As everyone knows, Princess Gulun Huihe, as the only legitimate princess of the Qing Dynasty and the youngest of the six princesses, has been the apple of everyone's eye since childhood.
The Empress Dowager doted on her and the Emperor doted on her. Su Malagu, who used to serve Empress Xiaozhuang Wen, even asked to be by the princess' side and was in charge of her food, clothing, and daily life, fearing that she would not take good care of the little master and cause her any grievance.
What kind of person is Su Malagu? She grew up with the old ancestor, and the empress dowager and the emperor all respected her. No one treated her as an ordinary palace maid. The secrets of the harem could not escape her eyes. With her by Wulinzhu's side, Yunxiu could rest assured.
It was not until Su Malagu volunteered to take care of Princess Huihe that Nanny Dong finally remembered the little princess's eyes, which were 80% similar to those of the deceased Empress Dowager.
"Your Majesty, Princess Huihe is very lucky! Not only is she favored by you and the Emperor, but she is also blessed by our ancestors. When I think of the princess getting married in the future, my heart aches." Nanny Dong sighed, "I don't know which boy will get the chance."
Kangxi was reluctant to let Wulinzhu marry far away, so he hinted at it when paying his respects to the empress dowager. As a result, it became a tacit agreement among the masters that Princess Huihe should stay in Beijing.
What's more, Wulinzhu's wealth is as huge as a mountain of gold, and all the nobles in the capital know about it. It is not difficult to imagine the grand scene of a woman being sought after by hundreds of families in the future. That would be truly a grand event.
Yun Xiu saw that Nanny Dong was frowning, and after being speechless, she burst into laughter: "Wulinzhu is only six years old, it's too early for her to get married, why are you doing this?"
Wulinzhu didn't know that her mother and the nanny were talking about her.
Yesterday, she secretly took out two hundred thousand taels from under her pillow. Although the little girl was smart and calm, she still felt a little excited. She rolled up the silver and handed it to Yinzhen solemnly: "Ninth brother, my big business is now in your hands."
"…" The Ninth Prince had a pair of big dark circles under his eyes and said in a trembling voice, "I will definitely live up to Princess Gulun's high expectations."
Wulinzhu was very satisfied and smiled sweetly at him. She then took out a pen dipped in ink and a blank note from behind her and pushed them towards Yinzhen.
Yinzhen: “?”
Wulinzhu applied what he had learned and said slowly, "Proof."
The Ninth Prince was stunned after being shocked. It turned out that his beloved sister was even smarter than him!
But whoever has money has the final say, so what can he do
From then on, the prince began to work diligently, leaving the palace early and returning late. He left the palace more and more frequently, but never fell behind in his studies. He was a model of doing two things at the same time.
The masters in the upper study room noticed something, but after several attempts, they found nothing. They were all famous scholars with nothing but knowledge in their heads. They could not imagine that the Ninth Prince was actually doing business. In this way, Yinzhen successfully hid the truth and bought the store, completed the preparation stage, and headed towards the next goal - to expand and strengthen the business.
But he was a yellow belt after all, and he couldn't do everything himself. If someone recognized his identity, he would be beaten after returning to the palace. Half a month later, Yinzhen ordered his men to recruit more shopkeepers. He only needed to take a look and try it out, and he would have a good idea in his mind. He no longer had to go out early and come back late, and he only needed to control it remotely.
That day, the subordinates said excitedly: "Master Jiu, I have found a good seedling! Although he is a little shorter, he is about the same age as you. He can do accounting and abacus without any problem. It can be said that heroes emerge from young people..."
The words flowed endlessly, instantly arousing Yinzhen's curiosity. In the private room of the restaurant, the Ninth Prince took a sip of tea and said reservedly, "See you."
When they brought people in, the next moment, Yinzhen's eyes opened as big as copper bells and he spat out a mouthful of tea.
He was really short and really fair. He was wearing shorts and looked alert. When he met his future employer, he was stunned, a flash of surprise flashed across his eyes, and then he showed a flattering smile.
Yinzhen had a good-looking face, and there were few people in the whole capital who were more handsome than him. But before the visitor could even smile halfway, the future owner spat out the tea, and the hand he stretched out trembled, as if he was looking at his own wife who was having an affair: "Dong E—"
What a talent! Before this woman married him, she disguised herself as a man and sneaked out of the house. She was so bold as to apply for the position of shopkeeper?
The sound of “Dong E” was deafening. The visitor said: “…”
******
"Ninth brother, why are you so absent-minded?" Wulinzhu held his cheek, blinked his big eyes, and spoke softly.
Yinzhen shook his head and said nothing.
After thinking for a while, Wulinzhu continued, "Is it because the shopkeeper can't find her? Just tell her the name of Princess Gulun."
"..." Yinzhen was silent again, "The title of the Emperor is enough."
After thinking it over, he still couldn't help but speak out. If Old Ten knew about this, he would slap his thigh and laugh at him. Although Wulinzhu was smarter, she was still a good sister who understood her brother and tried hard to cover up for him, such as the business matter.
So he leaned over and whispered a few words.
Wulinzhu's eyes lit up as he listened, and he asked him in a low voice, "Did Sister Dong E stay in the end?"
Yinzhen snorted and laughed. The handle was in his hand. He couldn't escape even if he wanted to, so he had to stay.
"But her father and mother..."
"Dong E was sent out to serve as a governor at the age of seventy. Her term of office has not yet ended. Her mother is busy with her second son's marriage and has no time to take care of her." Yinzhen knew all the situations in Dong E's mansion. The more he inquired, the more he felt that this woman was capable.
It would be fine if the elders were unable to discipline her, but the maids and servants didn't even try to persuade her and allowed the princesses to run around the streets at will. It was like the end of the world!
She wasn't virtuous enough in her previous life, could it be that she is still suppressing her nature
Yinzhen's lips trembled in anger.
Seeing him like this, Wulinzhu cried out in her heart, and her soft and sticky voice became even quieter: "Does she know that you are the Ninth Prince?"
"Of course I don't know." Yinzhen would never do anything to expose his identity, otherwise the woman would go back home and say something nonsense. The next day, her mother would hand in a sign to the palace to complain, saying that the Ninth Prince sneaked out of the palace and kidnapped other people's girls. What would he do then
Wulinzhu stopped talking.
She stared at Yinzhen without blinking, her eyes sparkling, and suddenly became serious: "Ninth brother, you can't use sweet words to deceive others, and you can't covet Sister Dong E's dowry. Otherwise, I will tell the emperor and the queen mother!"
Yinzhen: “…?”
The Ninth Prince almost jumped up and down. Who was coveting that woman's dowry? Bah, who said he was going to marry her
His face was pale and his mouth opened and closed but no words came out. He wanted to explain but didn't know where to start.
He shouldn't have told Wu Yunzhu.
He regretted it.
Yinzhen said goodbye to Wulinzhu with extremely heavy steps. He met Sumalagu who was preparing snacks for the princess. He suddenly felt guilty, called out "Suma", and ran away like the wind.
Su Malagu stopped and after she realized what was happening, she became quite worried.
She knew that Huihe and the princess had a little secret, and now it seemed that the Ninth Prince also knew it very well. It was okay for the princess to have a secret, but she was often in a daze recently and had not eaten much snacks, which was a very serious matter.
…
After much deliberation, Su Malagu finally went to the Qianqing Palace to ask for an audience with Kangxi.
Alarm bells rang in Kangxi's mind. Could it be that his precious daughter had been deceived by her own brother
With the emperor's intervention, the ninth prince's business secrets were soon exposed.
The truth was revealed, and Yinzhen shuddered subconsciously when he saw his father's angry face.
The scolding in his previous life was still fresh in his mind. The old man accused him of not doing his job properly and competing with the people for profit. This was the beginning of his disappointment in him. In this life, he was caught off guard and there was no time for the Empress to rescue him. The Ninth Prince gritted his teeth and told the story of the two hundred thousand taels. The more he spoke, the more sad he became. He was just an employee of Wulinzhu.
Unexpectedly, Kangxi's angry expression disappeared and his eyes softened: "I made money for your sister."
"Well, as long as it doesn't affect your studies." Facing Yin'er's stunned gaze, Kangxi touched his head and gently reminded him, "You don't have to do everything yourself, but you must not let Wulinzhu suffer any losses. Do you understand?"
"..." Yinzhen's face was like a palette, with three parts of joy, three parts of shock, two parts of anger, and two parts of numbness.
He said with difficulty: "Son... I understand."
******
No matter how angry the masters in the upper study were, it was of no avail after the emperor gave his permission.
Gradually, Yinzhen went out of the palace more and more frequently, and every time he returned he was smiling, which made the not-so-sensitive Tenth Prince suspicious.
He lowered his voice and said, "Brother Jiu, what good thing has happened to you? Take your brother with you."
Yinzhen choked, restrained his extremely obvious smile, pushed away the big head that came closer, and said, "Go away, it's none of your business."
The Tenth Prince's eyes rolled, thinking that there must be something wrong with the Ninth Prince. But he pestered him and didn't get any useful information, so he pretended to be quiet, and took advantage of the Ninth Prince's next trip out of the palace to sneak behind him.
Seeing Yinlang turning around and around into the alley, Yin'e felt a little dizzy. He followed him halfway and finally gave up with a gloomy face.
Little did he know that the alley had another secret, leading to a new restaurant that was packed with customers. Yinzhen tapped his palm with his fan and said in a long voice, "Boss, bring us some good wine."
The shopkeeper put down his abacus, raised his very handsome face, lowered his voice and said angrily: "The palace selection is coming soon, I spent a lot of effort to get out of the house, and I promised to return the one thousand taels of silver..."
This boss is a bastard. I don't know where he knew her. It would have been fine if he had used her daughter's status to threaten her, but he also asked for five thousand taels of silver to buy her out, otherwise he would go to her house to file a complaint.
Over the years, her dreams have been about paying back the money, paying back the money, paying back the money...
If it weren’t for this pretty face, ugh!
"One work is worth one hundred taels. I'm doing this for your own good." Yinzhen smiled. "It's just a selection. There's no need..."
Before he could finish his words, a foot came up hard.
Pain suddenly surged up to his head, and his face turned purple in an instant, "Dong E!"
"What Dong E? I am your grandfather!" After the shopkeeper stepped on it, he felt like he had let out a breath of anger and his whole body felt refreshed. Then he sneered, dropped the abacus and ran away.
Whether you want to sue or not, she won't accompany you.
In the final selection of the 37th year of Kangxi's reign, the beauties gathered in the Imperial Garden, waiting one by one to be summoned by the Emperor and the Empress.
The Ninth Prince and the Tenth Prince lay down behind the rockery, poking their heads out and secretly watching for a long time.
Suddenly, Yin'e's eyes lit up and he poked Yin'er's back, "Sister-in-law, Sister-in-law is there."
Yinzhen naturally saw it as well.
He took a deep breath, his teeth itching with hatred. This woman was really good at pretending, being gentle and generous, smiling without showing her teeth. Who was she trying to fool
What do you mean by designated Ninth Concubine? Can't the Ninth Concubine be replaced by someone else
With a breath stuck in his heart, Yinzhen snorted coldly, but his body honestly climbed up, stretched his neck, opened his eyes wide, and looked into the distance without blinking.
Perhaps it was because that gaze was too ardent, Miss Dong E felt a chill in her heart. She glanced around inadvertently, and then inadvertently looked at Yinzhen on the rockery...
A scream of incomparable panic broke Yinzhen's eardrums: "Master, it's only nine hundred taels of silver, and you even chased me to the palace. Why did you do this?!"
The Imperial Garden was silent.
Yunxiu frowned, Kangxi looked at her with a hawk-like gaze, Yinzhen: "..."
Yinzhen retracted his neck as if nothing had happened, ignoring the gaze of Yin'e beside him, slowly slid down from the rockery, and looked up at the sky blankly.
His lifelong reputation is gone.