Jiapingguan Chronicle

Liu's daughter cried hysterically for almost half a stick of incense, and she almost lost her breath a few times in the middle, if it wasn't for the guards next to her, who interrupted her several times in time to give her a chance to relax, She would very likely poke her over, and then she would have to trouble Jin Miaomiao to rescue her.

Lady Liu cried so much that both eyes were swollen, originally the eyes were not big, so there was only a slit left.

Although she was exhausted physically and mentally, this time she seemed to want to completely vent out the grievances, guilt, fear and unwillingness that had accumulated for decades. She completely ignored the people around her and cried heartily and unscrupulously.

After Liu's daughter finished crying, it took her a long time to regain her senses. Although she was aware of her gaffe, she didn't have too much fluctuation.She felt that after she vented, the stone that had been pressing on her heart for many years was finally removed, and at this moment, she felt relaxed.

Over the past few decades, due to various reasons and taking care of the emotions of various people, she has gradually lost herself. She doesn't know who she is, what kind of feelings she should have, and she doesn't even know who she is. It doesn't really exist in this world.

For the sake of her natal family, her husband's family, and those who care about her, she hides her real self, keeps her true emotions in her heart, and accumulates little by little to the present level.Other things are fine, but every time she encounters people and things related to her youth, she has no other choice but to avoid and deny, it seems that only by doing this can she paralyze herself, deceive herself, and make her feel better. Forget about the best time in your life that you have experienced.

But when she dreamed back at midnight, when she occasionally remembered the past, she felt a little dazed again. She had lied to herself for too long, and she was not sure whether the things between herself and His Highness King Ning happened in real life, or if she imagined it .

However, now that she can finally vent, she feels the very real pain in her heart.

"I'm sorry, I'm so rude!" Because of crying for too long, Liu's daughter's voice became hoarse, and she drank a few sips of someone handed over by the guard, which relieved a little bit of discomfort, but it was still very uncomfortable, she paused After a while, he continued, "Since you can't hide no matter how you hide, then don't hide." She looked at Patriarch Luan, "I'm sorry, I didn't tell you this before, but I was actually worried that after you knew You will be unhappy, and I am also worried that you will be implicated by me."

"It's not a burden, but it's true to be unhappy. Even if I know it now, I'm not very happy." Patriarch Luan looked at his wife, "Do you like His Highness King Ning now?"

"No!" Liu's daughter shook her head lightly, "It's gone now, it's just a pity to mention him."

"Oh!" Patriarch Luan thought for a while, "In other words, I really liked His Royal Highness King Ning back then, right?"

"Master, you also grew up in Xijing City, and you are very clear about that time. All the girls in Xijing City like him, no one is an exception." Liu's daughter sighed heavily, gently He smiled and said, "Yes, I liked him once. I used to like him just to join in the fun. Later, I became Princess Zhunning and met him for a while. He is indeed a good person. His Highness King Ning is the youngest brother of the late Emperor. He is very good-looking, very polite, and has outstanding knowledge. Except for his slightly weaker body, everything else can be perfect. It is natural for such a person to be liked by little girls? After His Royal Highness King Ning, Xijing City There are also many young and beautiful sons, but compared with His Royal Highness King Ning, they pale in comparison."

"Is he so powerful?" Xue Ruitian rubbed his chin, "When you were young, was he so ostentatious?"

"It's not ostentatious, it's all spontaneous." Patriarch Luan thought about his childhood in Xijing City, chuckled, and said, "As I remember, His Royal Highness King Ning is indeed all the ladies in Xijing City. The person I love the most, if I remember correctly, every time His Highness Prince Ning goes out, the neighborhoods of Xijing City are very lively. Those ladies in the city always dress up and go out every time. People who don’t know I thought they were going to some kind of banquet. Every time His Royal Highness King Ning must pass by on both sides of the road, those ladies would gather together just to have a look at him." Recalling the scene of His Royal Highness Ning going out, he couldn't help it Shaking his head, the wound on his body was affected, and he couldn't help grinning his teeth in pain. After a while, he said, "Thinking about the grand occasion at that time, it is still fresh in my memory. Even if His Majesty the Emperor went on tour today , I’m afraid there is no such grand event.” He looked at Liu’s daughter, “So, Madam is also one of them? Did you also go to the street to join in the fun?”

"I don't go all the time. I go to see one or two once in a while, and I'm with my little sister. The master knows that I'm not the type to join in the fun. If I can't go to this kind of excitement, I won't go. I go once in a while, but it's just Because the little sister has been struggling for a long time, I have to agree." Liu's daughter sighed and said, "It's just that since I was selected as Princess Ning, the little sisters around me stopped walking with me."

"Why?" Hongye held her chin and listened to Liu's daughter's story very seriously. When she heard this, she couldn't help but ask, "You have been fixed, shouldn't you be closer to you?" Is it? If I get closer to you, I might have a chance to see His Royal Highness Ning Wang. Even if I can't become a princess, it's good to be close, isn't it?"

"This general thinks clearly, but ordinary girls don't think so. Their jealousy is very strong. Even if they are close friends for many years, if they say they are jealous of you, they will be jealous of you, and even bully you together. You, this is no joke. Later, I divorced His Royal Highness King Ning and married into Luan's family. They also came to the door frequently, saying that they came to congratulate, but just to see a joke. Fortunately, I married the master not long ago. Afterwards, I left Xijing City, if I live there for a long time, I'm afraid they will make more jokes."

"why?"

"Just like what the two adults said just now, they feel that they are better-looking than me and have a better family background than me, but they are not reconciled to being inferior to me."

"Oh, then there is no other way." Hongye spread her hands, "This is fate. If they want to blame, they can only blame their family for not being on the ship of the Empress Dowager, and for not being favored by the Empress Dowager."

"What my lord said, I would never admit it before. When I was young, I felt that I was no worse than anyone else. I also won the favor of the empress dowager by my own ability. Now that I think about it, I am really naive. Whether it is I, or my master, or the Luan and Liu families, are all in this game of chess played by the Empress Dowager, we are all pawns."

"Of course, since you two boarded the Empress Dowager's ship, you are her pawns. When she was alive, she could give you asylum, but she has passed away, and the asylum has completely disappeared. It's the same sentence , your main family trusts the Empress Dowager, but they may not trust you."

"I don't know about this, and I don't want to know. I have already lived to this age, and I have been a pawn all my life, so I don't care about these things." Liu's daughter coughed twice, drank two sips of water, thanked her The guard who delivered the water continued, "The reason why I say this is because no matter how much I can fool myself, I can't fool myself. Since I can't lie, why don't I tell myself to make myself happy." She sighed softly, "When did father get caught? I am not very clear about who was tied to the ship of the Empress Dowager, but for a while, my father mentioned His Royal Highness King Ning more often. Started to fall in love."

"What did you say?"

"It's just to praise him, to praise him for being very good and all kinds of good, saying that although His Royal Highness King Ning is not very old, he is very insightful when looking at problems. It's just that occasionally he seems more radical and not stable enough, but If you take time to hone it well, you will be a generation of virtuous kings in the future." Liu's daughter smiled lightly, "My father said that he was not prudent enough, it should be that he would run out to play every now and then, which is not the same as your Majesty today. Very similar."

"Speaking of which, if those things hadn't happened, His Highness Prince Ning could indeed become a generation of virtuous kings."

"Patriarch Luan also admires His Royal Highness King Ning?"

"No, no!" Patriarch Luan shook his head slightly, smiled, and said, "It should be because of admiration. I am about the same age as him. When he had already participated in the important affairs of the court, I was not very familiar with the matter of being in charge of the family, so I was in a hurry. , Desperate. At that time, there were a lot of things at home, and my elder brother was bedridden all year round. The suggestions or ideas put forward are very beneficial to the people's livelihood." He looked at Liu's daughter, and then at other people, "Actually, I occasionally meet His Highness King Ning on the street, and even once, we We chatted for a while."

"Master, you... never mentioned it."

"Ma'am, everyone has secrets in their hearts." Patriarch Luan looked at Liu's daughter, smiled reassuringly, and said, "You don't want to tell me about His Royal Highness Prince Ning because you are worried that I will be jealous. It's because I'm afraid that I have some bad thoughts about you in my heart, but there's no need for that at all. It's only natural for such a person to be liked, I just chatted with him once, and I think this person is worth it. "

"His Highness Prince Ning should be very happy to know that you commented on him like this." Shen Cha chuckled, "Praise from the opponent is the highest evaluation. He can conquer the opponent, and he will have no regrets in this life."

"What have you been talking about?"

"Talk about what kind of business you are doing, what is the profit, whether the business tax is high, etc., and whether there are any troubles on weekdays."

"Is this what he asked?"

"Hmm!" Patriarch Luan couldn't help but smile when he saw that everyone was looking at him in surprise, "Why are you so surprised? He's not very old, he hasn't been in court for long, and he has a faint sense of a virtuous king. His fame did not come out of thin air. He likes to hang out in the market, but he just wants to understand the lives of the common people, so that he can have something to say when he is in court."

"This is His Royal Highness Ning's style."

"That's right!" Patriarch Luan smiled, "Seriously speaking, we businessmen should really be grateful to His Royal Highness King Ning."

"why?"

"The taxes and fees paid by shops are actually formulated by His Royal Highness Ning Wang."

"Is that so?" Jin Miaomiao turned to look at Shen Haolin, Shen Cha and Xue Ruitian, seeing the three of them also looked at a loss, "I don't know at all!"

"Because you are not businessmen, it's normal that you don't care about this." Patriarch Luan smiled and explained to the generals, "He once wrote a note saying that although the profits of businesses are very high, the imperial court levies The tax is also very high, and it is very unreasonable that both large and small businesses are subject to the same standard.”

"This..." Xue Ruitian thought for a while, "I seem to have heard that His Royal Highness King Ning visited most of the shops and merchants in Xijing City before confirming a statement. It is very unfriendly to small traders. , will bring them a lot of pressure. The imperial court should abolish the current business tax collection method and set a standard to judge according to the level of merchant income and whether there are fixed shops. Moreover, the judgment should be made once a year to avoid unnecessary taxation. There is tax evasion happening."

"That's right, that's what I was talking about with His Highness King Ning." Patriarch Luan smiled, "At that time I just complained casually, but I didn't expect His Highness King Ning to take it to heart. Putting aside our respective positions , He is indeed a very capable person.”

"Then it was settled?"

"Yes!" Patriarch Luan nodded, "And it's a little more detailed than previously imagined. There are two major categories in general, one is for those with fixed shops, and the other is for traveling merchants. For example, our kind Fixed shops are divided into five stalls, which are determined according to the level of annual income. The other category is peddlers. I don’t know how they are divided, but after a little research, they pay more than before. The tax rate is [-]% to [-]% lower.”

"It's a good thing!" Xue Ruitian nodded, "If we pay separately like this, the pressure on each will be less."

"Yes, if a big store like ours wants to pay a little less tax, then it can't do whatever it wants when setting prices, and it has to think carefully. For example, those who like to ask for prices will probably be less , become honest." Patriarch Luan sighed softly, glanced at Liu's daughter who had been silent for a long time, and said, "It's only natural that Madam would like and fall in love with such a person who is wholeheartedly for the sake of the people. I feel sorry. If I were a woman, I should be the same as you."

When Liu's daughter heard Patriarch Luan's words, she didn't say anything, but smiled wryly.