The reason why Zhao Xin is interested in 13-year-old Ruan Fujing is because this child's life experience is really full of twists and turns.
At that time, Nguyen Phuc Anh was desperate. In order to ask for help from France, he did not hesitate to let the four-year-old Nguyen Phuc Anh travel across the ocean with Peter to govern the country and France. Later, he signed the "Franco-Vietnamese Treaty of Versailles" with France on behalf of Guangnan. He did not wait until he was ten years old. Return home. During this period, he met Louis XVI's family, served as a playmate for Louis Charles' brother, and even interacted with Thomas Jefferson, the then U.S. Ambassador to France.
However, precisely because of this, Nguyen Phuc Kinh showed a strong pro-Christian tendency after returning to Quang Nam. He even refused to kneel in front of the ancestral temple, made the sign of the cross in front of the Buddhist altar, and regularly attended mass. This made Nguyen Phuc Anh very angry. If nothing goes wrong, Nguyen Phuc Keng will be poisoned to death when he is 20 years old.
When Zheng Huaide finished reading, he respectfully placed the congratulatory form in front of Zhao Xin's desk, and then explained Ruan Fuying's request. However, Zhao Xin did not express his position after hearing this. Instead, he chatted with Ruan Phuc King about his experiences in Paris.
Zhao Xin's tone was very easy-going, which made Ruan Fujing, who was originally very nervous, gradually relax. When he learned that Louis Charles and his sister were both guests in Beihai Town, he immediately showed a hint of excitement and nostalgia, and talked endlessly about his court life in Versailles. Although Zheng Huaide and Li Wenyue tried to turn the conversation to sending troops, Zhao Xin didn't want to mention it at all.
At the same time, in the garden with green trees and flowers inside the Military Control Commission, two beautiful women were also talking. Although their conversation did not have a political meaning, they still spoke cautiously.
"May I ask how long the girl has been following His Highness King Zhao?"
"Almost nine years."
Wearing a white Ao Dai, Chen Jue showed off her graceful figure. Because there were guards standing guard at the entrance of the garden, outsiders could not enter, so she did not wear a hat and veil, revealing her delicate facial features and snow-white face. She watched with surprise as A Miao leaned over and picked up the big yellow cat at her feet, stroking her head lovingly.
"This cat is really cute. I see that girls usually dote on it. It is really lucky."
A Miao secretly glanced at the other person's towering chest with some envy, secretly compared it with her own "little steamed buns", sighed quietly, and immediately decided to eat an extra bowl of papaya and bird's nest at night to replenish her body. To be honest, if the other party hadn't introduced himself before, she would never have imagined that the woman in front of her was already 26, a full nine years older than her.
"I'm calling you sister. Its name is Duofu. Sister, don't underestimate it. Its status in the family is higher than mine. In the words of the master, including himself, they are all Duofu's slaves."
(Duofu: "Well said! I am very satisfied~~")
"Huh?" Chen Xuan looked shocked, thinking that he had never heard of this statement before. She then pursed her lips and smiled, feeling that King Zhao was also an interesting person. She couldn't help but want to touch Duofu's fat head, but the man suddenly raised his front paws and scratched her. She was so frightened that she hurriedly withdrew her hands and escaped the disaster.
"Don't make trouble, this is a guest." A Miao reached out and patted Duofu's paw, and then apologized to Chen Yan. When Duofu had enough of playing around, he broke away from A Miao's arms and jumped to the ground, and started chasing butterflies.
"What perfume is the girl wearing? It smells really good."
Although Chen Jue also bought several bottles of perfume from French missionaries, the animal spices used were too pungent, so he only used them once and then stopped using them.
"This was given to me by the owner. It was called 'Blues Time' and I bought it from the French." A Miao continued with a dimple-like smile: "Since Sister Chen likes it, I'll take a bottle away later."
"Blues Time." Chen Yan recited it several times in his mind, thinking that this name was really weird. She then smiled and said: "When I see the girl, I am as happy as seeing my own sister. Since she is one of my own family, I ask the girl not to see anyone outside."
"Then why are you so embarrassed? Sister Chen, you don't have to be polite."
Although Chen Yan was polite, she really liked the scent, so she half-heartedly thanked him. This time she asked to see A Miao, and the gift she gave her was not light. In addition to two sets of fine gold jewelry and gorgeous cloth, there were also five Merlo beads as big as little thumbs, all orange-red with flame patterns.
After following Zhao Xin for so many years, A Miao has seen good things. She knows the weight of this gift. After thinking about it, I could only reluctantly take out one of the two bottles of perfume Zhao Xin gave me.
In the process of talking to A Miao, although the other party described her as a master on the left and a master on the right, Chen Xing did not dare to treat her as a slave. Without him, just the other party's clothes and the smell of perfume on her body proved that this little girl was by no means an ordinary person. Especially the pink pearl on the hairpin on the back of the other person's head. It is round and smooth, almost the size of the belly of an index finger. It is definitely the best among pearls. Even Chen Jue, a wealthy businessman in Jiading, has never seen it.
Furthermore, European perfumes in these days used natural fragrances and were transported across the ocean to East Asia. They were all extremely expensive and beyond the reach of ordinary people.
Such a beautiful woman was actually confiscated as a concubine, and she was still dressed as an unmarried girl. Is it true that His Highness King Zhao is not a womanizer, as the rumors say?
"Sister Chen, you are so good-looking. Do all the women in Guangnan look like you?"
"Girl, don't be ridiculous, I am already old. But there are still many pretty women in Guangnan. As the ancients said, beauties have always been famous in southern China."
"Is Quang Nam fun? We passed by Hoi An when we were taking a boat south. Unfortunately, we were in a hurry and didn't have time to enter the city."
"It's not as beautiful as Bacheng. I've been here for the past few days and I've seen the grandeur of the buildings above and below the harbor and the majestic houses in the city. It's really not comparable to a small place like Jiading. I've also received gifts from my sister before. Letter, she said that Beihai Town has high mountains and vast forests. When it snowed in winter, it was even covered in snow, like a jade dragon winding around the mountain. It was completely different from the southern scenery. It was really fascinating. I have never seen this before. Here’s the snow.”
"Yes, Beihai Town is beautiful and the place is huge. Just walking from south to north and east to west takes several months. I followed my master to Siberia for a few months, and there were woods everywhere. The blue sky, white clouds, and vast snowfields are beautiful to look at, but it’s extremely cold in winter and there are a lot of mosquitoes in summer.”
"There are mosquitoes in such a cold place?"
"Why not? Those soldiers on guard must wear hoods and gloves in the summer, and their cuffs and trousers must be tightly tied."
"Wouldn't applying the cooling oil from Beihai Town work?"
"I don't know that."
"Besides, the cooling oil produced in Beihai Town is really good. My sister doesn't know, but it is a hot commodity in Guangnan now."
The main reason why Chen Yan came to Bacheng with Ruan Fujing and others this time was because he wanted to get the exclusive agency of cooling oil and essential oil in Guangnan and Siam.
Nowadays, the cooling oil produced in Bacheng is famous throughout Southeast Asia. However, the production is limited, resulting in insufficient supply in various places. In order to alleviate the frenzied buying situation of maritime merchants from all over the city, Deng Fei established a regional hierarchical agency system at that time. According to different sales guarantees, different wholesale prices and discounts were given, and rebates were provided for the excess.
After obtaining the first-level agency rights, Gu Lihuan from Penang Island not only sold in the Malay Peninsula and Sumatra, but also sold to Siam and Guangnan, and it quickly became popular in the local area.
As the head of the Chen family, Chen Yan quickly realized the huge profits contained in the cooling oil and wind oil essence, and immediately started thinking about getting first-class agents in Guangnan and Siam. The problem is that if you want to become the first level, you must pay three thousand taels of silver or the equivalent amount of Spanish silver coins as a deposit, which is a lot of money for the Chen family. She originally wanted to negotiate with Deng Fei through her sister, but unexpectedly her sister went to Beihai Town, and Deng Fei no longer cared about Bacheng's affairs.
After that, she also tried to imitate it, but let alone glycerin, the cost of extracting wintergreen oil alone was terrifyingly high. When she learned from Zheng Huaide that she was going to Bacheng to visit the North Sea King, she thought about it again and asked to go with him. The Chen family in Jiading was originally a wealthy family, with three generations serving the old Ruan. Chen Jue's sister married Deng Fei, so Ruan Fuying naturally had no objection.
The group of people arrived in Bacheng and waited for several days. During this period, Chen Jue sent her servants to inquire around. When she learned that King Zhao also had a beautiful female family member beside him, she started to think about it. Because it was Deng Fei. As the sister-in-law, she tried to open a gap from A Miao.
During the days A Miao came to Bacheng, apart from fighting, she stayed with Zhao Xin almost from morning to night, and she didn't have many friends with whom she could talk. When she heard that it was Mrs. Deng Fei's sister who asked for an audience, she happily agreed. Who would have known that the other person was a beautiful woman only after meeting her.
Others don't know that little thing about Zhao Xin, but A Miao knows it all. Although Shen Xuan is the only official wife in the family, there are definitely colorful flags fluttering outside.
Well, forget it for yourself and Wang Zhenyi, Tang Xiaoma can still make sense, but Zhao Xin seemed a little confused with the French woman with the high nose before leaving. Here’s another one, I can definitely form a team to play volleyball in the future!
The two chatted in the garden for most of an hour. Chen Xuan was full of compliments in his words, which made A Miao less wary. Chen Yan had no intention of raising the deposit at first, but when she learned that Zhao Xin would leave by boat soon, she mentioned it to A Miao tactfully.
A Miao never got involved in such things, but for Deng Fei's sake, she promised to talk to Zhao Xin. As for whether they agree or not, I don’t know.
Because there was a banquet to entertain Ruan Fujing and his party in the evening, Zhao Xin was busy until he returned to his residence very late. A Miao took advantage of him to brush his teeth and told the story about Chen Yu.
When Zhao Xin heard that this was the case, he immediately couldn't laugh or cry, thinking that he would have to blame himself for such a trivial matter. But since A Miao had already begged A Miao, and Old Deng’s wife had to give him face, he casually said: “You want to be the first level, but don’t want to pay for it? She is really a thief. You ask her to pay one thousand Two, get the goods at the first-level price; but starting from the second purchase, the difference must be paid. Rules are rules, and once they are established, they cannot be broken casually, and I am the same."
"I understand. One more thing. She brought a lot of gifts today. In addition to jewelry, there are also five Melo beads you told me about."
"Just keep it. You don't need to tell me about this."
"I gave her a bottle of perfume as a gift in return, the same two bottles you gave me last year."
"Ah?!" Zhao Xin opened his mouth wide, revealing a mouth full of foam, and turned around to look at A Miao in disbelief.
A Miao was puzzled when she saw this and said, "What's wrong?"
"Ouch! My little aunt, do you know how hard it is to buy that perfume? I'm really impressed by you!"
A Miao's expression changed when she heard this, her little face suddenly drooped, and her eyes began to turn red. Upon seeing this, Zhao Xin hurriedly comforted her, saying forget it, since it was given to someone else, it was her own business to deal with it. Besides, the global limited edition is just a gimmick.
However, after he finished coaxing A Miao and waited for her to go out, he always felt that something was wrong! Zhao Xin suddenly slapped his forehead, thinking that this matter might be too long-winded. It seems that A Miao will have to explain it to the other party tomorrow, but there must be no misunderstanding.
At the same time, in a guest room in the courtyard on the west side of the Military Control Commission, Chen Yan was lying on the bed, tossing and turning, completely insomniac. After a while, she fumbled and turned on the bedside table lamp. A black leather box about a foot square with gold lettering on the outside suddenly appeared on the bedside table.
The maid who was sleeping in the outer room heard something moving in the bedroom. She immediately got up and walked to the door to ask. When her master told her that nothing was wrong, she went back to sleep. At this time, there was silence in the house, and drizzle was falling outside the window. Chen Yan's eyes fell on the leather box without moving for a long time.
Well, the two bottles of perfume that Zhao Xin gave to A Miao were brought back from another time and space. They were global limited editions of a certain brand and were expensive. The problem is that if it's just that the perfume is special, the key is the bottle containing the perfume. Its value in this time and space far exceeds the few beads and gold jewelry given by Chen Jue.
It is said that after Chen Jue returned to her residence at noon, she didn't bother to read anything; she first went to meet the prince Ruan Fujing, and then listened to Zheng Huaide telling the story of her meeting with Zhao Xin in the morning, and helped analyze it.
You must know that the ancestor of the Chen family in Jiading was Chen Junqing, a famous prime minister in the Southern Song Dynasty. At the end of the Southern Song Dynasty, Chen Wenlong came out. He has always been the heir of poetry and calligraphy, and this was also the case after moving to Jiading.
Chen Jue has been known as a talented woman since she was a child. She is familiar with all the classics and history, as well as music, chess, calligraphy and painting. Otherwise, neither Ruan Fuying nor Zheng Huaide would never forget her. After the "Jiading Massacre", she was able to take up the Chen family's business on her own and still prosper, which shows that her mind and wisdom are also extraordinary.
Chen Yan believes that Beihai Town’s current focus is not Annan. Although the Dutch are gone now, the natives in West Java still need the North Navy to deter them, and it may be difficult to mobilize their troops. Secondly, the Northern Navy had previously transferred a large number of troops and fleets to the west. It was said that they were going to Tianzhu to help the French resist the attack of the British East India Company. Then there are Hoi An and Canton Ao. These two places are very important to Beihai Town, and troops must be reserved for defense; In the end, she decided that instead of asking for reinforcements, it would be better to ask for weapons and loans.
Everyone was suddenly enlightened after hearing this, and Ruan Fujing was even more convinced. This child already has a deep affection for France and has served in local governance. What's more, the French are also allies of Guangnan. So when it was time for the dinner, he never mentioned the borrowing of troops, but asked for another loan of two million taels of silver as Chen Jue said.
After hearing this, Zhao Xin readily agreed, but the condition was that payment should be made with Beihai silver dollars, and 40% of the payment must be used to purchase weapons from Beihai Town. Ruan Fooking and others were overjoyed when they heard this, and then they couldn't help but lamented that it was a pity that Chen Yan was not a man.
Chen Yan definitely couldn't attend such a public event as the dinner party. She went back to her residence and took a nap. After getting up to wash up and prepare for dinner, she remembered A Miao's gift. However, when she opened the box and saw the amethyst bottle the size of a wine bottle inside, she was immediately shocked.
The entire bottle seems to be carved out of a single piece of deep purple crystal. The top of the bottle is also studded with crystal clear violet-style crystal stones, and there is a circle of gold thread on the edge of each flower. This is too luxurious and expensive!
After Chen Yue was initially dazzled, his first reaction was that even if this thing was given to Lord Ruan, it would be taken into the palace and become a treasure. That girl A Miao actually gave me such a valuable thing. What was her intention?
The main theme of her life these years has been calculation. If you don't know how to deal with family, shopping malls, and official circles, you would have been swallowed up with your flesh and bones long ago. So she naturally made a complicated guess, thinking that it was probably the King of Zhao who gave it to her under the guise of A Miao. Well, the answer is ready to come out, it seems that King Xiang is interested.
Oops, now we’re in trouble!
