On Li Ying's boat cabin, Princess Yongning looked at her and Lu Xunguang with a half - smile, at ease.
"After today, I think Father Emperor won't be so stubborn as to break up the loving couple. Miss Li, you and Lord Lu can finally feel more at ease."
She came to inform Li Ying of the news right after leaving the imperial barge. Naturally, Li Ying had to thank her.
Princess Yongning said, "I don't like empty formalities. If Lord Lu wants to say something like 'repay the kindness at the cost of my life' or 'be willing to sacrifice myself', you might as well stop."
She looked at Li Ying and asked casually, "I've helped you achieve what you wanted. What about what I want?"
Li Ying smiled and said, "Your Highness, please rest assured. I naturally remember."
When she and Princess Yongning were scheming before, they had already been frank with each other.
Back then, the King of Nanyang sent his beloved daughter to the Central Plains, apparently with the intention of making a marriage alliance and submitting.
However, now, the little princess of Nanyang had already returned. She was appointed by the court to take care of peacocks, pay tribute to southern pearls, and was assigned many tasks.
Since the little princess had returned to Nanyang, if the court wanted to make a marriage alliance and establish friendly relations with Nanyang again, the burden would naturally fall on Princess Yongning.
Princess Yongning didn't want to marry far away to a foreign land. After much thought, she decided to follow the example of the little princess of Nanyang and her aunt, the Grand Princess, to let the Son of Heaven see her greater value other than making a marriage alliance.
Princess Yongning promised Li Ying that she would plan for the marriage between Lu Xunguang and her, while Li Ying, on her part, would help Princess Yongning become the most valued daughter of the Son of Heaven smoothly.
Today, the Son of Heaven ordered her to interact more with the Lu family. This was a very good sign.
Although the Emperor had given up the idea of confiscating all the wealth of the Lu family, he still obviously remained on guard. The so - called order for Princess Yongning to learn "human relationships" was just a pretext. The real purpose was to secretly monitor if Lu Xunguang had any abnormal actions.
Didn't Lu Xunguang understand this truth?
He pondered for a moment and then whispered, "If we want to dispel the Emperor's doubts, there is only one way."
That was to put all the profitable businesses in the hands of the royal family.
And Princess Yongning, who didn't want to get married, was the best candidate at hand.
If Princess Yongning became the biggest backer of all the shops in the capital, His Majesty would naturally stop suspecting Lu Xunguang.
Previously, the cooperation that Li Ying and Princess Yongning discussed was exactly like this.
However, this was definitely not the right time to hand over the shops.
Firstly, although Princess Yongning was of noble birth, she was still a woman. She was not well - known in the court. If she got involved in business rashly, it would be difficult for her to convince the public, and there would be many people who would obey on the surface but oppose in secret, hindering her secretly.
Secondly, the Emperor was suspicious. If he suspected that Princess Yongning and the Lu family were colluding with malicious intentions, it would be even worse.
Li Ying said softly, "Your Highness, don't be in a hurry. I've already thought of a foolproof plan."
Now, there was a natural disaster in Huan City, and the neighboring cities and counties were also damaged to varying degrees.
Even with the repair methods of oyster - shell houses and snail - shell windows, the post - disaster reconstruction was still a major project that couldn't be underestimated.
The disaster - relief funds from the court might not be available in a short time. Relying solely on the officials' token donations of their salaries was just a drop in the bucket.
The Emperor was angry with these high - ranking officials who all claimed to be honest and have no extra money, but he was also helpless.
"Your Highness, if you can make these fat - bellied officials in the capital honestly contribute money to relieve the Emperor's worries at this time, His Majesty will surely look favorably upon you."
Li Ying was confident. She looked far into the distance at the devastated but boundless Huan City, and a glint flashed in her eyes.
There were many mangrove forests near the port of Huan City. Herds of water buffaloes were not afraid of the remaining power of the hurricane at all. They were already lying comfortably in the water, closing their eyes and relaxing.
The milk of water buffaloes was more nutritious than that of ordinary cows, and its milk fragrance was richer. It was most suitable for the weak and sickly elderly and children to drink.
These strong - built water buffaloes could only be raised in the southeastern coastal cities such as Huan City. If they were transported to the capital, even the royal and noble families would have no way to do so.
Just like the lychees in Lingnan. Because they were not easy to transport, only the royal family could taste them. Even if ordinary officials and their families had money, they couldn't buy them.
The popular crayfish in the capital could only be raised to have strong pincers, thick meat, and fat and tender bodies south of Huanling Mountain.
If the noble people in the capital were craving these fresh delicacies, instead of going through great trouble and buying them at high prices, they might as well buy fields in Lingnan and be self - sufficient.
Li Ying composed herself and said softly, "Your Highness, my idea is called 'agricultural adoption'."
Princess Yongning was already used to these strange terms she had never heard before and didn't ask further. She just waited for her to continue explaining.
Li Ying said, "Take the fresh water - buffalo milk for example. Hiring tenant farmers to raise water buffaloes is a minor matter. But this milk is very easy to spoil. If it is not for offering to the Emperor and only transported by the purchasing agents of ordinary noble families, it will inevitably go bad on the way."
However, if Princess Yongning adopted a water buffalo in Huan City, this milk and all kinds of dairy products could be transported back to the capital together with the tributes from the court at full speed.
The money needed for agricultural adoption would be provided by the wealthy families in the capital. In this way, the Emperor wouldn't need to allocate money from the national treasury to rebuild Huan City.
The tenant farmers in charge of raising water buffaloes only needed to hand over the milk and other items according to the share stipulated in the document to the court's personnel for unified transportation. The rest could be disposed of by the tenant farmers themselves, either sold for money or consumed by their own families.
To increase the sense of participation of the customers in the capital who "adopted online", the tenant farmers would send letters by carrier pigeon every month, recording the situation of the water buffaloes in detail.
Which buffalo was in a bad mood, which buffalo had a new insignificant little habit, which buffalo had a crush on a female buffalo in the neighboring village. All these were written down. Although they seemed to be trivial and unimportant matters, they could make the ladies and misses who had been living in the deep mansions feel as if they were in Huan City. The "online - raised" buffaloes were no longer just vulgar livestock in the pen, but had become pets that could relieve their boredom every day.
Li Ying only gave a brief example, and Princess Yongning's eyes lit up. She clapped her hands happily and said, "Good. Just do as you said!"
She ordered Li Ying to quickly write down a document about this "agricultural adoption plan" and send it to her boat for review.
After she left, Li Ying looked at Lu Xunguang and whispered, "My dear Lu, Princess Yongning has great ambitions. She is bound to take the Lu family under her control. You've worked so hard to achieve your current position step by step. If you have to submit to her, will you feel unwilling?"
Lu Xunguang stared fixedly at her pretty face. After a long time, he just let out a soft laugh.