Chapter 40 The Prince's Failed Rebellion
Zhang Xiaojia leaned in He Fei's arms, sat in the field, roasted the fire, and watched the fireworks.
"Brother He, you are the best."
The emperor looked up at the sky in silence as he gazed at the exquisite mirror in his hand. How could he have ever imagined that his foolish and incompetent brother would rebel? He was so heartbroken by it that he really wanted to kill himself.
A dignified prince, a prince of the first rank.
They were actually selling vegetables, and they had the audacity to raise the prices, selling winter melon for one ounce of silver per pound, and yet there were still so many fools buying it? In spring, summer, and autumn, winter melon would be given away and no one would want it, yet there were so many of them on both sides of the mountain roads.
The most infuriating thing about this idiot is that he made glass just to start a mirror business. For a little pocket money, after I gave him the glass industry, I bought glass from him and directly processed it into exquisite mirrors. The speed was astonishing. It makes people suspect that he had prepared it long ago and put it up for auction. With the money he got, this stupid brother seemed to have set off fireworks three or four times in less than a week.
The emperor ordered: "Send this mirror to the queen mother."
Eunuch Mai bowed his head and said respectfully, "Your Majesty, the Princess of Lin'an has given three mirrors to each of the Empress Dowager, the Dowager Consort, and the Virtuous Consort. One is a full-length mirror, the other is a half-length mirror, and the other is a portable mirror."
The emperor's expression darkened instantly: "What about mine?"
Eunuch Mai lowered his head, suppressing a smile, and said, "The Princess of Lin'an said that Your Majesty is so brave and heroic that no mirror in the world can reflect Your Majesty's extraordinary heroic appearance."
The emperor smiled and changed the subject: "What vegetables did Jingwen grow when we went to the imperial farm last time?"
Eunuch Mai quickly replied, "I remember that Prince Jing planted turnips, cabbages, eggplants, cucumbers, lettuce, spinach, mustard greens, garland chrysanthemums, rapeseed, radishes, soybeans, and leeks, but the cucumbers didn't survive."
Upon hearing this, the emperor immediately realized that many of these vegetables could be sold in winter, so he decisively ordered: "Go and tell him in person that the prices of green vegetables cannot be too high, especially leeks. They must not be inflated to exorbitant prices. Fireworks are no longer allowed to be set off every day. Only once every ten days."
Eunuch Mai took the order and quickly left to carry out the emperor's will.
When Eunuch Mai arrived at the imperial farm, he saw the tenant farmers tying up leeks with straw ropes and heard the tenant farmers say that Prince Jing planned to charge two taels of silver for each bundle, and each bundle was worth one jin.
Prince Jing's vegetables are becoming more and more expensive...
When Eunuch Mai found Prince Jing.
Prince Jing commanded everyone to build a glazed greenhouse.
"Jia Jia, when I asked the Emperor to come, I secretly hid some glass. I wanted to build you a greenhouse. When you open the window in the summer, you can see the lotus flowers reflected in the sunlight, which are particularly red."
It took less than ten days from the time the glass was made to now for Prince Jing to complete the construction of this glazed house.
Eunuch Mai bowed respectfully and said, "Greetings to Prince Jing and Princess Jing."
Prince Jing looked at Eunuch Mai and said, "Little Mai, you're here. Come and see how well this house of mine is built!"
Eunuch Mai shouted, "Prince Jing, pass on my order: the price of green vegetables cannot be too high, especially leeks, and they must not be driven up to exorbitant prices. Fireworks are no longer allowed to be set off every day. Only once every ten days at most."
He Fei looked at him, probably glared at him, and said through gritted teeth: "Jingwen obeys the order."
He Fei whispered, "Go ask the emperor if the price of leek yellow can be raised to 20 taels per catty. I have already sold it very cheaply. I plan to sell it for 30 taels."
Eunuch Mai also knew the market prices. Normally, they only cost two taels of silver per pound. However, this year's cold weather severely damaged farms near the capital, and all vegetables were wiped out. Prince Jing was planning to sell leeks for twenty taels of silver during the New Year...
Zhang Xiaojia laughed heartily upon hearing this and said to Eunuch Mai, "Eunuch Mai, I want to go and give out porridge for the seven days of my mother's birthday. Could you please inform the Emperor on my behalf?"
Eunuch Mai replied, "The Princess of Lin'an is truly a kindhearted person. I will definitely inform the Emperor of this matter. Furthermore, the Emperor has asked me to tell you that there will be no selection of concubines in the harem next March, as the youngest uncle is ill and wishes to see you, a junior."
The smile Zhang Xiaojia had just shown disappeared in an instant, and he looked a little depressed.
"I'll go back to Beijing tomorrow." Zhang Xiaojia said in annoyance.
After watching Eunuch Mai leave, Zhang Xiaojia asked weakly, "Does the emperor disagree?"
He Fei stroked her head and comforted her, "They can still be together, but they can't get married. Although they have retreated behind the scenes, the generals still obey their orders. If the young uncle and the queen mother get married, it means that half of the country's military force will fall into their hands, which will make any emperor suspicious."
Zhang Xiaojia thought for a moment and said, "In fact, we can add political commissars to the army to strengthen the ideological education of loving the monarch and patriotism."
He Fei said proudly, "I have added more. I have compiled a book and a proposal and submitted them to the emperor."
Zhang Xiaojia hugged He Fei's waist and said coquettishly: "He Fei, why are you so powerful? I don't want to go back to Beijing. The little uncle scares me every time."
He Fei quickly comforted him and offered advice: "It doesn't matter. As long as you don't show it in public and don't let anyone catch you, you can just go ahead and fight him."
Zhang Xiaojia felt that her luck had not been particularly good recently, and she would encounter accidents whenever she entered Kyoto.
She set up Jiashanfang behind the scenes to do charity activities. Today, her Jiashanfang was giving out porridge and saw someone making trouble in front.
Zhang Xiaojia always brings sword-wielding guards with her whenever she travels. She is always followed by a large group of guards and protected by invisible guards. Isn't it crazy for a princess to want freedom and privacy?
Zhang Xiaojia asked, "Captain Wang, what's the commotion at the soup kitchen up ahead?"
The captain of the imperial guards, Wang, took orders to investigate and immediately returned with a report: "Princess Jing, it is the daughter of the governor of Hedong and the son of the fourth princess who are accusing the porridge of being mixed with dirt."
Upon hearing this, Zhang Xiaojia immediately ordered, "You personally lead the troops to apprehend these two idiots and escort them to the Dali Temple!"
The fourth princess?
I didn't kill her four years ago, but I definitely won't let her go this time. She's just like Bloody Mary, cruelly bathing in the blood of innocent women just to preserve her so-called youthful beauty. Such a ruthless person deserves death a thousand times over, and it wouldn't be enough to appease the public's anger!
Zhang Xiaojia was still lamenting her bad luck when she saw Bai Luonan. She had run into him the last time she met the little emperor's uncle. Bai Luonan was shopping with the Song siblings. Given Bai Luonan's scheming, she didn't believe the dispute between her and the Song siblings was a coincidence. It would be truly bizarre to say that Bai Luonan hadn't secretly fanned the flames! You know, this Bai Luonan was a renowned talent in Kyoto. Not only was she exceptionally talented, but she was also incredibly scheming and difficult to fathom.
The sedan stopped, Zhang Xiaojia poked his head out, and sneered, "Xiaobai, don't you come up and explain things to this county lady? Do you think this county lady is a knife at your mercy? Are you using it well?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
