Inside the hall, Emperor Kangxi and Consort Tong sat in the highest positions, and the atmosphere instantly quieted down. Tong Guowei and his wife and children knelt on the ground, wondering to themselves, "What exactly has His Majesty come here for?"
Looking at the attitude of the Tong family, Qingyan couldn't help but feel a little heartbroken. Back then, when the two of them came together, the Tong family treated them very badly. Now, Kangxi personally brought them here, but the main gate was opened and the masters of the mansion came to greet them personally.
"This servant, Tong Guogang, greets His Majesty, greets the Prince, and greets the Fourth Prince and his wife!" Tong Guogang, accompanied by his wife, respectfully greeted the four masters present.
Normally, Tong Guogang wasn't as popular as Tong Guowei, and some people were even offended by his sharp tongue. Now, however, Kangxi felt that the Tongjia family would be better off under Tong Guogang's leadership.
"Begin the kowtow!" Kangxi nodded in satisfaction. Tong Guogang's women were all well-behaved and rarely caused trouble at Linglong Pavilion.
Tong Guogang saw that Tong Guowei and his family were kneeling on the ground, and he sneered. Si'er's ambition had long been exposed.
"Aunt, Xiao Guai brought you some things from Jiangnan. They should have arrived at your residence by now!" Yin Jiqi, remembering the incident where Tong Guowei's family had embezzled Xiao Guai's New Year's gifts, emphasized this to Tong Guogang's wife.
Qingyan tugged at his sleeve, telling him not to say anything more, as the Tong family cared about their reputation.
“Yes, no one in the manor dares to covet the master’s things.” Tong Guogang’s wife directly scolded Tong Guowei’s wife.
Consort Tong was secretly saddened. Her uncle had no daughters, so she had always been cared for as his youngest daughter. Before Longkodo, her father and mother had focused all their attention on her. Later, her uncle had always doted on her.
Back then, when her father was still alive, her life was quite comfortable. But not long after she entered the palace, her father passed away, and with no one to restrain her mother, her life became increasingly difficult. Her mother, Longkodo, spoiled her rotten.
"Aunt, many of these items were brought from the south side of Linglong Pavilion. They look quite good to me, so please make do with them." Consort Tong reviewed the items from Tong Guowei's residence before having Qingyan deliver them. Many of the items that Qingyan had carefully prepared were added to the gift list for Tong Guogang's residence.
Mrs. Tong Guogang's eyes lit up. The little things Qingyan had prepared were all very interesting. Although they weren't very expensive, they were a thoughtful gesture from the child.
"Hmm? They embezzled something?" Kangxi looked at everyone, puzzled. Was there something he didn't know?
Qingyan lowered her head, unsure how to explain herself, as Kangxi's gaze remained fixed on her.
"Li Dequan, what's going on?!" Kangxi asked angrily.
After a cup of tea, Li Dequan stood respectfully to the side and recounted how Si'er had withheld the New Year's gifts from the Qingyan banquet. As soon as he finished speaking, Kangxi's eyes slowly turned cold.
Snap!
Emperor Kangxi slammed his teacup heavily on the table. Consort Tong's face turned pale, and Tong Guowei and his wife did not attempt to remedy the situation.
"Little Darling, why didn't you say anything?" Consort Tong asked directly.
"Mother, it's not a big deal. It's just a few sets of jewelry. It's not like I can't afford it!" Qingyan pouted helplessly, her little face scrunched up.
She was clearly doing it for the good of the Tong family, to prevent arguments between the mother and daughter.
"Mother, Xiao Guai later gave her own treasures to Grandma Guo Luoma." Yin didn't want Consort Tong to shift the blame onto Qingyan, such a thankless and arduous task.
Madam Tong's mood instantly soured. The Fourth Prince had clearly placed the blame on the Tong family. Sending the Fourth Prince away was a good thing. The last caning had not only caused Longkodo to argue with her, but also...
"Sent again?!" Kangxi was stunned. Every time, the New Year's gifts sent by Linglong Pavilion to the residences of various officials were delivered to his table.
Yin nodded; those things were definitely worth much more than the New Year's gifts he had prepared. He saw Qingyan pack up jewelry and send it to the Tong residence, and he felt a little guilty.
"yes!"
Tong Guowei's face darkened. His wife hadn't said a word, but instead mentioned that the Fourth Prince's New Year's gift was sent very late. Sure enough, something was wrong.
"Who embezzled it?!" Kangxi looked coldly at Tong Guowei.
"It's my fault for not managing the household properly!" Madam Tong was worried that Longkodo would protect the fourth son, so she took full responsibility to prevent him from doing anything inappropriate in front of Emperor Kangxi.
Qingyan frowned; this Madam Tong was far too protective of her own.
“The steward is not strict!” Kangxi coldly uttered four words. “The annual gifts that Qingyan prepares for the Tong family are worth more than 100,000 taels of silver every year.”
Lady Tong was stunned; Emperor Kangxi actually knew the value of these things.
"Little Darling, bring me the list of New Year's gifts!" Consort Tong was planning to settle accounts later.
Su Lan went out and had the maids fetch the account book from Linglong Pavilion. There was a special list for the annual gifts every year, which recorded the market price in detail.
Madam Tong was filled with anxiety. She had a general idea of how much silver those jewelry pieces were worth.
Today, her family probably won't be able to easily get through this calamity. She looked up, wanting to ask Consort Tong for help, but the latter didn't even give her a glance.
Half an hour later, Su Lan brought the account book from outside and respectfully presented it to Kangxi and Consort Tong. Qing Yan lowered his head, looking indifferent. Yin and Qing Yan were juniors, so it was best for them to be mere background figures.
"Little darling, are there two New Year's gifts this year as well?" The gifts at Tong Guogang's residence were all made up later, while the New Year's gifts at Tong Guowei's residence were two.
Qingyan looked around in a dilemma, then simply nodded.
"Take a look," Kangxi said, handing the account book to Li Dequan and instructing him to place it in front of Tong Guowei so that he could see for himself what his son had done.
Tong Guowei looked at the account book, which detailed the craftsmanship and value of the headdresses. Those with similar values were clearly intended to be given to the two principal wives of the Tong family. These were bright red headdresses, which should only be owned by the principal wives. As a concubine, Si'er could not possibly have such things.
Kangxi glanced coldly at Tong Guowei and then told Yin and Qingyan to leave first.
Walking in the garden of the Tong residence, Qingyan finally came to her senses. Today, it seemed that Kangxi had once again used her as a pawn, directly launching an attack on the Tong residence.
"Fourth Brother, my head hurts!" Qingyan pouted. "Can we leave first?"
Yin shook his head. There were several concubine daughters in the Tong family who had only heard that Kangxi had brought the Fourth Prince. They all washed and dressed up, preparing to wait for him in the garden. Erlu faithfully guarded the garden gate, preventing these women dressed in their finest attire from entering.
"Hmph! A femme fatale!"
Qingyan caught a glimpse of those pink figures at the door, and her mood instantly soured, feeling uncomfortable all over.
"Eru will handle it!" Kangxi had already informed Yin Tong's household ladies that they would no longer be allowed to enter the prince's inner courtyard; at most, they would be allowed to enter the inner courtyards of the imperial relatives. (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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