Inside the Summer Palace, due to the hot weather, few people came out except for the servants who had to be on duty. These servants would be on duty for two hours each day and then rotated. Emperor Kangxi restricted the chief stewards below and required them to provide these servants with a better working environment.
Qingyan stayed in the courtyard, reading with the twins and Hafeng. The twins were reading, and Hafeng would occasionally read along with Yiken, sometimes saying a few words about what was in the book.
"Yiken'e, how much have you read?" Yin walked in from outside and saw Yiken'e reciting his lessons. He took the book and listened to Yiken'e reciting.
"Father, you're back very early today!" Yiken'e quickly went over to greet him and happily brought Yin a cup of plum juice to cool him down.
Yin poured himself a glass of plum juice and placed the glass aside.
"Fourth Prince, you're back very early today? Father Emperor, you've let him go so easily?" Recently, Yin has been required to stay by Kangxi's side, but today he was released without any intervention.
"Of course, I came back directly today to avoid suspicion when I was summoning officials from the south!" Yin put down his cup. The officials from the south were basically Kangxi's confidants, so if Kangxi came, he would definitely summon them.
Cao Yin was the first to be summoned, but Kangxi became suspicious of him and therefore did not summon him.
Upon hearing the name of the chosen candidate, the officials in the south generally understood the situation; it seemed that Cao Yin was no longer the same person he had been before.
"Fourth Prince, why is Father Emperor doing this..." Qingyan asked, looking at Yin.
"It seems they're not going to give the Cao family any face at all!" Yin said directly. The Cao family's influence in Jiangnan was too great, and Kangxi was very wary of them.
After hearing Yin's words, Qingyan understood slightly that Kangxi was preparing to crack down on the officialdom. The servants of the Imperial Household Department had repeatedly crossed the line, and Kangxi had decided to take action against the officialdom.
"If we take action against the Cao family, won't things get chaotic in Jiangnan?" Qingyan expressed her doubts.
"Of course it will. There's been some imbalance in the officialdom of Jiangnan. Most officials are now on the side of Cao Yin or Li Xu," Yin sneered.
Yiken'e listened to Yin's words from the side. When he arrived here, Yiken'e truly witnessed the power of the Cao family. They were indeed more outstanding than the royal family.
"Fourth Prince, who does Father Emperor want to come?" Qingyan asked curiously.
The officials in the south have all taken their own positions, and many have already aligned themselves with their respective factions. Judging from Kangxi's intentions, a major purge is definitely in the works.
“It must be a loyal person who came. The Cao family has already been remembered by Father Emperor.” Yin sneered. “They came to the south, also wanting to give Cao Yin another chance.”
Yin also felt that Cao Yin had wasted the last chance that Kangxi had given him. Now that Li Xu had been taken away, Cao Yin's right and left arms were completely gone.
"So, Cao Yin failed to control the situation, and Li Xu was the initial warning," Yin said with emotion.
The weather in the south this year is exceptionally hot, a once-in-a-century event. While watching the Qiantang River tidal bore, the surrounding areas have already begun to flood, so it can be considered a year of disaster.
"After watching the 'tide,' the officials in the south were all dispatched to the front line of earthquake relief. Each of them had someone sent by the Emperor by their side, and everyone's actions were reported to the Emperor verbatim." Yin's face darkened. "Now, those who stood behind the Cao family have been purged one by one by Kangxi."
Qingyan listened carefully to the list Yin mentioned and began to consider whether she should change her business approach.
“Some of the officials that Father Emperor purged were managing places run by the Yuelai Inn,” Qingyan sighed. “I offered them a lot of tribute, and I can already provide the list!”
"Can you provide a list?" Yin asked in surprise.
“Yes, all of these can be used as evidence!” Qingyan said directly. “Each manager has some account books with detailed records of what the officials received.”
After hearing this, Yin felt slightly relieved. These were all pieces of evidence, and if they were placed in front of Kangxi, they would definitely expose the Yuelai Inn.
"Little darling, don't take out this list. We got the evidence from outsiders!" Yin squeezed Qingyan's little hand, telling her not to touch the last piece of evidence.
"Sisi, what if no one provides it for you?" Qingyan was genuinely worried. "Wouldn't you still have to get it from the Yuelai Inn?"
"No!" Yin refused decisively.
“Alright, if you need it, you can just ask the shopkeeper for it!” Qingyan said to Yin.
Yin looked at Su Peisheng and said, "Bring the manager here."
The twins and Hafeng were taken to the study. Yin and Qingyan sat in the pavilion, side by side on the stone bench, pondering and sipping their plum juice.
"Fourth Brother, shouldn't we say a few words to the managers?!" Qingyan's face was very bad; Yin might get involved.
Previously, the managers of Yuelai Inn had sent them gifts directly, fearing that the officials would expose them. These gifts were mostly for holidays and festivals.
"Little darling, those people won't reveal the manager. It's not just Guangyuelai Inn that's delivering the goods!" Yin told Qingyan.
Later that evening, the shopkeeper quietly arrived. Su Peisheng had dismissed all the servants in the courtyard and stood directly at the entrance of the courtyard.
"Master, you asked me to come here because of that list, right?" the shopkeeper greeted Yinhe Qingyan.
"Yes, no matter who comes to you for the list, they are not allowed to reveal it. Even if someone close to me asks for it, neither my wife nor I will accept it!" Yin instructed the shopkeeper to keep the list a secret.
"Master..." The shopkeeper was taken aback. Qingyan had prepared a greeting ceremony, which was meant for Yin to use, but now Yin didn't want to use it.
"Listen to your master, let's not talk about this for now!" In front of outsiders, Qingyan was very obedient to Yin.
"Yes!" the shopkeeper nodded immediately!
Yin gave a few brief instructions, telling the manager that if he encountered any problems he couldn't solve, he should send a message directly to the capital. The cleanup of the officialdom in Jiangnan would be carried out gradually.
"Yes, sir!" the shopkeeper replied respectfully.
"In addition, all shops in Jiangnan should be more careful recently and strictly check whether the gifts given over the years have exceeded that bottom line!" Qingyan said directly.
"This servant obeys!" The shopkeeper nodded in response.
After the shopkeeper left, Yin and Qingyan sat on the stone bench and talked about what was happening outside.
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