The next morning, Shu made a special trip to the Fourth Prince's residence, intending to have Qingyan accompany her to the palace. The Rong Consort and Ping Consort had gone to Chenggan Palace the night before to complain that Qingyan was targeting their family's businesses. Unfortunately, Emperor Kangxi was also at Chenggan Palace.
Today, Qingyan is going to Chengqian Palace to defend himself.
Upon hearing Shu's hint, Yin quickly gave her a few instructions; otherwise, the little one would definitely be misled by the palace concubines.
"Fourth Prince, Mother wants me to go over there?" Qingyan changed into her palace clothes and looked at Yin with a confused expression.
He nodded. News of yesterday's argument had reached the palace, and both Hesheli and Majia went to complain to Emperor Kangxi. The self-defense meeting at Qingyan was important evidence of whether Linglong Pavilion should bear responsibility this time.
"It happened yesterday?!" Qingyan wasn't stupid; he understood that if Suo'etu and the others didn't pin the blame on him, they must have a backup plan.
Qingyan gave a bitter smile. These people certainly wouldn't waste the opportunity!
After breakfast, Qingyan sat upright in the carriage, which was the first time she had ridden in her own carriage while fully awake.
"Fourth Princess Consort, the master hopes you can defend yourself. Yesterday's events should have nothing to do with you." Qingyan had brought both sets of tableware from yesterday. The victim's family member's brother trusted Linglong Pavilion's reputation and left the items with the shopkeeper.
The locals living near Linglong Pavilion all know that the owner behind Linglong Pavilion is the Fourth Prince's wife. The victim's family is very happy that such important evidence was left to him.
Both the Hesheli and Magia clans had ties to the royal family, and ordinary people like them could not have foreseen the confrontation.
They placed their hopes for revenge on the Fourth Prince's wife, hoping that at least they could see the most notorious culprit brought to justice in their lifetime.
Inside Chenggan Palace, many imperial concubines had arrived. News from the capital would be constantly flowing into the palace. Shops like Linglong Pavilion had caught the eye of several families, all eager to get a piece of the pie.
"The Fourth Princess Consort has arrived!" Consort Rong, with her sharp eyes, spotted Qingyan and exclaimed.
Qingyan glanced at her coldly, and Consort Rong couldn't help but shiver.
The Fourth Prince was the coldest of the princes, but his wife was different. She was arrogant yet warm, which made people quickly lose their guard and want to get close to her. No one, whether from the royal family or a powerful family, had this warmth.
"Mother, this is quite a spectacle!" Qingyan gave a cold laugh.
Today, all the imperial concubines have come, their faces filled with anticipation. Some nobles from prominent families are also among them.
Consort Yi and Noble Lady Guo Luoluo sat by the door, watching the situation closely. This time, Linglong Pavilion was being fiercely attacked by two families, which made many powerful and noble people go crazy, hoping that Linglong Pavilion would fail so that they could get a share of the spoils.
"Fourth Princess Consort, I heard something happened at Linglong Pavilion?" Consort Ping couldn't hold back and was the first to attack. "Even if the Hesheli family is a concubine's daughter, she still has the protection of her family. If outsiders bully her, they have to see if the main family is willing!"
Consort Ping's words were clearly directed at Consort Rong, but Consort Rong didn't care. The Ma Jia clan's shops were not affected by this incident. In case they could frame Linglong Pavilion for this, their business would only get better and better.
“Who says otherwise? Doing such a dishonest business will definitely not end well!” Consort Yi said bluntly.
Every daughter of the Guoluo clan who gets married goes to Linglong Pavilion to order silverware for her dowry. None of them have had any accidents. Of course, they don't want Linglong Pavilion to replace its elite staff. Qingyan is a rule.
Conflicting feelings lingered in everyone's hearts, leaving them quite conflicted.
“Mother Rong, you shouldn’t ask me that. You should ask the Master Yuanwailang. The silverware from Linglong Pavilion has a mark!” Qingyan glanced at Sulan.
Soon, Su Lan brought a plate from outside the hall with two spoons on it. Qing Yan picked up the silver spoon from Linglong Pavilion and pointed the marked side at everyone.
“Items from Linglong Pavilion will all have this mark. It was a gift from Father. This one was purchased by the client and has nothing on it. Rong E'niang, the silverware from Ma Jia Shi’s dowry is like this. Most importantly, Linglong Pavilion’s dowry silverware consists of ninety-nine pieces, while Ma Jia Shi’s dowry consists of eighty-eight pieces.” Qingyan directly pointed out the differences, and Consort Rong’s face darkened even more. She couldn’t help but feel that her family was not giving her face.
Consort Hui covered her laughter with her teacup, but Consort Rong's face darkened. Qingyan didn't even give her any face.
"What the Fourth Princess Consort said is true. My sister and I both have silver utensils prepared by Linglong Pavilion. There are indeed ninety-nine pieces." Consort Yi comes from a prominent family and is not afraid of Ma Jia.
Instantly, the concubines all turned their attention to Consort Rong, their eyes clearly mocking her.
"Consort Rong, what do you mean!" Consort Tong looked at Consort Rong, clearly provoking her.
Qingyan lowered her head and smiled, Rongfei was clearly the one provoking Tongjia and Ulanara.
The concubines began to denounce Consort Rong, and instantly, Consort Rong felt that she was in the wrong.
"Consort Ping, what about you!" Empress Hesheli never takes girls seriously. If her illegitimate daughter is in danger, she will go to great lengths to frame her. This is clearly suspicious.
At this moment, the imperial concubines were secretly pleased. Consort Rong and Consort Ping went to Emperor Kangxi to discuss the matter, and Qingyan was even dragged to the city wall to defend herself. A single sentence had sealed the victory; they all knew perfectly well that this had also served as free advertising for Linglong Pavilion.
"Your Majesty, I am only on the side of the victims, and I only wish to let the victims rest in peace as soon as possible," Consort Ping said.
Qingyan sneered. Consort Ping was clearly a fence-sitter; she would side with whichever side offered the most benefit.
At this time, Yuqing Palace had already received the news. After hearing what Qingyan had learned, the Crown Prince couldn't help but feel that Suo'etu had really made the wrong decision this time. How could someone like Feiyanggu not have made preparations in advance?
"Hehe, Suo'etu miscalculated. Fei Yanggu is no ordinary person. He has been able to stay in the position of Nine Gates Admiral for so long. His mind is not comparable to that of an ordinary person." Yin said to the Crown Princess while sitting at his desk.
The Crown Princess felt uneasy. Qingyan not only had the support of power, but also the financial backing of Linglong Pavilion and Yuelai Inn, making him the most powerful among the princesses.
"Your Highness, should we send someone to inform him to stop all actions? Hesheli can get away!" The Crown Princess hoped the Crown Prince would be alright, after all, he was only one step away from becoming Empress.
Every woman has ambitions for that position. From the age of nine, the Crown Princess was treated like the Empress by her nannies, which inevitably caused her to completely lose her way.
Yin shook his head directly. Kangxi was definitely watching Yuqing Palace, and he would assume that Yin was behind everything Suo'etu did.
He didn't know when it started, but the relationship between father and son had gradually grown distant. Sometimes, he even envied the relationship between Kangxi and Yinzhen. (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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