Daqian Night Emperor

Chapter 216 Bargaining
"Then... why did you survive?"

Everyone in the world knows what kind of person Ji Qingkong is.

Luan Nu has been with Yu Zhen since childhood, so she naturally knows the Fourth Prince better than ordinary people.

When she was young, the Fourth Prince was not like he is now.

He was a young talent who studied diligently. Even though he was still young, he had his own opinions on current affairs and domestic affairs.

Coupled with his noble birth and the appearance of the most handsome man in Kyoto, the young Luan Nu had admired and yearned for Ji Qingkong.

But when he was twelve years old, he was summoned by the Queen to accompany the Second Prince in his studies and was raised by the Queen in Guangshou Palace for three years.

Three years later, Ji Qingkong returned to Fuyan Palace and had become a different person. He became taciturn and extremely gloomy.

It was not until Concubine Zhen felt sorry for the prince and took him to Jingzhou to relax with his grandfather that he gradually became cheerful again.

It just went from one extreme to another.

Until today, he has become a scourge that everyone in Kyoto City avoids. He is wanton and naughty, and has become known as the "Prince of Mud".

Over the years, even Princess Yuzhen has been alienated by him.

But even such a useless prince had such a terrifying look in his eyes at this moment that he actually frightened Luan Nu for a moment.

For a moment, she felt that the person standing in front of her was not Ji Qingkong, but Zhao Qi'an!
But the next moment, Ji Qingkong suddenly covered his heart and let go of her hand.

Luan Nu came back to her senses and asked cautiously, "Your Highness?"

The next moment, she saw with her own eyes Ji Qingkong tremblingly reached into his sleeve and took out a folded oilcloth bag. When he opened it, there was some golden powder inside.

In front of Luan Nu, he carefully used his little finger to apply some gold powder, then placed it under his nose and took a deep breath, his face immediately revealing an intoxicated look.

Gold erosion powder!

Luan Nu's eyes immediately revealed contempt, and she thought that it might just be an illusion.

With a cold face, she replied: "The reason why I am able to live... is because I don't want to see the princess make the same mistake again and again."

Ji Qingkong's face had returned to normal. Hearing this, he immediately smiled: "You bitch, betrayal is betrayal, but you say it in a high-sounding way. No wonder the Zhao family asked you to be the chief steward of the princess's mansion. It turns out that you sold out your master for glory in exchange for wealth and honor."

Luan Nu listened to these dirty words without any change in expression.

She was originally Zhao Qi'an's woman, a war orphan rescued from the Hutus by her benefactor. How could she be said to be selling out her master for fame and fortune?
Ji Qingkong's words did not affect her at all.

Ji Qingkong cursed a few times and didn't mention the matter anymore: "Let's not talk about Yu Zhen's matter for now. Zhao Qi'an didn't divorce Yu Zhen after all, so he is still my brother-in-law. Then why hasn't the summer rent of the imperial farm been sent to Fuyan Palace this year?"

Luan Nu said: "The imperial farm is the dowry given by His Majesty to Princess Yuzhen, so it is naturally the property of the Princess's Mansion. Since it is the property of the Princess's Mansion, why should the profits be sent to Fuyan Palace?"

"It's like this every year! Yuzhen does this willingly!"

"Is there a contract to prove it? Is it written in black and white?"

"Yuzhen and I have a deep brother-sister relationship, not to mention we have our mother and family, so we don't need these."

"Then the Fourth Prince will go and invite Her Royal Highness the Princess to come for a confrontation."

After a few sharp words, he refused to give in at all.

Ji Qingkong slammed the table and laughed angrily, "You lowly maid, who gave your dog the courage to talk to me like this? Let Zhao Qi'an come over, I will talk to him in person if I have anything to say!" Luan Nu sighed softly, bowed to Ji Qingkong and said, "Since Your Highness does not want to talk, then this servant will take his leave."

"If Zhao Qi'an refuses to see me, I won't leave today!"

"It doesn't have to be today. Tomorrow will do. The day after tomorrow will do. If Your Highness wants to wait, then wait forever. The mansion will never lack a bite of food for you."

After saying that, Luan Nu actually pretended to leave, not giving Ji Qingkong the slightest bit of face.

"Wait a minute."

Ji Qingkong called out to Luan Nu.

Luan Nu turned around and saw Ji Qingkong had swept away his previous arrogance and was smiling.

Facing a servant whom he had never even glanced at before, the Fourth Prince could show a slightly flattering smile: "I was just joking just now, let's talk more."

This flexible appearance made Luan Nu stunned for a moment.

Ji Qingkong took the initiative to stand up and give up his seat, pulled Luan Nu to sit down, and said: "Since Zhao Qi'an is willing to let me enter the mansion, it means that he is still willing to talk to me. Tell me, what does he want me to do, and what conditions can he give me?"

He was quite smart and had actually sensed some of Zhao Qian'an's attitude from these details.

If he had entered the mansion today and met Zhao Qian'an directly, perhaps he would have gotten straight to the point.

However, Zhao Qi'an did not show up, but asked Luan Nu to come forward. This made Ji Qingkong unable to help but test and see if he could raise the price.

Now that Luan Nu’s attitude was so firm, he gave up the idea.

But even at this point, Luan Nu still refused to give in: "The master is not at home, and he is not aware of your visit, Your Highness."

Ji Qingkong said dissatisfiedly: "This is boring. Look, I am so frank..."

Luan Nu was unmoved, but changed the subject the next moment: "However... Zhao Xing in Kyoto has been troubled by the Ruan Gongsheng from the Donghai family recently. If Your Highness is willing to help a little, the several stewards of the trading company can decide on the purpose of Your Highness's visit today."

"How much of the imperial land and farmland will be ceded to me?"

"Your Highness, you must be joking. Those are the princess's dowry. How can a steward of a trading company decide that? Moreover, smuggling royal property is illegal. The Zhao family will not do such illegal things."

Luan Nu flatly rejected Ji Qingkong's plan.

Ji Qingkong's expression immediately turned grim: "Then what else is there to talk about?"

Luan Nu shook her head and said, "Your Highness, please be patient. Even if the royal property of the mansion is ceded to you, you will only receive rent for the summer and winter seasons. In the final analysis, it is just a matter of money."

She paused for a moment and continued, "Although the Princess's palace is said to have a thousand hectares of royal farmland, in reality, there are only 632 hectares and 76 mu of good land that can be cultivated. The annual yield per mu is 80 wen, and the annual income is only 5,000 taels of silver. Including the income from the royal farm, it is about 7,000 taels of silver a year."

"If we deduct taxes and the portion left for tenant farmers, the amount sent to Fuyan Palace each year is only between four and five thousand taels."

"If we encounter a disaster year, it's hard to say how much will be left."

Without even a stutter or pause, she fluently told the detailed situation of the imperial fields under the Princess's Mansion.

When Zhao Qi'an decided to take back the property of the Princess Mansion, his subordinates immediately began to count the imperial fields and farms under the Princess Mansion.

All of this is now under the management of Luan Nu, so naturally he dare not slack off easily and has already memorized these matters.

(End of this chapter)