The next morning, after having breakfast, Qingyan quickly sent Zhang Desheng to bribe officials with silver, hoping to send a trusted person to buy things as soon as possible.
The courtyard where the princes were confined was the residence of a former official of the previous dynasty, only a quarter of an hour away from the bustling commercial street.
"If we can bribe the servants at the gate, we can send them out. This place is very close to the commercial street; it only takes about an hour to go round trip, which is just right for one shift." Zhang Desheng went to check and found that the situation here was quite promising.
After listening to Zhang Desheng's words, Qingyan began to consider them. If this method was feasible, it could benefit every servant.
"Sulan, you stay here and take care of the children. Zhang Desheng, come with me for a bit!" Qingyan pondered, deciding to go and talk to the Yin Genjue Luo family.
Inside the courtyard of Lady Yin Genjueluo, several wives were waiting, still at a loss about what to do with those things.
"Master, Fourth Princess Consort is here!" Peony walked in directly and whispered in Yin Genjue Luo's ear.
"Let her in quickly!" said Yingenjueluo. "Qingyan has finally arrived. Hafeng is too young, so don't blame us for not letting her come earlier."
None of the wives said anything; they really couldn't think of any good solutions. When they came, they hadn't brought all their capable servants with them, so they usually relied on their servants to make purchases. They could only come and ask Lady Yingenjueluo for help.
Qingyan stepped into the main hall and saw several wives with worried expressions, which puzzled her.
"Fourth Sister-in-law, we've been waiting for you!" Ninth Princess said directly. "We've been waiting here for a long time, thinking about how to buy the things we need."
The Tenth Prince's wife chimed in, "That's true, the food in the kitchen is really too little. The Master's breakfast is even less varied. In the mansion, even the servants probably eat better than this."
"I've found a way, Zhang Desheng. You speak directly to the wives." Qingyan had Zhang Desheng wait at the door and explained the matter of bribing the servants.
“If those servants have no ambition, that’s fine, but if they do, then things are really bad!” Yin Genjue Luo Shi said directly.
The wives were all pondering whether what Qingyan said was feasible. If he really had ambitions, he would probably be informed by the Emperor, and in that case, the princes would definitely be implicated.
“Sister-in-law, you’re absolutely right,” Qingyan agreed. “If we don’t try this, we definitely won’t be able to buy anything!”
After she finished speaking, Qingyan and the other wives fell silent, waiting for Yin Genjueluo's decision.
"Fourth Sister-in-law, you and Eldest Sister-in-law shouldn't step forward. Tenth Sister-in-law and I will go first. We're the ones who lack the most things. Besides, Master has a lot of money. It would be a good thing if we could get it out for you sisters-in-law." Ninth Princess said directly. "Moreover, Ninth Master has already thought of this method and said he would tell you sisters-in-law after it's done."
The wives finally understood that the reason why the Ninth Prince's wife hadn't said a word was because the Ninth Prince hadn't finished handling the matter.
“That won’t do. We appreciate Ninth Brother’s kindness, but it would be too much for us, as his elder brother and sister-in-law, to have to pay for such a costly thing.” Yin Genjue Luo Shi resolutely refused.
"Sister-in-law is absolutely right. I should be the one to step forward and handle this first!" Qingyan is the wealthiest of the Fujin (principal wives), so she should be the first to speak up when faced with such a situation.
"Sisters-in-law, stop arguing. Master said that both Eldest Brother and Fourth Brother have been to the military camp, and there must be many censors watching them. Therefore, it is most appropriate for him to step forward!" Ninth Princess Consort quickly followed Ninth Master's advice after hearing Qingyan and the others' words.
Yin had already calculated that his sisters-in-law would definitely not agree, so he directly told Ninth Prince Consort what to do.
“Yes, eldest sister-in-law, fourth sister-in-law, you should listen to Ninth Sister-in-law’s arrangements. Don’t cause a lot of trouble. When Yin came out, the master told me to listen to Ninth Sister-in-law and help persuade the sisters-in-law!” Tenth Princess said.
After being persuaded by her two younger siblings, Yin Genjueluo and Qingyan understood Yin's difficulties. Hearing that Yin wanted to help directly, they thought that if it didn't cause any harm, they could agree.
"Sisters-in-law, just agree. It's rare for the Prince to do something serious." Ninth Prince's wife knew that Consort Yi disliked Yin's involvement in business the most, so she had always hoped that Yin could help Kangxi and others.
“Alright, I agree!” said Lady Yin Genjue Luo upon hearing what the Ninth Prince’s wife said.
"Alright, I've finally done what Master asked me to do. Fourth Sister-in-law, is there anything else that needs to be prepared?" Ninth Princess Consort said directly.
Qingyan shook his head: "We must be careful not to let these servants get too greedy, otherwise we might have to spend a lot of money to make purchases!"
After the Ninth Prince Consort counted them off one by one, she decided that she must make sure to give Yin a proper explanation when she returned.
"Sister-in-law, shall we use the things we brought with us for the next few days?" Ninth Princess Consort said directly.
"Okay, shall we dine here with you for the next few days?" Qingyan glanced at his sister-in-law. "Sister-in-law, we might really be relying on you this time!"
Several wives quickly echoed, and Qingyan looked at Lady Yingenjueluo and agreed directly.
“Alright, your eldest brother said that we have limited supplies, so the younger brothers can come directly. We can all get through this together,” said Yin Genjue Luo Shi.
The wives were finally relieved, as everyone had reached a consensus.
“Sister-in-law, I think this is the best idea. In the future, even if we buy them, we can use them together. We can just change the person each month!” Ninth Princess said directly.
They can't stay with their sister-in-law forever; they've caused a lot of trouble in Yin's courtyard.
“Okay, we’ll do as you say!” Yin Genjue Luo nodded. What Ninth Sister-in-law said was right; this was the most reasonable approach.
At the very least, during the lockdown, we should try our best to stay united.
The wives changed the subject again. In this small courtyard, the sisters-in-law got along even better. At least, without the previous squabbles, everyone was much quieter.
They showed genuine smiles, but everyone talked about one person being the Eighth Prince's wife.
"Fourth Sister-in-law, have you had any contact with the current Eighth Prince's wife before?" the Ninth Prince's wife inquired.
"No, my family doesn't have a good relationship with the Jue Luo clan!" Qingyan shook her head directly. "It's said that this person was very clever from a young age and knew how to please people!"
Everyone could see that Yin Si cared more about this Eighth Prince's wife than any of his previous wives.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
