After bidding farewell to Emperor Kangxi and Consort Tong, Fei Yanggu and Yin, along with their families, embarked on their journey to the military port in Guangdong and Guangxi. The two discussed that they would stay in Hangzhou for a few days.
Beside West Lake, there are many shops. The best viewing spot is blocked by a three-story Yuelai Inn, which was personally selected and supervised by Qingyan. Every detail reflects Qingyan's ideas.
Each Yuelai Inn has its own unique features in terms of appearance. The roof of this inn, when viewed from a distance, looks like a large ingot.
“Little darling, you’ve got to use colorful rice, you’ve even made it into the inn.” Yin laughed unkindly, “You even want the roof to be decorated like this.”
Qingyan saw her own design for the first time. Most of the people who stayed at the hotel in West Lake were business people. There were many wealthy families in the business world in the south who liked to show off their refined tastes. However, after the Yuelai Inn West Lake Station opened, business was booming. Many people said that the ingot shape designed by the owner was truly a sign of abundant wealth.
"Master, we've arrived!" Su Peisheng said from outside.
To welcome their arrival, Yuelai Inn specially closed half of its shop and turned down many orders, just to leave Qingyan and his group a quiet space.
"Greetings to our masters." The shopkeeper greeted Qingyan and the others.
In the courtyard, Qingyan was helped down from the carriage by Yin, a faint smile on her face.
There are five Yuelai Inns in Hangzhou, but only the West Lake branch was opened in recent years. As I walked in, I heard many merchants muttering at the door, saying that the owner was "out of his mind" for throwing away the money he had just earned.
"Get up and kowtow." Qingyan waved his hand, signaling the shopkeeper standing there to stand up.
The manager took the account books from the assistant manager behind him and respectfully handed them to Qingyan.
"Master, bathing water has been prepared in the room. This servant will go and arrange dinner. You can eat as soon as you finish your bath." The manager had secretly made many arrangements since he learned that Qingyan was coming, just in case the group was not used to the accommodations.
Qingyan nodded slightly. The manager was doing a great job, much more attentive than the previous managers.
After dinner, Su Lan took the twins downstairs to rest, while Fei Yanggu and his wife, along with Yin and his wife, sat in the study listening to the shopkeeper report on recent events.
Taking advantage of Kangxi's absence, the Crown Prince actually spent the night on the pleasure boat. Under Kangxi's oppressive policies, the Crown Prince had begun to rebel, not only in his actions but also in his temperament, and a slight crack had appeared.
"What?!" Yin stood up. He had actually gone to the pleasure boat. "Is everyone outside aware of this?"
Empress Yin was afraid that if Emperor Kangxi found out, the Crown Prince would risk his life.
"It's already spread among the officials' families." The shopkeeper also had sources of information. "Moreover, some families of officials in the south are even preparing to send people to the Crown Prince."
Bang!
Yin slammed his hand on the table. Without Kangxi's restraint, the Crown Prince was becoming increasingly lawless, and his younger brothers were sure to be implicated as well.
"Did any of the princes go?" Yin was worried about Yinxiang and Yin. These two little guys were very curious about everything. If Kangxi found out, it wouldn't be as simple as just copying books as punishment.
"Master, would you like to hear the truth or a lie?" the shopkeeper asked directly.
Yin glared at him angrily: "Of course it's the truth!"
The shopkeeper thought for a moment and silently organized his thoughts.
"Except for Prince Zhi, you, Fifth Prince, Seventh Prince, Thirteenth Prince, and Fourteenth Prince, all the other princes have been to the pleasure boat!" The shopkeeper's words made Yinzhi speechless. Sure enough, the princes knowingly violated the rules.
"Even the Tenth Prince has been there?!" Qingyan looked at the shopkeeper with a sense of calm. Yin was a rather careless person; how could he possibly go to a place like that?
"Yes, it was last year. It's said that Ninth Master hosted the dinner. After Tenth Master went once, he never planned to go again!" The shopkeeper also helped Yin conceal the truth.
Yin knew how to keep his distance. Although he was fooling around on the pleasure boat, he did not cross Kangxi's bottom line.
"Yesterday, Eighth Master arrived in the south, and Ninth Master was on a pleasure boat, hosting a welcome dinner for him," the shopkeeper said directly.
Qingyan did a quick calculation and found that the time it took for the Eighth Prince to leave the capital and arrive at the military port was very short. It seemed that Yinsi must have traveled day and night.
"You must keep a close eye on the Eighth Prince's movements, and send all the news to the naval port!" Even though Yinren may no longer be by Kangxi's side, his information network must remain efficient.
"!" After the shopkeeper finished speaking, Yin waved his hand, signaling the shopkeeper to leave.
During the time the shopkeeper reported back, Fei Yanggu didn't say a word, which puzzled Qingyan.
"Father, why don't you speak?" Qingyan remembered that if Fei Yanggu had encountered a similar situation, he would have been indignant and denounced it, not treated it so calmly.
Fei Yanggu said coldly, "His Majesty may not have time to deal with this right now, but that doesn't mean he's unaware that the Crown Prince has made a mistake!"
Before leaving Hangzhou, Fei Yanggu was summoned by Emperor Kangxi alone. He instructed Fei Yanggu to keep the three princes in check. Although Yinzhi was impulsive, he was quite reasonable if the seriousness of the situation was explained to him.
"What?" Yin looked at Fei Yanggu in astonishment. Could it be that Fei Yanggu was implying to Yin that the Crown Prince's actions had been observed by Kangxi?
"The Crown Prince wants to use this as a facade to mislead His Majesty, so as to build up his own power and await the final battle," Fei Yanggu continued to analyze.
However, His Majesty did not want the Crown Prince's power to grow too great. The vast majority of the connections left by the Empress Dowager were in her hands, and much of the power had already been placed in the hands of the Crown Prince.
Whenever Yin saw the ministers in formation, he would carefully observe those who seemed indifferent.
"The Crown Prince wouldn't be so dissolute; he was probably just joking!" The Crown Prince's identity is very sensitive. If he was on a pleasure boat, there should be quite a few people protecting him.
Yinwei frowned. Kangxi had been keeping an eye on Yangzhou, and he was able to get the news of even the slightest disturbance.
"Father-in-law, do you think there are spies hidden in Hangzhou?" Yin asked curiously. Why would Emperor Kangxi come here personally, instead of going to Yangzhou to report for duty like other managers?
“I don’t know him. His Majesty placed him here alone.” Fei Yanggu shook his head directly. “I heard that this person was opposed by the Empress Dowager. Although he was capable, he was dismissed from his post during the late emperor’s reign, which is why he came here. After His Majesty ascended the throne, the late emperor handed this person over to His Majesty to use!”
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