My father-in-law is Kangxi

Chapter 1840 Only after becoming a father can you understand

When it came time for the imperial meal, the Ninth Prince's butt was so heavy, what could Kangxi do?
Throughout the whole year, the father and son barely have two meals together, so who would chase them away?

We can only let the Ninth Prince stay.

After having a meal of imperial cuisine, the Ninth Prince walked out of the Qianqing Palace with brisk steps.

He restrained himself from laughing out loud.

There are some things that only a father will know.

In this regard, the Eighth Prince is far inferior to himself.

That is, as a father, you can find fault with your son, but you cannot allow others to say anything bad about him.

It's okay to have minor flaws that are insignificant, but you can't really call them shortcomings.

Whoever's son this is, he is the treasure.

Anyone who speaks ill of other brothers in front of the emperor is a fool.

Sometimes, what looks like bad words may not really be bad words; what looks like good words may actually be mixed with a little bit of bad intentions.

How can I be so smart...

The same goes for Li Xu...

The Ninth Prince narrowed his eyes. He knew Khan's pulse well, let alone Li Xu who was offering his beauty to him.

He wouldn't say bad things about me directly, and I had no reason to get angry with him.

Today, I reported the affairs of the Ji family to the emperor as a reminder to Khan Ama.

Jiangnan is prosperous, and the emperor is going to make his fourth southern tour.

Bekhan Ama valued the people's strength and was unwilling to waste it, but local officials used this as an excuse to plunder the area.

Like Cao Yin, Li Xu was in charge of the Suzhou Weaving House, and naturally his job was not just to purchase various brocades for the royal family's internal use.

If there really were officials who exploited the local area by welcoming the emperor, and Li Xu didn't report it, he would not have suffered any consequences...

When he arrived at the Ministry of Revenue's duty room, the Ninth Prince stood at the door of the east room, wondering whether to go in.

Su Peisheng just came out and saw him looking around. He bowed and said, "Master Jiu, our master is not here. He has gone to the Shangshu's duty room."

The Ninth Prince nodded and said, "I understand."

He went back to the west room.

After a while, Yiduli, who had heard the news, arrived.

As soon as he entered the house, he knelt down on his knees and paid his respects with great ceremony.

The Ninth Prince was sitting on the kang drinking tea. Seeing this, he said, "Why is it so? Get up quickly. Do you still need me to help you?"

Yidu stood up, his eyes red, and said, "Master Jiu, I have great kindness, and I have no way to repay you. From now on, I will obey your orders."

The Ninth Prince rolled his eyes and said, "It's not a big deal. Ask me to tell you. The old man is confused and we can't just listen to him. If he doesn't allow you to invite the imperial physician, then you won't. Isn't this just foolish filial piety?"

Yi Duli said awkwardly: "My elder brother has always been cautious in his actions..."

The Ninth Prince said disdainfully, "Being cautious is bullshit! Asking me to see you is unfilial. Your father is a retired Grand Secretary and is qualified to invite the imperial physician. Why are you trying to avoid this suspicion? How many people are in charge in your family? You hold your neck high when you should, but wimp out when you shouldn't!"

Yiduli felt more and more ashamed.

He knew that the Ninth Prince was talking about his mother borrowing dowry from the General's Mansion.

That involves the general's in-laws, the Dong'e family, who are the ninth prince's father-in-law's family. The ninth prince would definitely not be happy about that.

But my father-in-law is stubborn and self-willed and won't listen to advice.

If my father had not stepped in, stripped Enie of his stewardship and put him under restraint, who knows what ridiculous things would have happened next.

Seeing Yi Duli like this, the Ninth Prince also realized that it was not kind to say that other people's parents were not kind to their son, so he waved his hand and said, "Alright, alright, go down, don't be so pretentious, it's not embarrassing to go to Yue's house a few more times before and after the New Year..."

His half-brothers are unreliable, and his father has already retired. If he doesn't curry favor with Yue family now, when will he curry favor with them?
Is it possible that such a good young scholar will have to keep hanging around in the same place as Tang Awei?

Apart from anything else, it is still possible to pass the exam to become a top official.

Yiduli originally came here with gratitude to express his gratitude, but he was scolded harshly. The young man walked out of the duty room with a red face and embarrassed face.

The Fourth Prince just came back and looked at Yiduli twice when he saw this.

Yidu Li was distracted and almost bumped into someone. He quickly apologized and stepped aside to make way.

Seeing his eyes redden, the Fourth Prince thought of Yisan Ah and said, "If you have any difficulties, you can go to the Ministry of Justice to find the Thirteenth Prince."

Yi Duli was stunned when he heard this, and then he thanked him, "Thank you for your advice, Fourth Master. I'll take note of it."

The Fourth Prince nodded, walked past Yiduli and returned to the duty room.

Yiduli thought about the Ninth Prince's "unpleasant but honest advice" and the Fourth Prince's well-intentioned advice, and he felt indescribable emotions in his heart.

My brothers took advantage of my father's serious illness and opened all the storehouses in our house.

What the eldest brother and his wife meant was that the rules have changed. It is no longer the youngest son who guards the stove, but the eldest son and grandson who are the most precious.

When the family is divided, the eldest son will not only get his own share, but also give another share to the eldest grandson.

Their family started to become prosperous from my father's perspective. The couple was greedy and set their eyes on my father's dowry. They said it was their responsibility to support the elderly lady and that they wanted to send their young son to be raised by his grandmother.

Thinking about all these shitty things, Yiduli felt discouraged.

A harmonious family is the root of everything; a disharmony in the family will lead to its downfall...

When the Fourth Prince returned to the duty room, he had already heard Su Peisheng's report and knew that the Ninth Prince had returned.

He walked to the west room.

The Ninth Prince sat behind the desk, with the proposal for raising pearls in front of him.

Or how about father and son?

He and Kangxi had the same idea and felt that the method of cultivating pearls could be carefully written down and passed down through the generations.

In the future, when the title is inherited by his children and grandchildren at a low level, they may have to rely on this to make a living.

Even if it is inconvenient for you to run the business, you can still make some money by quietly finding two buyers.

The Ninth Prince felt that he should "learn from the good and emulate them".

Even Ji Hong's father, the richest man in the world, is thinking about preparing for a rainy day, so I should think more about it too.

He is not only the pillar of the Beile Mansion, but also the ancestor of his own clan.

After several generations of descendants, there will also be some idle members of the royal family.

When the Fourth Prince came in, he was a little uncomfortable at first when he saw the Ninth Prince being so serious.

When the Ninth Prince heard the noise, he looked up at the door, saw that it was the Fourth Prince, and quickly stood up.

"Fourth brother, you are back..."

The Fourth Prince looked at him and said firmly, "It's rare that he didn't get scolded."

The Ninth Prince said proudly: "I didn't do anything wrong. My father-in-law is fine. Why are you scolding me?"

Before the Ninth Prince entered the palace, he greeted the Fourth Prince. His words were brief and not very clear.

The Fourth Prince was a little hesitant.

My younger brother has already started a family and a career. Since it is the private matter of the Prince's Mansion, shouldn't I ask about it?
The Ninth Prince didn’t think too much about it. There was nothing to keep secret about Ji Hong’s visit to him.

He told him that Ji Hong came to see him yesterday afternoon.

"I just want to report to the Emperor, so that he won't make a fuss and start complaining."

After hearing this, the Fourth Prince remembered that he had a cousin from his mother's family who was appointed as the tax inspector of Hangzhou Customs last year. This year, he sent double the amount of New Year gifts to his mansion compared to previous years.

It is well known that Jiangnan is prosperous.

He said, "You have already left the Ministry of Internal Affairs, so you must be careful about the Ji family using your name to make money. I will ask someone to find out what the Ji family is doing."

The Ninth Prince wondered, "Hasn't their family been the richest in Jiangnan for decades? Are they still amassing wealth? Aren't they afraid of becoming a fat sheep and being slaughtered?"

Fourth elder brother: "..."

The Ninth Prince asked again, "Fourth Brother, who has been the Imperial Salt Inspector of Jiangnan in recent years? The Ji family's foundation is still on the salt permits. If this salt merchant is in power, is the Imperial Merchant of the Ministry of Internal Affairs still a big deal?"

Before, he only thought about extortion in the officialdom and forgot that the Ji family was the number one salt merchant in Jiangnan.

The salt permits are the real cash cow. The Ji family has held them for decades. Isn't there anyone who is jealous?
Seeing the Ninth Prince's clear eyes, the Fourth Prince was also speechless.

"How many years have you been in charge of the Imperial Household Department? Don't you know that the Salt Inspectors are all part-timers? And since the beginning of this dynasty, all officials from the Imperial Household Department have been part-timers, a total of six people..."

"One person in Lianghuai, one in Liangzhe, one in Changlu, one in Hedong, and starting from the 30th year, one person in Fujian and one person in Guangdong and Guangxi were added..."

The Ninth Prince laughed twice and said, "I understand. It's just like Cao Shun's father-in-law. He was the supervisor of the Guangzhou Customs before. He was probably also the inspector of the customs. What can this inspector find out by investigating himself?"

Such an imperial censor is not good. He is useless and has become a local tyrant.

Is he going to be an imperial censor, or is he taking this as a lucrative position to make money?
His thoughts were all on his face. The Fourth Prince shook his head and said, "You think too much. The Salt Inspector is replaced every year to prevent malpractices."

The Ninth Prince didn't take it seriously and said, "If a mouse falls into a rice jar, how can it not steal food? This cycle every year is not a good thing for salt merchants. They are extorted every year, not to mention that they are using bondservants. Bondservants are used to eating and taking in the capital. How can they become censors? That's ridiculous!"

The Fourth Prince looked at him and said disapprovingly, "You dare to say anything. In the past, the Imperial Censors for Salt Inspection were not officials from the Ministry of Internal Affairs, but censors from the Supervisory Office. This has only been gradually changed in recent years."

The Ninth Prince whispered, "I know. This still has drawbacks. Khan Ama knows this and thought that instead of 'corrupting' the integrity of the censor, it would be better to hand it over to the bannermen. If they go too far, it will be easier to deal with them..."

Fourth elder brother: "..."

It was an unexpected blessing, and it seems to make sense.

He stopped the topic and said, "Although the Ji family is not your family, you can't let them think that you are trying to curry favor with them, so as to avoid them taking advantage of you. You should accept the tribute you deserve."

The Ninth Prince looked at the Fourth Prince and said in surprise, "I thought you would say that there is a difference between the superior and the inferior, and asked me to have less involvement with them in the future..."

At this point, he came to his senses and asked, "Did Fourth Brother also receive a lot of gifts from outsiders?"

The fourth prince coughed lightly and said, "Don't say anything inappropriate!"

The Ninth Prince had grown up and was more worldly-wise. He said, "I thought you were not short of money and didn't care about finances. I didn't expect you had a way to make money..."

The Fourth Prince neither admitted nor denied it, and only said to the Ninth Prince: "This year is a year of great planning. In addition to high-ranking officials, there are also many vacancies in the local area. Now that you have been demoted, you are also qualified to inquire about the vacancies of the Zhenglan Banner. If the people of the banner have any useful people, you can recommend one or two. This is what the Third Brother did..."