Harem Daily Life

Kang Mowan was anxious and helpless, waiting for the Emperor of the Great Zhou to summon him. He wandered around the capital of the Great Zhou to kill time, and the sight of the numerous shops and the constant flow of people filled him with envy.

"Your Highness, even if our Xia Nation develops for another ten years, it won't even be one-tenth as strong as the Great Zhou!" The subordinate smacked his lips in amazement. "Just now, I saw that gold shop. Everyone who entered the shop came back with a huge bag! They're really willing to spend a lot of money to buy so much jewelry."

"You don't know this, right? I heard that the palace is choosing a princess consort for the second prince, Prince Jin, and the noble ladies of the capital are scrambling to buy jewelry, hoping to make a splash at the princess selection banquet." said another subordinate.

"Tsk tsk tsk, I heard that Prince Jin was adopted from the common people, and he's treated so well."

"Humph, you believe this kind of unofficial history? If you ask me, maybe the Emperor of the Great Zhou had provoked a romantic debt among the people. Otherwise, if there was no connection, how could he be crowned king?"

The chattering voices of the two people reached Kang Mowan's ears. He listened quietly and felt even more irritated.

"Speak less. The Ningyuan Marquis' Mansion is just ahead. I want to meet an old friend. You can go back on your own." Kang Mowan shook off his two subordinates and went straight to the Ningyuan Marquis' Mansion.

He did not send an invitation in advance, but just happened to walk near here and wanted to try his luck. Unexpectedly, his luck was good. Marquis Ningyuan did not go out, and soon the housekeeper personally welcomed him into the mansion.

"Alas, Your Highness has come a long way, and I should have been the one to welcome you personally, but I was so busy that I neglected you. Your Highness, please take a seat. Someone, bring tea."

Ning Yuanhou was very enthusiastic. He and Kang Mowan had known each other for more than ten years, and he had received many music scores from Kang Mowan over the years.

Kang Mowan said a few polite words and then changed the subject to the trade between Xia Kingdom and Da Zhou.

Ning Yuanhou took a sip of tea and raised an eyebrow, saying, "The trade between our two countries has made a great contribution to the people of both countries. This is worthy of recognition."

Kang Mowan seemed to have found a confidant and nodded in agreement. "Your Majesty is right. Because our two countries have been at war for half a year, both sides have suffered huge losses. Our monarch is very worried. This time, he sent me on another visit in order to open up border trade as soon as possible. There is money to be made, so why get angry?"

Ningyuan Hou smiled and said, "Xia was the first to disturb the border of our Great Zhou. Our emperor was furious, so he launched an army to suppress it. This trade closure is also a means of punishing Xia for breaking its promise and being the first to provoke. Don't worry, when our emperor's anger subsides and he has time to think about trade, he will naturally summon you."

Kang Mowan sighed, "When will this wait end? Winter is about to arrive in the Great Zhou, and the New Year will come in two months. When the court closes, won't we have to wait until after the New Year? The Marquis and I have known each other for many years, and the last time we reopened trade, it was with the Marquis's help. I have a humble request. I hope the Marquis can put in a few good words for our Xia Kingdom with the Empress Dowager. I will be very grateful!"

Kang Mowan is already very familiar with taking a roundabout way to save the country.

Ning Yuanhou said with some embarrassment, "It's true that I haven't been able to see the Emperor and Empress lately. The queue of people looking for them is almost reaching the city gate. How about this, you go back and wait for my news. I'll see if the Empress is free to see me after the banquet in the palace is over in a couple of days."

Kang Mowan had no other choice. Getting Ningyuan Hou to agree to help was already the biggest gain of his visit today. As for whether it could be done quickly, he could only leave it to fate.

In Changle Palace, Chang Tai brought in news from the Ningyuan Marquis's Mansion and handed Tao Yanyan a handwritten letter from the Ningyuan Marquis.

"Xia Nation, despite having learned from past mistakes, they never learn. They keep jumping around every few years, yet each time they act with little ability, they always beg for mercy." Tao Yanyan closed the letter, thought for a moment, and said, "Go tell the Marquis that I know about this and tell him to wait for my news."

Xianglan brought in a new harvest of fruit from the Royal Farm. The large, sweet grapes looked like a string of amethysts, and the peeled honey pomelo looked delicious. Tao Yanyan picked up a piece of the pomelo and said, "These fruit trees from Xia Country are really good. The fruit they produce is sweet and delicious."

Xianglan replied, "The farm says the fruit is good this year, though the yield isn't huge. Some has been sent to the palace, and Consort Xian has distributed some to the royal family and the various palaces accordingly. Some has been given as rewards to court officials, and the rest has been sold. The price is higher than other fruits, but sales are so good that demand is exceeding supply."

Tao Yanyan ate a few more grapes and said, "Trade with Xia Country hasn't opened up yet, so their fruit can't be shipped in. We grow less ourselves, so the price is naturally higher."

She ate some more and said, "Take it and divide it among you. Tell Tao Xiang that we must persist in breeding the seedlings. Our goal is to plant fruit trees on every piece of land in Da Zhou. These fruits are good and very nutritious."

When the fruit harvest is good, she can open a fruit drink shop.

That's a good business that can be replicated crazily with huge profits.

Thinking of the fruit drink shop he had been thinking about, Tao Yanyan stood up and said, "Let's go see His Majesty."

When the queen comes, He Linzhang has to make time to see her no matter how busy he is.

Several adults were discussing matters with the emperor, and Tao Yanyan did not shy away from stating his purpose directly.

"Your Majesty, I feel that delaying Xia's trade any further is not a solution. How about you order the blockade to be lifted?"

Censor Qiu raised an eyebrow and said, "I heard that Prince Kang of Xia State and Marquis Ningyuan are very close. He went to the Ningyuan Marquis's residence yesterday, and today the Empress came to ask Your Majesty to open up trade between the two countries. Isn't this... too much of a coincidence? Could it be that Marquis Ningyuan received some benefits from Xia State and used the Empress's backdoor?"

Tao Yanyan's smile didn't reach his eyes. "Censor Qiu is quite well-informed. Do you have spies in various families? How can you get the news so quickly?"

Censor Qiu quickly bowed his head and said, "I dare not. I only heard it. Please, Your Majesty, do not think of me in such a terrible way."

Tao Yanyan snorted coldly, "Then Lord Qiu casually fabricated that Ningyuan Hou accepted favors and that I used my connections to seek benefits for others. Isn't that a shameful idea?"

Censor Qiu didn't dare to say anything else. Over the years since he took over Censor Zhang's position, he had rarely been able to defeat the Empress Dowager.

Impeaching the empress was something their Censorate often did, but they were rarely successful.

He Linzhang knew that the Queen said this because she wanted to open up trade quickly. He originally wanted to curb the Xia Kingdom's arrogance and make them bow their heads and be more submissive. Since the Queen wanted it, he would let her get it as she wished.

"Alright, since we're all here to discuss reopening trade with Xia Country, let's finalize the matter today."

Minister of War, Lord Yuan, said, "Your Majesty is absolutely right. I believe that the Xia Kingdom has repeatedly invaded and refused to repent. We should strike them down to the bitter end, cut off their trade for three to five years, and then let them run wild."