Dress up as a sickly person to capture the villain princess!

Chapter 208 A big witch meets a small witch

Countless torches were lit up on the long street, and the crowd was bustling about. They carried their own meals in their hands, wanting to reward the soldiers who had repelled the enemy today.

"Old Liu, you are so generous. You took out such good pickled meat. You normally wouldn't even want to eat it!"

Looking at the evenly fat and lean meat strips, the man holding the pancake next to him felt embarrassed. He scratched the back of his head and made a subtle joke.

"Alas, if these soldiers of the imperial court can really repel the pirates in one fell swoop, let alone these pieces of pickled meat, I would be willing to slaughter the old sow in my pigpen and make braised pork with it!"

"I finally bought a piece of land in the suburbs, planning to grow some fruits and sell them to fruit farmers. Although this is not an easy job, it is much safer than going out to sea all day fishing... But now, pirates are rampant, and they even want to steal the fruits in the orchard!"

"I have lost all my money in the past few years. I almost lost my underwear... How can I not hate them with all my heart!"

As a neighbor, he knew something about Lao Liu's situation. He could only sigh and pat Lao Liu on the shoulder.

It's really like a dumb person eating bitter herbs, unable to express it in words. If the two brothers sat down and poured a glass of white wine with some peanuts, they could talk about the evil deeds of these pirates for three days and three nights.

How can I not hate it?

"Oh, everyone is like this. We two brothers are really in trouble. In the past, we could find a job unloading cargo on a merchant ship... earn a little money and go home to pay for our children's schooling. But now, these pirates have blocked the waterways. All passing ships have to pay a toll. The merchant ships can only lower the price again and again and deduct our wages!"

Now that they are old, they don’t know how many days they can continue fishing. There is a shortage of supplies in Xizhou City, and they can’t even find a skill to support their family.

Xia Zhiyuan, who was sitting in the carriage, supported his chin with his hand and heard the conversation between the two clearly. He started to think about it in his mind.

The pirates have been rooted in Xizhou City for more than a hundred years. They have been exploiting the merchants and the common people, and even occasionally taking money from the imperial court. It seems that they have a lot of money. If they can successfully suppress the bandits, they will probably not need to ask the imperial court for the money for a port.

However, this matter still needs to be discussed with King Cheng. After all, King Cheng was able to send troops because His Highness promised him to give the fiefdom of Xizhou City to King Cheng.

Otherwise, there is no free lunch or free reinforcements in this world. It all depends on human relationships and social conventions.

"What are you thinking about?"

"About the water bandits?"

Zhao Changlin leaned against the carriage, squinting her eyes slightly, with her arms folded across her chest, intending to rest for a while. Naturally, she also heard the conversation between the two farmers outside the carriage.

I took this matter to heart.

"Yes, Your Highness... If we want to build a port in the pirates' base and allow merchant ships to trade, we need to discuss this with the prince, right?"

Xia Zhiyuan moved closer, hooked his fingers under the blanket beside Zhao Changlin, spread his fingers, and carefully wrapped the blanket around the prince's legs, worried that the prince would catch a cold.

Feeling Zhiyuan's movements on her legs, Zhao Changlin snorted and laughed softly. She said, "I did say that I would hand over Xizhou City to King Cheng, but I didn't say that I would give him this port."

"Does this require asking his opinion?"

"But it has to be said. Now is the time."

After listening to your words, Xia Zhiyuan was enlightened.

It turns out that this was His Highness's plan from the beginning. If there were no port, there would be only a little that could be squeezed out of Xizhou City. But if there was a port, it would be different.

The fish and fruits of Xizhou City can be sold at high prices elsewhere. All this depends on the speed of the caravan on land and water. If the fruits can reach the destination in time and not rot, half of the job is done.

"Your Highness is indeed good at calculations. Zhiyuan admires you. I admire you."

Xia Zhiyuan flattered the master and praised him repeatedly, but it was not entirely flattery, because Xia Zhiyuan really didn't think about it in that way at the beginning.

Zhao Changlin would directly split the population and economy of Xizhou City. She did keep her promise and let King Cheng get Xizhou City, but she also curbed King Cheng's further development possibilities.

As the saying goes, a good cook cannot cook without rice. Even if you have rebellious intentions, without a lot of silver in your hands, who would be willing to play house with you?

Listening to Zhiyuan praising him, Zhao Changlin raised his eyebrows, looked at her leisurely, and smiled: "Good at calculating... I am nothing compared to Zhiyuan. This is just the tip of the iceberg of what I learned from Zhiyuan."

"Zhiyuan, do you still remember what you said before? Telling me not to be soft-hearted... Have I done it now?"

In the past, she was unwilling to use such despicable means to get what she wanted, but later Zhao Changlin found that such an idea was extremely stupid. As the saying goes, there are no fish in clear water. If she could not understand this truth, she would never be a good emperor in her life.

At the mercy of others.

I always feel that His Highness's words are a bit sarcastic. Could it be my illusion? Xia Zhiyuan scratched his cheek, and before he could react, he saw Zhao Changlin coming over with a blanket in his hand.

"Zhi Yuan is not only good at calculating, but also good at charming people. Including me, including the Loyal and Brave Marquis... many people... are attracted to Zhi Yuan, aren't they?"

"In that case, the person Zhiyuan should be praising is not me, but Zhiyuan himself."

For some reason, His Highness started talking about Lu Boshan again. Even though Lu Boshan was just a headless corpse now, Zhao Changlin still couldn't get rid of the jealousy he had swallowed.

"But...shouldn't Your Majesty be the one who came to Xizhou City?"

"Why are you bringing up the past now and making it Zhiyuan's fault again?"

The carriage moved slowly, and Xia Zhiyuan simply stood up and sat on Zhao Changlin. She smiled and her fingers fell on Zhao Changlin's earlobe.

Rubbing gently, without any force, just like stroking a kitten on the streets of Xizhou City, the movements were gentle.

This sentence made Zhao Changlin speechless. For a moment, she didn't know what to say. She closed her eyes and let Xia Zhiyuan do whatever he wanted to her without any resistance.

Seeing that His Majesty was in the wrong and gave in to her, Xia Zhiyuan became "unforgiving" and rubbed Zhao Changlin's earlobes even more aggressively, turning the slightly cool earlobes red.

However, before Xia Zhiyuan could enjoy himself, the carriage shook slightly, and the inside of the carriage trembled. It was not known whether the horse's hooves stepped on a stone or something else, but Xia Zhiyuan lost his balance, his wrist twisted, and he fell on Zhao Changlin.

Xia Zhiyuan's hair bun became a little messy and fell down.

Zhao Changlin reacted in time and used his hands to protect Xia Zhiyuan's waist to prevent her from falling.

The look on her face was one of unflinching concern.