"I am thinking that since this is the case, we might as well follow suit and purchase and process the sea god stone in the name of the royal family. Only in this way can we truly enrich the national treasury."
That's the logic. No matter how much money Xu Shi invests in acquiring Poseidon Stone, it's essentially for his own profit. This is definitely not a good thing in the long run. It would be better for them to do it themselves and keep the profits within the family.
As for how to do it, if I can't figure it out, I can learn. The empire isn't without artisans; they might even create better ornaments. Besides, for the people of the Hualan Empire, the existence of the royal family is always more reassuring than that of outsiders.
"Do we still need to make acquisitions?"
The young empress tilted her head. "Duke, didn't you tell me that you brought back a lot of sea god stones from this voyage?"
"this……"
Cheng Gujian rubbed his nose. He had brought back a lot, but he had also sent out quite a few before. Otherwise, where would so many goods come from on the market?
Now we can only try to recover little by little, but it's never too late to mend the fence after the sheep are lost.
"Please forgive me, Your Majesty."
He cupped his hands in greeting.
"It's alright, I forgive you!"
Dongfang Xiao pursed his lips and waved his hand indifferently, "Just go and do it. Issue my decree that you immediately arrange for people to be in charge of this matter... Oh, right, I forgot to ask what the Holy See's attitude is towards this matter?"
"Your Majesty, they don't seem to be paying much attention either, but given the current situation, I imagine the Holy See will certainly not miss out."
Having dealt with the Vatican for so many years, Cheng Gujian was quite certain of this. The matter was already out in the open, and if you could imagine it, they could also... Maybe the Vatican had an even greater advantage. They hadn't released as many Sea God Stones as he had, and they had even more in stock.
If they were to participate, the items might sell even better—the Vatican itself has many symbolic totems and symbols; they could simply create a version with the Neptune Stone, place it in the church, and tell the believers that it was blessed by God.
Given their nature, they'll probably just say "give whatever you feel is good," but for believers, they'd be happy to pay several times the price... The Vatican has been making money this way for years, and it's always worked.
Looking at it this way, their advantages are indeed greater, so we need to seize the opportunity even more.
"Then I shall take my leave."
Cheng Gujian dared not delay and got up to leave—he had the privilege of being given a seat, and he had been sitting and talking with Dongfang Xiao the whole time, a treatment that others could not enjoy.
"Yes, I trust you to handle it."
The young empress didn't try to keep him, but after thinking for a moment, she still asked, "Speaking of which, where is Xu Shiren? He was a hero in the fight against the sea god, so we should thank him."
Although there wasn't much publicity on the surface, it was just the two of them here. Dongfang Xiao also spoke frankly: if they were to cooperate again in the future, they couldn't just keep leaving the other person hanging.
"He should be recuperating on Silver Pine Island."
Cheng Gujian replied, "Your Majesty, they have always had a good relationship with Silver Pine Island."
"oh."
Dongfang Xiao nodded slightly. "Then convey my message: let him recover from his injuries first. Whenever he returns, he should come to the palace, where I will personally receive him. Isn't that sufficient courtesy?"
"yes."
Cheng Gujian replied that although it wouldn't matter if he went to "comfort" Xu Shi himself, since Dongfang Xiao had this intention, he couldn't stop her—not to mention that she was the Empress after all, and having her personally attend to it would better demonstrate the importance attached to it.
"Then I'll have to trouble you, Your Excellency."
Dongfang Xiao smiled, then instructed, "And another thing, you keep talking about the Sea God Stone, but I don't have a decent piece of jewelry yet. Can you get me one?"
As she spoke, she beckoned to her servants, who brought over several pieces of top-quality Poseidon Stone. "Here, can you perform that? You know, that one... right?"
"Yes, ma'am."
Cheng Gujian understood immediately. With a flick of his finger, he sculpted it into a lifelike little bird in an instant. "Please accept this, Your Majesty."
Okay.
Dongfang Xiao smiled happily and clapped her hands repeatedly, saying, "You've been good to me since I was little, and you do whatever I say."
"Your Majesty flatters me; this is the duty of a subject."
Cheng Gujian smiled and said, "Then I shall take my leave."
"Go ahead, go ahead."
The little queen held the bird with obvious affection, and said casually.
But shortly after Cheng Gujian left, the joy in her eyes vanished.
Instead, it was replaced by extreme malice.
Looking at the bird sculpture again, Dongfang Xiao just sneered, then squeezed it hard, and with a bang, fragments flew everywhere.
"His Majesty!"
The female official behind him exclaimed in surprise and rushed forward, saying, "You're injured... Oh dear, your hands are covered in blood..."
"It's alright."
The little queen's face remained calm and gloomy, as if she felt no pain at all.
Instead, she first took a keen look at the female official.
"You won't tell anyone... right?"
"...No, absolutely not..."
The lady-in-waiting was young and only served her daily needs. She had just arrived and had never seen Her Majesty the Empress show such an expression before.
She was shocked just by seeing it. Was this the same kind and amiable emperor she knew?
She was so frightened that she couldn't even speak, let alone make any other movements.
"Really? I also think you wouldn't. Your family members all work in the palace, and they've always been very loyal."
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