After lunch, the four elderly people took the three children back to the courtyard for a nap, leaving Yin and his two young couples to their own devices.
Yin and Qingyan parted ways at the entrance of the Yuelai Inn. He continued his stroll with Qingyan, having skipped some places he had taken the children to the previous day. Yin had his servants scout ahead and discovered a teahouse not far from the Yuelai Inn, where the storyteller was exceptionally skilled.
"Little darling, the storyteller over here is quite good," Yin whispered to Qingyan.
Every time she goes out, Qingyan observes the local characteristics with keen eyes. If there are any skills that can be learned, Qingyan will send people to learn them.
She is very principled in her work and won't do things like some people who poach others, causing their shops to go out of business.
The people at Yuelai Inn have good character, and many shops are happy to cooperate with them.
"Storytellers are just good at telling stories." Qingyan enjoys reading storybooks but doesn't like listening to storytellers perform plays.
In modern times, she would rather watch TV dramas than listen to storytelling.
"Didn't you say you wanted to add a storyteller to the Yuelai Inn?" Yin didn't care. He often had the opera troupe in the manor write stories for her. If there were any stories she liked, he would have the opera troupe stage them, also to help her pass the time.
The life of the primary consort of the royal family was extremely monotonous. In addition to managing the affairs of the residence, she also had to personally take care of the children of the concubines. No matter how much resentment she felt, she had to endure it all alone.
The Third Prince's wife harbored deep resentment towards the concubines, and this was largely related to this.
"Let's go, let's go see. It's rare for you to say there's a good storyteller." Yin rarely praised people. Whenever there were any stories, Yin would read them in advance and carefully select the ones before they would appear in front of her.
The teahouse that Yin mentioned was the largest in the area, and the storyteller was renowned throughout the region. On the days when he performed, the teahouse was always packed.
Therefore, the teahouse owner was very generous to him, often giving him a reward in the hope of keeping the storyteller around.
However, everyone knew that the storyteller was working so hard because of his young daughter, who was seriously ill and needed many precious medicinal herbs to recuperate.
"Si Si, such a thing happened in the storyteller's house. Perhaps we can take this person with us!" The Yu Lai Inn in the capital needs talent. In addition to Peking Opera, acrobatics and various dramas, it should also add storytellers.
Later, the two arrived at a private room in the teahouse. Qingyan took a sip of tea and listened to the storyteller's vivid and interesting tales, which contrasted with the ordinary storytelling in the capital.
"Little Darling, what do you think?" Yin was very satisfied with this person. It was really not easy for a storyteller to go to such lengths for his daughter. This person should be a promising talent.
An hour later, the storyteller stepped off the stage. Yin gave Erlu a look, signaling him to test the storyteller.
If the storyteller goes to the capital with him, it would be a win-win situation for everyone.
“Eru went to the market to discuss it; this teahouse belongs to Fifth Uncle.” Kangxi knew that the princes would secretly open their own shops, but he didn’t say a word.
While the Empress Dowager was alive, the princes only received regular stipends. Apart from gifts personally bestowed by the Empress Dowager during festivals, their income was very low. Although they appeared wealthy, in reality, they could not compare with powerful ministers who had substantial family fortunes.
ah? !
Qingyan was stunned. Changning actually opened a teahouse in such a remote county town. There's not much money to be made here.
"The information here is very well-informed; it must have been Father Emperor who secretly told Fifth Uncle," Yin said with a laugh.
Changning was not particularly outstanding in the royal court. In order to help Kangxi, he pretended to be a playboy to mislead the Empress Dowager and the Mongol tribes. Even Longxi did not help him in court. The two brothers secretly helped Kangxi.
Apart from Prince Yu, Fuquan, the other two brothers no longer interfered in court affairs.
During this southern tour, Emperor Kangxi specially brought all three of his brothers along. He deliberately left two of his brothers in the imperial fleet, partly to mislead the powerful ministers, but more importantly, to ensure that his two younger brothers could send him messages at any time.
"Master, I have something to report." Erlu came over directly to report, "The storyteller requests to bring his family to the capital, and also needs to cover his daughter's medical expenses."
Yin heard Erlu mention what the girl needed, but it was nothing more than ordinary words. For ordinary families, it would be a burden, but for Qingyan and Yin, it was just a small favor.
"Okay, I agree. Do you have any other requests?" He could understand why the storyteller had worked so hard for his daughter's recovery.
Erlu shook his head directly; the other party still had backbone, and only had this one condition.
It is said that the storyteller came from his hometown with his whole family so that his daughter could recover. He was a tutor in the village school, but he had to come here to tell stories in order to make a living. Originally, the pride that scholars had had had been worn down.
After a moment's thought, Yin decided to recruit the man into the Yuelai Inn. This man's eloquence was far superior to that of ordinary people. If his daughter hadn't fallen seriously ill, this man would definitely have become a pillar of the nation.
"Fourth Prince, are you planning to recruit this person as an advisor?" Qingyan thought it was a bit far-fetched. Even if Yin admired the skills of a storyteller, he couldn't just act recklessly.
Yin smiled and said, "These words were specially written by a storyteller, who was quite skilled. They not only reflect the darkness of officialdom."
Moreover, the storyteller hinted at a solution during the performance, proving that Emperor Kangxi was right: true masters are often found among ordinary people.
"Really?!" Qingyan thought it was a storybook, like the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, but she had never read the Romance of the Three Kingdoms in classical Chinese.
Yin nodded, and Erlu, having heard Yin's reply, went downstairs to give the storyteller his answer.
Soon, the storyteller followed Erlu to the door, straightened his robe, knocked, and entered.
Qingyan sat upright beside Yin, sizing up the storyteller. The man was probably around thirty years old, with many traces of time on his face. Every move he made exuded a scholarly air. No wonder Yin said that this man was definitely a promising talent.
"Greetings to the master, greetings to the madam." The storyteller glanced at Yin and noticed that the man had a very good temperament, which indicated that he was not from an ordinary family.
Before he started working at the teahouse, he made a special trip to investigate and discovered that the owner behind the place was none other than the fifth brother of the current emperor, Prince Gong. Therefore, for the sake of his daughter, he had no choice but to rely on the powerful and influential.
"Please rise, sir. I would like to invite you to perform at the Yue Lai Inn in the capital. The environment there is perfect for your daughter to recuperate," Yin said with a smile.
The storyteller suddenly realized that the person behind the Yue Lai Inn was the Fourth Prince. He didn't want to get involved in the princes' struggle, because when the nest is overturned, no egg remains intact.
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