Yinzhen and Yinqi did not stay for dinner and left shortly afterward. Yinzhen looked displeased as he left.
"The soup is almost ready. Go check on how the master is doing." He Zhuo sent someone to check.
"Fourth Master and Fifth Master have already left. Fourth Master didn't look too good when he left," the servant replied.
"Alright, go and invite the master over. We can't waste this soup."
…
This was the first time Yinzhen had received such an important task from his father, the Emperor, and he was eager to make a contribution. He had been busy in his study for the past few days.
However, to his surprise, the first person to hold him back was his own mother.
Fourth Prince Consort Ulanara invited her to dine.
"My lord, when I went to pay my respects to Mother today, she said she missed you. I also brought back some tonics that Mother had given me as a reward."
The Fourth Prince's wife left it at that; she didn't want to get involved in the affairs of the mother and son, but she did mention Yinzhen later.
"I heard from my aunt in the palace that my mother has been worried about my uncles lately."
Yinzhen still harbored a sliver of hope for his birth mother, but this hope was immediately dashed.
After finishing his meal with a cold expression and resting for a while, he left the princes' quarters and headed to Consort De's Yonghe Palace.
If that's not the case, Consort De didn't even exchange pleasantries and directly ordered Yinzhen to bring out his uncles.
Yinzhen felt a chill run down his spine. So this was Consort De. How could his father have given such a woman the title "De" (virtuous)? He allowed his relatives to embezzle, refused to hand them over voluntarily, and instead had his son protect her.
Yinzhen knew something about the affairs of the Wuya family in the Imperial Household Department. He had originally wanted to help them out of consideration for their kinship, but it seemed there was no need for that now.
The majority of the Uya family's power lies in the Imperial Kitchen. Consort De's grandfather was once the head of the Imperial Kitchen. This matter could be considered a capital offense, with beheading and confiscation of their property. It is estimated that the Emperor will be lenient in dealing with the matter because Consort De has given birth to many children. However, no matter how lenient he is, he will definitely be dismissed from his post.
Yinzhen had been thinking of helping Consort De's maternal family if they were successful in the future, but now it seemed unnecessary.
Yinzhen was no pushover either, and he bluntly stated that the empress and concubines should not interfere in politics, leading to a bitter parting between mother and son.
Through this "chicken incident," the Imperial Household Department conducted a severe crackdown, severely damaging more than half of the aristocratic families within the department. Four or five families had their property confiscated. Although the Wuya family was not confiscated, all of their positions within the Imperial Household Department were stripped, and Consort De in the palace fell out of favor for a period of time.
The "chicken incident" affected more than just Beijing.
Families outside the capital also began to reorganize their internal affairs.
Jiangnan is home to many aristocratic families, especially large clans. Don't be fooled by the fact that Jiangnan is known for its scholars; these scholars are ruthless. When they catch corrupt servants, they simply beat them to death. In many cases, entire families are killed. For a time, the servants in Jiangnan lived in fear. The Third Prince, Yinzhi, had only recently moved out of the palace, and he was far more ruthless than Yinzhi in dealing with servants. None of his men survived.
Yinzhi privately said that he never expected that the third prince, who usually seemed so restless and eccentric, was actually a ruthless person. Everyone thought he was just causing trouble and didn't take him seriously.
Otherwise, it was this scholar-turned-crown prince who denounced the sorcerer prince, giving the eldest prince a severe beating.
He rolled his eyes when he heard Yinzhi say that, thinking to himself that he was saying it now, but he would stop taking it seriously in a while.
Forget it, I'd better teach my daughter how to manage a household properly. She's getting older every year, and she's eight years old today. It's time for her to learn how to manage a household. Let her practice by managing her own yard first, and then let her manage Zhilan Courtyard.
As the eldest daughter, it's only right that Xiao Zhenbao manages her younger sisters.
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