0p0 Consort Jin, No. 381
Consort Jin, No. 381
Xiao Siyue clicked her tongue twice. This princess of Dayong is really something. I just don't know if she did it voluntarily or was forced into it.
She had thought that if it were a marriage alliance, she would choose from among the unmarried princes, but she never expected that they would choose Emperor Zhou in the end.
Emperor Zhou looked at Ouyang Ye below and asked, "What does the Crown Prince think?"
Ouyang Ye cupped his hands in greeting: "This humble prince will naturally prioritize my sister's wishes." After saying that, he looked at Ouyang Qing with affection.
Ouyang Qing looked at him with emotion and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty."
The atmosphere between the two was clearly that of a close brother and sister, but what exactly it was, only they themselves probably knew.
Hearing the words of the two siblings, Emperor Zhou gave the Empress a reassuring look, and then said, "In that case, Princess Ouyang shall be conferred the title of Consort Jin and shall reside in Guanju Palace."
Upon hearing this, Consort Jin and her brother exchanged a glance. The character "Jin" seemed inauspicious; could it be that Emperor Zhou was giving them a warning?
However, upon hearing that they would be staying at Guanju Palace, I abandoned my previous idea. Guanju Palace—who doesn't know the meaning of those two characters?
The ospreys cry "Guan Guan" on the river's islet; it seems the Zhou emperor was also attracted by her beauty.
"Your Majesty, I thank you." Ouyang Qing got into character quite quickly, already embodying her role.
However, the brother and sister did not notice the reaction of the Zhou people after hearing the Zhou Emperor's words.
Almost everyone in the Great Zhou Dynasty knows that, despite the pleasant-sounding name of Guanju Palace, if they knew the origin of its name, they probably wouldn't feel so honored to live there.
Guanju Palace was built during the reign of the late emperor. At that time, the late emperor brought back a beautiful woman from the common people and doted on her. Despite the opposition of the current empress dowager and the court officials, he poured the national treasury into building a magnificent palace for the woman when the national treasury was empty. The people and officials at the time regarded the woman as a femme fatale who brought disaster to the country.
Finally, when the late emperor passed away, the beauty was strangled to death by the palace eunuchs in Guanju Palace. It is said that her death was extremely gruesome.
Later, when Emperor Zhou ascended the throne, he left Guanju Palace empty. Now, many years have passed, and Guanju Palace has become somewhat dilapidated due to being uninhabited. In addition, since the late emperor's concubine died tragically there, no one goes near it.
But this very palace was actually bestowed upon Princess Dayong.
Furthermore, upon hearing her title, the word "Jin" clearly tells her that she should be cautious in her words and actions and behave herself in the future.
If we wait until later, will Ouyang Qing still be as calm as she is now when she finds out?
"Your Majesty, I have another request."
"Please speak, Crown Prince Ouyang." Emperor Zhou was already somewhat impatient.
"Your Majesty knows that Dayong is located in a remote area and is freezing cold all year round, making life extremely difficult for the people. We have heard that the Great Zhou has high-yield and high-quality seeds, as well as cotton, a wonderful material for keeping warm. We wonder if we could sell some to Dayong?" This was their main purpose in coming here.
Upon hearing Ouyang Ye's words, the court officials below immediately stared intently at him.
Xiao Siyue was also looking at Ouyang Ye. After all, these things all came from her. She wondered if Dayong had found out anything about her, and whether the last pursuit was unintentional or deliberate.
"Oh? How did the Crown Prince know that my Dayong has these things?" Emperor Zhou asked, shifting his posture with interest.
"This...this was revealed by a passing merchant, and I found out by chance." The Crown Prince of Dayong's eyes darted around, and he immediately came up with an excuse.
"I see." That excuse is plausible, but they really think she doesn't know? They sent so many people before, just to find out about high-yield, high-quality seeds, right? They even tried to steal them, but they failed in the end, so they chose this strategy.
“Our Great Zhou has grain seeds and cotton, but it is not enough for our people at present, so I’m afraid we can’t sell them to the Crown Prince.”
When Ouyang Ye heard Zhou Di's refusal, his face darkened. They had already found out that the Great Zhou had no shortage of supplies, so this was probably because they didn't want to sell to them.
However, he was determined to get them today no matter what. Ouyang Ye put on a smile again: "Your Majesty, I know how precious these things are, but the people of Dayong are suffering too much. I hope Your Majesty can sell us a little less. Price is not a problem."
Once they have the seeds, they won't need to buy them from Da Zhou anymore after a year or two.
"Alas, I cannot bear to see the people suffer. Since that is the case... Minister Xiao, what do you think?" Emperor Zhou suddenly asked Xiao Qinian.
Xiao Qinian stood up and replied solemnly, "Your Majesty, grain seeds and cotton are the lifeblood of the people of our Great Zhou, and they cannot be sold lightly."
"Huh?" Xiao Siyue looked at Xiao Qinian in confusion. There was nothing wrong with the cotton. If they didn't have the seeds, they could just buy cotton for them. Why did her father refuse?
Moreover, the Great Zhou Dynasty has no shortage of genes for things like sweet potatoes and potatoes, so it's not unreasonable to use them to make money.
Moreover, other countries will find out about these things sooner or later. They have been ahead for many years now, so there is nothing to worry about.
Ouyang Ye became anxious upon hearing this: "My lord, price is not a problem."
Xiao Qinian seemed to be seriously considering it, and after a short while he said, "We don't want the silver, but if His Highness the Crown Prince is willing to exchange it for Qiling County, that would be acceptable."
Xiao Siyue was so shocked by Xiao Qinian's words that her mouth dropped open. Her father was really something, actually wanting others to exchange cities for them.
That's a whole county town! Anyone who's not stupid wouldn't trade it.
The other ministers who heard Xiao Qinian's words also looked incredulous, and then lowered their heads to chuckle. This Lord Xiao is really interesting.
Even Emperor Zhou didn't expect Xiao Qinian to say that, but he trusted Xiao Qinian completely, so he didn't interrupt him.
The most anxious one was Ouyang Ye. He never expected that a mere court official would make such an outrageous demand, daring to ask for their first county town.
"Is Lord Xiao joking with me?" Ouyang Ye forced down his anger and asked Xiao Qinian through gritted teeth.
"How could I joke with the Crown Prince? Of course it's true." Xiao Qinian was just too infuriating.
"Does Lord Xiao know that Qiling County you mentioned is a city of my Dayong, belonging to my Dayong?" Ouyang Ye wished he could beat Xiao Qinian up right now.
"Look at what the Crown Prince is saying. Of course I know it's from Dayong. Would I exchange my Great Zhou's cities for my Great Zhou's grain seeds?" Xiao Qinian said, as if to say, "Are you an idiot? You don't even understand this much?"
Hearing Xiao Qinian's infuriating words, everyone desperately suppressed the upturned corners of their mouths and the laughter that was about to burst out.
This was truly the first time they had ever seen Xiao Qinian like this. How could he be so infuriating? Look, even the Crown Prince of Dayong was about to faint.
“You…you…” Ouyang Ye pointed at Xiao Qinian and couldn’t speak for a long time.