Chapter 73 Chapter 73 Because of the Jin Wu Emperor's sudden inspiration...
Because Emperor Wu of Jin rewarded Shen Xuan with two dishes on a whim, many more eyes were cast towards him in the hall. Even Lord Xue looked at him with mixed emotions.
After finishing the meal with great difficulty, Shen Xuan stood up and followed the other officials and their wives to leave the table. Halfway through, he was stopped by several palace maids who said, "Brother Shen, the Queen Mother wants you to come over to talk. Come with us."
Shen Xuan didn't expect that the Queen Mother still remembered him, so he followed her.
When I arrived at the Queen Mother's bedroom, I found that the Queen was there again. On the table were the soaps that he had given to the eunuchs in advance when he entered the palace.
"This child is better than last time." After seeing Shen Xuan, the queen waved her hand and said, "Come, sit over here and let the queen mother take a closer look at you."
Shen Xuan obeyed the order and sat on a mother-of-pearl chair near the Queen Mother. The Queen Mother’s eyesight was poor, but she could see clearly when she was closer.
She looked at Shen Xuan carefully again before saying, "He is whiter and has gained some weight than last time. He looks more like Shu'er."
Jiang Shu is Shen Xuan's biological mother. The Queen Mother has some affection for Shen Xuan because of the former wife of Duke Shen.
The Queen watched from the side, and she smiled and took over the conversation and said, "By the way, I heard from the eunuchs that these were your gifts to the palace, which was very thoughtful."
"I heard that you opened a shop outside, selling these soaps, and your business is very prosperous, which shows that you are also capable."
Shen Xuan was shocked to see that the queen stayed in the palace and never left the house, but knew everything that happened outside the palace.
He nodded quickly and said, "Yes, these soaps are all made by me. In addition to those sold outside the palace, there are also some new varieties. There are soaps made of milk, pearls and medicinal herbs, which are good for beauty and skin care, and are specially presented to the Queen Mother and the Empress."
"They are just some worthless little things. They are suitable for your own use or for rewarding the palace maids."
After hearing this, the queen asked her maid to open a box of soap sent by Shen Xuan.
She liked the uniquely shaped and fragrant soaps inside, and was also tempted by the functions that Shen Xuan introduced. So he handed it to the Queen Mother and said, "I think these soaps are better than those sent by the Ministry of Internal Affairs. From now on, it would be better to let Chen Ge'er's shop supply these things in the palace."
The Queen Mother took a closer look at the soaps and thought they were indeed exquisite, so she nodded and said, "Okay, you decide."
Shen Xuan had not expected that he would be given such an imperial errand after visiting the palace. He was overjoyed and immediately knelt down and kowtowed to thank the Queen Mother and the Queen.
At this moment, a voice of greeting suddenly came from outside the Queen Mother's bedroom. Emperor Wu of Jin strode in and sat down next to the empress.
Shen Xuan didn't expect to meet Emperor Wu of Jin at the Queen Mother's place. He panicked and immediately shouted "Long live the emperor" and lowered his head.
Emperor Wu of Jin first carefully looked at Shen Xuan, who was kneeling on the ground, before letting him stand up and look up.
Shen Xuan then raised his head and took a closer look at the emperor for the first time.
He was not young anymore, about fifty years old, and had a small moustache. If Shen Xuan's father, Duke Shen, were still alive, he should be only a few years older than him.
Emperor Wu of Jin looked at Shen Xuan's face carefully before saying, "You look like your mother, not your father. But I heard from Lord Ye that it was you who came up with the idea of relocating disaster victims in the suburbs. You are like your father in this respect, and you are quite courageous."
Who would have thought that Lord Ye would actually inform Emperor Wu of Jin about his idea? Shen Xuan was surprised, but at the same time, he felt a little complicated when he heard Emperor Wu of Jin mention his biological father and mother.
"When your father was young, he was very flamboyant and fearless. He went to the palace banquet with me and said that the food was not tasty, and only the crispy pigeon and the fish spine in wine were worth a try." Emperor Wu of Jin said, "I saw that you only ate these two dishes today. Do you think the banquet in my palace tastes bad?"
When Shen Xuan heard this, he finally understood why Emperor Wu of Jin specially rewarded him with these two dishes at the palace banquet.
The Duke Shen mentioned by Emperor Wu of Jin was a stranger to Shen Xuan. As for what his biological father looked like, after so many years, Shen Xuan no longer remembered it.
“Your Majesty, I was still very young when my parents died, and I no longer remember their appearance or temperament,” Shen Xuan said to Emperor Wu of Jin.
Emperor Wu of Jin was stunned for a moment. Seeing Shen Xuan lowering his head and looking at someone unknown, he suddenly asked, "Brother Shen, I'm going to ask you a question. You must answer it well and don't lie."
"I demoted your father to guard the border of Yanyun, and it happened that a foreign tribe attacked, causing the death of your parents and brother, and the decline of the Shen family. You went from being a proud son of the emperor to being in the countryside, and have lived a helpless life for many years. Do you blame me?"
Shen Xuan swallowed his saliva. Emperor Wu of Jin's question was too sharp.
Duke Shen and his wife and his brother all died because of Emperor Wu of Jin. How could Shen Xuan have no grudges after so many years?
But Emperor Wu of Jin is the current emperor and will not tolerate any disrespectful words. He also said that one must not lie, and if Shen Xuan did not answer well, he would be punished for deceiving the emperor.
Shen Xuan thought carefully in his mind how to satisfy the emperor in front of him.
He looked up at the old Emperor Wu of Jin. He had white hair on his temples, but his eyes contained a cold gleam.
He won the battle for the throne by himself and held great power, holding the lifeline of the Jin Dynasty in his hands.
What a smart person he is. Before recruiting me into the palace, he must have already checked everything about me.
Such a smart man, everything about you is exposed in front of him, so there is no point in lying to him.
Shen Xuan thought for a while before finally speaking: “As a son, I lost both my parents. If I say that I don’t blame Your Majesty at all, then I am unfilial.”
The Queen Mother and the Empress were both shocked when they heard this, and looked at Shen Xuan in disbelief.
Emperor Wu of Jin's eyes flickered, and then he listened to Shen Xuan continue.
"But your majesty has been in power for more than 30 years, and the world has been peaceful and prosperous, the people have lived and worked in peace, and the Great Jin has become strong and prosperous. As a citizen of the Great Jin, I am very grateful for your majesty's power and virtue. I sincerely wish you a long life and that you can ensure that our Great Jin will always be peaceful and happy."
Emperor Wu of Jin was silent for a while, then he showed a hint of admiration in his eyes, and then he waved his hand and said, "If you were a man, you could serve as an official in the court and help me, but it's a pity that you are a boy."
"Go away. I'm afraid if you stay any longer, you'll get nervous and say something outrageous."
Shen Xuan retreated in a cold sweat. Although Emperor Wu of Jin's last words were sharp, he was not angry. It was obvious that he was satisfied with his answer.
He followed the eunuch with weak legs all the way, and only when he sat in his own carriage did he feel some reality.
After the carriage drove out, Shen Xuan sat in the carriage, but he couldn't help but shed two lines of tears.
When he was young, Duke Shen helped Emperor Wu of Jin to gain the throne. Later, because he had too much power in his hands, he was abandoned after his subordinates died, and ended up like that.
It’s all Duke Shen’s fault for overestimating his friendship with Emperor Wu of Jin and underestimating the emperor’s ruthlessness.
He relied on his good relationship with Emperor Wu of Jin and acted too ostentatiously. How could Emperor Wu of Jin, an emperor with a centralized style of power, tolerate having such an important minister around him?
When Shen Xuan returned, he found that the eunuchs from the palace and the officials from the Ministry of Works had been waiting at his door. Upon seeing Shen Xuan coming back, the eunuch opened an imperial edict with a smile on his face and handed over a lot of rewards sent from the palace.
What the Queen had told him before about purchasing soap still counted.
The Minister of Works signed a contract with Shen Xuan, and would come to Shen Xuan to purchase soap every month, earning at least one thousand taels of silver a month.
In addition, Emperor Wu of Jin personally wrote a plaque to bestow upon Shen Xuan the title of the best soap in the world.
When Shen Xuan saw the plaque, he couldn't help but raise the corner of his mouth in a mocking manner.
Emperor Wu of Jin was getting old and began to feel nostalgic. When he saw himself at the banquet, he couldn't help but think of his friends from his youth and remembered the kindness of Duke Shen.
This plaque was made by Emperor Wu of Jin because he felt guilty about it, so he made up for it in this way.
Moreover, Shen Xuan is a brother, and now he is at most a businessman.
He could live a good life and make a lot of money, but he could never enter the center of power in the Jin court. This was what Emperor Wu of Jin wanted to see most.
As soon as the first month of the lunar year was over, Shen Xuan hung the plaque bestowed by Emperor Wu of Jin at the entrance of Xuanzifang.
He should not waste this heaven-fallen wealth.
Although Shen Xuan was somewhat dissatisfied with Emperor Wu of Jin, he did a good job as a wise ruler.
Moreover, with Shen Xuan's strength, facing the emperor of the entire Jin Dynasty is just like an ant trying to shake a tree, so there is no need to think about things that are beyond his ability.
With this signboard bestowed by the emperor, Shen Xuan's Xuanzifang business is naturally booming.
After the New Year, he asked several employees to launch a new variety of soap. With the royal label, the price is even more expensive.
For example, milk soap was sold for five taels of silver per piece, while pearl soap and medicated soap with precious medicinal materials were even more expensive, costing ten taels of silver per piece.
Shen Xuan did not produce too many of these somewhat luxurious soaps. However, the famous families in the capital all liked to follow the trend of using the royal items in the palace, so naturally every household would come here to purchase a lot of soap to take back.
Compared with the business of Xuanzifang, the business of Xiyuan Xianwei has not been so good recently.
The reason was not that the food in the shop was not delicious, but that the prices of food ingredients continued to rise after the New Year. The price of a chicken had risen to two hundred coins per piece, and it was difficult to find a bushel of grain.
Shen Xuan had no choice but to raise the prices of fried chicken and red oil skewers as well.
In addition, the capital had been short of food for a long time, and the people had almost not enough spare money to buy food. Except for the wealthy families, there was naturally less money left to spend on these snacks.
Shen Xuan reduced the amount of fried chicken and red oil skewers he made every day by half, but after selling them at high prices, his income did not decrease.
But there were no people queuing outside the door, and many other restaurants on the street were also doing poorly, with some even closing directly.
Fortunately, the weather is gradually improving, weeds are starting to sprout, and the river is showing signs of thawing.
After a few more days, there was more food outside and the victims returned home to sow seeds and plant crops. The refugee crisis in the suburbs of Beijing was successfully alleviated.
The crisis in the suburbs of Beijing was resolved, and Lord Ye received orders to reopen the city gates.
Many people in the capital could no longer afford food, so they ran to the suburbs to dig wild vegetables. The price of grain in the capital finally broke through the barrier of fifty taels per stone, and it was impossible to buy it in grain shops at all.
Speaking of the last time the Xue family paid rice, Marquis Xue went to the Xue family's side branches to borrow some money, using the title of marquis as a threat, and finally managed to collect 50 stone of grain.
However, he had agreed to return double the amount of grain after the New Year, but after the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, the grain shops in Beijing were already open. However, the Xue family found that they could not purchase any food at all. Not to mention returning the borrowed food, even the remaining food in the house was about to be used up.
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