"I don't need you to be my slave!"
Xie Yuan looked at Zheng Yurong with a smile and said, "You've been to school and spent a few years in Lingnan, so you can be my stewardess."
She wasn't a servant, nor could she be called a female official; she was simply a hired "manager."
Whether or not Zheng Yurong can be considered a confidante depends on her future performance.
"Yes! This servant will obey Your Majesty's command!"
Zheng Yurong bowed respectfully.
In her heart, titles were not important; what mattered was that she would assist the princess well and do her utmost to repay her kindness.
"The princess wants to find a suitable place around He County to build a royal palace, is that right?"
Zheng Yurong quickly got into work mode.
She has an advantage over Zhao Jinse, as she has been in Yuezhou for three or four years.
To support her family, she went to the beach to work on the beach and did small business in the county town.
Having traveled to other areas for several years, the county officials have a good understanding of the surrounding area.
"That's right! The location can't be too close to the sea!"
Knowing that Zheng Yurong was aware of the situation, Xie Yuan confidently stated his conditions:
"The area should be large enough, and it's best not to encroach on farmland or forests!"
He County, as the seat of Yuezhou, was relatively prosperous.
A few years ago, due to the war between the Southern and Northern Dynasties, several families migrated here.
They gradually became a powerful and influential family in He County.
Yuezhou was a wild and sparsely populated area, so these powerful families took the opportunity to seize territory and reclaim wasteland on a large scale.
The vast farmlands surrounding He County were mostly divided up by powerful clans and officials such as the governor.
Of course, Helian Jue is the Prince of Yue. If he takes a fancy to that place, the governor's office must cooperate with the prince's office to requisition it.
Xie Yuan wasn't afraid of any potential conflicts with powerful clans.
But these kinds of things should be avoided if possible.
In addition, forests cannot be arbitrarily encroached upon.
Lingnan is not only home to migrant "Hakka" people, but also to local indigenous people.
For example, in He County, there are Li people.
The Li people can be found in the vast forests outside the county town or in the fishing villages by the sea.
In the eyes of the imperial court, these people were all uncivilized barbarians, ignorant, savage, and uneducated.
In fact, the Li people were not very obedient to the government.
Every few years, there would be disturbances where the Li and Liao people would kill government soldiers and storm government offices.
The relationship between the Li people and the government is very sensitive; if not handled properly, it can cause trouble.
Xie Yuan didn't want to become the trigger for war.
"..."
After hearing Xie Yuan's conditions, Zheng Yurong did not rush to speak.
She tried hard to recall, going through the names of several villages and towns she knew in her mind.
After a long silence, she cautiously spoke, "Your Highness, there is a place that would quite meet your requirements!"
Xie Yuan didn't rush to rejoice; she was worried that there might be more twists and turns to come.
Sure enough, Zheng Yurong continued, "However, that place is quite far from the county seat, and it is bordered by the sea on two sides!"
As Zheng Yurong spoke, she dipped her finger in water and gestured on the small table.
She drew a simple map of Hexian County.
The vast county town is shaped like a crescent moon, with one crescent moon extending into the sea.
Zheng Yurong felt that the best place to build the royal palace was in the crescent-shaped location.
Of course, on the map, the place looks very small, and it's even a sharp corner.
However, its actual geographical area is quite large, equivalent to the size of three or four villages, covering three to four thousand acres.
Moreover, if calculated from the straight-line distance at sea, the crescent moon is not too far from the center, only two or three miles away.
Unfortunately, there is no bridge across the sea, so it is impossible to cross directly.
If you travel by land, you need to go around half the circle, which makes the distance much longer.
Zheng Yurong explained in detail the advantages and disadvantages of this place.
Xie Yuan listened and nodded, and finally said, "It's really good! Let's go take a look first thing tomorrow morning!"
"Yes!" Zheng Yurong felt even more relieved to see that Xie Yuan was a decisive and efficient person.
Xie Yuan noticed that Zheng Yurong was too thin and clearly malnourished.
Xie Yuan also noticed that Zheng Yurong was wearing patched coarse cloth clothes and her shoes had worn holes in them.
The Zheng family's life was even more difficult and impoverished than the Zhao family's.
"Ruyi, prepare some cloth, food, and silver, and send them to the Zheng family."
Since Xie Yuan had taken the Zheng family away, he had naturally thought about how to settle them.
The male members of the Zheng family were military households, so Xie Yuan, in accordance with the laws of the court, "transferred" them into the Prince's Palace Guard.
Besides Zheng Yurong, the female relatives also included two literate sisters-in-law who were "hired" by Xie Yuan to become "assistants" under Princess Xie.
Like Zhao Jinse before her, she works for Princess Xie.
Xie Yuan is very generous to his employees, providing them with benefits such as clothing allowance, meal allowance, and transportation allowance in addition to their monthly salary.
"Thank you for your grace, Your Majesty!"
Zheng Yurong didn't want to say "thank you" directly because verbal thanks felt too cheap.
However, faced with such a benefactor, she seemed to have no other way to express her gratitude except by saying thank you.
The princess has shown me boundless kindness; I will repay her with my life, even at the cost of my life!
Zheng Yurong secretly vowed to do her utmost when working for Xie Yuan.
The next day, Xie Yuan did not take a carriage, but rode a horse with Zheng Yurong to that place.
The area is open and spacious, so there will be no conflict of interest with powerful clans, nor will it encroach on the territory of the Li people.
Standing on the open ground, looking towards the county town, you can still vaguely see the top of the county town gate tower across a shallow sea!
Xie Yuan roughly estimated that this place was less than a kilometer away from the county town.
My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
