Chapter 1877 Giving Praise
On the 22nd day of the twelfth lunar month, Yinzhen and Qingyan took the children to pay their respects to the Empress Dowager and Emperor Kangxi, among others. Emperor Kangxi nodded happily.
"Let's take the two children out for a stroll. They're getting a bit bored staying here all the time." After lunch, Emperor Kangxi prepared to take Consort Tong out with him.
Yinzhen had discussed it with Kangxi in advance. When the two went out, Kangxi would make a show of his entourage, while Yinzhen would secretly take the children out.
"Yes!" After having lunch with the Empress Dowager and Emperor Kangxi, Yinzhen and his family went directly to the gate of the courtyard and left the palace in a carriage.
On the carriage, the twins heard Yinzhen say that they were going to a suburban market outside the Great Wall, a place where ordinary people often frequented.
"Master, are these clothes really okay?" Qingyan was a little unsure, as his family was dressed in the everyday clothes of officials.
"Of course, some ministers' residences purchase things from there." Yinzhen had sent people to inquire early on, and many ministers would send servants to buy things during the New Year. "Not every minister's family is so wealthy."
The twins have always been very well-educated, and they don't look like they come from a poor family.
“Alright, we’ve brought quite a few servants with us. This year, so many people have come from the capital; surely some have heard of this market and come here specifically to see it,” Yinzhen told Qingyan.
After attending court, when Yinzhen was talking with his ministers, he overheard a minister from outside the Great Wall mentioning this place. He even said that many members of the imperial family outside the Great Wall would go to the market to select some furs during the New Year.
The car stopped at the entrance of the street, and Yinzhen led his family into the market. Qingyan followed behind Yinzhen, and the two children looked around with bright eyes. Both sides of the street were lined with stalls, and people were selling their leftovers.
Many of the items came from the mountains. After saving them up for a year, they brought them out, hoping to supplement their family's income.
“Father, I want those pieces of leather. They look really nice.” Hutuli Fengsheng Zhalafen looked at the stall next to her and saw several pieces of white leather that she thought were very good.
"Alright, let's go take a look." Yinzhen picked up his daughter and walked side by side to a stall. The stall was full of leather. Hutulifengshengzhalafen, in Yinzhen's arms, began to pick through the leather.
"Mother, why don't you pick some out too?" Yiken'e noticed that Qingyan was just following them, so he quickly turned around and said, "I see that many of them are quite bright."
Qingyan walked over and happened to see the leather on the stall. The leather was quite good, and the quantity was very small. Qingyan thought it would be okay to buy it all.
"Master, why don't we buy them all?" Qingyan examined the leather pieces and thought they were all quite nice.
"Alright, stall owner, I'll take all of these." Yinzhen spoke in Manchu from beyond the Great Wall, and the old man smiled and packed them all up.
Bayan handed the old man one hundred taels of silver directly, and the old man quickly said, "That's too much, too much."
"Old man, please take this. Consider the rest a reward. We spend very little time in the capital each year and can only come back a few times," Yinzhen said directly.
After giving the silver, the family left directly. The old man looked at the silver and realized it was official silver. He understood that this family must be officials.
The stall owners on both sides cast envious glances at the old man. He quickly packed up his stall, preparing to go home and add more vegetables to his family's menu. Now his family could have a few more dishes.
"Bayan, just put the things on the carriage," Yinzhen said in a low voice.
Inside the market, many people noticed the extravagant purchases by Yinzhen and Qingyan's entourage and began introducing the items to them. Yinzhen even bought some items with a wave of his hand, intending to send them to the Empress Dowager and Emperor Kangxi upon returning to the capital as a rustic gift.
“Father, I see there’s a lot of food. Let’s buy some venison. We can roast it when we get back,” Yiken said, looking up.
Upon hearing this, Yinzhen looked towards Qingyan and Hutuli Fengsheng Zhalafen and her daughter, who were watching him with great interest.
"Alright!" Yinzhen agreed and sent one of his guards to buy it.
In the distance, a minister who had accompanied the emperor stopped and looked in their direction. He noticed that Yinzhen, dressed in the ordinary attire of a minister, was strolling outside with Qingyan and the twins. He was about to come over to pay his respects when his wife pulled him to a stop after taking only two steps. The couple talked for a while before the minister turned and left.
Yinzhen noticed it out of the corner of his eye, but said nothing. He continued walking forward with his family. He wasn't afraid of these things at all. With so many guards around him, even if someone foolishly came to pay their respects, they could easily get out of the way.
After breakfast on the eve of the Lunar New Year, Emperor Kangxi and Yinzhen held a grand court session, and all the officials came to court. The official I met yesterday was from the Censorate. He had just returned home and was hosting a banquet for his colleagues. During the banquet, one of his colleagues mentioned that Emperor Kangxi and Yinzhen would be going out for a stroll in the near future and asked if I had seen them.
He pretended not to know anything. Yinzhen overheard other censors talking about how Kangxi and Yinzhen couldn't go out on the same day. He paid attention to which censor was talking and found that he had his head down and looked like he hadn't done anything wrong. Yinzhen saw this and secretly found it amusing. This man was really clever.
After the morning court session, Yinzhen deliberately kept that censor behind. He noticed that the man was looking at Yinzhen with great trepidation, as if he were helpless.
"You saw me traveling yesterday?" Just as Yinzhen finished speaking, Su Peisheng came in to report that the Empress had arrived with the young prince, Hafeng.
Qingyan entered the main hall. Yinzhen took the child from her arms first, and Qingyan sat down beside him with a smile. The censor quickly knelt down to pay his respects. Qingyan was curious; the censor had tried to approach yesterday, but she had caught a glimpse of him out of the corner of her eye and noticed that he had ultimately chosen to leave.
"Get up and kowtow. I'm curious, why didn't you step forward?" Yinzhen wanted to test why the censor had left.
"Your Majesty, my wife said that you went out for a stroll with the Empress. If we went up to you and the Empress and the young masters, it would be inappropriate to disturb their enjoyment," the censor quickly reported.
Qingyan, on the contrary, thought that this man's wife was very sensible, as she was able to stop the censor's actions at the first moment, and that Yinzhen would definitely not say anything.
"Hmm, little darling, didn't you say you were going to reward me with a set of jewelry?" Yinzhen turned to look at Qingyan and asked.
Qingyan smiled and said, "Imperial Censor, please take this back to your wife."
The censor quickly expressed his gratitude, secretly rejoicing that he had listened to his wife.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
