Chapter 371 Letter
Western Rong, Xiacheng.
After experiencing the blow of the deaths of his son and wife, Qi Zhuanyu finally fell ill this spring.
Qi Zhuanyu appointed the eldest prince Qi Hongzong as the crown prince, and Xirong was temporarily appointed as regent.
After suffering nearly two years of drought, the Western Rong were hit by locust plagues, plague, and snow disasters one after another.
Today, the Western Rong no longer possessed the strength they once possessed when they invaded the Great Zhou. To ensure their rapid recovery, Qi Hongzong, despite his arrogance, dispatched troops to Bohai Commandery and other places in Lingnan to learn local governance methods.
Whether it was agricultural farming methods or advanced agricultural tools from Lingnan, the spies passed them all back to the Western Rong.
In addition, he also tried to find pharmacies in Lingnan to buy medicinal materials to treat the plague.
As early as the Chinese New Year, Doctor Xue had already developed pills to treat the plague.
Although the plague in Lingnan, Bohai County and other places has been brought under control, people in other places still occasionally contract the plague due to contact with infected substances.
However, with the previous experience of curing the plague on a large scale, people are no longer afraid of the plague.
Many people who need to go out to do business or find relatives will go to the pharmacy to buy a few bottles of plague pills before leaving.
There were even merchants who bought pills specifically and sold them in places like Xirong and Rouran, exchanging them for local horses, furs, and other supplies, which they would then return to trade.
For the sake of the local economy and out of humanitarianism, Jiang Tangtang did not restrict the export of pills.
Nowadays, pills from pharmacies have become one of the most sought-after commodities in Lingnan.
There are long queues outside the pharmacy every day. As soon as the pills come out and all kinds of pills are displayed, they are almost sold out.
Besides plague pills, fever-reducing and blood-tonifying pills also sold very well. However, other than plague pills, many other pills were subject to restrictions. Some were only available to medical insurance recipients, while others were subject to purchase restrictions.
The most popular medicine sold by drug dealers is pills for treating plague.
Thanks to the plague pills produced by Lingnan Pharmacy, the plague in Xirong finally improved.
After listening to the report from his subordinates, Qi Hongzong breathed a sigh of relief and ordered his subordinates to continue purchasing medicine in large quantities.
Only by controlling the plague can Xirong quickly restore its national strength.
To this end, he did not hesitate to empty the national treasury to purchase medicine.
As he was speaking, a guard suddenly came to report, "Your Highness, there's a man outside who claims to be a close confidant of the Great Zhou Emperor. He says that the Great Zhou Emperor wrote a letter to Your Majesty before his death and wanted to hand it to him personally. He has a token of trust with him, and it seems that he is indeed a close confidant of the Great Zhou Emperor. I have ordered someone to apprehend him. Would Your Highness like to see him?"
After saying this, he handed the token to the young eunuch beside Qi Hongzong and presented it up.
Qi Hongzong frowned as he looked at the token sent to him. "The Emperor of the Great Zhou has been dead for so long, why did you send the letter only now?"
The guard said, "According to him, he was trying to avoid being pursued by the Lu family rebels, which is why he was late. I wanted to search him, but he threatened to commit suicide if I disrespected him. That way, you will never see the letter again. He said it was very important."
Qi Hongzong said, "Bring the man up here. I want to see him in person."
Soon, the confidant who claimed to be the Emperor of the Great Zhou was brought up. Qi Hongzong squinted his eyes and looked at the man in front of him.
This man was not only short, but also very thin. Although he had a few large black moles on his face, a closer look revealed that he had delicate features. If it weren't for those moles, he would have been a dignified man.
He guessed that the other person had changed his appearance and deliberately concealed his true appearance.
He instinctively disliked such a secretive person, "Where is the faith?"
Xiao Qinyun said: "Your Highness, just follow me to a place and you can get it. But Your Highness must agree to one condition of mine."
Qi Hongzong asked, "How do I know this isn't a trap?"
Xiao Qinyun and Qi Hongzong looked at each other, and clearly saw the displeasure in each other's eyes. She smiled and said, "Your Highness, can you give me a basin of water?"
Qi Hongzong raised his hand to the palace servants serving beside him, and soon, two eunuchs brought water and washing utensils.
Xiao Qinyun took out a special potion from her body, applied it on her face, washed it with clean water, and then raised her hand to remove her hair.
With her black hair loose, a woman with fair skin and delicate face appeared in front of Qi Hongzong.
She winked at Qi Hongzong and said, "Your Highness, I am not a close confidant of the Great Zhou Emperor. I am his daughter, the Fourteenth Princess Xiao Qinyun. I have only one request: after you get the letter, you must marry me as the Crown Princess."
Qi Hongzong sneered, "Don't even mention that the Great Zhou has already perished. Even if it hadn't, you, an unloved princess, have no right to be my Crown Princess of Xirong."
Xiao Ye had countless women in his harem, and he had given birth to many princes and even more princesses. Even if the Great Zhou hadn't perished, a princess like this, who was ranked in the teens, would probably have been destined to marry into a foreign alliance.
How could he let a princess who was married to a foreign country sit in such an important position as the Crown Princess?
Xiao Qinyun bit her lip tightly. She knew that what Qi Hongzong said made sense. In fact, if she didn't understand her own status, she wouldn't have sought another way out.
After weighing her current situation in her mind, she compromised and said, "Then I want to be your concubine. Concubine is my last bottom line."
Qi Hongzong sneered, "You're using a letter that I don't know if it will be of any use to me, Xirong, in exchange for my position as a concubine. You're really calculating."
Xiao Qinyun's face turned grim. Hiding under her sleeves, she clutched her palms tightly and said, "That letter is very important. If my father hadn't been murdered, I wouldn't have given it to you, leaving you, the Xirong, with nowhere to turn to."
Qi Hongzong stared at her for a moment, then suddenly smiled and said, "As you wish! Where is the letter?"
It's just a matter of having one more woman to support. It's not like he can't afford it.
Xiao Qinyun slowly loosened the hand hidden under her sleeve, "Your Highness, please allow me to change clothes."
Qi Hongzong raised his hand and asked two palace servants to take it away. After a while, two palace servants carefully delivered a letter.
After reading the contents of the letter, Qi Hongzong immediately went to find Xiao Qinyun.
Xiao Qinyun had just come out of the bath, her hair still dripping with water. Several palace maids were behind her wiping her hair.
Qi Hongzong raised his hand, waved away several palace maids, took out the letter and placed it in front of her, saying, "Is the content of the letter true?"
"Absolutely true!" Xiao Qinyun took the towel and wiped her hair.
Although she was not valued in the palace in the past, she was born a princess after all, so she had no shortage of food and clothing, and she had servants to serve her.
But these few months of life have made her realize the hardships of the poor.
Even if she cannot become the Crown Princess, she must be an important person in Qi Hongzong's heart.
She looked at him and said, "Your Highness, do you now understand how important the news I have brought you is?"
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