The Eldest Daughter Is Beautiful and Saucy
Chapter 344: worries
Chapter 344: Worries
Got robbed?
Bai Qingyan raised his eyebrows and thought of Ji Tingyu. Could it be that Ji Tingyu led people to rob?
But Xiao Rongyan has many experts under his command, and the goods his people are protecting… are not a small number, so how could they be robbed by Ji Tingyu’s people?
Bai Qingyan raised his eyes to look at Xiao Rongyan, who had a meaningful smile in his eyes, and immediately understood the meaning of Xiao Rongyan’s words.
She asked in return: “Although the Bai family’s ancestral home is in Shuoyang, they have never lived in Shuoyang. How could Mr. Xiao, who is so smart and observant, not know this?”
“Since Yan has come to see the princess, he must believe that this matter…only the princess can help Yan a little.” Xiao Rongyan almost made it clear, he knew that the “bandits” who robbed his goods were Bai Qingyan’s men.
Rather than saying that Xiao Rongyan asked her to introduce a family that owned the tea mountain, it would be more accurate to say that… Xiao Rongyan was reminding her to return the goods to him.
She was not afraid that Xiao Rongyan would know that the so-called bandits were her men. After all, she also knew Xiao Rongyan’s biggest weakness…his true identity.
Bai Qingyan had her people pretend to be bandits, which did not threaten Xiao Rongyan’s interests and Dayan. Xiao Rongyan would not become her enemy before Dayan became the most powerful among the nations.
What Dayan needs to do now is to secretly strengthen itself in this chaotic world and prepare for its future dominance.
Since Xiao Rongyan already knew it, she would not keep it a secret for him.
“Mr. Xiao really is…long-eyed and sharp-eared.”
“I’m not a quick-witted person. The last time I went to Shuoyang, I was there to check out the business information of the shops in Shuoyang and to investigate the robbery of tea leaves. Yan also put in a lot of effort, and only this morning did I get the news back…”
Bai Jinzhi’s heart skipped a beat when she heard what Bai Qingyan and Xiao Rongyan said. She realized that Mr. Xiao had probably found out that the “bandit” was from their Bai family, so he came to find her eldest sister.
However, Mr. Xiao is unwilling to bring it up and will probably keep his mouth shut.
Bai Jinzhi really didn’t expect that Xiao Rongyan was so powerful. It would be perfect if such a person could marry into the Bai family and help his eldest sister.
Xiao Rongyan has many capable people under his command, and he only found out about them this morning after the robbery. He really admires Ji Tingyu, one of Bai Qingyan’s men.
If his people had not seen Ji Tingyu in front of the Bai Mansion and had not admired this loyal man who risked his life to return the bamboo slips to the Bai family, he really would not have been able to connect these bandits with the Princess Zhenguo.
It was precisely because they knew that he was Princess Zhenguo’s man that Xiao Rongyan’s men did not kill him, but came back to let Xiao Rongyan make the decision.
The prince had known earlier that Xiao Rongyan’s goods had been robbed. His original words were… Although he could not spare troops to suppress the bandits, the prince could order the local officials to help Xiao Rongyan retrieve the goods.
This morning, he learned that it was Bai Qingyan’s men who robbed his goods. Before Xiao Rongyan came to the Princess Zhenguo’s Mansion, he made a special trip to the Prince’s Mansion and said that he would not trouble the Prince on this matter. He wanted to ask the Princess Zhenguo to help introduce the Shuoyang family who had been running the tea mountain for generations in an attempt to build a better relationship with the Princess. He also asked the Prince not to let the local officials interfere in this matter.
When the prince heard this, he laughed at Xiao Rongyan for giving up the goods just to have the chance to spend time with the beauty. So he withdrew the order asking the local officials to help Xiao Rongyan retrieve the goods.
“Mr. Xiao is too modest. You knew about the famine in Yanwo much earlier than the Jin court. Isn’t this considered oversight?” Bai Qingyan had a very faint smile on his lips.
Xiao Rongyan rubbed his fingers in his sleeves, and his long eyelashes narrowed slightly in the bright sunlight: “It seems that the princess is also very well-informed.”
“Eldest sister, let’s stop standing outside the house and talking! Let’s go in and invite Mr. Xiao for a cup of tea!” Bai Jinzhi’s eyes lit up and she bowed to Xiao Rongyan, “I wonder if Mr. Xiao has any other plans.”
Xiao Rongyan did not answer, but looked at Bai Qingyan with his smiling dark eyes, as if he wanted to see what Bai Qingyan meant before answering.
Bai Jinzhi had already invited him, and Bai Qingyan also had questions for Xiao Rongyan regarding the famine in Yanwo.
“Mr. Xiao, please…” Bai Qingyan made a gesture of invitation to Xiao Rongyan.
Xiao Rongyan nodded: “Then Yan will respectfully obey your command.”
After entering the room, Bai Qingyan asked someone to serve tea, and then asked Xiao Rongyan: “When will Mr. Xiao need this batch of white tea?”
Xiao Rongyan said, “No later than the 20th of this month.”
Bai Qingyan lowered his eyes and thought for a while, then looked at Xiao Rongyan’s faint smile and said, “Mr. Xiao, just wait for the news. It will not affect Mr. Xiao’s business.”
“Thank you for your good wishes, my lady.” Xiao Rongyan bowed slightly to Bai Qingyan, “I wonder how I can repay you for your help this time?”
“Mr. Xiao, could you please tell me frankly when you learned about the famine in Yanwo?” Bai Qingyan asked.
“At the beginning of the year…” Xiao Rongyan answered truthfully.
Bai Qingyan glanced at Bai Jinzhi and asked Xiao Rongyan, “Mr. Xiao, do you know when Dayan… started preparing to bring the refugees from Yanwo into Dayan?”
Xiao Rongyan slowly started talking to Bai Qingyan from the beginning…
“When Yanwo was still part of the Great Yan territory, Queen Ji once ordered Sima Sheng, a famous hydraulic scholar, to build a wide canal. Although it was to alleviate the flooding of Pingyang City north of the Niuliang River, the long-drought areas of Yanwo also benefited from it. Thanks to the irrigation of this canal, it became a fertile land!”
Bai Qingyan nodded.
“Due to the lack of financial and human resources during the repair of this canal, Mr. Sima was worried about the harm of floods to the people, so he carefully planned the canal repair. Only during the flood season of Niuliang River, the Guanghe Canal will have abundant water. However, this method… Guanghe Canal can only last for 20 years at most. If you want this canal to benefit future generations, you must renovate it after 20 years and extend it to Changhe River.”
“After that… Yanwo was incorporated into the territory of Dajin, but no one mentioned the canal repair! It has been twenty years since the Guanghe Canal was built. In July last year, the Guanghe Canal was dry. The governor of Yanwo thought that it would be relieved this year, but Dayan knew that this was just the beginning! But Dayan never thought that Yanwo would be like Dayan in the future. There was a snow disaster in winter, the Guanghe Canal was full during the flood season of Niuliang River, and there was a heavy rain in March. In addition, the Guanghe Canal was not connected to the Changhe River, so it was bound to cause a flood!”
“It just so happens that Dayan has already recovered Southern Yan and has enough food and fertile land to accommodate the refugees, so it’s inevitable that we have to think about this.” Xiao Rongyan said with a smile.
Bai Qingyan suddenly understood.
“I have already informed His Royal Highness the Crown Prince about what Mr. Sima said, but I don’t know… whether the State of Jin has the energy to spare to rebuild the Guanghe Canal! After all… Daliang and the State of Jin may go to war.” Xiao Rongyan said.
Bai Qingyan tightened his grip on the teacup. Xiao Rongyan would never speak without a clue. If he said that a war might break out, then… a war might really break out.
She raised her eyes to look at Xiao Rongyan, wondering if there was any involvement of Xiao Rongyan in this.
After all, the main force of Dayan marched towards Rongdi. If Jin and Daliang fought again, Dayan would have no worries.
Asking for a monthly ticket…
Xiao Rongyan is definitely the male protagonist with the weakest presence.