Chapter 196: The Conclusion

Yan Ning pondered for a long time, then gave Er Gouzi some more Silver Notes, totaling five thousand taels, and told him to exchange them for gold and silver to carry with him.

After Er Gouzi expressed his thanks, he prepared to set sail.

Yan Ning subsequently went to Chaoyang Village with Xiao Huaijin.

To Yan Ning's surprise, even after they had been gone for so long, there were still people tending to Chaoyang Village.

Those fields, as well as the Watchtower, had all been well preserved.

Wang Er Gou's father was tending to the fields, and upon seeing Yan Ning, he walked over with a smile.

"Your Highness, every year I cultivate some crop Seeds to sell throughout Lingnan."

Yan Ning smiled and said, "You have worked hard."

Yan Ning ate, drank, and played there for five days, secretly bringing back quite a lot of fruit before returning to the Capital.

Upon entering the palace, Yan Ning said to Xiao Huaijin, "You haven't been back in a long time, go have a chat with your father and mother; I am returning to the palace first."

Xiao Huaijin felt that Yan Ning was acting a bit strange, but he couldn't put his finger on it, so he didn't think much of it and went straight back to the Wangfu.

Yan Ning waited in the Qianqing Palace for quite a while before Ji Lan returned from playing mahjong, along with Yan Ze, who had finished speaking with the court officials.

As soon as Yan Ze sat down, he gulped down water.

He complained to Yan Ning, "You have no idea, those ministers are harder to deal with one by one; when you were here before, I could still manage them a little, but now I feel irritable whenever I see those old fogies."

After speaking, Yan Ze asked Yan Ning with eager eyes, "Daughter, are you attending court tomorrow?"

Yan Ning shook her head hurriedly, "I still have over ten days of vacation left; I don't want to attend court, I want to sleep in a few more times."

Yan Ze sighed, "Alright, then I will deal with it myself."

After saying that, he asked Yan Ning, "How was the honeymoon? Did you have a good time? Where is Xiao Huaijin, why didn't he come back with you?"

Yan Ning began to pull things out: specialty dishes from Lingnan, various chilled fruits, and some beautiful seashells.

Yan Ning looked troubled, "Father, you don't know, with Xiao Huaijin by my side, I couldn't secretly hide any fruit; I only brought these back for you all."

Yan Ning said helplessly, "I don't know if I can tell Xiao Huaijin about this; I'm worried he'll say I'm a monster."

Yan Ze laughed, "Even if you were a monster, he would still love you."

Yan Ning felt a bit embarrassed being teased by her father, "Forget it, better not say anything."

Yan Ze glanced at her, "Then you must be careful; he is always sticking to your side, don't let your secret slip."

Yan Ning said bitterly, "Father, why don't you arrange some work for him."

Yan Ze found it strange, "Don't you like him quite a bit? Why do you want to arrange more work for him? Did he do something that made you dissatisfied?"

Yan Ning shook her head, "No, he's quite good, it's just that he's too clingy."

Yan Ze said cheerfully, "That will have to wait until your vacation is over; I can't just give you a vacation and then make him work right away."

There was nothing else to do but that.

Although Xiao Huaijin was a bit clingy, he was good-looking, and Yan Ning liked being stuck to him too.

It was just that sometimes when she wanted to sneakily do something bad or pull things out from her space, it would be a bit troublesome.

Yan Ning said with a smile, "Father, Mother, it's rare that Xiao Huaijin went to accompany his parents, hurry up and finish these fruits, don't let him see them and get suspicious."

Yan Ze skillfully heated up the food from Lingnan.

After the family finished eating, they began to eat the Lingnan fruit.

Yan Ze exclaimed, "This Train was a great invention; it only takes two days to get there. Next April, I must go to Lingnan myself, eat my fill, and then come back."

Yan Ning said happily, "I'll go with you!"

Without Xiao Huaijin.

By then, she could store as much fruit as she wanted.

Perfect.

These past few days, before the vacation ended, Yan Ning took people out to play.

It was just that she didn't know what to play for a moment.

So Yan Ning found a few playboys to act as tour guides for her and Xiao Huaijin; cockfighting, cricket fighting, and listening to music—they played everything that could be played.

Finally, the day to attend court arrived.

Yan Ze had been on the throne for four or five years, and Yan Ning had been tormenting the civil and military officials for four or five years as well.

At this time, the Minister of Revenue couldn't stop the corners of his mouth from rising, "Your Majesty, now that the weather is favorable and the country is at peace, even though the imperial court has reduced many taxes, the tax revenue for these past two years has actually increased."

Yan Ze said with a smile, "That is a good thing."

The Minister of Revenue continued, "Everyone has money in their hands, and the common people don't need to perform Corvee; it used to be difficult to register households, but now the number of households has actually increased."

The Minister of Revenue was beaming as he looked at Yan Ning, "Your Majesty, the Train has been running for a while now, and the traffic between the Capital and Yangzhou is constant; one can often see fresh things. This Train has truly performed a great service."

Yan Ning laughed, "Before, you were all saying you disagreed, now that it's built, you know the Train is good, right?"

The Minister of Revenue lost his shame, "Indeed, it is thanks to Your Highness's persistence; otherwise, who knows when this Train would have been built."

At this moment, Yun Shu stepped out, "Your Majesty, Your Highness, since the country is at peace and the national treasury is abundant, why not start building a Steamship?"

The Minister of Revenue's eyelids twitched.

He asked, "How much will this cost?"

Yun Shu said with a smile, "It won't cost much, twenty thousand taels of silver should be enough."

The Minister of Revenue's pupils dilated, "Twenty thousand taels?!"

Yan Ning said, "Twenty thousand taels is considered quite good. When I went to Lingnan a few days ago, someone was preparing to set sail; an ordinary ship costs thirty thousand taels to build. It would be much more convenient if there were Steamships."

The Minister of Revenue gasped.

However, the national treasury was abundant, and no matter how expensive a Steamship was, it couldn't be more expensive than a railway.

It would take many years for the railway to earn back the money spent on building it.

The Minister of Revenue relented, and the construction of the Steamship began.

Yun Shu was still the same as usual, bringing over some good inventions every few days.

It was just getting more and more expensive.

Every time the Minister of Revenue attended court, he would feel a pang of heartache for the silver in the national treasury.

After these matters were all concluded, it was soon time for the New Year.

Nanyang Wang and Nanyang Wangfei were also summoned to the palace, and the group ate the New Year's Eve dinner together.

Ji Lan's face was full of joy: "This year's New Year is truly lively; in the past, the palace was cold and desolate during the New Year."

They could not bear it, so they gave the palace maids and Eunuchs a New Year holiday.

In ancient times, there was no Spring Festival Gala to watch during the New Year, so they could only watch movies while eating.

This year, there was Nanyang Wang and Nanyang Wangfei, as well as Xiao Huaijin.

It was much livelier.

It was a new year again, and Yan Ning felt something was off about the way her father was looking at her.

She asked vigilantly: "Father, what do you want to do by staring at me?"

Yan Ze laughed "Ha ha" a few times, "I am thinking about when to pass the throne to you, so your mother and I can go travel and enjoy the mountains and rivers."

Yan Ning widened her eyes: "Father, you are so young, how could you have such an idea?!"

Yan Ze said righteously: "I can't wait until I'm seventy or eighty to go travel and enjoy the mountains and rivers, can I?"

The father and daughter just kept pushing the throne back and forth like this.

Nanyang Wang smiled and offered a toast: "At worst, the Emperor can take turns, and you two can take turns going on vacation."

Yan Ning and Yan Ze revealed smiles.

They clinked glasses, and Nanyang Wang said: "May there be such days every year, and may the Daxia dynasty be prosperous and flourishing."

The group raised their glasses together, their faces all brimming with smiles.