I support the army through farming and business.

Chapter 128 The Mirror of Light

"Luckily I didn't come back empty-handed, otherwise it would have been extremely rude," Tang Zhao beckoned Chunfeng in, took the box from her hands, and personally placed it next to Ming Shi. "Sister-in-law, do you like it?"

Ming reached out and opened the box. At a glance, she saw the face reflected on the lid, so clear that even the pores were clearly visible. She couldn't help but cover her mouth and exclaim in surprise.

"What's wrong?" Hearing Ming's exclamation, Princess Xuan put down her teacup. Zhao Shan was always sensible and would never deliberately frighten people.

"Mother, I have never seen my own face so clearly before," Ming said with delight. Then her gaze fell on a small red bump on her forehead, and she complained, "I told you I had a bump on my face, but the nanny lied and said I didn't."

Granny Ming slammed the box shut. “Princess Consort, be careful. This thing can bewitch people.” Otherwise, how could it present such a clear image?

The young lady kindly gave the Crown Princess a gift, but was instead slandered. Who could tolerate this?
Qiu Yu still remembered the old hag's sly disrespect towards her young lady, and said in a sarcastic tone, "Granny is joking. It's just an ordinary silver mirror. It's not as powerful as Manjushri Bodhisattva's demon-revealing mirror in Journey to the West, which can expose demons and monsters disguised as humans."

Granny Ming paused, suppressing her anger, and said, "This old servant is ignorant and has made the masters laugh at me."

Autumn rain snorted coldly.

Princess Xuan put down her teacup, walked over curiously, and after a long pause, said, "Is this a mirror?"

"It is a mirror, but not a bronze mirror, it is a silver mirror, and its clarity is far superior to that of a bronze mirror. Only by using such a mirror to do our hair can we do justice to the beauty of our mother and sister-in-law."

Tang Zhao clapped his hands, and two guards carefully carried in a large box. Inside the box were neatly arranged wooden boxes.

"Does Mother think this will sell well?"

“Such a treasure is enough to make people all over the world flock to it,” said Princess Xuan. “There is no such thing as something you can’t buy, only something you don’t want to buy. How much do you plan to sell it for?”

"Two hundred taels per sheet."

“This price is too low,” Princess Xuan wondered. Given Zhao Shan’s personality, she should have set a high price and ripped off the wealthy families of Dayu. Why was she so gentle and kind this time?

Tang Zhao also wanted to set a high price, but if the starting point was set too high, it would be difficult to raise the price of new products later, or if the price was too high and no one would buy them, which would be terrible.

It's better to let things develop gradually, like boiling a frog in lukewarm water.

The cunning merchant Tang knew this all too well. He sat in his chair, crossed his legs, and swung them back and forth. "Mother, would it be alright if Zhaozhao placed a silver mirror in every main room of the Prince's mansion?"

Since Tang Zhao entered the room, Gu Xuan had tried to minimize her presence. She casually copied the text while listening to their conversation. Seeing that her mother and sister-in-law praised the silver mirror, she had long been envious but dared not ask for one. Frustrated, her handwriting became much more sloppy.

Upon hearing this, his eyes lit up immediately, and he made a request: "I want one in the inner room and one in the outer room of the bedroom."

Tang Zhao ignored him and treated it as nonsense.

“This silver mirror is so precious. If we put one in every main house, we would need hundreds of mirrors. The Prince’s Mansion can’t afford that,” Princess Xuan shook her head. “Just put them in Qingmo Hall and Bidan Courtyard. You are all at the same age, you should dress up more.”

"As for the third and sixth sons' wives, we can just buy them if we want," Princess Xuan glanced at Gu Xuan, who was looking expectantly. "Xuan'er is studying in the mansion and doesn't need to go out and socialize, so it's useless to give them to her."

Gu Xuan was so angry she wanted to throw her pen.

Tang Zhao glared at her.

Gu Xuan remembered that she only had one purple jade wolf hair brush left, and continued copying the book with red eyes.

“I won’t take it for nothing,” Ming instructed. “Then give two hundred taels of silver to your younger brother and sister-in-law.” Tang Zhao pretended to be embarrassed. “Zhao Zhao originally had something to ask Mother and sister-in-law for help with, but now I don’t know how to ask.”

Ming was curious, "Sister-in-law, just say what's on your mind."

Tang Zhao looked at Princess Xuan, who said helplessly, "Just send one to each of the masters of the various courtyards. Sending too many will only cause gossip."

Having achieved his goal, Tang Zhao smiled and instructed Chunfeng to send mirrors to each courtyard. He then personally placed a mirror carved with peonies in the bedroom of Princess Xuan before revealing the purpose of his trip.

"They say good wine needs no bush, but Zhao Zhao thinks that even the best wine hidden in a winding alley will have its aroma blown away by the wind before it even reaches people's noses."

Tang Zhao looked at the silver mirror beside Ming Shi, "Similarly, no matter how good the silver mirror is, it is like a pearl covered in dust if no one knows about it. If there is an opportunity to show the silver mirror to the ladies and young women of the noble families in the Northwest, that would be the best."

"What a clever little devil!" Princess Xuan laughed and scolded. "We've already accepted your silver mirror, how could your sister-in-law and I refuse?"

Princess Xuan thought, why not hold a banquet to invite the ladies of each household, "lotus flowers in the pond in June," she paused as she spoke.

Gu Xuan lowered her head guiltily.

"In the height of summer in June, the flowers in the gardens of all the mansions are in full bloom. Why don't we hold a flower appreciation party?" Ming suggested. "We would like to invite the guests to the banquet to bring flowers from their own gardens so that we can all appreciate them together."

Princess Xuan asked, "When will you introduce the silver mirror?"

Ming lowered his eyes in thought.

"How about we hold a flower-adorning competition?" Tang Zhao suggested. "We can have the ladies and young women of each family pick the most beautiful flowers they think are in the Prince's Garden and then adorn their hair with them. The flowers will complement the people, and the people will be pleased by the flowers. It would also be natural for them to take out a silver mirror while wearing the flowers."

"That's a good idea," Princess Xuan nodded, then said with feigned seriousness, "It's just a pity that the flowers in my garden are all carefully cultivated by the gardeners."

"Mother, no matter how beautiful the flowers are, they can't compare to the beauty of gleaming silver!" Tang Zhao promised, "Once the silver mirrors are sold well in Dayu, I will build a silver flower garden for you, with all the flower branches, petals, and even stems and leaves made of silver. They will never fade in all four seasons, and you can enjoy them whenever you wish!"

Princess Xuan was amused. "Alright, your mother will be waiting for your Silver Flower Garden. When that time comes, I will go there to admire the flowers every day and praise our Zhaoshan for her filial piety to everyone I meet."

The room was filled with laughter.

"Sister-in-law, does this silver mirror have a name?" Madam Ming finally stopped laughing and touched her lower abdomen with her right hand. "If it doesn't, it should be given a nice name to be worthy of this treasure."

"I've come up with one, I'll call it the Pot-Light Mirror."

"The 'Mirror of Light in a Pot'," Ming asked, "where does it come from?"

It comes from a poem by Xin Qiji, but it cannot be said that Tang Zhao recited it directly: "The sound of the phoenix flute moves, the jade pot shines, and fish and dragons dance all night. Moths, willows, and golden threads, laughter and fragrance linger. I searched for him a thousand times in the crowd, and suddenly I turned around, and there he was, in the dim light."

"I searched for him a thousand times in the crowd, then suddenly turning around, I found him where the lights were dim," Ming murmured several times, thoroughly enjoying it. She hurriedly asked, "What is the meaning behind this?"

"I heard a legend when I was a child: there was a fairy overseas who had a mirror that could predict marriage. As long as you stood in front of the mirror, you could see the face of the person you would spend your life with in the future."

Tang Zhao rambled on, "Isn't this just like searching for someone a thousand times in the crowd, only to find them suddenly when you turn around!"

Zhao Zhao: This story is purely fictional. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is solely the author's fault.

Author: Believe it or not, I'll make you lose money!