Xia Wenqi was silent for a moment, and then continued: "In short, what happened today was an accident, no surprises!"
"I just hope that the Emperor of Liang can keep his promise and give the betrothal gift happily, so that I can go back and pay homage to my father!"
Originally, Song Huan despised his behavior of picking holes in doors, but from the conversation between the two, Song Huan got unexpected and important information!
I thought that the crown prince of Xia must be the most admired and satisfied son of Prince Xia Yuan, so he was specially allowed to come to Beijing to pay tribute.
Unexpectedly, he just assumed the identity of the eldest son and was not taken seriously by the Prince of Xia at all!
The wonderful drama of changing the palace maid to the princess was a decision that he and Xia Wenying made on the spur of the moment, without telling Prince Xia.
And everything that happened tonight was because he was following the trend, hoping to take this opportunity to extort a large amount of rewards so that he could go back and please his father!
Before coming, Song Huan still had a headache and didn't know how to persuade Xia Wenqi.
Unexpectedly, within just a few minutes, Song Huan would grasp such an amazing secret!
Pretending to be a princess is a serious crime of deceiving the emperor!
He wants to destroy the nine tribes!
Song Huan and Huo Qi quickly looked at each other and were about to go in to confront Xia Wenqi when they heard a noise coming from downstairs.
"Steward Jiang, you are here!"
"Well, I came here to check on the Crown Prince of Xia Kingdom on the order of the Grand Master. The Crown Prince hasn't rested yet, has he?"
"Not yet, Butler Jiang, the light in the prince's room is still on. I will show you the way, young one!"
There was a sound of footsteps, and Song Huan and Huo Qi hurriedly hid in the empty guest room next door.
Fortunately, the sound insulation of this ancient building was average. Through a wall, Song Huan could still hear the conversation coming from the next room.
"Greetings to the Crown Prince! I am a subordinate of Grand Master Shangguan Yi of Daliang. I have come here to pay my respects to the Crown Prince on the order of the Grand Master."
"I've heard of Butler Chiang's name. When I saw him today, he turned out to be a talented young man."
"Your Majesty, that's ridiculous! I came so late to pay my respects to Your Majesty. I hope I didn't disturb His Majesty's rest."
"No, no. I wonder why Butler Jiang came here at night?"
Jiang Lin coughed twice and said loudly: "The Grand Master sent me here just to ask the Crown Prince what he thinks about the 'tea-horse trade'."
Xia Wenqi originally disagreed with such a policy, and now that the incident in the Imperial Garden that was full of the meaning of the immortal dance happened, it was naturally even more impossible for him to agree.
"If you are here for this matter, then Butler Jiang should please come back!"
"Not trading with other countries has been our Xia country's tradition for hundreds of years. No one can change it easily."
"If I easily agree to something that goes against the wishes of my ancestors just because I came to Daliang, wouldn't it be unfaithful and unfilial!"
Xia Wenqi's words were very firm, and it seemed that he was determined not to agree to this matter.
However, Jiang Lin remained calm and composed, saying: "Your Majesty, there is no need to refuse so simply!"
"The Xia Kingdom's centuries-old tradition is indeed worthy of respect."
"However, traditions and rules are dead, but people are alive!"
"As far as I know, the Xia State's treasury is indeed unable to make ends meet and is in trouble."
"If the Crown Prince can consider the 'tea-horse trade', this situation may be changed once and for all!"
Xia Wenqi asked curiously: "Isn't it a 'tea-horse trade'?"
"To put it bluntly, it's a transaction between ordinary people!"
"How to improve the tight situation of the national treasury?"
Jiang Lin laughed "haha" twice: "Your Majesty, you don't know something now."
"Although it's a 'tea-horse trade', if people were trading freely, wouldn't it be a mess long ago?"
"Whether it is Xia Kingdom or Daliang, they must be managed by dedicated personnel to avoid market chaos."
"If a group of personnel are specially allocated to manage this matter, then management fees will naturally be indispensable."
"In addition, when people trade among themselves, they must pay corresponding taxes based on the transaction amount..."
Jiang Lin reminded Xia Wenqi that he could fully understand what he wanted to express.
"Steward Jiang, you are so tall!"
"Why didn't I think of what you said before?"
"But Butler Jiang has a broad vision and can see this level that ordinary people can't see!"
"Don't worry, I will consider Steward Jiang's proposal carefully."
Song Huan never dreamed that this tea-horse trade, which was originally intended to solve major issues related to people's livelihood, would actually become a tool for profit-making in their mouths!
As transactions come and go, another layer of skin has to be pulled off the people!
Why can they smell a copper odor no matter what kind of measures they take?
Song Huan felt extremely absurd and desolate.
The absurd thing is that these seemingly unreasonable words and deeds are actually the basic operations of those in power.
Sadly, in the eyes of many people, this is a normal thing that can no longer be normal!
It seems that plucking a goose's feathers is something that should be taken for granted.
"Your Highness, Your Highness!"
"Jiang Lin is gone, should we go in?"
After Huo Qi's reminder, Song Huan came back to his senses.
He reached out and took off the night clothes covering the outside: "Let's go in and meet the Crown Prince of Xia!"
"Squeak——"
Song Huan reached out to push the door open and saw a man and a woman sitting comfortably on two Taishi chairs.
In front of the two of them, a maidservant was squatting, beating their legs and pinching their feet.
Needless to say, this man and woman are Xia Wenqi, the crown prince of the Xia Kingdom, and Xia Wenying, the real third princess of the Xia Kingdom.
But what shocked Song Huan extremely!
This third princess of the Xia Kingdom is exactly the strange maid she met on the corridor tonight when she left the palace!
At this moment, she had changed out of her palace maid outfit and put on an embroidered dress.
The embroidered long skirt looked like top-quality Suzhou embroidery produced in Jiangsu and Zhejiang. It must have been a reward given to the Xia Kingdom by Emperor Liang over the years.
Against the backdrop of this precious Su embroidery, she looked even more bright and noble, like a coquettishly blooming peony flower, so beautiful that it was extremely offensive.
However, when this swaying peony flower looked at Song Huan who had suddenly arrived, a trace of panic flashed across its face.
Because the person who was kneeling on the ground beating her legs and pinching her feet was none other than Song Yu's unmarried princess, the fake third princess of Xia Kingdom!
"Prince Rong...Rong?"
"How did you come!"
Xia Wenqi was obviously frightened. He quickly stood up and blocked Song Huan's scrutinizing gaze with his body.
Song Huan did not answer Xia Wenqi's question directly, but looked past him and continued to look at Xia Wenying who stood up hurriedly behind him.
"You just said, let's see you next time."
"I didn't expect that we would meet again so soon!"
