Chapter 153: When I was about to help your father, the sky seemed to be getting dark...
It was just the afternoon when the sky darkened as if it was about to fall at night. Heavy rain fell on the tiles, making a tinkling sound. I tilted my head to look up at the sky and saw dark clouds that seemed to be within reach.
Qi Buchen walked back to the main courtyard along the corridor, entered the study, and took off his cloak that was wet by the breeze and slanting rain at the door.
Yinzhen put down his pen, stood up and walked towards her. He took her hand and pulled her to the stove, rubbing it while warming it. "Is he gone?"
"Yeah." Qi Buchen let him cover his hands and move his neck left and right. He was really tired from sitting in such a straight posture for such a long time.
When his hands were almost warm, Yinzhen used them to cover her neck, pinching it to relieve her fatigue. "What did you say?"
"It's the same old stuff, nothing new," Qi Buchen complained, imitating the other ladies. "Princess, you and the prince have a deep bond, and you understand us perfectly. It's not that our prince doesn't want to, but it's just that there are so many things that we can't send him back as scheduled. The journey isn't safe, you understand, right?"
Yinzhen suppressed a smile as he watched her antics: "Thank you for your hard work, Princess." He sighed and cursed, "They're a bunch of idlers who just sit there doing nothing. They should all be fired!"
It's tax year-end, and the Ministry of Revenue is busy with this task. Tax evasion, tax concealment, and tax deferral have been a common occurrence since ancient times, and this time is no exception. For those whose lands are far away, the sky is high and the roads are long, so last year's taxes may not be paid until next year. Even if they face various difficulties, what can you do? That's considered a good thing. Then there's the matter of someone submitting a memorial midway, stating that their land has suffered a disaster and they've been forced to use last year's tax silver for disaster relief. Not only can you not force them to pay the tax silver, but you'll also have to exempt them from this year's taxes.
Although Yinzhen was not in charge of taxation, he was now serving as an official in the Ministry of Revenue, so some people who thought they were smart came to him with gifts, hoping that Yinzhen would plead for his family members who were working in other places. After all, taxation was an important reference data for evaluating officials.
Yinzhen refused all requests for an audience on the grounds of being busy with official duties, so these families took advantage of the situation and sent their female relatives to see Qi Buchen.
Since Yinzhen had pushed it away, she couldn't push it away anymore. Qi Buchen had been busy meeting people recently and hadn't done any real work.
"That's right!" Qi Buchen cursed in unison, "The dogs fed by us still wag their tails and guard the house, but when we pay them a salary, they just sit there and do nothing. They're worse than beasts!"
Yinzhen, who was originally angry, didn't know whether to laugh or cry: "Why are you paying less attention to your image recently?"
She had never said these words before.
"We are an old married couple, don't worry about it." Qi Buchen said indifferently, and asked, "Don't you want to scold me?"
Yinzhen nodded immediately: "I think so, I think so, the princess's scolding really resonates with me."
Qi Buchen glared at him and pondered, "There's something I find a little strange. These people are fine, but the Tenth Lady has been coming to my house so frequently lately. At first I thought she wanted to ask me for some secret recipe for having a child, but when I told her directly, the Tenth Lady said she wasn't interested in any secret recipes at all."
More than just lacking interest, Borjigit even said with disdain, "Who wants to give birth to his child? I came to the capital to enjoy life, not to have children. If he wants one, there are plenty of women in the backyard. Let them have it."
Qi Buchen immediately developed a fondness for this girl from the grassland: "She doesn't look fake, but she wouldn't get close to me for no reason. What do you think her reason is?"
"The tenth brother has been coming to see me quite frequently lately," Yinzhen said calmly. "A while ago, the Emperor appointed Alinga as Minister of the Lipan Court, and Nalan Kuixu has been instrumental in that. Since then, he's been less involved with the ninth brother and has been coming to see me instead. It seems he's not such a complete fool after all, and is quite clever."
Qi Buchen was lost in thought. Shortly after the triplets' first birthday party, Yin'e and Yin'e moved out of the palace and lived on the same street as them. Back when they were still living in the palace, everyone knew that the two brothers had a very good relationship with the Eighth Prince. But after leaving the palace, Qi Buchen discovered that the two brothers did not visit Yinsi's residence very often, at least Yin'e did not go there very often.
Was it possible that Yin'e was deliberately distancing himself from Yinsi at that time? After all, the Daqiansui Party was thriving, and Yinsi was a well-known core member of the Daqiansui Party. The two of them had a good relationship with Yinsi, and some people saw them as supporting Yinzhi. Although Aling'a had never publicly expressed his support for Yinzhi, it was a fact that he was close to Nalan Kuixu, and those with ulterior motives would not underestimate his superficial attitude.
"What about my attitude towards the Tenth Lady?" Qi Buchen asked hesitantly. She was not quite sure about her attitude on these matters.
Yinzhen patted her on the shoulder and said, "Just be what you should be. We're not planning on doing anything. Just be normal sisters-in-law. If you like me, get close to me. If you don't like me, reject me. It's fine."
In the past year, Yinzhen, Yinxiang and Yinzhen also left the palace to set up their own homes and married their wives one after another.
Qi Buchen nodded: "How is your account going?"
Yinzhen suddenly felt a headache and pinched his temples: "I have to endure a few more days." Although he did not have to take care of the tax and silver pile, because most of the staff of the Ministry of Revenue had been transferred to deal with taxes and silver during this period, all the other trivial matters fell on him. Just the accounting of the money and grain collected from various departments was a headache for him.
"Well, let's do it quickly." Qi Buchen stood up, walked to his desk, and began to help Yinzhen settle the accounts.
This situation continued for some time. Seeing that Yinzhen did not return home before curfew every day, and stayed up late in the study when he came back, Qi Buchen asked him what he was busy with. Then she simply asked him to bring the account books back. On the one hand, it would make the family more comfortable, and on the other hand, she could help.
At first, Yinzhen was a little hesitant. After all, this was official business, and although it was not a secret, he was influenced by the idea that "the harem should not interfere in politics", and he still thought it was not a good idea for women from the backyard to participate in the previous dynasty. He only gave Qi Buchen some unimportant numbers and asked her to calculate them.
Later, Qi Buchen's speed in processing data was so fast that he decided to buy it.
Another day of hard work.
As the spring examination was approaching, something went wrong during the autumn examination last year. Students from Shuntian Prefecture sued Wang Shilang and Yao Zanshan, the two examiners from the Ministry of Revenue, for accepting bribes and selecting scholars unfairly.
This is a big deal. If the students who gather in the capital don't gather together, they will riot, and the Spring Examination will also be affected.
Of course, Kangxi was furious and immediately ordered the Ministry of Justice to arrest the man. This had nothing to do with Yinzhen. He had not had any friendship with Minister Wang during his time in the Ministry of Revenue.
But someone came to see him.
Yinzhen looked at the person in front of him with an unpredictable expression. After a long silence, he sighed, "Go back. I can't help you with this matter."
"Prince Yong, are you sure you won't reconsider it?" The visitor seemed to have not expected him to refuse, and his tone was somewhat displeased.
Who dares to turn his back on him?
Yinzhen's face darkened. "How dare a servant like you, a messenger, question me? I'm speaking to you politely out of respect for your master, not to tolerate your insolence!"
The visitor was angry and weak, and said in a sarcastic tone, "I am just reminding you, Prince Yong, don't regret it."
"Get out." Yinzhen's tone was calm, but the power contained in it should not be underestimated.
Qi Buchen waited for him to come back, and seeing that he was in a bad mood, he asked, "Who is it, so late at night?"
Yinzhen didn't say anything until he turned off the lights and lay down. Then he let out a breath, hugged the person in his arms and whispered, "The prince's people."
Qi Buchen's sleepiness disappeared immediately, and he lowered his voice and asked, "What do I want to talk to you about?"
"Minister Wang is the prince's man. He came to me to pass a message to the Ministry of Justice." Yinzhen patted her back intermittently, his tone a little vague.
Compared to the Ministry of Revenue, which was in trouble all the time, Yinzhen was quite comfortable in the Ministry of Justice. His personality was well-liked by some officials in the Ministry of Justice who hated evil.
Qi Buchen frowned: "Even if that's the case, why bother to protect this man when he's already useless? The Minister is nothing, right?"
For the prince.
"The Minister of Revenue is not a small pawn." Yinzhen corrected her misunderstanding.
He muttered to himself again, both to clear his wife's confusion and to sort out his own thoughts: "Besides, Minister Wang's brother-in-law's brother is the Minister of the Imperial Household, but that doesn't mean he'll find me. ... Is there something fishy about this unusually admitted group of students? Was Minister Wang originally assigned to other tasks, but he got greedy and used it for his own personal gain, and then something went wrong?"
The rescue was also to reassure Minister Wang and stop him from talking nonsense?
Yinzhen did not say this out loud, but he personally thought it was very likely.
Qi Buchen couldn't give her own opinion. She didn't know much about this information, and Minister Wang had only heard of it. The two families had never even sent each other daily holiday gifts.
"You agreed?" She went straight to the point.
Yinzhen patted her head and said, "What are you thinking about? You can't even take care of yourself, why are you getting involved?"
Don't you support the prince?
Qi Buchen didn't say this. Forget it. It didn't matter who he supported in his heart. It was enough for him to be rational. Now the two groups were showing some signs of fighting each other openly. It was time to keep a low profile.
I don't know whether the prince's side had looked for other people, but Minister Wang was dealt with very quickly. After all, this matter was under the personal supervision of Kangxi, and it involved the imperial examination, so it was basically impossible to let him off lightly.
As soon as one wave of trouble subsided, another wave arose. The Governor-General of Liangjiang impeached the Prefect of Jiangning with great fanfare. It was hard to say who the Governor-General of Liangjiang was, but the Prefect of Jiangning was clearly a member of the princeling party.
With the coming and going of officials in the court, Yinzhen became more and more low-key. He hardly spoke in the court, and did not stay in the Ministry of Revenue after the court. He just took people to collect the overdue silver with a fierce look. For a time, all the families in the capital were terrified of the Prince of Yong, and it almost had the effect of stopping children from crying at night.
Qi Buchen laughed so hard that he fell down when he heard the report from his servants.
Yinzhen was speechless: "Have you laughed enough?"
Qi Buchen wiped his tears and said, "Enough is enough." He pulled Honghui, who had finally returned home from his day off, and said, "Your father is now misunderstood and has a bad reputation. We have to help him."
Honghui caught a glimpse of his father's dark face and finally chose to agree with his mother.
"Mother, tell me what to do."
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