Ci Jinzhi

Emperor Xingyuan, who had always been dignified and powerful in front of officials, rarely showed a dull expression.

What does it mean to stay here?

Do you want to hang out in front of Ayou every day, coaxing them into loving each other, and forcing him to agree? Or... marrying into the family?

If it was the former, he would never give him this opportunity. In the case of the latter—the dignified Prince Xiling wants to marry into his wife?

Emperor Xingyuan thought it was too ridiculous, and besides the absurdity, he came up with an idea: If this is really the case, as long as Ayou likes it, he can't consider it.

Seeing that his emperor had been silent for too long, the Minister of Rites coughed.

Emperor Xingyuan came back to his senses and stared at Prince Baori with complicated eyes: "Your Majesty likes this place, so please stay for a while."

Prince Baori was a little disappointed when he heard this vague answer.

He was happy to stay and live here. Although it didn't matter in Xiling, according to the custom of Daxia, this was called a son-in-law, and the Emperor of Daxia actually didn't let go.

But he didn’t express any clear objection, and it was much stronger than yesterday.

Thinking of this, Prince Bao Ri happily thanked him, thinking that he wouldn't leave anyway, there were still more opportunities.

After Prince Baori and other Xiling envoys left, there was a brief stagnation in the palace.

The ministers exchanged glances quietly, and no one said a word.

Among them, Zhang Zhangyuan was the most shocked.

It turned out that Prince Bao Ri was not looking for trouble because of the imperial edict, but he was a young man who admired Ai and was a good gentleman.

After thinking about it, Xie Zhangyuan silently denied these two descriptions and replaced them with a more suitable one: lustful.

"Let's discuss the matter." Emperor Xingyuan rubbed his brows to relieve his tiredness, and told his chamberlain to send Xin You into the palace.

When Xin You arrived, the discussion was almost over.

All the ministers looked at her and thought about one thing: Does Xinyou know that Prince Baori is not leaving?

At this time Emperor Xingyuan spoke: "Your Majesty, you can retreat."

Ministers: "..." Usually they insist on having Xin You present when discussing matters, but now they have to send them away!

Emperor Xingyuan didn't bother to look at the minister who was reluctantly retreating. When only Xin You was left, he called her to come closer.

"Ayou, sit down."

Xinyou sat down.

Emperor Xingyuan looked at the beautiful girl sitting dignifiedly, and suddenly discovered an advantage of Prince Baori: Apart from anything else, the boy had good taste.

After careful consideration, Emperor Xingyuan decided not to beat around the bush: "Prince Baori entered the palace yesterday and asked me to marry you."

Xinyou was startled.

She thought that Prince Bao Ri understood her attitude and let it go. After all, it was just a matter of sex, and there was no deep emotion at all.

Well, just like when she first met Mr. He, she also thought he looked good and had a crush on him, but that didn't stop her from wanting to kill him immediately after misunderstanding him.

"Ayou, why don't you ask me about my attitude?"

Xin You raised his eyes and said calmly: "Your Majesty will probably not agree."

Not to mention the father-daughter feeling towards her, she learned from her mother that if the king of a country is willing to marry her to a foreign country, he would be crazy.

Xin You has this self-confidence, so when Concubine Li begged her earlier, she dared to say a few words for Princess Xuan without worrying about getting burned or getting herself involved.

Emperor Xingyuan smiled: "I did refuse. It was just announced that Prince Baori entered the palace and formally rejected King Xiling's marriage proposal. Most of the Xiling envoys will return tomorrow, but Prince Baori will stay. Let's see what he means. , I haven’t let go of you.”

Originally, it was a bit embarrassing for a father to say this to his daughter, but Xin You was so open and honest that Emperor Xingyuan didn't feel that way anymore, and it seemed like he was talking about business.

Emperor Xingyuan made it clear that he wanted to remind Xinyou not to be coaxed by Prince Baori to go to Xiling, but Xinyou was not concerned about himself: "Your Majesty rejected the marriage proposal of Prince Xiling?"

"Well, I thought about it and found that it really isn't such a good thing."

If Xi Ling could grab it forcefully, he wouldn't wait until now. As for bartering, both parties say it is a win-win situation, but in fact it means that no one can take advantage of it. If there is an urgent need for war horses in the future, they can exchange them, but there is not much interest now.

Forget it. Xin You said: "His Majesty asked everyone to think of a way that day. I thought about it for a long time and I have some ideas."

Emperor Xingyuan's eyes lit up: "Tell me about it."

"The people of Xiling are fierce and fierce, and Daxia has a strong enemy like Beining. Using tricks to obtain war horses may not be worth the gain. I think it is better to exchange things for things."

Emperor Xingyuan was listening attentively before, but when Xin You said "exchanging things for things", he was inevitably a little disappointed.

Silk, tea, and exquisite utensils are what Xi Ling likes to exchange for from Daxia. But just as he thought, an exchange of equal value would not work, but it would be boring.

To put it bluntly, he just wanted to take advantage.

As if guessing Emperor Xingyuan's thoughts, Xin You said: "Ordinary bartering is not cost-effective. But what if the cost of the items we barter with is much lower than the value recognized by the other party?"

Emperor Xingyuan was startled and quickly asked: "What item has such benefits?"

If he knew, he would have changed it sooner.

Emperor Xingyuan's mentality at the moment was one of curiosity and disbelief.

As an emperor who was diligent in political affairs and knowledgeable about people's livelihood, Emperor Xingyuan knew exactly which products of Daxia were favored by foreign countries.

Xin You spit out one word: "Sugar."

"Sugar?" The curiosity in Emperor Xingyuan's eyes turned to disappointment, and he shook his head with a smile, "For Xiling, Daxia's sugar is indeed a rare thing, but there are rules for how to exchange it..."

Again, it's not much of an advantage.

"Your Majesty, does your Majesty know how much sugar sells for today?" Xin You didn't get impatient because of Emperor Xingyuan's denial and asked calmly.

And she looks like this, making it difficult for people to treat her like an ignorant young person subconsciously.

Emperor Xingyuan looked at the eunuch Sun Yan.

He knew roughly what the price of sugar was, but he didn't know more accurately.

It is indeed extraordinary for Sun Yan to have the status he has today. Although this question has nothing to do with his errand, he immediately answered: "There are many kinds of sugar, including white sugar, which is divided into Western sugar and local sugar. Western sugar is expensive and scarce, and local sugar The quality of sugar is slightly worse, costing about 200 renminbi per pound. Brown sugar is around 50 renminbi per pound, and caramel sugar is relatively cheap."

Not to mention that caramel sugar is cheap, Xining war horses are given to Daxia at a preferential price. Calculated at fifteen taels of silver per war horse, how much red and white sugar does this cost?

And if you use a lot of red and white sugar in exchange, why not use silk?

Even Sun Yan felt that Xin You's suggestion was unreliable.

Xin You lowered his head and took out a small porcelain jar from the purse hanging on his waist.

"Eunuch Sun, please bring me a clean plate."

Sun Yan quickly arranged for a chamberlain to pick it up.

Soon the waiter came back with the porcelain plate.

Xin You opened the porcelain jar and poured out the particles as white as frost.

"What is this?" Emperor Xingyuan asked curiously, looking at the frost and snow in the dish.

"It's sugar."

"Impossible!" Emperor Xingyuan stared at the frosty thing, "White sugar is not this color."

Even the best-quality Western white sugar has a light yellowish-brown color, but it is not as white as snow as before.

"Your Majesty, you can have a taste."

It is set that sugar has not yet appeared in the early days of Great Xia.