As noon approached, the commercial street was at its busiest. At the entrance, fences were placed to block horse-drawn carriages and prevent them from running amok and causing unnecessary injuries or deaths.
"Master, there's a fence ahead. We need to get off the carriage at the gate!" Su Peisheng said, frowning as he saw the situation ahead.
Yin frowned slightly upon hearing this, and looked at Qingyan sitting to the side, his eyes asking if she could handle it.
"Let's get off the bus!" Qingyan felt great; the deerskin boots on her feet were very soft, and walking on the road reduced any discomfort.
After being helped out of the car by Yin, Qingyan stood beside him and looked towards the commercial street. The bustling crowds in the street were much larger than in winter.
The two children were picked up by Bayan and Erlu and followed closely behind them. Hutulifengsheng Zhalafen was seeing so many people shopping on the commercial street for the first time, and her big almond-shaped eyes looked around curiously.
Yin walked at the front, while Qingyan, flanked by Sulan and Suzhu, walked behind him.
"Little darling, is there anything you like?" Yin noticed that each stall had Western toys, and some of the dolls were quite exquisite.
“They have them in the shop, let’s buy some seeds.” Qingyan planned to bring her little vegetable garden to all her residences. “Now is the perfect time to plant vegetables.”
During the winter, Qingyan always had a headache. The vegetables she bought were either wilted or dried by locals in the autumn, which was very different from the vegetables in the mansions in the capital.
"Alright!" Yin nodded. The winter meals were clearly not as good as those in the capital. They would definitely have to endure some hardships while traveling.
Yin glanced at Bayan and ordered him to send someone to investigate where seeds could be sold. They then went to the Yuelai Inn to prepare for lunch in a private room.
"Father, I want to eat fish!" Yiken'e looked at the fresh sea fish being sold outside and was somewhat tempted!
"Okay!" Yin nodded. The two children's tastes had become like Qingyan's; they would never let anything delicious go to waste.
Apart from the crab feast, seafood was not served at the royal banquet table, as eating shellfish was considered inelegant.
At the Fourth Prince's residence, Yin didn't have this rule; as long as Qingyan and the children liked it, it would be placed on the dining table.
"Su Peisheng, are the private rooms ready?" Qingyan only serves meals for pregnant women, and the manager here personally oversees the preparation, so there's absolutely no chance of anyone tampering with them.
"Yes!" The group entered the Yuelai Inn. The lobby on the first floor was not yet full. The family of four went up the steps. Qingyan turned her head and saw that there were actually quite a few foreigners in the shop.
Previously, these foreigners would never come in to dine, worried that they wouldn't be able to get used to the food in their own countries after returning home.
"Fourth Brother, why are these people here? This is so unusual!" Qingyan stood at the inner window, observing from above.
Yin came up behind Qingyan and followed Qingyan's gaze downstairs, where he saw several tables of foreign guests who were about to have a meal.
"Little darling, these are all diners, what's so strange about that?" Yin asked, puzzled.
"Fourth, the manager once asked those people, and they basically don't come here to eat, worried they won't be able to get used to the food back home." Qingyan tapped the window frame with her right hand. "You tell me, these people coming here is clearly unusual!"
Yin revealed a hint of surprise. The shopkeeper already knew how many people had bid and found their arrival very strange.
"Eru, go and investigate personally to find out who those people are working for," Yin whispered to him.
Erlu accepted the order and went directly there. Recently, many foreigners have settled in the coastal areas, and some have even married local girls, which means they have put down roots here.
"Come and sit down for a moment," Yin helped Qingyan to sit at the round table, poured her a glass of warm water, and the two children, holding the nine-linked rings, sat on the armchairs by the window, watching the bustling street scene outside while unraveling the rings. "Eru will be back soon!"
Yin also noticed changes in his surroundings; there were more foreigners coming and going.
After a hearty lunch, the family of four walked down the street when Bayan's men returned and informed Yin that there were more seed stalls in the area, with many new varieties available.
Qingyan helped Sulan walk down the street. She walked unsteadily, and passersby quickly cleared space around her, afraid of bumping into the pregnant woman.
Some people felt that Qingyan shouldn't have come out, and after the group left, some people were pointing and whispering.
"Fourth, those people are pointing and whispering!" Qingyan muttered to herself, thinking that she wasn't about to give birth.
Yin smiled and thought to himself, "Judging from Qingyan's condition, he must be a key person to be protected by the family."
For the rest of the afternoon, Qingyan was supported by Sulan as they walked along the commercial street. The guards behind them carried more and more things. As evening approached, Yincai led Qingyan and the others back to the military port.
The family of four sat in the carriage. The twins were a little confused, and Qingyan asked Sulan to massage her calves to make her more comfortable.
“Eru came back and said that since the tariff system was established, many foreigners have settled in the coastal ports, some of whom married wives in the Qing Dynasty,” Yin said, leaning close to Qingyan’s ear.
Yin Shen's expression was solemn. The spies he sent out had basically infiltrated the upper echelons through marriage alliances.
The other party's methods were similar, which worried Yin. If they were not controlled, it might cause trouble.
"Little Darling, it's the same strategy we used to send people out to gather information. I just don't know if those people have found out yet!" Yin only sent one or two people to each place, and had them develop local people as spies.
“However, these people are a different story; they were likely dispatched by their families!” Yin understood the political landscape of Europe and knew that the royal families there didn't wield absolute power like Kangxi's. “That's the advantage of absolute imperial power!”
Qingyan leaned her head against Yin's body. After this trip, she probably wouldn't go out again. As her pregnancy progressed, her body couldn't handle such frequent movement.
"Fourth Brother, let's just live quietly like this!" Qingyan rested on Yin's shoulder.
"At least we can rest for a while now. Father Emperor has issued an imperial decree that we don't need to go to the capital for the Emperor's birthday celebration, and neither do Father-in-law and Mother-in-law!" Yin whispered to Qingyan. "Imperial Physician Yuan said that your delivery time is around that time. Mother hopes you have a safe delivery!"
The princes had never received an imperial edict from Emperor Kangxi and spent Halloween outside. Now, the fact that three princes were stranded in Guangdong and Guangxi was unprecedented.
“My sister-in-law’s due date is also just a few months away. I’m worried that if something happens to you while you’re traveling back and forth, it will be quite difficult to handle,” Yin advised Qingyan. “In a few days, we will send the birthday gifts to be presented to the emperor back to the capital.”
I personally prepared quite a lot, all of which were spoils of war from the recent campaigns.
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