Prince Bei Jing of the Red Chamber, starting from saving Qin Keqing

The aroma of tea wafted through the hall, and most of the snacks had already been removed. The emperor and his minister were chatting idly when suddenly Emperor Zhu Yiheng slapped his thigh, as if remembering something important. He leaned closer to Shui Rong and said in a low voice with a smile, "Brother, I've forgotten something important—the glass silk stockings and menstrual pads you sent earlier, do you still have any left in the manor?"

As he spoke, a smug smile played on his lips. "Since you sent these two fine items, my harem has become much quieter, and the concubines have far fewer worries. However, the quantity you sent is truly a drop in the ocean. Although my harem doesn't have three thousand beauties, it still has about a hundred. How can this amount be enough to share?"

The Emperor stroked his beard, his tone becoming increasingly earnest: "Your method is ingenious, and there's no need to hide it. I'm thinking, why not have the imperial family set up a large workshop to manufacture these items? Aren't the Xue family imperial merchants? They have extensive connections and manpower; having them oversee the project will surely lead to success."

Upon hearing this, Shui Rong smiled faintly and bowed slightly, replying, "Your Majesty is too kind. Of course, we have such items. However, these glass silk stockings require the finest Hangzhou silk, and the menstrual cotton must be made from carefully selected soft satin and fine velvet, making them quite expensive."

"My current small workshop can only supply the royal family and a few close noble families. If we were to mass-produce, it would be extremely costly. If we really want to expand production, we would need Your Majesty to issue an imperial decree to allow the Xue family to provide some assistance before we can make it happen."

"Excellent, excellent, excellent!" The Emperor exclaimed three times, his face beaming with delight. He clapped his hands and laughed, "It's good to hear that! I've been waiting for your confirmation."

Empress Xu, who was standing to the side, blushed even more as she listened to the two talking. She lowered her eyes and gently twisted her handkerchief with her fingertips, pretending not to hear.

She had been married to the Emperor for many years, and she had never seen His Majesty so concerned about two items for women. These two items were indeed very thoughtful and practical, and even in her palace, she could not do without them now.

Shui Rong seemed to remember something and said, "Your Majesty, my workshop has also produced a new type of high-quality coal that burns for a long time without producing smoke. It has a strong fire and produces little smoke. I will send some to the palace in a few days. Your Majesty and the Empress may try it out."

He then changed the subject, bringing up another matter, "By the way, I previously gave the Crown Prince the method for that 'lottery'; did Your Majesty hear the Crown Prince mention it?"

Upon hearing this, the Emperor's eyes flashed with approval, and he smiled, "Are you referring to that folk gambling method? The Crown Prince has already informed me of it. This method is indeed novel. Five cents for a ticket, the jackpot is substantial, but very few people win. When you calculate it carefully, it's actually a sure-fire way to make money. However, I'm somewhat surprised that you entrusted this method to the Crown Prince."

His tone was calm, without a trace of displeasure, but rather with a hint of relief, "You are quite generous, not keeping such a profitable method to yourself."

Shui Rong smiled calmly: "Your Majesty is used to a leisurely life and dislikes being bogged down in worldly affairs. The Crown Prince is the heir apparent, so it is most appropriate to entrust this matter to him."

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Upon hearing this, the Emperor nodded inwardly.

How could he not know the enormous profits behind this lottery? Shui Rong's willingness to hand this over to the Crown Prince demonstrates his loyalty.

Although he had considered that Shui Rong and the Crown Prince were of similar age and had a deep friendship, which might lead to the suspicion of forming a faction, he thought again that although Shui Rong was a prince with an iron cap, he was not a member of the Zhu clan and had no possibility of coveting the throne.

Furthermore, he had already secretly supported Prince Zhongshun, Zhang Shixun, to create a balance between him and Shui Rong, which was how the court should be balanced.

With this thought in mind, the Emperor was completely relieved. It was just a pity that his three sons, the King of Qin, the King of Zhao, and the King of Chu, were ultimately less talented.

As the emperor and his minister were talking, Empress Xu suddenly raised her head, composed herself, and said softly, "It's getting late, the sun is already high in the sky. Since Rong'er has come, let her stay for lunch before returning home."

She suddenly brought up a major issue, "Speaking of which, Rong'er, you're not getting any younger. Why aren't you married yet? Your elder brother married me when he was fifteen or sixteen, and now our children are all grown up. But you, on the other hand, don't even have anyone to serve you. Could it be that none of the daughters of officials in the capital have caught your eye?"

Upon hearing this, the Emperor also became interested and nodded repeatedly: "The Empress is right! I was just about to bring this up. I just heard the eunuch mention that you and Qin Keqing of the Ningguo Mansion seem to be getting quite close?"

He paused, his tone carefully chosen, "It's not that I'm disrespecting you, but Qin Keqing was previously married to Jia Rong, and has now been divorced. With a letter of divorce in her possession, she is hardly a match for you, a prince of the imperial clan."

He stroked his beard, pondering deeply: "There are many noble ladies in the capital, but the Jia family... I don't want you to get too close to the Jia family. Oh, right! Lin Ruhai's daughter, the one named Lin Daiyu, I've heard people say that she is intelligent and beautiful, and her appearance is also first-rate."

"Lin Ruhai is one of my confidants, and now serves as the Salt Commissioner. His position is lowly, but his power is immense. A marriage between you and him would be a perfect match. What do you think?"

Upon hearing this, Shui Rong felt utterly overwhelmed. He never expected that a casual conversation between the emperor and his minister would escalate to the topic of urging marriage.

He thought to himself that as a transmigrator, he had long admired Lin Daiyu, who was "more intelligent than Bi Gan," but the girl was only thirteen years old, and it was too early to talk about marriage.

"Your Majesty," Shui Rong said with a wry smile, bowing slightly, "Miss Daiyu is only thirteen years old, in the prime of her youth. To discuss marriage at this time would be to wrong her."

"Wronged?"

Empress Xu couldn't help but chuckle upon hearing this. "Rong'er, you are the head of the Four Princes and Eight Dukes. How noble is your status? Even within the imperial clan, apart from His Majesty, you are the most prominent figure. If anyone is wronged, it is you who has been wronged."

"If it weren't for the fact that my Xu family has no decent daughters of this generation, I would have long ago asked the Emperor to grant me a marriage. How could it be anyone else's turn?"

She then changed the subject, saying, "As for Xue Baochai of the Xue family, although she is dignified, she is ultimately the daughter of a royal merchant, and her status is somewhat lacking; Shi Xiangyun of the Shi family is cheerful, but unfortunately the Shi family is now in decline, and the head of the family is incompetent. All things considered, Lin Ruhai's daughter is the one whose temperament is most compatible with yours—you both love plum blossoms and snow, so you can be considered to have similar interests."

The Emperor nodded repeatedly upon hearing this, and said decisively, "Excellent! I will choose an auspicious day to bestow marriage upon you two."

Shui Rong hurriedly waved his hand, about to decline, but then Empress Xu said, "Don't be in such a hurry to refuse. Besides, His Majesty and I are discussing the principal wife with you first."

"Your Prince Bei Jing's residence has a quota of ten concubines according to the rules. The position of the principal wife is of great importance and needs to be carefully considered. After all, the status of the Princess of Bei Jing is not that of an ordinary noblewoman; it represents the face of the imperial family."

She paused, seemingly understanding Shui Rong's thoughts, and then said, "As for Qin Keqing, if you really like her, you can take her into your household as a concubine in the future. However, you must first marry a principal wife to uphold the reputation of the Prince's Mansion. Otherwise, if gossip spreads in the capital, it will ultimately be bad for your reputation."

Upon hearing this, Shui Rong could only nod with a wry smile and agree: "Your Majesty, I understand. Everything is up to Your Majesty and Her Majesty the Empress."

Seeing that he had relented, the Emperor's face relaxed even more. He stroked his beard and smiled, "That's how a sensible person should be! Rest assured, the Empress and I will take care of everything for you, ensuring that you are not wronged and that we do not fail Lin Qing's trust. Although I have never met Daiyu in person, I have heard Lin Ruhai mention her several times, saying that she has been well-read since childhood and has a gentle and kind nature. She is a perfect match for you."

Empress Xu smiled and nodded, loosening the twisted handkerchief between her fingers, her voice gentle and kind:

"That's how it is. There will be a banquet in the palace in a few days, and I will summon Miss Lin to the palace to attend. You two can take this opportunity to meet more and get to know each other. If you get along well, it won't be too late to finalize the marriage arrangements."

Although Shui Rong still had concerns—Daiyu was still young and sensitive, and he feared that she would have difficulty adapting to the rules of the Prince's Mansion if they arranged a marriage so hastily—he could not go against the Emperor's will and the Empress's favor. Moreover, he already had feelings for Daiyu, so he no longer insisted on refusing and simply bowed and replied, "I will leave it entirely to the Emperor and the Empress to arrange."

Seeing that he agreed, the atmosphere in the hall became even more warm and friendly.

Before long, the eunuchs from the imperial kitchen led a group of palace servants in, carrying food boxes in one after another. The food boxes, made of sandalwood, were stacked in layers. When the lids were lifted, the steam carrying a fresh aroma wafted out, filling an entire table.

There are braised pork knuckle with rock sugar, steamed sea bass, and braised cabbage with crab roe, all of which are exquisitely prepared imperial dishes. There are also a few light seasonal vegetables and a bowl of white fungus and lotus seed soup, which takes into account both taste and nutrition.

The Emperor gestured for Shui Rong to sit down, and said with a smile, "Please sit down, please sit down. These are just ordinary dishes, no need to be so formal. You usually prefer light food, so please try this lotus seed soup. The imperial chef specially added rock sugar and candied dates, so it's sweet but not cloying."

Shui Rong thanked the saint for his grace and sat down at a table to one side.

The palace servants quickly served him food, and with each movement of their silver chopsticks, the dishes were all to his liking.

The three men, the emperor and his minister, ate and chatted, and the topic returned to the workshops and lotteries.

His Majesty mentioned that the Crown Prince has recently been preparing to promote the lottery, and has already set up several sales points inside and outside the capital. The initial success has attracted people to buy the lottery, and the national treasury has even gained some revenue.

"Your method has indeed solved my urgent problem."

The Emperor scooped up a spoonful of soup, his tone full of approval, "Recently, the military expenditures in Liaodong have been enormous, and the national treasury is somewhat empty. Although the interest from this lottery is not a huge sum, it is still a stable source of income. If it is promoted in the future, it may even be able to subsidize military supplies."

Shui Rong put down his jade chopsticks and calmly replied, "Your Majesty is absolutely right. However, the promotion of the lottery still needs to be strictly regulated to prevent anyone from secretly cheating and inflating ticket prices. I believe that we should have the Embroidered Uniform Guard secretly inspect each sales point, and also have the Crown Prince's Palace send someone to manage the accounts. Only with double supervision can we ensure that nothing goes wrong."

"Hmm, you've thought this through thoroughly." The Emperor nodded repeatedly, then turned to the eunuch beside him and instructed, "Later, issue my decree ordering the Embroidered Uniform Guard to work with the Crown Prince's residence to thoroughly investigate any fraudulent activities in lottery sales. Anyone who dares to disobey will be severely punished."