Remarrying Chun Yuan

Upon receiving this news, Fang Suozi immediately summoned the stewards and, along with Liu Muchi, went to meet them.

This abandoned garden is located in the suburbs of Beijing.

They went through a lot of trouble, and it took them three days to travel back and forth.

"There is plenty of timber and plenty of game. After all, the place has been abandoned for a long time and has bred many animals."

"We have sandalwood, but it's not the best. We also have chicken wing wood, agarwood, ironwood, ebony, boxwood, beech, nanmu, and birch."

"After all, this is a royal garden. Although there aren't many of these precious tree species, they are indispensable."

"The reason why some of them are crooked and deformed is because they are not adapted to the local climate and were forcibly moved here."

"Then find a group of carpenters to classify and record all the timber, and do it according to the regulations of the horse farm."

"First-class products are used for high-end carvings, while second and third-class products are used for furniture."

"Timber is worthless, but craftsmanship is valuable. We don't necessarily have to sell it all to Meng; we can also trade with Yan and Chu."

Two hundred thousand taels of silver—whoever is willing to buy the goods right now will be a relative or friend of the Liu family.

Moreover, some of the sculptures by famous artists were also collected by many court officials.

If you can find them, even broken boxwood carvings can be sold for the price of rosewood.

These people are really hard to find, and some have already gone into seclusion and refuse to come out of the mountains again.

Liu Yuechu's mind raced as she racked her brains to figure things out, and she finally thought of her father, a painting master.

If we were to exchange my father’s paintings for these famous artists to make sculptures, wouldn’t that be quite feasible?

During this time, she also made a special inquiry about the Empress's mother-in-law, Lady Ru, who was very fond of exquisitely carved ornaments...

The matter was temporarily planned out like this. Liu Yuechu had the servants go about their business, and she also made a special trip to the palace.

This time, she didn't go to see the Empress, nor did she pay attention to the whispers in the harem. She went directly to Emperor Qi Xiao, "...Regarding the sale of the gardens, my father must be involved. I beg Your Majesty to spare some time and allow him to lend a hand?"

Emperor Qi Xiao raised an eyebrow. He was actually trying to negotiate with him?

"He's a master painter, always with paper, brush, and ink in his hands; what does he know about gardens?" Trying to use this opportunity to bring him back is absolutely impossible.

Upon seeing this, Liu Yuechu knew that Emperor Qi Xiao was being narrow-minded again. She briefly explained her plan: "...There are some rare tree species. If we can invite a master carver to carve them, a single piece of wood with a hundred patterns can sell for a hundred taels of silver."

“Crude items are worthless, but exquisite ones are. Otherwise, even if Your Majesty were to cut off my head, I would still have no way to sell that garden for 200,000 taels.”

……

Emperor Qi Xiao's lips twitched involuntarily. Why were they suddenly going to cut down all the trees in his garden?!

That's no ordinary garden; it was left behind by the emperors of the Great Qi Dynasty.

"You're going to cut down such a beautiful garden like this? This is an absolute waste!" Emperor Qi Xiao was so angry that his beard trembled!

“Otherwise what? Unless it’s sold to the Empress of Chu, it’s absolutely impossible to get two hundred thousand taels of silver.” Liu Yuechu couldn’t help but tease Emperor Qi Xiao. “He said that since you don’t agree with this matter, you might as well kill me.”

"I am but an ordinary woman. Although I have some cleverness, I am certainly not wise."

"I cannot sell a perfectly good garden for 200,000 taels of silver without it being moved."

……

Emperor Qi Xiao really didn't expect that Liu Yuechu would turn the tables on him.

Although he didn't like Liu Yuechu, she was, after all, his son's wife and the mother of his two young grandchildren. Moreover, the Yuan family of today was not the Yuan family he could manipulate at will.

If Liu Yuechu is really killed, Yuan Cuo will dare to rebel and completely dethrone him from the throne of the Great Qi.

"Alright, alright, I only asked one question, but you've said so much."

"Isn't it just asking your father for help? You can enter and leave the Taoist temple in the palace at any time. I will grant you a token." Emperor Qi Xiao could not let Liu Zhong go, but he did not mind if he helped him with his affairs.

"If you can invite those renowned master sculptors to the capital, I will specially host a banquet to help you."

This time, Liu Yuechu felt resentful. What did he mean by "giving her a helping hand"? She was clearly doing things for Emperor Qi Xiao.

Even so, she still had to feign excitement and express her gratitude to His Majesty, "...Where is His Majesty's token?" She would still ask for what she needed.

Emperor Qi Xiao pondered for a moment, then gave her a jade pendant he had on him. “This is my personal possession. The people at the Taoist temple will know when they see it.”

Liu Yuechu immediately accepted the gift with both hands and thanked her repeatedly.

Upon closer inspection, it was a jade pendant carved with a coiled dragon pattern.

Although the jade is of average quality, it is, after all, an item used by His Majesty. I wonder how much it could fetch if taken elsewhere?

Liu Yuechu paused, startled by her own thought.

She was truly driven mad by these two hundred thousand taels of silver, and even considered selling Emperor Qi Xiao's possessions.

With that settled, Liu Yuechu left the Imperial Study and went straight to the Taoist temple behind the palace.

This Taoist temple is very large.

Magnificent and splendid.

Occasionally, people from the Imperial Observatory would come here to pray for blessings and perform rituals, and they were quite familiar with Liu Zhong.

Everyone was surprised to see Liu Yuechu suddenly appear, and even more terrified when they saw the jade pendant bestowed upon her by Emperor Qi Xiao.

"Greetings, Your Majesty..."

Everyone immediately knelt on the ground and kowtowed, not daring to show the slightest disrespect.

Liu Yuechu never expected that the jade pendant would have such a great effect.

"I'm just here to see my father. You don't need to be so polite. Please get up."

"Master Liu is still giving a sermon in the back hall. I will take you there now." The one leading the way was a junior steward from the Imperial Observatory.

With constant wars and natural disasters, they had to record and analyze the celestial phenomena at all times of the day, then compile a result and report it back to Emperor Qi Xiao.

Liu Yuechu nodded and asked Granny Fang, who had come with her, to offer incense in the front hall, while she followed the steward to the back hall.

At this moment, Liu Zhong sat on a futon in the back hall, holding a pen in his hand.

His method of preaching was through painting.

Every painting I create reveals my state of mind at that moment, and I can interpret it using the principles of Taoism.

A group of young Taoist priests sat attentively listening. Liu Yuechu arrived at the door but did not disturb them, simply watching quietly.

After Liu Zhong finished speaking, he picked up the painting and was about to throw it directly into a charcoal brazier.

Liu Yuechu rushed in and snatched the painting from his hand, saying, "You've essentially burned a thousand taels of silver."

"How many more have you drawn? Take them all out, I need them."

Liu Zhong: "???"

He was stunned for a long time before he realized that Liu Yuechu had come to see him on purpose.

"There are still some left, wait for me to get them," he replied, instinctively heading towards the dormitory.

But halfway there, he stopped again. "What terrible mistake have you made that I have to sell my paintings to help you out of this dire situation?"