They stayed in the small county town for a few days, waiting for specific news from Tulichen. However, the other party's attitude was fickle, forcing them to change the information at any time, and the secret reports sent to their superiors had to be replaced at any time.
"Little Darling, once we've confirmed how many spies the other side has, Linglong Pavilion and Yuelai Inn will prepare to recruit." Yin looked at the information gathered from the capital, which recorded the actions of these people. They would change their minds as soon as someone provoked them.
"There are many problems. I can't tell who's real and who's fake. If someone's causing trouble behind the scenes, I won't be able to handle it." Qingyan was quite afraid of something going wrong.
A single painting of a headdress from the Linglong Pavilion could sell for several hundred taels of silver outside, which would make those people's lives more affluent.
"Little darling, Linglong Pavilion isn't hiring for the time being, but Yuelai Inn is." Yin thought about it for a long time and still felt that it would be better to hire people here.
The management of Yuelai Inn was largely handled by people from the Yinhe royal family; these were the true leaders.
"Really?!" she exclaimed in surprise.
Linglong Pavilion was the last of her dowry properties that she could freely decide on; everything they had planned had changed.
"Yes, really!" Yin gave an affirmative answer.
She finally breathed a sigh of relief. She could tolerate the difficulties caused by outsiders, but she had always been afraid that Kangxi would become suspicious of Yinzhi and his three sons, Fei Yanggu.
"However, we need to act quickly. Tu Lichen might be back and have already confirmed the time and number of people," he said helplessly.
"Okay, I understand." She pursed her lips, calculating in her mind how many of her own people she could send back, and that the shop here would be handed over to someone else.
"The tentative number is 20," Yin calculated. He had enough manpower to keep an eye on them, and the royal spies were nearby, so it should work.
"Any more needed?" Qingyan calculated that after clearing out most of the less important positions, they would need nearly 30 people, which was far from enough. "I want to withdraw my own people; they are not like the others, they haven't received professional training."
"There shouldn't be any more. These people are generally trustworthy." He shook his head and refused, saying that it's best for Xiao Guai's shop to avoid hiring so many outsiders.
The royal spies only gather useful information and rarely get involved in business matters, so they haven't sensed anything amiss yet.
With these Mongolians arriving, the situation changed. Everyone needed to be watched, and the royal family and their informants needed to slowly infiltrate the management.
"It's fine if you run it, but it can't be as profitable as other shops. I just want to be able to relax and not have to worry about anything," Qingyan muttered softly.
At this moment, Yin's feelings were very complicated. Every time she made concessions, it would only lead to some people taking advantage of her.
Previously, the Crown Prince had been eyeing the Yuelai Inn covetously. If the Crown Prince knew this, he would definitely go to Emperor Kangxi to ask for this job.
At that time, they couldn't help but let the Crown Prince interfere too much, as he was most adept at pushing his luck.
"Little darling, what would you do if someone else took over the management of Yuelai Inn?" Yin asked the little one in his arms in a low voice as he sat in the chair.
She tilted her head and thought for a moment. Isn't this normal?
With such huge profits, there are bound to be a few people tempted. Xiao Guai thought of a few people, with the Crown Prince being the most greedy.
"The one in the east?" The Crown Prince's expenses were enormous, so Suo'etu had to start helping the Crown Prince make money outside. Many of the censors who caused trouble for his family were Suo'etu's protégés.
He nodded, after all, this matter was still somewhat troublesome, and many people had been deceived by Suo'etu.
If Kangxi were to actually punish Suo'etu, it would undoubtedly be a profound lesson for the Crown Prince.
"Fourth Prince, doesn't the Emperor know he's accumulating wealth?" She couldn't understand Kangxi's meaning; everyone outside thought Kangxi was indulging the Crown Prince.
Soetu directly brought shame upon the Crown Prince, and their unconditional pampering only made the Crown Prince's behavior more outrageous.
"I know." He understood that Kangxi still had some tolerance for the Crown Prince. But when the crucial moment came, the Crown Prince would be directly held hostage and punished. At that time, they would be the most tragic ones.
"Why didn't you stop him?" Kangxi was definitely a loving father to the crown prince, but to his other sons, he was just a father.
How to stop it?
He looked at her and sighed. The Crown Prince was raised by Emperor Kangxi. To say that the Crown Prince has bad habits is to say that Emperor Kangxi's teaching was inadequate.
"Fourth Prince, everyone should be kept in the dark by the Crown Prince. This was given to me by Su Lan. She said it was taken from the home of the chieftain of the bandits. Only royalty should have this kind of button." Qing Yan had a golden button in his palm with a five-clawed python design on it.
The princes' special buttons all had this design; the crown prince's were golden yellow, while the rest were pale yellow.
"What?!" He stared intently at the button in Qingyan's hand, feeling uneasy. The Crown Prince had gone too far. "Did your two brothers-in-law find the answer?"
Qingyan nodded. Her two older brothers were basically her channels for understanding the outside world. Their connections in the military allowed them to get news earlier than ordinary people.
"Yes, someone picked up this button and gave it to Ah Hun. They said it was found in the purse of a bearded man sent by the Mongols." Qingyan said it lightly, but she felt terrible inside.
The place where they exchanged buttons was very close to their tent, which made her uneasy.
The Crown Prince has a very bad reputation, and some women even avoid him.
"I understand." Yin learned where the buttons were exchanged from, and that the distance between that place and Xiao Guai's tent was very narrow. For the time being, the Crown Prince really did something bad to Qing Yan.
"Fourth Prince, once I return, I will not go out again except to pay my respects to Mother." She looked helpless at the Crown Prince's gaze. Even Yin didn't notice that when the Crown Prince looked at her, it was as if he were looking at a delicious plate of meat.
He nodded, but his eyes were filled with bitterness.
The Crown Prince had a habit of having affairs with the wives of his officials. This bad habit started when Kangxi suppressed the Three Feudatories. During that period, the Empress Dowager and Kangxi paid more attention to the situation of the Three Feudatories.
After the Three Feudatories were suppressed, Emperor Kangxi discovered the Crown Prince's actions and realized there was little he could do to change his bad habits. Even the Empress Dowager believed that the Crown Prince's minor flaws would not affect the Qing Dynasty.
"Okay, I'll let you work hard these days." A conciliatory approach is needed in Mongolia.
Every time Xiao Guai gives a direct order, some people will outwardly comply but inwardly disobey.
This time, he made the cleanup even more thorough.
"No, the people around me are all well-trained." This small inn has no choice but to accept the talents Qingyan has recruited.
In her memory, all the real giants were unearthed, and she would directly lend a helping hand when they were in trouble.
"Let the professor discipline them properly for now," Yin nodded. (To be continued. If you like this work, please vote for it on Qidian.com. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please go to m.qidian.com to read.)
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