That night, Kangxi stayed on Yin's boat with Consort Tong. The four of them lived the life of an ordinary family. Their son and daughter-in-law were filial, and their parents-in-law were happy.
Just after dawn, everyone in the fleet learned that Kangxi had stayed overnight on Yin's ship, and the Crown Prince's expression darkened even further.
Before dinner last night, he heard that Consort Tong and Emperor Kangxi had quarreled. He was overjoyed. The Empress Dowager and the Empress Dowager had spoken ill of Consort Tong to him many times, even blaming him for the death of the Eighth Princess. It was simply too much.
The Crown Prince was in a panic, while Emperor Kangxi and Consort Tong were enjoying themselves. Qingyan got up early and went to the small kitchen to prepare breakfast for the whole family. Consort Tong also dismissed all the servants and personally served Emperor Kangxi.
"Sit down, everyone. If you like this kind of life, let's enjoy it for a few more days." Kangxi saw a smile in Lanya's eyes, and his mood improved considerably.
Everyone in the palace was too repressed, which suppressed Consort Tong's temperament.
"Father, you and Mother can stay with me!" Yin had long since disregarded the Crown Prince's wishes; as long as Mother was happy, he felt it was all worthwhile.
Kangxi smiled. The dishes on the table were a combination of Manchu and Han cuisine, including sticky rice cakes from outside the Great Wall, as well as various kinds of steamed buns and morning tea from Jiangnan.
Consort Tong greatly enjoyed the morning tea in Jiangnan, and her breakfast was noticeably different from what Emperor Kangxi ate.
"Lanya, you're always thinking of my feelings!" Which of the concubines in the harem wasn't changing according to Kangxi's tastes? "From now on, let's continue with our current tastes, okay?"
Combining the North and South feels pretty good.
Li Dequan stood at the door, listening helplessly to the sounds inside. He had followed Emperor Kangxi for decades and knew best his feelings for Consort Tong.
"Fourth Prince, you and Qingyan go to make the purchases. Later, Li Dequan will go with you!" Kangxi planned to have Li Dequan pay the bills.
"No need. In ordinary families, it's usually the son and daughter-in-law who do the shopping." Yin didn't intend to let Li Dequan go. Otherwise, outsiders would have more leverage and would definitely have other stories to tell.
Seeing that Yin and Qingyan were very determined, Kangxi nodded.
"Alright, we'll wait!" Consort Tong patted Kangxi's hand. It was quite a rare treat for them to have these few days of leisure.
After lunch, the boat slowly docked. Yin and Qingyan changed into clothes belonging to wealthy people and disembarked with their servants.
As they walked on the stone-paved road, Qingyan finally felt at ease and no longer felt adrift.
"Father, are you really going to stay with us?" Qingyan puffed out her cheeks. If it was just for a day or two, it could be said that Consort Tong and Emperor Kangxi were having a tiff. But if it went on for longer... wouldn't the Crown Prince see Yin as a thorn in his side?
"Stay here, little darling. No matter how many days it takes, we've already become a thorn in the Crown Prince's side!" Yin wanted to use this matter concerning the Crown Prince to turn against him, and Kangxi wouldn't say much, because everyone would think the Crown Prince was wrong.
Qingyan is the Fourth Prince's wife, a mistress. Although Yin's status is not as noble as that of the Crown Prince, she is still a legitimate primary wife of a prince.
Even before the Crown Prince ascended the throne, the cats and dogs in Yuqing Palace were considered more noble than the prince and his primary consort.
"Hmph, let him be angry. As long as he doesn't cause me trouble, I won't see him and be bothered!" Qingyan turned her head arrogantly, pouted, and walked forward.
Yin looked at the huffing little figure and shook his head. This girl couldn't hide her temper; she would easily suffer if no one protected her.
Upon arriving at the commercial street, Qingyan was taken aback by the dirty and chaotic state of the street before her. It was clear that it had not been cleaned, which was unacceptable.
"What is the magistrate doing?" Yin frowned, also feeling that something was wrong. In such a dirty and messy environment, there were quite a few stalls.
"Sisi, we can't buy anything here!" Qingyan is a bit of a clean freak and requires everything she eats to be exceptionally clean. She wouldn't dare to find such a dirty and messy environment.
The two of them were quite disappointed; compared to Zhenjiang, this place was several levels lower.
"Fourth Master, there are two grain shops here that aren't on the commercial street, and their prices are a bit high. What do you think..." Tu Lichen quickly reported back to Yin after gathering the information.
The two men exchanged a glance and then asked Tulichen to lead the way.
The scene from earlier kept replaying in her mind: the road, which should have been clean, was littered with vegetable leaves, some of which were already rotten, yet no one came to clean it up.
"Fourth Master, that commercial street is a place frequented by ordinary people!" Tu Lichen saw Yin pursing his lips and knew that the master was angry.
Having served Emperor Kangxi for many years, the person Tulichen feared most was this master, this prince, for even the crown prince did not possess such a domineering aura.
Qingyan pursed her lips. Yuelai Inn hadn't expanded to such a small place, so she didn't know there were such dirty and chaotic streets.
"How are the people's health?" Qingyan asked abruptly, and Yin was taken aback.
Tulichen looked at Qingyan in astonishment. Were the people sick?
Which county magistrate would even look into this matter!
"I'm sorry, Fourth Princess Consort, this servant has no way to report to you!" Tulichen understood why Kangxi wanted him to pay attention to the Qingyan issue.
Often, he was unable to answer any of the questions she asked, especially those related to setting off.
"You... wait a minute, are any of the guards who came with us from poor backgrounds?" Qingyan looked up and noticed that Tulichen had a kind of murderous aura about him, which was obviously not that of an ordinary commoner.
Tulichen nodded, "There must be some from impoverished families among them."
"Let them go and ask around, there must be something going on here!" Before even entering the doorway, she carefully observed the faces of the people, who all looked pale and sickly. Near the street corner, there was clearly a meat stall, with the pork cut into small strips, looking as if it had been specially prepared. In this hot weather, the pork was only served on a small piece of ice, with lotus leaves laid on top.
Listening to Qingyan's analysis, Tulichen had to admit that he hadn't noticed any of these things at all.
"The pork pieces are all different colors. You rarely pay attention to these things, and it's not your fault." Qingyan frowned. This kind of meat is hard to preserve in the summer, especially given the current environment...
Qingyan does not wish for any plague to occur in the places he passes through, as it will cause great trouble for you travelers.
etc!
plague!
She vaguely remembered that Yin had indeed contracted the plague in history, and it was Niohuru who took care of him.
"Fourth, what if...?" Qingyan's eyes flashed with horror.
She only said half a sentence before Yin understood what Qingyan wanted to express.
"Tu Lichen, go visit the clinics and ask if anyone here has recently had dysentery." Yin, recalling his past life, instantly calmed down, grasped Qingyan's cold little hand, and clearly instructed Tu Lichen. (To be continued. If you like this work, please vote for it on Qidian.com. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please go to m.qidian.com to read.)
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