With the arrival of summer, salt starters were continuously released, and the shops under Yinhe and Qingyan's names received a lot of salt starters, which left Qingyan somewhat at a loss.
Logically speaking, these salt producers should have been controlled by the imperial merchants, but their continuous appearance this time made both Yin and Qingyan feel somewhat strange.
"Fourth Prince, in principle, I shouldn't be doing this. Look at these salt permits, they're basically all taken from the hands of the imperial merchants. If you add them together, there's really a lot of stuff out there." Qingyan walked up to Yin and said.
"Little Darling, if you two combine your salt permits, do you have more than half the quantity in the south?" Yin discovered a problem: the salt merchants' reserve funds seemed insufficient.
"Yes, we're almost halfway there. Once these salt permits are sold, everyone will definitely go and prepare them. After all, salt permits are only issued once a year, so most of these people will prepare them to make the family better off." Qingyan nodded. "Fourth Brother, is there a problem with the salt merchants?"
Yin remained silent. He couldn't speak before obtaining specific details about the salt merchants.
"Little darling, haven't you noticed that the salt merchants have been less active lately?" Yin asked Qingyan.
Qingyan glanced at Sulan and told her to leave with all the servants, leaving only the two of them in the study.
"Fourth Brother, I've discovered something. It seems the salt merchants are raising a lot of money. They're buying these salt permits with cash, and they don't even want banknotes." Qingyan suddenly remembered a strange thing about the salt merchants.
What? !
Yin stared at Qingyan, as if listening to what Qingyan had to say.
"Really?" Yin asked curiously.
“Those silver pieces are all in whole chests. You should know that everyone’s silver comes from the silver shops, so it’s impossible to trace who owns it,” Qingyan said helplessly.
Yin's face darkened. Qingyan's words surprised him greatly. They had sold so many salt permits, yet they still wanted cash.
"Were there many people who went to buy it?" Where exactly did all this silver go?
"Yes, if calculated according to the list, the salt merchants will probably sell two-thirds of their salt starters. Each time, the quantity is very small. Yuelai Inn manages the entrance supplies, and they need a lot of salt."
"The flow of this silver needs to be investigated further. We must check it carefully to make sure there are no problems." Yin frowned. If this silver flowed to the Eastern Palace, they would be in even more trouble.
Even though Emperor Kangxi deposed the crown prince, he did not want the prince's past to be associated with him.
"Little darling, have you thought about what the reaction might be if these things are discovered?" Yin asked, looking at Yin.
“Of course someone will investigate. I think some people have already realized it.” Qingyan looked out the window. “I haven’t interfered with Lao Jiu’s and my shops, but it’s uncertain about Ba Ye’s. The managers of Yue Lai Inn said that it seems there are people from the capital who have been secretly investigating.” Qingyan looked at Yin.
Yinwei frowned slightly. Just as he thought, Yinsi was definitely not one to give up easily. It seemed that things were indeed going to be tough.
"Don't worry, I understand." Yin sighed helplessly.
As soon as he finished speaking, Erlu came out from outside. After Yin invited him in, Erlu bowed respectfully and walked to Yin's side, presenting a detailed report of the investigation with both hands.
The memorial contained detailed records of where the salt merchants' money went. Much of it did go to the capital, but it was delivered to the Guarjia clan's residence, not Lingpu's.
"Lingpu didn't accept it?" Qingyan approached Yin's side and suddenly noticed where the silver had gone, his eyes widening in surprise.
"Yes, the Crown Prince should have already thought of this. If Lingpu accepts more, even Father Emperor will not be able to stand it." Yin believed that all of this was arranged by the Crown Prince.
Shi Bingwen rested in bed for the time being, and the entire mansion was handed over to Lady Guarjia for management. For the past few decades, Shi Bingwen had been managing the mansion and restraining Lady Guarjia's behavior. However, when Shi Bingwen fell seriously ill, Lady Guarjia was no longer subject to this restraint.
After listening to Yin's analysis of the events surrounding the Crown Prince and Crown Princess, Qingyan's eyes began to sparkle.
"So, this silver was still sent to the Crown Prince's residence, but it was just using the reputation of the Guarjia clan?" Qingyan understood that the silver could not ultimately remain in Shi Bingwen's residence.
Yin shook his head: "He will probably leave 30%. This is the Crown Prince's usual tactic. As long as someone helps him, he will leave them 30% as a reward."
Qingyan's eyes widened. So, the Crown Prince could do such things.
"I knew it! How could the Guarjia clan be so bold as to get involved in the salt business?" Qingyan suddenly realized that these people must have offered too many temptations for Lady Guarjia to agree to take the risk.
"There's another thing. The Crown Princess's younger brother seems to have gotten into trouble and needs a considerable sum of money as guarantor." Yin considered many possibilities but didn't know what had happened to the Crown Princess's family. He decided not to cause any more trouble for the time being.
Qingyan looked at the scenery outside, walked to the edge of the window, and recalled the news sent from the capital. There should be very little news about the Guarjia clan.
"Fourth Prince, what do you think is going on?" Qingyan asked gossipingly. "It's said that the Crown Princess's younger brother is a terrible gambler. Could it be gambling debts?"
She was thankful that none of the Ulanara clan members were gamblers; otherwise, they would have really been a hindrance.
Pfft!
Yin burst out laughing; Qingyan had actually thought of this.
"Those gambling debts alone wouldn't force Lady Guarjia to take such a risk. Besides that, there must also be the matter of the Crown Princess involved." Lady Guarjia knew that the Crown Prince had never treated the Crown Princess very well. If she could use this opportunity to show her loyalty to the Crown Prince, the Crown Princess's life would be better. She believed that Lady Guarjia would definitely do it.
Qingyan sighed inwardly, "Indeed, it's all debts owed to children."
"I will keep my family in check, and there will absolutely be no situation like the Crown Princess's." Qingyan said to Yin.
Yin chuckled and said, "You never need to worry about that. Your father-in-law is capable; he's already figured out how to help you."
Qingyan pouted slightly, looking unhappy. Her father and uncles had said long ago that they would definitely not make things difficult for her.
"Right? I also think my own father is the best," Qingyan said proudly, tilting her head back.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
