Yinzhen carefully recalled the building materials marked on his geomantic map—the precious woods, the stones, and so on…
The two hundred thousand taels his father gave him might not actually be enough.
After some time, the house began to be repaired, but the construction workers still didn't come to ask for the money.
Yinzhen sensed something was wrong and summoned Su Peisheng: "Go to the Imperial Household Department's Construction Division and ask if there's enough money for the Fourth Prince's residence repairs."
Upon receiving the order, Su Peisheng immediately went to the Construction Department of the Imperial Household Department to inquire.
Lord Chen, the Director of the Construction Department, was leisurely drinking tea when his subordinate rushed in, saying, "My lord, Eunuch Su, who serves the Fourth Prince, has arrived."
Upon hearing this, Lord Chen's leisurely expression vanished instantly. He stopped drinking his tea and asked in a panic, "Who did you say has arrived?"
"It's Eunuch Su from the Fourth Prince's side."
It turns out he hadn't misheard.
"Did he say what he came for?" Lord Chen asked quickly.
The subordinate replied, "This Eunuch Su didn't say anything, he only said he had something to ask to see me."
Lord Chen murmured softly, "Something you need to see me about? What could it be?"
Then he instructed his subordinates, "Quickly invite Eunuch Su in."
After his subordinate finished speaking and left to carry out the order, he straightened his clothes.
As soon as Su Peisheng entered, he saw the kind-faced Physician Chen and greeted him with a smile, "This servant greets Lord Chen."
"You're too kind, Eunuch Su. Please rise."
"Thank you, Lord Chen."
After Su Peisheng got up, he heard Doctor Chen ask, "I wonder if Eunuch Su has brought any instructions from the Fourth Prince?"
Looking at the somewhat apprehensive Physician Chen, Su Peisheng said with a smile, "The master's residence is under construction, so I was sent here to inquire about the progress."
Physician Chen said, "I wonder what brilliant ideas Fourth Prince has for the renovation of the mansion? Our Construction Department is in charge of this kind of work, and we will certainly be able to meet Fourth Prince's requirements."
Upon hearing this, Su Peisheng was somewhat surprised by the overly friendly attitude of Doctor Chen, but he remained calm on the surface. He then explained his purpose: "It is like this, the master sent me to inquire about the progress of the mansion's repairs. Also, regarding the money for the repairs, the master said that if it is not enough, the magistrate can calculate the amount, and the shortfall can be collected from the Fourth Prince."
Their fourth prince was never short of money.
Upon hearing this, Physician Chen was somewhat bewildered. When the Fourth Prince investigated the Imperial Household Department, he used all sorts of strange and unusual methods to better audit the accounts.
Those working in the Imperial Household Department thought that the Fourth Prince was a bit cunning, or rather, a bit of a scoundrel. While he wouldn't completely break his word, he would also set traps for others when he did.
So when he first heard this, Doctor Chen was not happy. Instead, he was a little scared and wondered if this was another trap.
Or perhaps, the Fourth Prince wanted to use this incident to test whether their Construction Department was corrupt?
For a moment he was undecided. After a while, considering the meager profits the entire Construction Bureau could make, and fearing this might be a conspiracy by the Fourth Prince, he decided that he absolutely could not accept a single penny from the Fourth Prince.
Who knows if this money will burn him? Even if it's not enough in the end, and he has to make up the difference, he doesn't want to accept the Fourth Prince's hot money.
The more Chen Langzhong thought about it, the more he felt that his consideration was correct, so he said to Su Peisheng, "I'm sorry to trouble you to make this extra trip, Eunuch Su. The money His Majesty gave us is enough to repair the Fourth Prince's residence, so there is no need for any additional subsidies."
Su Peisheng's expression turned strange upon hearing this. In fact, his master had sent him here to deliver silver, and he thought it was just a formality. Who knew that the silver wouldn't be delivered? That was indeed strange.
However, since they had already said that, he couldn't very well say, "I think the money definitely won't be enough, so I have to make them accept the money."
Although the Fourth Prince's income was high, he was secretly supporting a concubine named Tong!
We should save money whenever possible. In case Princess Tong suddenly develops a hobby of burning money, the master won't have to impose any restrictions on her spending.
So Su Peisheng went back to report.
When Yinzhen heard the Construction Department say that the money was enough, he was a little confused and didn't understand. He knew the geomantic map he had drawn, and the two hundred thousand taels of silver his father had given him for settling down was really not enough for him to build a house.
But how could that be enough once we got to the Construction Bureau?
That's really strange.
Yinzhen probably had a terrible dream, so he couldn't believe that such a good thing could happen, and decided to investigate what was going on.
Because when he investigated the Imperial Household Department, he left some connections within it. Although they weren't particularly noticeable, they were still useful for gathering information.
It wasn't too difficult to find out the reason, and it didn't take long for Yinzhen to learn the general cause. After learning it, he couldn't help but laugh.
Some people are just shameless; they won't know the meaning of "saving" unless you're ruthless enough. Can't they just save money and expect to achieve their goals?
Finally, thinking about the extra money the Construction Department had made over the years, Yinzhen did something even more despicable for the Construction Department.
He revealed a little information, and then the eldest prince and the third prince both knew that the mansion renovated for them by the Construction Bureau was exquisite and "cheap". Then the two started arguing. They were both princes and received the same settlement allowance, so why were they treated differently?
The Construction Bureau couldn't withstand such a disturbance. There was no other way but to suspend construction on the two mansions, which were already ready to start, and redesign the plans.
Then the Construction Bureau could only try its best to reduce profits and expenses, not hoping to gain any benefits, but just hoping not to lose money.
When Yinzhen learned of this, he couldn't help but let out a faint smile. How comforting!
His relationship with the First Prince was passable, but not particularly good. He and the Third Prince were not enemies, but they felt uncomfortable if they didn't exchange a few words when they met. The reason he did this was simply to prevent outsiders from benefiting.
Yinzhen understood in his heart that no matter how close the brothers were, outsiders were still outsiders. He could let his brothers with whom he had a casual relationship benefit, but he couldn't let his subordinates embezzle the money. The money that was embezzled belonged to the Aisin Gioro family, and it pained him to see it go.
The Construction Department was burdened with a lot of work and was in a bad mood. They were looking everywhere for the person who had let the news slip. The First Prince and the Third Prince were also looking for this good person.
Yinzhen kept his merits and fame hidden, acting as if he had never done such a good deed.
Yinzhen did this discreetly, but that didn't stop Kangxi from finding out. He had originally thought that the settlement allowance for his son wouldn't be enough, but unexpectedly, the money was enough in the blink of an eye, and his son didn't even need to put in any money himself.
He had to investigate this matter. Yinzhen didn't expect to be able to hide it from his father, the Emperor. Kangxi found out as soon as he investigated, and couldn't help but be happy. What a good son! He made him proud. He even helped his third son, with whom he didn't have a good relationship. He was a magnanimous man.
Amidst the grueling daily routine of the Construction Department, Yinzhen's mansion was completed, just as the year was drawing to a close.
After inspecting the construction progress of his sons' residences, Emperor Kangxi concluded that they were basically completed. Then, with a wave of his hand, he decided that his three sons would move out of the palace after the New Year.
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