Chapter 1835 Road Blockage (Update 2)
The prince couldn't help but look up at his wife, still puzzled, "Can't she go to Mingda and Changyu? Why does she have to do it in my East Palace?"
The Crown Princess smiled and said, "Because you also invited Bai Shan and the others, right?"
The Crown Prince frowned upon hearing this. "Changyu is about to get engaged, and Mingda is not young anymore. What is she planning to do?"
The Crown Princess said, "They are all young masters from wealthy families, and they are very polite. What can she do?"
Seeing that the prince was still frowning, she smiled and said, "When the time comes, have someone clean up the pavilion in the small garden for them to use. If Your Highness is worried, you can go along and take a look."
The prince then stopped objecting. He took a look at the menu in the princess's hand and heard that Zhou Man had borrowed it from her. He twitched his lips and thought to himself: What are you talking about discussing unresolved issues? I'm afraid it's all about food?
Two days later, Manbao happened to have no classes at the Imperial Medical Bureau, so she went to give acupuncture to the empress dowager early in the morning, and then returned to Chongwenguan to prepare lessons and edit books. In the afternoon, when Bai Shan and the others got out of school, she immediately packed up her things and ran to find them.
For the sake of liveliness and safety, Manbao also invited Liu Huan and Yin Huo.
With Liu Huan around, they could express their opinions on taxation to Minister Liu through him; with Yin Zuo around, as long as they didn't cause too much trouble in the palace, Lord Yin would protect them.
Manbao didn't hide her thoughts, so Liu Huan asked, "Is it too late for me to leave now?"
Manbao said, "Roasted venison, and the Xiaolingzhi, which I haven't tried yet."
She had never eaten it, and Bai Shan and Bai Erlang naturally hadn't eaten it either. In fact, like Zhou Man, they had never even heard of it before.
Yin Huo had heard of it, but had never eaten it.
He seldom eats grilled food, and this time he mostly came to sit and talk, so he probably had no chance to taste the delicious food.
But Manbao and Baishan sympathized with him, thinking that a life without delicious food would be incomplete, so they cut a small piece from the Xiaolingzhi and gave it to him, and also gave him a small piece of roasted venison, and then he had to eat his own soup.
Changyu couldn't help but look at him several times, then whispered to Manbao, "How pitiful."
Manbao was already staring at the Xiaolingzhi that had been assigned to his plate and asked, "Can I start eating?"
Mingda: ...
Chang Yu nodded repeatedly in agreement, "Alright, alright, the venison is already roasted. I didn't eat much last time, so I must have a good meal this time."
Everyone started to eat with relish.
Mingda couldn't help but eat several pieces. Then, seeing that everyone was busy eating and drinking, he asked Manbao, "Didn't you say you called everyone here to discuss unresolved issues?"
Manbao ate while saying, "Yes, but we have to eat our fill first. Look, it's still early. We can talk here before the palace gates are locked. Don't worry, I've already made an agreement with the Crown Princess."
Yin Huo had a small appetite and had already finished eating, so he put down his chopsticks and asked directly, "What is the unsolved problem?"
Manbao tilted his head to think for a moment, then stopped Princess Changyu who was about to speak and said, "Princess Changyu wants to invest in some business."
Yin Huo was stunned for a moment before asking, "Are you planning to ask everyone to contribute?"
Liu Huan thought about his wallet, then turned to ask Bai Erlang, who was busy eating, "If I borrow money from you to do business..."
"That's impossible," Bai Erlang rejected directly. "If even the capital for doing business has to be borrowed, what's the point of doing business?"
Liu Huan said, "I don't believe you didn't borrow money when you first bought the property. Did you save money in advance?"
Bai Shan said: "We didn't borrow any money. Our family gave us money directly. And we have some money saved."
Bai Jilang added: "Not old or young."
Manbao raised his hand and said, "I was the poorest then, but now I am the richest."
After all, she is a working person.
Liu Huan stared at them, "How did you save the money?"
Bai Shan and Bai Erlang said as a matter of course: "Monthly allowance."
Bai Erlang said, "Although our monthly salary is less than yours, it is still enough."
"You guys are really good at saving. You can even save your monthly allowance."
Bai Shan smiled and said, "If you were in our village, you would definitely be able to save money. We have to go to the big market to spend money, and we can definitely spend no more than twenty coins from the beginning to the end of the street."
Yin Huo, standing aside, said calmly, "Or if you're as weak as me and have no other use for it, you can naturally save it."
Chang Yu saw that they had gone off topic and couldn't help but knock on the table, "Can you get back to the point?"
Manbao: "Oh, yes, Changyu wants to do business, do you think she can do it?"
Bai Shan then asked what kind of business they were doing, what the estimated cost was, and if they needed any help.
Others also listened attentively.
Mingda looked at Manbao.
Manbao said, "I didn't tell them in advance, so you see, they don't think there's anything wrong with Changyu's business."
After she finished speaking, she looked at Bai Shan and the others and said, "Royal relatives and court officials are not allowed to engage in business."
Several people: ...
Yin Huo asked hesitantly, "Princess Changyu still intends to manage it personally? Just leave these matters to the servants."
Changyu immediately became confident and looked at Mingda, then at Manbao, "Look, they don't think there's anything wrong."
Manbao nodded and said, "That's the problem."
Bai Shan also realized it and said with a smile, "I see. You want to discuss how to prevent the powerful from bullying others and competing with the people for profit?"
Mingda asked: "Why not stop, but prevent?"
Bai Erlang said, "How can we possibly stop it? Wouldn't that be stirring up a hornet's nest? Not only us, but even His Majesty can't do it."
Yin Huo and Bai Shan Manbao nodded together. This was also the reason why Manbao organized the group. It was impossible to stop it, but they could casually discuss how to better prevent it.
Yin Huo asked, "What are you planning to do after discussing this?"
Man Bao asked, "If we can come to an agreement, let Liu Huan and Minister Liu convey it. If we can't, we can write a memorial to His Majesty and ask him to give us an explanation. I'm actually quite curious. If my family's medicinal herbs and ointment business becomes extremely successful in the future, will the court punish me? And how will they deal with me..."
Everyone: ...
Even Bai Shan didn't expect her to have such thoughts, and was speechless for a long time.
Manbao met his gaze and said, "This is called taking precautions. Isn't that normal?"
Liu Huan, still confused, quickly stopped him. "Wait a minute, what does this have to do with us? If you know it's a hornet's nest, why do you still want to poke it?"
He was not stupid. Although they spoke in a roundabout way and it took him a lot of effort to understand, as the grandson of the Minister of Revenue, he still knew that it was a very sensitive matter for powerful people to be involved in business affairs.
He turned to Zhou Man and said, "With your small business, can you sell a hundred bottles of ointment in a month?"
Manbao: "...No, it seems like there are more than 20 cans now?"
"So what are you worried about with such a small workshop?" Liu Huan, who had been influenced by it since childhood, said, "So what are you worried about? Forget about the fact that you didn't sell that ointment. Even if you did, it wouldn't be a big deal. You're an imperial physician, a doctor. Lubricating cream is also an ointment, after all. What's wrong with you prescribing it to your patients?"
Manbao immediately said to Mingda Changyu, "Did you hear that? Did you hear that? These are all loopholes. There are many more like this. If we want to avoid competing with the people for profit, there are many loopholes that need to be filled."
Everyone: ...He is so ruthless that he even blocks his own way.
See you tomorrow
(End of this chapter)
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