In the evening, after washing up, Qingyan lazily sat with Yin on the soft couch. The chirping of crickets in the distance made her smile. In her hand, she held the gourd she had bought that day.
Yin had a message from the Sticky Rod Office in his hand. After returning in the afternoon, the court officials who had followed him out gathered in Cao Yin's study. Those people paid special attention to Qingyan.
During this inspection tour, Yin noticed something amiss. Cao Yin's large-scale bribery of people around Kangxi left Yin puzzled and somewhat moved.
"Fourth Prince, what do they want to do?" Qingyan didn't understand. Kangxi was in his prime, and only the first five princes had married and were standing in the court. The rest had not yet come of age. Did these officials want to take sides?
Yin looked at Qingyan's gourd. These people with superb skills were all hidden among the common people.
"This is a test. The people of Jiangnan are trying to assess the abilities of the princes, and Linglong Pavilion behind you is one of them." Yin would not hide things from her outside. Since their marriage, he would take an hour every day to explain things to the little one.
Qingyan felt a pang of regret; she had been too hasty, revealing her last trump card too early. Her defeated expression saddened Yin; these businesses were all established by Qingyan before her marriage and were considered part of the Ulanara clan.
Her shares were sent to the royal family along with her dowry. Some people said that Yinzhen had become rich, being able to have such a wealthy wife.
"Don't overthink it. Even if you don't expose it, they already know!" Yin reassured. "How many officials in Suzhou and Hangzhou don't have families in business? They've been running businesses here for generations. When Linglong Pavilion and Yuelai Inn appeared, they would investigate the owners behind them. Otherwise, they wouldn't allow such shops to establish themselves in Suzhou and Hangzhou."
Qingyan lowered her head, feeling a sense of defeat.
"Fourth Sister, am I really useless!" Qingyan thought she couldn't be like Yingenjueluo, fighting against the Crown Princess and trying to maintain harmony with her sisters-in-law. Now, she almost got tricked by someone.
Pfft!
Yin smiled. The Yuelai Inn was quite capable. Kangxi instructed his shadow guards to learn from the Yuelai Inn.
"How could you be so good at this? You're the richest consort in the prince's eyes!" Yin didn't think this was a belittling of himself. Other consorts had to rely on the prince to be able to stand on their own, but Xiao Guai was different.
"Si Si, I want to open a teahouse and restaurant near Hefang Street. The restaurant will serve three meals a day, and there will be Pingtan performances during the day, one shift a day, two shifts a day. The private rooms will be set up like the Yuelai Inn, with food for both ordinary people and fine dining, divided into different levels. They will be set up at individual tables on the waterside, where people can drink wine and eat fennel beans across the water, which would be a unique experience!" Qingyan couldn't help but picture Kong Yiji in her mind.
Forehead!
Yin looked down at the little girl in his arms. He was worried about how to settle down here, but the girl's electronic device came up by accident.
"Fourth, how about it? Let's open a small restaurant, a two-story building, with private rooms on the upper floor, so that the Pingtan performance can be heard from both floors!" Qingyan couldn't help but think of a microphone, but there wasn't one here!
"I will select the performers for Pingtan. Your idea is good. We will have two shifts downstairs, and I will book rooms upstairs." Yin expressed his agreement with Qingyan's approach. Before dinner, Kangxi called him to the study and told him to keep an eye on the people at the Yuelai Inn as much as possible.
Qingyan smiled, finally someone had taken over this arduous task, which was great, hehe....
"Si Si, are we going to meet those officials' wives tomorrow?" Qing Yan was a little tired. Those women were really annoying. Just looking at them made her feel bad.
Yin patted her little face and acquiesced.
The memorial recorded in detail what Cao Yin and others had said, and they felt that they should make good relations with Yin through the Yuelai Inn.
"Sisi, you need to keep a close eye on the manager of Yuelai Inn. I don't want any parasites to appear!" She was clearly displeased, determined not to let her hard-earned business empire collapse.
There are many wealthy merchants and salt merchants in Jiangnan. These people are not short of money. The corrosive power of sugar-coated bullets is the strongest. He was a little scared.
"Don't worry about these shopkeepers, I'll keep a close eye on them!" Yin smiled, thinking to himself, "This girl."
After receiving the promise, she relaxed and leaned on his shoulder. Under Kangxi's watchful eye, they discussed the merits and demerits of the princes. Apart from the people arranged by the Empress Dowager, even Kangxi had begun to doubt the Crown Prince.
“The Crown Prince did nothing wrong. Suo’etu made too much noise, and the Crown Prince was forced to take the blame for him,” Yin whispered in his ear.
The Crown Prince's decision to bring Li Jia out was a mistake. Li Jia lacked a sense of the bigger picture and kept looking towards the backyard. Inevitably, her gaze would be fixed on Yingenjueluo and Qingyan.
Yin's daily instruction failed to improve Qingyan's skills or broaden her horizons, which could be considered a blessing in disguise.
"Taking the blame..." Qingyan wanted to laugh, because Sisi had taken the blame for him quite a few times.
"Little darling, remember to mention the restaurant to everyone. Tomorrow, just pretend you're a specimen, smile, and don't say another word." Consort Tong repeatedly instructed Yin not to let Qingyan talk too much.
Madam Li and others wanted to profit from Qingyan. It was common practice for Linglong Pavilion to present jewelry to the families of officials in the south every year. This was Qingyan's way of quickly establishing a foothold in the local area. Now that the families of officials knew that Linglong Pavilion was her property, they would probably all gravitate towards it.
Waaaaah!
Once Qingyan calmed down, she realized that she had done something wrong and had brought so much trouble upon herself. She rubbed her forehead, feeling a headache coming on.
"Fourth Brother, I've shot myself in the foot!" Qingyan glared at him angrily, feeling like she was about to explode with rage.
Yin pinched the tip of her nose to calm her down.
"No, it won't happen." Yin shook his head and whispered reassurances to Qingyan.
That night, many people couldn't sleep. The wives of officials especially hoped to catch Qingyan's eye, since the jewelry sent by Linglong Pavilion was all of similar style. They all understood that this was just Linglong Pavilion's polite gesture.
When Qingyan woke up, Sulan said that Consort Tong had asked Shu to come over and that Qingyan should go there quickly after having breakfast.
Lying in bed, Qingyan lazily got up, her mind racing with thoughts of how to deal with the officials' wives.
She couldn't immediately get Linglong Pavilion to abandon this habit, after all, the substantial profits in Jiangnan were contributed by these officials' wives.
"Your Highness, please get up quickly! Many people have already gone to pay their respects to the Empress!" Su Lan returned and, seeing Qing Yan still lying in bed, quickly urged him to get up.
Early in the morning, Yin was summoned away by Li Dequan. Before leaving, he instructed them to get Qingyan up as soon as possible, not to stay in bed too long, and not to delay the time for paying respects!
"His master instructed us before he left that we must go to the Imperial Concubine's place on time," Su Lan quickly told Qing Yan.
She sat on the bed, clutching the quilt, and had Su Lan and the others help her to her feet. (To be continued. If you like this work, please vote for it on Qidian.com. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please visit m.qidian.com to read.)
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