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Wang Jinhe turned to Su Yu, silently inquiring if all these officials were such drama queens.
Su Yu nodded, acknowledging that these people were all cunning.
As everyone was working together to deceive Ling Xiaoye, a voice suddenly spoke up, “Princess, are you mistaken? Didn’t you mention giving 700,000 catties of seeds when the grain was just harvested?”
The silence that followed was deafening.
Everyone, including Xuan Feiran, looked at the speaker.
Ling Xiaoye looked displeased. “Are you all lying to me?”
“Hmm? 700,000 catties of seeds? Is that true? Su Yu, do you know?” Wang Jinhe asked.
Su Yu shook his head. “Did we really harvest 700,000 catties of grain this year?”
“Brother, we reported the harvest to you as soon as it was done. Did we really have that much yield?” Su Yu asked Xuan Feiran with a furrowed brow.
“Where would we get so much? How much yield could you have from your few hundred acres of land to have that many seeds? Would you be willing to offer the surplus to the court?” Xuan Feiran asked coldly, looking at the person who spoke.
At this moment, the audacity of the individual who spoke such words was truly infuriating.
The official from the Imperial Censorate, Mo Zheng, spoke up, “My lord, I believe it would be wise to thoroughly investigate this gentleman. I wonder whose man he really is.”
“Good idea. Yuan Bao, have someone look into this,” Wang Jinhe ordered.
“Yes.”
Official Wang looked at Xuan Feiran’s extremely unpleasant expression and understood that he had thoroughly offended him this time. However, that was not important now; he had to complete his task.
“My lady, this year’s yield has reached 1,800 catties per mu,” he began.
Su Yu and Xuan Feiran both looked resentful, indicating that this person was asking for trouble.
As Su Yu contemplated what to do, Wang Jinhe, with a look of surprise, exclaimed, “So I’m already so amazing that I can produce 1,800 catties of grain per mu. I must be really talented.”
Su Yu nodded in agreement, “Yes, Xiao He is indeed very talented.”
However, Mo Zheng looked at Official Wang with a strange expression and said, “My lord, even if you want to support Ling Empire, you can’t just blatantly lie like this, can you? When did the yield per mu change from 1,000 to 1,800 catties? Is that even possible?”
“Don’t you remember such a thing, Prime Minister?” Official Wang asked.
The Prime Minister shook his head sternly, “No, if the Second Prince doesn’t believe it, he can go and ask the people in the capital to see if they know about this matter.”
Wang Jinhe looked at Su Yu with some concern. Wouldn’t it be exposing their scheme if they asked the common people?
Su Yu reached out and silently patted Wang Jinhe’s hand to reassure him, indicating that there was no need to worry.
Reassured by Su Yu, Wang Jinhe felt completely at ease. If Su Yu said it was fine, then it must be.
With a serene smile on her face, Su Yu made a few subtle gestures with his hand. Unbeknownst to anyone, a few figures disappeared into the shadows.
Qiming, observing the harmonious interaction among the Xuan Empire officials, furrowed his brow slightly. He knew whether there was any truth to this.
But for the Prime Minister to suggest asking the capital’s citizens, wouldn’t that immediately expose the deception?
Ling Xiaoye rubbed his throbbing head and spoke up, “Your Majesty of Xuan, Ling Empire sincerely seeks cooperation.”
“Oh? You say you sincerely want to cooperate? What can you offer Xuan Empire in exchange for the grain seeds? Do you think we lack money? My husband and I have plenty of money. Do you think we’re interested in your small amount?” Wang Jinhe spoke before Xuan Feiran.
Xuan Feiran allowed Wang Jinhe to question Ling Xiaoye, completely adopting an indifferent attitude.
Someone took the lead, and he naturally felt relaxed. Moreover, Wang Jinhe was the owner of the grain seeds, so it was most appropriate for her to speak.
Ling Xiaoye hadn’t considered this question. He had only thought of using money to buy what he wants.
But now, with Wang Jinhe’s question, he didn’t know how to respond.
“What? Spending money to buy grain seeds is what you call cooperation? Do you think I’m stupid? My Xuan Empire’s people haven’t even had enough to eat, and I should give you the grain seeds? I must have lost my mind if I sell them to you. It’s like trying to take advantage of someone, behaving like a rogue,” Wang Jinhe said angrily, her expression making it unclear whether she was genuinely angry or joking.
“What do you want?”
“I heard that your Empire has a lot of iron mines. How about this? You give all your Empire’s iron mines to Xuan Empire for exploitation… It won’t take too long, just ten years of exploitation,” Wang Jinhe said with a magnanimous air.
The people of Xuan Empire suddenly felt that the queen was making an audacious request.
“Why don’t I just give all the iron mines to Xuan Empire? If you exploit all the iron mines for ten years, will there be any left for Ling Empire?” Ling Xiaoye retorted.
“Can you really give them all to us? We wouldn’t want to take everything from you. Ten years of exploitation rights will be enough,” Wang Jinhe responded, seemingly oblivious to Ling Xiaoye’s sarcasm, speaking with a smile.
Ling Xiaoye didn’t want to continue talking to Wang Jinhe at all. He was afraid that if he did, he might have a heart attack and be directly angered to death.
“The high-yield grain seeds are our Empire’s treasure. If you want them, you have to offer your Empire’s treasure in exchange. Otherwise, you’re just behaving like a rogue,” Wang Jinhe spoke firmly.
“Give us the grain seeds?” Ling Xiaoye asked, annoyed.
Wang Jinhe looked at Ling Xiaoye in shock. “How shameless of you to want a free ride?”
“What does ‘a free ride’ mean, my dear?” Su Yu timely asked from the side, feeling that it wasn’t a good word.
“It’s the same as eating without paying,” Wang Jinhe explained, providing a reason that Su Yu could accept.
Ling Xiaoye chuckled in exasperation. “So asking for the right to exploit the iron mines from us isn’t shameless?”
“This is an equivalent exchange. We have high-yield grain seeds that you don’t have, and you have iron mines that we also have. But whether you allow us to exploit your iron mines is not important to us. After all, we don’t lack iron mines, although we may not have as many as your Ling Empire, we still have a fair amount,” Wang Jinhe explained.
Wang Jinhe’s words were truly infuriating.
“To think that Xuan Empire’s affairs are being handled by a mere woman. Has Xuan Empire run out of men?” Ling Xiaoye, unable to outwit Wang Jinhe, spoke with a stern face.
Xuan Empire’s officials were displeased upon hearing this, but it was Wang Jinhe who responded, “Second Prince, when you insult someone, don’t include yourself. You are currently in my Xuan Empire’s territory. Are you saying you are not a man?”
“Why do you have to say that? Why do you have to deny being a man?” Wang Jinhe shook her head helplessly, looking at Ling Xiaoye.
That helpless look in her eyes amused Su Yu.
Even the Empress Dowager couldn’t help but laugh.
Xuan Feiran finally spoke up, “Xiao He, how could you say such things? The visitor is our guest. Apologize to the Second Prince at once.”