lady, please calm down

Chapter 328 King Chu’s ambition is rare in this world!
'Tuk-tuk~'

"Your Majesty, it's almost time."

In the back house of the Shangshu Mansion on Yulin Lane, candlelight lit up in the house as the maid Zhuan Yun called out.

Although he only slept for two hours, Chen Chu, who had been living a harmonious life recently, still felt refreshed and quickly put on his light summer clothes.

On the inside of the bed, there is something graceful and exquisite under the thin quilt.

Ayu, who was awakened by Zhuan Yun, rubbed her groggy eyes, lay on her side and pulled the quilt over her chest, looking at the dressed back under the dim candlelight, she said in a delicate tone: "Uncle is leaving. Already?"

Recently, Chen Chu came over late at night every night and returned to the front house before dawn.

Except for Cai Yuan and Chen Jing'an who still have to live together in the front house, Chen Chu and A Yu are no different from ordinary couples.

Seeing Ayu wake up, Chen Chu turned around and sat on the edge of the bed, helped Ayu pull the corner of the quilt, and said softly: "Well, there are many things to do today, so I won't come back during the day."

After saying that, Chen Chu raised his hand to tuck a strand of black hair stuck to Ayu's cheek behind his ear, and stood up to leave.

But Ayu suddenly stood up, knelt on the bed and hugged Chen Chu from behind. The thin quilt slipped off, and the bedroom was filled with spring scenery.

"Uncle, when will we stop being sneaky?"

Ayu pressed her cheek against Chen Chu's back and murmured softly.

There was sadness and coquettishness in these words.

On the fifth day of the Lunar New Year, Bai Lu, who was Mao'er's best confidant, naturally heard some clues outside the door. Chen Chu guessed that Mao'er and Caihua should have known about it by now.

Now, Chen Chu even sent Bai Lu to the Xinchu Prince's Mansion on Suimian Street, using the reason of letting Bai Lu get familiar with and take care of the house in advance. This was also a kind of test.

But Mao'er's letter from two days ago didn't mention Ayu's lack of stance at all, which made Chen Chu not know how to talk about it first.

This little girl has grown up, and has learned to cope with changes by staying the same!
Chen Chu thought for a while, then patted Ayu's hand on his chest and abdomen, and said, "Today at noon, I am going to have a banquet for the general disciples at Mei's house. Is Ayu willing to accompany me?"

"Really?" After hearing this, Ayu immediately pursed her lips and laughed.

"Nature is true"

"Okay! Ayu is willing to accompany uncle!"

The coquettish phrase "When can I stop being sneaky" just now actually contains many complicated emotions, one of which is the way the two of them get along only at night.

Although Huanhao was extremely happy, after Chen Chu left, Ayu would feel like a toy that was thrown aside after being used up.

To put it bluntly, it was the lack of normal daily company that caused her to have this unhealthy feeling.

Literary young women are particularly sensitive to this.

That's why Chen Chu made this suggestion to prevent the two of them from doing just that when they are together.
Yunxia Lane, Meiying Xiaozhu.

After being closed to customers on the seventh day of June, it finally reopened a few days ago.

Entering the second floor of the Linghan Building in the courtyard, although the bedroom has been scented many times with good incense, Mei Yao always feels that there is a vague smell of blood lingering around her.
More than a month ago, Li Qiong, the military envoy of the Taining Army, and Qian Chengjin, nephew of the Queen, died in this room.

At that time, Mei Yao thought she was going to die, but unexpectedly, the gang of thugs did not kill her.

Although he was later imprisoned, they were still polite.

It wasn't until the fifth day of this month that Sai Diaochan Sai's mother from Caizhou brought her out.

Sai's mother said that her boss was very satisfied with her performance this time and gave her a large sum of gold and silver. He also promised to make her a famous talented lady in the future.
In short, he wanted her to be obedient, both covertly and covertly.

Mei Yao knew her current situation. She had witnessed the murder scene with her own eyes. If she did not cooperate, Aunt Cai, who was far away in Caizhou and was now the concubine of King Chu, would definitely not let her go.

Somehow, even though she had only met the concubine once, Mei Yao was full of fear of her for no reason.

And I learned from Sai Diaochan that Sai's mother was not only here to bring her words, but also had a mission to take over Fengle Building.

Fengle Tower used to be the royal property of the third prince!

She dared to take advantage of such a background. One can imagine how terrifying the power behind the concubine was. Just like Li Qiong and Qian Chengjin, the court hastily concluded that the two died in the rebellion.

In Mei Yao's eyes, a person as big as the sky died as quietly as an ant.

Even if such a force fled to a remote and remote area, it would be difficult for them to live in peace.

Furthermore, Mei Yao did not want to escape to a remote country to marry a rough farmer and live a hasty life. She was reluctant to part with the fine clothes and food, nor the prosperity of Tokyo, nor the wealth that Cai Hua had promised her.
Today was the first wave of distinguished guests since Mei Yao reopened its doors. Knowing that the King of Chu was among the visitors, Mei Yao specially dressed up carefully.

She had some friendship with the King of Chu when they were in Caizhou. The latter also gave her a song "Divination". If she could use this to take a shortcut to wealth, she would be very willing to do so.

Thinking about it in Mei Yao, as a concubine, Cai Hua could have such power. Wasn't she relying on the power of the King of Chu?
just
At early noon that day, Mei Yao, who personally greeted Chen Chu at the gate, was disappointed. The King of Chu actually brought his female companion.

Although the woman had changed her hair and was wearing a moon-white men's blouse, her bright and white-toothed face, her curvy figure, and her sweet dimples when riding the carriage of King Chu's men all showed that the other party was True gender.

Mei Yao has been in Feng Yue Chang for a long time and has a vicious eye. He can even tell from A Yu's gait that she is no longer a young child.

After calming down, Mei Yao stepped forward and saluted, saying, "I've met the King of Chu, I've met the Young Master."

Ayu, who was visiting a brothel for the first time, was looking around curiously. She didn't realize that the other party's "young master" was addressing her.

Chen Chu smiled and waved, and Mao Dan stepped forward and handed the two cakes of horse hoof gold to Mei Yao.

"Thank you, King Chu, for the reward."

It was easy to get this gold. The wine and food used for today's banquet were all prepared and sent by the palace. Mei Yao even saved the ingredients.

Just lend her a place, play a few songs later, and you can get money that ordinary people can earn in several years. How could Mei Yao be willing to throw away such a life.

Today's banquet is hosted by Chen Chu.

To show his affection for the landlord, Chen Chu arrived a little early and stood by the second door, waiting for the guests.

Ayu also stood half a step behind Chen Chu and waited with him.

From time to time, Ayu glanced at Chen Chu's back with the eyes of a little obsessed girl. This feeling was very novel to her, a bit like a couple entertaining guests at home.

Tokyo is so nice. The mountains are high and parents are far away. Even her second uncle seems to turn a blind eye to the matter between her and her uncle.

While he was thinking about it, he heard the sound of horses stationed outside the gate behind the screen wall.

What followed was a chaotic and loud conversation, and without seeing anyone, I could already feel the bold temperament of the general's disciples.

A few breaths later, six or seven young people with an age difference of less than ten years walked into the courtyard, talking and laughing.

After bypassing the screen wall, several people seemed not to have expected that Chen Chu would be waiting here in person. They couldn't help but hesitate in their steps. Then it was Jing Peng who was the first to react. He strode forward and clasped his fists and said, "I have seen the King of Chu, Lao Chu." Wang has been waiting for a long time."

Jing Peng's father, Jing Chao, was originally from the lineage of King Lu, but after entering Beijing this time, he was the first to show signs of changing the mountain.

The remaining people have different expressions. They are all young people and have martial arts backgrounds. They are not good at hiding their emotions.

Some people showed slight disdain for what Jing Peng did, some were eager to get close to the King of Chu, and some looked calm, neither humble nor overbearing.

After Jing Peng exchanged a few words with Chen Chu, he introduced Chen Chu one by one.

The Qi State had a total of nine towns as governors, in addition to Chen Chu himself, the destroyed Taining Army Li Qiong, and the Jingnan Army Dan Ninggui, there were six towns.

Jing Peng, the son of Jing Chao, the military commander of the Wei Sheng Army, has had several encounters with Chen Chu.

Zhe Yanwen, the son of Lu Zhe Keqiu in the Lin Mansion, is the calmest among the few. His Zhe family has been operating in the northwest for a hundred years and has more than 1 elite horse and infantry troops. No matter who is in charge of the court, he must win over his Zhe family. Naturally, he is confident. The most sufficient.

Tong Qi, the son of Tong Wei, the governor of Baoan Prefecture, was the youngest among the people present. He was only 17 years old. He was the one who showed contempt for Jing Peng just now.

Kuang Siliang, the son of Kuang Daogu, the commander of Xin'an Army in Jingzhao Prefecture, had already started talking enthusiastically with Chen Chu after Jing Peng introduced them.

Although everyone was in different moods today, as Chen Chu was currently the Prime Minister of Qi, he still had to give face to these people for coming to the banquet.

After standing in the courtyard talking for a while, everyone was led into the hall on the first floor of Linghan Building.

Seated at separate tables, Mei Yao played a piece of music for everyone, singing "Bu Suanzi. Ode to Plum Blossoms".

Ayu, who was sitting next to Chen Chu as the younger brother of King Chu, muttered in a voice that only Chen Chu could hear, "Uncle has never written a lyric for me."

As the love deepened, Ayu gradually became less reserved and more delicate, and she became more and more fond of showing harmless little tempers and being jealous in front of Chen Chu.

Chen Chu smiled, peeled the apple he had just served, cut it into small pieces, put it on a plate, and pushed it in front of Ayu.

Well, just such a small detail made Ayu's jealousy fly to the sky. She grinned at Chen Chu with a silly grin.

This kind of smile is rarely seen on her face, and silly girl Yunong loves to smile like this.

The rest of the people saw this kind of fruit for the first time, and they all started to observe how Chen Chu eats it.

Seeing Chen Chu peeling the skin, they peeled it too. Seeing Chen Chu cutting it into pieces, they also cut it into pieces.

Unexpectedly, after Chen Chu pushed the cut apple to his 'little brother' beside him, he grabbed one himself, rubbed it on his body randomly, put it into his mouth and started to eat it.

This time, a few people were caught off guard, but they felt that this was what martial artists should do.

In the end, Kuang Siriang, who came from Jingzhao Mansion, laughed and followed Chen Chu's example by putting the half-peeled apple into his mouth and taking a big bite.

The first batch of apples was produced in Fuchang eight years ago, but the quantity was very small.

This year's batch of early-ripening fruits had no time to go on the market, so Caizhou's senior management used the back door to reserve them in advance.

As the person in charge of Luliuwei Farm Reclamation, Mao'er would not easily do anything illegal, but for some fruits, those who found her were close relatives and friends, and they bought them at the original price, so it was hard to refuse the matter no matter how hard they thought about it.Therefore, due to yield issues, apples are only available in the Huaibei region.

Here, Kuang Siliang took a sip, and his mouth was quickly filled with sweet and sour juice, which even overflowed from the corners of his mouth.

After chewing it only twice and not waiting to swallow it, Kuang Siliang couldn't wait to shout: "Is this an apple from Huaibei? I have long heard that Huaibei is rich in products and has all kinds of rare things. This apple is sweet and sour, no wonder some people are willing to spend a lot of money on it." Buy one!”

Everyone here was convinced.

Although their backgrounds are not that great, they are still powerful.

But many people feel that this apple is still the most delicious fruit they have ever eaten.

Their families do not know anything about Huaibei, and most of them even have trade relations with Caizhou.

The main product purchased is the high-quality steel produced by Huaibei Iron Smelting. Of course, the people they go to trade will not come from their own homes. After all, ironware is sensitive and is a prohibited item that the imperial court strictly prohibits private purchase by the public.

However, the children of each family have heard about Huaibei from the mouths of their family's business stewards. According to the information they heard, Huaibei is prosperous and prosperous. Not only the officials are rich, but also the ordinary people have no worries about food and clothing.

Some stewards even swore that all the hawkers selling pulp in Caizhou City wore fine cloth and silk stockings.

Although they don't believe it, it doesn't affect their feeling that Huaibei is a magical place with good security, people living in peace, and always producing some fashionable and rare things.

For example, Huaibei's high-quality steel, non-bumping top-notch carriages, snow-colored frosting, strong Huaibei wheat flour, Huaibei fragrances that women are flocking to, and Huaibei handbags that have recently become popular among ladies
Today's apple has deepened this impression.

When talking about their impressions of Huaibei, Jing Peng and Kuang Siriang were very excited. Although the others were equally curious and yearning, they were not as hopeless as they appeared.

Finally, Kuang Siriang, who had even eaten the core of the apple, picked up another apple, half joking and half sighing: "I need to take this fruit back to Jingzhao Mansion and give it to my father to try."

"Siliang has such filial piety, Kuang Jieshuai will definitely be pleased."

Chen Chu took over the conversation with a smile, but said: "But if you take the fruit back, the taste and appearance will naturally be much worse. How about this. In a few days, I will send a group of agricultural consultants to bring fruit seedlings to teach you cuttings and grafting. With this technique, if you want to eat it in the future, you can go to your own orchard to pick fresh ones."

As soon as Chen Chu said these words, there was a sudden silence in the hall.

Even Ayu, who was holding an apple and chewing it, looked at Chen Chu in confusion.

Now that the two are married, Ayu will naturally develop a mentality of protecting the family business and wonders why her uncle would give away his unique apples to others.

But Kuang Siliang was greatly surprised and asked: "Does King Chu really mean what he said?"

"Of course it's true." Chen Chu smiled calmly.

In Kuang Siliang's view, that apple was no ordinary fruit. If it could be grown on their Jingzhaofu Road, it would be a money tree given to his family by the King of Chu!

But what Chen Chu thought was that sooner or later, apple planting would leak out and spread, just like watermelon today. The planting areas have spread to the north and south of the Huaihe River, and even people have begun to plant it on the outskirts of Tokyo.

Anyway, this one-man business will not be able to hold on sooner or later, so it is better to use it to win people's hearts.

More importantly, Huaibei has basically completed primitive accumulation after several times of robbery and robbery. In the future, the focus of trade will definitely shift to iron smelting, textiles and other industrial products.

For example, fine cloth produced in Huaibei is now sold on both sides of the Huai River, and high value-added products produced by iron smelting, such as high-end horse-drawn carriages equipped with shock absorbers that are already on the market, bicycles that are about to be launched, and watches and clocks that are in the critical stage.
These are the things that make a lot of money, and who cares about digging in the dirt?

But Chen Chu's statement caused a shock in the hearts of the general disciples.

Look, this is a money tree. If you tell me, you can teach me!
Pattern, this is the pattern!

No wonder people can be crowned kings
Among them, the one who reacted the most was Jing Peng. As the first person to approach the King of Chu, he had nothing to gain!

After returning home, if my father finds out that the old man next door, Kuang, got the money tree, but he, Jing Peng, didn’t get anything, he will be scolded as a coward!

"King Chu, King Chu! Can we plant this fruit tree anywhere?" Jing Peng asked anxiously.

The other people didn't speak, but looked at Chen Chu eagerly. Only Kuang Siliang, who got the advantage, muttered: "Why are you just joining in the fun?"

Naturally, he didn't want others to share this cash cow, but he received angry looks from several people.

Seeing this, Chen Chu laughed and said: "Fruit is fruit after all, and it cannot be used as food. If Brother Peng is interested, I can give you a batch of Huaibei wheat seeds. What do you think of Brother Peng?"

As soon as Chen Chu finished speaking, Jing Peng stood up as if there was a spring under his buttocks, so that he turned over and fell down, and the fruits and wine spilled on the floor.

Jing Peng, however, seemed unaware, and walked quickly in front of Chen Chu with such hasty and urgent steps that he drew a big sword and looked sideways at him, in case this person was harmful to his employer.

When they got closer, Jing Peng, who had lost his composure, held Chen Chu's hand tightly and stammered: "Prince Chu, could you be deceiving me?"

Huaibei wheat flour, not to mention its strong taste, interested people have already discovered that the wheat yield per acre in Huaibei is three to four times that of other places.

Food has been an important weapon of the country since ancient times, and there are more than thousands of people who covet it.

As early as the year before last, many people had stolen wheat ears in Huaibei.

However, after they were planted locally, the yield dropped sharply the next year without exception, and the quality was extremely unstable.

After many inquiries, I only vaguely heard that the wheat seeds used for sowing in Huaibei were not mature wheat ears from ordinary fields, but came from a tightly guarded experimental field of the Agricultural Research Institute somewhere in Langshan.
Therefore, when Jing Peng heard that Chen Chu was willing to provide Huaibei wheat seeds, he immediately threw the apple tree aside.

Compared to rations, fruit is nothing!

Ayu, who was next to Chen Chu, was already a little anxious and didn't understand why her uncle suddenly became so prodigal today.

Actually, among everyone present, only Chen Chu knew that science was the primary productive force.

Huaibei wheat seeds are the seeds he brought after crossing with a large number of wild wheat and other disease-resistant varieties.

Hybridization has the problem of genetic instability, so the problem of rapid degradation occurs when directly planting wheat ears.

The Agricultural Research Institute has been iterating to select several seeds that can stabilize the yield per mu in one season. Even if they obtained Huaibei wheat seeds, they could not save their own seeds.

Crossbreeding is not difficult to say, but if there is no one to guide them, how can they know what is the male parent and what is the female parent?

There are also processes such as ear selection, ear trimming, detasseling, pollen collection, pollination, etc. If you fumble blindly without direction, you may never get anywhere in your life.

Seeing Jing Peng's face flushed with excitement, Chen Chu smiled and patted his hand, saying, "Why did I lie to you? You..."

Speaking of this, Chen Chu looked around the hall and saw the children from each family looking at him as if they were looking at a naked girl. He couldn't help but laugh and said: "You can discuss it with the elders in your family. If the family wants to, this year Before the winter wheat is sown, I will send someone to bring the wheat seeds to guide the sowing."

"No need to discuss, my family is willing!" Jing Peng shouted immediately.

But because he was too excited, he sprayed saliva on Chen Chu's face, which was quite rude. Jing Peng was in a panic and wanted to wipe Chen Chu with his sleeve, but he felt it was too abrupt and couldn't move forward or retreat for a while.

Ayu glanced at the reckless young man with dissatisfaction, took out his personal handkerchief, dipped it in some sake, and wiped it carefully with Chen Chu.

After this slightly embarrassing scene was revealed, others stood up and clasped their fists.

"King Chu, my family is also willing to try planting."

"I would like to ask the King of Chu to include my Wang family. When the people from Huaibei come to Huaibei, I will provide them with their salary, food and accommodation, and I will not neglect them."

Even Zhe Yanwen, who looked a little more serious, stood up, bowed deeply and said, "The King of Chu has a broad mind, which is rare in this world! I have thanked the King of Chu on behalf of the millions of people on Linfu Road."

Chen Chu waved his hands indifferently and said sincerely: "You and I will go out together, and we will be both prosperous and devastated. At this time when the country is in turmoil, we should work together as one. A few wheat seeds are useless!"

Zhe Yanwen naturally heard the implication and said solemnly: "We, the generals, will work together as one!"

"I, Jing Peng, will never betray the King of Chu in the future, otherwise humans and gods will abandon him!"

To show his determination, Jing Peng raised his finger and swore a poisonous oath.

But there was some cleverness hidden in his words. What he said was that Jing Peng would never betray King Chu, and he did not say what happened to his Jing family.

In the future, even if there is trouble between the two parties, it will not be the fault of the Jing family.

This Linghan Tower looked full of arrogance and arrogance, but no one was stupid.

"Let's serve the food and wine." With a greeting, the banquet officially started.

Because of the great deal that had just been finalized, the generals and disciples were extremely excited.

Chen Chu received two rounds of wine toasts before finding a space to sit back.

But Ayu looked worried, and quickly took this opportunity to whisper in Chen Chu's ear and ask why his uncle wanted to share Huaibei's good fruits and wheat with others.

After drinking more quickly, Chen Chu, who was slightly tipsy, leaned down next to Ayu and whispered something in Ayu's ear.

Taking advantage of the drunkenness, Chen Chu deliberately made mischief, and when he spoke, he deliberately extended his tongue and swiped at Ayu's exquisite ear.

It made Ayu tremble with excitement.
The feeling of being in a public place is both humiliating and exciting.

She is not the crazy Cai Hua, nor the obedient Yu Nong, nor the cat who spoils Chen Chu in everything.

After all, she had been a lady of the family for many years. Chen Chu's bold move made Ayu's mind go blank, so she naturally didn't hear much of what Chen Chu said.

I only vaguely remember that my uncle's last sentence seemed to be, 'To master other people's grains is to master other people's lifeblood.'

Lifeblood?
It was clear that there was no other meaning in his uncle's words, but some inappropriate pictures popped up in Ayu's mind.

Her clear eyes were filled with water, her beautiful face gradually turned red, and her waist twisted uncomfortably.
After a while, Ayu suddenly slumped her thin shoulders, and thought in frustration: I. How could I have become like this now? What kind of things can I think of in broad daylight?
Only a quarter of an hour later, Ayu had forgotten her reflection.

The men entertained theirs.

Ayu is immersed in her own little world.

But I saw her holding her chin up and looking at the bright sun outside the window, silently calculating that it was about noon, which was less than six hours before midnight!
(End of this chapter)