As noon approached, Yin put down his pen and looked out the window. They were walking along the tree-lined path, and it seemed that lunch would not be served on time.
"Sisi, do we have to go to the county town to rest?" Qingyan stretched. "Or are we going to camp in the wild?"
Qingyan blinked her eyes; she had always hoped to go camping outdoors.
On their journey through autumn, they often camped out in the wild, and at night, their tense atmosphere frequently led to humorous situations. Even the Imperial Guards would give false intelligence reports due to their nervousness.
"Trying to cause trouble again!?"
Qingyan pouted. What's going on? It was supposed to be a training exercise for the guards of the manor. The Imperial Guards had undergone rigorous training, but so many funny things happened. There wasn't much to do on the march, except for occasionally 'teasing' the nearby servants.
"No, Sisi, I'm very good!" Qingyan raised her left index, middle, and ring fingers as if making a vow, her eyes filled with sincerity, hoping he could trust her.
Yin looked disgusted. Could a little girl really be so kind?
On their way to Qiu Mi, Consort Tong and Qing Yan's combined antics kept Emperor Kangxi's tent in turmoil, leaving the father and son both amused and exasperated.
"Little darling, behave yourself and absolutely stop causing trouble. We don't have many guards with us." Yin had a headache.
Qingyan pouted. Sisi just didn't believe her. It was giving her a headache!
"Fourth Prince, I'm not going to cause any trouble. It's clearly Mother's fault, but Father Emperor is blaming me!" Qingyan pouted, her face full of resentment. It was clearly not her fault, yet Kangxi was being so unfair.
Pfft!
Yin laughed. Xiao Guai was the scapegoat. Consort Tong was a woman of the harem, and if she made a fool of herself, her prestige would be greatly diminished. Now, Xiao Guai was the best choice.
"Where is Mother? Has she not explained?" Yin asked suspiciously.
Qingyan shook her head. It wasn't her idea at all! *sobs*
"Alright, Father and Mother will make it up to you later." Yin had roughly guessed the truth of the matter and probably thought that Kangxi would protect Consort Tong's image in public.
snort!
Qingyan pouted. Compensation could wait until later. She was feeling very aggrieved right now, and if outsiders found out, they would say she was being unreasonable.
"Little darling, are you upset?!" Yin pulled her into his arms, patting her back with his right hand.
Qingyan nestled obediently in his arms, nodding her little head vigorously.
"Sisi, I don't want an apology. I'll make up for it with a vacation!" The two of them rarely had time to travel and enjoy themselves. Taking this opportunity to escape to the outside world for a while would put them in a great mood.
"Alright, I will apply to Father Emperor. My little darling, let's make three rules for this trip." Yin looked at his wife very seriously.
Every time Qingyan goes shopping, she does whatever she wants and doesn't like anyone following her.
"What?!" she asked.
"All the guards must accompany you; they cannot be allowed to hide in the crowd. Also, after you change your clothes, you must wear a cap. Finally, the silver you paid must be prepared by Erlu Tongyi." Yin discovered that their whereabouts were exposed by the silver they used. The loose silver they used all came from the palace and bore the mark of the Imperial Workshop.
Qingyan had a dream that the silver needed to be prepared in a unified manner. What exactly is going on?
He took out some silver from his purse, and with a casual flick of his wrist, an internal brand appeared before them. She instantly understood that all the scheming along the way was probably because of this brand.
"Fourth Brother, do all the silver we use have this mark?" Qingyan began to search through her silver coins. Every silver ingot had such a mark, even the silver she took from Yuelai Inn and Linglong Pavilion.
"Silver was transferred from the capital. The managers of Yuelai Inn and Linglong Pavilion received it according to the capital's standards. The silver used by the royal family and relatives is issued by the Imperial Household Department. Ordinary officials' families cannot use it. At the end of each year, shop managers have to go to the Imperial Household Department to exchange it for banknotes, which are then used by ordinary shops." Qingyan was unaware that there were so many rules in the business world, even the silver used by shops had to be exchanged for two different types.
Qingyan pursed her lips, wanting to shout out loud, "This is so troublesome!"
"Fourth Brother, our money is all marked. If we use it, won't it be easy for people to track us?" Qingyan pouted. They could only have more fun if the money problem could be solved.
"Yes, I had Erlu find a silver note with the royal seal. I'll have someone go to the county town to exchange it for silver later. Treat it as a silver note earned by a merchant doing business. Now, after we return, we'll exchange it for silver."
Several hundred taels of silver would certainly be enough for food and lodging in the county town for the next few days. If Qingyan wanted to buy more things, he could go to Suzhou and reveal his identity by using royal silver.
During the journey, try not to interfere with Dafang's business.
"What?!" Qingyan was stunned. Such silver notes could not be obtained by anyone who was not in business. Even the Beijing branch of Yuelai Inn had to use various means to obtain them. Those silver notes marked "Made in the Imperial Mint" could not be used by anyone other than Qingyan, not even Fei Yanggu and his two sons.
"Silver note!" Yin took out a silver note from his purse and handed it to Xiao Guai, letting her see if the silver note was genuine!
"Was this silver note bought at a high price?" Kangxi did not allow his princes to use such silver notes. The whereabouts of every silver note made in the palace were recorded in exceptional detail.
Yin nodded. Erlu was truly omnipotent; he noticed something was amiss and quickly found a solution.
"Little darling, Erlu still has some. Take this thousand taels of silver notes first. When you get back, give the unfinished silver notes directly to him for the Imperial Mint." Yin believed that these silver notes would be useful. Every year, Kangxi would take the princes on a southern tour, and these silver notes would solve a lot of problems when they arrived on the road.
Qingyan accepted the silver notes with a smile, and once they were in his hand, he didn't give them away.
"Fourth Prince, Erlu's identity..." Qingyan pointed to the sky. Erlu had suddenly appeared beside Yin, and she was very afraid that Kangxi was wary of Yin.
Yin's lips curled up slightly. As expected, Xiao Guai cared about him the most. When faced with this kind of problem, his first concern would be his safety.
"Yes, Father had informed me beforehand. So many things have happened along the way, I have to consider things more carefully. Erlu is the best choice." He understood that with Erlu by his side, some things could not be hidden, so he instructed the servants of the Sticky Rod Office to keep things even more secret, fearing that Kangxi would find out.
Emperor Kangxi remarked that his sons would all develop their own power bases, something he was actually quite wary of. (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, please vote for it on Qidian.com. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please visit m.qidian.com to read.)
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