When Qingyan woke up in the early morning, she found that the people around her had changed. Apart from Sulan and Sushu, the others seemed more reserved.
Her watery eyes flickered slightly as she wondered what had happened during her rest time.
Today, Yin went to his study alone to handle matters, while she was left in the main hall.
"Sulan, what's happening outside?" Qingyan asked.
Her gossipy nature was piqued by the Fourth Master's evasiveness. Su Lan's hand holding the comb trembled slightly. They were silenced, and even the shopkeepers had been dealt with by the Fourth Master. Those who betrayed their masters and failed to supervise would never have a good end.
"Master, please don't ask!" Su Lan and Su Shu were both very worried. If they told Qing Yan, the Fourth Master would probably punish them directly.
Qingyan pursed her lips, ate breakfast, and went directly to Yin's study.
"Little Darling, what brings you here?" Yin heard a noise at the door, looked up and saw Little Darling standing in the doorway. The sunlight shone on her pink and blue palace dress, making his eyes light up.
Yin beckoned, and Qingyan walked over to his side, sat down beside him, and carefully pondered how to find out the information.
His anxious and restless look caught his eye, and he pulled her into his arms.
"Fourth...Fourth..." Qingyan pursed her lips, her eyes fixed on Fourth, "Has something happened?"
Yin was quite arrogant. The people he selected tripped him up behind his back, almost causing Qingyan to fall into trouble. This time, the embezzled funds would definitely not be recovered.
“Little Darling…” Yin’s face was very ugly. Not only could he not get back the hundreds of thousands of taels of silver, but he also could not punish the real corrupt officials.
Qingyan stretched out her little paws and touched him, wanting to give him some strength.
"Si Si, let's use that money to create benefits for the people!" Qingyan understood the importance of making a choice quickly, and Yin's guilt would allow Qingyan to go further.
His eyes darkened; he realized he could never repay the debt he owed Qingyan in this lifetime.
"Little Darling, this..." The officials and merchants in Jiangnan were entangled in a dispute, and even the salt merchants got involved, causing a lot of suffering to the people.
Now, his intervention has led many salt merchants to prepare for a strike, and all the guards have been released. The information they have gathered is shocking to Yin.
He handed over all the investigation materials to her, and after flipping through the first few pages, he discovered that the accountants of her two shops were involved with the salt merchants, and the whereabouts of the missing silver had also been found.
"Even the manager has problems?!" Qingyan exclaimed in surprise.
The shopkeepers and accountants were all personally selected by Yin. They were very loyal in the capital, but after coming to the glamorous world of Jiangnan, they have become what they are now.
"Eru, take your men and ransack the houses of these two people." Yin originally didn't want to make any big moves, lest he ruin the trap that Kangxi had set up. But the account books that were later seized made him stop worrying.
Previously, the four ledgers were just the tip of the iceberg; the real iceberg was in his hands.
"Where did the ledger come from?" Qingyan looked at him curiously. The entries on it were even more detailed, and it was even clear who in the capital it was sent to.
When they looked through the Tong family's records, Si'er's name appeared in the ledger. Putting everything else aside, the two breathed a sigh of relief; it was already quite good that Longkodo wasn't involved this time.
"Inform Mother as soon as possible and ask her to send a nanny over to deal with it!" Yin knew Madam Tong well; she was completely bewildered by Longkodo's situation and would definitely not do as Kangxi wished. It would be easy for Longkodo to protect Si'er.
Qingyan shook her head fiercely, she couldn't let her mother's relationship with her family completely turn cold.
"Fourth Brother, Mother still needs to rely on the Tong family," Qingyan said, pouting.
She had ways to deal with Si'er, fighting poison with poison.
Longkodo probably preferred women like Si'er. He looked down on those delicate and weak women. Consort Tong prepared many such women for Longkodo, and in the end, Si'er's family became the most powerful.
"Yes." Yin nodded, indicating his agreement.
“We’ll send Xiao Nak a ‘four’s’ (a euphemism for a prostitute). You should know that not only are the slender women weak, but there are also specially trained spoiled girls!” The manager of Yuelai Inn happened to see a woman trained by a madam. This woman would require some silver to be truly redeemed.
yes!?
Yin's eyes suddenly lit up, and he felt that everything was solved and that they had all been wrong.
“Let’s have Na Kechu deal with Si’er himself!” Qingyan looked down on that woman. Initially, when Yin invited the Tong family to his housewarming party, Longkodo brought Si’er over, which made her feel that it lowered the social standing of the family.
Her invitation clearly stated "the legitimate wife," so what was the fourth son?
The fourth daughter appeared in a bright red palace dress, which was clearly a provocation to Qingyan and the many ladies.
As a result, Longkodo's reputation plummeted.
"Does this really work?!" Yin also wanted the little guy to have his dream come true, or at least not have to go through all this trouble.
Qingyan nodded her head. She had read it like that in a novel before. The reality might be a little different, but she believed that they would definitely succeed if they tried a few more times.
"You've got someone in mind?" Yin asked, looking at the little guy's smug expression.
She nodded haughtily, her pink lips parting slightly.
"This person was discovered by the manager of Yuelai Inn by chance. I had someone keep an eye on him early on, hoping to help Xiao Na Ke turn over a new leaf. That way, Mother and you won't have to worry anymore!" Fei Yanggu also mentioned that outsiders would inevitably belittle Longkodo when talking about the Tong family.
Because of Yin's special status, her family was also drawn into the Tong family's incident.
"Little darling, why didn't you say so sooner?!" Yin was puzzled; Little darling had discovered a solution but hadn't shown it.
"I don't want to put Mother in a difficult position!" Qingyan explained helplessly.
During the audience, she met Madam Tong. Every time she spoke of Longkodo to the Consort, she only said good things about him, and didn't even mention the matter of Si'er. If it weren't for the two of them, Consort Tong probably wouldn't have known.
"Heh." Yin sneered, "If you don't want to make things difficult for Mother, the Tong family has brought this upon themselves and doesn't need your help."
Yin could not forget that, as recorded at the beginning of the account book, the Tong family would receive 30,000 taels of silver in bribes from each of the two Qingyan shops every year.
"Fourth Brother, don't be angry. I'll have the manager buy that woman right away. Before, the manager mentioned to the madam that this woman must be kept safe and sound. When the time comes, she will be redeemed with ten thousand taels of gold!" Qingyan didn't hide anything. She had arranged for the woman to be in the brothel. If she didn't tell Yin, it would definitely leave a shadow in his heart. He would probably think that her actions were a bit wrong.
He shook his head. The little guy was worrying too much. He wouldn't let the little guy embarrass himself.
"Ten thousand taels of gold?!" Yin couldn't help but be surprised. "So much silver, one hundred thousand taels of silver... are you sure?"
Yin Ke felt a pang of heartache. This sum of money was a significant expense, and even though it had nothing to do with Qing Yan, she still had to take it out. (To be continued. If you like this work, please vote for it on Qidian.com. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please visit m.qidian.com to read.)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
