After lunch, Yin, with a cold face, took Qingyan to Linglong Pavilion. Sure enough, business had declined somewhat due to the nearby shops.
She watched as her beloved Linglong Pavilion's business declined, and a sense of frustration welled up inside her. However, this wasn't due to the shop itself, but rather because it was being dragged down by other shops.
"Master, you've arrived?!" The shopkeeper quickly came over as soon as he saw Qingyan approaching.
"Why didn't you tell me about something this big?!" Qingyan was furious.
"It was my recklessness. It doesn't seem to be a problem. The order volume for silverware has indeed decreased a lot in the past few days, but it's still within a controllable range. After all, nothing bad has happened to our shop's products, so people still trust us," the shopkeeper quickly explained.
Yin held Qingyan's small hand, trying to calm her down as quickly as possible.
"Let's go to a private room!" Yin said directly.
A crowd had slowly gathered at the entrance, and he wouldn't let these people see his wife's face.
The shopkeepers followed behind, their hearts pounding with anxiety.
After the two were settled, Qingyan's face fell. She hadn't disciplined them for too long and had clearly become lax.
"We are guilty!" the shopkeepers quickly knelt down and said.
Previously, the Fourth Master mentioned that any problems encountered must be reported promptly.
The private room was extremely quiet. How would Qingyan weather this crisis?
"Si Si, let's see how Ma Jiashi handles this first." Qing Yan had never encountered anything like this before.
From the window, one could see the situation in the shops across the street. The crowd was growing larger and larger. Qingyan stood up, leaned against the window frame, and looked at the commotion outside. The crying and shouting were getting louder and louder.
"Who is the victim?" Qingyan asked.
"She is a concubine's daughter from a collateral branch of the Hesheli clan!" Yin had already had people inquire about everything.
Hershey? Ma Jiashi?
Qingyan's little head felt like it was in a knot. Could it be that the discord among the concubines could affect things outside the palace?
Yin noticed Qingyan's tense face, and the outside was becoming increasingly lively.
"Get out of the way!" A shout startled Qingyan.
"Little darling, come back!" Upon hearing the voice, Yin pulled Qingyan to the corner of the wall.
It was actually Suo'etu!
Yin pulled her to a corner, sandwiching her between him and the wall.
A wall slam?!
Qingyan was completely dumbfounded. Yin was actually so trendy, he knew how to do a wall slam?
"It's Suo'etu!" Yin whispered to her, pressing his forehead against hers.
Given a choice between her safety and his pride, he would choose the former.
The situation has escalated, and the appearance of Suo'etu will definitely not end well.
ah?!
Qingyan's fleeting romantic notion was instantly extinguished; she knew he would never be that romantic.
"What are you thinking about?" Yin pinched Qingyan's little face, wanting to make her laugh.
"Fourth Brother, Suo'etu can help a concubine's daughter from a collateral branch?" Qingyan couldn't believe it, but he wasn't surprised at all. It was as if it was something he had expected, which clearly surprised Qingyan.
He smiled slightly and looked into Qingyan's questioning eyes, explaining, "Little darling, Suo'etu is not standing up for a concubine's daughter, but for the Hesheli family."
She was taken aback. People here valued family ties more. When two families were preparing to fight, they had to seize every opportunity to cause trouble for the other side.
"You saw it?!"
The two sat on a soft couch by the window, covered with a special kind of cloud brocade gauze that allowed one to see through to the outside, but not the inside. This craftsmanship had been lost by the late Qianlong period.
“This place is different from the previous one; it’s easier to monitor the outside from here.” When Linglong Pavilion and Yuelai Inn were decorating her private room, Yin specially had it custom-made.
Qingyan looked outside and, sure enough, Suo'etu brought people from the Hesheli clan over. After a cup of tea, Rongfei's father, Yuanwailang Gaishan, also appeared, followed by people from the Magiya clan.
A conflict was inevitable: the Hesheli clan versus the Magiya clan. On one side was the family of the former empress, and on the other was the favored concubine who had borne many children for Emperor Kangxi.
Even though Consort Rong had lost the emperor's favor, she was still able to maintain her position in the harem, largely thanks to Yin Zhi.
"Fourth Prince, tell me, who will win?" Emperor Kangxi was very dissatisfied with the Crown Prince's over-reliance on the Hesheli family.
Yin smiled coldly. He had specially dispatched the Dragon Guards to the shop to keep an eye on things and see if anyone was going to attack Xiao Guai. After all, the two shops were in the same industry, and if they were not careful, Ma Jia would find something to use against them.
"Little darling, are there any markings on your tableware?" Yin suddenly asked.
Qingyan was stunned to find that her tableware all bore the Linglong Pavilion logo, written in seal script.
She nodded. The copy that had been forged before was not written by Fei Yanggu.
Therefore, Fei Yanggu stopped carving the character "宴" in seal script.
Not long after, the sound of crying and commotion came from the first floor. The shopkeepers exchanged glances and quickly went downstairs. Qingyan, wearing a cap, stood at the second-floor window. The victim in that house kept saying that the other party had entered from Linglong Pavilion.
"Madam, every set of silver cutlery at Linglong Pavilion is marked, but yours isn't. Waiter, bring a spoon from behind!" As the shopkeeper finished speaking, some of the commoners were stunned. The people upstairs were indeed very high-class.
The victim's family cannot accept this, so are both shops going to shirk responsibility?
"You can't do this! There's clearly a problem, but you're making us bear the blame!" The lady couldn't take it anymore and started sobbing.
"Madam, please take a look. The complete set of silver tableware for a dowry from Linglong Pavilion consists of ninety-nine pieces, but your set only has eighty-eight. In addition, each piece of tableware has a hidden pattern, which you don't have here!" The shopkeeper was not confused and was prepared to finish quickly, otherwise his reputation would be ruined.
As soon as the words were spoken, the murmurs among the crowd grew louder. They all liked Linglong Pavilion very much. Every month, two or three kinds of jewelry would be on sale, making them affordable even for ordinary people. This made many young women very fond of Linglong Pavilion.
With the money they earned from selling purses, they could buy one they liked. The shop also offered installment payment options for these girls; as long as they paid the money on time each month, they could take it with them.
Many shops think Linglongge is foolish; what if the people who bought the jewelry don't come back to pay?
"impossible!"
The victims' families said it was hard to believe that their chance to extort money from Linglong Pavilion had been shattered.
The shopkeeper showed the two pieces of tableware directly to the people, and many people looked at him with disdain, clearly thinking he was trying to extort money.
"This is clearly an attempt to extort money. It seems that it really wasn't produced by Linglong Pavilion. This place is also very reputable."
"that is!"
"This is so unfair! Or is someone deliberately trying to ruin Linglong Pavilion's reputation?"
The murmurs and discussions eased Qingyan's mind; her favors hadn't been wasted after all. (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.)
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