Chapter 144 My father-in-law once wanted to destroy Japan

"I turned into Chang'e and descended to the ninth heaven. It is really a good marriage that was predestined. Even if jackals bark, real dragons and red phoenixes spit. Today, I saw the painting of your majesty and Miss Chang'an together. I was deeply moved. I felt that it was really a match made in heaven. Especially your majesty is so powerful and Miss Chang'an is so smart. No one can compare to you. Hey! Seeing you two standing here, I was so moved that I couldn't help but write a poem."

Mu Xu said this and took a step back, his face full of emotion.

After that, he looked at Su Changan and said, "The most important thing is, after listening to the speech of Miss Changan and the two masters, I feel that Miss Changan is really a banished immortal. After all, she can invent so many good things, especially when I heard that many of them are national treasures of Daxia. I was excited, but then I thought, wow, such a talented immortal, why is she a banished immortal! Isn't this insulting! How could such an extraordinary talent be demoted to the mortal world? It should be Miss Changan who came down to the mortal world to help Daxia prosper and to be with His Majesty."

Xia Fengxiang couldn't listen any longer and interrupted Mu Xu directly: "Master Jijiu."

Mu Xu was stunned for a moment, and saw Xia Fengxiang looking at him helplessly. He immediately smiled, put his hands in his sleeves, and looked at Xia Fengxiang and Su Changan sincerely.

Su Changan looked at Mu Xu. Although he knew what kind of person this old man was, he didn't know what to say because he flattered him without blushing or feeling nervous. He even composed a somewhat doggerel-like flattering poem.

But at that moment, seeing Mu Xu looking at him sincerely, it was as if he was saying, "What I just said was all from the bottom of my heart."

Su Changan deeply understood what Xia Fengxiang once said to him, "Mu Xu, sometimes I really want someone to beat him up!"

Mu Xu looked at the expressions of Su Changan and Xia Fengxiang and chuckled: "Then how about I just get straight to the point?"

Having said this, Mu Xu took the box and opened it. Inside was an ancient jade pendant.

After Mu Xu picked it up, he pressed it lightly, and the two jade pendants separated into two, and then put them back together.

The carvings on the jade pendant are in the style of dragon and phoenix, which represent good luck. Although the jade pendant is made of bluish-white jade, it has a long history and some patina is present on it, which is just right in the eyes of the dragon and phoenix and some places on their bodies. Therefore, this bluish-white jade ring jade pendant with dragon and phoenix patterns is even more lifelike.

After the display, Mu Xu put the jade pendant back into the brocade box, then looked at Su Changan and said, "The dragon and phoenix pattern jade pendant is almost hundreds of years old. I don't ask for poetry, I just ask Miss Changan to give lectures at the Imperial Academy. It won't be much, just one class will be fine."

Having said that, Mu Xu bowed deeply to Su Changan again.

Su Changan was stunned. He glanced at Xia Fengxiang who was smiling behind him. After a helpless smile, he looked at Su Changan and said, "Master Jijiu, you are joking. Changan knows his literary talent best. It's okay to write poems and pretend to be romantic, but it's really not possible to give lectures."

Mu Xu frowned and looked at Su Changan: "I have a good temper, but I can't listen to Miss Changan talking about me like this."

Then, Mu Xu immediately put on a playful smile and said, "Besides, you can see that I can give a lecture even though I am like this. I just go up there and say a few words. You can do it even better. And if the young lady doesn't go, I won't be able to explain myself. You don't know how much those students admire you now. And as for the lecture, it's not my fault. It was that old bastard Yao Yuanzai who didn't understand a part of the Dream of the Red Chamber you wrote, and he sighed and said, "It would be great if you were here."

"His words were nothing, but the students started asking me to invite you to give lectures. Some even said it would be great if you could be a guest teacher at the Imperial College. I couldn't believe it. Who are you to be a guest teacher at the Imperial College? I scolded them!"

"But this is because there are so many children who admire your extraordinary talent. Even those students who came from other places to study begged me to come and try. I have no choice but to come to you to talk. Moreover, you have rejected me twice, and Yao Yuanzai heard it. But when he went back, he said that I was not sincere enough. So this is not a gift for me to come to see you?"

Su Changan listened to Mu Xu's eloquent talk. After listening to it, he realized that the reason why Mu Xu came to Su Changan for lectures was not innocent but was forced to do so. It was all because of the students of the Imperial College and Master Yao.

Su Changan looked back at Xia Fengxiang.

Xia Fengxiang didn't say anything, just looked at Su Changan. His meaning was very simple, let Su Changan make his own decision.

After thinking for a while, Su Changan looked at Mu Xu and said, "Teaching is a serious matter. I cannot teach the students. And I absolutely cannot serve as a guest scholar, but if I go to the Imperial Academy to chat with the students, that's fine."

Upon hearing this, Mu Xu said in a serious tone, "The Queen is chatting and negotiating with the students in the Imperial College. What a wonderful conversation. Our Great Xia has another wonderful conversation!"

Su Changan was stunned for a moment, then laughed angrily, "Master Jijiu, do you want me to refuse?"

Mu Xu shook his head: "Miss, please don't say that. I speak from the bottom of my heart."

After saying that, Mu Xu looked at Su Changan and asked, "Is this matter settled? As for the date, I need to check the day. Such a beautiful talk must be held on a good day, otherwise those people would not be qualified to do it!"

Su Changan nodded helplessly.

Seeing that Su Changan agreed, Mu Xu smiled, then bowed deeply to Su Changan: "Thank you, Queen."

Then, he looked at Xia Fengxiang and said, "Your Majesty, do you have anything else to tell me? If not, I'll take my leave."

Xia Fengxiang smiled and said, "Go back and tell Yang Shanchang that he should apologize in the future. Don't beat around the bush. Let him come directly. This will also save him two white fox green bamboo pens."

Mu Xu smiled awkwardly. He didn't think that His Majesty could not see it. Sure enough, didn't it turn out that he was the one who delivered the dragon and phoenix ring on behalf of Yang Shanchang?

Xia Fengxiang continued, "Yang Wangshu has a two-story shop in Yuguifang. Let Yang Wangshu take it and give it to Su Liheng personally. My brother-in-law has always wanted to open a hot pot shop. I think the location and size of that shop are just right."

Mu Xu smiled and bowed, saying, "Yes."

Then, Xia Fengxiang allowed Mu Xu to leave.

Mu Xu smiled and bowed to Su Changan and Xia Fengxiang, then turned and left.

But just as he turned around, he immediately turned around and looked at Su Changan with a smug look and said that he remembered that Lingqi Pavilion was not like this before. Now that the Queen has moved in, it is really unique, not only elegant, but also has a fairy-like aura. Finally, he asked if the Queen had any unwanted literary waste, and he would help throw it away when he left.

Xia Fengxiang couldn't bear it any longer and just said "get out".

Upon hearing this, Mu Xu said "Okay" and immediately trotted out of Lingqi Pavilion.

This look is nothing like the current Prime Minister or Chief Academician.

However, the Lord Chief Priest was very happy about this.

After leaving Lingqi Pavilion, the hunchbacked old man walked slowly, thinking about the things Su Changan had just invented, and also thinking about what Su Changan and Zhu Mianluban had said.

The old man smiled.

Ever since Miss Chang'an appeared, His Majesty has changed, Luoan has changed, and even Daxia seems to be changing.

However, when thinking about this, the old man suddenly thought of the muskets and cannons, and wondered what on earth they were.

…

The meeting in Lingqi Pavilion was over, and Su Changan and Xia Fengxiang sat side by side in the hall.

Xia Fengxiang held up the pair of dragon and phoenix rings, which sparkled brightly in the sunlight.

After looking at it for a while, Xia Fengxiang put the jade ring back into the box.

Su Changan looked at Xia Fengxiang and said, "Take it."

Xia Fengxiang looked at Su Changan in shock for a moment, then laughed and scolded: "Are you willing to give up something worth hundreds of thousands of taels?"

Su Changan frowned: "Xia Qingge, I am yours now, why would you be reluctant to let me go?"

Xia Fengxiang's face was full of disdain, but his ears were red: "Who cares."

Then he reopened the box and said, "Logically, you should hold the Phoenix Ring and I should hold the Dragon Ring, but you should hold the Dragon Ring."

Su Changan shook his head: "Let's get together. It's better to stay together forever."

Xia Fengxiang was stunned for a moment, but immediately understood. After muttering a few words, he put the box away.

Su Changan thought for a while and asked, "Did Yang Shanchang send me something because of the Rouge Shop incident?"

Xia Fengxiang nodded: "Well, Yang Guofu and his men did this secretly. When Yang Shanchang found out, he scolded them and came to me. I told him that this matter had nothing to do with me and was your business. So he did this, but I didn't expect him to be so willing to take out this thing and even invite Mu Xu to be a lobbyist. But I want to tell you, this matter is not over until Su Liheng gets the shop. If you touch my people, don't think that it will be over by giving a few things."

Su Changan looked at Xia Fengxiang and said, "I feel like I'm being protected by a domineering empress."

Xia Fengxiang was stunned for a moment, then cursed: "Who is so domineering!"

After saying that, he snorted, "I'm too lazy to talk nonsense with you!"

As he spoke, Xia Fengxiang turned around and sat cross-legged in front of Su Changan and asked, "Now tell me about the warships. Shipping is a very special thing. My father was always thinking about this when he was alive. He said that if Daxia wanted to move to a higher level, shipping would be the first priority. And when you mentioned that ugly thing you drew before, you said that you could get a lot of gold with it. Tell me about it, too."

Su Changan frowned and said, "Someone doesn't allow me to get involved in these things, so I won't say anything."

Xia Fengxiang's eyes widened: "You are not allowed to get involved in the party dispute. It's between me and those people. I let you get involved because I'm afraid you'll be in danger! This matter is not a party dispute, it's the affairs of the Great Xia State. Moreover, it's a matter of state. After we get married, you will officially become the Queen. By then, you won't be able to hide even if you want to. Tell me quickly, or I'll be angry!"

Su Changan stopped joking and picked up a pen and paper and drew two circles, one big and one small.

Then he said: "This is our Daxia, this is Japan, and the gold is in Japan."

Xia Fengxiang frowned when he heard this: "After the envoys who went to Japan came back, they mentioned that the nobles of Japan bought things with gold cakes, but how much gold can such a small country have?"

Su Changan looked at Xia Fengxiang and said, "A lot!"

Xia Fengxiang was surprised.

Su Changan went on to say: "It's not about how much they have, but that their island is full of gold and silver mines, especially gold mines."

Su Changan checked a lot of information and confirmed that the Japan in this world is no different from the one in his previous life, which means that the resources on the Japanese island are no different.

Moreover, Su Changan remembered very clearly that the so-called Warring States Period of Japan was supported by gold and silver mines, which were mined on a large scale at that time.

And even if it wasn't the Warring States Period yet, there was already gold everywhere there.

That's why Marco Polo called it the Treasure Island.

Su Changan continued, "And over there, as you just said, gold is the currency in circulation, so many of them don't know the true value of gold. I checked their business dealings with Daxia, and they also mostly trade in gold."

Xia Fengxiang looked at Su Changan, thought for a while and murmured, "I do remember an incident in the past. My great grandfather rewarded the Japanese envoy with 100 gold taels. They asked if it could be exchanged for silver, so I exchanged it for 500 taels of silver as they wished. Can it be understood that the exchange rate of gold to silver over there is 1:5?"

Su Changan curled his lips and stretched out his hand to pinch Xia Fengxiang's nose: "Why are you still thinking about doing trade with them? Is it necessary? They are all our vassal states, so we can just send troops to colonize them. Then let the people over there mine gold and ship the gold back to our Great Xia. We can take all the gold we have, and they can just give us some unwanted things as rewards."

Xia Fengxiang was puzzled: "Colonization?"

Su Changan nodded and explained: "It means conquering that country."

Xia Fengxiang looked at Su Changan and said, "Have you read the books in my imperial study?"

Su Changan was stunned for a moment.

Xia Fengxiang said: "Although I didn't say the word colonization, my father once wanted to occupy Japan and make it a state of Daxia, and then use that country as a place to station troops to prevent it from deterring the barbarians. As for the people of Japan, my father didn't like the people of that country very much. After dealing with them a few times, he said that the Japanese were lowly people who didn't know what gratitude and righteousness were. They seemed to learn the Confucian etiquette of Daxia, but in fact they were just superficial. If Daxia declined a little, the lowly people of Japan would definitely be betrayed, so my father canceled some of the aid to Japan. But, you know, my father left without doing many things."

Speaking of this, Xia Fengxiang sighed helplessly.

Su Changan reached out and touched his face, then said, "Next time when we pay tribute to our father, I want to have a couple of drinks with him."

Xia Fengxiang looked at Su Changan, wondering what he was talking about.

However, Xia Fengxiang looked at Su Changan and asked, "If it really has so much gold, we can take it down. Besides, my father has been preparing for it in the early years, so he has many warships and naval forces in Jiaodong. However, we can't be impatient about this matter. There are still many things to do in the country. When everything is settled, we can take action. I originally planned to carry out my father's last wish and help him do this. Besides, when we get married, people from Japan will come. I will ask them about the gold in their country. If there is really a lot of gold, we will make a lot of money if we take it down. After all, it's just a small country, so it won't cost much troops."

Su Changan smiled bitterly and said, "Don't you know that an arrogant army will be defeated? Wait until warships are invented, and then it will be safer to fight."

Xia Fengxiang scolded, "I know better than you! And if my brother Zongze heard you mention installing cannons on warships today, he might be even more excited than brother Zhu Huang. He grew up by the sea and is very proficient in both land and sea warfare. It's a pity that he is now guarding the barbarians in the north and cannot escape. Otherwise, according to his personality, he would definitely be so excited today that he would come up with tactics overnight."

Excuse me for saying this, Xia Fengxiang thought about it and frowned at Su Changan: "How did you know that Japan has so many gold mines and so many inventions?"

Su Changan sighed and said meaningfully: "Read books. The more books you read, the more you will know."

Just when Su Changan said this, he saw Xia Fengxiang coming over.

Like a dragonfly skimming the water, he gave her a kiss.

On his lips, Su Changan tasted the long-lost softness.

Xia Fengxiang's face flushed. He stood up, looked at Su Changan and said, "You performed well today, so I give you a reward. If you keep up the good work, I will naturally reward you more."

Su Changan pursed his lips, thought for a moment and said, "Including sleeping together in each other's arms?"

Xia Fengxiang blinked, then his face turned red in an instant. He raised his fist and hit Su Changan.

Su Changan grabbed Xia Fengxiang's arm and pulled him towards himself.

Xia Fengxiang immediately fell into Su Changan's arms, her face turned even redder, but she did not resist. She just glared at Su Changan and then lay in Su Changan's arms, her heart beating fast.

Su Changan glanced at Xia Fengxiang and was about to speak when he felt something and looked up at the old tree in the central courtyard of Lingqi Pavilion.

Then

Then he saw an old woman standing under the tree, staring at him.

(End of this chapter)