Can't a princess ascend the throne?

Chapter 133 Being humble
"Shh! Don't let him hear that. That Zhao guy is the most petty. If he hears us, he might cut off our salt supply."

"Cut off the salt supply in Miao Prefecture? Does he dare?"

I'd heard of Yancheng's Salt Procurement Bureau before; wasn't it supposed to supply the entire nation? How dare he just cut it off like that? This is the livelihood of the people! If people don't eat salt for a long time, they'll become weak; how can they farm and live without strength?

Hearing this, Baiyi Chun felt somewhat sad.

“If it were an ordinary person, of course they wouldn’t dare to do this. But the problem is that the Prince of Binyang in Yancheng is no ordinary person; he is the current emperor’s adopted son. Everyone in the court knows how much the emperor dotes on his children, not to mention that the Prince of Binyang helped the emperor conquer the country. He was enfeoffed as a prince because of his military achievements, which is different from ordinary princes. Moreover, this salt is produced in Yancheng, and he can sell it to whomever he wants. If it’s our turn, we can just say that this year’s salt has been sold out. What can we do? We can’t just go and attack him, can we? Who will stand up for us?”

"So we usually treat the people from Yancheng with respect. It's just a matter of saying a few nice words, nothing serious. Jiuque, if you don't want to see it, why don't you stay here for now? The people inside aren't very nice. I'm used to it, but you probably can't stand this kind of neglect."

Jiu Que shook his head, seemingly lost in thought.

If we hadn't known about the situation in Yancheng before, that would have been one thing, but now that we clearly know, how can we just sit idly by?

"Sister Baiyi, I've never been to Yancheng and don't know how salt is produced. I'd really like to see it for myself. Please take me there. I promise I won't talk much and won't cause any trouble."

Jiu Que tugged at Bai Yi Chun's sleeve and shook it back and forth. How could Bai Yi Chun resist the other's coquettishness? She had always been a bit of a feminist, and seeing Jiu Que like this, her bones went weak. She could barely hold back her smile and it took her a long time to manage to force a smile, pretending to be in a difficult position.

"Alright then. But if anyone makes you feel bad, you must bear it. Even if we retaliate later, we absolutely cannot offend anyone today. After all, the people of Miaozhou are still waiting for the salt from here."

"Of course, don't worry, sister, I can do it."

Despite Jiu Que's quick agreement, Chun Yu Shuang behind him twitched her lips. If she hadn't seen it with her own eyes, she would never have witnessed Jiu Que using coquetry to achieve her goal. This was truly a rare sight indeed. She had to remember it carefully, as she might be able to use it to threaten the other party someday.

Jiu Que secretly rolled her eyes at her.

Bai Yichun was an exceptionally capable commander. He quickly reorganized his troops and brought with him a large amount of gold, silver, and Miao city specialties.

General Zhao had been waiting impatiently for a long time, and when they finally arrived, his tone was a bit aggressive!

"General Baiyi is indeed very busy... Let's go now."

"..." What is this guy surnamed Zhao so arrogant about? Does having salt give him the right to be so willful?
Bai Yichun had no idea what he was thinking. If she did, she would have to nod in agreement. These days, those who have salt have more confidence than others. After all, the world's salt production is limited, and people can live without sugar, but not without salt.

Someone like her, able to buy salt with gold and silver, was already considered lucky. Further north, where there were no salt lakes or wells, they had to buy it from Yancheng at exorbitant prices and then transport it back thousands of miles away. This increased the price of salt even further, making it unaffordable for ordinary people. Even coarse salt was expensive, and most ordinary people could only afford vinegar cloth. However, a child like Jiu Que, who grew up in the wealthy capital and rose rapidly through the ranks at a young age thanks to the Emperor's favor, probably didn't know what vinegar cloth was.

It's best not to let this girl know yet. Although Bai Yichun hasn't spent much time with Jiu Que, she can tell that Jiu Que is a kind and loyal child. If she finds out, it will inevitably cause another uproar. This child has just come out of the mess in Qianzhou. If she gets involved in the Yancheng incident, she will definitely be punished by His Majesty when she returns. After all, the Prince of Binyang is His Majesty's beloved adopted son. No matter how much His Majesty values ​​Jiu Que, she is still an outsider. His Majesty should be very clear about the difference between an outsider and family.

Jiu Que had no idea what Bai Yi Chun was thinking. She just felt that this cheerful older sister would glance at her every now and then, and would grab her whenever she had the thought of leaving.

Never mind. She'd better stay with this older sister to avoid making her worry. However, since Jiu Que was going into the city, Wei Yuan and the others would inevitably follow. This would increase the number of people. General Lu seemed a little unhappy, but didn't say much.

I'd heard that Yancheng was the salt-producing area in the world, and Jiuque had imagined seeing salt everywhere when she went in, but it turned out to be just an ordinary city. After a few quick glances, there was nothing special about it, so she kept quiet so as not to disturb Sister Baiyi's business.

As this large group of people entered the city, the passersby only glanced at them occasionally before quietly retreating to the side, not daring to cause any trouble.

Jiu Que had originally wanted to observe the local people's living conditions, but with so many of them together, the villagers would run away as soon as they saw them, and they couldn't be caught. This frustrated her greatly. Finally, she encountered a peddler carrying a load on a shoulder pole. Although he looked tall, he seemed to have very little flesh on his body, and his clothes swayed wildly. The load he carried wasn't heavy; it simply contained some goods. However, the peddler walked with a swaying gait, as if he had no strength.

The scene was somewhat pitiful. The vendor wanted to ask the guards around him for help, but when he looked up and saw so many people from out of town, his face changed, and he almost ran away in terror, carrying his load on his shoulder.

Are they that scary?

"Please don't be offended, everyone. Our place is remote, and the people here are timid and shy. It's natural that they would be frightened to suddenly see so many outsiders. I hope you will not wander around, so as not to cause panic among the people of Yancheng."

Hearing Lu's words, Jiu Que couldn't help but secretly roll her eyes. This was supposed to be a reason? Did they really think they were fools?

I still need to find a chance to quietly stay and take a look later. The local people's reactions are a bit off, and everyone I've seen along the way, whether they're doing business or buying things, is extremely thin and weak. Logically speaking, Yancheng controls the salt supply of the entire country and should be very wealthy, but the people here are so thin and poor, which is very strange.

And this guy surnamed Lu, openly preventing them from interfering in Yancheng's affairs, he must be hiding something. Exchanging glances with Chunyu Shuang and the others beside him, Jiu Que and the others quietly observed the surrounding terrain, secretly considering where to investigate later.

(End of this chapter)