The palace was brightly lit, with red lanterns illuminating everything from the main gate to the garden, making the vast palace seem like daytime. (Reading 1)
In the corridors on both sides of the palace, the servants hurried forward, stopping to pay their respects when they saw princes or officials entering with their families.
"Fourth brother, why are you so late?" Yin stood at the second entrance, where Yingenjueluo and Songkelierha were waiting for Qingyan.
Yin looked up and saw Yin standing at the door waiting for someone.
"Brother, why didn't you go in?" Yin had no idea that Yin was waiting for him.
"We're waiting for you. The Crown Prince and the Third Prince have already gone inside. The Fifth Prince will be here soon." As the eldest son, the relationship between Yin and the Crown Prince is very delicate.
Recently, because of his daughter, his relationship with Yin has improved. In addition, Yin told Kangxi about his future aspirations, so the Nalan family will not succeed in coercing Yin.
Yin sighed inwardly; he had no desire to face the Crown Prince alone.
Most of the officials were waiting in the garden early on. Both Yin and Yin Zhi wanted to take this opportunity to get closer to the officials from the south.
"Big brother, fourth brother, are you both at the door?" Yinqi's voice came from afar.
Qingyan turned to look at the middle of the courtyard. Yinqi was standing in the middle of the courtyard, helping him and his wife down from the carriage.
The young couple's relationship only became closer after they moved south.
"Eldest sister-in-law, fourth sister-in-law." Now that she was closer to Yinqi, Lady Tatara became much more lively. Before, she had been suppressed by the concubines and the other ladies of the mansion, which had made her feel depressed and unhappy. (From Yikan Books, Chapter 1)
Qingyan smiled and nodded. Tatara's maternal family was not prominent, and she rarely interacted with her sisters-in-law.
"Fifth sister-in-law, let's go in quickly. Today is the first time Xiao Guai has hosted such a grand banquet." Yin Genjue Luo Shi tried to save face for Qing Yan.
There are many rumors circulating in the capital that Qingyan lacks the ability to host banquets, and one of them is that Qingyan does not have the ability to host banquets.
“Sister-in-law, look at what you’re saying. Aunt Shu, who is by Mother’s side, also helped out. Otherwise, how could I have mobilized the servants of the Imperial Household Department?” Qingyan didn’t dare to take credit for herself, so she quickly mentioned Aunt Shu as well.
Yin was satisfied with Qingyan's answer after hearing it.
As soon as the words were spoken, the three wives looked at each other and smiled. Since none of them had concubines by their side, their conversation became much more harmonious.
"Hurry up and go inside," Yin interrupted the conversation of the three women.
The three princes, along with their families, walked inside. As they approached the garden, the number of officials paying their respects increased, some of whom were officials from the salt administration in Jiangnan.
Most of them had met Yin, and before each trip to the capital to report on their duties, they would learn about the preferences of the officials in the Ministry of Revenue, and Yin was one of them.
It is understood that since the Fourth Prince's wife controls the Yuelai Inn and Linglong Pavilion, two places where money can be made, they dare not send any more gold or silver.
The items presented to the Fourth Prince were the best among all the princes, and even the Crown Prince considered it most appropriate to send gifts of the highest quality.
Upon entering the garden, Qingyan saw that the seats had already been set up. The Crown Prince and Yinzhi were scattered in the corridors on both sides, chatting with the Salt Commissioner of Lianghuai and the Salt Commissioner of Jiangnan, all with smiles on their faces.
Yinwei frowned slightly. Did Yin and Yinzhi want to interfere in the salt administration?
This is a lucrative position, but it is mainly held by Emperor Kangxi's people, and no one can touch it.
"Yin, don't go over there. Let's find a place where we won't get in the way," Yin advised Yin.
Among the three, Yin had the best relationship with Yin. As they grew older, the brothers' feelings became increasingly distant. However, the affection they had when they were young remained, and Yin did not want the Crown Prince to be suspected by Kangxi.
Yinqi, on the other hand, remained aloof from matters that did not concern him. Under the Empress Dowager's guidance, Yinqi disliked participating in court affairs, and his proficiency in Manchu and Chinese was still quite low.
Back then, Yinqi was taken to Cining Palace by the Empress Dowager to be raised, and Kangxi directly abandoned this son.
Starting from the Imperial Study, Yinqi's studies were the most relaxed. Even when he got married, the family of his primary consort had the lowest status. Consort Yi also caused trouble in front of Emperor Kangxi, but the matter gradually faded away.
“Yes, Fourth Brother, the Crown Prince and Third Brother are courting death. If you go forward, they might even hate you.” Yinqi was about the same age as Yin. When Yinzuo was still alive, Yin often took him and Yinzuo to play in the Imperial Garden.
Yinqi always kept that simple brotherly affection firmly in his heart.
“I will not be like the past either, and you should not contact these salt officials.” Yin had been in the Ministry of Revenue and had come into contact with these people. “They will do anything to drag the prince down for their own benefit.”
Every year, the residences or courtyards of these princes would receive offerings from the south. To be honest, those offerings were basically sent by officials in charge of salt administration.
The portion for Yuqing Palace should be the largest, because of Qingyan's status, the salt officials dared not prepare anything inappropriate.
"Yes." Yin and Yinqi nodded.
Yinzhi was a military general, and he certainly couldn't win against these cunning people. Yinqi, on the other hand, had always been too well protected by the Empress Dowager and had never experienced anything like this, so he was somewhat naive.
When the salt officials saw that Yin had appeared, they wanted to come over and chat with him. However, seeing that Yin and Yinqi were still there, they had to give up this opportunity to flatter him.
These salt officials were very honest; they would only curry favor with those who were beneficial to them, and they wouldn't bother with those who didn't offer any profit.
"Those people seem to be getting restless." Yin noticed someone looking in their direction out of the corner of his eye and was about to step over when he saw them accompanying him, so he stopped.
Yin smiled slightly. These officials didn't want Yin and Yinqi to hear what was being said; they secretly hoped that Yin would help them.
"Haha, big brother, you're the lucky star! If we hadn't gathered together, I would have been completely surrounded by those people." Yin shook his head. These people...
Yin became cheerful, and Saito gave him a few instructions, telling him to try to stall Yin. It seemed that something must have happened to Saito; these salt officials had run into trouble.
“Who says otherwise? It’s one thing to socialize in the court, but even when I’m out traveling, I have to socialize with those people. I don’t like it at all.” Yin disliked these social engagements and preferred to stay with the people in the military camp.
The soldiers were the most simple and honest. Having experienced life and death, they were all exceptionally open-minded. As a result, many of them were very straightforward. Even if they offended someone, they would forget about it the next day as long as they apologized with a drink.
On the contrary, those in the imperial court remember things for a lifetime. Once Yin made a mistake, he immediately stopped paying attention to the officials in the court.
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