All the Gold and Jade: Princess Consort

The Yufu, which appears in this chapter, is an institution in charge of jade wares in ancient times.

Chapter 27: Yubaozhai and Qingfengnian【Then the third son-in-law Xu Heng will represent Yubaozhai and compete with Qingfengnian】

Xu Heng drank too much wine unconsciously because she was thinking about Ah Nuo. When she was a child in school, she relied on Xu Quan and Xu Lin to be bigger than Xu Lin, so she was always the one who bullied others. When other children saw her The kings and lords also took the initiative to come to play with her, but they have never experienced being excluded.

So she is very flustered now, and she doesn't know how to talk to Ah Nuo about this matter.Where is the entry point?How should I explain it to him without hurting his self-esteem?Xu Heng made a mistake.

After the ministers had finished toasting each other, it was Emperor Sejong who spoke to the ministers. Although the emperor briefly mentioned the recent major events in the court, he talked for a long time. Xu Heng lost interest in listening. Gradually began to doze off.

"My son-in-law?" Yongyan called to her, and seeing her resting her head on her elbows, she couldn't help laughing.

Xu Heng muttered, and gradually lost consciousness: "Don't make noise, let me squint for a while, Yue Huang might say when, I'm going to be sleepy, let me sleep for a while."

Yongyan put back the hand that was originally raised, with spring water in his eyes, and said with a smile: "Then I will call you when Emperor Father finishes talking?"

Xu Heng nodded: "Yeah, let me sleep first."

Although Xu Heng came to have a family banquet, the other ministers did not dare to slack off at all, they all listened to Sejong's instructions with smiles on their faces.After Shizong finished speaking, Concubine Zhou Guifei stepped forward and said something, she saw Shizong pondering for a while, then nodded with a smile.

Yongyan saw it clearly. When Concubine Zhou was talking to Sejong, her gaze was looking in the direction of Xu Heng. No matter how she looked at it, it didn't look like any kind eyes. Looking at the harmless sleeping face of her son-in-law, she frowned.

"I heard that Chang'an City has just established the Jade Bank Association, but the position of president has not been settled for a long time. I wonder if there is such a thing?" Sejong put down his glass after drinking, and asked the officials loudly.

Xu Heng's heart skipped a beat when he heard Sejong's words, and he suddenly woke up. At this moment, Concubine Zhou's seductive eyes were looking at her with half complacency and half resentment. Xu Heng was looked at by her. shuddered.

Concubine Zhou's father is Zhou Jiyu, the owner of the Qingfeng Nianyu, who was the real culprit behind the murder of the Xu family. Originally, the post of president of the Jade Bank Association was in favor of the Xu family. After all, this idea was proposed by the Xu family. It came out, now that the wind blows by Concubine Zhou's pillow, it may not be so sure.

Xu Heng felt flustered, Yong Yan patted her hand, and said softly, "Don't be afraid."

Xu Heng nodded, feeling calmer.

"Return to the emperor," Shizong said, and immediately a courtier stood up and replied: "It is true. I think that the Chang'an jade wares are messy, the shops have no fixed operating regulations, and the price of jade wares is not fixed, so I accept Yubaozhai. According to Xu Sun's proposal from the big shopkeeper, the Jade Bank General Association should be established for unified management."

The minister who answered was Fang Zhong, the magistrate of Yufu, and the Xu Sun family he was talking about was the big shopkeeper of Yubaozhai, that is, Xu Heng's mother-in-law Sun Chunxia.

"Oh?" Sejong looked at Xu Heng with a smile, and there was a bit of admiration in his eyes: "I can't think of Mrs. Xu, who is a girl, but has such a heart. She is really a model of women in the world."

When Xu Heng heard that his mother had been named, he could only stand up and say: "Thank you for the praise of the emperor. In order to let the people of Chang'an buy jade at a reasonable price, the Xu family is naturally duty-bound. Mother just did what she should do."

"Everyone in the Xu family is for the country and the people. I am very relieved." Shizong nodded, the smile in his eyes deepened, and he turned to Fang Zhong and said, "Aiqing thinks, who should be the president of the Jade Bank? Is there someone in the government to choose?"

"Chen... I think...uh...." The order of Yufu looked at Xu Heng and then at Concubine Zhou. He was in a dilemma for a while, and finally he could only say: "Back to the emperor, Yubao Boss Sun Chunxia, ​​the chief shopkeeper of Zhai, and Boss Zhou Ji'an, who is Qingfengnian, are both under the consideration of Yu Mansion, so this matter has not yet been finalized by Yu Mansion and is still under consideration... ".

Concubine Zhou stepped forward, looked down at the ministers and said, "Since the Yufu is not sure about paying attention, why don't I come here to give you some advice? According to my opinion, Zhou Ji'an, the treasurer of Qingfengnian, is a loyal person. The Zhou family is also a family of good deeds. Last month, they wrote a letter to the emperor to donate [-] shi of white rice to places where floods are frequent. If Zhou Ji'an is the chairman, he will surely convince the shopkeepers of other jade companies. Your majesty, you Say yes?"

Shizong said with a smile: "My concubine's words are not unreasonable. If so, I will accept it."

Seeing Shizong's order, Yufu Order Fangzhong immediately wiped off the cold sweat on his forehead, and finally solved his dilemma: "The emperor is wise, and I will immediately prepare the official document and send it to each jade number when I return."

Song Nanqi snorted indignantly, and said to Xu Heng in a low voice: "This emperor is too eccentric. Your Xu family also donated [-] shi during the flood disaster last time. Why didn't he say it, but said that Zhou's family is a mere Wan Shi? It’s not enough to feed the ants.”

"You should say a few words first, once the emperor opens his mouth, there is no other way."

Xu Heng's face was calm, but he couldn't sit still. Even if Song Nanqi didn't say anything, she could tell that the emperor's old father-in-law made it clear that he wanted to favor Concubine Zhou's family.

But in this way, my mother will be unhappy. If my mother is unhappy, then the entire Xu family will be unhappy!

How good is this?Mother was originally determined to win the position of president, but now that the position of president has been snatched away by the Zhou family, mother will definitely be angry...

But if she resists the order and disrespects... She, Xu Heng, only has one head, so it's not enough to cut it off.

No, no, absolutely not!

At this moment, Yong Yan suddenly said: "Father, my son heard that Father is ordering Yufu to make a batch of jade wares and send them to Turkic to show the friendship between the two countries. I wonder if there is such a thing?"

Shizong nodded when he heard the words, but before he could reply, Concubine Zhou said first, "Yongyan, the emperor has entrusted the Zhou family to take charge of this matter. I believe that the jade wares produced will definitely satisfy the emperor."

Sejong also smiled and said: "Yes, Yongyan, I originally planned to leave this matter to Qingfengnian. Anyway, the jade wares sent to other countries in the past have always been made by the Zhou family. Besides, Qingfengnian is the center of Chang'an Street. I am also relieved of the time-honored brand."

Xu Hengzhi listened to their conversation in a daze, and when she inadvertently saw Yongyan looking at her, she felt a little guilty.

She naturally understood Yongyan's intention of looking at her at this moment, but...

After hesitating again and again, she finally stood up and bowed to Shizong, "Yuehuang, Yubaozhai also has confidence in making these jade wares well."

As soon as Xu Heng's words came out, the audience was in an uproar, and all the officials were whispering: The son-in-law blatantly contradicted Concubine Zhou and competed with Concubine Zhou's natal family, is this fatal?

Shizong looked at Xu Heng, his eyes could not help but be surprised, but his voice was not warm: "Xu Heng, why do you want to take this job in Yubaozhai?"

Xu Heng took a deep breath: "Going back to Emperor Yue, my ministers thought that the jade wares sent to Turks may not necessarily come from time-honored brands. Turkic folk customs are tough and heroic, and they may not be satisfied with gentle styles. Therefore, the jade wares we send to Turks must be from old brands. To have Turkic characteristics, if you follow the rules, those priceless jades will be put away as soon as they are sent to the Turkic palace, and it will not achieve the effect of stabilizing the diplomatic relations between the two countries, nor will it show the sincerity of our central Wei."

"Third son-in-law, you are presumptuous!" Concubine Zhou yelled angrily, "The jade wares that my Great Wei sent to Turkic before were all from Qingfengnian. What do you mean by that, are you blaming the emperor for sending some useless things to Turkic, in vain?"

"Xu Heng dare not!" Xu Heng bowed respectfully and saluted, and secretly sighed "tsk tsk" twice: This woman is really vicious.

Shizong looked at Xu Heng for a while, interrupted what Concubine Zhou was about to say, and snorted coldly, Concubine Zhou retreated.

Shizong said: "What the son-in-law said is not unreasonable. If you always do things that are thankless and waste people's money, you might as well not do them. Xu Heng, according to your opinion, can Yubaozhai handle this errand well? "

Xu Heng smiled and said: "Yes, Your Majesty, our Yubaozhai is different from the traditional jade shop. The biggest feature of Yubaozhai's jade wares is that they are tailored to local conditions. We will try our best to satisfy customers with whatever style they want, and often break the rules. The things made are naturally different, and I am sure they will not disappoint the emperor and the Turkic king."

"In this case? I have to reconsider the position of president of the Jade Bank Association." The emperor said.

Concubine Zhou quickly retorted: "But your majesty, my concubine..."

Sejong interrupted Concubine Zhou again: "In this case, let's use the jade sent to Turkic this time as the test question, so I can take this opportunity to learn about the strength of the two major jade brands in Chang'an, Yubaozhai and Qingfengnian. Weak. I will personally order, under the supervision of the Jade Mansion, which of the two jade shops can produce jade articles that I am satisfied with, I will give it the post of president of the Jade Association, what do you think?"

All the civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty shouted loudly: "The emperor is holy."

But Concubine Zhou was the only one who stomped her feet and said unwillingly: "But Your Majesty, the current shopkeeper of Yubaozhai is just a mere girl, how can she take on this important task?"

Shizong thought for a while: "What Aifei said is not unreasonable..."

"Father," Yong Yan got up and saluted, "Since Concubine Sun Guifei thinks that it is inappropriate for a woman to be the president of the Jade Guild, then the third son-in-law Xu Heng will represent Yubaozhai and compete with Qingfengnian. What do you think?"

The emperor smiled and said, "Third Emperor's good idea!"

Xu Heng: "...Gah?" Why did it suddenly become me?