The prince is more stable

Chapter 135 The Original Intention of Living on Parents

Asking for money is so arrogant.

His original intention of traveling through time was to be a playboy who lived off his parents, but no matter how capable Zhao Xiaoqian was, he never forgot his original intention.

Zhao Hao stared at his son's outstretched hand with his small green eyes and didn't come back to his senses for a long time.

"You have a lover in a brothel, but you want me to pay to redeem her?" Zhao Hao tried to sort out the logical relationship here.

"Don't think about it. I was born to owe my son something. It's as simple as that." Zhao Xiaoqian stopped him from doing the dangerous act of self-igniting the CPU.

Zhao Hao suddenly understood. With this explanation, it seemed to make sense, and the reluctance in his heart seemed to be less obvious.

Then, Zhao Hao remembered another thing and immediately became furious.

"I just told you that you were getting married soon and to have less contact with prostitutes. Not only did you not listen, but you asked me to pay for you to redeem the prostitutes?" Zhao Hao was furious.

Zhao Xiaoqian patiently explained, "If a brothel girl redeems herself, she's no longer a brothel girl, but my concubine. My association with a concubine won't be gossiped about by the Di family, right?"

Zhao Hao was stunned again.

Wow, it seems to make some sense. Why do I always feel that what my son says makes sense? It’s amazing!
Rich families don't care about taking concubines before marriage, and they don't worry that the concubine will take the position of the wife. This is impossible.

Therefore, from ancient times to the present, many sons of wealthy families would buy several concubines and keep them at home after their male functions were fully developed. This was not a problem, but would instead win them a reputation for elegance.

Women who marry the sons of wealthy families are mostly of equal social status and do not care about the existence of concubines in the man's family.

The status of a concubine is only slightly higher than that of a maid, and poses no threat to the status of the wife. Even if the wife dies early, the concubine cannot be promoted to the position of the wife. This is determined by the rules of hierarchy of the upper class and the interests of the marriage between the two families.

Zhao Hao didn't care about his son taking a concubine, he cared about the money.

"...How much money does it cost to redeem your lover?" Zhao Hao asked with a painful look on his face.

"Twenty thousand strings of cash!" Zhao Xiaoqian didn't even blink.

Zhao Hao was silent for a long time, then slowly said, "Son, put a straw sign on your father's head, drag him to the Bianjing market and kneel down. Let's see if anyone is willing to buy me for 20,000 strings of cash..."

After finishing his words calmly, Zhao Hao leaped up in a rage, his mouth spitting with excitement. "What woman is worth 20,000 strings of cash? Is she some golden-bodied female bodhisattva from a temple? Who set the price? Go burn that brothel down! The brothel owner is gouging the price! He deserves to die a thousand times!"

Zhao Xiaoqian blinked: "Father is happy or angry, don't get excited. Your constitution is prone to illness if excited..."

"I'm so angry I'll die!"

"The brothel owner shouldn't die. On the contrary, I think he's very kind..."

"how you said that?"

"After friendly negotiations and a lively exchange of words between me and the shopkeeper, he has decided to redeem me at half the price. He can take my lover away for just 10,000 strings of cash. Father, are you surprised?"

Zhao Hao's eyes lit up, and then he fell into infinite self-loathing.

I actually had a moment of surprise just now. I'm so disappointed.

Why should I be surprised? My son redeemed his lover, and besides paying the money, what else can I do?

"Father, I'll give you a surprise later. Please take out the money first. I'm very anxious." Zhao Xiaoqian urged.

Zhao Hao sighed helplessly, suddenly missing his introverted and cowardly eldest son who never left the house. Now look at his son, his cheerful personality has become more and more badass, and he is developing towards the direction of a playboy...

"In two days, the profit from the snow salt will probably come down. Our family will probably get a few tens of thousands of strings of cash. Then you can use the money to redeem your lover."

"Thank you, father, for your help." Zhao Xiaoqian said happily.

Seeing his son was about to leave, Zhao Hao stopped him.

"You have to tell me who your lover is. I am also familiar with Zuihuayin. Which woman is it that you are so concerned about?" Zhao Hao asked.

Zhao Xiaoqian smiled: "The girl's name is Jiang Miaoxian, and she is the most popular lady in Zuihuayin." Zhao Hao opened his eyes wide in shock.

Zhao Xiaoqian was extremely filial and calmly added, "Oh right, that's the courtesan my father once gave you a thousand taels of silver, but she wouldn't even see you."

…………

Jiang Miaoxian would be redeemed in two days. Zhao Xiaoqian finally had his mind at ease and felt much better.

News that made him feel better also came one after another.

Wei Jie and Zhang Xiaoyi came together and reported to Zhao Xiaoqian several things about the Liao delegation.

After the autumn hunt in the western suburbs, the Liao delegation was indeed restless.

After returning to Bianjing City, Xiao Guangjing was still not in a hurry to negotiate, but continued to delay.

At the same time, a Liao Dynasty delegation of nearly a hundred people came out in droves to visit Song Dynasty officials everywhere.

Over the next few days, they visited the Minister of War, the Inspector of Firearms, and even high-ranking officials in the court such as Zeng Bu, the Privy Councilor, and Qian Zhongshen, the Vice Minister of Rites.

The purpose of the visit was only one, which was to inquire about the information of the flintlock rifle and test the attitude of the Song Dynasty. The Liao Kingdom was willing to purchase a thousand flintlock rifles from the Song Dynasty. If the Song Dynasty was willing, the Liao Kingdom could exempt the Song Dynasty from annual tribute for three years.

Three years of annual tribute was equivalent to about 1.5 million strings of cash. The Liao Kingdom's offer was really generous.

Unfortunately, the flintlock rifle had been classified as top secret by Zhao Xu. In the entire court, only the Director of Firearms and Zhao Xiaoqian knew the true manufacturing method and the correct ratio of gunpowder.

Zhao Xiaoqian didn't know who the Director of Firearms was, and he had never seen him before, but he was certain that he must be someone Zhao Xu trusted deeply.

Even if the other senior officials were willing to agree, they would not be able to access the secrets of the flintlock rifle, let alone decide to sell it.

The Liao Dynasty delegation of nearly a hundred people rushed around the city of Bianjing for several days, but ended up with nothing.

The Imperial City Bureau has been very busy these days. The Liao Dynasty delegation of hundreds of people has to be monitored by the Imperial City Bureau's spies. The movements of everyone in the delegation are within the Imperial City Bureau's sight.

As for Xiao Guangjing, the chief envoy of the Liao Kingdom, he has not made any moves in the past few days.

After all, what they were doing was shameful, and the identity of the chief envoy was too inconvenient. If the truth was revealed accidentally, it would also affect the image of the Liao Kingdom, so the dirty work was usually left to the people below.

But Xiao Guangjing was not idle either.

Zhang Xiaoyi reported that Xiao Guangjing had become much more depressed in recent days, but the playboys in Bianjing still enthusiastically invited Xiao Guangjing to go out and play every day, even to brothels and gambling houses.

But Xiao Guangjing was not happy. He looked like he was worried about something and even seemed absent-minded when gambling in the gambling house.

I don’t know if it’s the country’s destiny that has affected my personal luck, but Xiao Guangjing’s luck these past few days has been so bad that even drinking cold water can make his teeth ache. The gambling house couldn’t even let him off deliberately, and Xiao Guangjing actually lost some money.

This result was not only a headache for the gambling house, but also for Zhang Xiaoyi, who was afraid that it would affect Zhao Xiaoqian's plan. Zhang Xiaoyi was extremely nervous when he visited him today.

Zhao Xiaoqian didn't blame him, and Xiao Guangjing's reaction was expected.

It's right that the situation is not right. The Song Dynasty has produced powerful firearms. The offensive and defensive situation between the Song and Liao dynasties that has lasted for nearly a hundred years is about to change. In the future, the Liao Dynasty may not dare to easily go to war with the Song Dynasty. It would be strange if Xiao Guangjing was in a good mood.

After Wei Jie and Zhang Xiaoyi reported, Zhao Xiaoqian nodded slowly.

"The time is almost right. It's time to give the Liao envoy a tough fight. Do you really think it's so easy to win the Song Dynasty's money?" Zhao Xiaoqian murmured.

"Pig killing" is not charity, but a trap.

This trap has been set up for many days and a lot of bait has been thrown out. Now it's time to harvest.

"Xiao Yi, tell Cai You that we can close the net now. Tomorrow, have Cai You come out, accompanied by the Bianjing dandies. First, invite him to a dinner, then go to the gambling house. Everyone should have a good time with the Liao envoy."

(End of this chapter)