The calm of the past ten days or so made Yindu lower his guard, but Qingyan kept people watching Linglong Pavilion, fearing that someone might tamper with the jewelry.
Once all the jewelry had been delivered to the custom-made residence and all the orders had been confirmed, Qingyan finally relaxed.
After receiving the letters from the shopkeepers, she took them directly to Yin's study and stood there curiously, wondering how Yin would handle these matters.
"A letter from the shopkeeper?" Yin smiled as he watched Qingyan hand him the letter.
The shopkeeper and Qingyan were similar in temperament. Whenever officials' wives or female relatives of imperial merchants ordered jewelry, they would conduct various investigations. Qingyan's caution was commendable.
"Fourth Brother, you see, if this matter is delayed until this late, I'll be worried. This matter won't be easily resolved!" Qingyan said to Yin.
Outside the two shops, Qingyanfang had a lot of spies, hoping to take the opportunity to expose the people who were watching them.
Recently, the designs of Linglong Pavilion's headdresses have been misused, causing the manager a great headache. Fortunately, Qingyan had taken precautions in advance. Each craftsman has a unique mark, so even if someone misuses the designs, they can be identified after investigation.
Linglong Pavilion will not take the blame for this. The quality of those counterfeit products is very poor, and there are even significant differences in the raw materials used.
"Little Darling, have you caught all these people?" Yin was very anxious when he heard that Linglong Pavilion's things had been misused. He even dispatched his guards, hoping to help Qingyan deal with this matter as soon as possible.
Contrary to expectations, Erlu observed the area for a long time but found no particularly noticeable people.
"Of course not. I changed the markings that each craftsman was supposed to mark. The counterfeit items were marked in the old places. However, two female relatives of salt merchants went to Linglong Pavilion to cause trouble with the counterfeit jewelry!" Qingyan remembered how anxious the manager was at the time, afraid that it would cause trouble for him.
"You mean, someone has already started causing trouble?" Yin asked curiously, as it was clear that the troublemakers were targeting Qingyan.
“Yes, she’s a registered salt merchant. I think that woman is from the Yu family,” Qingyan said directly. “The manager specifically had someone keep an eye on them; that carriage went straight in through the Yu family’s side gate!”
The Yu family!
Yin frowned. The Yu family members had been standing behind the Crown Prince, so Yin still remembered them well. Now, this family should be even more low-key.
"When did this happen?" Yin asked.
"Three days ago, the jewelry sent back by the Yu family was investigated, and it turned out to be counterfeit. It didn't come from Linglong Pavilion at all. Fourth Brother, do you think the problem lies with the women or the purchasing agents?" Qingyan asked Yin.
Yin frowned and shook his head. It was really hard to say.
"I don't know, but we must investigate carefully." Yin wrote down the name of the Yu family on the letter paper and decided to hand it over to Erlu for investigation later.
Before leaving the capital, Kangxi specifically instructed Tulichen to give Yin two of his Dragon Guards. These two men were very familiar with the officialdom in Jiangnan and were one of Kangxi's sources of intelligence in the south.
"Are there other people causing trouble?" Yin asked curiously.
"No, that's all. You know, we've settled down in Zhili, and these imperial merchants actually went all the way from Suzhou and Hangzhou to order jewelry from Zhili. Do you think they're crazy, or is there something really wrong?" Qingyan asked curiously.
Qingyan was determined to find out the answers to these questions that had been troubling her.
“It must have been premeditated!” Yin said, looking at Qingyan.
The imperial edict to depose the crown prince will soon reach the south. If they stay in Zhili for too long, those people will use various methods to send them things.
After the two discussed a solution, Yin directly handed over the list of suspects to Erlu, instructing him to investigate them one by one as soon as possible.
The waiting time was the most agonizing. To help Qingyan relax, Yin took her shopping during their break.
As evening approached, the two of them returned from outside, bringing many things for the three children. While distributing the gifts, Erlu appeared inside the hall.
Yin gave Qingyan a look, telling her to stay here with the children and unwrap their gifts while he went outside to handle these matters.
After Yin left, Hutuli Fengsheng Zhalafen tilted her little head, looked at Yin as he walked away, and gently opened her pink lips to ask Qingyan a question.
"Mother, what's wrong with Father? Have we encountered any difficulties?" Hutuli Fengsheng Zhalafen asked curiously.
"Why would you think that?" Qingyan asked curiously.
"Mother, count how many times the manager of Linglong Pavilion has come here in the past few days. If it weren't for something important, you and Father would never have seen them." The twins saw the manager touching them three or four times while playing in the courtyard.
In the past, when Qingyan went out, he would see the shopkeepers, but not as frequently as this time.
"Alright, you two little ones both want to ask questions?" Qingyan noticed that Yiken'e instructed Hutulifengshengzhalaf to ask questions. In front of Yin, his daughter's questions had to be answered, but Yiken'e's questions were always left for him to find the answers himself.
In the first few times, Yiken'e went to ask Yin with great interest, but later, it became Hutulifengshengzhalafen who took the lead and asked about the progress of the matter, while Yiken'e stayed behind and kept giving Hutulifengshengzhalafen advice.
"Mother, now that Father isn't here, why don't you tell us?" Yiken'e turned to Qingyan, hoping that Qingyan could give her an answer.
"Ask your father during dinner." Qingyan believed that the twins were still unaware of the Crown Prince's deposition. As the children grew older, Yin would no longer hide matters of court from them.
Father?!
The twins exchanged a glance. Could Yineng tell them the truth?
"Alright!" Seeing Qingyan's insistent expression, Yiken'e finally chose to compromise.
"Mother, Sister Songkelierha said that Aunt wants to open a shop here. Should we help her?" Hutulifengshengzhalafen knew that Qingyan had plenty of experience in doing business here.
"Why?!" Qingyan asked curiously, as Yin Genjue Luo Shi had little interest in business.
"My sister said that my aunt wants to give the shops here to Songkri Yierha as part of her dowry!" Hutuli Fengsheng Zhalafen felt terrible just thinking about Songkri Yierha's shy face.
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