After the banquet dispersed, the list of guests who attended today quickly spread through the various estates. Prince Ying, Xiao Rongyan, stared in disbelief at the servant who brought the news and questioned, Are you saying Imperial Father sent Yongjia to the Song Estate to congratulate Song Jinzhao on her housewarming?
The servant nodded vigorously and said with absolute certainty, This servant saw Princess Yongjia's carriage parked at the entrance of the County Princess's estate with my own eyes. Everyone who went to the banquet is saying so.
Xiao Rongyan frowned, looking slightly anxious. To think Imperial Father values Song Jinzhao so much that he even sent a gift for a mere housewarming banquet!
When Prince Qi, Xiao Rongche, found out, he was so furious that he smashed a tea set on the spot. They are all just a bunch of sycophants, actually rushing to curry favor with a County Princess of a different surname.
Prime Minister Gu Qishan stood before Xiao Rongche and consoled him, She is but a County Princess and cannot make any real waves. Since the Emperor currently favors Song Jinzhao, Your Highness should not act rashly, lest Prince Ying and Ye Liangyu catch onto anything to use against you.
Xiao Rongche took a deep breath and slammed his fist onto the table. His whole person was like an ignited powder keg, ready to explode at any moment.
Upon returning to the palace, Princess Yongjia immediately went to the Imperial Study to report back to Emperor Xiao Chengjing.
Imperial Father, I have delivered the gift you asked me to send.
Xiao Chengjing put down the memorial in his hand and beckoned Princess Yongjia to his side. How was it? How did you get along with County Princess Linghui today?
Xiao Chengjing had not really cared about a housewarming banquet. This morning, Princess Yongjia came to him saying she wanted to leave the palace to attend the Song Estate's housewarming banquet and get to know Song Jinzhao, so he casually asked her to bring a gift along.
Princess Yongjia replied, There were so many guests at the County Princess's estate today that I didn't have any time alone with her. I want to leave the palace and play with her next time.
She only went to the Song Estate because she knew Brother Liuyun was going, and she followed along out of worry.
Throughout the entire banquet, Brother Liuyun only exchanged two sentences with Song Jinzhao, which was even less than what she herself had spoken to her. Today's trip was truly a bit unnecessary.
Xiao Chengjing smiled affectionately at his daughter. There aren't many girls your age in the imperial clan. If you like her, you can visit County Princess Linghui more often so you won't get bored staying in the palace.
Thank you, Imperial Father. Princess Yongjia smiled and nodded at the Emperor. It would be nice if she could leave the palace frequently.
Xiao Chengjing's tone shifted as he suddenly asked, You mentioned there were many guests at the County Princess's estate today. Who all was there? Tell me.
Princess Yongjia focused her mind to recall. There was the Minister of Works and his wife, the Minister of Personnel and his wife, and Dongfang Yukun was there too. He seemed to have a very good relationship with the County Princess's younger brother.
There was also Lord Fei from the Hanlin Academy and Lord Ye from the Censorate. I also heard that all the servants in the County Princess's estate today were temporarily called over from the Ye Estate to help. Even on the male guests' side, Lord Ye took Song Qiming around to entertain them.
There were also some officials I didn't quite recognize. More than half of the dozen or so tables were full. When I arrived, I even bumped into Duke Qing at the entrance; he went too.
Xiao Chengjing looked at his daughter with a playful expression. Tell your Imperial Father the truth. Did you go to the Song Estate today because you wanted to see Chu Liuyun?
Princess Yongjia stopped talking, and two blushes of red dyed her cheeks. She stamped her foot coquettishly and said, Imperial Father, what are you saying? I already told you it was a chance encounter.
Watching Princess Yongjia's small figure fleeing in shyness, the Emperor gave a doting smirk. At sixteen, she was indeed reaching the age for marriage.
Neither Duke Zhenguo nor Chu Liuyun was involved in partisan politics, making him a pretty good choice.
After the housewarming banquet ended, the County Princess's estate became completely quiet. With few people walking about, it felt empty everywhere, and a gust of cold wind made it seem somewhat desolate.
However, Xuetuan liked it very much, running around everywhere every day. Sometimes even Shixue and Anhao couldn't find it.
At night, in the study connected to the bedroom, the bright candlelight shone brilliantly. Song Jinzhao was sitting in her chair, fully engrossed in writing a business proposal.
The braised food shop, milk tea shop, and barbecue shop from Anyang Prefecture could be copied over to open a few more branches in the capital. Luosifen and hot pot restaurants could also be prepared.
She also planned to take back the fields of Daohua Farm and Shiquan Farm after spring next year.
Daohua Farm was close to the river and had better soil, so she planned to use it to grow flowers. Shiquan Farm was located further back and would be used to build a farmstead and a perfume processing factory. By adopting a recruitment method to support these tenant farmers, she could solve their livelihood issues while ensuring her own interests were not compromised.
The number of wealthy people in the capital was several times that of other prefectures, and every woman loved to dress herself up beautifully.
The inner courtyards of high officials and nobles spent countless amounts of silver on clothes and jewelry every year. Bathing in flower petals was also extremely common, but the fragrance from this method lasted for a very short time, often dissipating within a night.
But if there was perfume, the fragrance could be maintained all day without fading. Thinking of the exorbitant prices and terrifying sales volumes of those big-name perfumes in the modern world, Song Jinzhao felt this was a business she absolutely had to do.
The first step was to buy a shop and get the business running. There were enough people on the farms, but what she needed now were workers to labor in the shop. Also, the number of servants in the estate needed to be increased by at least a dozen, so she still had to buy more people.
During the early morning court session the next day, Xiao Chengjing's intimidating gaze circled over the hats of the ministers below. Court of National Agricultural, what is the progress of the potato planting at the imperial farm outside the city?
Dong Yuanbin, the Chief Minister of the Court of National Agricultural, immediately stepped out from the crowd. To reply to Your Majesty, the greenhouses for planting potatoes have all been constructed. The potato tubers have all sprouted eyes, and planting can begin tomorrow.
Xiao Chengjing nodded in satisfaction, his sharp gaze sweeping toward Gu Qishan, who stood at the very front of the officials. My beloved Minister Gu, how is the refinement of the nautical chart coming along, and when can we set sail?
Gu Qishan's passionate heart instantly turned ice-cold. He took a step forward, cupped his hands, and said, To reply to Your Majesty, this subject has led people to look through all the ancient texts in the Chongwen Pavilion. Among them, records regarding maritime affairs are extremely scarce, and none of them match the parchment map submitted by County Princess Linghui. Presumably, it is so far from the coast that our predecessors have never explored it.
Xiao Chengjing was very dissatisfied with Gu Qishan's answer, and his tone grew heavier. I do not care whether our predecessors have explored it or not. Since potatoes could be found in that place, perhaps there are even more astonishing products. If the Chongwen Pavilion cannot find relevant historical records, then we shall personally send people out to sea to search. What do my beloved ministers think?
...
For a moment, no one spoke.
The fierce winds, massive waves, and torrential downpours on the sea could claim a life at any time. At a moment like this, whoever spoke first would be the unlucky one. If things went wrong, they might end up dying in the sea just like those foreigners who traveled across the ocean.
Seeing that no one responded after a long while, Xiao Chengjing's eyes gradually darkened. Prince Qi, what do you think?
Feeling very helpless inside, Xiao Rongche stepped forward. To reply to Imperial Father, this son believes that since the Chongwen Pavilion cannot find relevant historical records, we should send people to search among the common folk. Perhaps someone will know.
Xiao Chengjing was not satisfied with this answer. Who knew if folk histories were true or false? Prince Ying, what is your opinion?
The parchment nautical chart was obtained by Song Jinzhao, and the matter was handed over to Gu Qishan to handle. Even if a new continent was found, the credit would not belong to him; instead, it would only make Song Jinzhao and Prince Qi's faction more smug. Xiao Rongyan wished for nothing more than for this matter to fail.
"I humbly believe that what Eldest Brother said is not without reason. However, I think we should send envoys to the coastal prefectures to make inquiries. The commoners there spend their years sailing the seas; perhaps they know things that others do not."
Xiao Chengjing's expression softened slightly. Seeing that the rest of the court remained silent, he declared, "We shall do as the Prince of Ying suggests. Order the officials of the coastal prefectures to gather information among the people."
The ministers dropped to their knees and chanted in unison, "Your Majesty is infinitely wise."
Standing amidst the crowd, Ye Liangyu lifted her head to steal a glance at the Emperor seated high upon the dragon throne. With progress moving at such a glacial pace, heaven only knew how long it would take to find the true origin of the potatoes.
Now that they already possessed the potato seeds, she feared this whole endeavor would ultimately be left unresolved and forgotten.
