Chapter 182 Minglan's Way of Survival
Facing Zhao Xing's gaze, both of them lowered their heads slightly, not daring to look him in the eye.
However, the two have different personalities and behave differently.
Minglan kept her head down, while Rulan would secretly look at Zhao Xing, and when she saw Zhao Xing smiling at her, she would quickly lower her head again.
"Your Highness, the tea is ready." Yu Yanran handed the prepared tea to Zhao Xing.
Zhao Xing took a few sips of the tea, put it down and said, "I still have official business to attend to, so I won't bother you any more."
It was okay for him with Yu Yanran and Sheng Shulan, after all, they were already husband and wife. But it was different for Rulan and Minglan.
Even though they knew that in less than a year they would have to enter the palace to serve Zhao Xing, they were still nervous and shy, making them very restrained.
This was formed by the customs and rules of ancient times, and Zhao Xing could not change it.
As long as he is here, Lan and Minglan will be nervous.
After seeing Zhao Xing off, the women returned to the boat.
Yu Yanran ordered the eunuch at the helm to steer the boat, and looked at Rulan and smiled, "Didn't Sister Rulan just ask about the Crown Prince? Why is it that you are silent now that the Crown Prince has come?"
"Sister Yanran." Rulan said shyly, "I get very nervous when I see His Highness."
"Sister Yanran, please stop teasing Fifth Sister." Minglan smiled and helped Rulan out.
"Minglan, didn't you make two pairs of shoes for His Highness? Why didn't you tell His Highness just now?" Yu Yanran asked with some complaint.
At first, she asked Minglan to make shoes for Zhao Xing, and she lied to Minglan and said she was making them for her.
She did not hide anything from Zhao Xing. Seeing that Zhao Xing liked the shoes made by Minglan, she told Zhao Xing that she would let Minglan make all the shoes in the future.
The shoes made by Minglan were very comfortable to wear, so Zhao Xing naturally had no reason to refuse them.
Yu Yanran sent a maid to the Sheng family to tell Minglan the good news.
Minglan knew that Yu Yanran was helping her and was very grateful.
Because of Zhao Xing's martial arts training and his growth, the size of his feet often changed.
A few days ago, she measured Zhao Xing's feet and sent someone to give the size to Minglan, asking Minglan to make shoes for Zhao Xing.
No one had gone to pick them up during this period of time. Today, Minglan came over and brought the shoes to Yu Yanran.
Yu Yanran secretly told her that if His Royal Highness the Crown Prince came, she should take the initiative to ask Zhao Xing if his shoes were comfortable and if they needed to be altered, and then tell him that she had made two more pairs of shoes for Zhao Xing.
Yu Yanran also had good intentions and wanted Minglan to perform in front of Zhao Xing, but who knew that Minglan would not say a word at all.
"Sister Yanran, I am just Fifth Sister's dowry. How can I have a say in front of His Highness?" Minglan shook her head.
She naturally knew Yu Yanran's purpose, but she couldn't do that.
She has a clear understanding of her identity, that is, a concubine's daughter who was married off as a dowry.
So she dressed very simply, just wanting to be a supporting role and not steal the limelight from Rulan.
When Zhao Xing didn't say anything, she took the initiative to speak. Rulan was not the type of person who would think too much about it.
But when she returns, Madam Wang will definitely ask Rulan about what happened in the East Palace today in detail.
When Mrs. Wang finds out, she will feel that she is trying to steal the limelight.
When a wealthy family marries off their daughter, if they feel that the situation at the other family is complicated and the girl will have difficulty coping, they will give a girl from the clan or a concubine's daughter as a dowry.
The purpose is to help the legitimate daughter gain a better foothold in her husband's family.
The purpose of her dowry was to help Rulan, so it was naturally impossible for her to steal Minglan's limelight.
It’s not that Minglan is willing to be a supporting role to help Rulan, but before she leaves the Sheng family, she must be aware of being a supporting role.
This is also the survival rule she has figured out over the years.
…………
Zhao Xing didn't know all this. After leaving the garden, he went back to his study to make the paper.
At noon, Yu Yanran asked someone to invite him to have lunch together, but Zhao Xing did not go.
In the afternoon, Sheng Wei came to see him and brought him two good news.
Zhao Xing held a mirror in his hand and looked at himself. He found that the image in the mirror was very clear and very similar to the glass mirrors of later generations.
In terms of cost and artistry, glass mirrors are far inferior to bronze mirrors.
However, even the most advanced bronze mirrors still have a slight difference in clarity compared to glass mirrors.
Note that what we are talking about here is the top-notch workmanship.
There are very few people who can make bronze mirrors of this clarity, and bronze mirrors of this level are rare even in the palace.
The bronze mirrors used by the wives of lords and officials were of even lower clarity, and sometimes even looked blurry.
"Well done, can it be mass-produced?" Zhao Xing asked.
"Your Highness, making this mirror is somewhat dangerous and not easy," said Sheng Wei.
"It's okay. Scarcity makes things valuable. Just sell it at a higher price." Zhao Xing said nonchalantly.
"By the way, you just said that cement has burned paper?" Zhao Xing asked.
"That's right. I have already had someone test it. However, it is still quite different from what Your Highness said, that it would be as hard as stone after drying. I have asked the craftsmen to adjust the ratio, and I believe it will not take long to be fully produced." Sheng Wei said.
"Well, those craftsmen should be rewarded. You should draft the rewards and report them to me." Zhao Xing said.
"Yes!" Sheng Wei replied.
"Hurry up and stock up on some mirrors and new glass products. The Glass Pavilion is about to open." Zhao Xing said.
He did not come up with the name of glass, after all, glass does not sound as nice as colored glaze.
Liuli Pavilion is a shop that Zhao Xing asked Sheng Wei to open, specializing in selling glass products.
Previously, Zhao Xing felt that the store was lacking a more shocking product, so he did not open the store.
Now that the mirror is made, we can open the business.
"Yes!" Sheng Wei replied.
Zhao Xing asked about the sales of glass products during this period. Sheng Wei told Zhao Xing in detail.
Since glass was developed, it has not been sold in the Song Dynasty.
Instead, it was sold to Li Ge of the Liao Kingdom and some overseas businessmen.
When it was first developed, the technology was not very mature and the output was limited.
The Song Dynasty’s money cannot escape, so under this circumstance, it must first make money from other countries.
During this period, he earned hundreds of thousands of taels of silver from glass alone.
This is still the reason for production restrictions.
The most difficult thing is to make a breakthrough from zero to one. After the glass was fired, the craftsmanship improved greatly in the past few months and the output also increased a lot.
Shengwei has added several more kilns, and production will increase significantly in the future.
After he had a clear understanding of the situation, Zhao Xing let Sheng Wei go back.
"Sanshui." Zhao Xing pointed to the wooden box with mirrors on the table and said, "Find a few carpenters to make wooden frames and stands for these mirrors, so that they can be placed on the dressing table like bronze mirrors. Ask them to make four quickly, they will be useful to me." Zhao Xing ordered.
"Yes!" Sanshui stepped forward, carefully holding the wooden box and retreated.
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"Your Highness, Sisters Rulan and Minglan are leaving, so I came to say goodbye to Your Highness."
After being informed, Yu Yanran walked in with Rulan and Minglan.
"Your Highness, it's getting late. I'm here to take my leave!" Rulan and Minglan bowed.
"It's really getting late." Zhao Xing nodded and said, "I have asked someone to prepare some gifts for you. Take them with you."
"Thank you, Your Highness, for the reward!" The two bowed to express their gratitude.
"Okay, you guys go. Yanran will see them off for me." Zhao Xing said.
"Yes!"
Yu Yanran bowed and led the two of them out.
When we arrived at the gate of the East Palace, Liu Sanshi was directing people to load things onto a carriage.
They were all fabrics, jewelry, and some snacks.
"Greetings to Concubine Yu, Concubine Sheng and the two girls!" When Liu Sanshi saw Yu Yanran and the other girls coming out, he hurried forward to pay his respects.
At present, Yu Yanran and Sheng Shulan have not yet been canonized, and the servants in the East Palace all call them noble ladies.
"Don't be so polite, Eunuch Liu. Thank you for your hard work." Yu Yanran waved her hand.
"This is what I should do." Liu Sanshi said, "By the way, His Highness has said that the two girls can do whatever they want with these things. There is something for the two girls."
After saying that, two eunuchs holding wooden boxes came forward.
"Thank you for the reward, Your Highness!" Rulan and Minglan quickly took the wooden box.
They understood what Liu Sanshi meant. The fabrics, jewelry, and snacks were for them to give as gifts when they returned, but the things in the wooden box were for them.
"Ladies, His Highness said this item is fragile, so please be careful when handling it." Liu Sanshi gave them a reminder and bowed before leaving.
Yu Yanran, Sheng Shulan and Ruolan Minglan exchanged a few words of greeting, and then urged them to get on the carriage.
Watching the carriage go away, Yu Yanran said, "Sister Shulan, let's go back."
"Yeah." Sheng Shulan nodded.
The two returned to the backyard of the East Palace and went back to their own courtyards.
When Yu Yanran returned to the yard, Mother Xu came to greet her.
"Girl, His Highness just sent someone to bring us a treasure." Mother Xu said excitedly.
Whether Zhao Xing asked Yu Yanran to sleep with him or gave her some reward, it all represented Zhao Xing's love for Yu Yanran.
After taking a look at the things that had just been delivered, Mrs. Xu determined that they were definitely rare treasures.
The most important thing is that she has never seen this thing before.
Naturally, I feel happy for Yu Yanran.
"baby?"
Yu Yanran was startled and walked into the house with confusion.
"Girl, this is it."
As soon as Mother Xu entered the room, she walked towards the dressing table and carefully picked up something with a wooden frame.
Because it was blocked, Yu Yanran couldn't see clearly, so Mother Xu took it closer and said to Yu Yanran, "Girl, look at this mirror."
Yu Yanran looked at herself in the mirror and said in disbelief, "How could this bronze mirror be so clear?"
"This is not a bronze mirror." Mother Xu said with a smile, "I was also shocked when I first saw it. The eunuch who brought it here said that this is a glass mirror, which is very easy to break, so you need to be careful with it. I have heard of glass before, but this is the first time I have heard of a glass mirror. It must be a rare treasure. Your Highness can give it to the girl, which means that the girl is very important to you."
Yu Yanran carefully took the mirror and smiled. She looked very beautiful in the mirror.
She thought of the wooden box that Liu Sanshi gave to Ruolan and Minglan when they left, as well as the instructions given to them by Liu Sanshi. She could not help but guess that the mirror inside might very well be the same one in her hand.
This shows that mirrors are not rare treasures.
Zhao Xing didn't just give it to her.
They all have it. The future Crown Princess, the Queen in the palace, and Concubine Zhu must all have it.
But what does it matter?
Yu Yanran is easily satisfied, so it’s enough that she has it too.
…………
"His Highness specially sent us something, and even asked someone to be careful with it, but we don't know what it is."
After the carriage drove away for a distance, Rulan hurriedly opened the wooden box.
(End of this chapter)