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After lunch, Yin and his companions split up to go for a stroll in the streets. Yin Genjue Luo Shi said she wanted to buy some things, while Qing Yan planned to go to Linglong Pavilion.
Last night, the shopkeepers complained for a long time. He heard about Kun'e's actions and felt a little upset. He thought Yin's actions were a bit excessive.
Emperor Kangxi repeatedly instructed that the properties under the names of the princes must never compete with the common people for profit, and Yinzhi directly walked into the line of fire.
Once the memorial reached the emperor's desk, Yin was certain he couldn't escape. At this moment, Yin's feelings were very conflicted. On the one hand, he hoped to bring Kun'e to justice, and on the other hand, he hoped that he hadn't been involved in these matters.
"Little darling, do you think Old Nine knows about this?" Yin looked at the message from the Sticky Rod Office. Kun'e not only plundered the people's wealth, but also charged protection money. If the merchants didn't pay, local thugs would definitely come knocking on their doors.
The mastermind behind Linglong Pavilion and Yuelai Inn is Qingyan. Kun'e is somewhat more restrained, but he still causes a lot of trouble for the two shops.
"Most importantly, this person also forged banknotes!" Qingyan took a small box, which was specially sent by the manager of Linglong Pavilion.
Just as dawn was breaking, the innkeeper of Yuelai Inn delivered a sandalwood box containing two five-thousand-tael silver notes, one genuine and one counterfeit.
What? !
Yin looked at her in surprise; this was no small matter.
Qingyan took out a small box from the drawer of the carriage compartment, inside which were two silver notes.
"You can compare them yourself!" Qingyan didn't intend to say more; facts speak louder than words.
Yin picked up the two silver notes and compared them carefully. Sure enough, the texture and pattern of the silver note on the right were very similar, with only some minor differences in the anti-counterfeiting features.
The final step in printing banknotes by the Ministry of Revenue was the creation of anti-counterfeiting seals, which was handled by the Dragon Guards. No one had ever seen what the anti-counterfeiting seals looked like.
"Little darling, if you hadn't reminded me, this anti-counterfeiting seal probably wouldn't have appeared. If that had happened, things would have been quite interesting!" Yin smiled wryly. If he hadn't known beforehand and carefully examined it, he wouldn't have been able to see the differences at all.
"Fourth Brother, you see!" Qingyan admired Yin for coming up with this trick to make money. If Qingyan hadn't instructed the managers to be careful, they probably wouldn't have discovered it.
Yin rubbed his temples, his heart heavy. If he hadn't discovered the fake banknotes, he could have said that he was young and ignorant. But now?
Now, he was furious. It was bad enough that he had lost face in front of her, but he had also lost face in front of outsiders.
"Little darling, don't spread this around!" Yin was worried about the two shopkeepers' mouths.
"Pfft, do you think this sounds good if word gets out? The shopkeepers know what's going on; they represent the royal family's shops too!" Qingyan wasn't worried about what the two shopkeepers would say to others. If they did, they wouldn't have an easy time either.
He was pleased that the two shopkeepers were pragmatic and knew when to speak and when not to speak.
The car stopped at the entrance of Linglong Pavilion. Yin felt a bit resistant and didn't want to step into this place again and embarrass himself.
"Who hasn't received a counterfeit banknote before? Let's just say Yin didn't notice." Qingyan deliberately gave Yin a way out.
The two entered Linglong Pavilion, where the manager had prepared a private room and was waiting in the hall, ready to provide the two masters with a comfortable place to stay.
"Fourth Master, these silver notes were just received!" The shopkeeper handed over several silver notes with trembling hands. "Eighth Princess Consort just came to buy some jewelry, and these are the deposit!"
Qingyan was taken aback. The Eighth Prince's wife didn't know this was fake? How dare they show it off like this?
"It seems they think I'm a fool!" Qingyan said with great dissatisfaction. "How could I not pay attention to these things since I started doing business?"
Yin felt that things were unpredictable, and that even the Eighth Prince's wife had joined in the corruption. It seemed that Yinqi, Yinsi, and Yin were all stuck in a quagmire.
"I went to check, and apart from the Tenth Prince's servants, the other three princes have already used this!" the shopkeeper whispered back.
Yinqi's face darkened with anger. How could his younger brothers be so disappointing? To outsiders, it looked like the royal princes were actually trying to steal their father's men.
"Tu Lichen, go investigate!" Yin was no longer going to give them any face. Since they were all thinking about their own little schemes, these things were no longer the most important thing.
Tu Lichen stood at the door, listening to Yin and the others' actions, feeling particularly bad. He remembered that Kangxi was preparing to send the four princes to Guangdong and Guangxi to manage the military ports, his tone full of expectation.
Now, these three princes have not only failed Kangxi's expectations, but also let down his teachings over the years.
The Confucian scholars in the Imperial Study were all talented, and any one of them would have abhorred such behavior. All their years of careful study had become nothing but empty talk.
"!" Upon hearing Yin's instructions, Tulichen went out and arranged for the Dragon Guards to investigate the matter of the counterfeit silver notes.
"Fourth Brother, are you and your elder brother going to submit a memorial?" Qingyan waved away the shopkeeper and quickly asked.
"We'll definitely have to submit a memorial, but we can only do so after Tulichen has solid evidence!" Yin said with emotion.
To be honest, he was a little flustered; he rarely encountered such a tricky problem.
Qingyan drank some warm water, intending to give Yin some space so that he could think things through.
"If we hand over this evidence, will Father punish them?" Qingyan felt that this crucial evidence should be used wisely.
Yin was taken aback. These oversights would surely lead to the emergence of a scapegoat; otherwise, how could the royal family save face?
"There will definitely be no punishment; a servant will simply be made a scapegoat," Yin said directly. "However, Father will definitely keep this in mind, and it will all come to a head when many things have piled up!"
If Emperor Kangxi were to launch an attack, he probably wouldn't use such a charge.
"Scapegoat?!" Qingyan sneered. If the princes of the royal family did something wrong, someone would definitely take the blame for them.
“Therefore, we need to find the right opportunity. I had Tulichen intervene because I don’t want us to get too involved. If the counterfeit banknotes are discovered, it will definitely be a major worry for Father Emperor.” Yin also had his own ideas. He understood what Kangxi would care about.
Upon hearing this, Qingyan's face turned pale. These silver notes were all obtained from the investigation of Yuelai Inn and Linglong Pavilion. Could they really clear themselves of the truth?
"No need, I will instruct Tulichen to use silver notes from other shops!" Yin specifically asked Tulichen to investigate, which must be to find information on all shops. As long as the silver notes from each shop are gathered together, everything should be fine!
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