Chapter 179 Actually, King Ruan's Danqing is not very good in the industry
"My lord, my subordinates also heard that... I heard that..."
The soldier was a little embarrassed to say it, but after thinking about it, Sun Guogong would know the news sooner or later, and there was no way he could hide it.
He straightened his chest again and said:
"My subordinates heard that Princess Qi sold all the property of Sun Guogong's mansion and voluntarily paid back the debts of the Northland for the old King Qi. Now, Sun Guogong's mansion is so poor that not even a copper penny is left."
It is also said that Princess Qi picked loquats from Sun Guogong's palace and dragged them to the street to sell loquats.
It was said that Princess Qi was farming in Sun Guogong's mansion, and all the servants in Sun Guogong's mansion were dismissed...etc.
None of the soldiers dared to say these words. He chose to say something that was not so embarrassing.
But just these words made Sun Guogong so angry that he almost vomited blood.
"What kind of idiot did I give birth to?! She voluntarily paid off the debts of the old King Qi and wiped out her natal family?"
What kind of mentally retarded person could do this?
The soldiers on the side were silent and did not dare to reply to Sun Guogong's words. He was afraid that he would say something wrong and be chopped by Sun Guogong.
After a while, Sun Guogong's angry and shocked mood calmed down a little, and he quickly sent a team of troops to Guqi Prefecture to find out.
He had to know how much wealth he had left before he could plan a counterattack back to Guqi Prefecture and regain his own base camp.
The team sent back used fast horses and wore light clothing. They arrived in Guqi Prefecture within a few days. As soon as they entered Guqi Prefecture, their whereabouts were known to Hua Jin.
Hua Jin changed hands and whispered to Lian'er to pass the news to Li Yunqing.
In Prince Qi's palace, Lian'er responded in a low voice, stood up straight and was about to exit the pavilion.
Princess Ruan, dressed in gold and silver, walked in with a smile.
"Little sister Princess Li."
She didn't care about their seniority. She only felt that she was a few years older than Hua Jin, so she decided to match the Hua Jin sisters.
Then I saw Princess Ruan walking into the pavilion with a smile,
"It's solved. My sister is really powerful. In just a few days, we have solved all the people of Duke Sun Guo in Prince Ruan's Mansion."
Hua Jin is smiling,
"As long as the money is in place, this is not a difficult task. Not to mention my great powers, I have not been able to help with anything. It is all the result of Princess Ruan."
Without any help, she introduced a business to Shence Army and made a lot of money from it.
Princess Ruan did not say anything. After all, Hushan County was already inside Tianjing Kingdom, and the Shence Army's failure to call into the hinterland of Tianjing Kingdom was a matter that would make many people sensitive.
Compared with Sun Guogong's 500,000 troops, it still teaches people to be sensitive.
Because the crisis in Prince Ruan's Mansion was resolved, Princess Ruan relaxed a lot. She looked at Hua Jin up and down, then sat down.
"A person like my sister, who is as beautiful as a flower, is a perfect match for Little Prince Li. She is much more beautiful than Princess Li back then. It's no wonder that Little Prince Li looks at her like a ball in her eye."
When Hua Jin heard this, she felt a little curious.
"Princess Li? Is she Little Prince Li's mother-in-law?"
"Of course, among the princes and nobles in Tianjing Kingdom, only King Li has only one concubine, and that is our King Ruan. The most famous and talented prince in Tianjing Kingdom also has a concubine and a concubine.
"
Princess Ruan said it very matter-of-factly, and there was no trace of jealousy on her face. On the contrary, she felt quite honored. After all, Prince Ruan only had one princess, and that concubine was still just a concubine.
She glanced at Hua Jin's belly and said sincerely:
"My sister hasn't given birth to a son or a half for King Li yet, right?"
Hua Jin didn't reply, just kept a polite smile, twisted a grape sideways, and played with it on her fingertips.
Then I heard Princess Ruan say angrily:
"Speaking of which, Princess Biyue really shouldn't do this. How could she harm you like this!"
When they were in Beidicheng, Princess Biyue borrowed the help of Aunt Huafu to spread sterilization powder on Hua Jin. The news that Hua Jin could no longer have children had already spread throughout Tianjing Kingdom.
Princess Ruan naturally knew about this.
Seeing that Hua Jin didn't answer, Princess Ruan continued:
"I see that Lian'er beside you is quite good. You might as well give her to Prince Xiao Li. If she can give birth to a son and a half, she will be directly recorded in your name."
When Lian'er was about to leave, she immediately knelt down and kowtowed to Princess Ruan:
"Your Majesty, Princess Ruan, this servant is already married. It is the marriage granted by our Queen."
Princess Ruan immediately smiled and said:
"Oh, I am not well-informed. I just look at you as a good girl and want to find a good way out for you. How did I know that you are not able to enjoy happiness?"
Her words were full of regret, which made Lian'er and Hua Jin frown slightly.
Lian'er lowered her eyes and said:
"Princess Ruan, although Lian'er's fiancé has many shortcomings, Lian'er himself is not a perfect person. He is devoted to Lian'er, and Lian'er is also devoted to him."
"You're a little girl who doesn't know how to look at men, so it's no wonder that you can only be a girl who waits for others for the rest of your life."
Princess Ruan had a smile on her face, looked at Lian'er again, and said clearly:
"Perhaps when I saw you for the first time, I thought you were good-looking and might be able to help your master. Now that I have taken a closer look, it's no wonder that you have served Princess Xiao Li for so long, and in the end, you were not looked upon by Prince Xiao Li.
Yes, your appearance is indeed unbearable."
She said it didn't matter, but the words were quite harsh to Hua Jin's ears.
Hua Jin twisted the grapes and said with a smile:
"The Yinger next to Princess Ruan looks very good-looking to me. Could it be that Princess Ruan prepared this for Prince Ruan?"
He looked at Yinger again and continued:
"Didn't you say that King Ruan already has a concubine? Princess Ruan is also planning to marry her husband?"
She originally wanted to ridicule Princess Ruan, but who knew that Princess Ruan laughed generously, as if she was laughing at Hua Jin for being so stingy?
"Isn't it normal for a man to have three wives and four concubines? Your little Prince Li now only has you, but he can't always have only you. Otherwise, wouldn't this become abnormal?"
As she said that, Princess Ruan looked at Hua Jin with meaning, treating herself as someone who had experienced it and teaching her experience.
"What you really want to do is to keep this woman under you. Instead of letting the prince fall in love with the one he likes and spoil his concubine and destroy his wife, it is better to find an obedient and controllable man for you."
So from the beginning, Princess Ruan hinted that Hua Jin could give Lian'er to Li Yunqing, but Lian'er already had a marriage contract.
Hua Jin looked at Princess Ruan not quite understanding,
"In addition to Prince Ruan's concubine, was it Princess Ruan who personally gave it to Prince Ruan?"
Seeing Princess Ruan nodding quite complacently, Hua Jin suddenly felt that it was a bit exaggerated, so she asked again,
"You gave your husband a woman with your own hands?"
"That concubine was originally a dowry girl of my concubine. Our prince is very stoic, so he didn't want to take her in. However, since my concubine gave birth to the young prince, she has been in a bad state. I'm afraid it will be difficult for her to contribute to Prince Ruan's palace.
So I persuaded my husband to accept my concubine’s dowry girl.”
Princess Ruan said it with great pride,
"Don't mention it, my concubine is quite impressive. She gave birth to two children for King Ruan in three years, and they are all recorded in my name."
These words made Hua Jin laugh twice, with a hint of irony that was hard to detect.
"Then you are so generous."
Giving a woman to one's man, generously accepting the mistress's child, and even adopting the mistress's child, this kind of thing seems to be a virtue in this fucked up ancient times.
Hua Jin didn't know what to say. Anyway, she couldn't do it if she was asked to give Li Yunqing a woman.
Even if they were just a couple in name, Hua Jin wouldn't be able to do such a thing.
Li Yunqing must remain loyal to her both physically and mentally, and so must she, otherwise the two of them will break up.
Looking at Princess Ruan again, she didn't hear anything inappropriate at all, and she was even complacent, feeling that she was setting an example among the other princesses.
Just as he was about to continue talking to Hua Jin about his charioteer skills, outside the pavilion, servants from Prince Ruan’s Mansion hurriedly came to report.
"Your Majesty, the gift sent by the prince has arrived."
Princess Ruan stood up with a smile and followed her servants around the garden. As soon as she left, Hua Jin and Lian'er looked at each other with unbearable expressions in their eyes.
Affected by Hua Jin, not only Lian'er, Yue'er, and even Su Niang adhere to monogamy, and their men cannot have three wives and four concubines, otherwise it will be irresponsible and betrayal to the other half.
This idea of not only accepting a husband's concubinage, but also actively giving women to his husband, the entire Prince Li's palace couldn't agree with.
After a while, Princess Ruan led a group of people back to the pavilion.
"Sister Xiao Princess Li, you see, our prince specially sent these to you in order to thank you."
As he said that, a group of people behind him came forward holding trays.
"This is a poem written by our prince himself."
"This is a painting painted by our prince himself."
"This is the recipe collected by our prince."
"This is......"
Princess Ruan showed it to Hua Jin one by one. At the end, she added sadly,
"Usually, I would like to ask for the prince's painting, but I can't get it. Now I see the prince's handiwork, and it is completely generous."
Hua Jin stared at these things in surprise, keeping a polite smile with restraint on her face.
Sorry, she is superficial. In the eyes of a rich person like Princess Ruan, gratitude in real money is too vulgar. Only by giving out your own beloved things can you truly express Prince Ruan's gratitude.
But what Hua Jin actually wants most is money.
As soon as Princess Ruan left, Hua Jin hurriedly called Wu Tian in.
"Exchange all these things for money, and sell them for as much as you can."
She thought that King Ruan was the noblest and most talented prince in today's Jing Kingdom. The value of a painting should be compared to a city.
All these cookbooks and poetry books should add up to a lot of money.
Forgive Hua Jin for being a layman, but the world is not so good. The further you go into the hinterland of Tianjing Kingdom, the more chaotic the situation seems to be, so Hua Jin has to cash in everything he has.
This way she feels safer.
As a result, Wu Tian came back from walking around outside and spread his hands towards Hua Jin in embarrassment.
"Your Majesty, I went down and asked, how much can these things be exchanged for?"
The total value of all the items is estimated to be only a few thousand taels of silver, and the least valuable among them is the painting painted by King Ruan himself.
The most valuable thing is the ancient cookbook.
Hua Jin's expression was stunned and she asked:
"Only a few thousand taels of silver? How could it be?"
"Now that the Tianjing Kingdom is in chaos, how can the people get the money and interest to collect these things? The recipes still have some practical value, so the price is slightly higher, but the poems and paintings cannot be sold at a high price."
Wu Tian also couldn't appreciate these things. He was born at a lower level, maintained the mentality of a small farmer, and felt that eating, drinking, and defecating was the most practical thing.
Especially in these years of war and chaos, when the average person is in poverty.
I saw Wu Tian's lips move, but finally he just told the truth,
"The boss who specializes in calligraphy and painting business said that in fact, Prince Ruan's paintings are not very popular in the industry and have little value. He said that Prince Ruan's paintings have no form but no charm."
The boss also said a lot of very professional words, but Wu Tian didn't remember it. Anyway, he understood the general meaning. In fact, King Ruan's paintings were not that good, and they were far from comparable to those of famous artists.
The reason why King Ruan thought he was good at painting was entirely because of the praise he received from people around him.
And Princess Ruan doesn’t know anything about painting. As long as it comes from Prince Ruan’s arm, Princess Ruan will praise it as a treasure.
Hua Jin was surprised to learn this result.
Looking at the paintings in front of her that could only be sold for a few hundred taels of silver, she felt like crying.
After thinking about it, she could only accept this loss.
"Forget it, let's offer all these things. It's the wish of Prince Ruan's house after all. It's not appropriate to just exchange them for a few thousand taels of silver."
If it could be exchanged for tens of thousands of gold, Hua Jin wouldn't even blink an eye.
The key is that they can only exchange for a few thousand taels of silver. The money is too little, so Hua Jin won't bother with it.
Fortunately, the final payment for hiring the Shence Army to save Prince Ruan's mansion was solidly settled with gold tickets. Princess Ruan had no intention of using King Ruan's paintings to pay the Shence Army's remaining payment.
At this time, Ying Xiao had already informed Li Yunqing that Sun Guogong had sent people to sneak back to Guqi Prefecture.
He raised his hand and locked the whereabouts of this group of people, and soon followed this group of people to Yujia Village.
That is where Sun Guogong is located.
Sun Guogong just heard the report from his subordinates that all the assets he left in Guqi Prefecture, including all shops, real estate, fields, etc., were all gone.
Not only that, but all his private properties in various counties and the imperial capital were sold off.
All the money from the sale was used by Princess Xiao Li to build canals in Guqi Prefecture.
"Hua Jin!!!"
Sun Guogong was so angry that he almost fainted. He wished he could immediately cut the flower brocade into eighteen pieces, no, he could not wait to chop the flower brocade into minced meat.
He was walking around the room, walking back and forth, when a soldier came to report in a hurry.
"My lord, we have found the traces of the second young lady of the Yu family. She was hidden by the Yu family in a nunnery outside the city and pretended to be a nun."
Sun Guogong clenched his fists, hit the table, and said with a cold laugh:
"Okay, just in time, the second young lady of the Yu family has to get married today, whether she wants to get married or not!"
Although he hated Hua Jin at this moment, he still brought 350,000 troops to Hushan County.
All his private property has been confiscated by Hua Jin. If he cannot get funding from the Yu family, in a few days, his 350,000-strong army may not even be able to eat.
Sun Guogong led a group of government soldiers out of the door and quickly headed towards the nunnery where Second Miss Yu was.