Changsheng: Peak at the Beginning

Chapter 1257 Zhen Huan Enlarged to 180

The Jiangnan area is more prosperous than Shandong. The scenery of willows shrouded in spring smoke is so intoxicating. The queen finally understood why so many people always talk about the misty rain and the soft Wu dialect of Jiangnan when they mention it.

Compared with the people in the south of the Yangtze River, the people of the capital city are more tough. Just the tone of voice of the women in the north makes the soft Wu dialect of the south of the Yangtze River sound more sonorous and powerful.

The Queen received batches of ladies-in-waiting, and she really liked the young girls they brought with them. She gave away boxes of jewellery brought from the capital, so the gifts she received were naturally more than doubled.

Due to the prosperity of Jiangnan, all kinds of popular styles were almost all born in Jiangnan first, and then spread north to the capital. In contrast, even though the capital was full of powerful people, the things they used were almost all outdated from Jiangnan, or even leftovers.

However, in terms of workmanship and style, the capital and Jiangnan cannot compare to the palace. The rare treasures presented by the imperial wives and various gentry families from Jinling to Hangzhou opened the eyes of the queen. She couldn't help but sigh to Lianxin in private: "It is said that life in Jiangnan is getting harder and harder. Now it seems that only the real common people are having a hard time."

Lian Xin has been helping the Queen sort out various gift lists with a few first-class maids these days, and has gained a lot of knowledge. After hearing about the various ways that Yangzhou salt merchants flaunt their wealth, she still can't numb her desire for wealth: "Yes, yes, how could I have known that the big salt merchants in Yangzhou would actually dump boxes of gold, silver and jewelry directly into the river in order to celebrate the Dragon Boat Festival!"

The Queen couldn't help but nod in agreement with Lian Xin's words, but then she couldn't help but feel a little worried: "Though the salt merchants are so wealthy that they can dump boxes of gold, silver and jewelry into the river, this kind of extravagant behavior is really unsightly and not a good thing."

Lianxin also understood the Queen's concerns, but she felt that the Queen could not do anything except give a few words of admonition to the ladies who came to the audience.

As soon as Jiang Xinxin arrived in Jinling, he began to send all his men out to secretly investigate some things.

Although the title of Jiangnan as an important tax-collecting area has begun to become untrue, it will probably take some time for another place to replace Jiangnan. Jiangnan happens to be the place most severely harmed by the court, or the place with the most anti-court forces. What she wants to know most now is whether there are still people secretly forcing women to bind their feet.

After being busy for several days, Jianqiu and Jiang Fuhai summarized the information they had investigated and presented it to Jiang Xinxin. When Jiang Xinxin took a look at the information, she could hardly believe her eyes!

She originally thought that Jiangnan was a place with a flourishing literary culture and the most support for anti-imperial forces, and the oppression of women would be even worse than in the north. However, she did not expect that there were only a few people who would harm their children's future for the sake of power and wealth, and would blindly exploit women!

Today, more convenient and more useful looms from overseas have spread from Guangdong, Guangxi and Fujian to the south of the Yangtze River. The amount of cloth produced in these places each year has more than doubled. The Qing Dynasty has been able to maintain stable prices until now, all thanks to exports.

Jiang Xinxin felt very relieved after reading it.

Look, the people will always find the right way themselves.

Not only Jiang Xinxin felt this way, but Qianlong also had a lot of feelings.

What excited him the most was that, in this way, his blueprint of letting the royal family lead people out to expand the territory would one day come true!

Because he had to stay in Jiangnan for a while, Qianlong would go to Jiang Xinxin every day after finishing his official duties to be a filial son. Jiang Xinxin generously gave Qianlong the lychee tree that she had transported from Guangdong to Hangzhou and put on the ship. In name, she said, "I just gave it to you in the name of filial piety, but I never thought of giving you the lychee tree. If you want it yourself, it's not too late to write to the Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi now."

Although Qianlong had some appetite, he was now truly respectful and reverent to Jiang Xinxin. Of course, it was impossible for him to have any bad intentions towards Jiang Xinxin's lychee tree. Moreover, Jiang Xinxin had already taken the initiative to use the lychee tree to give him the title of filial piety. What else could he ask for?

The Queen also liked lychees, and she had no opinion on who owned the lychee trees. Moreover, she had gradually regained her mind and had noticed something was going on. So when Lian Xin reported the rumors that were secretly belittling her in the imperial carriage team, she first comforted the people around her: "Lian Xin, give orders not to let anyone hear these rumors again."

"Whether the emperor went to Guangdong to find a lychee tree for the Empress Dowager, you should know as my confidants. The lychee tree was probably the Empress Dowager's own idea, but now that it has become a big deal, she decided to let the emperor take the blame. At least the gentry in Jiangnan can see the emperor's filial piety."

Lianxin didn't believe those so-called rumors at first, but she was afraid that the rumors would harm the queen, so she hurried over to report after hearing them.

Hearing the queen say this, she secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Early-ripening lychees can be eaten in June. Although Jiang Xinxin's four lychee trees were tossed around, they were carefully maintained all the way. Although they matured a little late, they looked full of fruits. This aroused some interest among Qianlong, and he came to Jiang Xinxin with a shy smile.

While helping Jiang Xinxin tend the lychee trees, Qianlong said casually, "Mother, I didn't expect these four trees to bear so many fruits. I'm afraid we can't eat them all at once."

When Qianlong asked this, Jiang Xinxin roughly understood what he wanted to do, so she waved her hand generously: "Pick a tree with less fruit as a reward, and we will enjoy the rest of the fruit this year. If we return to the capital, we don't know what will happen next year."

After getting Jiang Xinxin's permission, Qianlong said with a chuckle, "Then my son will go and invite the queen and Jingse to come and count the fruits carefully. We must choose the tree with the least fruits."

Jiang Xinxin hasn't seen the lively and lovely Jingse for a few days. What's more, she is the only junior along the way. In just two months, under the careful guidance of the Queen, Jingse's words and deeds have made a qualitative leap.

Jiang Xinxin agreed, "Then ask Wang Qin to run an errand and tell him that I'm inviting Jingse to eat lychees. Some of these fruits are indeed edible."

Jingse was so happy to hear that Jiang Xinxin invited her to eat lychees. Moreover, she knew that the four lychee trees on Jiang Xinxin's boat were hard-earned. She immediately asked someone to get her favorite jade chain and the newly made nets. "This princess was given lychees by Mama, so of course I can't eat them for free."

The queen was very pleased with Jingse's behavior and agreed, "Good boy, you really set an example for your mother today. Your mother has a pair of pink crystal vases. Your mother will definitely like them."