Yin was furious to discover that the figures in the Imperial Household Department's account books didn't match up at all. Yin had no idea how much silver these people had embezzled; their faces were beaming with pride, so they must have made quite a bit.
Qingyan noticed that Yin's expression was getting worse and worse, and she knew that Yin must have been angered. Kangxi could not completely demand that officials be frugal and thrifty. Kangxi was a man who cherished his reputation, and he would definitely not do things that would harm his reputation.
The man before him was different. During the Yongzheng era, corrupt officials were practically extinct. It was only after Hongli ascended the throne that corrupt officials' ambitions were rekindled. These were things that Qingyan despised.
Of the three emperors Kangxi, Yongzheng, and Qianlong, she only admired the first two. The last one, she basically relied on the wealth left by Yongzheng and squandered it to the greatest extent.
Those titles like "Perfect Emperor" were nothing more than flattery from people like He. If Hongli hadn't been an emperor, who would have flattered him like He did?
Qingyan walked to Yin's desk, took his hand firmly in her small hand, and silently comforted him, hoping not to make things difficult for him.
"Little darling, I'm used to it." Yin felt somewhat numb. Kangxi's methods were weak. In his later years, he valued the throne more and rarely had the opportunity to teach Hongli. At first, Hongli was just a comfort. Kangxi would not pass the throne to his grandson instead of his son. Hongli was more favored than Hongli. If he were to consider his grandson, he would have to consider Hongli.
"Fourth Prince, we need to change things gradually. You can't expect everyone to be like you, wishing they could all be executed." Qingyan recalled the records in Qing history that Yin was an emperor who extremely hated corrupt officials.
Emperor Kangxi left him with a mess; the national treasury had only one million taels of silver left, and the rest were just IOUs.
When Qianlong ascended the throne, Yinzhi had accumulated tens of millions of taels of silver, which provided the funds for Qianlong's several trips to the south.
The unfilial son, Qianlong, piled all the blame on Yongzheng, even claiming that Yongzheng's greatness was only due to Kangxi's favor towards him.
Now, with the historical Emperor Yongzheng standing before her, she saw a flesh-and-blood Yin, whose starting point for everything he did was basically for the good of the people. He didn't care much about the thoughts of the officials, which is why so many ministers spoke ill of Yin.
In fact, Emperor Kangxi once said, "How long can the praises of the people last? But the records of officials can influence how later generations view him."
This is also why Kangxi would not offend officials. Yin reminded Kangxi several times, and he was always scolded by Kangxi.
"Hmph, those people shouldn't fall into my hands, otherwise, I'll definitely make them pay," Yin muttered.
Emperor Kangxi always stopped him from saying anything. The officials realized what Kangxi meant and breathed a sigh of relief. Some of them became even more determined not to let the fourth prince ascend the throne.
Currently, the Crown Prince and the Fourth Prince have a very harmonious relationship. If the Crown Prince ascends the throne, this prince will definitely be the best candidate to be the mainstay.
At that time, they certainly wouldn't get any benefits. This year, the servants of the Imperial Household Department received far fewer kickbacks from the New Year's purchases, which made many of them feel disheartened.
Even so, Yin still felt it was not good. He thought it best to let those people handle the work without taking any kickbacks, thus saving money for the national treasury.
Inside the imperial tent, Kangxi watched as Yinzhi encountered setbacks at every turn, yet he didn't utter a single superfluous word. Those people were all handpicked by Kangxi, and upon returning to the capital, they would all be purged.
Yin held Qingyan in his arms, carefully protecting her.
Ever since Yin learned of the various methods the Imperial Household Department had used to try and persuade the people to lower their taxes so they could benefit more, he had been holding a grudge and hoped to resolve the matter satisfactorily.
"Fourth Brother, you've done your best, there's no need to regret it." Qingyan noticed that Yin had developed a ring of sores around his mouth these past few days, and it pained her to see it. However, outsiders couldn't understand Yin's good intentions.
Even Emperor Kangxi misunderstood and secretly reminded Yin that things should not be done too absolutely, otherwise, it would have the opposite effect.
Yin was a person who refused to admit defeat, and he couldn't tolerate outsiders saying anything bad about the royal family. Seeing that he could help Kangxi solve the problems of the Imperial Household Department, he happily went to do it. Who would have thought that Kangxi would strongly stop him.
For the past few days, Yin had been staying in his tent. Looking at the account books sent from the Imperial Household Department, he felt increasingly uneasy. Many items in the account books were missing, and the amounts of silver had been exaggerated.
Yin angrily smashed two tea sets, feeling extremely upset.
"Little Darling, did you take those two sets of blue and white porcelain tea sets?" The two sets of tea sets were reduced to rubble, but Qingyan didn't mind at all. He had the servants sell all the porcelain shards.
Those were just fragments, but they were extremely valuable; they actually sold for five hundred taels of silver. She certainly wouldn't turn down money.
"Of course, I wouldn't turn down several hundred taels of silver." Qingyan liked making small amounts of money, and she felt that the silver was basically free, so she definitely couldn't let it go.
After saying that, Yin laughed. Qingyan always makes you feel reality in the most direct way.
"Are you sure?" Yin Wan never expected that those broken porcelain shards could be so... Where exactly were those porcelain shards that were smashed in the palace in the past?
Even Emperor Kangxi himself was unaware that the silver that belonged to the imperial family had been embezzled by the Imperial Household Department. This further strained the relationship between Yinzhi and the Imperial Household Department.
Qingyan puffed out her cheeks and glared at Yin resentfully. Those people secretly sent the broken porcelain shards out of the palace, and the silver belonged to the servants.
The ledger in front of them recorded detailed purchases on every page. The quantities recorded in it differed from what Qingyan had said, with each item slightly exceeding the limit. If one were not careful in investigating the case, they would definitely not have noticed.
"Little darling, your receipt proved quite useful; tens of thousands of taels of silver disappeared completely." Yin was in a terrible mood.
Each time, tens of thousands of taels of silver were involved. After a while, they must have gotten used to the benefits. Judging from the actions of these lackeys of the Imperial Household Department, this method would definitely not be used only once or twice.
"My God, in just a few days, there's been a difference of tens of thousands of taels?" Qingyan couldn't believe his eyes. That was a really lucrative position. No wonder Cao Yin had these people under his control. With these people, he would be even more powerful.
Yin had long since endured it. Back then, all the officials in Jiangnan flocked to Yin's side. Yin's wealth and power brought him to the peak of his authority, which even made Kangxi somewhat wary. This is what led to the later curses he received.
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