As time passed, the atmosphere in the hall became increasingly oppressive. The women dared not say anything more. Today, Consort Tong had actually used her close friend, Consort Yi, to make trouble. There would definitely be additional problems later.
Consort Liang sat upright in her seat, her heart filled with unease.
Before the Lunar New Year, Yin Si had mentioned to Consort Liang that he wanted to arrange a marriage between Consort Liang's grandniece and the second son of the Prefect of Yangzhou. This marriage was essentially a transaction.
The second son of the Prefect of Yangzhou was a premature baby. From birth, the child was slower to react than others. Although the Prefect of Yangzhou held real power, no prestigious family in the south wanted to marry into the Prefect's family.
Qingyan had heard of this second son of the legitimate wife, and even the concubine's daughters in the salt merchants' families were unwilling to marry into his family.
Consort Tong glanced at Consort Liang, who was still sitting there calmly, completely unconcerned.
The women, upon hearing Consort Tong's words, all felt that Consort Tong was meddling too much.
"Alright, everyone, you may all leave now." Consort Tong dismissed everyone, leaving Qingyan alone to keep her company.
Qingyan obediently helped Consort Tong walk towards the inner palace, pondering in her heart that there must be a reason why Consort Tong did not issue a punishment for Consort Liang today.
"Mother, why didn't you punish Consort Liang?" Qingyan asked Consort Tong.
"It's just a private conversation between Yinsi and Consort Liang. If it's taken as evidence, it's obvious that someone has planted spies in the palace, which would be counterproductive!" Consort Tong, who was in charge of palace affairs, would naturally coordinate the matter repeatedly.
Seeing that Consort Tong was somewhat furious, Qingyan remained silent without saying anything more.
"Good girl, tell the shops in the south to keep an eye on the news from the capital!" Consort Tong whispered, "Among the people His Majesty personally dispatched, there might be some who betray him."
Yinsi was able to discuss matters with Consort Liang discreetly, and since he was involved in the officialdom of Jiangnan, Emperor Kangxi paid even more attention to it.
The two shops in Qingyan were different. They were frequented by the wives of officials, and during their occasional conversations, they would get to know more about various matters.
"Yes, Mother!" Qingyan nodded. "Recently, there has indeed been a lot more news from the south. Moreover, the wife of the Prefect of Yangzhou has ordered a lot of expensive jewelry, and all the shops have sent them over. It is said that these precious pieces of jewelry have appeared on the market in the capital!"
What? !
Consort Tong was stunned; her jewelry had already appeared on the market.
"So, someone went to the pawnshop to pawn their jewelry?" Consort Tong remembered that Linglong Pavilion had a special shop that bought up the jewelry that Linglong Pavilion had sold.
"No, they took it to Linglong Pavilion to sell. I heard it was a Mongolian woman," Qingyan said. "Moreover, the woman should have been married into the old imperial family in the capital for decades."
Upon hearing this, Consort Tong revealed a cold smile. If these were the people in question, she would probably need to think things through carefully.
"My dear, are you telling the truth? They've already taken action?" Consort Tong felt that the other side must have agreed, otherwise, no one would have done this.
Qingyan nodded. Recently, Linglong Pavilion has been on high alert. If they receive similar jewelry, they will definitely report it immediately.
"Did the manager of Linglong Pavilion say which member of the imperial family came?" Consort Tong asked.
Qingyan frowned slightly and shook her head. Who would have recorded such details?
"The manager never asks about these things. These jewelry pieces are recorded in the ledger. Every year at the end of the year, I have my staff compare the records to see which women's jewelry was sent to Linglong Pavilion," Qingyan said directly. "So, this is something I did intentionally; it's not a real record at all!"
Consort Tong was quite surprised to hear this, as people always said that Linglong Pavilion was a place that recycled old jewelry.
"My dear, what are those old pieces of jewelry used for?" Consort Tong asked curiously.
"There will be some valuable raw materials on it. Those who are preparing to pawn their jewelry have had their raw gemstones removed and then made into new headdresses," Qingyan said directly.
Consort Tong knew that many aristocratic families were running out of money, so many hoped to keep these gems to reduce their expenses.
"Fine, can you take a look at those account books?" Consort Tong directly asked for the account books.
Qingyan was slightly taken aback; even this was required.
"Sulan, go to the Yuanmingyuan and bring all the account books from the third drawer of the study!" Qingyan was already preparing these things and had taken care of them in advance, so he didn't bother with them anymore.
Consort Tong wore a faint smile, hoping to find some clues in these account books.
A moment later, Su Lan came in carrying six account books. Qing Yan saw the account books being brought in, took them from Su Lan's hands, and placed them in Consort Tong's hands.
"My dear, are these just six books?" Consort Tong asked Qingyan.
“Yes, these are the six books!” Qingyan nodded. “I have already summarized them. However, several primary wives of members of the imperial clan, who are from the Khorchin, have pawned a lot of things in recent years. The original gemstones from their jewelry have been removed.”
Consort Tong began to open the account book, where every entry was recorded in great detail.
"Shu, you've written down all of these names," Consort Tong said, her eyes half-closed.
Shu walked to the side, looked at the names on the list, and her expression turned somewhat unpleasant.
"Your Majesty, these people are protected by the Empress Dowager. Can we really investigate them?" Shu asked directly.
"Shu, it would be best to investigate and see if these women who married into the Khorchin clan have encountered any difficulties," Consort Tong said directly.
Qingyan listened and agreed with Consort Tong; it seemed the problem was quite serious.
Since it involved a noblewoman from Mongolia, the Empress Dowager couldn't justify it.
"Should we tell Grandmother?" Qingyan asked.
"Don't tell her yet. We must find out the real reason before we tell the Empress Dowager," Consort Tong said directly.
Qingyan remained silent, listening to Consort Tong's instructions. He felt uneasy, worried that it might make the Empress Dowager feel uncomfortable.
"Mother, your daughter-in-law hopes to speak to the Empress Dowager as much as possible. Those wives are all old Mongolians, and they hold a high position in the Empress Dowager's eyes," Qingyan said directly.
Consort Tong looked down at Qingyan. In fact, her suggestion was quite good; dealing with the Empress Dowager was the most difficult thing.
"Alright, let's talk about it later," Consort Tong said directly.
The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law reached an agreement and got up to walk towards the Empress Dowager's residence.
"Be good, when you go to the Empress Dowager's place later, don't say anything. I will speak for you personally. If she asks you anything, you can just be a witness!" Consort Tong did not want Qingyan to be involved in this.
"Okay!" Qingyan nodded. "Mother, please take good care of her too!"
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