Around noon, Qingyan had finished arranging everything at the mansion, and Yincai led Qingyan into a carriage, preparing to visit the bustling downtown area of Yangzhou.
Near the residences of the salt merchants, a commercial street was established, featuring many local workshops with a distinct Jiangnan (southern China) flavor. After its opening, Dongguan Street quickly became a popular destination for the people of Yangzhou, with people automatically gathering there on market days (every five or ten days).
Today is March 20th, a major market day in Yangzhou. In addition, with the emperor's arrival, markets near the imperial palace and villas have been closed to the locals.
Within a radius of dozens of kilometers, this was the only place where people could go to the market. In order to supplement their income, the people had no choice but to walk there despite the hardships.
Qingyan's carriage slowly drove out of the streets of the officials' villas. Even the road the carriage was traveling on was a bit bumpy and uneven. She watched as the people walked far away from the carriage, and there were some muddy places on both sides of the road.
However, the sanitation conditions are much better than in the small county town. To welcome the emperor, the roads were paved with yellow earth, and the roads here have been worn uneven by oxcarts.
"Fourth, is this considered a downtown area?" Qingyan asked.
Yin nodded, and the two went out dressed like wealthy Han Chinese merchants. Qingyan wore a pale yellow long dress and a pink blouse embroidered with magnolia blossoms.
"This is one of the more bustling markets in Yangzhou!" Yin said directly. "Compared to other places, this is only a place where we can tidy up before the Emperor's southern tour."
Looking at the clean road, Yin was filled with emotion.
Once, when he was on official business in the south, he happened to pass through Yangzhou. The muddy roads and filthy environment prevented him from stopping; he simply sped past with his servants. (From Yikan Book, Chapter 1)
ah? !
Qingyan opened her mouth slightly. Was this really after the tidying up?
“Eru mentioned that, to prevent the Emperor from making incognito visits, Cao Yin instructed his officials to gather all the shantytown dwellers and beggars in one place, far from here,” Yin explained.
Qingyan finally realized why something felt off: there were always beggars in other places, but there wasn't a single one here.
Doesn't Father Emperor have any doubts?
"Fourth, the people here are still wearing hemp clothes. They are clearly deceiving Father Emperor." Qingyan had to admit that the people he saw here were very different from those in the neighboring small county towns.
On that day, they traveled incognito, and the people in the nearby county town were wearing quite nice silk clothes.
"Heh, the prefect of that place is a member of the Hesheli clan. They received the news early on and know that Father Emperor is going back. Do you think they will let the people suffer like this?" Yin sneered.
Emperor Kangxi had already dispatched Tulichen to investigate and discovered that the county magistrate there had increased taxes and was also transporting a large amount of tribute to the capital, which was given to Suo'etu. Some of this tribute was even converted into silver and sent to the palace.
She approached the window and looked at the street. People started setting up small businesses along the road, and the bustling sounds of vendors calling out their wares were something she couldn't understand at all.
"The local dialect?" Qingyan always felt that the people here spoke very softly.
He nodded, speaking softly and gently from the south.
"Those are all food." Qingyan noticed that both sides of the street were stocked with food, and the people who brought their children out all bought one or two portions of food to make their children happy.
Looking at the smiling faces on the children's faces, Qingyan's lips also curled up slightly.
Some of the women on the street were wearing caps and followed by a group of servants. She looked helplessly at the pink cap on the table. It was a very hot day, yet they still had to wear caps.
“There’s a famous shop here, their signature dishes are crab roe soup dumplings and shrimp soup dumplings!” Yin Yi said, her eyes instantly turning kind.
In the capital, Qingyan would often go to shops run by people from the south for a treat, although the food was already delicious, it was certainly not as good as what he ate locally.
"We absolutely have to eat!" Qingyan whispered in his ear, blowing hot air.
He patted her little bottom, and his body tensed up.
"Stop fooling around." Yin squeezed out three words, sticking out her tongue.
Waaaaah!
She sensed a change in him, and instantly sat properly to the side, a fawning smile on her face.
"Fourth Prince, we need to buy a few more portions to send to Mother and Sister-in-law." She completely ignored the Crown Princess and Lady Dong'e.
He listened to Qingyan expressing her feelings from the side without saying a word.
This time, he didn't say anything about her from the entertainment circle, nor did he force Qingyan to send a copy over.
Looking at Yinzhen's appearance, she understood that the two people had crossed Yinzhen's line, and now, Yin was no longer going to interfere.
Instantly, her mood improved; she was finally free from the curse of taking care of Zhou.
"The Crown Princess and the Third Prince's wife no longer need to send anything." Yin and Yinqi set an example first. Yin was not the first to do so; he was merely following in his brothers' footsteps.
Neither the Crown Prince nor Yinzhi sent anything to Yin, so he didn't need to return the favor.
At his age, it's understandable for him to throw a tantrum. Emperor Kangxi would just laugh it off and say that Yin was still young.
She felt that this sentence was very useful. From now on, she could send less of the Linglong Pavilion items and only send some things during festivals.
"From now on, there's no need to send anything too expensive," Yin said coldly.
Each time, Qingyan would use the jewelry from Linglong Pavilion as New Year's gifts to give to the sisters-in-law. Apart from the Crown Princess and the Third Prince's wife, the other wives would give return gifts of equivalent value.
These two were greedy for small gains. At first, the Crown Princess didn't know how to do it and did an excellent job of putting on a show. After Li Jia took over the task of returning gifts from the Crown Princess, the gifts were mostly insignificant and couldn't compare to the fine jewelry.
If this continues, Yin will also be hurt in his heart. The Crown Prince seems not to see this and even hints to Yin that the gifts sent by Qingyan are too few to be enough for the women in the backyard of Yuqing Palace.
After the Crown Prince finished speaking, Yin's expression turned very bad. The things in the mansion and the banquet were not obtained by wind, and there was no need to present them to the Crown Prince.
Emperor Kangxi was always aware of this, but he didn't say much, wanting to see when the Crown Prince would admit his mistake.
Unfortunately, the crown prince believed that everything his younger brothers presented was their due, and that as the heir apparent, he deserved more.
Emperor Kangxi would often give Yin extra rewards in the hope of making up for these deficits, as he could not let Yin and Qingyan bear these expenses.
After each tribute, Consort Tong would find various excuses to reward Qingyan. Seeing that Kangxi did not refuse, she felt sorry for the two children's situation. Qingyan happily accepted the palace's rewards, but then turned around and complained to Yinzhen.
The carriage slowly came to a stop at the entrance of the market. Only then did Qingyan come to her senses. Wearing a cap, she followed Yin down from the carriage in a very good mood.
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