The sun was shining brightly in the morning, and the restaurant at Yuelai Inn was open for business as usual, with sounds of people coming and going drifting into the backyard. Yin arranged for Sulan to change the twins into clothes for ordinary children, and he picked up one child on each side and walked straight to the door.
The two entered the hall and found many diners eating. They sat at a table in the corner, while the guards occupied all the empty tables nearby, surrounding the family of four.
The people dining in the main hall were mostly local residents. When the two men came out carrying their children, they looked up and thought the two children looked like attendants in front of a Bodhisattva.
"These are all made with fresh ingredients, including flower crabs that the young masters love." Diners really enjoy the seafood at Yuelai Inn. Every morning, Yuelai Inn buys fresh seafood, and in the evening, any unsold seafood is sold off at a low price.
Residents in the neighborhood like to buy leftover materials from Yuelai Inn, as the goods are of good quality and inexpensive. Everything at Yuelai Inn is of excellent quality.
Soon, a table full of dishes was served, and the twins smiled as they looked at the seafood on the table.
"Mother...I want to eat!" Yiken'e never said her name in public. Emperor Kangxi had instructed Yiken'e that sometimes, revealing her name would give bad people an opportunity to take advantage of her.
Su Lan quickly peeled the flower crabs on the side, preparing them for the two young masters.
At this moment, at a table not far away, two young men dressed as scholars were talking about sharing a bed again.
"Why did you stay in the county town for so long this time? Didn't you go back?" asked the man dressed in light blue clothes.
"Before I even had a chance, so many people left after the exam. Do you think I can rest easy?" The man in the gray scholar's clothes gave a bitter smile.
Both of these individuals were candidates this year. After the incident at the examination hall, many candidates became extremely tense, fearing that returning home would bring disaster to their families, and thus chose to live outside.
Those from poor families had no choice but to stay in temples in the suburbs.
"Have you made any arrangements at home?" the scholar in blue asked quietly as he ate his meal.
“No news. We already sent them away beforehand. Something happened back home, and the village is now sealed off. People can get in, but no news comes out!” the gray-robed scholar said with difficulty.
Qingyan and Yin exchanged a glance. These scholars were lingering in the county town, probably to see how the imperial family would react.
Most of the scholars who hanged themselves had families that had already suffered misfortune, and it was inevitable that some of them would feel anxious and worried, fearing that they would cause trouble for their families.
"Will it implicate others?" Emperor Kangxi rarely did anything that implicated his clansmen, unless he was formally executed.
Yin nodded. The examination hall was not a place for people to act recklessly.
The scholars made their choices and had to bear all the consequences.
"Let's go back in a bit." Yin looked towards the door. Across the street, at the tea stall, several people were drinking tea, peeking around as if they were watching something.
Qingyan was annoyed. Every time she went out, she encountered these kinds of problems, which was a real headache.
“Ama, I haven’t had enough fun yet!” Hutuli Fengsheng Zhalafen refused.
At this moment, Erlu sat not far away and nodded to Yin.
"Okay, Father will go shopping with you!" Qingyan looked at his daughter with affection, without lowering his voice.
Two scholars not far away looked over. They were both Han Chinese from the south. When they heard the little girl calling for her father, they immediately shut their mouths. They couldn't afford to offend the Manchus.
After a hasty meal, the two slunk away.
"Is something wrong with them?" Qingyan wondered. What was wrong with these two scholars that made Yin reveal his Manchu identity?
“They are not scholars who have taken the imperial examinations. I think those people peeking out from outside are probably the same as these two.” Yin Zong felt that when Yingenjueluo and Qingyan went out, their words were clearly directed at them.
Qingyan was stunned. The scholar's attire was worn according to the rules, wasn't it?
"The scholar in blue probably didn't notice that his scholar's hat didn't match his formal attire; the hat must belong to someone else. Although the scholar in gray's clothes and hat fit him well, his dining manners weren't those of someone from an academy. He could dine discreetly, but that couldn't hide some of the habits of someone from a humble background." Yin's elegant dining posture came into her view, and she recalled the actions of the two scholars.
OMG!
She almost got scammed!
"Sisi, if you weren't here, I would definitely have fallen into a pit again," Qingyan said gratefully. "After the meal, accompany me to the grocery store."
Yin nodded. The chattering vendors had piqued his interest. Some of the news had just been reported to Emperor Kangxi by the prefect of Linhai, and Qingyan had received it that very morning.
There's definitely something fishy going on here!
Inside the lobby, everyone was chatting, and no one was looking into the corner.
After breakfast, the four of them took a horse-drawn carriage to the market, a journey of about 15 minutes, and arrived quickly.
"Mother, is this where we buy groceries?" Yiken'e noticed that the road was very muddy and the surrounding environment was rather poor.
“Yes,” Qingyan nodded, “Fourth, the second and third stalls from the right across the street, those are the two people.”
Yin noticed that the two men's stalls were hardly being sold, and the two men were chatting happily, as if their main job was talking.
Occasionally, one or two people would come to ask about the price of the fish, and only then would the stall owner snap out of his reverie and start talking to the customer.
Yin squinted, trying hard to recall if he had seen this person elsewhere.
"They look somewhat familiar, but I can't quite place them." Yin understood that these people were clearly after the brothers.
Qingyan and Yingenjueluo were merely implicated; I feel like I've seen these two somewhere before.
After observing for a quarter of an hour, he shook his head and said, "Eru, come here!"
Yin pointed to a spot, signaling Erlu to come and watch over it personally.
"Master, aren't those two servants from the Hesheli family? Why are they selling fish here?" Erlu asked in surprise. "These two are servants that Prime Minister Suo placed in his study; they should be given important responsibilities!"
After saying that, Qingyan was completely dismayed. She had finally found a good deal, but instead, she was discovered.
"Master, this servant understands clearly, these two are said to have broken some antique that Minister Suo was playing with, and even made a fuss before throwing it out!" Su Peisheng was more well-informed.
"When did this happen?" Yin thought it was too much of a coincidence.
Su Peisheng recalled that he received the news on his way to Yangzhou.
Logically speaking, they shouldn't be able to start operating so quickly.
"It should have been a few days ago, when I received the news from the streets, that they had already arrived in Yangzhou!" This news was reported by Su Peisheng's informant in the capital.
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