The villain prince is three and a half years old

The only thing more comfortable than holding half a watermelon and eating it is holding a Coke and potato chips while enjoying the air conditioning. The latter is no longer possible. Xia Jing is now at his happiest moment.

The only thing that makes people a little dissatisfied is that the spoon in hand is a porcelain spoon, not an iron spoon. It is too thick and blunt, so it is difficult to scoop out a perfect ball, but it is not impossible.

When they found the perfect ball, they stuffed it into Queen Eu's mouth. Perfection in shape didn't affect the taste; this kind of "treasure" of shape was worthless and only suitable for gift-giving.

It's a pity that the Qianqiu Banquet is divided into lunch and dinner. Now it is lunch, a banquet for all officials, so concubines like Xiao Yue and the other concubines, as well as princesses like Ning Xuenian, cannot attend and will not be able to eat the melon balls dug by the Ninth Prince.

If Empress Dowager You had not brought Xia Jing, the Ninth Prince would not have attended.

Emperor Kangning walked back to the center of the venue, said a few more words, and began to accept gifts.

This gift was not a small celebration for the Ninth Prince’s birthday in the Cining Palace. Many of the gifts presented by officials were delivered in carts, just like the goods in a luxury store, with one flagship model and a bunch of ordinary models.

The list of ordinary items should be written on the congratulatory letter, and the actual items can be handed over to the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The main items should be placed in a box, brought to the scene, and given to Xu Zhongde.

Xu Zhongde would select a few gifts with good meanings, or those that Emperor Kangning liked, or those from people whose gift-givers were appreciated by Emperor Kangning, and have them present them in person.

As the heirs to the dynasty, the princes are of course qualified to present gifts in person.

The crown prince stepped out first, knelt before Emperor Kangning, presented the gift box, and read out a congratulatory speech.

"Your Majesty, your son, respectfully wishes you a long and healthy life and prosperity for the nation! This is a birthday invitation written by your son, wishing you a long and healthy life!"

Xu Zhongde took the wooden box and handed it to Emperor Kangning.

The Wanshou Tie was not easy to write, and if one character was written wrong, one had to start over. It was a very thoughtful gift, but Emperor Kangning just opened the box, took a quick look at it, and put it back.

"Not bad." He nodded.

The prince had become accustomed to Emperor Kangning's indifference and retreated back into the crowd.

The eldest prince, the third prince, and the fifth prince came out one after another and presented gifts.

The eldest prince gave a Ganoderma lucidum, the third prince gave a painting he made, and the fifth prince gave a jade sculpture. Emperor Kangning's reaction was very indifferent.

Only the gifts presented by the fourth prince Ning Zhixing were praised by Emperor Kangning.

"This item is called a telescope. It was designed by the ninth prince and made by your son. I wish that your majesty will be feared throughout the world and his kingdom will last forever!" Ning Zhixing knelt on the floor tiles, holding a long wooden box in his hands.

Before Ning Zhixing could finish speaking, Emperor Kangning urged Xu Zhongde to bring the wooden box.

He had already seen the telescope, and now was the time to show off to his ministers.

Emperor Kangning opened the wooden box and demonstrated it, then handed the telescope to the minister beside him and asked them to pass it around and have a look.

All the ministers who had seen it were stunned, their eyes twitching and their hearts trembling. An old minister even lost his grip and almost dropped the telescope.

After being stunned, they looked at the Fourth Prince Ning Zhixing. They originally thought that this carpenter prince was not doing his job properly, but now it seems that not doing his job properly also has its advantages.

They then looked at the melon-eating prince beside Queen Mother You. The Fourth Prince said that the telescope had the young prince's design.

The ministers had a very shallow impression of this little prince. The last time they heard of the Ninth Prince was during the Spring Hunt, when the little prince defused Emperor Kangning's anger.

Rumors circulated that the meaningful figurine paintings that had been circulating were made by the Ninth Prince. There was also news that the soap produced by the Xue family, which had recently been snapped up by wealthy families, was also made by the Ninth Prince.

The ministers whispered to each other and asked for information about the Ninth Prince.

They didn't care about the Fourth Prince Ning Zhixing. Making telescopes and managing a country are two different paths.

While they were muttering, the Ninth Prince put down the melon, walked up to Emperor Kangning, and presented his birthday gift.

"This is the Qianqiu ball that I made under the guidance of my fourth elder brother. I wish my father a long and healthy life." Xia Jing held up the box.

"You two brothers are really good friends." Emperor Kang Ning said with a smile.

When Ning Zhixing gave a gift, he mentioned Xia Jing, and when Xia Jing gave a gift, he mentioned Ning Zhixing again.

Ning Zhixing smiled faintly, not noticing the dangerous look from Empress Dowager You.

Xu Zhongde picked up the box from the Ninth Prince's hand and walked towards Emperor Kangning.

The box is square, two palms wide, and engraved with wheat ears, which is a symbol of harvest and autumn.

Xu Zhongde held the wooden box and handed it to Emperor Kangning.

The ministers looked at it curiously, and Emperor Kangning was also curious about what was inside.

Last time, the glass teapot was stolen and confiscated by Emperor Kangning. The Ninth Prince learned his lesson and this time he created it in a closed-door manner and did not show it to anyone else. Only the technical director Ning Zhixing had seen it.

After opening the wooden box, Emperor Kangning looked puzzled.

It was a glass ball the size of a palm, mounted on a wooden base.

Is this the Qianqiu Ball?

Emperor Kang Ning took out the glass ball, shook his palm, and the floating objects in the glass ball began to shake.

The surrounding eunuchs and maids stared in amazement. Within the transparent glass ball was a wheat field and an old farmer wielding a sickle, with golden ears of wheat sinking beneath. Emperor Kangning shook his hand, and the ears of wheat floated up, transforming the entire glass ball world into a sea of ​​wheat.

"Good!" Emperor Kangning stared at the glass ball with emotion. "A bountiful harvest and a prosperous people—this is my wish. The name Thousand Autumn Ball is too exaggerated. I'll call this the Wish Ball and place it in my study! I want to admire it every day!"

"Your Majesty cares about the people, and he is truly a wise ruler of our Daning for all eternity!" The ministers on both sides knelt down, and several old ministers even shed tears.

The scene was very warm for a while, the king and his subjects lived in harmony, and people were the most important thing. Even if God saw this, he would have sent down some auspicious signs.

The Ninth Prince was extremely excited as he did not expect that his glass ball could trigger such a scene, and he looked at the human interface hurriedly.

With such a large scene, wouldn’t the intimacy between those characters increase rapidly?

But he searched through the interpersonal interface and did not find any reminder of the increase in intimacy with any minister, let alone Emperor Kangning. However, the intimacy of several eunuchs and palace maids had increased.

Tsk, a bunch of actors!

After presenting the gift, the Ninth Prince returned to his seat. As he passed by Ning Shouxu, Xia Jing met his resentful eyes.

Chapter 159 The Silver Mine is Yours, the Army is Mine

Ning Shouxu rolled his eyes. "Why don't you show this fun thing to me, your third brother, first? If you give it to Father, he'll just put on a show for you. But if you give it to me, your third brother, you can ask for anything you want!"

Xia Jing signaled him with his eyes, "Don't be anxious, third brother, of course you will get a share."

In the past, this kind of glass ball was collectively called a snow globe, and it was considered a popular and fashionable little gift.

The production of this snow globe is not complicated. It only requires a hollow glass ball and glycerin produced in a soap workshop as a filler to make it.

The complexity lies in the landscaping. Those floating ears of wheat and the lifelike old farmer are not easy to make.

Fortunately, there is no shortage of craftsmen who are good at landscape design among the craftsmen supervisors, and Ning Zhixing is one of the best.

Due to limited time, Xia Jing made a total of three snow globes. In addition to the wheat ear theme, there is also the most original snow theme and the bamboo forest theme.

The bamboo forest theme one is intended for Ning Shouxu.

He walked past each seat and returned to Queen Mother You, craning his neck to watch the next minister present gifts.

"Give me one too." Empress Dowager You said suddenly.

"Ah?" Xia Jing took a moment to realize that Empress Dowager You was talking about the snow globe.

He didn't expect that Queen Mother You also liked this kind of thing.

According to Empress Dowager You's personality, shouldn't she say "fancy" and then look away with disdain?

Under normal circumstances, Empress Dowager You would certainly not want one, but now Emperor Kangning has one, and Ning Shouxu also has one, so how can she, as a grandmother, not have one?

Xia Jing hesitated for a moment and nodded.

Queen Mother You didn't really want it, but seeing the boy hesitate, she became curious.

If there were any extra glass balls, the boy wouldn't have hesitated. Hesitation would have proved that the number of glass balls was limited and they all had designated owners.

She was happy that she had succeeded in her fight, and the boy really had her in his heart. But she was also wondering who was squeezed out by her?

"Whose share did you give to me?" asked Empress Dowager You.

"It's for my third brother." Xia Jing glanced at Ning Shouxu guiltily.

Empress Dowager You looked at the still happy Ning Shouxu and smiled, very pleased: "Besides your third brother, who else has a share?"

"I made three in total, one for Father, one for Grandma, and one for Sister Nian'er." Xia Jing said, "I'll make a few more next time."

"I thought you were going to give it to the little girl from the Xue family." Empress Dowager You stared into Xia Jing's eyes.

Xia Jing's eyes widened. Although he took Xue Zhixi in in the game, in reality, they were still innocent!

Besides, how did you know Xue Zhixi!

He had no interest in watching the gift-giving show. He snuggled into Queen Mother You's arms and asked the old lady about her sources of information.

Words like East Factory, Embroidered Uniform Guard, and Xue Mansion Undercover flashed through his mind, but he got a very boring answer.

"It was Concubine Xian who told me." Empress Dowager You hugged the boy and made cakes to feed him.

Xia Jing was very disappointed and took a big bite of the water chestnut cake to vent his anger.

Suddenly there was a small noise in front. Xia Jing looked up and saw that it was Xiao Jida who came on the court.

……

It is known that although the Qianqiu Festival is held in the name of celebrating Emperor Kangning’s birthday, it is actually a political event.

Question: How can we send gifts to Emperor Kangning during the Qianqiu Festival so that they will touch his heart?

A silver mine is rare enough in itself, but to stand out on this special day of the Millennium Festival, some means are needed and some political value needs to be added.

The answer is of course auspicious!

"...That evening, I was sitting in my tent when I suddenly heard the soldiers clamoring. I stepped outside and saw a vast expanse of clouds to the northeast, a truly unusual sight. Ever since I saw them, I've felt uneasy and had trouble sleeping. That morning, I led my men to search the northeast, and discovered a silver mine at the foot of a mountain!"

Xiao Jida spoke passionately, "This must be a gift from Heaven, seeing that Your Majesty's birthday is approaching, sent through me! Your Majesty rules over all lands, and your virtues are shared by all. On this birthday, may Heaven bless you, and may peace reign for generations to come!"

After Xiao Jida finished his long story, silence fell all around.

After a while, the flattering ministers knelt down to congratulate without thinking twice, and some ministers with integrity followed suit, but none of them were convinced.

The core purpose of the snow globe scene just now was to show that "the emperor loves the people", and they were willing to follow along. Now this play is just to show that "the emperor is favored by heaven", and the ministers are not very willing to accompany it.

Emperor Kangning glanced at them and said calmly, "Lord Wei."

Among the ministers, an old man stood up. He was the newly appointed Minister of Revenue, a veteran in the court, and had an excellent reputation.

The old man bowed to Emperor Kangning and said to the ministers, "After Lord Xiao discovered the silver mine, he immediately submitted a memorial. The Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of Works have already inspected it. It's a large mine, and it's estimated to produce nearly 100,000 taels a year."

Even though one hundred thousand taels a year may not seem like a lot, it is net income, money that can go directly into the national treasury!

The Ning Dynasty had an annual income of several million taels, but after deducting expenses, less than one million taels remained in the national treasury. One hundred thousand taels was only one tenth of the annual surplus!

Before Emperor Kangning ascended the throne, the Ning Dynasty was in a financial crisis and the treasury was in deficit all year round.

What's more, a silver mine can be mined for at least one or two hundred years. Even if the mining volume of this silver mine is reduced in the later period, it can still produce more than 10 million taels in a hundred years!

The ministers present were all good at calculations, and when they estimated the value of the silver mine, they were all shocked.

If it was a common small mine, it might be that Emperor Kangning deliberately hid it and pretended to be a good omen to gild himself. But such a large mine, could it be that it was really a blessing from God?

The ministers were convinced and congratulated Emperor Kangning.

Emperor Kangning stroked his beard and said, "I've been thinking about this these past few days. This silver mine was discovered by General Xiao, and it was discovered on the frontier. It's the heavens' expectation of me."

The ministers were shocked when they heard this. Just as they were about to speak, Emperor Kangning had already changed the subject.

Xia Jing was eating candied fruit and thinking, now that we have a good omen, of course we have to use it. Emperor Kangning has long wanted to use military force abroad, so now he has an excuse, right?

Look, God has sent us a silver mine as military pay, how can we not fight?

Of course, it is not the time to fight yet. Emperor Kangning is just preparing to propose war. If his ministers disagree, he will settle for the next best thing and implement the increase in military spending.

If Emperor Kangning had not fallen ill due to a family illness one year later, instead of two years later, the Ning Dynasty might have really been able to expand its territory under his leadership.

Xia Jing looked at the ministers and watched the lively birthday party.

The talk of a long and prosperous emperor and eternal life is all false. After the next Qianqiu Festival, the once powerful Emperor Kangning will fall on his sickbed.

Then, Queen Yin disrupted the harem, and the imperial relatives disrupted the government.

Xia Jing looked at Xiao Jida, then looked to the north and east. Xiao Jida, Ning Wanjun, and the King of Jing were the Ninth Prince's strength in the coming chaos.

However, they can only resist foreign aggression but cannot maintain domestic stability.

In the court, there is Zhang Zanyu, the former Prime Minister, who can exert some influence. In the harem, Concubine Xian plus the future Concubine Shu and Concubine Yun are enough to protect themselves, not to mention Empress Dowager You.

Xia Jing held Empress Dowager You's hand, and his heart suddenly felt a little panicked.

He remembered that Empress Dowager You passed away shortly after Emperor Kangning fell ill.

"What's wrong?" Empress Dowager You noticed the little prince's expression and asked with concern.