For two consecutive days, Qingyan was busy dealing with the problems of the servants. Some of the servants sent by the Imperial Household Department were sent back, and some were even beaten to death.
After lunch, Yin returned from the palace with a very grim expression. His brothers had all learned that the powerful families of the Imperial Household Department had bribed the wet nurse to ensure that one of the twins would die young.
This was an extremely serious situation for the royal family. For the first time, the princes stopped fighting and united as one against a common enemy.
Emperor Kangxi was astonished by the abilities of his princes.
"Little Darling!" Yin Yi had orchestrated this alliance between brothers. Back then, he had wasted so many good helpers, working themselves to the bone with Yinxiang.
Qingyan looked up from the ledger and saw him standing at the door of the study, a slight smile on his lips. She was slightly taken aback; Yin was in a very good mood.
"In a couple of days, we'll have a conclusion about the two little ones. The brothers have all been helping each other out, which is pretty good." Qingyan was confused. What did Sisi say?
Do the brothers help each other out?
Is this a joke?
"Fourth Prince...Are you sure?" The princes all get along with each other, so why would they join forces to do something?
Qingyan couldn't help but feel a little strange. Had Yin made some sacrifices?
She was unwilling for Yin to give up his ideals for the sake of the twins.
"Yes, Your Highness thinks this is a declaration of war by the servants against their master. If it is not dealt with, there will be big trouble." Yin has bribed the future confidants of several princes, so they will all have some shortcomings.
Qingyan felt relieved. The baby was born first at Yuqing Palace, and the remaining princes would put on an act, whether they were being sincere or not.
"Fourth Prince, you won't be in trouble, will you?" Yin is considered a member of the Crown Prince's faction. The other princes can't fight against the Crown Prince, so they'll target Yin.
Yin shook his head. Kangxi insisted on letting the Crown Prince take the lead, in order to unite the princes and increase their chances of winning the throne.
"Little darling, Yuqing Palace will take care of all the responsibilities. I just need to follow along!" Yin whispered to Qingyan.
Qingyan breathed a sigh of relief. The princes were united as one, and it was time to teach the powerful families of the Imperial Household Department a lesson.
In the past few days, the servants in the mansion have been much quieter and more cautious in their actions, afraid of crossing the bottom line of their two masters. They have also been taking extra care of their young master.
"Are the servants in the manor still behaving themselves?" Yin pressed against her back, resting his chin on her shoulder. He saw that the manor's account books recorded every transaction in detail, and there was a lot of embellishment in the accounts. Although he knew that if the water was too clear, there would be no fish.
"Fortunately, we haven't found any major problems yet, but there are still some minor corruption cases," Qingyan said helplessly.
In her view, those petty squabbles were all forms of corruption and mere errand fees.
"Mm," Yin responded.
She flipped through the accounts at the back, and the amounts were increasingly inflated.
“These transactions are not right; they must have embezzled over a hundred taels,” Qingyan pointed to the discrepancies in the prices. “Fourth Brother, keep an eye on these people; they are all servants from the front courtyard!”
The names of the people who made the expenditures were written on the back of the ledger. Yin noticed that they were all in charge of the general manager's office, and he couldn't help but frown. He realized that he needed to work on his eyesight.
"Little Darling, are you sure!" Yin looked at these people, who were the ones he trusted most after becoming a prince.
Their intentions likely stem from insufficient training. This is the easiest way to discern a person's character. Yin's mood is relatively good, at least he won't leave any trouble for Yiken'e.
Back then, Yin left Hong with the power of the Sticky Rod Office, but those people did not fulfill their duties. Some of the overt guards were driven by the desire for power and directly targeted Hong's harem. Most of the Manchu Eight Banners' concubines did not leave any offspring, and neither of Xiao Ulanara's two legitimate sons had a good ending. Both sons died young. If Qingyan had been able to give birth to two legitimate sons, Yin would never have chosen Hong as his successor.
"Of course, I've been looking at this ledger for a long time. The methods used by these managers are very secretive, and ordinary people can't see through them!" Qingyan also felt that the modern saying that the ancients were very intelligent was quite true.
If she hadn't learned modern auditing techniques, she probably would have been deceived by these people's methods.
Yin's face immediately darkened. He was about to lash out when he remembered that the two little ones' strollers had been moved to the inner bedroom. His angry voice would disturb the two children's sleep.
"Fine, just give me the list!" Yin directly asked for the list. He couldn't handle the servants in the mansion, and both Kangxi and Consort Tong would be worried about him.
Qingyan took out the list, which she had secretly found out. It included not only the people in the ledger but also the people in Yin's study.
He quickly glanced through the documents and found that there were two servants in the study who could get close to his secret reports; these two were trained by him personally.
“Little Darling…” Yin couldn’t believe that these people would betray him.
"As long as there's profit, nothing is impossible!" Qingyan was angered by the matter of the two children. In the end, she used her spatial ability to start checking the servants in the mansion. Even Yin's side had been infiltrated by someone.
The methods of the Imperial Household Department families have become increasingly sophisticated. Even now, while Yin is still alive, they have already begun to arrange manpower among these people. In a few decades, when the third emperor ascends the throne, it is only natural that there will be many spies planted in the harem.
"Fourth Brother, these people haven't been completely bought off yet. Should we..." Qingyan understood that cultivating a loyal person was troublesome, but if Yin could control them, it shouldn't be a problem.
"No need!" Once a person is disloyal, they will never be used again. Yin's attitude was very firm; he absolutely could not use someone who betrayed his master.
"I want to send all the servants in the Imperial Household Department back as much as possible!" Qingyan whispered in Yin's ear, "But I'll have to come up with all sorts of different excuses!"
Yin was taken aback; Xiao Guai had actually set her sights on this.
"Are you sure?" Yin looked at her.
The servants of the Imperial Household Department have both advantages and disadvantages. On the one hand, they are difficult to control, but if used properly, they can obtain a lot of information within the palace.
“We don’t need them to pass on messages.” Qingyan understood Yin’s worries. Every time she entered the palace, she was always anxious, afraid that she would do something wrong.
It would be better if someone could keep them updated regularly.
"No need? We need to be careful around the Empress Dowager, but we don't need to keep an eye on Mother's Chenggan Palace." Yin wouldn't place spies in Chenggan Palace, partly out of respect for Consort Tong, and partly because he didn't want to ruin the feeling of family.
Qingyan nodded. Yin had thought things through very well. Just do as he said.
Several of the princesses' wives had people around them, and Dong'e even extended her influence into the Cining Palace. Qingyan could use his spatial abilities to understand the situation there, but he wouldn't allow anyone to go there. (To be continued. If you like this work, please vote for it on Qidian.com. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please go to m.qidian.com to read.)
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