Si Hengnian stared at Qi Jiejing for a long time, then said with a gloomy face, "What do you want?"

Qi Jiejing smiled and said, "That's right, that's the right attitude for doing business."

After saying that, she listed many conditions. Each one was not difficult for Si Hengnian, but it was enough to make him uncomfortable. For example, she said that Si Hengnian should hand over the salt mining rights of Wubei Lake to her within a month.

Although the current dynasty mainly consumes sea salt, lake salt has also been developed in a few areas. The Wubei Lake mentioned by Qi Jiejing is a newly developed lake salt production area, but because the output is not high, the court does not pay much attention to it.

However, while the output had little impact on the whole country, it caused a huge uproar locally. After rounds of fighting among local gentry and wealthy people, it eventually fell into the hands of Wu Beisi's brother-in-law.

Qi Jiejing wanted Si Hengnian to help her resolve the salt mining rights issue, which was nothing more than wanting Si Hengnian to take money from Wubei Si. Although Wubei Si was only a minor official of the fourth rank, he had been operating in Wubei for many years and was like a local tyrant. How could he be willing to do that?

Si Hengnian forcibly seized it, thus putting Wubei Division on the opposite side. Although the officials in Wubei Division were not high-ranking, the territory under Wubei Division was rich in fine horses. Although it was not the largest supplier of breeding horses in the current dynasty, it was increasingly valued by the court because of its talent in breeding fine horses. As far as Xu Huixin knew, Si Hengnian had been trying to win him over in recent years.

However, because this person did not want to participate in the power struggles of the court, he pretended to be crazy and foolish, which is why Si Hengnian did not get his wish.

Si Hengnian said with a dark face, "If the Qi family wants to sell salt, I can get you salt permits."

"That won't do." Qi Jiejing's goal was to thwart Si Hengnian's scheme; how could she change the conditions?

“Nowadays, the major salt merchants control the salt market and will not allow anyone to easily get a share of the profits. Moreover, my Qi family already has businesses in medicinal herbs, cloth, and grain. If we get involved in the murky waters of the salt merchants, it will inevitably arouse the suspicion and fear of the imperial court. Therefore, I do not want salt permits.”

Si Hengnian suppressed his anger: "If you don't want to sell salt, why do you want the salt from Wubei Lake?"

“You can’t put all your eggs in one basket. Lake Wubei isn’t big, which is just right for the Qi family to invest in without arousing suspicion. It also allows the Qi family’s business to smoothly enter the Wubei area. It’s a win-win situation, so why not?” Qi Jiejing looked at him with a smile. “If His Highness Prince Xun doesn’t agree to this condition, then we have nothing more to discuss. However, if our Qi family opens up the passage to the Wubei area, we will have another route to do business on the border in the future.”

Upon hearing the last sentence, Si Hengnian's eyes flickered. There was now another route from the capital to the border, so the same route would be used to get here. Since Wu Beisi had been pretending to be crazy, he no longer needed to be polite.

"Very well, I agree to your conditions. But if you fail to keep your promises, don't blame me for being ruthless."

"Don't worry, the Qi family are just businessmen. Once the price is right, everything is negotiable."

Qi Jiejing chuckled inwardly. She could stop the supplies that the Qi family was supposed to transport to the border, but she couldn't control what others were transporting.

The Fourth Princess's hidden power will definitely surprise him. Si Hengnian should just wait and suffer this loss!

"Why are you still here?" After Si Hengnian left, Qi Jiejing looked at her birth mother and asked without any emotion.

Madam Qi was so angry that her chest ached: "This is the Qi residence, my home! Can't I come back?"

"Okay, you can come back whenever you want. Of course, you can also divorce my father whenever you want. Just let me know when the time comes."

Madam Qi burst into a tirade: "What kind of unfilial daughter are you, hoping your parents will divorce? Qi Jiejing, are you even human?"

Qi Jiejing felt there was no point in continuing, so she simply raised an eyebrow and said, "If it weren't for me, do you think my father would have tolerated you until now? He would have divorced you long ago. Anyway, your heart isn't in the Qi family, so am I just helping you speak your mind?"

"I... I did it all for your own good, I wanted you to have a good life."

"But by switching me and Xu Huixin without my permission, the first person you've wronged is my father. And over the years, how many times have I subtly mentioned that I look similar to you and my father? Have you ever taken it to heart? Even when the truth came out, you didn't offer any compensation to me and my father, not even a single apology. Your mind was always on Si Hengnian and Xu Huixin. Given that, do you really expect me to have any feelings for you? Mother, let's just let things be as they are. Don't expect me to serve Si Hengnian and Xu Huixin. You have no right to make such a demand, and I have no obligation to do so."

"Hengnian is a prince, and you are his sister. Isn't that enough? When you get married in the future, you can not only use this to find a better husband's family, but he can also support you!"

"It's as if I benefited from his success. Mother, remember this: everything the Qi family has today is the result of my hard work. As for my marriage, don't even think about it. If you push me too far, don't blame me for fighting to the death."

Qi Jiejing spoke with such decisiveness that her mother almost fainted from anger.

After obtaining what they wanted through a trade with Si Hengnian, the Qi family quickly cut off supplies to the border. But before Si Hengnian could rejoice, another force began operating smoothly, ensuring that Feng Shao's military campaigns were not hampered by insufficient supplies.

"What's going on?" Si Hengnian arrived to demand an explanation, his face dark and gloomy.

Qi Jiejing also pretended to be furious: "How should I know? I'm even angrier! With this interruption, the Qi family's business and routes have been almost completely taken over. The Qi family has suffered huge losses because of this deal with you!"

Si Hengnian scrutinized her intently: "The Qi family has such a wide network of informants; the other party couldn't have appeared out of nowhere. How could you not know?"

"They have the royal family protecting them, how dare I, an ordinary citizen, investigate so deeply? These forces have never joined forces before, how could I possibly foresee such a long way ahead?"

Si Hengnian didn't continue arguing with her, because even he himself was now in a passive position. The royal family's move had really caught him off guard. Could it be that the royal family had been on guard since before? Otherwise, how could a fourth princess in the harem have such abilities? Perhaps the Qi family was really implicated by him this time.

But he would never admit it, otherwise, given Qi Jiejing's greed and scheming, she would definitely make him take responsibility. Ha, serves Qi Jiejing right for haggling with him before; this is retribution.

Seeing Si Hengnian leave without hesitation, Qi Jiejing turned around and left through the back gate of the Qi residence to go to the General's residence. When she arrived, the others had already arrived and were gathered together grilling meat and drinking wine, having a great time.

"We've been waiting for you, come quickly." The Fourth Princess handed her a cup of freshly warmed plum wine. Qi Jiejing felt her stomach warm up after drinking it. It was still more comfortable to stay here.