Chapter 1876 Different People, Different Answers
Inside the main hall, the censors felt a chill run through them, while the princes found it amusing. Yinzhen and Qingyan were considered the most compatible couple in the royal family. Under their guidance, many principal wives gradually gained status, and fewer favored concubines climbed above them.
Many ministers no longer felt much about this; under the constraints of their principal wives, the inner court became much quieter.
The censors' antics in the court annoyed the ministers. Although the imperial family's inner court was to be supervised by the censors, it had to be done according to the emperor's wishes.
The retired emperor had just abdicated, and Yinzhen was now sitting on the throne. Anyone who dared to say a bad word about Qingyan would be arrested along with the censors.
The court immediately fell silent. Some of the censors who did not come forward to impeach him secretly rejoiced that they had acted too slowly; otherwise, they would have been in a dilemma.
In the Empress Dowager's courtyard, several imperial censors' wives had just finished passionately recounting Qingyan's gossip. The Empress Dowager and Consort Tong paid no attention to it and even summoned Qingyan to refute it.
Qingyan sat down below Consort Tong and listened to the censors' wives talking. He became curious about what these people were really thinking.
"Little darling, take a look for yourself and decide how to explain it," said Consort Tong.
"Ladies, according to what you've said, in order to quell the rumors outside, His Majesty has married a new concubine. Can the oath His Majesty swore to the Eternal Heaven in public back then be dropped?" Qingyan asked, looking at them.
The ladies were all stunned. Qingyan's words left them speechless, and no matter how they answered, they would all be wrong.
Around noon, the twins were taken by Li Dequan to the Empress Dowager's courtyard. Everyone sat together happily, as if the incident of Qingyan having to defend himself had never happened.
Inside the study, Yiken heard the others laughing. He remained calm on the surface and even helped Hutuli Fengsheng Zhalafen fend off some ill-intentioned people.
After lunch, Yinzhen and Qingyan took the two children back to the courtyard. Seeing the aggrieved look in the twins' eyes, Yinzhen quickly picked them up, one on each side.
"Father, they say Mother is definitely going to be punished this time. Why?" Hutulifengshengzhalafen asked Yinzhen.
In her mind, punishment was only for making mistakes. The Emperor Emeritus treated the children very well, and would definitely resolve similar situations immediately.
"Hutuli Fengsheng Zhalafen, where did you hear this from?" Yinzhen asked Hutuli Fengsheng Zhalafen, turning his head to the side.
"That's what the princesses from the Prince's family outside the Great Wall told me in the Imperial Study. Ah Hun even said they were talking nonsense." Hutu Lifengsheng Zhalafen's eyes were red. Seeing this, Yinzhen felt particularly bad. Who could make his daughter so sad?
"I heard from Father that those people are just jealous and want to send the young ladies from our family to the palace. Do you want strangers to appear in our home?" Yinzhen asked gently.
"Of course I don't want that, and I especially don't want Mother to be talked about like that," Hutulifengshengzhalafen said, pouting slightly. "Father, isn't there any other way?"
"Yes, nothing like this will ever happen again," Yinzhen said, patting Hutulifengshengzhalafen's little head.
She stared intently into Yinzhen's eyes for a while and noticed the seriousness in them. Hutu Lifengsheng Zhalafen was relieved; as long as Yinzhen paid attention, that was enough.
After entering the twelfth lunar month, the censors seemed to have become much more well-behaved, but they were actually harboring malicious intentions. Only under the joint control of Emperor Kangxi and Emperor Yinzhen did they appear to have calmed down.
With the Lunar New Year approaching, Qingyan had no time to deal with these trivial matters and preferred to use this time to take care of the New Year's arrangements outside the pass.
"Little darling, take a rest." When Yinzhen returned from the court, he saw Qingyan looking at the account books. In the corridor of the courtyard, there were several stewards standing, probably there to give Qingyan a reply.
"No, there are still so many things to do. This New Year is really so tedious," Qingyan said with a pout. Qingyan's words made Yinzhen laugh out loud.
“Of course it’s complicated. Before, you only had to manage our residence, and you didn’t have to think about things outside. Now, you have to manage the entire palace and balance the affairs of the women. You must be having a hard time. I’ll help you with these things.” Yinzhen took the account book and looked at Su Peisheng.
The stewards were somewhat apprehensive as they watched Yinzhen enter. They might be able to fool Qingyan, but if they said something outrageous to Yinzhen, he would probably see through them immediately.
"Alright, you may all go in." Su Peisheng was somewhat puzzled when he saw that they were the chief stewards of the Imperial Household Department.
"Eunuch Su, please tell us, will His Majesty handle this personally, or will His Highness the Empress...?" The stewards all looked at Su Peisheng and asked.
"His Majesty will handle this personally. If you have any ideas, you can speak with His Majesty." Su Peisheng hinted, and the stewards began to think about how to change their tune.
Yinzhen and Qingyan sat in the main seats. Yinzhen flipped through the account books in his hand and had to admit that these people were really cunning. They were able to take advantage of this opportunity to make a lot of money.
The stewards entered the hall and first paid their respects respectfully. Yinzhen then began to inquire about each item in the account book. What the stewards said surprised Qingyan greatly; it turned out that the two divisions were so different.
Later, after the stewards finished reporting everything, Qingyan pouted slightly.
"Fourth Brother, what they told you is different from what they reported to me," Qingyan complained.
Yinzhen laughed unkindly: "It's probably because they think you don't have much experience that things turned out this way."
After opening the account book, Yinzhen began calling out to Qingyan, asking her to check which parts were better and whether all the items the stewards had mentioned were truly needed in such large quantities.
"Fourth Brother, I understand." Qingyan had already decided to deal with the matter first; she needed the various departments to grow.
"My dear, next time you encounter these stewards, don't rush to make a decision. Take a good look at it first, and if you're unsure about anything when I return, just ask me," Yinzhen said gently.
He kept all the chief stewards in mind, and once he started writing, Yinzhen planned to investigate them one by one. The censors' constant attention to Qingyan made Yinzhen feel somewhat uncomfortable, and he planned to take this opportunity to give the censors something to do.
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