noffsinger Chapter 140 1 Family
Chapter 140 1 Family
Prince Yi Fengming did not participate in political affairs and never attended court. Now that he had dabbled in it, he was unknowingly used as a scapegoat.
Aunt Jing heard this and thanked Li Zhi repeatedly: "Thank you for reminding us, our prince knows."
"I dare not." Li Zhi said modestly, but he looked at Aunt Jing deeply.
Zhou Chang's expression also eased a little, and he made a gesture to see the guest off: "This way, it won't delay Li Changshi's work. Monkey, send him off for me."
"Yes." The thin monkey came forward and said at the same time, "Your Majesty, Aunt Jing should accompany me to see her off, so as not to neglect her."
"Ah, yes, it was Aunt Jing who should have sent him off on my behalf." This sentence came out of Prince Yi's mind, but Zhou Chang also knew why at the same time.
Li Zhi and Aunt Jing are from the same hometown. When he was still in the palace in his early years, Li Zhi took care of the people in Huilan Garden because of this relationship.
"Yes, Your Highness, don't worry." Aunt Jing followed him out.
Li Zhi and the two young eunuchs bowed to Zhou Chang again and left.
As the skinny monkey was seeing him off, he said, "Congratulations, Manager Li. I heard that you got promoted recently."
Zhou Chang was stunned.
Manager?
This person was promoted? She didn't know.
Then I kept calling him "Changshi" just now. Was that too low a term?
Zhou Chang unconsciously tilted his ear to listen carefully.
Aunt Jing and Shouhou followed Li Zhi out and stuffed something into Li Zhi's hand.
"It's nothing. I was promoted to Deputy Chief Eunuch of the Inner Court. It doesn't make much difference." Li Zhi was very humble and polite. He took Aunt Jing's things without leaving any trace.
Aunt Jing sighed, "Alas, you finally made it through."
"That's right," the skinny monkey envied, "The deputy chief steward is a fifth-rank official, so he is the third in command of the inner palace."
Li Zhi just turned his head to look at Aunt Jing: "The past is in the past, aren't we all fine now?"
Zhou Chang listened and followed unconsciously to the steps outside the main hall.
Aunt Jing also smiled with relief: "That's good, but I'm afraid you will have to serve His Majesty all the time in the future. Your knee joints have never been in good condition. This medicated oil is specially formulated by Doctor Meng, and it is much stronger than those in the palace. I don't know if you have used up the last one, but you must remember to apply it often."
It turned out that what was given just now was medicinal oil, not silver.
Li Zhi's voice gradually became unclear: "Thank you for your concern. As a member of this position, you will naturally have to serve His Majesty all the time, but the good thing is that you will have the opportunity to go out of the palace to announce the emperor's will. You can arrange it..."
The three of them walked away while talking.
Uncle Qiu limped to Zhou Chang's side and reported in a low voice: "Your Highness, the steward of the Yuan family, He Xi, wants to see you and has been waiting at the side door for a long time. Because of the imperial decree just now, he was not allowed in."
"Congratulations? Isn't Miss Yuan here?" Zhou Chang was just thinking about finding Yuan Qi to discuss the matter of the live snake, but he didn't expect Yuan Qi to send someone over.
Uncle Qiu looked confused.
"Let him in." Zhou Chang ordered, then he remembered that Uncle Qiu's legs were inconvenient, "Where is he? I'll go over."
"It's at the corner gate." Uncle Qiu pointed to the side door on the west side.
Aunt Jing was seeing Li Zhi off, but before she even walked out of the main gate, she turned back and called Zhong Yu anxiously, "Mr. Zhong, let's go to the west gate. I'm sure the Yuan family has already heard the news."
"Yes." Zhong Yu would have followed even if he didn't give any orders.
The two of them quickly came to the west corner gate.
He Xi was pacing near the door. He was startled to see Zhou Chang coming out in person. He hurriedly came up to greet him and said, "Greetings, Your Highness Prince Yi."
Zhou Chang glanced at the Lanny carriage across the street and said, "No need to be polite. Why are you here alone?"
"Uh..." He Xi hesitated for a moment and did not answer directly. Instead, he said, "Counting with my fingers, Your Highness, the imperial edict you just received must have known that the court had requested frostbite cream in advance, right?"
What the hell, after counting on my fingers, could it be that the Yuan family had received the news from the palace in advance?
But Zhou Chang did not waste time on these details and went straight to the point: "Yes, does the Yuan family have a solution?"
He Xi bowed again and said, "Your Majesty, the young master asked me to convey a message that the Yuan family will go through fire and water and will not hesitate to do anything for it."
This is just empty talk and has no real use.
Zhong Yu immediately asked, "Manager He, last time you said that no matter how fast you try, you can't get 10,000 snakes in just half a month. Now even if we risk everything, how can we make snake oil without snakes? That's the main raw material for our frostbite cream."
Zhou Chang had already made plans for tomorrow. He gritted his teeth and clenched his fists: "We'll get as many snakes as we can. We'll ship the first batch to the palace tomorrow."
He Xi was surprisingly straightforward: "Yes, Your Majesty, I calculated with my fingers, and there should be no problem with the first batch of 3,000 live snakes tomorrow."
"Three thousand?" Zhou Chang didn't expect the Yuan family to give out three thousand immediately. "What about the rest?"
"Your Highness, if snakes are not enough, we can use horses. Although the money at that time..." He Xi twirled his fingers, not knowing whether he was calculating or thinking of a solution.
"Horse?" Zhou Chang didn't understand.
He Xi lowered his voice and said, "Horse oil has always been better than snake oil. However, after three years of fighting, not only are there not enough war horses, but also ordinary horses. Therefore, the court has issued a clear ban on the sale of horses. However, if it is really a last resort... the young master means that we can just buy the horses back at a high price."
"That would be a huge loss." Zhou Chang simply ignored the ban on the sale of horse meat and just thought about killing horses for oil, which he couldn't bear.
"As for what the young master meant, Your Highness Prince Yi can rest assured. If it is absolutely necessary tomorrow or the day after tomorrow, Your Highness does not have to worry about not being able to report back. The Yuan family will always find a way." He Xi made the final meaning clear.
Having said that, Zhou Chang still felt uncomfortable. He looked at the Lanny carriage across the street. He had a feeling that Yuan Qi was in the carriage, but he didn't know why he didn't come out to meet him.
"Tell Miss Yuan that she should just focus on preparing the live snake." Zhou Chang thought of Yuan Qi, and a bit of fighting spirit surged up in him.
He Xi bowed his hands and said, "I will obey your command."
Afterwards, Zhou Chang watched He Xi get on the carriage and leave. He never saw Yuan Qi again, and then he returned home with Zhong Yu.
As soon as Zhou Chang returned to the mansion, he saw Uncle Qiu sitting alone in a rocking chair under the wall, holding a small wine pot in his hand, drinking wine slowly, sip by sip, while basking in the sun.
At this time, Aunt Jing and Skinny Monkey brought Li Zhi back.
When Aunt Jing saw Zhou Chang, she frowned and came over: "You are not deliberately making things difficult for our prince. Who can make such a large amount of snake oil in three days? But your majesty does not need to worry too much. Your Majesty may be too worried about the war in the north. As for if this batch of snake oil is really not completed, the court officials may have excuses, but your majesty is not so confused."
Zhou Chang didn’t know whether Emperor Lin was confused or not, but she had to win the war.
The thin monkey followed suit and said, "Don't worry, Your Majesty. I know how to kill snakes, and refining snake oil is very common. I can make something even if I don't eat, drink or sleep for three days."
Uncle Qiu also stood up unsteadily and shook the wine gourd in his hand: "Don't be sad, Your Majesty. It's no big deal. We managed to get through all the difficulties in the palace before, and we will be able to do it this time as well. Even if it doesn't work, as long as this old servant can move, I will still be able to serve Your Majesty wherever I go."
"That's right, Your Majesty, don't worry, just do it. The Queen will definitely bless you in heaven." Aunt Jing pulled Zhou Chang.
In the past, it was the three of them who accompanied Prince Yi Fengming through more than ten years in the palace.
Zhou Chang felt a warm current in his heart, and suddenly he felt like he had a home again in this time and space. "What do you think is the most precious thing in the world?
Picking stars with bare hands, loving but not getting,
Thousands of people from all over the world meet here. "