As evening approached, all the windows in the room were opened. Near the window was a chaise lounge, where Qingyan, dressed in a pink and blue palace gown, leaned lazily against it, holding a collection of stories that Yin had gathered in her left hand, turning the pages one by one.
She kept glancing at the doorway out of the corner of her eye, waiting to see when Tu Lichen would return to report on the progress.
At his desk, Yin was still processing the memorials in his hands. These were all reports to Kangxi through the secret channels of the Dragon Guard, while some were routine memorials that Yin needed to handle.
"Little darling, stay put and behave yourself," Yin said while writing furiously.
She pouted and glared at him. After the incident that morning, he had given the order that no one except the innkeeper and waiters could come up to the third floor.
This situation stunned the two burly men hiding below.
They dared not step forward easily, fearing that their identities would be exposed.
The Mongol tribes have been quite well-behaved lately. One by one, the leaders of the Quqiumi tribes have been replaced, and some have even been imprisoned by Emperor Kangxi.
News came from the royal hunting grounds that the Fourth Prince had been imprisoned by Emperor Kangxi, and his whereabouts were suspicious. The Mongol leaders pleaded for his release, hoping that Emperor Kangxi would release him early. Unfortunately, Yinzhi did not show up easily.
This unusual situation made many leaders cautious, as they worried that Yin's absence meant he had been secretly dispatched by Kangxi.
Fortunately, Yin and Xiao Guai had disguised themselves beforehand and made some changes to their ages, causing the decision-makers guarding the tribe to overlook the situation.
"Fourth Brother, are we going to waste our time here?" Qingyan wanted to take matters into her own hands; weren't those women innocent?
After lunch, she couldn't contain herself any longer, and he immediately started a full-blown fight on the bed, leaving her with a sore back and aching muscles that she still feels pain now.
"I don't mind letting you experience another afternoon workout." Yin smiled mischievously. It was nice to see the little girl being disobedient all the time.
No!
Qingyan mentally drew an X.
Those four beasts are no human when they get going!
She puffed out her cheeks and glared at him, while secretly rubbing her waist with her right hand.
After waking up from her afternoon nap, Si Si wouldn't let Su Lan get close, so Qing Yan could only silently press her waist.
"You stinky bastard!" Qingyan muttered under her breath.
"Cough cough..." Yin coughed a few times with his right hand to his mouth. When she heard this, she immediately became flustered.
He noticed Xiao Guai's actions and immediately expressed his satisfaction.
If the little guy isn't disciplined for a few days, he starts climbing on the roof and tearing off the tiles.
"Fourth, I'm bored." Qingyan started to whine. In the past, he would grant all her requests as long as she whine. But this time was different. The small county town was too unsafe, and he didn't want Xiaoguai to suffer any grievances.
"Don't worry, we'll stay here for at least ten days. Once things are settled, I'll take you shopping!" Yin was essentially making an empty promise. This problem was very serious, and it was uncertain when things would be resolved.
She was somewhat surprised; she hadn't realized things were so complicated.
"Are we going to stay at the inn for the next few days?" She pursed her lips, her little face puffing out.
She prefers to conduct investigations herself and doesn't trust servants and guards much. She is generally wary of everyone except her own family.
"Hmm." Tu Lichen had his men surround the three floors, preventing anyone from coming up. The three floors of the Yue Lai Inn across the street were also booked by Yin and his group.
"Four! Four!" Qingyan's little face was tense, full of reluctance.
Hearing Yin's words, she felt a sense of unease rising in her heart; this problem might actually be aimed at her.
Emperor Kangxi was extremely strict with women, forbidding them from participating in the affairs of the court. Yinzhen tried his best to protect Xiao Guai, and the father and son had some disagreements on the issue of women.
Tulichen's men brought back bad news. Some of them, under the arrangement of Prime Minister Suo, were preparing to take action against the Ulanara family and Qingyan. They wanted to use the scandal of the prince's mother-in-law's family to help the crown prince ascend the throne.
Kangxi was watching their every move. He secretly sent Yinzhi and Yinzhi to investigate from two directions, which showed that he already suspected the Crown Prince.
Before Prime Minister Suo could realize what was happening, those ministers who had initially sided with the Crown Prince after being hinted at by Emperor Kangxi began to waver and return to Kangxi's side.
"Your Majesty, the secret report from above has arrived." Tulichen rarely appeared before the couple; he would only show up when Kangxi sent a message.
"Come in!" Yin said.
She quickly returned to the soft couch and began flipping through the storybook.
When Tu Lichen entered, the couple were on opposite sides and did not exchange a single word.
Tulichen was well aware of Kangxi's wariness towards women. Before leaving, Kangxi repeatedly instructed him to observe the way the Fourth Prince and his wife interacted.
Along the way, he also discovered some clues. Unlike His Majesty, the Fourth Prince was not wary of women. At least, he took great care of his Fourth Princess Consort and even told her stories about the previous dynasty.
No other prince had ever experienced a similar situation. If he hadn't been close to Saito, he would have certainly reported the facts.
Outsiders all felt that he was the most loyal to Kangxi and would never hide information because of personal feelings.
Unlike others, Saito had been inseparable from the new army during their time of life and death. Later, when they parted ways, they repeatedly said that the words "to live and die together" would always be engraved in their hearts.
Even Emperor Kangxi was unaware of their relationship, and everyone assumed that their bond stemmed from training together.
"Leave it here for now, come back later!" Yin knew that Kangxi's advance delivery of the secret memorial meant that something urgent had happened.
Could it be...?
Another mishap occurred with Yinzhi. Just two days after they left, Yinzhi ran into trouble in a tribe in southern Mongolia.
"Little Darling, come here." He beckoned to her and opened the folded document, which contained some problems in the camp and the names of several tribal leaders who were stationed in the northern Mongolian region.
"Are we sent to investigate?" Qingyan asked suspiciously.
He nodded slightly, presumably to remind them to be on guard.
Such a huge scandal was hidden in this small county town. He was horrified when he read the detailed account written below.
Back then, even the fiercest power struggle among the nine princes wasn't as intense as the struggle for the position of county magistrate in a small county town.
OMG!
She tilted her head and looked at what was written on the document, finding it somewhat unbelievable.
"Fourth, is the competition for county magistrate positions really this fierce?" She thought that after the imperial examination, Emperor Kangxi would appoint officials.
"It should be that the Ministry of Revenue would first go to the hometowns of the scholars who had achieved academic success to inquire about their character. Such a frame-up might succeed." Yin admitted that there were bound to be some scholars in the Qing Dynasty who had been wronged. The emperor was only one person, and the officials below him were rarely negligent, so such problems would become more and more serious.
"What does Father Emperor mean?" Qingyan asked from the side, holding the commemorative document.
He frowned, pondering the meaning behind his father's implication. He couldn't remain silent indefinitely. (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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