Chapter 339 Tea-Horse Trade
Qin Yuwei's face changed slightly, and she rushed forward to open Dong Lanxin's bed curtains——
Dong Lanxin, who was only in her underwear, was as pale as paper. She was gasping for breath, clutching a corner of the bed curtain with both hands, and her eyes were wide open in pain.
"Someone come quickly, the Crown Princess is bleeding!!!"
Qin Yuwei immediately ran downstairs.
…
Nearly half an hour later, the turmoil in Ziwei Pavilion finally subsided.
Everyone had a look of shock on their faces. The maids and midwives from Ziwei Pavilion were kneeling on the ground. Even Dongzhu was trembling all over.
"Damn it!"
Yan Xiuyun's face turned pale, while Qin Yuwei stood behind him with a heavy expression, looking down coldly at everyone in the yard.
"You were all so busy seeking credit and reward that you left the Crown Princess alone in the room after giving birth. If Qin Liangyuan hadn't discovered it in time, you would have lost your heads!"
A midwife raised her head and said in defense:
"Your Highness, everything went smoothly during the birth. I observed you for a while and saw that you were safe and sound. I left because I didn't want to disturb you.
But who could have thought that the Queen would suddenly bleed profusely..."
"You still dare to quibble!" Yan Xiuyun's voice was furious, "Take them out, give them all thirty strokes of the cane, and banish them from the capital!"
Amidst the cries and shouts, those people were dragged out.
Qin Yuwei's cold gaze fell on Yan Xiuyun.
Just now he was only thinking about his son. If he had cared a little about Dong Lanxin's pain of childbirth and went to visit her as soon as possible, how could such a dangerous thing happen?
Fortunately, I went upstairs to take a look at it in a split second, called for help, and after a lot of trouble, I pulled Dong Lanxin back from the brink of death.
At this time, the happy event in the East Palace had turned into a funeral.
"Weier, today is all thanks to you."
Yan Xiuyun turned around and looked at her, and saw that Qin Yuwei's face was gentle and submissive, and her eyes were full of concern for him. He couldn't help but feel a little more pity for him in his gratitude.
Yan Xiuyun gently took her hand, speaking in a gentle tone, as if he was afraid of scaring her.
"I have to go to court. Concubine Zhou is too straightforward and cannot take care of many things. During the Crown Princess's recuperation, you will need to take care of the inner courtyard more.
You have done a great deed today. After I leave the court today, I will ask my father to promote you from Liangyuan to Liangdi. You will be by my side and assist me in the future."
Qin Yuwei smiled gently and said softly, "Thank you very much, Your Highness, for your kindness. This is what I should do."
Yan Xiuyun nodded with satisfaction and walked out.
Behind him, where he could not see, the little white rabbit's smile finally turned into frost on the abyss bit by bit.
Qin Yuwei was too lazy to even look at the figure from behind, and felt sorry for the Crown Princess.
Most of the royal family members are cold-hearted. In Yan Xiuyun's eyes, Dong Lanxin is probably just a tool that can bring political benefits.
In this deep inner courtyard, Dong Lanxin's true heart might have been misplaced.
Qin Yuwei shook her head regretfully and turned to enter Ziwei Pavilion.
…
The morning light shone obliquely, casting a huge shadow on the majestic Golden Temple Square.
Civil and military officials waited in the shadow, waiting to be called to court.
Zhu Lan was dressed in official uniform, and the worry between his brows had not yet faded.
The court meeting had not yet begun, and the officials nearby were whispering about something. Zhu Lan paid a little attention and found that the civil servants who supported the prince all had happy expressions on their faces.
"Sir Zhang, why are you so happy?" Zhu Lan came before the Minister of Revenue Zhang Lun and bowed respectfully.
Although Zhang Lun's rank was much higher than Zhu Lan's, as they were both imperial examination candidates, he naturally admired this young champion and said in a amiable manner:
"Zhu Xiuzhuan, you may not know, but I just heard the news on my way to court that the Empress of the East Palace has successfully given birth to a son. Your Majesty has a grandson now!
Your Majesty will be very pleased to learn of this."
"So that's how it is. That's great news." Zhu Lan responded with a smile, but his worries became even greater.
With such a big thing happening in the Eastern Palace, I’m afraid Yan Xiuyun doesn’t have time to go to Jingzhao Prefecture to bring Chen’s mother and daughter out.
Now I just hope Xu Shiming has told Yan Xiuyun what is going to happen today so that he can be prepared.
Not long after, Yan Changwen and Jingzhao Prefecture Governor Wu Chengqi arrived one after another and walked straight to the front of the queue of officials.
When passing by Zhu Lan, Yan Changwen smiled at her, as if he had already made up his mind about what to do today.
Zhu Lan frowned even more and looked back frequently. But until the roll call was over and all the civil and military officials lined up to enter the palace, he did not see the figure of Crown Prince Yan Xiuyun.
Then the emperor took his seat, and all the officials kowtowed and shouted "Long live the emperor!"
When the meeting began, the Minister of Rites Zhou Xianqing was the first to step out and said:
"Your Majesty, the Uzbek envoy Danqi has not left the capital yet because of the border tea-horse trade. Yesterday, he again wanted to see the emperor, but was stopped by me."
When Zhou Xianqing mentioned this matter, Zhu Lan also had some impression of it.
The horses of Wuzi were stronger and better than those of Daliang. However, the Wuzi people mainly ate beef and mutton, which was difficult to digest, so they had to drink tea, which was produced in abundance in Daliang. Therefore, several years ago, Emperor Liang agreed to implement a policy of tea-horse trade, which benefited both sides.
According to the current official price, 120 kilograms of medium-quality tea can be exchanged for a good horse, which is approximately equivalent to 80 taels of silver.
The Prince of Zhenbei controlled the border, and the tea-horse trade had to go through his hands. Each time, the court would allocate funds, and the Prince of Zhenbei would be responsible for purchasing tea from the people on the border, and then conducting tea-horse trade with Uzbekistan in the name of the court.
However, in recent years, the ambition of the King of Zhenbei has grown. He has deliberately lowered the price of horses to profit from it, causing great resentment among the people of Wuzi. As a result, they sent an envoy, Danqi, to the capital to meet with the Emperor and seek justice from him.
Dan Qi came to the capital half a month ago. In front of all the civil and military officials of Daliang, he loudly denounced the Prince of Zhenbei for abusing his power in the northern border and pretending to obey the Emperor of Liang.
Unexpectedly, after hearing this, Emperor Liang not only did not issue an edict to reprimand Prince Zhenbei, but also hinted that Wu Zi was greedy and said that the court would not intervene in the matter.
Danqi was so angry that he almost vomited blood. Unable to return to Uzbekistan to report, he simply stayed in the capital and was served with good food and drink by the Ministry of Rites every day. He kept clamoring to see the emperor.
"Your Majesty." Minister of Revenue Zhang Lun stepped forward and said.
"I think we should give the Uzbek envoy a definite answer on this matter. The policy of tea-horse trade has been established for a long time, and the trade price has always been determined by the government, and no one else can change it without authorization.
Now the King of Zhenbei has negotiated the price with Wuzi privately without reporting it to the emperor. I think this is inappropriate."
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