“It was the Eighth Prince who told me!” He Xue said.

"Eighth brother?" The Crown Prince immediately became alert. Had Yinzhi gone to see Hexue again? He really had no shortage of wicked intentions!

"Yes, it was the Eighth Prince who told me! Your Highness, the Eighth Prince accidentally let it slip, please don't blame him!" He Xue remembered the Eighth Prince's words and pleaded with the Crown Prince on his behalf.

"I blame him? What did I blame him for?" The Crown Prince was now very eager to know what the Eighth Prince had said to He Xue.

“You blame him for telling me about your injury! He really didn’t say it by accident, and the Eighth Prince trusts you completely. He said you wouldn’t do such a thing!”

The Crown Prince felt a lump in his throat, unable to breathe properly. He never expected the Eighth Prince to pull this stunt on him. It was clearly an attempt to smear him in front of He Xue. Fortunately, He Xue didn't believe him and instead came to the palace to see him.

If the Eighth Prince found out, wouldn't he feel like he'd shot himself in the foot?

The Eighth Prince intended to sow discord between He Xue and himself, but he overlooked the trust He Xue placed in him.

"He Xue, I never heard the Eighth Prince say such a thing, and I don't know why he would say such a thing. He must be trying to sow discord between us!"

The Crown Prince felt there was no need for him to cover anything up for the Eighth Prince. Since the Eighth Prince didn't care about brotherhood, there was no need for him to be concerned about brotherly affection.

He Xue understood why the Eighth Prince did what he did after hearing the Crown Prince's words. She had seen scheming women before, but this was the first time she had seen a scheming man. "What a big cup of scheming tea!"

"Green tea? What does this have to do with green tea?" the prince asked, puzzled.

He Xue smiled and explained to the Crown Prince, "Brother Crown Prince, the green tea I'm talking about isn't the green tea we drink, but a type of person—the kind of person who's good at pretending and being hypocritical!"

"So green tea has another meaning!" The Crown Prince looked at He Xue and asked, "He Xue, where did you learn that?"

He Xue had already prepared her explanation: "When I was in Fujian, I was exposed to some Western culture!"

"I see!" the Crown Prince said. "It seems you gained a lot from your trip to Fujian!"

He Xue was very glad that she went to Fujian, so that she could attribute many things to Western culture. "Yes! There is a saying that is very true: Reading ten thousand books is not as good as traveling ten thousand miles!"

Some things can't be learned from books; only by experiencing them firsthand can you broaden your horizons and transform your thinking!

He Xue pondered whether she could mention the Western Industrial Revolution to the Crown Prince. Although the first Industrial Revolution had not yet begun, the colonial frenzy in Europe had already started, and the Netherlands had established its global commercial hegemony.

The Qing Dynasty could no longer maintain its policy of isolationism and maritime bans, clinging to the dream of being a celestial empire.

"Brother Crown Prince, do you know that Westerners are particularly fond of our porcelain, tea, and silk?"

Here, they treasure those burnt porcelain pieces and miswoven cloths like the back of their hand. A very ordinary tea set can fetch ten taels of silver! They're just incredibly rich and foolish!

Your Highness, if the imperial court organizes people to take some of our discarded porcelain, tea, and silk to Western countries, wouldn't we be able to make a fortune?

"And maybe we can learn some methods for manufacturing guns and cannons from them! I've heard their firearms are even more advanced than ours!" Xue said tentatively.

The Crown Prince pondered for a moment. Although Xue's words were very tempting, the court had only opened Guangzhou as a treaty port to restrict trade with the West.

Now, the imperial court is taking the lead in engaging in commercial trade with the West. I'm afraid my father won't agree to that; it would make him feel like he's contradicting himself.

Although the Emperor has spent a lot of time studying Western mathematics and astronomy, he also restricts the spread of Western knowledge in the Qing Dynasty, fearing that the Han people might learn Western methods and then turn against the Manchus.

He had also learned about the West, and what Xue said wasn't entirely unreasonable. If they wanted to have commercial trade with the West, they would first have to persuade the Emperor, which would probably be a bit difficult.

"You said that your Crown Prince brother will consider it, so you don't need to worry about it. Your Crown Prince brother will take care of these things!"

"Whatever you want to do, your Crown Prince brother will help you achieve it!" the Crown Prince said to He Xue.

He Xue knew that some things could only be accomplished step by step and could not be achieved overnight. "Okay, then thank you, Crown Prince!"

"He Xue, could you also grant your brother the Crown Prince a request?" the Crown Prince asked, looking at He Xue.