After a night of autumn wind, all the maple leaves at the foot of West Mountain turned red. Yinzhen woke Qingyan up early, and the two prepared to go admire the red leaves.
Last night, the autumn wind blew in gusts, and the twins were frightened by the wind. They cried all night, and the little one was also unable to sleep. She often got up to go to the stroller to see the two little ones.
Before his departure, Yinzhen specifically instructed Erlu to take good care of the twins.
After getting off the carriage, Qingyan walked lightly on the pipes, wearing flowerpot-soled shoes. Her wide-sleeved, fitted cheongsam with a lake-blue "Butterflies in Autumn" design and her hair in two buns, made her look like an unmarried girl from a distance, radiating joy.
Yinzhen had not seen Qingyan with such a smile for a long time.
The struggle between the sisters-in-law took a lot of Qingyan's energy.
"Sisi, wouldn't it be wonderful if we could live this kind of limited life forever?" Qingyan gazed at the beautiful scenery before her, lost in thought.
Such beautiful scenery could not be appreciated within the capital city. Even Emperor Kangxi would stay at Changchun Garden in the Western Hills during the spring and autumn, and when he had some leisure time, he would take Consort Tong to the Western Hills to enjoy the scenery.
"Of course, this beauty can only be appreciated occasionally," Yinzhen sighed helplessly.
The scenic spots in Xishan were mostly occupied by the princes who built villas there, making them inaccessible to ordinary people.
“The common people won’t come here either. Apart from the princes, the land at the foot of West Mountain has been bought up by the eight great Manchu families.” Qingyan felt that there were few people around in the carriage.
After Yinzhen explained things clearly, she was in the mood to enjoy the trip.
The guards surrounded Maple Leaf. Since Emperor Kangxi came to Xishan, many people from other places had been relocated. Only six people who had lived there for generations remained. The rest of the people had all left.
Many of the outsiders were driven away and had nowhere to live, so they eventually had no choice but to sell themselves into the prince's mansion.
"How many servants in our villa have signed death contracts?" Yinzhen looked up at the mountain and saw a few commoners in Maple Leaf. He couldn't help but think of those people.
"There should be quite a few. It's said they were migrants who couldn't survive in the capital and ended up signing death contracts." Qingyan remembered Sulan mentioning this, and she felt sorry for them. In addition, the servants in the Imperial Household Department kept having problems, so Qingyan had to choose to buy servants from outside.
Yinzhen pondered for a moment and said, "After we get back, have Guoxin give the list to Erlu, and investigate all of these people."
Many of the migrants came from the south who had suffered from disasters and came to the capital to make a living.
Qingyan leaned on his shoulder, watching the red leaves spread to the mountainside.
"What are those people picking red leaves for?" Qingyan discovered that those picking red leaves were ordinary people who couldn't afford to build a red leaf bridge even if they intended to.
“These should be servants of Yinzhi’s household.” Yinzhen looked at the head steward’s waist tag, which belonged to Yinzhi’s residence.
Yin Zhi?!
Qingyan's eyes widened. He took the binoculars from the man's hand and looked towards the mountainside. At the foot of the mountain, there was a person dressed better than the others. This person must be the one in charge.
"A beautiful woman adding fragrance to one's sleeves?!" Qingyan couldn't understand what Yinzhi wanted to do.
Do red leaves still have any use?
“My dear, I have something I want to do. Because the royal family built villas, a lot of land in the surrounding area has been designated as royal property. Although Emperor Kangxi used his private treasury to have the Imperial Household Department subsidize the people, their lives have become even more difficult.” Yinzhen sighed. The taxes calculated by the Ministry of Revenue were already considered low for Xishan, but the people from the Imperial Household Department had discovered that they had embezzled again. “It’s better not to let them have any more income.”
Qingyan blinked, waiting for Yinzhen to continue.
Every time he goes out for a trip, he always has a specific purpose.
"What are you planning to do now!" Qingyan exclaimed.
She walked along the hillside path for a while and found that the red leaves were becoming more and more lush. She noticed that there wasn't a single hole in the leaves.
"If the people from other places could earn more income, they could also raise money for their travel expenses," Yinzhen said.
Qingyan was stunned. Which prince could have thought of the people who occupied the land?
He was truly different; no wonder Kangxi ultimately chose Yinzhen as his successor.
"Alright, I'll help you. Should we talk to Father Emperor?" Yinzhen is only a prince. If he steps in to resolve this, will people say behind his back that he is trying to win people's hearts?
Emperor Kangxi was a suspicious man, and he absolutely could not allow Yinzhen to be suspected.
"Tell me first, what's your plan?" Yinzhen was also a bit of a headache. Qingyan was a little money-grubber; he could get some silver just by moving his little head.
"I need to take a 20% cut of the profits, after all, I have to run errands for the shop." Qingyan always believed in the principle that you have to feed the horse if you want it to run.
Yinzhen stared at Qingyan for a while. The deal had not yet been finalized, but he had already reserved 20% of the profits.
"Little Darling, come up with an idea first. You don't need much, so I'll agree to it directly." Qingyan was easy to please, and Yinzhen wasn't worried that Little Darling would take advantage of him.
After hearing that Yinzhen had agreed, Qingyan said, "Actually, I was planning to have someone pick the red leaves."
After she finished speaking, Yinzhen looked at her in confusion. Before, Xiaoguai had also said that red leaves were merely a pastime for high-ranking officials and nobles.
"They're making red leaf bookmarks, and selling them to the south." Red leaves are extremely rare in the south, and the red leaves at the foot of the Western Hills are only appreciated by royalty and high-ranking officials in the capital. "With these gimmicks, the wealthy merchants in Jiangnan will definitely be tempted. Owning items similar to those of the royal family has become a way for the wealthy merchants to show off their refined tastes."
As soon as he finished speaking, Yinzhen sighed, "The little guy has such a clever little brain; he can even turn these fallen leaves into silver."
"Dried leaves are not easy to preserve, and wealthy merchants have limited purchasing power." Yinzhen had to consider practical issues; this business was by no means a long-term solution.
"This is the first time we've made these this year. We'll make them during the Lunar New Year so that officials from other provinces who are returning to the capital to report on their duties will see Father Emperor using these red leaf bookmarks." Qingyan has a way of making the red leaf bookmarks less fragile and should be able to protect them well.
Yinzhen slightly thought that this was also a good idea.
"Okay, we'll talk about it when we get back." Yinzhen felt relieved and decided to take her for a stroll in the western suburbs.
"No, let's go back right away, otherwise the red leaves won't be as perfectly shaped as they are now." Qingyan stopped him directly; Yinzhen always managed to circumvent her words.
"You said it!" Seeing the little one's pouty face, Yinzhen playfully pinched her cheek. "After things are settled, I'll take you to the estate in the Western Hills for a few days."
"No, every time you take me out, you must have run into some insurmountable problem." Qingyan didn't believe him at all.
Yinzhen had long lost interest in the red leaves; they were merely red leaves on the hillside, nothing compared to official business.
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