Chapter 494: Krypton Gold Palace Struggle System (29)

"Father, are those pitch-black stones coal?"

"Pitch-black stones? If what Yang Er is referring to is coal, then naturally, it is a mineral. It is a pity that the amount of coal mined in our dynasty is limited; it is prioritized for military camps to forge weapons, and only the surplus is distributed to the Ministry of Works for smelting."

Things are valued for their scarcity, after all.

The Ministry of Works guards coal like a treasure; Third Master Xie couldn't even borrow a piece to broaden his daughter's horizons.

Xie Yang then said, "Yang Er knows where there is coal."

Third Master Xie was busy eating the peanuts his daughter had peeled for him and didn't take her words to heart.

His daughter probably thought all black stones were coal, but he still cooperated and asked with a smile, "Oh, where is it? Can Yang Er tell Father?"

"I can! It's on a small island in Nanyang."

"......"

His daughter was painting a big picture for him again.

But Third Master Xie was still shamefully tempted.

The season when the osmanthus flowers scent the air arrived once more, and the Xie Family Merchant Ship set sail again.

At parting, Third Master Xie repeatedly exhorted his eldest son and daughter: "No matter how much coal is on that island, remember not to be greedy. If the island has an owner, buy some if you can spend Silver to do so; if they won't sell, then simply give up. Do not get into disputes with the local bullies. In any case, your lives are more important."

Xie Jing: "Son understands!"

Third Master Xie looked at his daughter, clearly wanting a verbal guarantee from her as well.

Xie Yang: "...... Daughter understands."

Third Master Xie nodded and continued to urge: "When out and about, safety comes first, especially since your younger sister is young; in all things, do not be reckless."

If he didn't currently hold an official post, he would have loved to go along with his son and daughter.

Several merchant firms in Jingcheng that had been keeping an eye on the Xie family's sea ships, upon learning that Xie Jing had taken the ships out to sea again, one after another threw out olive branches to Third Master Xie and his wife:

"Third Master Xie, when will your honorable residence's sea ship return from this trip south?"

"Third Master Xie, are you free today? My master has invited the most famous opera troupe in Jingcheng and would like to invite you to the mansion to listen to the opera and drink tea."

"Third Madam Xie, my mistress has recently obtained a few pots of Jade Phoenix of the Jade Terrace and Ink Peony, and intends to hold a chrysanthemum viewing banquet soon. I invite you to grace us with your presence."

"Third Madam Xie, my young mistress obtained a jar of top-quality Biluochun tea the day before yesterday and would like to share a cup with you."

"Third Master Xie,......"

"Third Madam Xie,......"

They wanted to get a head start on booking a batch of Nanyang specialties before the Xie family's sea ship returned.

How could Third Master Xie and his wife not understand the intention behind this enthusiasm? They waved their hands and declined all that they could.

Before their son and daughter returned, the couple couldn't even muster the energy to listen to operas, drink wine, view chrysanthemums, or sip tea; Third Master Xie going to the Ministry of Works to sign in and Third Madam going to inspect their own shops were both done listlessly.

"Third Sister-in-law, I have rarely seen you leave the mansion lately. Are you feeling unwell?"

The First Madam had received another message from her daughter saying she was short on Silver for bribes, and since she truly couldn't scrape together the amount her daughter wanted, she thickened her skin to come to the Third Branch to borrow some.

Third Madam wouldn't lend it.

She made the excuse that the family's Silver had all been used by their son as capital.

"The costs for things from Nanyang are high. That ship of cargo almost exhausted the savings of our Third Branch. Eldest Sister-in-law should think of another way."

"......"

The First Madam returned in low spirits.

If she had another way, would she have needed to put on a smiling face to borrow Silver from the Third Branch?

【Host, Xie Ping failed to Krypton Gold on schedule, and the Sub-system failed to upgrade this time. She is going to be in trouble.】

The First Madam failed to help her daughter raise enough Silver, causing Xie Ping's Palace Struggle System to fail its upgrade this time.

Xie Ping threw a tantrum in her bedchamber, smashing a pile of teacups and vases.

Xie Yang raised an eyebrow: "What kind of trouble will she be in?"

【After the experience points drop, she will lose some of the effects brought by the pills.】

For instance, the appearance and figure built up by the Beauty Enhancement Pill, Fair Skin and Beautiful Appearance Pill, and Graceful Posture Pill will be discounted.

Another example is that the prince born through the Childbearing Pill will have some minor accidents.

If she still fails to upgrade within the given grace period, the effects built up by the pills will be lost one by one.

Xie Yang: "......"

In other words, it's either Krypton Gold to the end, or end up with nothing.

But having invested so much, who would be willing to let their efforts go to waste?

She will inevitably try every possible way to raise Silver to continue Krypton Gold.

No wonder it was complained about by hosts or innocent bystanders in previous planes; this kind of system is too easy to lead people astray.

"System, how long do you estimate it will take for Xie Ping to unbind from the Palace Struggle System at the fastest?"

It wouldn't be that the Palace Struggle System unbinds from Xie Ping and slips away to the next plane before she even returns to Jingcheng, would it?

【Rest assured, Host. Xie Ping has accumulated a total of 100,000 Silver in Krypton Gold, otherwise she wouldn't have faced another upgrade. It won't be that fast for 100,000 experience points to drop to zero.】

100,000?

It's already that much?

Xie Yang was shocked.

When the family split, didn't the total amount sent into the palace by the Old Matriarch and the First Branch to subsidize Xie Ping only add up to 18,000?

Even if Xie Ping had spent all the Silver notes she carried when she entered the palace, without leaving a single tael, it wouldn't reach 100,000, right?

【The First Madam sold the dowry Farms and shops. After Xie Yan's marriage was settled, the betrothal gifts sent by the groom's side were intercepted by her; the valuable ones were exchanged for Silver and sent into the palace. The dowry prepared for Xie Yan only looked good on the surface; the unseen parts were replaced with inferior ones.】

"......"

Xie Yang twitched the corner of her mouth.

Therefore, this thing called Krypton Gold is truly similar in nature to gambling.

It is even crazier than gambling.

She had the Main System continue to keep an eye on Xie Ping, while she planned to speed up the return voyage.

The original plan was to first reach Pirate Island, leave behind a portion of the strong servants, and have them station themselves on the island to mine coal; the merchant ship would continue south to find Nanyang natives to trade for some lightweight goods that did not take up much space, and on the return trip, they would stop at Pirate Island for a few days until the mined coal filled the ship's hold, then transport it back to Jingcheng.

But now, she had changed her mind.

They would not go up to Pirate Island on the outbound journey, but would instead leave the Mining Robot there.

The merchant ship would head straight for Nanyang, and after selling off the tea, porcelain, and silk—specialties of Daye—they would not linger long on the Nanyang islands; they would pick up a few Nanyang specialties that sold relatively well, then go directly to Pirate Island to load the coal.

The people on the ship, including Xie Jing, all assumed this island was an open-pit coal mine where, without needing to mine, there was plenty of water and charcoal to be picked up.

Picking things up was naturally much faster than mining.

Within two days, they had filled the empty cargo holds of the ship with water and charcoal.

Thus, this year's Xie Family Merchant Ship returned to Jingcheng before the New Year.

The ship's cargo holds were mostly filled with water and charcoal, with only a token amount of Nanyang specialties brought in; how could such a small amount of goods be enough to sell?

Perhaps because they traveled day and night on the return journey and were anxious about their family, Xie Jing had no time to attend to his appearance, and upon returning to the manor, he looked weary and exhausted.

Some people guessed that the Xie Family Merchant Ship must have encountered pirates, not only losing most of the cargo but also nearly failing to return.

After hearing this, the First Branch and Second Branch pretended to be worried about the Third Branch, but in reality, they went to the Old Matriarch to gloat.

"Mother, you should still persuade the Third Brother; this time, thanks to the protection of our ancestors, Jing did not meet with any mishap, but how can such things rely on the ancestors' protection every single time?"

"Mother, you should find time to persuade the Third Brother and the Third Sister-in-law; when I, your daughter-in-law, try to persuade them, they won't listen, and instead, they turn around and complain that I am meddling, likely thinking that I am trying to stop them from earning Silver."