Subsequently, rumors circulated in the capital that the Fourth Prince's wife disrespected her elders. Upon hearing this, Yin merely smiled coldly. Lady Jue Luo wanted to use public opinion to force Qingyan to relent.
The women also went to ask Lady Jue Luo about it, but all they got was a helpless smile from her.
Upon hearing the rumors, the Crown Princess and the Third Prince's Consort took action, secretly giving the rumors a push. At the very least, they managed to humiliate Qingyan.
"Little darling, don't listen to the rumors outside. Your mother will explain it herself during the Golden Festival!" Yin sighed helplessly, patted Qingyan on the back, and told her not to be nervous.
In the past few days, Qingyan has been questioned quite a bit. Some imperial concubines even used this as an excuse to come and pay their respects. Their gloating tone made Qingyan very uncomfortable.
She pouted, and before daylight, she was in a terrible mood, fearing that more women would come to bother her.
Because he had to step forward to face the situation, some people were gloating, while others looked worried; most of them just wanted to hear the gossip.
"Fourth Brother, these rumors will affect Linglong Pavilion's business!" Qingyan said worriedly.
For several days, the disturbances caused by the women kept her from even finishing reading the account books. Suddenly, she felt the pressure increase. Not long after the Golden Festival, it would be the Spring Festival, and another peak in orders was coming.
"No, Father Emperor restricts relatives, but the common people won't mind." Qingyan specially placed a lot of discounted jewelry on the first floor, so that even some poor girls could own Linglong Pavilion jewelry, and some commoners could also add one or two Linglong Pavilion headdresses to their daughters' dowries.
Previously, they could only look on with envy, as those jewelry items were all ordered for the wives and children of officials.
This scene saddened many officials' wives, who were naturally unhappy about being ordered to reduce their orders.
“We don’t need to worry about it. Those people might even sympathize with you.” Yin leaned on her shoulder, looking at Linglong Pavilion’s business ledger for the past three months. Many of the officials’ wives had ordered the highest-grade headwear. Linglong Pavilion designed corresponding headwear for each official’s wife based on their rank.
Well? !
Why should I sympathize with her?
She hoped no one would gossip, as the work she had missed for a few days would require overtime to finish.
Every day during the Golden Week holiday I was exhausted, and all I wanted to do when I got home was sleep. I simply didn't have time to work.
"Your Majesty's decree has reduced your business by so much!" Yin pointed out. "You've also opened a special price zone, where the cost of those jewelry items is only the raw material cost."
In fact, Emperor Kangxi had already planned it out. The Linglong Pavilion, where Qingyan (a type of banquet) was held, was a major source of tax revenue. It was better to restrict the spending of these officials' families and give more benefits to the common people.
"Those were all made by apprentice craftsmen. Some were unfinished products, but with the repairs of the veteran craftsmen, they were transformed into exquisite jewelry. Under the delicate patterns, there will inevitably be some flaws." Qingyan didn't care. Those that should have been discarded were repaired by the veteran craftsmen during their breaks to save materials.
Yin chuckled softly; Qingyan was too honest.
In other jewelry stores, these discarded headdresses are melted down and remade. There's no such thing as "discarded" at all.
In the study, Yin rarely refrained from reviewing memorials. Instead, he pulled Qingyan into his arms, and the two looked at the account books together.
Inside the leisurely car not far away, the twins opened their eyes and were playing happily. Ever since they uttered a word or two, they were no longer clinging to their mother when they woke up; instead, they were exchanging opinions.
When Yin heard the children's voices, the corners of his mouth turned up slightly. The four of them were always in one room, and that faint warmth made him no longer feel that doing business was the most important thing.
In the past, he tirelessly performed official duties in hopes of gaining Emperor Kangxi's attention, striving to impress him with his outstanding performance.
In the end, he obtained the position he dreamed of, but the early death of his eldest son became his greatest regret.
"The children are up, so I'll have Sulan start preparing dinner!" The children's complementary foods need to be prepared first.
When Yin was on leave, the two of them followed the routines of their two children.
"For dinner, have someone bring a hot pot and some cold noodles." Yin really enjoys all kinds of mixed noodles; not only are they simple, but they also make him feel comfortable eating them.
"Sulan!" Qingyan called Sulan in. Yin sat on the other side of the kang table, sipping his tea.
After Su Lan entered and bowed, she respectfully waited to the side for her masters' instructions.
"Have someone order a hot pot with two broths, thinly sliced tender lamb and beef, frozen tofu, green bamboo shoots, bamboo shoots, and some stir-fried wood ear mushrooms. Bring some green vegetables as you like. For the main course, don't order steamed buns, just some cold noodles." Qingyan looked up to see if Yin had any other requests. "Also, order a can of plum juice, extra minced garlic for the cold noodles, and some preserved eggs."
After shooing Su Lan away, she rolled her eyes at him and said, "Can't you just say it yourself?"
Just now, Yin used his purse to transmit his voice, allowing Qingyan to add the following sentence: "Is it really that hard to say what you like to eat?"
"I must maintain the dignity of my master," Yin said, straightening his casual clothes.
At the mansion, Yin played the role of the one in charge, and he had to maintain his dignity so that the servants would be afraid at first sight.
These are the kinds of trivial matters that the Fujin (princess's wife) should be involved in.
"Tch!" Qingyan pouted. "Fourth Brother, this year for the Golden Festival, we're going to have to give a separate gift. Do you think we should send it the same as usual?"
Last year, during the Golden Festival, when the Qing banquet was held in the palace, pearl powder and various moisturizing face masks were presented to the Empress Dowager and Consort Tong. These were all made from pure plants and took some effort to prepare, but in the eyes of the Empress Dowager and Consort Tong, they were better than gold and silver jewelry.
"Yes, just follow last year's recipe. Mother doesn't need pearl powder anymore, so bring in more face masks!" Qingyan often presented pearl powder as a gift. Consort Tong had Shu make face masks according to Qingyan's recipe several times, but none of them were successful. She felt that it would be better to bring in these on the Golden Festival.
Other wives usually send some exquisite headdresses, but can those compare to those from the Imperial Workshop or the Linglong Pavilion?
It's the same thing every year, so she's lost much of her curiosity.
"What about Father Emperor's side?" Kangxi's things are the most troublesome. He doesn't value treasures, and the princes often have headaches too. Even if they send good gifts, they won't receive much praise.
"Fishing rods!" When Emperor Kangxi last visited the villa, he suddenly developed a liking for fishing. Qingyan had several fishing rods delivered by foreign ships, which looked slightly different from those of the Qing Dynasty.
Ugh!
Qingyan was stunned. He had given Fei Yanggu one of those fishing rods. Was he sure he wanted to give it to Kangxi?
“Um… I gave it to Father, are you sure…” Qingyan was a little embarrassed, considering these insignificant things as tribute.
puff!
Yinzhi spat out his tea, and Fei Yanggu would definitely brag about it to Kangxi.
"Send it! Even if we don't send anything else, we must send this. There are still two left, send them all!" Yin made the decision. (To be continued. If you like this work, please vote for it on Qidian. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please go to m.qidian.com to read.)
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