CHAPTER 719: CHAPTER 700: THE PRINCESS OF NAN ZHAO COUNTRY

Ouyang Qian changed into her bridal gown amidst great joy, hardly believing it was all real.

"Empress Dowager has arrived!"

Upon seeing the Empress Dowager, Ouyang Qian quickly got up and knelt to pay her respects.

"Your humble daughter has the honor to meet the Empress Dowager!"

The Empress Dowager looked at the elegantly standing Ouyang Qian, her eyes filled with affection.

She reached out, holding Ouyang Qian’s hand, a compassionate smile on her face.

"It’s time to change the way you address yourself now, you are now the Princess of Nan Zhao Country, not some ordinary maiden."

"The first time I saw you, and now I have to send you off to be married, my heart truly cannot bear it."

Maybe it was because she was getting on in years, but the Empress Dowager’s affection for her juniors had grown even more intense; she found herself growing fonder of Ouyang Qian by the moment.

Knowing that Ouyang Qian was devoted to Lin Yi, the Empress Dowager wanted to use marriage to tie Lin Yi down.

In the Empress Dowager’s view, since she was willing to marry off a princess to you, Lin Yi should then help Nan Zhao Country manage the jade mines.

Meanwhile, Lin Yi had been lying in bed, lost in thought since waking.

He was somewhat worried that refusing the Empress Dowager’s request would result in house arrest, although with advanced technology at his disposal, he could escape the Empress Dowager’s soft confinement.

But the twenty million taels of jade had to be transported back to You Country.

’Alas, if it really won’t work out, I can only satisfy the Empress Dowager bit by bit.’

With that thought, Lin Yi hurriedly got up and took out the jade distribution map of Nan Zhao Country. He needed to locate the next mine that could produce a large quantity of jade.

The jade from Dongpo Village had already yielded 20,000 taels, and in order to increase jade production so that the big jade store could be opened for business as soon as possible, Huo Si had gathered miners from other mines to focus on Dongpo Village.

During the day, the original Dongpo Village miners worked the mines, and when they rested at night, it was Huo Si’s miners’ turn to dig.

In modern terms, they had implemented a two-shift mining system early on, greatly improving work efficiency.

With the villagers of Dongpo steadily returning home, the production of jade also increased significantly.

On the other side, after much effort, Da Niu finally found Lin Yi at the inn.

"Master Lin, something terrible has happened!"

Seeing Da Niu breathless, Lin Yi quickly poured him a glass of water.

"Here, take a seat first, tell me slowly, there’s no rush."

It turned out that Huo Si had concentrated manpower, and the miners from the entire city had flocked to the mines of Dongpo Village. Although Huo Si had taken care of all their accommodations and food.

But with that came the jealousy and interference of other City Lords of Jade City.

Although Magistrate Hong had been constantly sending troops to guard the jade warehouses, they were eyed by other City Lords, who frequently obstructed and started fires among other things.

After listening to Da Niu, Lin Yi nodded thoughtfully, recalling the faces of the wealthy landlords by Lishui the other day, and finding it reasonable that they would go as far as to start fires.

It seemed necessary to ask the Empress Dowager for help.

"Alright, I got it. You guys go back to continue mining. With Lord Huo there, just make sure the gate is secure and prevent suspicious people from entering; I’ll take care of the rest."

"By the way, I’m going to increase the production of jade in the next few days, when you go back, there are a dozen new excavation tools I’ve arranged in the back mountain."

After giving his instructions to Da Niu, Lin Yi looked at the jade distribution map and fell into deep thought.

With Nan Zhao Country producing jade, solely allowing Dongpo Village’s jade to shine would indeed cause discontent among the other Jade Cities.

When calculated, traveling through a Jade City would take three to five days, and there are more than ten such cities in Nan Zhao Country.

If one were to satisfy the desires of the other City Lords, it would mean that Lin Yi would have to stay in Nan Zhao Country for over a month.

Driven by an intense yearning to return home, Lin Yi naturally did not want to linger in Nan Zhao Country any longer.

After much thought, Lin Yi decided to sell some jade mining tools to the Empress Dowager and collect some Silver Tael in exchange for pointing out a few jade mines.

By doing so, he would appease the Empress Dowager without revealing all his cards.

In the afternoon, at the hour of Shen, Lin Yi arrived as promised at the Baiji Hall beside Rongguo Residence.

Red lanterns lined the street for a hundred meters outside Rongguo Residence. It was heard that the wedding procession had not yet arrived, but the sound of drums had been ringing since noon.

"Eh, what auspicious day is it today? These red lanterns look very festive. Heh, red and prosperous, a good omen indeed. I hope my collaboration with the Empress Dowager goes smoothly."

Rongguo Residence was bustling, but Lin Yi was not in the mood for the festivities. After several inquiries, he finally saw the Empress Dowager in the study.

The Empress Dowager was dressed in a festive golden phoenix robe, looking radiant and much younger than the day before, seemingly more than ten years younger.

Lin Yi could roughly guess why the Empress Dowager was present at the Rongguo Residence’s celebration.

"Indeed, a joyful occasion brings bright spirits. The Empress Dowager looks well today; you must have rested in a different place last night."

"I didn’t know there was a celebration at Rongguo Residence today and didn’t bring any gift, my apologies."

Without even knowing what the occasion was, Lin Yi frankly admitted that he did not prepare a gift.

The purpose of his visit today was to discuss the jade issue with the Empress Dowager, not to attend the banquet.

"Hahaha!"

The Empress Dowager laughed heartily and slowly approached Lin Yi, saying cheerfully.

"Have you ever heard of preparing a congratulatory gift for yourself?"

What? For himself?

Lin Yi could hardly believe his ears and quickly asked.

"Empress Dowager, could you tell me what’s going on?"

Then, the Empress Dowager revealed her intention to confer the title of Princess Sang Ya on Ouyang Qian and to arrange a marriage with Lin Yi.

After hearing the Empress Dowager’s words, Lin Yi remained in a daze for a long time. Could it be that this festive day was organized for him?

To be honest, Ouyang Qian was indeed remarkable; if this were in You Country, he wouldn’t hesitate to take her hand.

But this was Nan Zhao Country’s territory, and he couldn’t do the same here.

Wait, no, if he carelessly married the Princess of Nan Zhao Country and became the Prince Consort, he would have to stay in Nan Zhao Country to help mine jade.

Well, he almost got swayed by beauty.

The Empress Dowager played her cards too well, almost leading Lin Yi to lose himself in the ploy that was not about the wine.

Lin Yi pinched his thigh hard to regain his clarity as quickly as possible.

"Empress Dowager, this matter is too sudden; please allow me time to think it over."

Lin Yi took a step back; everything was too abrupt. He constantly reminded himself to stay calm.

The Empress Dowager smiled and said, "I also like the girl Ouyang Qian, and I can see that you fancy her too. All I did was to bring two people together."

"But—"

Before Lin Yi could finish, the Empress Dowager hurriedly interrupted.

"Regarding the jade matter, I have thought it through. Out of the thousands of mines in Nan Zhao Country, if you agree to help me select 20 mines like those of Luoyang Mountain or Dongpo Village and provide the tools for mining jade,"

"Nan Zhao Country is willing to pledge allegiance to You Country and pay an annual tribute of 100,000 shi of jade!"

...End of Chapter...