What favor are you fighting for?The empress's harem has won a lot of business

Chapter 182 Xue Xiang, the Prefect of Suzhou
June twenty.

Xie Chenyu summoned the prefect of Suzhou in the other courtyard. The prefect was in charge of the people's livelihood and government affairs of the prefecture, including agriculture, mulberry and water conservancy, fishermen's silk making, and business farming.

If there is a problem with the local silk production, he will not be able to escape.

Suzhou magistrate named Xue Xiang, 36 years old, two Jinshi in the ten years of Hongzhi, started from county magistrate in Suzhou, all the way up to become magistrate.

Different from the image of a corrupt official with a fat head, he is tall and tall, not tall but lean and well-proportioned, wearing a sky-blue robe, with a plump face, slightly dark skin, thick eyebrows and big eyes with a humble smile.

"My minister sees the emperor, long live my emperor, long live, long live"

"flat body"

Xie Chenyu generously gave him a seat, and said with a smile that on the first day, he was summoned mainly to hear about the customs of Suzhou City.

Xue Xiang clasped his fists respectfully, and his actions had the elegance of a Jiangnan literati.

"Revelation to the Holy One"

"People's livelihood in Suzhou City has always been good. Thirty percent of the people working in agriculture are fishing, [-]% are growing rice, and [-]% are cultivating mulberry and silkworms."

"Most of the people in the ministry have silk reeling and weaving workshops, followed by dyeing workshops, embroidery workshops, ready-made clothes, etc."

"Business people have many ways of doing business. There are all kinds of religions and streams. The taverns, inns, banks, and cloth houses are no different from other places. Please be aware of them."

The local parent officials introduced the local government affairs well, and they spoke fluently.

Xie Chenyu couldn't help nodding: "That's right, it seems that you are always focused on government affairs"

"It is the duty of a humble official to eat the king's salary and share the king's worries, and seek his own government in his position." Xue Xiang is cautious and modest.

Although he was given a seat, he always stood bowed, bowed and clasped his fists every time he answered a question, with the humble appearance of a minister.

Xie Chenyu came here with prejudice, but now he can't find any faults.

He asked some other questions about people's livelihood, and Xue Xiang answered them fluently.

Before leaving, Xie Chenyu asked suddenly.

"In Xue Aiqing's opinion, what is the quality of the silk weaved in Suzhou?"

Xue Xiang paused, as if he didn't expect the emperor to ask such a question.

"My Majesty, I am not boasting. My Suzhou has been good at raising silkworms and planting mulberry since ancient times. I must have weaving in Suzhou for the types and colors that are available elsewhere. The crafts of Yunjin and Fuguang brocade that are not found elsewhere are still unique in Suzhou."

"it is good!"

Xie Chenyu said hello three times.

He patted Xue Xiang on the shoulder: "Seeing that Aiqing is so confident, I feel relieved."

After Xue Xiang left, Xie Chenyu restrained his smile and his expression became more serious.

Zhao Hai stood tremblingly by the side, and Lin Ximeng also came out from the next room, not daring to breathe.

"Tomorrow and the day after tomorrow, from the silk reeling workshop all the way to the garment store, all the sources of craftsmanship in the middle must be found out. I want to see what is wrong."

Zhao Hai took the order and left.

Lin Ximeng was the only one left in the room, so she hesitated for a while before speaking.

"Prefect Xue is so swearing that there are only two possibilities. One is that he really doesn't know that there is a problem with the silk, and the other is...he doesn't care about the court and the emperor at all."

Xie Chenyu tightened his fists violently.

"It's better if he really doesn't know, I might save his life"

At this time Xue Mansion.

Xue Xiang returned home in a hurry, and immediately a servant led two confidants into the study from the back door.

Half an hour later, the servant hurriedly left through the back door, surrounded by two staff members, and disappeared in the street in a blink of an eye.

On the second day, Zhao Hai pretended to be a businessman, and under the pretext of cooperation, he inquired all the places related to silk in the entire Suzhou City.

It was already the third night when we returned to the other courtyard again.

He knelt in front of the emperor exhausted, holding a few pieces of brightly colored cloth in his hands.

"Report to the emperor, the slaves checked all the workshops, and only found a batch of silk brocades that faded in water in the warehouse of the dyeing workshop."

Lin Ximeng went over to check, and then compared the two sets of clothes she bought that day, and found that they were made of the same material, and the color faded badly when exposed to water.

Speaking of fading, when she and the emperor came back from the rain that day, the skin on their bodies was all stained, and they still can't get it back after bathing three times a day.

"Are all the dyeing houses like this?"

Xie Chenyu flipped through it casually, and hurriedly wiped his hands with a silk handkerchief in disgust, for fear that the color would stain his fingers.

"Yes", Zhao Hai replied.

Lin Ximeng frowned.

She took a basin of cold water and poured it on the cloth, and wrung it a few times with her hands.

The water flowing down was exactly the same as that day.

"It's such a material, it will fade seriously when exposed to water"

"This is clearly the half-dyed fabric in the dyeing workshop, but they used it directly to make clothes"

Xie Chenyu sneered.

"If I remember correctly, the tailor said that the material came from the cloth shop."

"But Mr. Zhao Hai said that only the dyeing workshop in the whole city has this kind of cloth, and there is no other place."

In the afternoon, Xie Chenyu went to cloth village in person.

All the girls and daughters-in-law came here, and everyone was very curious about the men visiting the cloth village.

There was a fat and enthusiastic aunt pulling him.

"Young man, it's your first time here, can you choose? What kind of material do you want?"

"I'm telling you, don't buy those bright colors, the color fades too badly, you can't wear them, try to buy plain ones"

She also took a piece of light blue silk silk and gesticulated on him.

"No, this one suits you very well"

Suddenly, the buddy of the cloth shop quarreled with a dark and thin old lady.

One said that the color of the fabric she bought for her daughter-in-law last time faded too much, and the bright red wedding dress turned pink after washing, which didn't look like the new couple's at all.

The other said that you are talking nonsense. It is impossible for our Fushun cloth shop to sell such cloth. It has always been the finest silk dyed through seven or seven 49 processes.

"Come and try it yourself, see if our cloth will fade?"

"Just test who is afraid of whom? Get water if you have the ability!"

Sure enough, a guy came in with water, and the black and thin lady put the cloth in and rubbed it vigorously for a while.

There are more and more people around, and everyone is looking forward to it.

Someone whispered quietly.

"Didn't Fushun cloth village pick up a stone and shoot himself in the foot? His cloth just faded."

"Isn't that right? Last month I bought a piece of pink fine silk for my daughter. Tsk tsk, it fell into gray. My ten-year-old daughter cried for two days."

"That's right, let's see what he says this time."

Unfortunately, everyone was disappointed this time.

The cloth of Fushun cloth village has not faded, and the washing water is still clear and transparent.

The guy was even more arrogant.

"I told you a long time ago that our cloth shop is full of high-quality silk, who can lie to you?"

The people around are all in disbelief.

"Go, go, go, if you don't buy it, go away, we still have to open the door for business"

"Don't be bloody, our cloth shop has never sold faded cloth"

Everyone left in disbelief, only Xie Chenyu was left.

He bought some of the brightest colors and said he would make some clothes for his wife.

The man patted his chest for assurance.

"Take it back if the color fades, and we at Fushun Buzhuang will pay ten for every one."

Xie Chenyu left without saying a word.

(End of this chapter)