The Prodigal Son

When the two went outside, they discovered that Qi Dachui had gotten into a conflict with the guards of the Northern Qi delegation.

One of the guards from the Northern Qi delegation was knocked to the ground, where there was a pool of blood.

More guards from the Northern Qi delegation poured out from the southern courtyard where the Northern Qi envoys were located.

"Big Hammer, what's going on?"

Qin Yu stepped forward and asked.

Qi Dachui pointed menacingly at the fallen Bei Qi guard, "This guy was sneaking around at the courtyard gate, and I caught him. He tried to run away!"

"fart!"

The Northern Qi guard lying on the ground opened his blood-stained mouth and roared, "I was just walking by! Who peeked?"

"Still dare to be aggressive?"

Qi Dachui swung his hammer at the injured Bei Qi guard.

The 70-pound golden melon hammer streaked across the sky like a shooting star.

Just as the wounded guard was about to die, a figure suddenly appeared.

The man reached out with his bare hand and caught the golden mace steadily.

Qin Yu's pupils contracted.

Master!

Although he lacks skill, his judgment is excellent.

To be able to catch Qi Dachui's golden mace so easily, one must be at least an eighth-level expert!

Such a master did not go to the palace with Xiao Baoju, but instead stayed at the Sifang Pavilion?

The middle-aged man grabbed the golden mace and sneered, "Here you go!"

"stop!"

Just as he was about to throw the Golden Hammer at Qi Dachui, a cold, sharp voice suddenly rang out.

As soon as the voice rang out, the middle-aged man immediately stopped and gave Qi Dachui a cold look.

Qi Dachui immediately glared back fiercely.

Under Qin Yu's gaze, Empress Murong, disguised as a man, slowly walked out of the South Courtyard.

Empress Murong stopped, her gaze falling on Qin Yu. "Young Master Qin, this is the second time your guard has injured someone from Northern Qi! Don't you intend to give us an explanation?"

"Explain?"

Qin Yu laughed, sized up Empress Murong, and sneered, "Your people were sneaking around trying to ambush me. I didn't ask you for an explanation, and you still have the nerve to ask me for one?"

Empress Murong narrowed her eyes slightly, "Your ability to distort the truth is quite impressive!"

What does it mean to distort the truth?

Qin Yu curled his lip, displeased, and said, "Neither you nor I are fools. Your men are acting suspiciously; they definitely have ill intentions! My men didn't kill him; they've already shown mercy!"

"If you want to confess, you can go wash up and go to bed!"

"If you're not satisfied, you can complain to my Empress!"

Still need to explain?

Explain what nonsense!

Qi Dachui would never lie!

The people of Beiqi are acting suspiciously; they must be up to something!

"I've never liked tattling."

Empress Murong shook her head and smiled, "How about this, let's talk it over, perhaps we can find a solution!"

Want to chat?

That's not impossible!

Qin Yu was about to agree, but after a moment's thought, he immediately changed his mind: "Can't you see I'm discussing serious matters with the Third Prince of Yan? I'm extremely busy right now; if you want to talk to me, you'll have to wait in line!"

Yeah, I need to keep a tight rein on myself for now!

"OK!"

Empress Murong readily agreed, "We'll talk after you've finished!"

"good!"

Qin Yu readily agreed, then asked, "What's your name?"

"Rong Jiu!"

Empress Murong answered, then winked at the middle-aged man holding the golden mace.

The middle-aged man understood and immediately swung the golden mace at Qi Dachui.

Fearing Qi Dachui might get hurt, Qin Yu immediately whispered a reminder: "Don't try to take it head-on!"

Just as Qi Dachui was about to take the hit head-on, he faithfully carried out Qin Yu's order and dodged to the side.

boom!

The golden sledgehammer slammed heavily against the back wall of the courtyard, smashing a large hole in it and continuing its momentum until it finally embedded itself in a large tree in the yard, almost snapping the tree in half.

"snort!"

The middle-aged man glanced at Qi Dachui with disdain before following Rong Jiu into the South Courtyard.

Qi Dachui clenched his fists, staring intently at the middle-aged man. "What's your name?"

"You don't deserve to know!"

The middle-aged man answered without turning his head.

Seems... arrogant.

Let's go!

Qin Yu yanked Qi Da Chui down.

Qi Dachui reluctantly moved his feet, then looked at Qin Yu with some defiance, "I can catch it."

"Even if you can catch it, don't force it!"

Qin Yu glared at him, "Don't hurt yourself just to spite someone!"

"oh."

Qi Dachui nodded slightly, walked into the yard, and pulled his golden mace from the tree.

Back inside, Qin Yu immediately looked at Yan Li with displeasure, "I say, Third Prince, you're really too disloyal! You didn't even bother to ask for help!"

"I really can't help with that."

Yan Li shook his head and smiled, "That person is a master; I don't have any masters around me who can match him!"

"pull!"

Qin Yu didn't believe it. "You're a prince on a diplomatic mission abroad, don't you have any skilled guards with you?"

"No, really."

Yan Li shook his head again, "The commander of my guards is only a sixth-level martial artist! If the people of Da Ning want to kill me, it won't help if I have a grandmaster by my side."

Qin Yu secretly curled his lip, too lazy to continue the topic with Yan Li.

The two then pulled at each other for a while, but neither was willing to state their conditions first.

Qin Yu wasn't in a hurry.

Anyway, his task was to keep Yan Li hanging.

Let it drag on, let it drag on!

Let's see who can't hold out any longer.

After another pointless tug-of-war, Qin Yu casually asked, "What are some of the things that your Yan Kingdom is famous for?"

Yan Li didn't think much of it and casually replied, "Fish, salt, dates, chestnuts, and various beans, but the most famous are Snow Velvet Cotton and Swallow Jade!"

This wasn't exactly a secret.

Qin Yu could easily find out by asking anyone who knew about the Yan state.

Qin Yu's lips curled into a smile. "The jade you gave me the day before yesterday, that was Yan jade, wasn't it?"

"right!"

Yan Li smiled, "That jade is the finest among Yan jade! It's worth several thousand taels of silver."

"That valuable?"

Qin Yu asked in surprise, "What is this 'snow cotton'? Does the Yan Kingdom produce a lot of cotton?"

Ningguo does have cotton.

But as far as he knew, the Yan state didn't seem to be suitable for cotton cultivation, did it?

Yan Li knew that Qin Yu, this spoiled brat, definitely wouldn't know anything about these things, so she explained it to him.

Snow cotton is different from the cotton from Ningguo.

Snow cotton has longer fibers than Ningguo cotton.

Fabrics woven from velvet cotton are more comfortable, and cotton-padded clothes made from velvet cotton are also warmer.

The only drawback of velvet cotton is its low yield.

Even with a bumper harvest, it's difficult for a mu (approximately 0.16 acres) of Edelweiss cotton to produce more than eight jin (approximately 4 catties) of cotton.

Under normal circumstances, the yield of edelweiss cotton is only about five or six jin per mu.

When the harvest is poor, the yield per mu may only be three or four jin.

Therefore, even now, velvet cotton is a luxury item only for the wealthy.

Hearing Yan Li's words, Qin Yu couldn't help but click his tongue in amazement.

This output is indeed pitifully low!

It has a high effect, but low yield!

This is the standard setup for ripping people off!

Qin Yu reached out and touched Yan Li's clothes. "This is clothing made of snow cotton?"

"right!"

Yan Li nodded and smiled.

"You know what, it does feel a bit better."

Qin Yu spoke casually, already having a general idea in mind.

But in order to lure Yan Li into his trap, he didn't continue talking about these things with Yan Li, but instead continued chatting idly.

After finishing their conversation, Qin Yu decided to go and meet Rong Jiu, so he got up to say goodbye.

When he stepped out of the courtyard, the people from Beiqi were already waiting there.

Upon seeing Qin Yu, the people from Bei Qi immediately raised their hands in invitation: "Young Master Rong invites you to the courtyard for a chat!"