New Song Dynasty: My Wife is an Imperial Princess

As the nobles of the Jin dynasty who had previously sent visiting cards to the princess's residence arrived one after another, the once quiet Youzhou City began to bustle with activity.

In the following days, more than a dozen guards escorted their master to the city in a grand procession. The princess's residence seemed to have anticipated this, as a notice was posted prohibiting groups with more than ten people from entering the city. Although this move displeased the nobles, they could do nothing about it.

Regardless, Youzhou is still the fiefdom of the Seventh Princess Wanyan Xi. If they want to come and discuss business, they must abide by the rules.

The inns outside the city were already packed, and those who arrived late could only pitch tents. Fortunately, these Jurchens were used to sleeping in the open and in the wind, and with the weather gradually warming up, they were quite comfortable with the sky as their blanket and the ground as their mat.

When Zhuo Luwang, the crown prince of the Zhuo Lu tribe, finally arrived late, more than a dozen people representing the highest level of power in the Great Jin Dynasty finally gathered together. They led this group of powerful and influential people into the front hall of the princess's residence. After tea was served, the seventh princess, Wanyan Xi, accompanied by her fourth sister, Wanyan Ling, slowly walked along the corridor in the backyard.

When the main character appeared, everyone in the hall stood up. The two sides exchanged greetings and took their seats as host and guest. The Fourth Prince, Wanyan Aru, looked up at Wanyan Ling, who was sitting next to the Seventh Sister, and a slight smile appeared on his lips: "I thought I was the most eager, but I didn't expect the Fourth Princess to arrive earlier. When we return to Liaoyang, I will go to the mansion to ask my Fourth Brother-in-law how he could bear to let his beautiful wife show her face in public."

Wanyan Aru's teasing caused a burst of laughter from the crowd. Wanyan Ling was not angry. After the laughter in the hall gradually subsided, she turned to Wanyan Aru and said in a humble but not arrogant manner: "I traveled light, so of course I was faster. Unlike you, Fourth Prince, who still needed to escort 20,000 taels of silver. Do you still find the glass tea set that you got at the auction before the New Year easy to use?"

Then, she frowned slightly, "Seventh Sister also gave me a set before. That tea set looks crystal clear, but when I poured tea into it, it was very hot in my hand. I almost dropped it. Alas, a teacup is worth three thousand taels of silver. I really can't afford to break it."

Wanyan Xi was not in Liaoyang, so she naturally did not know that her fourth brother, Wanyan Aru, was eager to show off after obtaining the glass tea set. He had accidentally broken a cup because the tea was too hot. Wanyan Ling, however, knew very well about it. When she brought it up, it naturally made everyone in the know laugh again.

They had barely met when the siblings began their sharp exchange, creating a tense atmosphere in the hall. Where their eyes met, it seemed as if intense sparks were flying.

These three members of the Wanyan clan were not born of the same mother, and both mothers were vying for the emperor's favor. How could the younger generation possibly have a harmonious relationship?

Sensing the unusual atmosphere, someone tried to smooth things over: "We are all gathered here today for the same purpose. We should still give the Seventh Princess face. There is no need for you two to get so worked up over such a trivial matter."

Immediately, everyone's attention turned to Wanyan Xi: "Seventh Princess, you must know that we have all come for glass. Please tell us, Your Highness. We intend to cooperate with Youzhou to sell glass together. We don't know what Your Highness's requirements are, but we will do whatever it takes to achieve them."

Hearing everyone's agreement, Wan Yanxi remained outwardly calm, but inwardly she sighed with admiration. Tang Qian was indeed a prophet; Youzhou City had only done one glass business deal, yet he had already attracted these profit-driven scoundrels.

Fortunately, a countermeasure was devised at that time, which allowed Wanyan Xi to remain calm and composed, appearing unfathomable.

"I wonder how you all plan to cooperate with me? Will you purchase glass from Youzhou to sell, or will you build glass workshops in your respective locations and purchase glassmaking techniques from me?"

Wanyan Xi posed the question, but they didn't know how to answer it. After all, everyone knew that glass was a good thing, but they had no idea how it was made. Naturally, they didn't know whether it was more profitable to make it themselves or to transport finished products from Youzhou back to sell.

After a few whispers among themselves, the person who had spoken first acted as the representative: "Your Highness, what is the price of the finished product, and what is the price of the craftsmanship? What are the advantages and disadvantages of each?"

Wanyan Xi gave Xiao Li a look, and Xiao Li, having received the princess's instruction, immediately stepped forward to explain to everyone.

"As you all know, glass is fragile. To save costs, Youzhou does not have a cavalry fleet. If you want to buy finished products, you will need to prepare your own transport fleet. As for the purchase price, since Youzhou is short of food, the Princess's Mansion only accepts grain and fodder. Fifty catties of grain can be exchanged for one piece of glass."

"Fifty catties of grain, which is 250 wen, is a reasonable price."

Before Xiao Li could finish speaking, someone had already calculated the price: one tael of silver to buy four pieces of glass, plus transportation costs, meant the cost of four pieces of glass was around two taels of silver, definitely profitable.

"As for the second option, if you purchase glass craftsmanship to open a workshop, the Princess's Mansion offers 10,000 shi of grain. As long as you exchange 10,000 shi of grain, Youzhou City guarantees to teach you everything you need to know."

"That's ten thousand taels of silver? Your Highness, that price seems a bit too high."

"Is it too high?" Wanyan Xi scoffed. "There's a saying among the Song people: 'Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.' With the glassmaking technology, you can produce as much as you want. In the future, it can bring you countless riches. Do you think a mere million shi of grain is too much?"

Wanyan Xi's words reignited the discussions in the hall. Just then, someone asked a crucial question: "Your Highness, are the raw materials for making glass ordinary? If we exchange 10,000 shi of grain for the manufacturing process, but don't know where to find the raw materials, wouldn't all our efforts be in vain?"

"I can tell you all that the raw material for making glass in Youzhou City is found in the Yanshan Mountains. It is a kind of crystal clear mineral. As for whether it exists in other places, I really don't know. Perhaps you can send people to search in the mountains. If you can find a mineral vein, it will be a very profitable business."

A crystal-clear mineral?

Everyone looked at each other in bewilderment, and then someone thought of another question: "What if we can't find the raw materials to make glass?"