The abandoned concubine who transmigrated woke up shouting "Long live the widow!"

The more Wanyan Junhao couldn't get something, the more he felt it was incredibly good.

Oh my god! His heart is in turmoil! It's like a cat is scratching him.

Upon arriving at the hall where the negotiations were to take place, they saw Qin Jing waiting there with his entourage, while Runyue had already put away her motorcycle and was carrying it in her hand.

Seeing Jingxue and the others arrive, Qin Jing hurriedly stepped forward and whispered, "Sister-in-law, it's so good to have you here! I've been feeling so stifled these past two days!"

“I didn’t want to come either! It’s so cold, why don’t we go inside?” Jingxue said.

"I just arrived too. The little girl said you'd be here soon, so I waited a bit. Please come in, everyone!" Qin Jing gestured for them to enter.

Wanyan Junhao, with his balance bike tucked under his arm, kept his eyes on the motorcycle that Runyue was carrying, secretly determined to buy this little thing today.

Upon entering the main hall, everyone sat down on both sides.

Hu Yucheng usually speaks first, but today he sat there with his eyes downcast, seemingly lost in thought.

The Imperial Advisor and the Seventh Prince exchanged glances, both understanding that internal strife was likely brewing within the Northern Night Palace.

But Wanyan Junhao said in a loud voice, "It's the same few lines every day, why are you all mute today? Come on! Where's the opening line!"

Unable to remain silent any longer, Hu Yucheng forced himself to speak, "Today, His Majesty has sent His Highness the Princess Consort. I suggest that His Highness the Princess Consort preside over today's negotiations!"

Jingxue raised an eyebrow. The old man's words had a hidden meaning; he clearly didn't want her to participate in the negotiations. Since they were unhappy, she had to be happy.

So Jingxue said, "Since Minister Hu says so, then this princess will not stand on ceremony. Let's not waste your time with empty talk. I'm sure the Cangbei Army already has its bottom line. Let's talk about it one by one again!"

Wanyan Junhui said, “Princess Zhan is clearly a straightforward person and can represent Beiye. Then I, the prince, will first talk about our grain prices. Our grain is plump, dry and low in moisture, so 30 wen per jin is absolutely reasonable. We can provide Beiye with 200,000 shi of wheat and sorghum, which will definitely help Beiye get through this drought year.”

Jingxue was astonished. Cangbei was really generous. One shi was equal to 120 jin. Two hundred thousand shi was more than 20 million jin of grain! At 30 wen per jin, that would be more than 700,000 taels of silver.

"Two hundred thousand shi is quite a lot, isn't it? It must be very difficult to store it all?" Jingxue said, frowning.

No one knew why Jingxue said that, but Qin Jing next to her understood what she meant and nodded, saying, "Isn't that right? It would be a waste if it got rained on and bitten by insects!"

People from the Ministry of Revenue never talked like this before! What's the meaning behind these two speaking in unison?

Wanyan Junhao stiffened his neck and asked, "What do you mean?"

Jingxue laughed, "What we mean is, we can't afford it, so you can keep it and let it get infested with worms!"

An Wenguang said, "Princess Consort Zhan, His Majesty sent you here to discuss trade. How could you do this? Aren't you afraid that His Majesty will blame you and you'll be in deep trouble?"

Jingxue turned to An Wenguang and said, "What's wrong with me? We just can't afford such expensive grain, and that's not shameful. Besides, you haven't been able to negotiate a deal for so long, so it's normal that I can't either. Has His Majesty blamed you? You're so capable of arguing with me, but why can't you negotiate a better price for the grain for the delegation? You're like a rat with a gun, all bark and no bite." She then rolled her eyes.

An Wenguang was speechless.

Seeing this, Wanyan Junhui couldn't help but feel happy. It seemed that they didn't even need to stir things up; the people from Beiye had already taken the bait themselves.

“Princess Consort Zhan, things are valued for their scarcity, and this grain is already at its lowest price!” Wanyan Junhui said.

Jingxue laughed, "Whether you're offering a low price or not, I wasn't trying to negotiate with you. You can keep it for yourselves! Our own grain is only fifteen coins a pound, and your price is twice ours. We really can't agree to this deal!"

Wanyan Junhui laughed and said, "It seems that Princess Consort Zhan really doesn't understand politics. I wonder why His Majesty of Beiye sent you here?"

“You’re absolutely right! I don’t know why His Majesty sent me here either. Both Prince Qin and I have grain in our shops. As long as the people live frugally and hold out until the new harvest next autumn, there won’t be any problem at all. Why would we need to buy grain from you? Our His Majesty is just too lustful, no, he’s just too hospitable!”

Qin Jing said, "Your Highness is right. Your Cangbei took the initiative to come and talk to us about border trade. His Majesty was too embarrassed to let you make a wasted trip."

“Young Master Qin is right!” Jingxue nodded and said.

Wanyan Junhui hadn't expected these two to be so difficult to deal with. However, Wanyan Junhao, who usually didn't participate in negotiations, said, "What do you mean? You two think you can ruin the border trade?"

Jingxue's face suddenly turned cold. "What we mean is that if you really want to talk about border trade, then show some sincerity. I, Beiye, am not a fool. We would not buy your grain at such a high price if it weren't for the fact that you want to buy our fine salt. Please understand your position. Beiye has suffered from drought in the past two years, but it has not reached the point of no harvest. Moreover, Prince Qin and I have plenty of grain reserves. Even if we don't buy your grain, no one will starve."

"But why is the price of the fine salt you sell to us higher than the price of your official salt? How does Princess Zhan explain this?" Wanyan Junhui said.

"As you say, scarcity drives up prices! Isn't that the case for you too? I don't believe your grain sells for thirty coins a pound in Cangbei, while our fine salt is only three coins more expensive than our official salt. This is the price set by His Majesty. If I were to set it, it would be much higher. So, you should be secretly happy! Most importantly, our grain will be available next year, while your lake salt production will not increase!"

Wanyan Junhui didn't speak, but his expression wasn't good.

Wanyan Junhao, however, said without thinking, "How do you know we have few salt mines? Do you have a spy in Cangbei?"

The imperial advisor next to him was so angry he really wanted to slap this fool.

Jingxue laughed, "You braved the wind and snow to come to Beiye, not for some benefit, but to bring us warmth? Even a fool would know that you have few salt mines where you are."

In fact, the people in the Ministry of Revenue also knew this, but they dared not say it as directly as Jingxue.

Wanyan Junhui asked, "How much silver does Princess Zhan want to buy our grain?"

Jingxue didn't speak, but picked up the grain sample that Cangbei had brought from the table. The grain was indeed good, but it couldn't compare to the grain in Jingxue's space shop, which was a variety that had been researched and improved by many generations.

"Twelve coins a pound!"

"What?" Wanyan Junhui clenched his fists tightly. This price was the price in their country. In the past two years, the grain harvest has been abundant, and the price has indeed dropped a lot.

Just as Wanyan Junhao was about to speak, he was stopped by the Imperial Advisor.

Jingxue continued, "Originally, I wanted to give you ten coins per pound, but because of the long distance, I added some shipping costs. Two coins per pound is really quite a lot!"

The Emperor set a floor price of fifteen coins, and the people in the Ministry of Revenue haven't dared to reveal it these days, so they've just been awkwardly asking people to lower the price.