On the morning of the sixth day, Qingyan got up very early to have breakfast with Yin. The two changed into their outdoor clothes and took a carriage to the foot of Hongluo Temple Mountain.
Looking at the bustling scene outside, Qingyan smiled. The people had all changed into new clothes and were heading to the commercial street near Hongluo Temple. These were local residents who were taking advantage of the winter break to do some small business and improve their lives.
"Sisi, look, there are so many breakfast stalls here!" Qingyan looked at the street stalls, which were almost all crowded.
There are more and more people waiting for Hongluo Temple to open so they can offer incense, so the stalls downstairs are doing good business.
After everyone was seated, the stall owner's wife quickly came over and asked what the two of them wanted.
"What do you have here?" Qingyan looked curiously at the control panel, which contained dumplings, wontons, steamed buns, and other items.
Although it was very cold outside the stalls, there were still quite a few people there.
"Little darling, shall we go to the shop to drink it?" Yin looked at the cup of brick tea that Qingyan handed him, feeling a little disgusted.
“This stall must have good food. Didn’t you see? Many of the customers here are dressed very smartly, which proves they come from well-off families!” Qingyan said directly.
Yin made a special observation, and as Qingyan had said, the stall owner did not show the slightest hint of apprehension when looking at the two people's clothes. It seemed that this stall had indeed served many dignitaries.
“Hongluo Temple is divided into two parts. The front part is mainly for ordinary people to offer incense, while the back part is entirely for the imperial family. It seems that all these people have come to offer incense. The fifth day of the month is the main day for offering incense, so it was right that we didn’t come yesterday,” Yin said specifically.
While waiting for breakfast, Qingyan took a special look down the mountain and noticed a place for selling porridge on the left side, where some beggars were sitting next to the porridge stall.
"Master, over there at the porridge stall..." Yin followed Qingyan's gaze and saw people sitting there with several broken bowls in front of them. "Should we prepare more wooden bowls at the porridge stall?"
Qingyan was annoyed because there weren't enough disposable bowls and chopsticks available, so she had to order a lot of wooden bowls.
“No need, the wooden bowls you prepared are enough. These people should be getting ready to change to wooden bowls. However, some people are just taking them home to bring good fortune to their families, so these people don’t need to use wooden bowls!” Yin refused.
The day after tomorrow morning, we will start preparing the congee. If we prepare these things again, the censors will definitely have something to use against us.
"Are all the Laba porridges made by the head monks at the temple?" Yin asked Qingyan.
"I've already spoken with the head monks at the temple, and all the ingredients have been prepared and placed in the main kitchen. The stewards of the Imperial Household Department, the Yuelai Inn, and the commander of the Imperial Guards have all signed off on it!" Qingyan had taken the best precautions; if those people wanted to go back on their word, none of the three parties could back out at the same time.
Yin smiled, knowing that Qingyan had definitely done her best; otherwise, she wouldn't have been so carefree as to leave everything to her.
"However, the fact that all three parties came to sign made them somewhat worried, thinking that we didn't trust them." Qingyan chuckled. These people always wanted to be trusted, but in the end, when trouble arose, they would try to shift the blame onto each other.
Now, she has all three of them checked in advance. If anything happens, one party will be held responsible directly. With responsibility clearly defined, the other two will not be falsely accused.
"Master, breakfast is ready!" Erlu personally brought the breakfast over.
Looking at the large wontons with fillings, the sour soup dumplings, several appetizing side dishes, and a basket of five-ingredient buns in front of her, Qingyan felt happy everywhere.
"Let's have breakfast first," Yin said directly.
After breakfast, Qingyan felt warm all over. Wearing deerskin boots, she walked to the foot of the mountain and found that the stalls were surrounded by sealed snow-proof fabric, which were used to make tents.
"Little darling, you really went all out this time!" Yin exclaimed, looking at the tent that had been prepared.
When others are eating congee, it's all done outdoors; they just set up a table in front of the congee.
"What's wrong?" Qingyan asked, looking at Yin.
Yin pointed to the shed next to him, "Nobody knows how to use this."
"These are all leftover materials from building greenhouses. If they were kept in the Imperial Household Department, they would just take up space. Why not make use of them?" Qingyan asked curiously.
"Well, that's good, but these things belong to the royal family. Did you tell Father Emperor before you used them?" Yin asked.
"Of course, if I didn't say so, the people from the Imperial Household Department wouldn't give it to me. They kept saying that these things belong to the royal family, and it would be a waste to give them away for free!" Qingyan was so angry with the head eunuch that he went straight to Emperor Kangxi and asked for an imperial edict.
Yin was relieved. As long as Kangxi found out, even if the censors saw it, Kangxi would suppress it.
"Little darling, you're not allowed to do it again. You must tell me first!" Yin said directly.
Qingyan became curious: "Sisi, these things can be reused. When it's time for porridge next year, these can be used again."
These sheds will not be demolished; they have been reserved for a year and are intended to be used again next year.
"Little darling, is it okay to take these off?" Yin asked Qingyan.
"It should be possible. The greenhouse is in the ground, not exposed to wind and sun. They've been doing this for several years now," Qingyan said doubtfully.
Yin understood. Since Kangxi hadn't said anything, the matter of making Laba porridge next year should probably be left to them.
"This must be kept in mind, and we must not let any people ruin it!" Yin was afraid that his brothers would not give him any face and would send servants to check and ruin it, so he prepared to give Qingyan a blow.
Qingyan was stunned. She remembered the current year and felt a little depressed. How could this be?
"Alright, I'll have someone keep an eye out. Next time, I definitely won't let anyone do it!" Qingyan promised.
There must have been royal spies inside Hongluo Temple, so there must have been some precautions taken.
"In addition, Father Emperor, you must keep a close eye on the situation!" Yin specially left Erlu behind to keep an eye on the actions of Hongluo Temple.
Qingyan accompanied Yin up the mountain. The royal temples had already completed their final preparations, and each meditation room had been furnished with new quilts, awaiting the arrival of royal family members and members of the imperial clan to offer incense.
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