Farming and reading family

In the blink of an eye, a month has passed. Even if Xu Boyan didn't come to see Gao E, Gao E would still go to find Xu Boyan.

I mentioned before that we can’t keep delaying asking Miss Qiu for yellow-foot grass and green ebony. If getting them directly doesn’t work, we have to think of other ways.

"Lord Xu is a distinguished guest." Gao E gave a perfunctory bow.

Xu Boyan didn't care: "I've been waiting for your tea for a month, so I had to come and ask for it in person."

Gao E was stunned. She was usually so busy that she forgot about this matter. "That tea is really prestigious. Lord Xu, please wait a moment."

There wasn't much tea left from Tao Meiyu, and Gao E only took out half a can of it.

Xu Boyan took a sniff and said, "It's much better than what's sold in Beijing."

Gao E thought about Tao Meiyun saying it was better than the ones in the palace, and it seemed she wasn't exaggerating. "Besides this tea, what else is so important?"

Xu Boyan signaled Gao E to get some water to make tea, and Gao E told Lian Xin to boil the water.

"Princess Qingfeng was arranged by the Crown Prince to leave the capital. Now she is just saying that she is traveling outside, and people from many places have seen Princess Qingfeng." Xu Boyan said slowly.

Gao E thought for a moment: "Did they find someone to impersonate Princess Qingfeng?"

Xu Boyan nodded: "It is very likely so."

"How long can they keep it a secret?" Gao E thought these people were really brave.

"Hide it until the Princess meets Princess Qingfeng." Xu Boyan thought the Crown Prince must be in a difficult situation now. "But they may also have a reasonable reason to make Princess Qingfeng disappear."

Gao E paused.

"You said that Princess Qingfeng was bullied in Qinzhou City, but according to the online report, Princess Qingfeng has never been to Qinzhou City." Xu Boyan looked solemn.

Perhaps the prince's party also discovered that there was something wrong with Yishun Bo's arrival in Tanzhou City.

"Did she go there secretly?" Gao E guessed.

"Not sure." Xu Boyan didn't know either.

Before this, he also thought that Princess Qingfeng did not want to go to Shuoxi for marriage and had run away.

"Then..." Gao E felt a little unbelievable. "According to you, the eldest princess only has one daughter, Princess Qingfeng. Isn't she worried after not seeing her daughter for such a long time?"

When Gao E just gave birth to Xiaowu, she would wake up immediately if Xiaowu cried or even hummed twice.

She felt that her child was her mother's heart outside, and she was extremely worried about him.

"That's because you don't understand the Princess." Xu Boyan said this with some helplessness. "She changes her lovers every few days. She really protects Princess Qingfeng, but once she finds a favorite, she takes her on a tour and disappears for a year or two."

Gao E just wanted to say that her sister was domineering.

Even in such an era, as long as one has absolute power, one can do whatever he wants.

"So what are you going to do now?" Gao E thought that since Xu Boyan came to her to tell her this, he must have a solution.

"Wait." Xu Boyan looked calm.

"Wait?" Gao E thought Xu Boyan was not such a Buddhist person.

"The Crown Prince is very likely to use Princess Qingfeng to frame Prince Qing or Prince Huai. We just have to wait for him to take action." Xu Boyan was a little expectant.

He even hoped that the Crown Prince was framing Prince Qing, so that the Princess would most likely turn to Prince Qing.

They can easily win over the eldest princess.

Gao E suddenly realized: "Are you waiting for the prince's followers to shoot themselves in the foot?"

Xu Boyan nodded.

"These people in high positions are all deceitful and treacherous." Gao E sneered.

If we talk about farmers, they just gossip and spread rumors, or at most stand at the door and curse.

After scolding, it’s time to cook and go to the fields. Life must go on.

And those people always fight to the death, which is too dangerous.

Xu Boyan did not deny it: "So you have to be careful, if someone recognizes her, it will be troublesome."

Gao E wondered how cautious she should be. She couldn't just lock him up. "How about you take him away?"

Xu Boyan didn't respond: "By the way, the things you want may arrive in the next few days."

"Ah?" Gao E was surprised. "Did you really ask Miss Qiu for it?"

"Yeah." Xu Boyan did ask for it directly.

The yellow-foot grass can be used to treat horses, and although the ebony wood is not a good material, it is an excellent material for carving small ornaments. Qiu Zhen did ask him what he did, so he made up this excuse.

After that, Qiu Zhen agreed.

"Thank you." Gao E didn't ask how he wanted it.

Xu Boyan glanced at Gao E, and his thanks seemed distant: "One more thing."

"Master Xu has a lot to do today."

"Then I'll come here once for each task next time." Xu Boyan joked.

"It's better for us to talk about it together. My temple is small, and I can't afford to support Lord Xu if he comes all the time." Gao E said immediately.

Xu Boyan felt like he was being disliked: "You didn't even ask me what I said to Miss Qiu, but Miss Qiu believed me."

"What does this have to do with me?" Gao E spread her hands.

"I told Miss Qiu that Prince Qing asked me to come to He County to disrupt the opening of mulberry silk." Xu Boyan looked at Gao E with a smile.

Gao E's expression instantly turned bad: "Then you..."

After Xu Boyan came to He County, he never asked about mulberry silkworms.

"Prince Qing and I have different opinions on this matter, so I plan to let nature take its course." Xu Boyan wanted to laugh when he saw Gao E's nervous face.

"Then will Prince Qing let you go?" Gao E felt that Xu Boyan was playing with fire.

"As long as there are better results, Prince Qing will be very happy." Xu Boyan didn't care. "The opening of mulberry silk was proposed by the prince's party. The purpose is to increase silk production and export it to the sea to gain a lot of wealth."

Going to sea?

Gao E's eyes lit up. Although going to sea was dangerous, the profits were very considerable.

Seeing Gao E's money-obsessed look, Xu Boyan said, "Don't even think about it. Dachang's shipping is almost entirely controlled by the prince's party. Besides, shipbuilding is extremely expensive and not something that ordinary people can do."

"I just thought that there might be more crops overseas with higher yields, which can feed more people," Gao E said with a smile.

Xu Boyan was a little surprised: "People who go out to sea do bring back a lot of good things. If you have the chance, you can go to the coastal cities to take a look. There are many overseas people there, and they look different from the people of Dachang."

Gao E was really moved when she heard Xu Boyan say this: "So, you support the opening of mulberry silk industry. Why?"

Xu Boyan was silent for a long time. "The imperial court is trying to reform the tax system. From now on, all taxes and corvée labor will be paid with silver. The people will have to sell their grain to pay the government. This will inevitably lead to low prices for the people. When the grain is scarce, the price will rise again. Merchants will definitely make a huge profit from the difference."

Gao E took a deep breath and said, "Why would the court do this when the result is so obvious?"

"Do you think the court makes decisions based on the people's perspective?" Xu Boyan didn't expect Gao E to be naive. "Officials are also pushing this matter hard because it's to their benefit."

Gao E was silent for a long time and smiled bitterly: "If this is the case, even if you grow mulberry trees and raise silkworms, you will eventually be exploited."