In the evening, Fei Yanggu returned to his residence and heard the news that Physician Huo had come.
He gazed at his son and daughter, shaking his head inwardly. Tomorrow, the eldest prince, accompanied by his wife, would come to the residence under the pretext of [something unspecified].
"Little darling, tomorrow your father will give you an important task!" Fei Yanggu told him about Kangxi's order to sell firearms to Mongolia.
Her surprised expression made Fei Yanggu laugh.
"You and the Grand Consort go to the flower hall. We need to discuss some matters. Today, many of those shadow guards were sent by princes from the grasslands. The Empress Dowager was just going with the flow." Fei Yanggu explained everything that had happened outside.
Qingyan felt a bitter taste in his mouth; women really do have to help men.
“Father, I’ve got it. If those Mongol princes didn’t have something to gain, they definitely wouldn’t have readily proposed marriage to Emperor Kangxi.” Qingya was considered a backup option, but Qingyan didn’t feel guilty.
What Qingya did to Qingyan had completely changed Qingyan's mind, and she was making plans in her heart.
"Little Darling, Fourth Master asked me to ask you, is there any way to make those things stop working after a while?" Fei Yanggu didn't understand why Yin insisted on asking Qingyan.
She stared blankly at Fei Yanggu. Si Si liked to cause her trouble. She had told Si Si everything, but he still betrayed her.
"Tamper with the cannonballs, like making them damp or something. If they don't listen, then make sure they can't use firearms. Without cannonballs, those heavy things are just a pile of scrap metal." Qingyan liked firearms, and her excellent marksmanship during the expedition left a deep impression on Kangxi.
Previously, she would often go to church while the three men, including the Fiyangu, were away at court. She would simply go to the priest to buy some novels to read, as she believed this would give her more excuses to explain what she knew.
"Little Darling, how did you know?" Fei Yanggu was protective of his daughter; even the builders of the Ministry of Works didn't know this.
"That's what the priest said!" Qingyan said, seemingly unconcerned.
Because of the misleading information about firearms provided by several missionaries, Emperor Kangxi expelled them from the Qing Dynasty. The knowledge gained by the Qing Dynasty became an unsolved mystery.
Fei Yanggu nodded; the little guy was truly surprising.
"Moreover, Father, you shouldn't just sell the old firearms, you should also sell those old red-coated cannons. It would be better to sell everything once all the firearms battalions in the military are fully equipped! Keeping them is just a waste!" Qingyan complained. "The priest said that in their country, the Queen handles her colonies in this way!"
Qingyan looked at Fei Yanggu and spoke in a gentle, tactful tone.
Immediately, Fei Yanggu was astonished. The missionary had concealed a lot from His Majesty. No wonder Yin insisted on having Qingyan tell him.
"Little Darling, tomorrow you will go to the study with the First Princess." Fei Yanggu had to say that there were many things he couldn't explain clearly.
“Father, that’s not good for my sister!” Eshuo absolutely disagreed.
The Empress Dowager is preparing to take action against Qingyan. Women are not allowed to interfere in politics, which is the biggest weakness.
"It's alright, these aren't considered interference in politics, they're just business!" Fei Yanggu smiled. Kangxi had entrusted these transactions to the Nine Gates Commander's Office, which was considered a way to contribute more to securing military funding.
Qingyan blinked her big eyes as she listened to Fei Yanggu describe the situation on the grassland, her large almond-shaped eyes curving into crescents.
After a good night's sleep, Qingyan dressed herself up early and jogged to have dinner with her father and the others.
"Little darling, we need to go back to the new house!" Fei Yanggu looked at her; the old house was not a suitable place to discuss the matter.
"Father, what should we do, Mother?" Qingyan did not want to ruin the reputation that the Ulanara family had painstakingly built up over generations because of a momentary incident.
"Physician Peng will be coming, and there will be female physicians as well. When His Majesty learned that you were staying at the residence, he couldn't help but reiterate the prohibition." Fei Yanggu was very happy that Kangxi would personally come to his rescue.
After breakfast, the group left the old house by carriage. Before leaving, Qingyan asked Suxin to stay there and wait until Jueluo Shi recovered before returning to the new house.
She wanted to create an image for outsiders: the Emperor's decree forbidding tailings mining meant that even outside the law, there was compassion.
Upon arriving at the new residence, Yin, as the host, greeted Emperor Kangxi and Consort Tong. As he watched Qingyan walk into the hall, his eyes lit up.
"Little darling, come to me!" Kangxi looked at Qingyan, very satisfied with her performance yesterday. "You did well. Physician Huo's medical skills are not good, but he is the Empress Dowager's most trusted confidant. It is not easy for you to stop him."
In the past two days, the Cining Palace has not taken any action, and seeing this situation, he is even more worried.
"Your Majesty... This is what I should do!" Qingyan was instructed by Kangxi not to use the words "your subject" but to refer to herself as "I," which was considered an immense honor for her.
"Hmm, the priest gave you quite a few things?" After investigating, Kangxi learned that the priest and Qingyan had a good relationship and were close friends.
Qingyan nodded. The priest enjoyed cooking, so she certainly wouldn't miss out.
"Many of these things are different from what the Fourth Prince said!" Kangxi had always had Johann Adam Schall von Bell and others teach the princes geometry and other subjects.
Once, when she was bored, she was passing the time with Si Si's geometry homework. Little did she know that Yin would accidentally hand it to Kangxi.
From then on, when Kangxi was involved in matters concerning the West, he would listen to her thoughts, and the final decision might be completely different. He would carefully consider what Qingyan said.
"Yes, I've learned about the firearms matter. Fortunately, my second brother secretly sent people out to sea. Otherwise..." Kangxi had to admit that Fuquan, in order to accumulate more offspring, had done a good thing for the Qing Dynasty.
Qingyan smiled. Fuquan's idea to go overseas to do trade was entirely because she said that things were so cheap there, but would be very expensive when they were brought back. It's all about making money.
Yin's teasing gaze kept drifting towards her, and Qingyan's cheeks flushed slightly.
“Look at what you’re saying, these are all business matters. Many of the women are cooperating with Prince Yu’s mansion!” Consort Tong chimed in. In recent years, the amount of silver that Fuquan’s wife has been giving away to the public has been increasing.
Kangxi glanced at the two of them. Their jewelry and clothes were supplied by special people. What use was so much silver to them?
Xiao Guai opened Mei Ai under the Linlang Pavilion, and it was a situation where people were in high demand. Many people from the statistician's mansion went to the Imperial Concubine, hoping that she would intervene.
Yin didn't care what others said. Xiao Guai was working hard for a more prosperous future for the two of them. The princes were only given 230,000 taels of silver to establish their own residences, which was still insufficient to support such a large estate. (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.)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
