Chapter 64 Spring Light

The birth of the eldest prince meant that the Ming Dynasty had a successor and the country was stable. The whole country should have celebrated. Zhu Zhanji waved his hand and directly issued a general amnesty, pardoning all criminals except those with serious criminal charges. He was determined to make everyone in the world celebrate this great event.

After nearly three years, the palace finally welcomed a newborn. Even the concubines were very happy to see the little prince, and they visited the imperial concubine's palace every few days.

Although Concubine Sun suffered some pain during childbirth, she felt satisfied and proud to receive such honor and favor afterwards. When the eldest prince grew up and started to learn to speak, she would take the opportunity to build a raft and bring her family back to the capital from her hometown.

Unfortunately, Concubine Sun was not happy for many days. After the New Year, when the eldest prince was about to turn three months old, Empress Dowager Zhang issued an imperial decree, ordering the eldest prince and the palace servants to move to Renshou Palace. She wanted to raise her eldest grandson herself.

Concubine Sun was horrified and begged Zhu Zhanji to keep the eldest prince with her. However, Zhu Zhanji had already promised his mother, and as a filial son, he could not disobey. In addition, Empress Dowager Zhang did not forbid Concubine Sun from visiting her biological son. Zhu Zhanji could only comfort Concubine Sun, bestowing her with many treasures and telling her the name of the eldest prince he had carefully selected. Only then did he reluctantly convince Concubine Sun.

Zhu Yuhuan sat in a private room at the Taiping Teahouse, sipping fresh Jiangnan tea while flipping through his account books. After a long moment, he smiled, looked up at the others sitting in the room, and said, "Thank you for bringing me fresh tea. The Jiangnan flavor is indeed quite good."

The leader, Shen Guangci, hurriedly complimented, "Your Highness is very polite. Your Highness has entrusted such fine goods as glassware to merchants like us to sell. This tea is just a small token of our appreciation. If Your Highness thinks it is a good idea, I will discuss with that person and find a way to ship the new tea every season to the capital. The goods that usually have a profit margin of 5% can be made even cheaper."

Zhu Yuhuan said calmly, "Liuli is nothing. I want to thank you for being the head of the guild and testifying to the Jinyiwei. Otherwise, it would have caused quite a mess."

Shen Guangci dared not take credit for it, and humbly said: "It's just a trivial matter, all thanks to the efforts of Your Highness."

When the princess came to him, Shen Guangci was shocked. He had brought his three sons to the capital to do business temporarily, and also did some small business of reselling tea with Taiping Tea House. However, Zhu Yuhuan "entrusted him with an important task", so how could he not be panicked?

More importantly, his ancestors had their property confiscated by their great grandfather and were exiled to the border of Yunnan. Shen Guangci had originally been reluctant to agree. After all, perjury before the Jinyiwei was no small matter; a careless act could cost one's life. Not to mention that the Shen family had always adhered to the principle of keeping a low profile since being exiled.

But Zhu Yuhuan promised to share the profits from reselling the glass with him. If such things were sold in Jiangnan, there would definitely be huge profits. Finally, Shen Guangci made up his mind and agreed to Zhu Yuhuan's request.

Fortunately, the Jinyiwei seemed to be intent on collecting evidence and did not conduct a strict investigation, so things went particularly smoothly.

Of course, he didn't know that Zhu Yuhuan had been keeping an eye on them for a long time.

Shuntian, being close to the border, was far less prosperous than Jiangnan. Luxury goods like glass had a small market there, so expanding their market meant moving south. However, Zhu Yuhuan had to stay in Shuntian and lacked suitable business personnel. Furthermore, conducting business in other regions required local introductions, so she paid special attention to those who traded between the north and south.

Shen Guangci naturally came into her sight very quickly. Zhu Yuhuan asked the people of Taiping Tea House to investigate for a while, but considering that the Wu family's affairs could not be delayed, he asked someone to find Shen Guangci and promised him huge profits.

Shen Guangci himself is not actually very famous. The one who is really famous is his ancestor, Shen Xiu, who is more widely known as Shen Wansan.

But this person's strength lies in his honesty and his ability to be ruthless at critical moments, making him a reliable person. Zhu Yuhuan couldn't help but sigh that if she hadn't been born in an ancient royal family with the emperor's power, the Shen family would not have had the courage to challenge her, otherwise her plan would have been impossible to implement from the beginning.

Anyway, this matter is under Shi Lin's investigation. As long as someone can come forward to testify, the Jinyiwei people will naturally be able to handle the case beautifully.

The Sun family was certain of Zhu Zhanji's affection for Concubine Sun, while Zhu Yuhuan was certain of the hustle and bustle and the benefits. Now it seemed that neither of them had lost, but the future was uncertain.

However, Zhu Yuhuan was still frightened. If any of these links went wrong, the fate of everyone in the Wu family would probably be completely overturned.

Thinking of this, Zhu Yuhuan exhaled and smiled, "You don't have to be polite. Whether it's business or the guild hall, you've handled these matters very well. I also have a few ideas to create new products. There may not be any substitutes in the whole country. I'm sure we can make a lot of money. It's just that it's inconvenient to do it in Beijing. Going to Jiangnan is just right... We still have a long future ahead of us. I can't leave the palace often. I rely on you to do things for me. We are mutually beneficial, and you don't have to worry about other things."

Upon hearing this, Shen Guangci immediately agreed and said, "I will teach you."

If it were someone else who said this, Shen Guangci would never believe it, but when Zhu Yuhuan said this, he was so bold that people had to believe it.

As they were talking, they heard a faint commotion outside. Zhu Yuhuan walked to the window, raised it slightly, and saw a group of people dressed slightly differently. He smiled and said, "They are Korean envoys. I guess they are the women that His Majesty sent to Korea to bring back to the capital. I've heard my mother mention them several times before."

Shen Guangci and his three sons were also meeting Korean envoys for the first time. They couldn't help but take a few more glances. Realizing that these women were likely to become His Majesty's concubines, they hurriedly said, "The Empress's reputation for virtue is unparalleled. Korea is but a tiny nation. It's a great honor for a Korean woman to enter the palace."

Zhu Yuhuan was amused by his words and said, "They are also in good times. Now that the eldest brother has been born, the Imperial Concubine is recuperating, and the Virtuous Concubine is about to give birth. It is the time for His Majesty to favor the concubines in the harem. There is no need to worry about being neglected as soon as they enter the palace."

Shen Guangci was a little unsure of Zhu Yuhuan's thoughts, so he didn't dare to say much.

Seeing that he was a little restrained, Zhu Yuhuan picked up the folding fan on the table and unfolded it, saying with a smile: "Please do as you please, I have some other things to take care of."

"yes."

The four of them, father and son, looked down from the window and saw the corner of Zhu Yuhuan's water-blue Taoist robe sway, and then he disappeared into the crowd, looking more elegant.

Only when Zhu Yuhuan's figure completely disappeared did Shen Guangci breathe a sigh of relief.

It is said that Princess Shunde was favored and envied by everyone, but that was due to her outstanding character. How could anyone else have had this opportunity? Otherwise, why would the world only know Princess Shunde and not the other two?

Seeing his son beside him staring blankly, Shen Guangci nudged him with his elbow and said, "What are you looking at? How dare you look at His Highness's figure for too long?"

The third son, Chen Yanli, said with emotion, "The princess is very intelligent and clever. If I could have a daughter like you, I would definitely bring honor to our family and make my life worthwhile."

Shen Guangci said unhappily, "You have a good idea. I brought you three brothers out to do business so that you can inherit the family business. If you three fail to seize the opportunity, His Highness will find someone else to do business with. I wonder if you can still laugh then."

Upon hearing this, the three of them hurriedly agreed and got up and left without further delay.