Qingyan examined the jewelry from Linglong Pavilion for several chieftains' wives, and found that some of them were fake, clearly tampered with.
Within the territory of the Qing Dynasty, Linglong Pavilion had the most similar reputation and was also involved with the royal family, so those people would definitely be single-mindedly looking for a scapegoat.
"Fourth Brother, you're really a headache!" Qingyan pouted as she mentioned the matter of headdresses to Yin, feeling like she had been tricked.
Yin held her against the soft cushions of the couch, patting her back gently.
In the past few days, he had heard a lot of news about the Mongolian princess's jewelry being damaged, and he was even more worried that the Linglong Pavilion incident was causing a stir.
"Have you found out who did it?" Yin asked.
The headdresses of Linglong Pavilion are designed with great intricacy, which ordinary craftsmen certainly could not have made. They must have cost a lot of money to make.
She shook her head. These people had put in a lot of effort to bring down the primary wife.
Not only did they find highly skilled craftsmen from the capital, but they even bought jewelry from Linglong Pavilion so that these craftsmen could study it diligently and achieve a similar appearance.
Apart from Qingyan, the others were unaware of what the mark would be for the next season, so the anti-counterfeiting mark was done very well.
"Fourth Brother, all the craftsmen I dismissed should go home!" Qingyan said bitterly. He should have listened to Yin and dealt with those dismissed people.
Her momentary soft-heartedness brought so much trouble upon her. If Emperor Kangxi knew, he would surely say she was too soft-hearted.
As soon as he finished speaking, he pinched her little nose. The little girl was smart enough to know that what she was doing was wrong.
"Next time, just let me handle those people!" Yin knew that Xiao Guai wouldn't be able to do it, and he would stand in front of her.
Qingyan buried her face in Yin's arms, hoping to be comforted by him.
"Okay, I understand!" Qingyan smiled.
She disliked those who betrayed their masters. The skilled craftsmen of Linglong Pavilion were all recruited by her with great effort. If someone with excellent skills were to leave, it would be an immeasurable loss to Linglong Pavilion.
"Your Majesty, His Majesty requests your presence in the Imperial Tent!" Upon hearing from Li Dequan's apprentice that His Majesty had summoned them, Su Peisheng dared not delay and quickly reported it.
Qingyan straightened her clothes, stood up, and followed Yin out.
"Little darling, when you get to the imperial tent, don't say much. Just answer Father's questions!" Yin understood that he was probably asking about the headdresses, as these people had often thrown tantrums over them.
Qingyan pursed her lips, her face...
"The matter in the backyard has implicated the head of Linglong Pavilion. Why do I have to explain? It wasn't me who did it!" Qingyan was furious. These people were obviously trying to frame her. Why did she have to answer?
"Don't talk nonsense!" Yin scolded softly. Qingyan should think carefully about how to answer when he gets to Kangxi's side, and try to get Linglong Pavilion out of the picture.
"Hmph!" Qingyan was also unhappy; those people were clearly looking for trouble.
They went to the capital to order jewelry, but didn't leave their names. Who knows whose family these people represent? Now, besides these issues, they're here to demand an explanation.
"Good boy!" Yin soothed the agitated Qingyan, hoping the little guy could calm down. Right now, it wasn't about who was right or wrong, but about ensuring Qingyan wouldn't get hurt.
Qingyan pouted. Ba followed Yin to the imperial tent, where Kangxi and Consort Tong sat on the high seat, listening to the complaints of the Mongol leaders and their wives.
After bowing, Qingyan listened to their challenges and felt even more disdainful.
“In the capital, your orders weren’t placed under your real names. If I hadn’t remembered those gems, I wouldn’t have known when you transformed into a Han Chinese family from Jiangnan.” Qingyan showed no mercy to these people and directly vented her anger.
Ugh!
Emperor Kangxi found Qingyan's words somewhat offensive and felt quite pleased.
From the moment they entered, these Mongol leaders kept saying that Qingyan was tampering with things, and even suspected that Kangxi was behind it. He must have felt resentful.
“Little darling… even the leaders don’t know!” Yin also sneered.
"Hehe, I don't know, I don't know much, you don't reveal any information. I don't care. Why should Linglong Pavilion take the blame when there's a problem? You can't clean up your own backyard. Linglong Pavilion didn't cause you any trouble!" Qingyan didn't dare to do that. She vented all the pent-up frustration she had suffered these past few days.
Gega didn't care. They spent hundreds of thousands of taels of silver a year at Linglong Pavilion, and Qingyan could still turn them away.
"Fourth Princess Consort, we only hope that you can find a way for us to prevent such things from happening again!" Gega said on behalf of the group.
Qingyan's face turned cold, and she was in a very bad mood.
"Find a way so you don't have to order your headwear from Linglong Pavilion. I don't care about your orders!" Qingyan didn't care. These people's orders weren't as big as Jiangnan's, and they had so much to do. She wasn't going to do it!
Qingyan's words made the atmosphere in the tent awkward; none of them had expected Qingyan to say it so directly.
"Your Majesty, what do you think..." Gega hoped that Kangxi could intercede on their behalf. If they didn't have to go to Linglong Pavilion to be the leading ladies, the women would be able to keep quiet.
“Gege, this property is Qingyan’s dowry. The royal family has no right to interfere. Besides, if she hadn’t gone to Linglong Pavilion to work as a headdresser, none of this would have happened. What Qingyan said is right!” Kangxi didn’t want Qingyan to get involved in Mongolian affairs, so he simply let Qingyan cut ties completely.
Instantly, the Mongolian wives' faces turned ugly. They had hoped to get compensation from Qingyan through this incident, such as a discount when ordering headdresses. Who would have thought that there would be no discount, and they would even be prevented from ordering any more.
"Fourth Princess Consort, there are some things I haven't made clear. It's not that I don't like these ornaments, but... I hope they can be marked with some special symbols!" Gega quickly begged Qingyan for forgiveness.
"I'm sorry, but Father Emperor said we can stop doing business with you. You're trying to dampen Linglong Pavilion's spirits even before anything bad happens. We don't have that kind of magnanimity." Qingyan was genuinely annoyed.
From the moment several wives brought the jewelry to the tent, she began to wonder if Linglong Pavilion would be severely damaged without these Mongolian orders.
Ultimately, the answer is no!
"Avoid trouble!" Qingyan uttered four words from her cherry lips.
"Fourth Princess Consort, it was the Prince who spoke without thinking. We all really like these jewelry pieces," Gega's primary wife quickly said with a smile.
"No need, Your Highness. Linglong Pavilion only desires peace and doesn't want to be dragged into the power struggles of the inner court!" Qingyan gave a direct answer! (To be continued. If you like this work, please vote for it on Qidian. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please go to m.qidian.com to read.)
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