Chapter 465: Difficult Road to Shu
"How could Fourth Miss be missing?" Yuanyang offered her fragrant tea and said with a smile, "As soon as we got here, Fourth Miss dragged Xiangyun, Baoqin, and the Xing family's sister to her courtyard to play. Even Xiaoque'er and Xiangling went along."
"The eldest sister-in-law from the West Mansion and Muring will go with her to take care of her. I think the eldest wife and Keqing will also be there."
"Third brother, can you see the Queen Mother when you enter the palace today?" Yingchun asked.
Jia Cong smiled and said, "Of course I did. Third sister spent the whole day chatting with the Empress, and the Empress even gave us a meal at noon."
"Has the Empress granted any favor to my third sister?" Daiyu asked.
"That's not the case, but the Queen has already agreed to this matter. If the Nan'an Palace dares to use Third Sister as a pretext, the Queen will naturally make the decision for Third Sister."
Baochai stepped forward and embraced Tanchun, "Now, Third Girl, can you rest assured? With the Empress taking charge, who would dare to bully Third Girl?"
"Aren't Sister Bao and Sister Lin closer to the Empress?" Tanchun said this, and for some reason, when she saw Baochai speak, she subconsciously wanted to retort, and she also felt a little uneasy...
Baochai didn't suspect anything, she just pinched Tanchun's cheek and said, "Look, it's true that she has the support of the Empress, she speaks so arrogantly."
"Third sister, what did you say when you met the Empress? Have you met the eldest sister?" Yingchun asked again.
"Of course, Big Sister did meet with the Empress, but she only chatted with her. After all, what is my status? If it weren't for Third Brother's respect, I probably wouldn't even be qualified to meet the Empress."
Now, Tanchun finally understood why the royal family treated her third brother so differently.
It would have been fine if they had personally arranged the marriage, after all, it wasn't unusual. However, the Emperor and Empress clearly treated Baochai and Daiyu differently. Even though Muring and Yuanyang were merely the Third Brother's concubines and aunt, the imperial court granted them imperial decrees. If it had been just Muring, it would have been understandable. Given the status of the Zhen family, as the legitimate daughter of the Zhen family, marrying the Third Brother as a concubine would have been considered marrying down.
But Sister Yuanyang was just a slave, yet she was awarded an imperial decree, which is a bit hard to understand.
However, now thinking about it, what's so strange about it? Isn't it normal for the emperor and empress to give their daughter-in-law a higher rank? Moreover, since the third brother is the legitimate prince, he will at least have the title of prince in the future. Even if he is a concubine, he will still be treated as a concubine or concubine. Now it's just an imperial edict, so it's not surprising.
Thinking about it, Tanchun's cheeks flushed again. Today, the Empress said that in the future, Third Brother would not only have two legal wives, Sister Bao and Sister Lin, but also four concubines and eight concubines. Thinking about the Empress's expression and eyes when she said this... Could the Empress have had other intentions?
If the Queen really wants to let herself...
Tanchun felt that she dared not think any further , but when she thought of her eldest sister's attitude and thoughts towards her third brother, her mind became confused again...
"What's wrong with Third Sister?" Daiyu looked at Tanchun's absent-minded look and felt a little strange.
Tanchun quickly suppressed her confused thoughts, "Maybe I'm a little tired after staying in the palace all day!"
"Then I'll take you to my yard to rest for a while!" Yingchun said immediately.
"Go ahead. I'll have someone deliver dinner to your second and third sisters later." Jia Cong said with a smile.
Tanchun nodded, then pulled Yingchun and fled out of Ningzheng Hall.
…
"The road to Shu is difficult, harder than climbing to the sky!" On the Minjiang River, a large ship set sail northward. A young man in white stood on the deck facing the wind. Behind him, a pretty nun looked indifferent.
These two people were none other than the leader of the White Lotus Sect and the White Dragon Prince who had appeared in the Zhen family before. And the beautiful nun beside her was actually Miaoyu, whom Jia Cong had met outside Suzhou City.
Looking at the sacred mountains and cliffs on both sides of the river, Young Master Bailong had an arrogant and somewhat mysterious look on his face.
"My Central Plains is a land of great beauty and intelligence. Even a single city or a single place would be enough to make one reluctant to leave!" Young Master Bailong said with a faint smile. "Compared to the land of Daqian, your country is nothing but a barren wilderness!"
Miaoyu just listened quietly and did not refute what Master Bailong said. This was the fact. Not to mention their small country, even among the surrounding countries, which one could compare with the Central Plains?
Young Master Bailong was clearly extremely interested. He didn't care if Miaoyu was listening or not, and continued to talk non-stop, "Take Sichuan, for example. Although it's not the largest region in Daqian in terms of area, it's almost the best in terms of economy, commerce, agriculture, taxation, and population!"
"Everyone says Jiangnan is prosperous and wealthy, known as the land of fish and rice, but this Sichuan region is no less so!"
"Although the Shu Road is difficult to travel, there are also thousands of miles of fertile land here! In terms of grain production, only the Liangzhe area is slightly better, and the rest of the places cannot compare to here."
"It's a pity that the emperors of all generations were incompetent. If the Sichuan region could be truly brought under the imperial court's control, this area alone would be able to provide at least two million dan of grain. By then, the might of the Great Qian army would be everywhere. Which barbarian tribe would dare to challenge the Great Qian army?"
"It's no secret that Sichuan tea is world-renowned! Hundreds of years ago, during the Tang and Song dynasties, there was a saying: 'Sichuan tea is used to feed the emperor and to keep the enemy at bay! It's the national treasure and the people's livelihood!' But in reality, Sichuan isn't just about tea; brocade, silk, medicinal herbs, even paper and books are all renowned."
"Daily contributions and monthly accumulations clothe the entire world! This is enough to show the extent of the brocade production in Sichuan and Shu!"
Seeing Young Master Bailong so proud, Miaoyu finally couldn't help but say, "Since Sichuan and Shu are so prosperous, why are you allowing this place to fall into chaos? If the barbarians march north, the entire Sichuan and Shu region will be thrown into chaos, and all the prosperity and luxury you talk about will disappear."
Young Master Bai Long smiled faintly and said, "Womanly kindness!"
"If I ascend the throne in the future, this land of Sichuan and Shu will naturally belong to me, and all the people will be my subjects. But now, what does all this have to do with me? Besides, great order can only come from great chaos!"
"The world is in chaos right now. When I take the throne, the world will be at peace. Doesn't that make it seem like I'm the chosen one?"
"But the Southern Border Barbarians are powerful. Aren't you afraid that you won't be able to control them?"
"Those brainless ones?" Young Master Bailong sneered. "No matter how sharp they are, they are just the swords I will use to seize the world, and I am the one who wields the sword! They are not worthy enough to escape my control. Moreover, once they and the Daqian troops are both defeated, they will be of no use."
