Several days had passed since Emperor Kangxi arrived in Jiangnan, and Cao Yin's memorials of greeting had all been rejected. Even Lady Cao's invitation to Consort Tong and other palace ladies to watch a play, sent according to past customs of southern tours, had gone unanswered.
At this moment, Cao Yin began to panic. Normally, after the officials of the Salt Administration reported on their duties, Emperor Kangxi would put aside state affairs and accompany his female relatives on outings. However, this year was very unusual.
The Empress Dowager had been ill for a long time and had not recovered. When Granny Cao wanted to see her, no one was willing to receive her.
"Cao Yin, has something happened at the palace?" Granny Cao had worked in the palace before and realized that the Cao family seemed to have fallen into a strange cycle.
Cao Yin shook his head. After Kangxi went to the imperial palace, he never left the gate. The servants in the palace were all selected from the Imperial Household Department. If Cao Yin wanted to bribe them, he would need more time.
Previously, because the Imperial Concubine had few attendants, Lady Cao specially trained a group of "slender horses" from Yangzhou to be sent to the princes' quarters after they arrived.
“Mother, I think it’s because the Crown Prince’s affairs are too conspicuous.” Cao Yin thought back for a moment and realized that apart from the two thin horses around the Crown Prince, only Yin Zhi had hinted to him that he needed some thin horses.
Granny Cao gave a cold, defiant look, saying that all of this was caused by Madam Cao.
"I'm not talking to you anymore. You're not allowed to send any more skinny horses," Cao Mama scolded her daughter-in-law.
Within the palace, as long as Consort Tong remained in power, Emperor Kangxi would not look at any Han Chinese women. Consort Tong had always been carefully cultivated by Emperor Kangxi and constantly trained according to his personal preferences.
Those "thin horses" only bear a slight resemblance. With the authentic Consort Tong as an example, who would see the pirated version?
Cao Yin was stunned, never expecting that Madam Cao had crossed Consort Tong's bottom line.
"How could you be so foolish? Do you think Consort Tong can be found?" Cao Yin felt a pang of regret, realizing he shouldn't have let Madam Cao scheme behind his back.
When Cao Yin first arrived in the officialdom there, he was unable to control the officials living there, and even getting things done was beyond his capabilities.
From that time on, Madam Cao gradually learned the methods of the wives of officials in the south, cultivating girls with purple hair, and when the time was right, she would send them to the superiors so that these girls could better obtain information.
“Your Majesty, we’ve always done it this way. A few years ago, during the Southern Tour, didn’t His Majesty take a few people with him?” Madam Cao felt something was amiss. Emperor Kangxi clearly liked Han Chinese women, and the two he took with him were hidden in Changchun Garden.
"Back then, when the Empress Dowager was still alive, His Majesty couldn't indulge his concubines according to his own whims. Those two Han women were merely there to help Consort Tong divert attention." Cao Yin had secretly investigated and found that the two women were still staying in Changchun Garden and hadn't entered the palace at all.
What? !
Madam Cao was in a bind; it was clear she had been tricked.
"Cao Yin, how is the Empress Dowager's health?" Granny Cao thought for a moment. She had heard from people in the capital that the Empress Dowager was in good spirits when she left the capital. How come she fell ill as soon as she arrived in the south?
“Imperial Physician Yuan said that the situation is not good. Mother, I have a feeling that something is wrong.” Cao Yin pondered. “A few years ago, I saw Tulichen touch the body in a nearby county. Logically speaking, Tulichen should be wherever His Majesty is.”
Cao Yin's concern that the news of Emperor Shunzhi and Empress Dowager Tong's supposed reclusion was likely not just a rumor circulating within the palace.
At that time, Cao Yin was on his way to the salt administration office there when he happened to see Tulichen, and he pondered about it for a long time.
Granny Cao smiled faintly. Rumors were circulating in the palace that Empress Dowager Tong had been secretly arranged by Tong Guolai to go to Jiangnan to seek refuge, and that the Grand Empress Dowager hoped that the Empress Dowager could raise Kangxi.
In the end, the Tong family compromised with the Empress Dowager. Even when Consort Tong first entered the palace, the Empress Dowager tested her and thought that Consort Tong must have heard about Empress Dowager Tong.
Unexpectedly, in order to protect Consort Tong, Tong Guolai directly sealed away the matter concerning Empress Dowager Tong, treating it as a secret.
"Now, stop worrying about the princes' affairs and just let this southern tour pass peacefully," Granny Cao instructed Cao Yin, telling him not to interfere any further.
In the evening, Kangxi and Yinzhi received news from the Cao family at the same time. Yinzhi passed the news to Qingyan, who had to admit that having an elder in the family was like having a treasure.
Qingyan was taken aback. Granny Cao was the most insightful person in the Cao family, but she was in poor health, and Madam Cao could not fully see through the schemes of the officials' wives.
"In the officialdom of the south, sending thin horses (women who are considered 'skinny horses') is a common practice. In Father Emperor's eyes, this loss has won over the princes. The Crown Prince and Yinzhi were among the first to fall into this trap. If it is not stopped, all the princes will be corrupted." Yinzhi understood Kangxi; women of the Han Banner had low rank.
Emperor Kangxi was taught by the Empress Dowager for many years, and some of her ideas were deeply engraved in his heart.
"This trend must be curbed," Qingyan complained.
Yin smiled coldly. The officialdom in the south was different from other places. They continued their old habits. When Cao Yin first came here, he was often ostracized by the officials in the south. They were worried that Cao Yin would not fit in. In Kangxi's eyes, these issues were an insult.
"Suppress?!" Yin sighed. "Easier said than done."
Emperor Kangxi intended for the officials in the south to be primarily of Han Chinese bannerman origin, so that the upper echelons would follow suit.
"As long as we work hard, we can put the censors here, right? Can't those people speak their minds?" Qingyan said directly.
Qingyan had mixed feelings about the censors. On some occasions, the censors could directly help deal with the enemies, but more often, the censors kept a close eye on the officialdom and frequently caused trouble for Fei Yanggu and his two sons.
"Can you say?" Yin scoffed. "After spending a few days in the south, those people will definitely be corrupted."
Most of the censors were from the Hanlin Academy, and they shared a common characteristic with Yinzhi: they enjoyed the company of beautiful women, and the women in their household were expected to be well-educated and reasonable.
Upon arriving in the south, the censors were all smiles. On the day of their arrival, officials from the salt administration visited them one after another, sending several well-trained female relatives to the censors' villas as a way of cultivating good relations.
Qingyan sneered, "All crows are black, and there are even more who go along with it."
"Father is furious; Suo'etu won't get away with this," Yin laughed.
Soetu secretly recruited many people and bribed the palace servants to cause trouble for Consort Tong. Now, the mother and son have gotten rid of Soetu without losing a single soldier.
Qingyan leaned back on the soft couch, looking at the messages in his hand. These messages all came from the Cao family. It seems that Kangxi had stopped trusting Cao Yin a long time ago.
“Wei Dongting and his father-in-law are the only two ministers who are not under the Emperor’s surveillance. They are both too upright, and the Emperor has always trusted them.” Cao Yin gradually changed after arriving here, joining forces with Suo’etu to prepare to stand on this side, which is what Kangxi disliked the most.
Cao Yin was caught red-handed by Suo'etu. The "thin horses" (young, thin women) abandoned in Changchun Garden were personally selected by the Cao family and were trained spies.
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