Inside the southern imperial palace, Kangxi kept all the princes behind, and Qingyan had the innkeeper of the Yuelai Inn invite an opera troupe.
The innkeeper had lived in the south for many years and knew all the reputable opera troupes here. After all, Yuelai Inn needed these opera troupes to support it. Therefore, Qingyan had asked in advance for an opera troupe that could perform well and safely.
The shopkeeper directly arranged for the opera troupe to be hired. The actors in this troupe were all famous performers from Yangzhou, and even ordinary officials and wealthy families could not afford to hire them.
Compared to the silver offered by Yuelai Inn, the opera troupe valued the owner behind Yuelai Inn, the Fourth Prince Yin, more.
After lunch, Consort Tong, accompanied by her female relatives, sat in the garden of the imperial palace, where the Crown Princess and Consort Dong'e gradually became dejected. Consort Tong caught a glimpse of their expressions out of the corner of her eye, and a slight smile appeared on her lips.
"Mother, I've had the shopkeepers find a theatrical troupe. When can we bring the troupe in?" Qingyan asked.
The women were secretly delighted when they heard that Qingyan was going to hire an opera troupe; finally, they would have some fun.
Since arriving in the south, the men have been busy with business and rarely take their female relatives out.
"How have the opera troupes been these past few days, my little darling?" Consort Tong was also feeling bored. Emperor Kangxi did not allow Consort Tong and the other female members of the royal family to go to the Cao residence to watch operas, so they could only stay in the imperial palace.
To prevent a repeat of the Crown Prince incident, Kangxi directly detained the princes. Maintaining the dignity of the imperial family was what he needed to see most.
While the women were enjoying themselves, Kangxi and his princes were furious, but things were not going well.
In his study at the imperial palace, Kangxi was furious. He immediately ordered an investigation into the connection between Suo'etu and the Cao family, summoned all the princes, and stipulated that every sum of silver sent from the south to the capital was to be transferred to the Yuqing Palace. (To read: Book 1)
Inside the salt merchants' office, the yamen runners remained completely calm. Even though Emperor Kangxi had issued an edict to regulate salt affairs, the salt merchants, with the support of the crown prince, continued to act with impunity.
"Father, I know I was wrong." The Crown Prince knelt on the ground, his face pale. He hadn't expected that a simple inquiry would lead Kangxi to discover a problem with the salt administration.
Yin stood on the right, head bowed, a cold smile on his lips. The salt administration officials had never seen the emperor before.
Now that Emperor Kangxi has made his southern tour, these people, hoping to receive more rewards, will certainly not miss this opportunity. They have prepared a lot of tributes to be sent to Yuqing Palace, hoping to catch Emperor Kangxi's eye.
When the tribute was presented, Kangxi glanced at it, then immediately turned his gun on Yinzhi and opened fire.
While listening to Yin being reprimanded, Yin felt a pang of sadness. Every action of the princes was personally instructed by Kangxi, while Yin was undermining the foundation of the nation.
The taxes collected from the salt administration in the south were a major source of revenue for the Ministry of Revenue. If the Crown Prince wanted to control the Ministry of Revenue's finances, Emperor Kangxi would certainly not let it go.
Looking at the amount of salt brought in by the salt merchants, Yin felt extremely regretful. He should not have listened to Suo'etu and stayed away from the officialdom in Jiangnan.
Nowadays, officials in Jiangnan completely regard him as their protector, and if they do something wrong, they directly take the matter to Suo'etu for resolution.
Initially, Suo'etu handled matters fairly properly, and Kangxi, having heard some rumors, simply turned a blind eye.
After meeting with high-ranking officials from Jiangnan, he discovered a problem and believed that allowing the Crown Prince to manage these people in a loose manner might cause serious trouble.
"Except for the Crown Prince, all the rest of you may kneel and take your leave." Kangxi would not reprimand the Crown Prince in person, but simply dismissed all the princes.
After leaving the house, Yin noticed that his two elder brothers looked unwell, but he smiled indifferently.
"Fourth brother, want to go have a couple of drinks?" Yin walked directly to Yin's side.
With Songkelierha around, the relationship between Yin and Yin's two households was very good. The two brothers often got together and occasionally drank and celebrated together.
Yin Zhi watched Yin and Yin leave and sneered. Yin was just a brute. He only got his current status because of Consort Tong and Ulanara.
If Consort Tong were no longer alive, or if other women from the Ulanara clan entered the palace, Yin's advantage would turn into a disadvantage.
After Yin and Yin walked away, Yin turned his head and glanced back. He was relieved to find that Yin Zhi had not followed.
"Later, take the children to Father Emperor's courtyard for dinner. Grandma and Grandma are coming over!" Yin lowered his voice and mentioned to Yin.
Today, Yin was on duty by Kangxi's side. Before the princes arrived, Kangxi instructed Yin to relay this message.
Yin was slightly taken aback. Kangxi had brought the Emperor Emeritus and Empress Dowager Tong here.
"Brother, Mother and Xiao Guai are still in the garden. It's a bit troublesome that they've been left unnoticed." Yin didn't want Qingyan to get involved in the Daoist struggle. The problem with the Crown Prince hadn't been resolved yet, and now a new problem had arisen.
The Emperor Emeritus and Empress Dowager Tong were being a bit too flamboyant, and many officials in the capital were already hearing rumors that a carriage frequently appeared beside Emperor Kangxi during his southern tour.
The powerful families in the capital have begun to gather information, including Nalan Mingzhu.
"Father means to just confront them directly, without worrying about what others think." Yin was somewhat confused by Kangxi's meaning.
What? !
Yin stared at him with wide eyes. Could he have said something wrong?
"That's exactly what Father Emperor instructed," Yin shrugged, directly relaying Kangxi's original words.
"Could the censors not have heard the rumors?" Yin stopped, worried that the imperial family's reputation would be trampled on by the censors.
Yin smiled slightly. The fourth prince was more suited to the court. The censors were mostly all talk and no action. He thought it would be better to just beat and kill them.
"So what if they think they can do something?" Yin didn't care; those censors were still somewhat afraid of death.
Kangxi outwardly suppressed the situation, and the censors didn't take much action.
"Brother, look at the people the censors impeached. Which one wasn't approved by Father Emperor?" The censors are also subjects, serving Emperor Kangxi.
Yin rarely interacted with court officials, so he could only rely on impeaching officials to understand the views of the censors.
"Fourth brother, I still feel more comfortable staying in the military camp." There are factions in the military camp too, just like in the imperial court. They really are roughnecks, and no one would dare to make trouble behind your back.
"Let's go to the garden first," Yin said, preparing to take Qingyan back.
When the two brothers entered the garden, they found that only Consort Tong, Lady Yin Genjue Luo, and Qing Yan were watching the three children play in the pavilion; the rest of the people had already left.
"You two are late," Consort Tong said directly, looking at the two brothers walking towards her from a distance.
"Mother, we were also worried about encountering other women," Yin quickly explained.
They're all married now, so it's best to avoid trouble.
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