Chapter 014 Ice Making

The frightened Lu'e then remembered that before she was taken away, the emperor seemed to have asked her to take care of the mermaid.

Mermaid...

The figure she saw yesterday appeared in Lu'e's mind. Although she didn't see the whole picture clearly, his beautiful temperament like a god incarnated on earth was deeply engraved in her memory.

And when the eunuch scolded her, the mermaid came to her rescue, so she must be a kind person at heart.

If she were to serve such a master, as Eunuch Sixi said, she would definitely live a good life in the future.

Thinking of this, Lu'e immediately relaxed a lot, bowed to Eunuch Sixi, and said, "Thank you for your reminder, Eunuch. I am very grateful."

Si Xi helped her up and said, "From now on, we will work together in front of you, so there is no need to be so polite."

Lu'e understood that this was asking her to keep the favor first and repay it later.

Rong Yin didn't even know that Zong Zheng Xiao had prepared such a big "surprise" for him.

Knowing Zong Zheng Xiao's identity, Rong Yin couldn't help but feel pity every time she looked at him and thought of his tragic ending, so her attitude towards him softened a bit.

Zong Zhengxiao knew what he was thinking and was happy to be pitied by him, since he was the one who benefited from it anyway.

After entering the hot summer, even if you stay in the temple with a bathing pool and an ice basin next to it, the temperature is still frighteningly high.

Outside, cicadas were chirping. Zong Zheng Xiao was sitting on a soft couch covered with a cool mat, reading a book. There was an ice drink in front of him, a palace maid was fanning him, and he was holding a cool little mermaid in his arms.

Mermaids have lower body temperatures than humans, so Rong Yin would curl up in Zong Zheng Xiao's arms to cool him down whenever she had time. Right now, she was sleeping soundly with her head resting on Zong Zheng Xiao's arm.

After finishing a page of the book, Zong Zhengxiao turned his head to look at the scorching sun outside, then touched Rong Yin's tail, frowned slightly, put down the book, and hugged Rong Yin.

Rong Yin woke up in a daze and hummed twice subconsciously.

Zong Zhengxiao said, "Your fish tail is dry, go into the water for a while."

The weather was hot and the water evaporated quickly, so the time Rong Yin could stay on shore became shorter and shorter.

When he returned to the water, Rong Yin was fully awake. He swam two laps and saw Zong Zheng Xiao still standing by the bathtub. He raised the corner of his lips, splashed water with his hands and splashed over.

The water droplets splashed on Zong Zhengxiao's chest and chin, but he didn't get annoyed. He just looked at Rong Yin who was smiling happily and said, "Stop making trouble."

Rong Yin stuck out her tongue at him mischievously.

It was boring to stay in the water alone, so Rong Yin swam a few laps. After making sure he had absorbed enough water, he ran back to the shore to look for Zong Zheng Xiao.

Zong Zhengxiao picked up an ice drink and fed it to him. It was finely ground ice with jam and honey on it. It tasted very good and was also refreshing.

Rong Yin sighed: It’s great to be an emperor, being able to eat so many delicious foods.

Zong Zhengxiao was also thinking that it was a good thing that he was the emperor, otherwise he would not be able to give the best to the little mermaid.

The smoothie melted quickly, and Rong Yin drank the last two sips as ice water.

After drinking the ice drink, the heat was mostly gone, and Rong Yin asked Zong Zhengxiao for paper and pen to draw.

He finished painting a picture while lying on a low table. When he looked up to relax his neck, he happened to see Si Xi coming in to report something to Zong Zheng Xiao.

Si Xi looked to be in his thirties, and was a bit chubby. Fat people are more afraid of heat than thin people. His round face was red, and his forehead and nose were full of sweat. When Rong Yin got close to him, she could feel the heat on him.

After he finished speaking, his lips were dry, and Zong Zheng Xiao naturally noticed it, so he gave him a basin of ice before he left.

Si Xi thanked Rong Yin profusely again, and Rong Yin felt that he was so excited that he was about to cry.

Rong Yin also reflected at this time that ice is a good thing in every era. It is not bad for modern people because they have refrigerators, but the ice used by ancient people in summer was mostly ice blocks dug in winter and stored in ice cellars.

But this is a practice only for the rich and powerful. Ordinary people cannot afford it, so in the hot summer they either have to endure it or pay for ice.

It is said that things are valuable because they are scarce. The price of ice in summer is definitely not cheap. There are probably very few people who can afford to buy it every day.

Holding the brush, Rong Yin couldn't help thinking: Those who sell ice in summer must be able to make a lot of money.

Zong Zhengxiao silently affirmed Rong Yin's thoughts. The wealthy families in the city could indeed make a fortune every year by selling ice. Although the amount of ice they stored was not much, as long as they sold it at a high price, they would not lose money.

Rong Yin glanced at Zong Zhengxiao secretly, and thought: I have heard of the method of making ice with saltpeter before, but I don’t know if it will work. If I can talk to Zong Zhengxiao, I can let him try it, but the key is how can I explain to her that I can speak human language and know how to make ice?

After hearing Rong Yin's thoughts, Zong Zhengxiao said: "..."

Good news: his little mermaid knows a lot.

Bad news: He doesn’t dare to say, and I don’t dare to ask.

Each of them had their own thoughts. Zong Zhengxiao stared at the book but couldn't read a single word. The content of Rong Yin's painting also changed.

Rong Yin thought as she wrote: I remember using a large basin filled with water, sprinkling saltpeter powder in it and stirring it, then placing a small basin filled with water in the large basin. The water in both basins froze, but the water in the large basin was not drinkable…

Unconsciously, Rong Yin drew out the general steps. When he realized what he had done, he quickly crumpled the paper into a ball and threw it aside. He also glanced at Zong Zhengxiao with the corner of his eye, and saw that he was concentrating on reading and didn't notice him at all, so he breathed a sigh of relief.

He used to scribble and use up some waste paper, but Zong Zheng Xiao basically didn't care. Even if Zong Zheng Xiao saw it, he probably wouldn't know what he was drawing, so he shouldn't be exposed.

Rong Yin patted his chest and continued painting as if nothing had happened.

But what he didn't notice was that Zong Zhengxiao's hand on his knee clenched silently, and his breathing frequency became irregular.

Zong Zhengxiao was at a loss for words at the moment, he thought it was the same as the method of making paper, he could only listen but would not be able to get it in a short time, but the little mermaid actually "told" him directly and even thoughtfully drew the specific steps.

His little mermaid is so... cute.

Resisting the urge to make ice immediately, Zong Zhengxiao used his acting skills to the extreme and managed to hold on until the evening. When Rong Yin went back to take a bath and the palace servants were tidying up the desks, he found an excuse to go out and arrange everything.

He took the crumpled paper that Rong Yin had given to Sixi, then orally repeated the steps that Rong Yin had said, and ordered him to do it immediately, as he wanted to get the result as soon as possible.

After knowing what Zong Zhengxiao was going to do, Si Xi took the wrinkled piece of paper as solemnly as if he were receiving an imperial edict, and he could hardly suppress the smile on the corner of his lips.

Si Xi didn't dare to think about it carefully. If this method worked, how much benefit it would bring to the royal family!

*

Before going to bed at night, Rong Yin found that Zong Zheng Xiao looked at him with a strange look in his eyes. He couldn't describe it specifically, but it was a bit like a hungry wolf seeing a lamb.

Rong Yin felt a chill at his own description and quickly closed his eyes and lay down, hoping not to see it.

Even with the hypnotic fragrance of Rong Yin, Zong Zhengxiao, who was in an agitated mood, took a long time to fall asleep.

I had a dreamless night and was woken up by Si Xi on time the next day.

Seeing Si Xi's tired but excited expression, Zong Zheng Xiao knew that it was done.

At the morning court session that day, everyone, whether from the aristocratic families or the royal family, had extremely strange expressions, because they felt that the emperor did not seem normal today.

As an emperor under tremendous pressure, Zong Zhengxiao treated the officials from aristocratic families as enemies every day. He could not take revenge on his enemies happily. How could he be happy?

Zong Zhengxiao's face was as black as coal almost every day when he went to court, and the ministers had long been accustomed to his cold expression, so when they looked up and saw Zong Zhengxiao's eyes smiling and the corners of his lips raised, they all thought they were dreaming.

What shocked them was not only this. Not only did Zong Zhengxiao have a smile on his face the whole time, but when he listened to the reports of his ministers, his tone was very calm no matter whether the things they talked about were good or bad.

Even when the two sides had a small quarrel as usual, he actually stood up and gave a few words of advice. He was not the kind of person who tried to smooth things over by favoring his own side as before, but was truly neutral and acted as a peacemaker.

This move caught both sides off guard. The aristocratic family, which had always been aggressive, behaved quietly for once and became as obedient as a frightened quail.

No one understands what the emperor is doing again.

After the court session, Zong Zhengxiao summoned Prince Ji to the palace and told him that there might be a solution to the problem of the aristocratic families raising the price of paper.

Prince Ji looked at the basin of ice that Si Xi had someone bring in and was a little confused: "Your Majesty, what does this ice have to do with paper?"

Zong Zhengxiao did not answer this question, but instead asked: "What is the current price of ice in the city?"

Prince Ji sighed and said, "At the beginning of summer, a palm-sized piece of ice was only thirty coins. As the temperature rises, it has risen to one ounce, and it is still rising."

Ordinary people could only save a few taels of silver a year without any pain or disaster. Even for people living in the city, it was not easy to save more than ten taels. A small piece of ice could be sold for more than one tael, which was no exaggeration to say that it was a huge profit. Most people probably couldn't afford it.

Zong Zhengxiao added: "I think most of the people who sell ice are from aristocratic families."

"That's right." Prince Ji said, "The ice business in the city is basically monopolized by the Chen family. Who allowed his family to own the largest ice cellar in the capital?"

Zong Zhengxiao suddenly laughed: "You know, there has been no tax collection for three years, the national treasury is empty, and my private treasury is also very poor. Now I think selling ice is a good business."

Prince Ji showed a bitter face: "Your Majesty, who doesn't want to do this profitable business? The key is where do we get so much ice to sell?"

Ice cubes are not safe just by being placed in an ice cave. In the high temperature of summer, a lot of them will still melt.

There was indeed a large amount of ice stored in the palace. Zong Zhengxiao was a lone man, so he didn't need to share the ice with others, but the ice was only enough for him to waste.

Not to mention the family of Prince Ji. There are many people in his family, and the ice in the ice cellar is not enough even if they use it sparingly. They have to buy ice outside. There is no extra ice to sell.

He was just worrying about it when his heart suddenly skipped a beat. The Zong Zheng Xiao he knew was never a person who acted without a purpose. Since he said he wanted to do this business, he naturally had the confidence that he could provide enough ice.

Prince Ji looked at Zong Zhengxiao anxiously: "Your Majesty, please stop teasing me and tell me what you want to do!"