In the blink of an eye, there was not a single bird left in front of the Jufu Rice Shop.

"Is this a bluff?" Ju Youcai looked unconvinced and asked the waiter to move the table away and let him go out to see what was going on.

There were crowds of people on both sides of the river. The giant boss relied on his height and strength to squeeze in. Sure enough, he saw a row of fully loaded 400-ton grain ships on the Datong River, slowly approaching from the west, with no end in sight.

The sailors lifted the reed shed on the boat, revealing the sacks filled with rice. They even deliberately opened the sacks to show the white rice to the people.

The people of the capital cheered wildly upon seeing this. Although the rice was not for them, this directly shattered the lie of food shortage fabricated by the unscrupulous merchants. How could they continue to drive up prices?

Ju Youcai opened his mouth wide, his eyes wide as if he were a toad, and he couldn't figure out where all the rice came from. The guild had already received accurate information that the Yellow River had burst its banks in Pei County, and the 600-mile canal was blocked from shipping, so there would be no more grain transported north this year.

So where did these grain ships come from? Did they fly over from the south?

Just as he was full of doubts, he suddenly saw a number of eye-catching flags on the bows of those grain ships.

Some of them said "Princess Ning'an's Phoenix Carriage", while others said "by imperial order" and "by sea transport".

"The Princess... by imperial order... shipped by sea?!" People put the three signs together and thought they understood the truth of the matter.

"It turns out that His Majesty ordered the princess to transport food from the sea!" The people cheered again, some shouted "Long live the emperor", and some shouted "Eternal youth" to the princess!

"Did you really ship this rice from the sea?" someone on the shore asked loudly.

"Of course. We set sail from Chongming Island in Suzhou on the first day of the new year and arrived in Tianjin in ten days!" The sailors had practiced this over and over again, and their answers were clear and loud, making sure everyone could hear them clearly.

"Can you get to Tianjin from the sea?" The people of Beijing were shocked when they heard this. This was their blind spot. "Can it really be reached in just ten days?"

"Why not? The sea is open. During the Yongle reign, the imperial court transported grain by sea." The sailors answered loudly according to the standard answer: "And the Mongols have always used sea transportation. How can we be worse than them?!"

"That's impossible!" The self-esteem of the people in the capital was aroused, and they suddenly felt that sea transportation was not difficult at all.

"By sea route..." Ju Youcai's forehead was covered with sweat. He never expected that this would happen.

At this time, the eunuch Ji, who had specially gone to Tongzhou to welcome the emperor, came out of the cabin and clasped his fists to the crowd of onlookers and said:

"I am the chief steward of the Princess's residence. I have received His Highness' order to let the young and old know that the canal is indeed blocked. However, the current Emperor Longqing is kind and compassionate, and loves his people like his own children. He will never let the people under his feet starve."

When the people heard this, their eyes filled with tears and they cheered loudly.

When everyone was quiet, Eunuch Chicken continued to speak slowly:

"Therefore, His Majesty specially ordered the Princess to purchase 20,000 shi of grain from Jiangnan, and to try sea transportation to temporarily replace grain transportation. Your Highness, with your precious life, personally led the fleet north by sea, and indeed, the journey was safe and smooth, and they arrived at Tianjin Wei smoothly, followed the Dagu River into the Grand Canal, and reached Datong Bridge!"

"The Princess! The Princess! The Princess!" In the eyes of the people in the capital, the Princess had long been a living Bodhisattva. When the people heard that she risked her life for everyone, they were moved to tears and shouted her title passionately, much louder than the "Long Live the Emperor" they had just shouted.

The eunuch rooster waited with a smile on his face, and finally calmed down, then continued loudly: "All the grain shipped this time will be sold at the cost price of one tael and three stones on the spot!"

"Wow!" The crowd was excited. This is half the price!

If the boat wasn't in the river, they would have pounced on it right now.

"Everyone, don't rush, don't push!" Seeing countless hands reaching out to him, Eunuch Ji hurriedly said loudly: "Now that the sea route is open, there will be more grain ships arriving in Beijing, enough for everyone! Soon the supply will be open, and you can buy it at any time..."

The common people were calmed down, but Ju Youcai was completely panicked. He quickly shrank his neck, trying to slip away when no one was paying attention.

But how could the people let him do what he wanted? Countless hands reached out and grabbed his arms and clothes at the same time.

"Boss, don't go!"

"Go to your store and buy some rice. I'll sell it for 1 tael per dan!"

“Sell for three days!”

"If you dare not keep your word, I will smash your shabby shop!"

"Really? There's such a good thing? Let's go together!" Upon hearing this, the onlookers also started to make a fuss.

"This, this..." Ju Youcai wanted to jump into the river, but the people would never let him do that. They almost carried him to the nearby Jufu Rice Shop...

~~

More than 40 grain ships were led by Chen Huaixiu and Elder Niu to unload at the Caoyun Wharf. With Eunuch Ji taking care of them, there was nothing to worry about.

The eldest princess' boat continued to sail to the imperial pier. Someone from the palace came to inform her, and His Majesty ordered her to bring her children to the palace as soon as she got off the boat, and specifically ordered Zhao Hao to come along. So Mr. Zhao had no choice but to continue to follow his godmother.

Listening to the people praising his brother and himself, Ning An felt a little sorry for Zhao Hao: "It was obviously my son who arranged all this, but my godmother and my brother reaped the rewards."

"Mother, what you said is too polite. We are no match for each other." Young Master Zhao said with a sincere and filial face, "Besides, if it weren't for mother's name, how could the Jiangnan shipping ships enter Dagukou smoothly? They would have been stopped by the imperial navy long ago."

Actually, there were lanterns with the words "Jiangnan Shipping" hanging on the boats, but the princess's lanterns overshadowed them. But those who are interested will definitely see and remember them.

"What a good child." Ning An happily took on the responsibility and said, "Don't worry, the transportation of grain by sea is left to your majesty."

"Yeah." This is why Young Master Zhao wanted his godmother to be in the limelight. Now that the big talk has been made, she will definitely do her best to make it happen.

"What a pity..." However, Ning An knew his own limitations and sighed, "For such a big matter, it's not enough for the emperor to nod his head. The cabinet must also agree, and it may even have to be discussed in court."

"Well, I'm ready for a protracted war." Zhao Hao smiled and nodded. He also wanted to cut the Gordian knot and finalize the matter, but the canal interest group would never let him pass easily.

~~

As the mother and the daughter were talking, the sand ship stopped at the imperial pier, where the chief eunuch Feng Bao and a group of palace servants had been waiting for them.

Although Zhao Hao and Feng Bao had a good relationship, after all, the title of "Iron Bones Champion" of Zhao Erye was certified by Eunuch Feng. However, in such a public occasion, the two of them pretended not to know each other, and only exchanged glances quickly before following the formalities.

The princess sat in a sedan chair carried by eight men, and Zhao Hao and Li Mingyue also had sedan chairs. When the four of them were seated, Eunuch Feng sang "Lift the sedan chair," and the eunuchs lifted the sedan chair, with the Imperial Guard leading the way, and the princess's ceremonial guards marching in a mighty procession toward the Forbidden City.

Zhao Hao was actually quite surprised. Although he recognized the eldest princess as his godmother, this relationship would not be officially recognized. Emperor Longqing invited his sister and nephew to dinner, why did he invite an outsider like him? Was he short of money again?

But there is nothing to think about, you will know after meeting him. The good thing about Emperor Longqing is that he always says what he wants to say, and he never plays tricks like the unpredictable power of the emperor or the emperor's mind.

~~

Soon, the phoenix carriage entered the palace and the team went directly into the Qianqing Palace.

Feng Bao asked Ning An to go into the East Warm Pavilion to meet the emperor first, while Zhao Hao, Li Chengen and the other two were waiting in the outer hall.

In the East Warm Pavilion, Long Qing was feeling rather anxious. He asked Teng Xiang, who was serving beside him, "Have you collected everything? Not a single one can be missing. If one is missing, it will be incomplete."

"Everything that should be put away has been put away. Your Majesty, look, is there anything left exposed?" Teng Xiang responded quickly.

"That's good, that's good." Long Qing looked carefully at the warm room. All the evil-repelling porcelain had been put away, and all the toys that were not suitable for children were replaced by normal decorations. Only then did he feel relieved and said, "If she saw it, she would definitely smash it for me."

"Yes, yes." The princess's heroic appearance of coming to settle accounts with His Majesty with a whip hidden in her sleeve left a deep impression on Eunuch Teng. This time, she was rushed back to Beijing by the emperor's repeated threats, so she was definitely unhappy, and she didn't know how to vent her anger.

The master and servant were reviewing their affairs anxiously when they heard a young eunuch outside shouting, "Princess Ning'an wants to see you."

"Xuan." Teng Xiang said in a trembling voice.

Longqing quickly stood up, straightened his clothes, showed his eight teeth to the mirror and greeted with a smile.

"Ning An pays respects to his royal brother." Ning An came in from outside with a gust of fragrant wind, bowed and greeted Emperor Longqing.

"Oh, sister, please stand up quickly and let your brother take a good look at you!" Emperor Longqing quickly supported Ning An and looked at his sister's increasingly younger face with a loving face, but his eyes glanced at her abdomen.

After making sure that Ning An's stomach was not moving, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that at least his family was safe and no one had died.

After the brother and sister sat down, Longqing found that the sister was in a good mood and not as irritable as he imagined. This made him feel relieved, but also a little curious, wondering if the sister was tired of playing.

But it was normal, he was tired of the three palaces and six courtyards. Besides, she was the only one, and they were together all day, it would be strange if they didn't get tired of each other.

Thinking of this, Weng Weng couldn't help but secretly praise himself for being wise. As the ancients said, it is better to open up than to block, and sincerity will not deceive me.

Ning An looked at his brother's changing expression, as if he was smug, or as if he had saved something precious, and asked curiously, "Brother, are you feeling uncomfortable?"

"No, no, I feel fine and comfortable. I have never felt so comfortable before." Emperor Longqing laughed heartily and said, "But my dear sister, when you went south this time, did you find that the so-called beautiful scenery in the south of the Yangtze River is just so-so? You get tired of it after just one look?"

"No, Jiangnan is so beautiful." Ning An sighed with longing on his face, and recited Bai Juyi's "Remembering Jiangnan": "Jiangnan is beautiful, and I've known the scenery before. The flowers on the river are redder than fire at sunrise, and the river water is as green as blue in spring. How can I not miss Jiangnan?"

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