Song Xian reached out and held onto Xie Liangchen.
Song Xian said, "Don’t worry, if it really is Prince Lu, Liu Xi’s revenge will definitely be taken."
Song Xian and Prince Lu were destined to face off one day; for now, both sides maintained a superficial peace. Once they found the opportunity, they would both try to eliminate each other at all costs.
Song Xian said, "I will have soone continue looking into Liu Xi’s matter."
Xie Liangchen nodded.
Song Xian continued, "I have another thought, my father has always been preoccupied with my mother, and with the possibility of Prince Lu making so moves at sea, I am preparing to devote so effort to mariti affairs."
"ng Changshu’s father, ng Su, has always advocated for the developnt of mariti trade. However, Daqi has been plagued by continuous warfare, and the coastal states and counties are wary of too many barbarian rchant ships docking, which might incite conflict. In fact, the previous dynasty had a Mariti Trade Commissioner, and though there were risks with rchant ships going to sea, they always returned fully loaded, bringing significant tax silver to the court. The previous dynasty even had laws regarding sea rchants."
At this point, Song Xian smiled slightly.
Xie Liangchen gazed into Song Xian’s eyes, her expression full of contempt, resilience, and pride; emotions swirling within her eyes, shining brighter than the scorching sun.
Song Xian said, "But the previous dynasty didn’t fall due to mariti wars, rather from internal strife in the court. So, their reasoning was that it’s better to avoid more trouble. If conflict were truly stirred up, their positions might be at risk; additionally, soone might be fanning the flas. While the court doesn’t open up to sea rchants, so people might move privately."
Xie Liangchen knew Song Xian was talking about Prince Lu, rging the past and present situations, and Prince Lu’s affairs beca increasingly hard to conceal.
At least, they couldn’t be hidden from Song Xian.
Song Xian said, "I will seek out ng Su. ng Su knows the coastal situation well, and with his help, it will be quicker to uncover the truth."
Upon hearing this, Xie Liangchen felt reassured, "You must also be careful."
"Don’t worry," Song Xian said, "Sister has already taken a step ahead for ."
Xie Liangchen was puzzled.
Song Xian said, "The fact that the ng Family did not form a matrimonial alliance with Ji Yuan this ti is the most important step. Moreover, ng Changshu helped create a herbal illustration, and ng Su now has so understanding of the Eight States. When I go to see him, it will reduce so unfamiliarity and estrangent."
Xie Liangchen said, "ng Su is a decisive person; what I did may not be of much help."
"Madam, do not underestimate..."
Song Xian was interrupted by Xie Liangchen’s hand covering his mouth, "There’s still much to do, quickly make arrangents."
Xie Liangchen felt warmth in her palm, and Song Xian’s smile deepened, "As you command."
After Song Xian left, Chen Zigeng returned to the courtyard with Hu Zi.
"Sister," Chen Zigeng said, "look at what this is?"
Hu Zi was holding sothing fluffy, and upon closer inspection, Xie Liangchen saw it was a lamb.
"A sheep," Hu Zi was so excited he could barely speak, "a sheep... it’s a sheep."
Chen Zigeng had grown quite a bit over the past six months, considerably taller than Hu Zi, yet he still revealed a child’s nature when faced with the lamb.
Chen Zigeng said, "Brother-in-law bought many lambs." It was an enormous flock, the likes of which he had never seen before.
The Chen Family Village had also bought piglets and lambs, and had raised horses and yellow oxen, making surrounding villages envious, but they had never seen such a large flock of lambs.
If Hei Dan and the others ca, they could spend several days just watching the flock.
It was quite the effort for Chen Zigeng to pull Hu Zi out of the flock, and to comfort him, he even let Hu Zi choose the smallest lamb to hold.
On the surface, it seed to be for Sister to see, but deep down, Hu Zi just didn’t want to let go.
Not only Hu Zi, but everyone in the village grinned with their big white teeth when they saw this scene.
Xie Liangchen stepped forward to pet the lamb Hu Zi was holding. The lamb bleated softly, sounding so tender and endearing.
Hu Zi said, "I heard from the village chief that this year these lambs will be raised by the Sheep and Goat Breeding Bureau. The village can send people to learn, and once they’ve mastered it, they can raise lambs themselves next year."
The Eight States have vast pastures, not only for raising lambs but also warhorses. The Sheep and Goat Breeding Bureau will focus mainly on warhorses in the future.
Hu Zi looked up at Xie Liangchen, "Sister, can I go learn?"
Xie Liangchen reached out to pat Hu Zi’s head, "Once the spring plowing is done, you all need to study."
"We can’t study all the ti," Hu Zi replied, "I heard there are doctors at the Sheep and Goat Breeding Bureau that diagnose and treat illnesses for sheep, cattle, and horses. They heal people and animals; can’t I learn this?"
Xie Liangchen said, "Not everyone has to study for the civil service exams; once you learn how to read, if there’s a profession you like, naturally, you can pursue it."
"I like this," Hu Zi said, "I will study hard and beco soone like those doctors, treating animals."
After Hu Zi finished speaking, he said, "I’ll return the lamb now. I promised the people at the Sheep and Goat Breeding Bureau that I wouldn’t be gone long."
Xie Liangchen watched Hu Zi, "Since you’re just passing by the village, you can take it for a little walk around."
Hu Zi agreed with a joyful expression.
After Hu Zi left, Chen Zigeng and Xie Liangchen returned to the house and sat down.
Chen Zigeng sighed, "The Eight States are vast. Even though everyone is putting in a lot of effort, there are still not enough hands. Many lands remain uncultivated, and the officials and villagers are anxious with no solution. Missing the spring plowing ans the land will go to waste."
As Chen Zigeng spoke, he took out a piece of paper and showed it to Xie Liangchen, "Sister, look, this is Zhenzhou. Zhenzhou has reclaid so land this year, and the autumn harvest should yield thirty percent more grain than last year. This is from Dai State, and in Dai State’s current situation, forget reclaiming land; there are still many empty fields."
This task was given to Chen Zigeng by Mr. Dongli for him to observe and learn.
Since arriving in Dai State, Chen Zigeng had been running all over with the governnt officials.
Chen Zigeng said, "Not only are we short of manpower, but we also lack draft oxen and farming tools. If we prepare properly by next year, we could increase the grain yield by more than thirty percent."
Xie Liangchen said, "So, we need to take it slow and steady."
Chen Zigeng suddenly rembered sothing, "County Captain Li has found so people to transcribe docunts, I’d like to go take a look."
Xie Liangchen took Chen Zigeng with her to the governnt office. After the spring plowing, the Paper Workshop would open, and she still needed to inspect its preparations. When the Fourth Uncle and others arrived from Zhenzhou, all these matters needed handling.
...
Li Tao watched as his n loaded goods onto the ship.
Li Tao asked the steward, "Why are you two days late?"
The steward hurriedly replied, "Previously, you instructed that the people of the Eight States should not know. We dared not be too conspicuous when buying goods, divided the task among a dozen people to collect them, and then carefully moved everything together. Initially, we could have delivered directly, but who knew Liu Xi’s body would be found?"
At such a ti, they had to be cautious.
If there was a mistake, how would they explain it to their superiors...
Li Tao looked at the goods and found it worthwhile; at least, they did not expend too much effort. It was said that the people of the Eight States worked day and night to produce these things, almost costing them their lives.
Li Tao sneered inwardly, unaware that with just one touch, they could earn even more. Weren’t Song Xian and Princess Jia’an supposed to be clever, yet here they were, making a wedding dress for Prince Lu?
By the ti they painstakingly built so family business, Prince Lu would already have a powerful army.
It was a pity about Liu Xi’s compass; they still hadn’t figured out its workings. Should they perhaps bring in another person from Liu Xi’s side?
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