Chapter 329 (2/2)
Left speechless by her stream of words, Ning Yuxuan furrowed his brow. Feeling rather angry, he turned around and left.
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The price of Zhangjun rice was about the same as other rice, but its kernels were especially plump, so they were doing pretty good in sales.
And so, Ji Man took out her savings and rented out stores in various parts of the capital to expand the scope of her business.
While rice was still being transported from Zhangjun without interruption, it was about time for her take stock of her inventory and make a decision. Would it better for her to build a road from Zhanghun to the capital or continuing paying a high freight fee while earning small profits each time and having the advantage of quick turnover?
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This time, after Zhao Zhe had entered the palace and paid respects to the emperor, he paid another visit to the dowager empress's place to chat with his mother alone. There were many mountains between Zhangjun and the capital, so once Zhao Zhe left the capital, he probably wouldn't see his mother for several years.
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As Wu Yong was trying to think of an excuse to allow Zhangjun Prince to his extend his stay in the capital, Ji Man came by the inn.
With a serious expression, Ji Man said, ”I think it's necessary to build our own road. Brother Wu, what do you think?”
Wu Yong asked in curiosity, ”Why do you want to build a road? Is there a good reason? It would be a very large undertaking to do so.”
”It's exactly because it's a large undertaking, so it'll be reasonable to ask for the funding to come from the imperial treasury. While His Highness is still in the capital, he should rely on the dowager empress to discuss this with the emperor, ” Ji Man said, ”Once a road is built, it'll also be very helpful for our future plans. Brother Wu, think about it. If a road could be directly building from Zhangjun to the capital, a lot of time would be saved from delays that happen on mountain paths. In the future, if you want to transport weaponry and such, wouldn't it also be faster...”
Wu Yong furrowed his brow. ”His Highness had written several pet.i.tions to request for a road to be built between Zhangjun and the capital, but the new emperor had refused all of his appeals under the reasoning that there's a national treasury shortage.”
”A national treasury shortage?” Ji Man laughed. ”The dowager empress can't renovate her palace because there's a national treasury shortage. A road between Zhangjun and the capital also can't be built because there's a national treasury shortage. But, haven't you heard that the emperor is going to build a pavilion called w.a.n.gyue Pavillon for the empress? Why is there suddenly enough money in the national treasury for that expense?”
”That...” Wu Yong sighed. ”That's also within reason.”
With an expression as if she was doing all of this solely for the nation, for the common people, and for the prince, she said, ”Brother Yu, as an imperial strategic advisor, it's your duty to think of a solution. You can't just allow the emperor to continue to mistreat His Highness.”
Wu Yong solemnly nodded.
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Only a few days had pa.s.sed before Marquis Moyu received a request for government funding. The messenger said that the letter had been presented directly by Zhangjun Prince to the emperor, so the new emperor couldn't reject it outright. Zhao Li had it sent over here instead. The implied meaning was that he wanted to use Marquis Moyu as the excuse to reject this request.
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Standing in front of a small blackboard and shooting a quick glance at Ning Yuxuan's figure, which wasn't far away from them, Ji Man solemnly taught Haohao. ”Repeat after teacher. To enjoy fortune, a road must be built first.”
Haohao opened his mouth and repeated, ”To enjoy fortune, a road must be built first.”
The corners of Ning Yuxuan's mouth twitched.