These past two days, Second Master Rong has been so anxious and stressed that he's developed a lot of blisters in his mouth.
Some damned person somehow managed to spread the news about fine salt to Xinjing.
This prompted the emperor to personally order the supply of large quantities of fine salt to Xinjing.
Fine salt that doesn't taste bitter is a rare find even in border towns.
They had no solution, which meant they couldn't supply the goods when the deadline arrived.
After that, instead of receiving a reward, he was met with a cold, large knife held to his neck.
When the steward of the Rong family saw the Second Master return to the courtyard, he quickly ordered a maid to serve him a cup of hot tea.
Master Rong, whose mouth was already bitter and sore, smashed the tea on the ground after taking his first sip.
Hearing the teacup fall to the ground, the maid stopped abruptly as she turned to leave the room, turning back to look at Master Rong.
He sat in the armchair with a livid face, and the steward quickly beckoned to her, signaling her to clean up the ceramic shards and tea spilled on the floor.
The maid immediately realized what was happening and quickly turned around to get a broom.
After the maid left, Second Master Rong, abandoning his usual refined demeanor, stood with his hands on his hips and began to curse loudly.
After finishing his rant, he finally calmed down and said, "Go and have someone investigate who produced this fine salt, and find out the truth as soon as possible."
If they do not follow the imperial edict, then they can only wait to suffer the consequences!
He quickly found out about the saltworks of the Prince of Libei, and now he finally understood why Qin Shiyu dared to come to his door to ask for money.
Their love is waiting for them here!
There was no other way; to save his life, he had to bow his head.
That same day, Master Rong instructed the saltworks manager to submit a list to the owner of the saltworks.
Song Yanqing received a number of lists one after another, and the amounts on them were very satisfactory.
The method of making fine salt could not be passed on, but they could transport all their coarse salt to the salt field for purification and refinement.
Therefore, Song Yanqing specifically instructed that the salt fields expand production.
As a large amount of silver was being transported into the commander's tent, An Yi was checking the inventory against the list.
Seeing the money filling the tents, Lu Qiqi couldn't help but ask curiously, "Where did all this money come from?"
An Yi carefully checked the list, and upon hearing Lu Qiqi's words, he looked up from the register and said to her, "Your Highness, this money was donated by the salt merchants to the soldiers suffering on the front lines."
So that's how it is. Lu Qiqi realized that she had also looted a lot of gold and silver treasures from the village that An Jiu burned down.
That money belonged to those devils, stolen by murdering others; it was all ill-gotten gains, stained with countless amounts of blood.
She felt no burden at all knowing that she could use the money to exchange for food for the soldiers.
That night, Song Yanqing saw Lu Qiqi directing people to move boxes of things into his tent.
There were more than eighty boxes.
Song Yanqing's gaze toward Lu Qiqi became increasingly unclear, and he even suspected that Lu Qiqi was proposing marriage to him!
After the guards carrying the boxes left, Lu Qiqi casually opened a few boxes, and the gold and silver jewelry inside was almost dazzling.
An Yi, holding a notebook and pen, was dumbfounded when he saw the box, which wasn't big but was piled high.
He turned to look at the prince, only to see an indescribable expression on the prince's face, which seemed to suggest a hint of smugness.
After Song Yanqing realized what was happening, he walked up to Lu Qiqi and asked, "Where did all this money come from?"
Lu Qiqi said, "On the way to the border town, we came across a cannibalistic village. I took all the money, and An Jiu burned the village to the ground."
Song Yanqing remembered this matter, since An Jiu had reported it to him after returning.
Seeing that he didn't speak, Lu Qiqi said directly, "These ill-gotten gains are most suitable to be used to solve the problem of food shortage in the military camp!"
You don't need to worry about this anymore.
Hearing this, Song Yanqing felt very comforted, and he even wanted to get closer to the young girl in front of him.
Before he could even get close, he heard Lu Qiqi's greedy voice, "Although this money was plundered, it's all for my future retirement by marrying a son-in-law. You have to give me a written agreement, and I'll have to pay it back in the future."
Upon hearing the words "recruiting a son-in-law," Song Yanqing's lips curled up into an increasingly wider smile.
He was willing to sign a written agreement, and since Lu Qiqi had made this request, he would certainly put her at ease.
He walked up to the desk and wrote down the agreement.
Lu Qiqi looked at the blank space and asked An Yi to count it before filling in the amount.
An Yi tallied up the silver delivered by the salt merchants, the silver confiscated from the Cen family, and the silver delivered by the Kang Le Township Lord. He roughly calculated that the army would have no problem getting through the winter.
With the issue of money resolved, Lu Qiqi still hadn't asked where she would buy food with the money.
After experiencing floods in the south and droughts in the north, the Great Jin Dynasty had exhausted its granaries, even with ample supplies for disaster relief and military expenses.
Without hesitation, Song Yanqing replied, "The neighboring country of Dayu is rich in grain and ironware. We can buy grain from them."
However, there is a section of land bordering Tatar territory, so we must proceed with caution.
We must be careful. If those Tatar bastards steal the silver, all our efforts will have been in vain, and we'll have given the enemy plenty of food and supplies!
After Song Yanqing's detailed explanation, Lu Qiqi learned that the Dayu Kingdom was the richest of the five kingdoms.
The land there is fertile, producing abundant grains, rich in iron ore resources, and the local people are very open-minded.
Hearing his words, Lu Qiqi couldn't wait to see it for herself. She blinked her big eyes and asked, "You praise the Dayu Kingdom so highly, have you ever been there?"
Song Yanqing paused for a moment, then chuckled twice and said, "Of course I've been there!"
If he were merely a wandering swordsman, he would probably not only have to personally explore the magnificent landscapes of the Great Jin Dynasty, but also the mountains, rivers, lakes, and seas of other countries.
The two looked at each other, and then Song Yanqing said, "After the list of silver is finalized, I will personally make a trip to the Great Yu Kingdom."
If you... or Aunt Xiang need anything, you can always ask An Yi for help.
Upon hearing this, Lu Qiqi knew that Song Yanqing would not be able to return anytime soon.
She nodded, looking very obedient, and smiled, "Don't worry, I will protect the safety of my family. This journey will likely be quite dangerous, so you must take good care of yourself too."
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