Zhang Balang felt as though he could hardly breathe, and his vision began to swim.
Steward Zhang hurried over to support him. “Eighth Young Master, don’t get worked up. Think of the Emperor—three thousand horses!”
Zhang Balang: “…”
Come to think of it, after Steward Zhang reminded him, he actually felt inexplicably better.
That was right. The biggest sucker wasn’t the Zhang family at all. It was the Emperor!
At that moment, Xie Nanxiao was grinning from ear to ear. Business in Sizhou was simply too easy.
No wonder Chen Xi had thrived in Sizhou, making a fortune and providing substantial financial support for their lord’s great undertaking.
Xie Nanxiao had merely taken advantage of the time difference, making everyone believe they were getting an “exclusive” deal and thus persuading them to trade with him. Some paid with horses, while others paid with gold and silver.
Naturally, the First Prince had been the most generous of all—an entire three thousand horses.
Zhou Leng was in a good mood as well. “We have six thousand horses now, and more than twenty thousand taels of silver.”
They had brought only about six hundred horses when they arrived. Now, they had increased that number tenfold.
Xie Nanxiao cheerfully began making arrangements. “Keyuan Island and Xiaoyuan Island are both currently under development and construction, so they’re in urgent need of horses. Five thousand will go to Keyuan Island and one thousand to Xiaoyuan Island. Ha ha!”
Suo Qian asked, “Have all the horses been loaded onto the ships?”
He felt that the horses should be transported away first. The disaster victims could wait a little longer.
Xie Nanxiao waved his hand. “Don’t worry. They’re all on board. We’re transporting a great deal of supplies this time, and we have plenty of ships. The island’s horse ranches need to be built as soon as possible.”
Zhou Leng was helpless. “We should still build the roads first. It won’t be convenient to do anything without roads.”
Suo Qian agreed. “Exactly. We need roads first, or it’ll be difficult to transport materials and everything else. The more than twenty thousand taels of silver have already been sent back to Fengzhou, right?”
Qiu Dao was completely numb by now. He stood to one side, listening to them happily “divvy up the spoils.” The whole thing seemed absurd, yet he also felt a strange, inexplicable thrill.
Just then, a commotion broke out outside.
Xie Nanxiao frowned. “What’s going on?”
Looking at his innocent expression, Zhou Leng secretly rolled his eyes. “Looks like the suckers have come knocking.”
Xie Nanxiao: “…”
Suo Qian snorted. “They wouldn’t dare start a fight. What else can they do by coming here?”
Even so, the group went out to meet them, and a war of words began.
“Shameless! Your Jinyang Army is shameless! We clearly agreed on an exclusive deal, yet you sold it to so many people!” Wen Zixin pointed at Xie Nanxiao with a trembling finger.
Xie Nanxiao looked completely innocent. “But it is exclusive. The prescription itself is called the ‘Exclusive Prescription.’”
Wen Zixin’s lips trembled. He spat out a mouthful of blood and collapsed.
Xie Nanxiao: “…”
Zhang Balang and the others had no idea what to say. Was that all it took?
They exchanged glances, then stepped forward together. A new round of debate began…
While the two sides were engaged in their “friendly discussion,” the Yan, Mo, and Su families had already arrived in Xianglu County. Looking at the bustling scene, completely different from Sizhou, they all fell silent.
Mo Susu was extremely excited. She linked arms with her mother and said, “This is East Street. It’s mainly lined with shops. The clothing store we opened is here, too.”
Ming Wushuang cast her a reproachful glance. “Why did you open a clothing store as well?”
Mo Susu giggled. “The tea mountain hasn’t brought in any profits these past few years, so I opened a clothing store. At least it can help make up for some of the loss.”
Ming Wushuang couldn’t help patting her on the head. “You child. You left without a word back then and didn’t even leave your mother a letter.”
Mo Susu looked utterly innocent. “But I did leave one.”
Ming Wushuang: “…”
A letter announcing that she had eloped with someone would have been better left unwritten!
“Elder Sister, this carriage is so comfortable. It barely jolts at all.” Fifth Miss Mo opened her large eyes and asked curiously.
Mo Susu pinched her chubby, steamed-bun-like cheek and explained, “We’re traveling on a cement road, so it’s smooth. More importantly, this carriage uses something called spring suspension.”
As she spoke, she sighed with admiration. “An issue of the Times once published an article about spring suspension. The Liu family immediately seized the opportunity and spent money researching how to use it in carriages. In the end, they really succeeded. Now the Liu family’s carriages are famous throughout Fengzhou.”
“The Liu family used to be just a family of carriage craftsmen without much of a fortune. Who would have thought they’d suddenly rise to prominence because of this?”
“Although quite a few people have started making these shock-absorbing carriages now, the Liu family has already made a great deal of money. I hear they’re even preparing to sell their carriages in Sizhou.”
Ming Wushuang was astonished. “Your newspaper teaches people how to make things like this, too?”
Mo Susu nodded. “All this theoretical knowledge was proposed by Her Highness the Princess. The Research Institute studies it, and once they confirm that it can be implemented, they publish it in the newspaper.”
Ming Wushuang was dumbfounded. “Wouldn’t that mean everyone knows such secrets?”
Normally, no matter whose hands such a technique fell into, they would never pass it on to others.
Mo Susu smiled as she explained, “Mother, to Her Highness, this doesn’t count as a secret. It’s simply a tool for improving the lives of the people.”
“Here, you’ll see opportunities everywhere, because Her Highness the Princess wants a prosperous age in which a hundred flowers bloom. So long as something benefits the people, Her Highness will share it with everyone.”
Ming Wushuang felt stirred to the depths of her heart. “The Princess has really managed to do all that?”
Mo Susu nodded. “You’ll understand once you’ve lived here for a while.”
In the carriage behind them, Yan Xuanzhi and Su Danchen had no attention to spare for the carriage’s improvements. Instead, they lifted the curtain and stared silently at the lively streets outside.
The streets were clean, and people streamed back and forth. Various hawkers’ cries mingled with the voices of customers bargaining, creating a vibrant and prosperous atmosphere.
The shops were clearly all newly built, filled with the vitality of something newly born.
Large panes of glass reflected their images. Through them, they could vaguely see the dazzling array of goods inside—many of which they had never seen before.
After traveling for some time, the carriage turned into an alley. The various sounds gradually faded away, and the surroundings grew quiet.
Before long, the carriage stopped in front of a residence.
Mo Susu jumped down, then lifted her younger sister out before helping Ming Wushuang from the carriage.
“This is the residence where I stay in Xianglu County. You’ll have to put up with it for now and stay here temporarily.”
Hua Jing smiled and patted her hand. “It’s no trouble at all. Thanks to you, otherwise we wouldn’t know what to do in a place where we don’t know anyone.”
“Exactly. This is a lovely courtyard—quiet and secluded,” said Han Lianmeng, the mother of Su Zhenxue.
As they chatted, everyone entered the residence.
The courtyard was not large, consisting of two sections.
Once everyone had taken their seats in the main hall, Hua Jing couldn’t help being the first to voice the worry in her heart. “Why haven’t we seen my Ah Ke?”
Mo Susu did not conceal the truth. “Yan Ke is serving as a diplomat. She should be in Sizhou at the moment, helping with disaster relief.”
“W-What did you say?” Hua Jing cried out, unable to believe her ears.
Although she knew that Fengzhou employed female officials, she had never imagined that her own daughter would become one of them—much less that she would run off to Sizhou to provide disaster relief.
As a thought occurred to her, panic rose in her heart. “But did she go to Tao Commandery?”
She had heard that the disaster-relief teams from Fengzhou had been assigned by the Emperor to Tao Commandery and Shankang Commandery, the areas most severely affected by the disaster.
