After having breakfast in the main courtyard, Yin took Qingyan's little hand and walked towards his own courtyard. All three children were left in the main courtyard by Kangxi, who said it was to give the two young couples a chance to spend time alone.
Despite repeated refusals, Emperor Kangxi persuaded them to consider leaving the capital, where they could not stay with their primary consorts and had to consider various matters.
After they came out, they had more time to spend with their wives and children, and Kangxi was very satisfied with Yin and Yin's actions.
Before leaving the capital, Emperor Kangxi specifically hinted to his princes that they could bring only their primary consorts with them on their southern tour.
The Crown Prince, along with Yinzhi and Yinqi, seemed not to understand and embarked on a southern tour with their most beloved concubines.
Emperor Kangxi valued his legitimate sons more; apart from Yinzhi, all the sons born to his other wives were illegitimate sons.
The two of them left the mansion with their entourage. Qingyan had just stepped out of the gate when her small figure showed a cheerful expression, as if she had been locked up in the mansion for a long time.
In the past, they would often disguise themselves and sneak out of the Prince's Mansion to stroll around Dashilan and Wangfujing. When Yin was on leave, they even took Qingyan with them to Tianqiao.
The place was a melting pot of people, a place where princes had basically disappeared. Yin and Qingyan disguised themselves as a young Manchu couple from the capital and watched acrobatics and ate delicious food at Tianqiao.
Although Emperor Kangxi would summon Yinzhen to the Hall of Mental Cultivation and give him a severe scolding after learning about it, Yinzhen didn't take it to heart at all and often took Qingyan for a stroll.
"Eru, have you scouted out all the markets in the county town?" Yin had sent people from the Sticky Pole Office to investigate beforehand.
Erlu nodded. The county town was not in great danger, and there was a lot of delicious food, basically the same as that in the Jiangnan region.
"My lord, here's some stinky tofu that the princess likes..." Erlu said awkwardly.
The first time Qingyan insisted on eating stinky tofu, everyone thought it was bad. Seeing the Fujin eating it with such relish, they were all very anxious.
Ugh!
Yin's face stiffened. Stinky tofu was definitely a weakness for the fourth prince. He would surrender just from the smell, let alone eating it.
After speaking, Qingyan's eyes sparkled. She rarely had the chance to eat stinky tofu, and she basically never ate it at the mansion in order to maintain her image.
"Fourth Brother..." Qingyan quickly looked at him with pleading eyes, hoping that she could have a good meal this time, which depended on Fourth Brother's support.
"Alright!" Yin gave in, ultimately yielding to her gaze.
Erlu wanted to cover his face, insisting that he did not recognize his master, but the wife only used coquettishness, and the master immediately gave in.
Yin was completely powerless against Qingyan's ability to act cute, and he would always give in whenever Qingyan did.
“This time is an exception. Since you’re out with Father Emperor, you can’t eat anymore,” Yin said, affectionately pinching her cheek.
Qingyan knew her limits and never crossed his bottom line with her coquettish behavior. Over time, Yin stopped caring too much about it.
"Mmm," Qingyan quickly agreed.
In the presence of Emperor Kangxi, everyone had to be careful about their diet. For example, when Fei Yanggu was preparing to meet the emperor, he didn't even eat green onions or leeks. Sometimes, he would even go home hungry.
Over time, Qingyan also restrained his temper and behaved properly in front of Kangxi, never crossing the line.
She would absolutely not allow any dish that the older women avoided to be served.
When the group arrived at the market, Qingyan was attracted by the lively street scene; the small county town was surprisingly bustling.
“Master, today is the fifth day of the month, which is the day for market day in the county town.” Su Lan quickly stepped forward and said to Qing Yan.
Qingyan was taken aback; it turned out they had stumbled upon a lively moment.
This place is very close to Jiangnan, and it is famous for its lotus root starch, which is a delicious and filling food that is good for the stomach. Linglong Pavilion always serves it at banquets.
“We need to buy some lotus root starch. I think this lotus root starch is even better than the one Linglong Pavilion sent.” Qingyan walked into the market and found that she had a lot of lotus root starch that she often used.
Yin walked side by side with her. The stalls on both sides of the street were temporary structures set up by the local people who brought out their own goods to sell, hoping to earn some money to take home.
Qingyan carefully examined the items on the stall. Some of the lotus seeds looked very fresh. If she could buy some, she could make some candied lotus seeds, which would be an extra snack on the way.
"Grandpa, how much are these lotus seeds?" Qingyan stood in front of a stall run by a man in his fifties. She noticed that the lotus seeds and lotus roots were freshly picked, and she couldn't help but wonder if there were really lotus seeds at this time of year.
The old man looked at Qingyan and noticed that she was dressed very well, so she must be the young mistress of a wealthy family.
"Madam, this is my family's specialty. Right now, these aren't in season yet, so they're relatively expensive." The old man didn't hide anything. Several wealthy young ladies inquired about it, but in the end, they all left the stall.
Qingyan nodded, indicating that he understood.
In the market, although there was plenty of lotus root powder, it was mostly made from last year's lotus roots. Only this old man's family had fresh lotus root powder.
"Grandpa, name your price, I'll take all of these!" Qingyan looked at the lotus seeds and lotus roots; they were indeed very fresh.
The old man looked incredulous; he couldn't just leave all these things at home.
"Sir, please name your price. We own a restaurant, so there will definitely be no waste," Qingyan quickly assured him.
Honest farmers hate wasting food the most, and the old man felt relieved after she finished speaking.
"Madam, you'll give me fifteen taels of silver for these things..." The old man was increasingly unsure of himself; none of these things had been sold at the last market.
"Alright." Qingyan made the decision immediately. "Grandpa, from now on, I'll take all of these from you. Just send them to the Yuelai Inn, and the manager there will pay you directly. My husband is the head manager in Jiangnan."
Qingyan gave Sulan some silver and ordered delicious ingredients for Yuelai Inn.
Yin was speechless. He was a perfectly normal prince, yet Qingyan treated him like a businessman.
After speaking, the old man looked at Yin with hopeful eyes, hoping that Yin would give a positive answer.
"Okay, just send it over." Yin felt her small hand squeezing his waist.
"Thank you, sir!" the old man said happily.
This is the only skill his family has, and he always struggles to sell things. The restaurants order from specialized suppliers, so no one would believe a small vendor like him.
Qingyan had Erlu send two people to return the items first, and then went for a stroll with Yin.
Seeing Yin and Qingyan's lavish spending, the small vendors hoped that they would take a liking to their products. Some of the lotus root starch vendors even smiled broadly at the two of them.
Upon discovering this situation, Qingyan stuck out her tongue, realizing that her momentary joy had actually caused them trouble.
"It's alright!" Yin didn't care; these people just wanted to sell their goods to make a living.
She followed him with a smile, while the vendors on both sides shouted louder, hoping the two would stop and look.
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