Chapter 113 She has an old friend
Jiang Jiu weighed it, looked at its quality, and was satisfied.
"Wait."
After entering the room, I don’t know what everyone had to talk about, but they all had smiles on their faces.
When Zhao Zhuoxi saw Jiang Jiu coming in, the corners of his mouth curled up.
Then Jiang Jiu replied: "Your Majesty, Madam Chang, and the three Miss Changs wish to see you."
Chang Mingyuan frowned slightly, but before he could say anything, he saw Zhao Zhuoxi waving his hand.
"I heard that Lord Chang's daughters are all talented women, proficient in music, chess, calligraphy and painting. I would like to meet them. Please come in."
Mrs. Chang came in with her three daughters, and Jiang Mingyue was sitting at the very end.
Zhao Zhuoxi glanced at them calmly and stretched out his hand.
"You, what can you do?"
The girls of the Chang family all stood there with their eyes on the nose and their noses on the heart. When they heard Zhao Zhuoxi's voice, they looked in the direction of the finger and found that it was Jiang Mingyue.
They were all sulking in secret.
There are only two girls in the Chang family who are waiting to get married, and Jiang Mingyue is the only widow.
Mrs. Chang didn't want to bring her to see the two princes, but Nanny Qian just asked, "Why can't you bring her?"
Mrs. Chang actually brought her here.
Unexpectedly, as soon as she arrived, she was really favored by King Qi.
Mrs. Chang quickly stepped forward to smooth things over: "She doesn't know much, why not let them play for the prince together..."
Zhao Zhuoxi did not comment and nodded slightly.
The warm pavilion was large and warm. Zhao Zhuoxi found that most of the ministers in the court had come and were drinking in the warm pavilion with Chang Mingyuan.
One after another, women came to perform, and he watched with neither surprise nor joy.
The Chang family's daughter came, and Zhao Zhuoxi suddenly tilted his head and asked Chang Mingyuan.
"Is this Jiang's daughter?"
Chang Mingyuan's expression changed, and he had no choice but to answer, "Yes."
Suddenly, Zhao Zhuoxi asked, "Master Chang, how about letting her be my concubine?"
Chang Mingyuan's heart skipped a beat and he unconsciously glanced at the Sixth Prince Zhao Zhuoran.
"This... girl is not worthy. She is not innocent."
Zhao Zhuoxi held the wine glass and said nonchalantly: "But she is the young master of Yiyebianzhou Trading Company."
"The Yiye Pianzhou Chamber of Commerce originated in Su City and was doing very well, but they still haven't found their young master's child. Now Lord Chang has found the child. I wonder if the shopkeepers of Yiye Pianzhou have also followed Lord Chang."
The question was asked very directly, without even giving Chang Mingyuan a chance to react.
First, Chang Mingyuan went to check on Jiang Mingyue's situation. She seemed to know nothing about the incident of the small boat.
Afterwards, he asked the shopkeepers of Yiye Pianzhou, but it seemed that none of them had heard of the young master's return.
Sucheng is Zhao Zhuoxi's territory. If he says he knows nothing, then he is a prince in vain.
But if you ask him what he knows, some of the shopkeepers in Yiye Small Boat have already returned to the court.
The most important thing is that Chang Mingyuan doesn’t know how much Zhao Zhuoxi knows?
So he didn't dare to answer.
Although Yiye Pianzhou was a prosperous business fifteen years ago, the King of Qi was still young at that time and did not know much.
Over the past fifteen years, this small boat without an owner has been bought or suppressed by local officials, and its business is no longer as prosperous as it was fifteen years ago.
But their foundation is still there, and secretly, there are still many shop owners who refuse to cooperate with the court, because they know the production secrets, and even the government can't do anything to them.
You can't do without salt, you can't do without sugar.
Once the prices of salt and sugar go up, ordinary people will suffer.
Ordinary people who cannot afford to buy things will steal and rob, and officials will protect each other and collude with businessmen.
Chang Mingyuan didn't know how Zhao Zhuoxi knew Jiang's identity. When Zhao Zhuoxi asked this, his face turned red and white, like a color palette.
“She seems to know nothing.”
Zhao Zhuoxi snorted coldly: "It doesn't matter whether she knows it or not. What matters is her identity. With her, some of the old people in Yiyebianzhou will still follow Lord Chang to do business..."
"Master Chang, am I right?"
What should Chang Mingyuan say about this? He kept Jiang Mingyue at home to wait for the shopkeepers of Yiye Pianzhou to come. Now that Nanny Qian has come, are the other shopkeepers still far away?
"Your Highness, I didn't think too much about it. I just wanted to find a good husband for my daughter. She has been away from me since she was a child. I didn't expect her life to be so miserable. She married a husband who didn't suit her and was divorced... She was bullied because she didn't have a family to support her."
Who knew that Zhao Zhuoxi would not agree.
"I have also heard about this matter, Lord Chang. The man she married, Mr. Lu, happened to be very compatible with me. But it was not Mr. Lu who wanted to divorce her, but she wanted a divorce. When she found out that she was the daughter of the Left Prime Minister, she insisted on getting a divorce and threatened to take her life."
"My friend is really tough. She actually divorced. Otherwise, with a strong backer like you, if I were her husband, I would definitely follow you to Beijing."
Chang Mingyuan gave two bitter smiles. He had never expected that his daughter had any connection with the King of Qi.
Zhao Zhuoxi smiled meaningfully: "Okay, then please trouble Master Chang to find a good husband for her."
"As for the business of Yiye Pianzhou, I have already proposed to the emperor that the salt-making technology should be confiscated. After all, the court is in control, so the price of salt will not be chaotic."
"I have already bought the salt fields along the coast of Suzhou."
The meaning is very clear: no matter how powerful a small boat is, it cannot fight against the imperial court.
Chang Mingyuan shouldn't be too selfish. The imperial court can help a small boat grow bigger, but it doesn't necessarily allow court officials to interfere in the boat's business.
The private conversation between the two began and ended with the music.
No one knew what the two were talking about, but it seemed like they were having a great time.
Zhao Zhuoxi suddenly asked again: "Master Chang, why don't you agree that I should marry her? Or do you think the rumor is true?"
Chang Mingyuan shuddered: "What rumor?"
Zhao Zhuoxi stroked his chin, thinking: "The shopkeepers of Yiye Pianzhou have spread rumors that the daughter born to Jiang Shi was not Chang's, but the third..."
Before he could finish his words, Zhao Zhuoxi denied it himself.
"I guess they are all talking nonsense. Jiang went to Beijing with Lord Chang. How could there be someone else..."
Chang Mingyuan broke out in a cold sweat. The legendary Ninth Prince seemed to know more than he had imagined.
He gave two bitter smiles and dared not answer a word.
Unexpectedly, at this moment, Jiang Mingyue suddenly turned around, drew out the sharp sword of the guard beside him, and stabbed towards Madam Chang.
Her movements were too fast, and everyone's attention was on the dance, some even wanted to secretly eavesdrop on the conversation between Chang Mingyuan and Prince Qi.
They all pricked up their ears, and some even tried to translate what the two people were saying, just to find out what they were saying.
Little did she know that Jiang Mingyue's movements were too swift, and the long sword pierced directly into Madam Chang's heart, and Madam Chang immediately began to bleed.
“You, you…”
Everyone was panicked. Jiang Jiu reacted the fastest. He went forward and helped Madam Chang up. He seemed to be pressing the wound with his hand, but in fact he was poking the sword deeper into her.
"Quick, call the doctor, call the healer."
"Catch that person..." someone shouted in shock.
Jiang Mingyue pushed the man away and put the sword on his own neck.
"Who dares to come over here..."