Chapter 174 Begging for mercy with one thousand taels
At three o'clock the next morning, when it was still pitch black outside and there was no light at all, Yin'e took Xiao Linzi out of the Qianxi Third Palace and hurried to the Imperial Study.
Upon entering the brightly lit study, Yin'e immediately spotted the Ninth Prince sitting at his desk, his little head nodding as he dozed off.
He walked over and placed the book box on his desk. Instead of sitting down, Yin'e leaned against the Ninth Prince, grinning, and said, "Ninth Brother, you're up so early today. Why didn't you wait for me?"
To avoid coming to the Imperial Study with him, the palace servants from the Fourth Palace of the Western Regions told me that the Ninth Prince actually got up a full quarter of an hour early—quite a sacrifice! It's clear that the Ninth Prince was quite angry this time and wouldn't forgive him so easily.
The Ninth Prince, who had been dozing off, had already woken up from his drowsy state when Yin'e entered the room. His eyes remained closed, but his dark eyelashes trembled slightly like butterfly wings, causing the small, curved fan cast on his slightly bluish-black eyelids to tremble as well.
The Ninth Prince ignored him and pretended to be asleep with his eyes closed. Yin'e didn't mind and just continued to lean against the Ninth Prince, squeezing him to the other side, insisting on sitting on the same chair and using the same desk with him: "Ninth Brother, I asked Mother for a favor yesterday. Don't you want to know what it is?"
Yin'e emphasized, deliberately keeping the matter a secret, wanting to see how long the Ninth Prince could endure without asking further questions.
Not to Yin'e's disappointment, the Ninth Prince only held back for less than a minute before eagerly opening his eyes and looking at Yin'e. His delicate and beautiful face was stern, and his phoenix eyes bulged into triangles as he glared fiercely at Yin'e, saying in a stern voice, "Speak quickly, what is it?"
Yin'e did not answer the Ninth Prince's question immediately. Instead, he raised his head and looked around the brightly lit schoolroom with a seemingly wary expression.
Danfeng's eyes widened even more. Yin'e's actions made the Ninth Prince's heart jump. He forgot that he was still angry with Yin'e and took the initiative to lean over and whisper in Yin'e's ear: "Tenth Brother, is it something important? If so, let's go back to the Prince's Residence and talk about it."
The Imperial Study was Kangxi's territory, and with so many people and so many opinions, the Ninth Prince did not want to discuss highly confidential matters in public.
Of course, the Ninth Prince's secrets and Emperor Kangxi's secrets are not the same thing. Even if it's something insignificant, as long as the Ninth Prince cares about it and is very concerned about it, then it's a secret to him.
Blinking, a smile flashed across his almond-shaped eyes, and Yin'e shook his head slightly: "It's not that secret~" Before the Ninth Prince could speak, Yin'e readily revealed the answer, "I asked my mother to ask my uncle to help me recruit people in the capital."
"We don't necessarily require them to be businessmen, but rather managers or employees who know how to do business. As long as they are smart, eager to learn, and willing to improve, that's fine. At worst, we can recruit people, sign long-term contracts, and then slowly train them. We can definitely train them out over a few months."
The Ninth Prince's eyes lit up, and he couldn't help but get excited: "So, once Duke Guoyi helps us recruit some men, we can begin..."
The Ninth Prince, whose voice had become slightly louder with excitement, abruptly shut his mouth. He raised his head, stretched his neck like a meerkat, and cautiously looked around the school. Seeing that no one was paying attention to them, he lowered his voice and whispered, "So we can start doing business now?"
"Yes." Yin'e nodded emphatically, giving an affirmative answer.
Unbeknownst to him, he had been coaxed by Yin'e and was no longer angry. The Ninth Prince was overjoyed, rubbing his hands together and gesturing excitedly. A bright smile appeared on his face, but no matter how you looked at it, the smile seemed to have a sinister meaning.
"My birthday is at the end of the month." The Ninth Prince raised an eyebrow, looking shrewd. "I want to announce to everyone that this year I only accept silver as gifts. No antique books, inkstones, wolf-hair brushes, or purple-hair brushes; no antique collectibles, just real gold and silver. Of course, silver notes would be even better!"
Yin'e slowly closed his wide-open mouth, looking both amused and exasperated, and reached out to touch the Ninth Prince's forehead to check his temperature: "No fever. Ninth Brother, why are you talking nonsense!"
Grabbing Yin'e's hand and removing it from his forehead, the Ninth Prince pouted and gave Yin'e a dissatisfied look: "Where did I talk nonsense? Isn't my idea good? I think it's perfect!"
“What kind of gifts do I receive every year for my birthday? So many writing implements, I can’t even use them all; and those old books, who cares how precious they are, I’m too lazy to even open them, they just sit on the bookshelf and go to waste.”
"As for those antiques and collectibles, I really don't understand what's so great about them. They're old and ugly, and they take up too much space if I put them out. I can only stuff them all into the warehouse and store them away."
Yin'e withdrew his hand from the Ninth Prince's forehead and touched his own. He suddenly realized that the one with the fever might not be the Ninth Prince, but him, which was why he was having auditory hallucinations.
After discovering that the forehead temperature was normal, Yin'e's last shred of hope vanished. He took a deep breath, looked at the Ninth Prince who had no intention of changing his mind, and couldn't help but sigh, "Ninth Brother, Father has returned to the capital. Aren't you afraid he will punish you for acting so recklessly?"
During the two weeks that Kangxi was away from the capital, Yin'e and the Ninth Prince had a very relaxed time, and the discipline of the officials in the Imperial Study was also much less strict. But good times always pass quickly, and Kangxi returned to the capital in less than a month, and the Imperial Study once again fell into Kangxi's clutches.
Mentioning Emperor Kangxi, the Ninth Prince immediately slumped down, his long, phoenix-shaped eyes almost drooping into pitiful puppy eyes, and he sighed dejectedly, "But I have no money."
When the Ninth Prince inventoried his treasury in February, he could barely scrape together a thousand taels. But half a year later, in August, he didn't even have a thousand taels left—his birthday was still more than ten days away, and since the treasury hadn't been replenished this year, his savings had naturally decreased instead of increased.
When peers exchange birthday gifts, they usually give each other things that they can use, rather than simply giving money directly. However, the gifts from the Empress Dowager and Emperor Kangxi often included gold and silver coins.
The Empress Dowager, in particular, preferred to send substantial gifts of gold and silver. Being a Mongol, she was rather shrewd and didn't know what to give, especially since her dowry was substantial and half of Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang's private savings had gone to her. She was incredibly wealthy, so the gold and silver gifts she received were merely a drop in the ocean.
Yin'e had already thought of this, which is why he decided to start with the milk powder business. He lowered his voice and whispered in the Ninth Prince's ear, "I've calculated it. If we each contribute five hundred taels, it will be enough for the initial expenses."
"Huh?" The Ninth Prince opened his phoenix eyes wide in disbelief. "One thousand taels is enough? Although wool is cheap, one thousand taels won't buy much, not to mention that wool has to go through several processes before it can be spun into thread."
Yin'e shook his head almost imperceptibly at the Ninth Prince, then lowered his voice and said, "Let's put the wool business on hold for now and talk about it again in a few years. The wool business is too big. We're young and can't leave the palace often. Once the wool business starts to make a profit, I'm afraid we won't be able to keep it going."
"Who dares to steal our business?" Ninth Prince was so angered by Yin'e's idea that he forgot to keep his voice down. He slammed his hand heavily on the desk, startling Fifth Prince, who was sitting in front of them. Fifth Prince turned around and looked at Yin'e and Ninth Prince with a bewildered expression.
Yin'e gestured to the Fifth Prince that everything was alright, then tugged at the Ninth Prince to calm him down, and said in a calm tone in the Ninth Prince's ear, "There are far too many people who dare to do this. Not to mention Father, the Crown Prince, and my elder brother, even the Imperial Household Department is not easy to deal with."
"And then there are those princes in the capital, Prince Jian and Prince Zhuang, those hereditary princes in Shengjing, and the princes of the Mongol tribes. Once they discover that wool can also make money, they will definitely not just watch a profitable business with envy and not reach out."
Because the grease and odor on the wool cannot be removed, how cheap is wool on the grassland? You can't find anyone willing to buy it even for ten pounds for a penny! Most of the wool, after being sheared from the sheep, is left to be scattered by the wind and decompose in the natural environment.
When those Manchu nobles and Mongolian princes who could reach into Mongolia learned that wool could also be sold for money, even though wool yarn was cheap and the profit was not high, wool was originally a byproduct of grazing sheep, and in the past it was just thrown around on the grasslands for free.
Being able to exchange wool for money, even if it only nets one coin per pound, is still a huge profit for the Mongols who previously had no access to wool.
Money found on the ground is something no one would pass up. At that time, the Qing Dynasty had little awareness of protecting patents; if the pure alkali wool washing method were leaked, Yin'e guaranteed that alkali mills would spring up like mushrooms after rain, flourishing throughout Mongolia.
Before the wool business even started, the Ninth Prince was already furious at Yin'e's speculation, his heart filled with resentment. He knew Yin'e was right; once others found out that wool could be cleaned, they would desperately try to uncover the secret and then rush to Mongolia to make money.
"Damn it!" The Ninth Prince slammed his fist on the table in anger, startling the Fifth Prince in front of him, who turned around in a daze, his eyes even more bewildered than before: he didn't remember offending his Ninth Brother.
Speaking of which, Ninth Brother rushed into the Imperial Study alone this morning. Wasn't he suspected of arguing with Tenth Brother? How come they were already whispering intimately together again just as the morning reading began? Did they actually have a fight or not?
"Isn't there any other way?" the Ninth Prince said, looking frustrated. "Can't we think of a way to prevent the formula from being leaked?"
Biting his lower lip, the Ninth Prince's expression shifted for a moment before he suddenly uttered a vicious declaration: "Anyone who dares to betray us, I'll take their head and their whole family to be buried with them!"
With a slight twitch at the corner of his mouth, Yin'e didn't bother to discern whether the Ninth Prince was speaking out of anger or in truth. He simply said, "Ninth Brother, these things are still unseen, so let's not think about them for now. When we grow up, we'll bring Fifth Brother, Seventh Brother, and the others along. With so many princes tied together, those princes won't dare to underestimate us."
Completely unsettled by Yin'e's words, the Ninth Prince, still seething with anger, muttered, "At worst, we'll stop doing the wool business and destroy that wool-washing formula. I'd rather not make that money than let anyone take advantage of me!"
This was the Ninth Prince's nature—quite capricious and willful. If he couldn't have something, then no one else could either. The Ninth Prince was never one to tolerate being beaten or scolded, nor did he lack the courage and ruthlessness to fight to the death.
Slapping his forehead, Yin'e looked at the Ninth Prince, who was getting a bit stuck on his own thoughts, and regretted explaining to him how shameless those hereditary princes and Mongol princes could be when it came to interests. Knowing that the Ninth Prince had a quick temper, he still told him these things, only to make him angry for no reason.
"Ninth Brother, Ninth Brother..." Grabbing the Ninth Prince's arm and shaking it, Yin'e softly advised, "Don't be angry, this is still nothing!"
"How about this, we'll spend the next two years thinking about how to keep the formula a secret, so that once the wool business is up and running, only the two of us will know the exact formula."
After a pause, Yin'e added, "Ninth Brother, don't worry. Although Xiao Linzi has worked for me before, he only knows the surface but not the underlying principles. Even if he wanted to leak the secret, he couldn't."
Yin'e still trusted Xiao Linzi and didn't suspect him. However, the Ninth Prince, who was in a fit of anger, clearly viewed everyone except Yin'e and himself as objects of suspicion. Yin'e couldn't reason with the enraged Ninth Prince and could only sacrifice Xiao Linzi's reputation.
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