As time went by, Qingyan grew bored, and Yin noticed that she was not as lively as before, which made him increasingly worried.
The Mongolian princes made many excuses to get close to Fei Yanggu, but none of them were ever invited into his new residence. The Mongolian wives often sent Qingyan invitations, but Qingyan always dismissed them under the pretext of learning etiquette.
In contrast, the invitations sent by the wives of high-ranking officials to those of refined tastes were always successful.
Upon hearing Su Peisheng's report, Yin couldn't help but snort coldly. These Mongolian princes and their wives had been using this excuse to stay in the capital for two months. Even if the Empress Dowager didn't say anything, Kangxi couldn't refute it.
Kangxi only instructed Feiyanggu to pay more attention to the situation inside the Nine Gates. Those princes and their sons had not changed their domineering nature after arriving in the capital. The ladies of the capital rarely went out. If they were targeted by the Mongol brutes, they would be in trouble.
Qingyan was bored, so she started tinkering with her little plot of land again. She specially asked someone to bring potato and sweet potato seeds from the West. These were also available in the Ming Dynasty. With the Qing Dynasty's entry into the Central Plains, the Eight Banners' sons no longer needed to farm.
Within the capital, shops selling grain seeds are becoming increasingly scarce, so if she wants to obtain seeds, she must go to shops in Jiangnan.
"Little darling, you're messing around again!" Yin watched as Qingyan used a small dagger to cut a long-toothed potato.
Giuseppe Castiglione once told Emperor Kangxi that potatoes should not be eaten once they have sprouted, otherwise people will be poisoned.
The potatoes in Qingyan's hand had all sprouted, and even if she wanted to eat them, she couldn't harm her body.
"This isn't for eating, it's meant to be planted in the ground, Fourth Prince, don't you understand?" Qingyan blinked her big eyes at Yin, her bright, piercing gaze making Yin feel ashamed.
In his past life, he reclaimed wasteland in the Yuanmingyuan Garden, where he planted mostly grains, and there were no such crops at all.
"Fourth Prince, this can be eaten as a meal, as can sweet potatoes. I read in Marco Polo's Travels that these two crops have extremely high yields." On the kang table in the Qingyan room was a Chinese translation of Marco Polo's Travels, which was a gift from Johann Adam Schall von Bell to Emperor Kangxi.
When Emperor Kangxi heard that Qingyan enjoyed reading travelogues, he immediately sent over a set of Marco Polo's Travels translated by Johann Adam Schall von Bell. As Qingyan looked at the set, he began to calculate how much money he could make at the modern auction.
On the day she received the book, she used the photocopier in her space to make an aged copy. People in the Qing Dynasty couldn't tell it was a copy at all. The handwritten translation became Qingyan's collection and was placed in the constant temperature room in her space.
Yin slapped his forehead. In the spring, Qingyan had a debate with him about the yield of potatoes and sweet potatoes.
At that time, Yin was planning to have someone conduct an experiment at the royal estate during winter. However, when the time came to plant the plants, Yin completely forgot about it.
"Are there any more seeds?" Yin wondered how many Qingyan's small frame could possibly grow, so he decided it would be better to send the seeds to the manor to plant.
"No, there are only two rows," Qingyan said angrily.
Her anger surged; Yin Mingming had clearly promised to conduct the experiment, and even Emperor Yongzheng's promises were no longer valid.
snort!
She lowered her head and continued her work, ignoring Yin.
He gave a wry smile; the little guy was upset.
A moment later, Yin sat cross-legged on the soft couch, took out a dagger from his bag, and cut potatoes with Qingyan. Qingyan's small basket only had half a basket of potatoes. After they were all cut, Yin felt that there was a bit too much.
"Little darling, shall we plant them together?" Yin was a little troubled. Even if they planted them themselves, it would still take several days.
"No!" Yin was delighted to hear this. He was experienced in directing the servants to work. "Only you will plant it!"
Qingyan pouted and said angrily, "This matter is absolutely non-negotiable. Even if Yin pleads until the heavens break, it won't work!"
"What?!" Yin looked at Qingyan in astonishment. "Little darling, it will take me a long time to plant."
Apart from the days when he was polishing in seclusion, Yin never did any manual labor.
"You can't refuse, this is your punishment! I'll grow sweet potatoes!" Qingyan turned her head arrogantly and continued to process the sweet potatoes in her hands.
In the afternoon, Yin and Qingyan packed their things and prepared to go to the fields.
Su Peisheng and Su Lan were about to help when Qing Yan waved her hand, directly refusing their offer.
“Your Majesty…” Su Peisheng looked helplessly at the Fourth Prince. This prince had never worked so hard before. If he fell ill from exhaustion, how would he explain it to His Majesty?
"Stand there and don't move. In this mansion, you must listen to Xiao'ai." Yin made the servants around him hear Qingyan's instructions early on, so as to make Qingyan aware of the obstacles in the future.
For two consecutive days, Yin worked at sunrise and rested at sunset.
After the Dragon Guards informed Emperor Kangxi of this matter, the unkind Emperor Kangxi burst into laughter, packed up his memorials, and went to Chengqian Palace to share his son's embarrassing incident with Consort Tong.
The hard work of the past two days had left Qingyan somewhat exhausted. Fei Yanggu and his two sons rarely had the opportunity to return to the manor. Seeing Qingyan's little face flushed red from the sun, they felt a little resentful towards Yin.
Before leaving, Yin solemnly promised that he would take good care of Qingyan, but in such a short time, the little guy has become so ugly.
"Fourth Uncle, Qingyan insists on planting sweet potatoes and potatoes, and won't let the servants help her!" Yin didn't feel it was hard work. If his hard work could make her happy, he would accept it.
The little guy took to the field himself, forcing him to seek outside help.
Fei Yanggu shook his head helplessly. Yin clearly wanted them to restrain Qingyan's actions, but they didn't have the ability to do so.
"And you?" E'shuo noticed that Yin had gotten quite tanned; he must have been tormented by Qingyan these past few days.
"I planted the potatoes myself, while Qingyan made a fuss on the side!" Yin wouldn't say anything bad about Qingyan, so he could accept this punishment.
Fei Yanggu was satisfied with Yin's attitude. The unkind Kangxi often shared the story of Yin being punished with Fuquan and others as gossip.
According to Emperor Kangxi, Yinzhi had always had a stern face since birth, rarely even smiling at his father, Emperor Kangxi. It was only after Qingyan was born that Yinzhi's emotions gradually became more normal.
Qingyan was making trouble for Yin, but Kangxi was enjoying the show and absolutely wouldn't let Feiyanggu interfere in the affairs of these two little devils.
"Fourth Uncle, Qingyan will get exhausted if she continues like this!" Yin explained helplessly.
"Go ahead and try to persuade her, but all three men in our family listen to her." E Shuo shrugged helplessly; they had no way to get Qing Yan to listen to them.
Yin was speechless. The three men in front of him were invincible in the face of enemies, but they were as docile as cats in front of Qingyan. He certainly wouldn't criticize Qingyan; in fact, he hoped that Qingyan could live such a happy life forever.
"I can't persuade her!" Yin shook his head dejectedly, glaring at Qingyan's pitiful eyes, and gave in without any principles. (To be continued. If you like this work, please vote for it on Qidian. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please go to m.qidian.com to read.)
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