Chapter 92 Old ginger is spicier...
"Your Highness, that was so careless! Aren't you dizzy?"
A short while later, as Xiao Dezi anxiously tried to treat the large bump on Qi Chengming's forehead with medicinal wine, Song Gu, having heard the news, rushed over to visit him.
Of course, he wouldn't use a reason like 'being injured while visiting the new emperor,' which might offend people. Instead, he calmed his erratic breathing for a few moments while waiting for the report outside the main courtyard before stepping into the main room and giving his usual official report:
"Your Highness, eight large ships bearing the insignia of the Wang family of Taiyuan have arrived. Someone has presented them with invitations, saying they are gifts to pay respects to Prince Rui."
“A message came from Mr. Huang that he had fallen ill in Fushan, Panzhou, with a team of more than 30 people. They received help from the locals and instead found a suitable place to build a salt field.”
"Eight new Wangji Money Shops have been established in Liuzhou and Lingnan, and they send their account books over every month. The Bai family reports that they found traces of the vouchers in Wuling..."
Qi Chengming had been listening and nodding, but then he suddenly asked, puzzled, "Why would Wuling have vouchers?"
Wuling is the Bai family's ancestral home, and they own their own money exchange. In Qi Chengming's early plans, there was no intention to target the Bai family. He couldn't let Bai Xuan contribute the most money and effort, only to have this fat golden rooster slaughtered and eaten in the end.
That would be too heartless and ungrateful.
So, who was it that just randomly showed the Bai family the Liuzhou voucher in Wuling? They couldn't exchange it for money.
"That's what I wanted to say. The Bai family discovered that merchants returning to the capital were carrying exquisite goods, and some merchants, for various reasons, were exchanging vouchers to make a living. The Bai family saw this as a profitable opportunity and wanted to merge the money shop into ours." Song Gu spoke in one breath, while discreetly observing the prince's injuries.
The young prince seemed to be in good spirits, except for a small, inconspicuous bump on his head that had swollen up and turned a dark color from the medicinal wine.
Xiao Dezi was a bit at a loss. He and Xiao Chengzi discussed it for a long time and found a few palace maids in the main courtyard. They asked them to quickly sew a headband. They didn't need any complicated decorations or patterns. The important thing was that it could be used soon.
They all knew their prince well. Perhaps he had been cooped up in the palace for too long. His prince was busy with this and that all day long and wouldn't stop because of a minor injury.
"Don't worry, Eunuch De, we're all very skilled at needlework. We'll be done in no time." The head palace maid with an oval face was named Gan Tang. She was also clumsy with words and had a quiet personality. Ever since Bi Shu rose to power, the old servants brought by the Second Prince had to be chosen from among the short ones. She was chosen as the head palace maid because she was the oldest. Usually, there was nothing much to do.
Qi Chengming disliked being served closely by palace maids, so these tasks were handled by Xiao Dezi and Xiao Chengzi. The wet nurse Liu sewed the prince's personal clothing, while the embroiderers in the manor sewed the annual garments. The palace maids could see their prince while sweeping and tending the flowers, but the only time they actually spent with him was occasionally bringing him water to wash up or delivering tea to his study.
Now that Eunuch De had suddenly asked them to make forehead bands, Gan Tang was a little excited. After a while, she calmly instructed the maids to fetch fabric, patterns, and threads. Of course, she would follow his orders and make a simple one, but one without any patterns would not do—it couldn't be worn if it was too plain, so she needed to quickly sew some subtle patterns.
"..." Song Gu withdrew his gaze from the doorway, lost in thought.
The injury doesn't seem serious.
But...is it common for young people of Your Highness's age to be prone to injuries and illnesses?
He tried hard to recall.
There's not much to refer to in the palace. Other princes also had their share of bumps and bruises on the horse track. Childhood illnesses gradually decreased after the age of eight, though they still occurred occasionally, but not as frequently as the new emperor's...
Is the new emperor simply too weak from being worn down?
Or rather...
Song Gu felt heavy-hearted, and a suspicion he could no longer ignore was creeping into his mind. He swallowed the thought for the moment and continued, "The Bai family believes that exchanging their money for His Highness's tokens would earn them more money than continuing to use their own money shops, and would also help expand Wangji Money Shop."
"Why didn't Bai Xuan come to tell me?" Qi Chengming, who had been stunned by what he had just heard, sat up straight and asked.
"This was a decision made by the Bai family patriarch," Song Gu said tactfully.
Although Bai Xuan is now the head of the Bai family, he is far away in Liuzhou and is not very sensitive to the changes in Wuling. Moreover, if he wants to make a big decision about the money shop, it still needs to be made by the patriarch of the Bai family.
Qi Chengming slowly relaxed and sat back in his chair, accepting the situation readily: "He really has good taste..."
Old ginger is spicier.
At first glance, it seems as if Old Master Bai has handed over his family's most important treasury. This is a huge gamble. As long as Liuzhou continues to use the vouchers, the Bai family will not only have all their money back, but they will also have gained the prince's favor, made huge profits, and have easier access to their funds on a daily basis...
Most importantly, so much time has passed, and Old Master Bai may have found out about that news through some means.
Converting the Bai family's money shops into ticket-based transactions wasn't a selective decision; it actually saved their lives.
It's clear that there's a reason why Grandpa Bai has built such a large business and is still managing it at his age.
Qi Chengming agreed to the matter and then took the letter written by Mr. Huang and read it again.
Besides the salt fields that Song Gu had just reported, Huang Dong emphasized the shipyard in his letter. He had found a suitable location, but it had been delayed due to illness. As soon as he recovered, he organized people to design the detailed blueprints. He would care about this matter even more than the salt fields.
The eight large ships of gifts from the Wang family of Taiyuan… Prefect Mu had mentioned them last time. Qi Chengming glanced at the visiting card, which stated that the official was unable to come in person due to his official position, so he had asked his own brother to accompany him on the ship to pay respects to the Prince as a sign of courtesy. Qi Chengming understood the situation and replied to Steward Song, “Handle the gifts on the eight ships, settle the person in, and make sure he’s rested enough. I’ll see him again first thing tomorrow morning.”
"Understood." Song Gu stood silently while the new emperor was lost in thought, seemingly able to empty his mind. But after the new emperor spoke, he remembered everything clearly.
"...?" Qi Chengming flipped through the pages and found a thick stack of papers behind the visiting card, which contained letters from the capital.
But this letter was excessively thick.
Qi Chengming had a premonition, and when he opened it, he found it was true.
The maternal grandfather said that after a "simple" discussion with his maternal grandmother, they accepted that their grandson's family would stay in Liuzhou, and that their great-grandson would not bear the surname Wang. Their staying would allow them to support each other with Qi Chengming. However, Old Uncle Weiyong still hoped that his grandson could bring his wife and children back to Beijing sometime in the future to pay respects to their ancestors and allow them to meet him.
As for his grandson's letter about wanting to rejoin the army, Old Uncle Weiyong wanted Qi Chengming to persuade his grandson not to act impulsively. He suggested that it would be safer for Qi Chengming to contact his old subordinates.
They are still investigating the matter of Nurse Liu in the capital. They discovered that the Third Prince's maternal relatives were secretly active, so they dared not act rashly and could only continue to investigate slowly.
...Besides these, there were long passages of warm greetings from his maternal grandparents, their affection leaping off the page. Although the questions were always similar, Qi Chengming read them with great relish, never tiring of the small, everyday details in the letters:
Winter passed, and Old Man Weiyong's old injury had healed. He was full of energy, eager to get up and train. At mealtimes, he insisted on eating a whole bowl of goose meat, just like the ancients, which resulted in him needing to see the doctor two more times. His grandmother, furious, scolded him and herded a flock of geese to peck at Old Man Weiyong, determined to teach him a lesson…
Qi Chengming laughed out loud.
He couldn't bear to think about that chaotic scene.
Grandmother is awesome!
When the letter reached the part about his younger cousin, Wang Shuo was practically beaming with joy. He happily explained that finding his older brother was also related to his craving for bayberries, so he was eager to see his brother again. He had already planned that if his brother made things difficult for their future children, he would have two more children and choose a good one to be adopted by his brother to carry on the family line.
"...Didn't Grandpa hit the soles of his shoes enough?" Qi Chengming was terrified by his little cousin's outspokenness.
Although they are indeed family, in ancient times, with issues of inheritance, lineage, and military affiliation all involved, Qi Chengming would probably have hesitated.
Unlike my younger cousin, who dares to speak his mind. He bluntly said that if his older brother couldn't have a second son, he would have one and adopt him.
The letter didn't say how the ownership of the Wang family should be determined now that Wang Shou is "alive." Originally, it should all be placed on the younger cousin, Wang Shuo. Now that Wang Shou has returned home, as the eldest male in the next generation and planning to join the army, it seems that Wang Shou, including his future son who will bear the surname Wang, should continue to be given special attention.
In this situation, my younger cousin's outspokenness is quite sensitive; he could easily be misunderstood.
Qi Chengming calculated the ages of his cousin Wang Shou and his younger cousin Wang Shuo, and guessed that the two of them hadn't had much of a relationship back then. This accident... both sides are relatives, and Qi Chengming was already worried about them.
But then he thought of his older cousin's gentleness and kindness, and his younger cousin's honesty and thoughtfulness. Even after so many years apart, they were still so open and honest with Qi Chengming; how could he not trust their character?
Qi Chengming slowly exhaled, looking at Xiao Dezi and Xiao Chengzi who had gone out to talk to the palace maids. At this moment, only Song Gu and he were in the main room.
This is the time to hand over important matters.
Qi Chengming no longer hesitated, turned around and went to the study, and came back with a sack of things.
"This crop is called corn. It has a high yield, but it consumes a lot of fertilizer," Qi Chengming carefully instructed. "Indeed... it's a new crop that my people discovered outside. We should plant it during the spring planting season. With it, we won't have to worry about this year's food. We should also inform Mr. Qin about this."
If the people of Liuzhou relied solely on potatoes, they might have to tighten their belts and barely get through this difficult year when they had to pay extra taxes and military pay. But if they had corn, things would be different.
Every part of the corn plant is valuable.
Corn can be ground into flour for storage, made into various pasta dishes, or ground into pulp for porridge. Corn silk is sweet and neutral in nature; steeping it in tea can promote urination and reduce swelling. Corn cobs can be pressed for oil, made into maltose, or used to make liquor. Corn stalks can be used as animal feed. Even corn leaves were absolutely not wasted in ancient times; people used them to hold all sorts of things…
Qi Chengming was giving these detailed instructions when Song Gu suddenly looked up, his gaze serious and sorrowful: "..."
"What's wrong?" he asked curiously.
"Your Highness..." Song Gu hesitated for a long time before speaking.
He felt that the new ruler sometimes didn't even bother to hide things from them anymore. The caravans hadn't returned yet, and Bai Xuan was in Liuzhou, so why was it that the new ruler always managed to discover completely unheard-of new crops...?
The high-yield crops were unheard of, so plentiful they seemed like divine food from heaven. Song Gu had been worried that the new emperor always brought down novelties, which were very useful, but their overuse had made him uneasy, and he couldn't help but worry about the potential consequences…
Now it seems that it really exists!
-----------------------
Author's Note: Qi Chengming: "?" You mean this bag? If you could get corn by knocking over a bag in ancient times, see how many people would be willing to knock themselves to death.
Song Gu (with a mournful face, ignoring): qwq...
This time it might be a small matter, but next time it could come at a much higher price!
(This is a make-up update for yesterday!)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com