet, and whether he wanted to make a big fuss about it.
"No need for a grand celebration," Kangxi replied after a moment's thought.
This year, the Qing Dynasty just launched a military campaign against the Dzungar tribe. Although victorious, the Qing Dynasty expended considerable resources. Unless there is special political significance, Emperor Kangxi did not plan to hold grand celebrations for ordinary festivals. Not to mention the Double Ninth Festival, even next month's Golden Offering Festival, Kangxi did not intend to hold a large-scale celebration.
The Crown Prince had anticipated Kangxi's answer. His handsome and refined face remained expressionless as he calmly replied, "Yes, Father."
Kangxi's relationship with the Crown Prince has improved considerably recently. After his anger and disappointment towards the Crown Prince subsided, Kangxi's affection and fondness for the Crown Prince resurfaced. He couldn't help but ask about the Crown Prince's life like an ordinary old father: "Baocheng, it's autumn now and the weather is getting cooler. How are you feeling?"
Once he started talking about his concerns, he couldn't stop. Kangxi, the widower, began to inquire about the Crown Prince's daily life in great detail, asking about everything, including what the Crown Prince ate each day, what clothes he wore, when he went to sleep, whether he had trouble sleeping at night, and how many dreams he had.
It must be said that after Empress Heseri passed away, Emperor Kangxi, who raised the Crown Prince as both father and mother, poured too much affection into him.
The Crown Prince was his most valued and beloved son. Kangxi gave nine-tenths of his fatherly love to the Crown Prince. It is no exaggeration to say that the Crown Prince was the apple of his eye and the apple of his eye.
At the same time, Kangxi also had a strong desire to control his son, the Crown Prince. All the people around the Crown Prince were appointed by Kangxi, and Kangxi would know immediately what the Crown Prince did or what happened around him.
The Crown Prince had almost no privacy in front of Emperor Kangxi; nothing could be hidden from him.
The crown prince has low emotional intelligence and doesn't know how to deal with people. He is quite arrogant and haughty.
However, it must be said that this was not entirely due to the Crown Prince's nature, but rather the result of Kangxi's upbringing. Kangxi spoiled the Crown Prince excessively, thus indulging him.
Yin'e once saw the Crown Prince's teacher kneeling to teach him. This was not because the Crown Prince was too arrogant or disrespectful to his teachers, but because it was a rule specifically decreed by Emperor Kangxi. Because Emperor Kangxi personally raised the Crown Prince, he did not allow the Crown Prince to respect or admire any teacher other than himself.
The Crown Prince was not close to the other princes and did not treat them as brothers, but this was because Emperor Kangxi placed the Crown Prince above the other princes. Over time, the Crown Prince, who was still a young boy, was naturally influenced and his views were changed, and he began to feel from the bottom of his heart that he was different from the other princes.
The Crown Prince had few close friends; his teacher knelt to teach him; his attendants were all Kangxi's men; and his brothers had a distant relationship with him.
As the crown prince, he had very few close associates and few people he could confide in.
Despite being cherished by Emperor Kangxi and being the crown prince surrounded by people, the crown prince was far more lonely than others because Emperor Kangxi had drawn an invisible barrier around him.
It was protection, but also a constraint.
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