Gu Shaoyu listened to her quietly the whole time.

This trade route is a window for Dachang to reach the world!

“The crop seeds we brought back are quite rare. I’m thinking of trying them out on my farm first. If the yield and taste are acceptable, it will be easier for us to promote them later.”

“I have two estates, but they have already been taken over by the Marquis’s mansion. Would you like to take them over and try planting?” Gu Shaoyu asked.

Cooperate with the Marquis's mansion? Even if the seeds are highly productive and yield excellent profits, people like the Tu family will definitely take the opportunity to squeeze every last drop of profit out of you.

Besides, why would she want to generate profits for the Marquis's mansion?

Xie Zhaozhao shook her head: "The yield and market prospects are unclear. I don't want to gamble with the public land of the Marquis's mansion. I'll just grow it on my own estate."

Gu Shaoyu pondered for a moment and said, "How about this, I'll go to His Majesty and ask him to designate a specific estate for the crops, and give him half of the harvest?"

Trial planting is risky; if nothing grows, the entire season or even a year's harvest on the farm will be wasted.

Gu Shaoyu said, "We can't give him the seeds we brought from so far away for free. Let's agree with him that we'll give him half of the harvest."

"Alright, you can go and talk to His Majesty about it." She smiled; Emperor Hui was a good emperor.

Xie Zhaozhao counted the seeds in the bag that Yin Jin'an had brought, one by one. "Guan Yingying, in this life, I will be more successful on the Silk Road than you were in your previous life!"

This seed is my hope, but it's also the grave of you, Guan Yingying, and Gu Chengyan!

Three shops opened under the overpass, specializing in selling spices imported from overseas.

The shopkeeper was a young man who shouted loudly, "There's only one batch of spices left. Once it's sold out, it's gone. This stuff is extremely rare; it was brought from abroad at great risk."

The more scarce something is, the higher the price, and the more frantically people rush to buy it.

Guan Yingying was taking Gu Yuebai shopping.

Gu Chengyan originally intended to take Guan Yingying away from the capital to Jiangnan, but the Crown Prince disagreed.

The Crown Prince spoke with a mix of threats and persuasion: "Gunpowder requires a huge investment; we can't abandon the project halfway. Besides, how am I going to repay the 60,000 taels of silver that the Duke of Cheng'en's mansion advanced for you? And Gu Chengyan took on the Grand Canal project because I recommended him to the Duke of Cheng'en's mansion; how am I going to explain that?"

Guan Yingying frowned and said, "The gunpowder wasn't manufactured for the Duke of Cheng'en's mansion, so what does it have to do with them?"

The Crown Prince sneered, "Most of the border regions are guarded by the Duke of Cheng'en's mansion, and the vanguard is composed of the sons of the Duke of Cheng'en's mansion. The first place I will use this gunpowder, once I develop it, is the Duke of Cheng'en's mansion."

Guan Yingying understood. If she gave up manufacturing gunpowder, she would have to repay the 60,000 taels of silver owed to the Duke of Chengen's mansion, and Gu Chengyan would also lose the Grand Canal project he had contracted.

The crown prince, with a forced smile, whispered a threat in my ear: "You seduced me for a night of passion, what if you end up pregnant with my child?"

A flash of murderous intent crossed the Crown Prince's eyes, but he gently advised her not to follow Gu Chengyan through hardship and suffering on a long journey.

The Crown Prince knew that she was Gu Chengyan's mistress and that they had a child together!

He held the lives of her entire family in his hands.

She was filled with remorse.

Originally, he wanted to attach himself to the Crown Prince to prove his abilities to Gu Chengyan and to give himself a chance to rise to a high position.

Besides, if it's just a casual fling, shouldn't you just pull up your pants and go home after you're done? Why are you imprisoning her?

Guan Yingying was walking down the street with Gu Yuebai when she heard people talking about how spices and granulated sugar were selling extremely well. On a whim, she hurriedly went to the three shops under the overpass.

Upon seeing the familiar spices and white sugar, everything went black.

After asking around, I found out that these were imported from abroad.

They don't say which country they came from.

She knows even without me saying it!

He went back, handed Gu Yuebai over to Aunt Wang, and immediately went to the Crown Prince's residence.

After waiting for a long time at the Crown Prince's residence, the Crown Prince finally returned from the palace.

"Your Highness, have you seen the spices for selling Xiandou on the street? And white sugar, all sorts of rare things? These are the spices I mentioned to you last time."

Guan Yingying said anxiously, "Your Highness, we need to open the trade routes as soon as possible!"

Otherwise, if others have already opened trade routes and are continuously importing goods, what's the point of them opening their own routes if they lose the first-mover advantage?

The Crown Prince frowned and said, "Opening up trade routes requires silver, and the court will need to save up for several years. I've heard that ships from various countries are docking and trading around Baiyue City. I'm afraid these goods might not be from there?"

Guan Yingying felt irritated and said, "Your Highness, I would like to go and take a look. I need to ask for leave from the Ordnance Bureau first."

The Crown Prince nodded in agreement. Research and development had reached a bottleneck and stagnated. It would be better to let everyone rest for a few days.

Guan Yingying returned to Nancheng, just as Gu Chengyan returned.

"Yingying, I found that the spice you mentioned is being sold in Jiangnan." He rode back overnight at full speed, his eyes swollen with dark circles from exhaustion. "Someone has already opened up the trade route ahead of us. Did you leak the trade route plan?"

Guan Yingying's face was pale, and she shook her head: "Only you, the Crown Prince, and I know about this."

Now these spices are available not only in Kyoto but also in Jiangnan. Her Silk Road plan has clearly failed!

No, after thinking it over and over, could it be that the Crown Prince had secretly opened the Silk Road through the Cheng'en Duke's Mansion?

Are the spices on the market produced by the Cheng'en Duke's Mansion?

The Crown Prince kept making excuses, saying that a few hundred thousand strings of cash would have been enough to open the trade route, so why did he ask for ten million strings?

This trade route must have been opened by the Duke of Cheng'en's mansion.

She actually puts her whole heart into working for the Crown Prince, helping him to produce gunpowder. I'm afraid that once the gunpowder is successfully produced, she, Gu Chengyan, and Yuebai will all be eliminated.

They stole her business routes, stole her formulas, tarnished her reputation, and even blackmailed her man, threatening the lives of her and her son.

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