Daqian Night Emperor

Chapter 94: One Thousand Taels of Gold and One Tael of Tea (First Order Request)

"Don't dare to talk nonsense, don't dare to talk nonsense!"

When Zhao Qi'an said that, Duke Yingguo Ji Liyuan, who was sitting opposite him, was shocked and quickly stood up to stop him.

His action surprised Zhao Qian'an.

Zhao Qi'an looked at Ji Liyuan, only to see that the old duke had an anxious look on his face, sweat on his forehead, and kept winking at him.

Ji Liyuan was really frightened by Zhao Qi'an's bold remarks.

The Second Prince issued an edict to appoint officials... Can you say that?

Doesn't this mean that the Second Prince intends to replace His Majesty?

Although tonight is a banquet for the Second Prince's officials, what if there is a traitor at the table who leaks what happened today?
Ji Liyuan wiped the sweat from his forehead and explained to Ji Haoyu: "Second Prince, Zhao Sicheng didn't mean anything special. I just said it unintentionally."

Ji Haoyu calmed down, took out an embroidered handkerchief from his bosom and wiped his mouth, waved his hand and said generously: "Hai Qing has been inexperienced for a long time, and now he has just entered the officialdom. I will not blame him for his unintentional words."

"But the speaker may not mean it, but the listener may take it seriously. If some words are spread out, it will always cause trouble."

"Since Haiqing is working under the Emperor's uncle, there are some things that the Emperor's uncle should teach him in the future."

Seeing that Ji Haoyu had no intention of blaming him, Ji Liyuan breathed a sigh of relief and nodded repeatedly: "Yes, yes, yes, I will definitely teach him the ways of the officialdom after I return."

Afterwards, the old Duke glared at Zhao Qi'an and signaled him to stop talking nonsense.

Zhao Qi'an pretended not to see it.

Ji Haoyu was not as friendly to Ji Qingkong as he was to Zhao Qi'an. He said unhappily, "Okay, stop standing here. Sit down."

Ji Qingkong immediately showed a submissive look, not daring to disobey: "Yes."

……

The room was full of guests, and the food was toasting.

The second prince stopped talking to Zhao Qi'an and chatted with the ministers at the same table about recent political affairs.

All those present were important officials of the imperial court, and they all belonged to the same faction, so they naturally talked without any taboos, and from time to time they would engage in arguments, which would turn into heated discussions.

It was just a dinner party, but it looked like a small imperial court.

But there are three outsiders in this "small court".

One was Ji Qingkong, who was concentrating on serving food and wine to the Second Prince.

One was Zhao Qi'an, who only drank, occasionally picked up a piece of food with chopsticks, and listened quietly without expressing any opinions.

Another one is the Duke of England, Ji Liyuan, who doesn't care what others are talking about and just eats and drinks.

It can be seen that among the people present, only the Duke of England was really hungry.

However, as the conversation went on, the topic turned to the birthday banquet two months later.

This is different from the emperor's birthday in previous years. This is the 80th birthday of Emperor Tianwu, which can be said to be a major event celebrated by the whole country. At that time, there will be a general amnesty and everyone will celebrate.

By now, the birthday gifts from various places have been delivered one after another. Some of the people present here know some inside information and mention which state or prefecture has delivered so much gold and silver and how many ships have loaded it.

Which family has found some auspicious sign or some rare treasure and wants to present it to Your Majesty?

And there was the unlucky one, who encountered robbers while transporting the birthday gift, and the government sent many people to suppress the bandits.

For a while, everyone was talking about it with great relish.

Ji Haoyu was already a little drunk, his face flushed, and he said with a smile: "If you want to give a gift to the emperor, giving gold and silver is nothing more than a number. If you really want to give something, you should give the emperor something he likes."

His eyes were blurry from drinking, and he stretched out his fingers to count, "If you want to know what father likes, it's actually very simple... Isn't it that father's greatest wish is to seek immortality and the Way of the Tao?" "Father built the Huadu Palace and summoned Taoist priests from all over the world to the palace, wasn't it for the so-called Golden Elixir Way?"

"Then there is the Heavenly Book Pavilion, which collects all the martial arts books in the world and wants the national master to create a martial arts method that is the best in the world."

"And the fairy mountain that was moved from the far north to the palace..."

He counted in detail what Emperor Tianwu had done over the years. Each one of them was extremely costly and labor-intensive. All the money that Emperor Tianwu had collected through heavy taxes and levies was spent on these things.

But no one present dared to mention this, and they just kept their mouths shut and listened.

Although there are martial arts in this world, if one practices them to the extreme, one will become like a god.

But not everyone pursues martial arts. After all, even if one achieves the highest level of martial arts, it only means living a few more years, not immortality.

The road of martial arts is difficult and arduous. Many people practice martial arts for their entire lives, training in the coldest days of winter and the hottest days of summer, not daring to stop for a single day. They live a life of hardship, never enjoying themselves, and practice martial arts until they die...

Are days like this interesting?
His Majesty was a wise ruler in his early years, but he became outrageous as he grew older. He even thought about seeking immortality by seeking the help of immortality.

Although everyone was secretly dissatisfied, they followed the example of their superiors and started to think about what gift they should present to His Majesty at the birthday banquet.

Someone, taking advantage of the wine, asked, "What kind of gift has the Second Prince prepared for Your Majesty?"

Ji Haoyu seemed to have expected this question. He smiled slightly, took out a small box from his arms and placed it on the table.

When the box was opened, a fragrance immediately filled the whole hall.

When everyone raised their noses and took a sniff, they felt a stream of fresh air rushing through their minds. Their brains, which had been dizzy due to the alcohol, instantly became much clearer.

They couldn't help but look in out of curiosity, and saw that the small box contained a black tea cake.

Someone in the room who knew what it was couldn't help but exclaimed, "Enlightenment Tea?!"

Ji Haoyu laughed and said, "It is this tea."

He carefully closed the box, then put it into his inner pocket. He patted his chest and felt relieved.

When Zhao Qi'an saw him take out the tea, he was also stunned.

Among the guests present, someone enviously said, "I heard that this tea is the best for martial arts practice. The national teacher once offered a price of one ounce of tea for one thousand ounces of gold. But until now, the reward has been posted on the notice of the Patrol Observatory, and no one has gone to uncover it. Where did the Second Prince get this tea?"

Ji Haoyu smiled and said, "A thousand taels of gold may not be enough. This tea cake cost me a total of 15,000 taels of silver."

When this number came out, everyone present was shocked.

At present, the ratio of gold to silver in the Daqian Dynasty is roughly 1:8, that is, one tael of gold can be exchanged for eight taels of silver.

Fifteen thousand taels, that's nearly two thousand taels of gold.

This is just to buy a pound of tea?!

At this time, Zhao Qi'an noticed that his elder brother-in-law Ji Qingkong was winking at him, as if he was asking for credit.

He just pretended not to see it and lowered his head to drink in silence.

Ji Haoyu enjoyed the shocked looks and flattery from the people around him, but seeing Zhao Qi'an drinking silently without saying a word, he couldn't help but ask, "By the way, I still don't know what gift the Zhao family of Donghai is preparing for the birthday banquet for father?"

When he said this, everyone immediately looked at Zhao Qian'an with curiosity.

The generosity of the Donghai Zhao family at that time shocked the entire Kyoto city.

I wonder what surprising treasures the Zhao family will present at this birthday banquet.

There are two more chapters today, still writing

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(End of this chapter)