As the dragon boat race progressed past the halfway point, Yin discovered that the dragon boats seemed to have been preordained, with the boats bet on by the bookmakers all winning, and Yin himself losing two-thirds of his bets.
Qingyan stood by the window with a slight frown. Yin had sent Erlu to investigate, and they would probably get definite news soon.
Outside, the common people were also talking, speculating about who was behind the Zhuang family, with most guessing it was someone from the royal family.
After Kangxi learned of the matter, he secretly spoke with Yinzhi, hoping that he would come out and investigate.
Before leaving home today, Yin decided to personally experience what it felt like to place a bet.
After several matches, he finally understood the actual situation of the game.
"Fourth, who exactly is this bookmaker?" The bookmaker can win every game, which is definitely not something that an ordinary person can control. After all, there may be some variables on the field, but we didn't see any of them on the spot.
She held a telescope and looked out over the canal. As the dragon boats glided along, the crews didn't exert much effort; it was only the winners bet on by the bookmakers who were pushing themselves so hard. The common people didn't have telescopes, so they probably couldn't observe the dragon boats' movements in detail, but she could observe them very carefully.
“There seems to be a problem with the fourth one. Apart from the winning dragon boat bet by the bookmaker, the rest of the crew members didn’t exert any effort.” Qingyan frowned. “Someone with ulterior motives set this up to make money. It’s probably not someone from the royal family. I’m worried that the officials in the south secretly let go.”
Yin was frustrated. When Kangxi made his southern tour, the people had the opportunity to see him, but their activities were also subject to some restrictions.
"Master, your servant is back!" Erlu returned, his face grim, worried that the news he brought back would anger Yin.
Yin kept staring at Erlu, making Erlu feel very uncomfortable.
"Speak." Yin's expression turned serious. Originally, he thought it was the court officials who made the move, but judging from Erlu's expression, there were probably some people of high status behind it.
Erlu personally followed the Zhuang family. These people went to the Crown Prince's secluded villa in the south, which was the residence of Lingpu's youngest son.
Normally, Yin had been keeping an eye on Lingpu's family and knew that his youngest son had gone to the capital on business. No one expected that Lingpu's youngest son had gone to Jiangnan to hide.
No wonder the Cao family and the Crown Prince are so close; it turns out the Crown Prince has a representative in Jiangnan who can communicate with him effectively.
"How many points are there for such betting?" Qingyan wanted to know more about how much silver the Crown Prince had already collected.
“At least fifteen, all around the canal. The salt merchants in the south have bet even more.” Erlu handed over the ledger with both hands. Qingyan flipped through it and was not only shocked by the records, but also by the audacity of these people.
She took out her small abacus and began working on the list in the ledger.
"Little darling, have you figured it out?" Yin leaned against her back, looking at the numbers on the abacus, somewhat startled.
Erlu lowered his head, not daring to speak. The dragon boats that the salt merchants had bet on were basically all losing teams, clearly a way to give silver to the prince.
On the surface, these silver coins were lost by the salt merchants; after all, betting involves both wins and losses.
"It's really kind of them to come up with this way to send the money," Qingyan said in a low voice.
As Yin watched the number on the screen increase, surprise flashed in his eyes.
Knock knock knock!
A series of footsteps sounded, and Yin glanced at Erlu, then told him to hide the account book.
Outside, Yin would not allow Qingyan to take action.
He poured her a cup of tea, and the two stood side by side by the window, gazing together toward the canal.
Erlu and Su Peisheng stood there, even Su Lan tensed up. Then, a swaying figure barged in, reeking of alcohol, with cool, clear eyes.
"Oh! Sorry, it seems I've entered the wrong private room!" The intruder then left immediately.
Qingyan turned to observe the intruder. The man was only about thirty years old, with a full beard and clear, cool eyes, and did not seem like a drunkard.
He rushed in, and before Erlu and the others could react, he simply floated away. Instantly, Qingyan felt extremely uneasy. This...
"Little darling, we shouldn't stay here any longer." Yin Zong sensed something was wrong.
The presence of a drunkard in the teahouse was clearly a trap.
She nodded slightly and said, "That person's eyes are strange; he must be someone with an extremely high alcohol tolerance."
The two agreed, and Yin asked Su Peisheng to summon the manager. The manager knelt on the ground in confusion. The guests in this private room were of noble status, and he instructed the waiter to keep a close eye on them and make sure no strangers were allowed to enter.
"This... I really don't know." The shopkeeper was at a loss.
"We'll let bygones be bygones for now. Is there a back door?" Su Peisheng asked quickly, noticing Yin's expression.
The shopkeeper nodded quickly. There was a doorway behind the teahouse that he usually used, but the people in the shop didn't know about it.
At this moment, Su Peisheng went out to take a look and confirmed that the drunk person was sitting in the lobby on the first floor.
Erlu flipped over and jumped down from a hidden spot on the second floor. From a blind spot on the first floor, he gave a hand signal to the coachman of the mansion, who then drove the carriage to the back gate.
Yin and Qingyan left directly from the second floor. Downstairs, the betting area also received news that a person of high status was secretly investigating the dragon boat matter and had reportedly placed bets.
Instantly, the manager of the betting station felt uneasy and quickly ordered his subordinates to deliver all the receipts, which recorded the names of the people and the amounts of silver. Picking out the suspicious people from the densely packed list was clearly a huge undertaking.
Inside the carriage, Yin's eyes were shrouded in darkness as he carefully examined the account books brought back by Erlu. The records on them might become a bombshell.
"Fourth Prince, how should we tell Father Emperor?" Qingyan was terrified. Yin's interference in these matters was clearly going against the Crown Prince.
Yin pondered for a moment, considering what kind of situation would arise after he sent it over.
"Su Peisheng, go to the imperial palace." Yin decided to hand over the account book to Kangxi intact. "Eru, no one should mention this account book again. Forget its contents."
Qingyan and the others nodded, understanding Yin's good intentions.
"Sisi, you did the right thing!" Qingyan glanced at the account book on the table; it was a hot potato.
Anyone who gets involved with this ledger will certainly have a hard time. It not only records the Crown Prince's hidden name, but also the names of many officials in the capital.
"Don't worry, quietly tell your mother that Longkodo is also involved in this matter, and tell her not to plead blindly." Yin lowered his voice and whispered in Qingyan's ear.
Qingyan was heartbroken. Lady Tong Guowei had also accompanied the emperor, yet she had never requested an audience with Consort Tong.
"After this incident, let Mother feign illness." Yin sighed helplessly. Longkodo was a typical playboy; he seemed nice on the surface, but in reality, he had his own little schemes.
Despite Emperor Kangxi's repeated rejections of Longkodo, Empress Dowager Tong believed that since Longkodo was from her maternal family, she should offer him as much help as possible.
"Yes, I will give instructions to Mother!" The two planned to divide the work after entering the palace, one going to Emperor Kangxi's place and the other to Consort Tong's place.
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