Professional Ethics of a Concubine

After breakfast, Prince Duan took everyone to tour the manor. He personally introduced every place and answered the questions of the Seventh Prince and the Ninth Princess in detail and patiently.

When they arrived at the Appreciation Garden, Prince Duan was very familiar with the calligraphy, paintings, ancient books, etc. collected there (one third of which was contributed by him, so they are indeed treasures), which fully demonstrated his knowledge and cultivation, as well as his elegance and humor.

The whole person seemed to be wearing a halo, shining brightly.

Not to mention the Ninth Princess, who loved the Central Plains culture, whose eyes sparkled when she heard it. The Seventh Prince also nodded frequently, thinking that Prince Duan was a man of extraordinary talent.

Su Ting also felt jealous.

Look at the princes of the Great Zhao. Apart from the Crown Prince, the Prince Duan is also not a simple person.

The fifth prince of their Gulan Kingdom was also known to be well-read, knowledgeable, and a gentleman, but compared with Prince Duan, he was still far behind.

The Third Prince watched and listened from the side, secretly curled his lips, and whispered in his heart that Prince Duan was too good at pretending.

I envy him so much!

The Ninth Princess asked Prince Duan many questions, and like a little fan girl, she praised Prince Duan many times for his amazing erudition.

Prince Duan's speech became more elegant and his smile became more charming.

During the break, the Third Prince couldn't help but pull Prince Duan aside and quietly asked him, "You and the Ninth Princess of Dayan are flirting with each other. Do you want to marry her?"

"Don't talk nonsense. You will damage the reputation of the Ninth Princess if you say that. I was just doing my duty to entertain her. I didn't mean that."

Although Prince Duan thought that the Ninth Princess was sweet and lovely, a lovely girl, he was still unwilling to marry a princess of Dayan.

He has no ambition to rise to power, so why would he marry a princess from an enemy country and bring trouble upon himself?

If the two countries go to war again in the future, it would be disheartening to think about having a princess of Dayan in his mansion. If the two of them have a deep relationship, it would be terrible.

"If you're not interesting, then don't laugh so coquettishly." The third prince sneered.

"Look how anxious you are. If you are jealous, just say it directly." Prince Duan retorted sarcastically.

The third prince snorted, turned around and left because he couldn't win the argument.

So angry, so angry!

-

During lunch, Prince Duan put the strong liquor that the Crown Prince had sent yesterday into an exquisite wine jug and served it to the Seventh Prince and others for tasting during the meal.

Although the Seventh Prince was good at drinking, he was choked by the spicy taste of such strong liquor when he first tasted it, and his face turned red.

"What's the name of this wine? It's so strong!" The Seventh Prince asked in surprise after tasting the aftereffect of the wine.

"I call it Forget-your-worries wine," Prince Duan said with a smile. "This wine is too strong. People who are not good at drinking will get drunk after two cups. It is said that a single drink can dispel a thousand worries, so I gave it this name."

"What a great name! I feel like I'm going to get drunk just by smelling this wine." The Ninth Princess said with a smile.

"Get drunk, forget all your worries, be free from worries, and have peace for a while, how wonderful it is."

"You can escape temporarily, but you can't escape forever." General Wei, who was in charge of protecting the safety of the princes and princesses in the Dayan delegation, suddenly spoke.

The moment he opened his mouth, his sharpness was revealed, with a sense of war and iron cavalry.

"General, you are right. The worries and sorrows I mentioned are just my little girl's thoughts, not worth mentioning." The Ninth Princess blinked, smiled coquettishly, then poured a glass of wine and said to General Wei,

"It is because of the general guarding the border and protecting my country that I have this kind of thought of pretending to be sad and forgetting my worries. I offer a glass of wine to the general and thank him for his protection."

"Princess, your words are too kind. I cannot accept them."

General Wei was surprised for a moment, then stood up with a tense expression, bowed and took a few steps back, without taking the wine from the Ninth Princess.

"General, you are so... Never mind. I may have offended you a little." The Ninth Princess sighed slightly, put down the wine, and asked General Wei to sit down again.

Prince Duan looked at the situation, then looked at General Wei, thinking of going back to investigate carefully, as he felt that there was something wrong with this man.

He quickly winked at the Third Prince, asking him to stop watching the fun and quickly save the situation, warm up the scene, and add goods.

"Oh, look at you guys, you can even drink some wine and still sound sad and complain. If you ask me, this wine is good because it's strong and can refresh you and warm your body. It's best to drink it in the winter when it snows."

Yuchi Yongning received Prince Duan's gaze and then smiled and said,

"Prince Duan, how much do you sell this wine for? When I return to Gulan, I will get some more to bring back. I will rely on it for warming up in the winter."

"Can I buy it? I want some too." The Seventh Prince also spoke with interest.

"As far as I know, this kind of strong liquor consumes more grain and its yield is not high." Before Prince Duan could speak, Su Ting spoke up.

"Prince Duan, our country has already signed the alliance. Logically, these good things should be given priority to us.

I can sign another agreement with you on behalf of the Empress. No matter how much of these wines you produce each year, we will take 90% of them every year."

"How can this be possible! Lord Su, even if you have formed an alliance, you can't be so greedy and almost take it for yourself."

The Seventh Prince immediately said with dissatisfaction.

"If not, what's the point of forming an alliance?" Su Ting asked back indifferently.

The Seventh Prince was choked by his words.

"Sir Su, the Seventh Prince of Dayan obviously also likes this wine. You can't be so overbearing and snatch all of it. The Seventh Prince is also my honored guest..."

"Your Highness, this is a matter of national interest, and I do not want to give in! Dayan also wants it, so it should show more sincerity and bid with us to see who Dayan is more willing to sell it to."

Su Ting acted impartially and refused to give an inch.

The third prince thought to himself, Lord Su, you are a very dedicated person, very good.

The Seventh Prince frowned and said nothing, wondering if the two countries were really going to have a marriage alliance?

"Prince Duan, how much silver does this jar of wine cost?" asked the Ninth Princess.

"The production of this wine is not high, and it takes a lot of grain and time to make. Scarcity makes things valuable, so the price is a bit high, one hundred taels per jar."

Prince Duan said with a smile.

On the market, wine that costs thirty taels of silver for a jar is already considered high-end wine, while there are also low-quality wines that cost only one tael of silver per jar.

A jar of wine weighs about twelve pounds.

"One hundred taels is indeed not low, but it is worth it." Su Ting said, "We in Gulan Country are buying in large quantities, can we get a lower price? We can also exchange goods or even horses for them."

The Seventh Prince stared at Su Ting, wondering if this old man was crazy for trading horses for liquor.

"Of course. However, this is a matter between our two countries, and we can discuss the details later. Today, the Seventh Prince of Dayan is here, so we will just taste the wine."

Prince Duan said with a smile.

"I will listen to Prince Duan." Su Ting responded with a smile, took another sip of wine and tasted it, then continued,

"Prince Duan, your Great Zhao is truly vast and rich in resources, with numerous talented people, and the things you create are all amazing.

This time it was strong liquor. A few days ago, we were willing to pay for the sugar, salt, soap and other good things with our horses. If you come up with any more good things, we won’t be able to afford them even if we want to.”

The third prince glanced at Su Ting and thought, how come you are more dedicated than me.

"Sugar and other goods are worth a lot of money. If we sell them to the nobles back home, wouldn't the money in the treasury be returned? It's not a loss at all!"

The Third Prince immediately took it and continued to flatter,

"It is only because our two countries have formed an alliance that Great Zhao is willing to share these sugars with us. Prince Duan also said that the quantity is limited and they don't even have enough for themselves."

"What is sugar and soap?" asked the Seventh Prince of Dayan with interest.

"That's a good thing." The third prince urged Prince Duan to take out the thing quickly and let the seventh prince see it.

"Well, well... okay." Prince Duan looked embarrassed and said to the Seventh Prince,

"We are just tasting it. The quantity is limited. We can't even supply it to Gulan Country. We don't plan to sell it outside."

The Seventh Prince was not very happy to hear this. He thought to himself, "What good things have I not seen? Even if you beg me to buy them, I will not buy them."

However, a quarter of an hour later...

The Seventh Prince took Prince Duan aside and whispered in his ear,

"Prince Duan, we are sincere in purchasing sugar and salt. We are willing to pay 10% more than Gulan. Can you give us some of the share?"

"This, this really stumps me." Prince Duan pretended to be embarrassed and said in a low voice,

"I can't make the decision on this matter. It has to be decided by my father and the Crown Prince. As you know, the Queen of Gulan is the Crown Prince's aunt. The Crown Prince gave Gulan so much at a low price because of the Queen's face..."

The Seventh Prince pursed his lips and couldn't help thinking again, are the two countries really going to make peace with each other? Otherwise, he couldn't even buy some precious things from the Great Zhao? !

The Seventh Prince knew the value of sugar and refined salt, so when he saw that Prince Duan refused to give in, he did not insist and instead prepared to return to the guild hall with his men, intending to report the matter to his father as quickly as possible.

As for liquor, soap, hydrosol, and scented soap, although they are also rare good things, they are not as valuable as sugar and refined salt. Although the Seventh Prince also wants them, he is not so urgent.

Before the Seventh Prince and his companions left, they naturally had to calculate the bill. Because there were so many of them, they spent over a thousand taels of silver on breakfast and lunch, even before they bought anything.

The Seventh Prince had no concept of money and did not think that one thousand taels was too much. After all, they were many in number and they ate a lot.

The clerk from the Ministry of Revenue in the delegation frowned.

The people of Da Zhao are so evil, and this meal is too expensive!

"This small bottle of pure water and this small piece of soap are given to the Ninth Princess." Prince Duan said with a smile.

The Ninth Princess happily accepted the gift and thanked Prince Duan with a smile.

The Great Zhao and its things are really good. Even if there is no marriage, she wants to stay here for a while longer.

-

On the way back in the carriage, the Ninth Princess opened the small bottle of pure water, and soon the carriage was filled with the fragrance of flowers.

"Take this thing back to Dayan. The queens and noble ladies in the palace will definitely like it very much."

The Ninth Princess covered the pure dew, picked up the small piece of soap, and said to the Seventh Prince with a smile,

"And this soap. I heard from Prince Duan that using it to wash hands can make them smell good. I'll try it when I get back."

The Seventh Prince looked at the two items, then thought about the sugar and salt, and asked uncomfortably with a tangled look on his face.

"Han Yan, Great Zhao has something we want. The two countries may really want to marry each other. Are you sure you want to be the princess of the marriage?"

"Of course. Great Zhao is a good place, I like it here." The Ninth Princess nodded again, without a trace of reluctance or embarrassment.

"Prince Duan is well-educated and well-spoken. I see that you like him very much. He is a good candidate for marriage." The Seventh Prince said.

"Of course, your first choice is still the crown prince. With the current strength of our Great Yan, you can enter the East Palace and become a concubine of the crown prince. In the future, you can become a concubine. Your life should be easier."

"Brother, I admire Prince Duan's knowledge, not his personality. In fact, it doesn't matter which man she marries."

The Ninth Princess waved her hands coquettishly and said nonchalantly,

"When I live in the harem, I first have to see if my wife is tolerant and generous. If she is narrow-minded, petty, and intolerant, I will not be able to live a peaceful life even if I am the princess of Dayan."

The Seventh Prince opened his mouth, wanting to refute, but was unable to.

There is nothing wrong with what my sister said.

"It would be great if you could be the principal wife." The Seventh Prince said, "No matter how tolerant a principal wife is, she cannot be caring towards a concubine. It would be great if she doesn't make things difficult for her from time to time."

"Then my royal brother, please ask someone to inquire about the marriage and harem affairs of the princes of the Great Zhao, and choose the most suitable one." The Ninth Princess said with a smile.

The Seventh Prince immediately agreed, "Even if you don't tell me, I will have someone find out in detail."

"Relying on the fact that I am the princess married into a foreign country, my royal brother, remember to get more benefits for yourself and mother after returning to Dayan." The Ninth Princess said with a smile.

"For your sake, I want to fight for the throne. Father is old, and the crown prince is ambitious and wants to conquer Zhao and move south. Once the crown prince takes the throne, the alliance between the two countries will soon collapse and war will break out again."

The Seventh Prince looked at the Ninth Princess and spoke softly.

He knew how dangerous the road to succession was, and he also knew that he did not have enough bargaining chips and power. However, his sister was willing to be a princess for the sake of Dayan and the peace between the two countries.

She even said that if war breaks out between the two countries again, she would kill herself immediately. This made him helpless and distressed, but also deeply touched.

For the sake of his sister, he also wanted to try and see if he could sit on the throne.

"Brother, if the fight for the throne fails, you and mother will die." The Ninth Princess said with red eyes, "Perhaps you won't make it to the end, and you will be killed."

"If the two countries go to war again, you will die, and many civilians and soldiers will also die." said the Seventh Prince.

The Ninth Princess wiped her tears and smiled again, "Brother, let's not talk about these unhappy things. It was a long time ago. Thinking about it now is so tiring."

The Seventh Prince raised his hand and tapped her forehead speechlessly, "You can escape for a while, but you can't escape forever. You are only thinking about living a comfortable life now."

The Ninth Princess covered her head and pouted, wanting to refute but giving up, she finally said, "Royal brother, please have someone keep an eye on General Wei. I'm afraid he can't help but cause trouble again."

The Seventh Prince thought of what General Wei had said today, frowned, and agreed.

-

manor.

"Lord Su, you weren't acting just now. Do you really want this liquor?" The third prince asked him with his eyes wide open.

"Of course I'd like to have such good wine," said Su Ting.

"...Today you all sang the same tune and scared away the people from Dayan. They didn't buy anything." The third prince was a little dissatisfied.

"Why rush? Good food is never too late." Prince Duan said confidently.

"The people of Dayan will definitely buy it, and they will buy a lot. Scarcity makes things valuable, and things that people fight over are more attractive."

Of course, the third prince also knows this truth.

It's not that he has no money in his pocket, he's just in a hurry to make money by slaughtering the fat sheep.

Ugh.

Fatten it up a bit before slaughtering it.

-

East Palace.

"Your Highness, I heard that Dayan and we are really going to have a marriage alliance?" Ye Qingzhi asked Xie Jin.

"Well, it's almost certain." Xie Jin replied, "Who do you think is suitable to marry Princess Dayan?"

"I can't say for sure who is suitable." Ye Qingzhi said, "But I know who is not suitable."

"Tell me something."

"Neither Prince Duan nor the Sixth Prince are suitable." Ye Qingzhi said seriously.

Princess Duan heard the rumor from somewhere, and came to her today to ask her to think of a way to prevent Prince Duan from marrying Princess Dayan.

She said that she had finally managed to subdue the women in the backyard, but she didn't expect another Buddha to appear in the backyard.

For this purpose, Princess Duan also said that she was willing to pay 12,000 taels of silver.

Ye Qingzhi did not take the silver because she also did not agree with Prince Duan marrying Princess Dayan.

If she were to say, it would be better for the prince to take the person into the backyard, keep her under his nose and keep an eye on her without having to worry about anything going wrong.

However, since the leader did not take the initiative to mention marrying Princess Dayan, she would not say anything, so as not to hurt the leader's love brain and make her angry again, and she would have to coax him. There was no need to cause trouble for herself.

When Xie Jin heard her say this, he was a little disappointed. He thought she was going to say that he was not suitable.

Xie Jin suppressed his love mind and let his career mind take over, then he asked, "Why do you say that?"

"Prince Duan is a scholar, and he is also a very sentimental person. Once Princess Dayan enters his heart, it will be a troublesome matter. Who knows what he will reveal."

Ye Qingzhi said,

"As for the Sixth Prince, a lot of his research needs to be kept secret. If you let Princess Dayan be his consort, you are putting a Dayan spy in front of our secret weapon. Your Highness, do you think this is appropriate?"