Soon, the conversation between Consort Yu and the First Prince of Xihua Garden reached Xiao Mochen's ears.
After listening, Xiao Mochen sneered and said, "The fact that my mother and I were completely fooled by this kind of person shows how incompetent we are."
"Alright, let's ignore them for now. Since Father has bestowed upon me the throne, I naturally must go and express my gratitude."
To be honest, the emperor has given him quite a few things recently, but he seems uninterested in them all.
Ultimately, he still harbored resentment towards the emperor. If it weren't for him having so many beautiful women in the harem, there wouldn't have been such a mess.
Everyone says the emperor and empress have a deep love, but aren't there just a lot of women in the harem?
However, it's pointless to pursue these matters now.
When Xiao Mochen arrived at Hanlong Hall, the emperor was reviewing memorials. To be honest, the emperor was indeed a rare and good emperor. He was diligent in his duties and loved his people. He had never killed innocent people indiscriminately.
However, in Xiao Mochen's view, he had a soft-heartedness. He was good at being a ruler who guarded a city, but he was probably not good at expanding territory.
When the emperor heard that his son had come to express his gratitude, he quickly ordered someone to invite Xiao Mochen in.
Upon seeing the emperor, Xiao Mochen composed himself, knelt down respectfully, kowtowed, and said, "Your subject thanks Your Majesty for the generous reward. I am truly unworthy of being granted the title of king."
The emperor quickly stepped forward to help him up and said, "How can you say you feel unworthy of this?"
You have done a great service by escorting grain supplies to the northern border this time.
Marshal Huang has already submitted a memorial praising your achievements.
If these provisions are not delivered in time, our troops stationed in the north will likely starve to death.
This was my mistake. The thought of those disaster victims being displaced made me lose my composure and I made a foolish move.
Fortunately, you made amends in time, otherwise our Great Yan would have been in real danger. How could I face the hundreds of thousands of soldiers on the border?
Xiao Mochen comforted the emperor after hearing his words, saying, "Father, there is no need to blame yourself. Although I do not agree with your use of military funds for disaster relief, I can understand your difficulties."
Your subject merely escorted a shipment of grain.
In fact, the one who truly deserves credit is Ming Zhaoshuo. She not only donated all her possessions to purchase grain, but she also proposed the methods for resettling the disaster victims.
"Father, the one who should be most rewarded is Lady Mingzhao, not your son."
Yan Qingqing deserves the most credit in this matter, and Xiao Mochen cannot allow anyone to overlook his aunt's contribution. Therefore, seeing that the emperor has not yet taken any action, he is going to request an honor for his aunt.
The emperor saw that Xiao Mochen was not arrogant because he was granted the title of king, but instead became even more humble.
He was also very pleased that the government was able to be realistic about solving the problem of food supplies in the north and not take credit for it.
So he smiled and said, "Since I have appointed you as a king, you are naturally worthy of this throne."
Although I do not possess the great talent and ambition of the late emperor, I still have the ability to judge people.
As for Lady Mingzhao, I know her well. I know she deserves a great reward for such a meritorious service, but I haven't decided how to reward her yet.
By the way, how did you meet Ming Zhaoshuo? Did she know your identity? Why would she entrust such an important matter to you?
After listening, Xiao Mochen recounted how Yan Qingqing had saved him, how the Li family had treated him well during his year-long stay at their home.
Yan Qingqing, in particular, cared for him in every detail, treating him almost no differently than the other children in the Li family.
Of course, Xiao Mochen only said what he should say, and he didn't mention a single word about what he shouldn't say.
Moreover, according to Xiao Mochen's account, Yan Qingqing did not know his identity and only regarded him as an ordinary child.
The emperor felt sorry for Xiao Mochen after hearing this, and was filled with emotion.
This Ming Zhaoshuo is truly a lucky star for the Great Yan.
Not only did it solve the problem of food and clothing for the people of the Great Yan Dynasty and protect the lives of the soldiers of the Great Yan Dynasty, but it also saved his son.
This reward absolutely cannot be too light; he needs to think carefully about how to best reward Ming Zhaoshuo.
Meanwhile, Yan Qingqing, in addition to assisting Li Kaishan in the construction of Canghe Town, is also constantly researching new products.
The food processing workshop has launched two new products: vermicelli and potato starch noodles.
These items are more popular with merchants because they can be transported over long distances.
According to Li Xiang'an's statistics, orders are already booked until the second half of the year.
Yan Qingqing has researched and developed several new lipsticks at the cosmetics store, including apricot and peach blossom shades.
Not only are the colors beautiful and diverse, but the styles are also very unique, quite different from other lip balms on the market.
It was immediately sought after by many wealthy ladies upon its release.
When they get together, they always discuss which shade suits whom best, which color is more neutral, and which color makes their skin tone more flattering.
Owning all the shades of Canghe Lili lipstick would be something to be very proud of.
For both Canghe Town and Chengyang County, the Li family's business has expanded to its maximum scale.
If the Li family wants to achieve broader development or undergo a qualitative transformation in their business, they will probably have to expand beyond Chengyang County.
Although the reputation of Canghe Li Ji is now quite well-known throughout the Great Yan Dynasty.
However, having only this one source of goods is ultimately missing something.
Firstly, the journey is long, and these merchants come from all over the country to pick up the goods, which is not only time-consuming and laborious, but also some products are not easy to preserve during transportation, resulting in high costs.
Secondly, if any unforeseen circumstances arise, production is more likely to cease. It's said that a cunning rabbit has three burrows; if they want to expand and strengthen their business, they need several strongholds.
Thirdly, the labor force in Canghe Town is nearing saturation, and the Li family does need to explore new markets if they want to achieve long-term development.
Thinking of this, Yan Qingqing convened a family meeting with Li Xiangping and a few others that evening.
They haven't had a family meeting in a long time, and now when they do, not everyone is there like they used to.
However, when Li Jinxiu and Li Xiangyang heard that Yan Qingqing was going to hold a family meeting, they both carried small stools and sat there seriously waiting.
Li Xiangyang was still young and couldn't sit still, but Li Jinxiu had already entered the village school and sat there with the demeanor of a young lady from a wealthy family.
Soon everyone arrived. The main attendees were Li Xiangping, Li Xiangkang, Yuan Huiniang, and Li Yueniang.
Li Xiangping spoke first, asking, "Mother, is something important happening today that's all so grand?"
Yan Qingqing nodded and said, "There are indeed some important things I need to discuss with you, so I'll get straight to the point."
It's about the expansion of our family business. Our Canghe Liji has reached its peak in Canghe Town and even Chengyang County.
If we want to achieve better development, we need to expand into external markets.
In addition to building our directly operated stores, we also need to build new workshops in suitable locations.
Only in this way can our products truly capture the market of the Great Yan Dynasty and enhance the reputation of Canghe Li Ji.
Simply put, Yan Qingqing's goal is to open shops and build workshops throughout the Great Yan.
However, this is not a simple matter. In addition to having enough manpower, it also requires substantial financial support.
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