Inside the main hall, the four of them fell silent. They had intended to relax and unwind, but before they could even go out to play, they encountered this situation.
"The entanglements between the salt merchants and their servants are to be handled by Father Emperor." Yin finally decided not to interfere anymore and handed over all the information to Kangxi.
Yin turned to look at him, not intending to interfere. This would allow him to establish authority among the court officials, yet he gave up so easily.
"Fourth brother, have you really given up?" Yin didn't understand why Yin didn't care.
Yin squeezed Qingyan's small hand. She wasn't ready to face the women of the salt merchants, so he would just give her the credit.
"Brother, it's not about giving up. We're simply no match for the salt merchants," Yin Xiao explained helplessly.
If, as they had predicted, the salt merchants were indeed involved with the court officials, these people must have considerable connections.
Many officials in the capital have connections with officials in Jiangnan and are well-informed; otherwise, they certainly wouldn't have their current positions. In fact, the salt administration in Jiangnan is the most complicated, with many people involved behind the scenes. Mingzhu and Suo'etu were probably both involved.
"Fourth brother, what do you know?" Yin noticed something was wrong. The fourth brother's face was very ugly. He knew about the collusion between salt merchants and officials, and even many people in the capital would extend olive branches.
Qingyan smiled knowingly. The ministers in the capital had a business relationship with the salt merchants; otherwise, they wouldn't have been able to easily accumulate wealth with silver.
"Brother, if Mingzhu were to confuse himself with the salt merchants, would you still save him?" Longkodo would definitely not let her vent first, and Yin was unsure if Yin would make such an exception.
"Fourth brother, do you think it's true?" Yin asked directly, knowing he needed to protect his own men.
"And Longkodo!" Yin glanced at Qingyan. He had a lot of information about the capital, but Qingyan was needed to supplement it with information about the outside world.
Yin Zhun looked at Qing Yan, and deep down he still had a wish that his uncle would not do those shameful things.
"Sister-in-law, this is no small matter. Did your people really get accurate information?" Yin wanted to know the truth.
Qingyan nodded. This matter was entrusted to him by Fei Yanggu, and Kangxi must have realized something.
“Brother, Father Emperor initially noticed something amiss with the allocation of official positions in the Ministry of Personnel. Previously, some officials with good exam results were transferred to remote areas. In such a prosperous region as Jiangnan, the officials were mostly from Jiangnan. How many of these people were involved with the salt merchants? Basically, the officials of the Salt Commissioner's Office were cleaned up every three years. Such typical cases were not enough to warn these people.” Yinxian explained Father Emperor’s situation. “Later, he handed the matter over to Father-in-law.”
Qingyan looked at Yin and briefly explained how he had erased all traces of the undercover investigation.
"Little darling, after Lord Ulanara took over, were you secretly helping him?" Yin Genjue Luo was very nervous. Her family was very close to Mingzhu, and she was afraid that this matter would also involve her family.
Qingyan nodded. The clan leader of the Yingenjueluo clan was clear-headed. However, several members of the collateral branches had been bribed by Mingzhu. Now, she hesitated whether to explain the situation of the Yingenjueluo clan as well.
At this moment, Yin and Yin Genjue Luo were breathing rapidly; they were somewhat panicked.
“Little darling, tell the truth. Even if my family did something wrong, you don’t need to feel guilty. They should bear the consequences!” Madam Yin Genjue Luo was not careless. Little darling had been silent all this time, so something serious must have happened.
Qingyan awkwardly took a sip of tea, put down the teacup, and then told the manager the names of the officials and the amount of silver they had received. Unfortunately, the direct line of the Yin Genjue Luo clan was unaffected, and all the members of the Nara clan except for Rongruo's direct son participated.
Yin was stunned. The child was still young and had been taken away by Wei Dongting. Otherwise, the Nara clan would have been completely wiped out.
“Brother, that child might be adopted by Wei Dongting.” Yin remembered that before Fei Yanggu left the capital, he told him to get along well with Wei Dongting, as he was the most likely person to raise Rongruo’s legitimate son.
Yin swallowed hard. Wei Dongting and Fei Yanggu had become Kangxi's most trusted confidants. Under normal circumstances, the investigations that Kangxi cared about most were handled by these two.
“Wei Dongting, if Rongruo were still alive, the Nara clan probably wouldn’t be in this state!” Yin has already established a firm foothold in the military camp, and Consort Hui is quite satisfied with his current situation. Only Mingzhu is still dissatisfied and hopes that he can contend with the Crown Prince.
From a young age, Yin understood that there was no comparison between him and the Crown Prince. Kangxi would never let the Crown Prince be defeated by him. Moreover, he was very troubled by those political affairs, and the only thing he could help with was probably the military.
"Brother, there's nothing we can do about it. My sister-in-law's family is quite good; they're clear-headed and didn't make any mistakes. Otherwise, I really wouldn't know what to say!" Qingyan said helplessly.
"Have all these silver coins been transported to the capital?" Upon hearing about the silver coins, Yin felt a chill run down his spine.
"Two-thirds have been transported to the capital. In just five years, these people have amassed so much wealth from Jiangnan!" Looking at the clear records, Yin's anger rose even higher. He had once vowed to fight these people to the end, but in the end, he was defeated.
This time, he stopped it at the source, hoping for a better future.
"Heh, these people will do anything for money. Do you think it's so easy to get gold from salt merchants?" Yin sneered. "Fujin, have you thoroughly inspected all the things your uncle has sent over the past few years?"
Yin Genjue Luo nodded. Five years ago, Yin and Mingzhu had a big argument. Since then, Yin Genjue Luo would carefully inspect anything that Nara sent to their prince's residence or mansion. She did the same when her family sent things.
"That's good. Let's try not to get involved. If Mingzhu gets involved, Suo'etu probably won't fare much better!" Yin worried that Kangxi would remove him to take the blame for the Crown Prince.
“And there’s Tong Guowei’s youngest son, Longkodo!” Yin rubbed his temples; this was the worst candidate.
What?!
The three of them gaped in disbelief. The Tong family was the most prominent among the eight great families. From Empress Dowager Tong to Emperor Kangxi and Consort Tong, who didn't bestow generous gifts upon the Tong family? And these people were still greedy behind the scenes.
"Fourth brother, Longkodo is your uncle by right, you can't talk about your elders like that!" Yin quickly reminded him, as Tong Guowei was the most protective of his own.
"Protecting your own is useless. Father Emperor surely has a copy of the account book. Do you still want to deny it?" Yin smiled; the account book had already been handed over. (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.)
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