Chapter 171 Yu Yanran Returns Home
Zhao Xingke didn't know the situation of the Sheng family, but was thinking about whether to agree to Yelu Chongyuan's request.
He was still very excited about the eight thousand stallions.
And he felt that this was definitely not Yelu Chongyuan's bottom line.
Combined with the existing stallions in the Song Dynasty, after more than ten years of breeding, the problem of horse shortage in the Song Dynasty should be alleviated.
However, Zhao Xing was not in a hurry. He had to wait until Li Ge could no longer wait and then take the initiative to find him. Only in this way could he test his bottom line.
…………
The sound of water splashing in the swimming pool of the Mu Tang Pavilion was heard. Zhao Xing poked his head out beside Yu Yanran, leaned against the wall of the swimming pool, took the handkerchief handed to him by the palace maid and wiped his face.
"Yanran, are you worried about something?" Zhao Xing stretched out his hand and held Yu Yanran in his arms and said.
"No...I was just distracted by something I was thinking about." Yu Yanran forced a smile.
"Tell me the truth, do you miss your grandparents?" Zhao Xing asked, pinching her face.
"Yes." Yu Yanran hesitated for a moment and nodded, saying, "Mid-Autumn Festival is coming soon, and I want to go back to see my grandparents."
The sweet scent of osmanthus is in the air recently, and the palace maids and eunuchs in the Eastern Palace miss their families and talk about it in private.
It also aroused Yu Yanran's longing for her family.
"Didn't I tell you that if you miss your grandparents, you can go back to see them anytime. You will go back tomorrow, and remember to take some of the steamed buns and osmanthus wine sent from the palace. There are quite a few old ginsengs in the warehouse, take some to nourish your grandfather and the others." Zhao Xing said.
"Thank you, Your Highness." Yu Yanran said excitedly.
"Forget it. I understand your character. I'll have someone prepare it for you later." Zhao Xing shook his head.
Yu Yanran was a weak-willed person. She clearly wanted to go back, but she kept it in her heart and didn't say it out loud.
But this makes her look pitiable.
Looking at Yu Yanran, who was so moved that her eyes were filled with tears, Zhao Xing lowered his head and kissed her.
After a long while, he finally let go of Yu Yanran, who was limp all over, and said with a smile, "Stay with me for a while."
After saying that, he dived into the water.
Yu Yanran came back to her senses, smiled sweetly, and chased after him like a mermaid.
Zhao Xing swam to the other side, came out of the water, and admired Yu Yanran's swimming style.
During this period, under Zhao Xing's guidance, Yu Yanran's swimming skills also improved by leaps and bounds.
From the beginning when he entered the water, trembling and pale, to now his agile posture, as if he has merged with the water, like an elegant fish.
No wonder Emperor Ling of Han wanted to build a nude swimming pool. Zhao Xing thought that raising more mermaids would be pleasing to the eye.
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The next morning, Zhao Xing sent Yu Yanran out of the Eastern Palace, watched her leave in a carriage, and returned to the study to review the notes.
About half an hour later, a eunuch reported that Sheng Wei had arrived.
Zhao Xing asked someone to bring Sheng Wei in.
"Your Highness, Li Ge added another two thousand horses and said he was willing to exchange ten thousand stallions for the secret recipe of perfume." Sheng Wei said after saluting.
"Oh?" Zhao Xing hesitated for a moment and said, "Do you think this is his bottom line?"
"I have tested it a bit and this should be his bottom line," Sheng Wei said.
Zhao Xing thought for a moment and asked, "Have you found anything in the past few days?"
"No." Sheng Wei shook his head and said, "I think it is very likely that he doesn't know either."
"That's very possible." Zhao Xing nodded.
Li Ge was just a businessman who made money for Yelu Chongyuan, and he was a Han Chinese.
Naturally, he would not tell him what Yelu Chongyuan was planning.
"Is he interested in transparent glass?" Zhao Xing asked.
"Yes, he ordered goods worth 100,000 taels, but he didn't bring that much money this time. He agreed to trade in cattle, sheep and leather," said Sheng Wei.
"This is a good thing. We even made a profit." Zhao Xing said with a smile.
The prices of cattle and sheepskins are calculated according to the market price, and they are worth more when transported to Bian Jing.
This price difference alone is enough to cover the cost of firing those glassware.
The 100,000 taels were all profit.
And this is only the first transaction.
Glass products cannot be eaten or drunk, but can be used to plunder money from other countries.
Zhao Xing thought that he had to tinker with more of these flashy things, and then he could bring down these countries through trade.
"We must also conduct overseas trade and organize our own caravans," Zhao Xing said.
"I understand." Sheng Wei replied.
"Oh, right." Zhao Xing said, "Spread a message to those overseas merchants, telling them that I am very interested in all kinds of seeds."
"Seeds?" Sheng Wei was stunned.
Zhao Xing nodded and said, "Many seeds in the Song Dynasty today were brought back by Zhang Qian during his mission to the Western Regions. The rice seeds planted in the south today also came from Champa. I think there may be some high-yield grain seeds overseas. If we can get them and plant them in the Song Dynasty, the people will not have to starve."
The yields of potatoes, sweet potatoes, and corn are higher than those of wheat and rice in this era.
However, these were introduced into China during the Ming Dynasty.
Zhao Xing had always been trapped in a misunderstanding, thinking that these seeds could not be obtained with the navigation technology of the Song Dynasty.
But he overlooked one point, Europe and Africa are much closer to South America than the Song Dynasty is to South America. Although potatoes have not yet been introduced to Europe and Africa, it does not mean that they are not available in Europe and Africa.
After all, the spread of plant seeds does not rely solely on humans; wind and animals are also channels of transmission.
Potatoes and sweet potatoes are unlikely, but corn is not necessarily.
It is possible that corn had already spread to Europe and Africa at this time, but because it was rare and not found to be edible, it was still considered a weed and was not taken seriously.
This is also the reason why Zhao Xing did not say that only edible plant seeds are needed.
Given his status, those foreign businessmen would definitely spare no effort to collect all kinds of seeds if they had such a good opportunity to curry favor with him.
Even if non-European plants have not yet appeared, bringing back some other seeds would enrich the plant species of the Song Dynasty.
If we form an ocean-going caravan now, we will be able to use Africa and Europe as a springboard to go to South America in search of seeds in the future.
No matter what, these high-yield seeds must be brought back.
"Yes." Sheng Wei replied.
Zhao Xing gave him some more instructions and then let him go back.
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While Zhao Xing and Sheng Wei were negotiating, Yu Yanran came to the Yu family in a carriage under the protection of the imperial guards.
Old Madam Yu, Yu Yanran's stepmother Ding, and Yu Yanran's younger brothers and sisters, who had already been notified, were waiting at the door.
Yu Yanran has not been officially canonized yet, so as an elder, Madam Yu does not need to come to the door to greet her.
It’s just that Old Mrs. Yu missed her granddaughter, so she waited at the door, wanting to see her granddaughter as soon as possible.
Ding came to please Yu Yanran. She used to be mean to Yu Yanran, but ever since Yu Yanran was designated as the Crown Prince's concubine, she tried every means to ease the relationship between her and Yu Yanran.
The carriage stopped, Xing'er came out first and helped Yu Yanran out of the carriage.
"grandmother!"
"Yan Ran."
When Yu Yanran saw her grandmother, she called out to her grandmother excitedly, then got off the carriage and trotted forward, lifting the hem of her skirt.
Old Madam Yu excitedly took two steps forward, grabbed her granddaughter's hand, and looked her over.
"Why do you look much thinner than last time?" Old Madam Yu asked with concern.
"Grandma, my granddaughter hasn't lost weight, she's gained weight. The last time we met, the weather wasn't hot, so I had to wear thicker clothes than I do now." Yu Yanran said with a smile.
The last time the two met was at a polo match in March.
Mrs. Ding looked at Yu Yanran, who was dressed in luxurious clothes and was escorted by imperial guards. A flash of jealousy flashed in her eyes, and she said with a smile on her face, "Mother, Yanran, please come in and sit down and talk."
Madam Yu glanced at her sideways, then turned to look at her granddaughter and said with a smile, "Let's go in and talk."
After saying that, he took Yu Yanran's hand and walked inside.
"Mom, look at how beautiful the jewelry on her head and body are. I want some too." Yu Yanhong followed her mother, looked at the jewelry Yu Yanran was wearing, pulled her mother and whispered.
"What do you want?" Mrs. Ding scolded in a low voice, "She is now of an extraordinary status. Your brother's future and your marriage proposal will all depend on her."
Although she said so, she was also envious of the jewelry on Yu Yanran.
Those jewellery are not only exquisitely crafted, but also made of valuable materials.
"Why are you showing off? The prince dotes on you now. When he marries a princess, you will suffer." Ding thought maliciously.
In her opinion, Yu Yanran's weak personality made it impossible for her to compete with others.
Now it’s just that no one is competing with her that she is the only one who enjoys the favor.
In fact, Yu Yanran was not a person who liked to show off. After she entered the Eastern Palace, Zhao Xing asked the embroiderer to make a lot of clothes for her and also sent her a lot of jewelry.
When she was dressing up this morning, she originally wanted to use the clothes and jewelry she had worn before entering the East Palace.
But Mother Xu said that she had to dress up formally so that Old Madam Yu would know that she was living well and she would feel at ease.
Yu Yanran thought about it and agreed, so she let Mother Xu make the arrangements.
"Who wants to rely on her?" Yu Yanhong curled her lips.
Since childhood, she has always been superior to Yu Yanran and often bullied her.
Now that her identity has changed, Yu Yanhong naturally cannot accept it with her temper.
"Behave yourself. If you dare to do anything wrong today, forget about going out again." Ding glared at him.
"I understand." Yu Yanhong said sullenly.
Old Madam Yu took Yu Yanran to the main hall of her courtyard and sat down on the soft couch at the top.
"Why did you suddenly come back today?" asked Mrs. Yu.
"Mid-Autumn Festival is coming soon. I miss my grandmother a little, so I came back to see her." Yu Yanran smiled and said, "Your Highness also asked someone to prepare some old mountain ginseng for grandpa and grandma to nourish their bodies."
"Your Highness really dotes on Yanran. I saw that he had a lot of fabrics and jewelry." Ding said with a smile.
Madam Yu's smile softened when she heard this. She looked at Mrs. Ding and said, "Go and do your work. I'll have a chat with Yanran."
Mrs. Ding pretended not to understand Madam Yu's intention to chase her away and said with a smile, "By the way, Yanran, you are too careless. I had someone clean up the yard where you live a few days ago and found a lot of jewelry that your mother left for you. I'll have someone bring it to you later."
"Really?" Yu Yanran said excitedly when she heard it.
Her mother died after giving birth to her. Since she was a child, she has never seen her mother or felt maternal love.
But it does not stop her from missing her mother.
(End of this chapter)