The Princess of Northern Land
Chapter 699: The Jester(3)_1

Chapter 699: Chapter 699: The Jester(3)_1

Just as Chu Suifeng was feeling helpless at the Marquis Residence, Prince Rui, Prince Chu, and Lin Haisheng, who were supposed to leave after the ceremony, unexpectedly received an imperial edict from the Imperial Court.

"The Emperor said, neither of you princes and Mr. Lin need to return to the Capital City immediately. Please ensure that the Northern Land’s tributes are delivered to the palace before the New Year," said the Special Envoy who brought the edict. It was the popular eunuch Miao from the Emperor’s side. When he arrived at the post station, he was dust-covered, indicating that he was in a hurry all the way.

"We are ten days away from the end of the year. Even if we leave now, it won’t be possible to get the tributes to the palace in time, right?" Prince Rui asked in surprise.

"Prince Rui, you have to hurry even it seems impossible," Eunuch Miao sighed. "As soon as you two princes left, the Zajia came rushing in; the Emperor has been quite unrest lately."

No one asked why the Emperor was in a bad mood. When the three of them left the Capital City, it was already in chaos.

Who could have expected that the goods transported from the Northern Land to various provinces of Daqin could disrupt the market? Chu Suifeng silently affected the economy of Daqin; his tactics were brilliant indeed. The Lin Family behind him, however, was a bit annoying.

With the New Year approaching, every family wanted to buy the best things. But they found out that some items couldn’t be bought even with silver.

Vegetable oil, seafood, various types of sauces, spices, roasted goods, sugar, even vermicelli, and bean products; whatever one desired was out of stock in the market. There was some at the restaurants, but they wouldn’t sell.

Women were causing quite a fuss, nagging daily that they couldn’t buy cosmetics, sweaters, and down jackets. For women who have stocks, it was okay. But for those who didn’t, they were in a rush. Once used to the cosmetics from the Northern Land, they didn’t want to use anything else.

Everyone was mainly panic; would they not be able to buy these goods from the Northern Land in the future?

The Emperor was also very annoyed. Following his instructions, the Imperial kitchen no longer used vegetable oil and other seasonings. But after tasting the flavorful dishes for a while, if the Emperor had to eat food cooked with lard that was tasteless, could he swallow it? Several chefs in the Imperial Kitchen had already lost their heads over this.

The remaining chefs were trembling every day, fearing that they might be next. It was not that their culinary skills were bad, but rather, no dancer can do anything without a stage. Without the right seasonings, oils, and ingredients, they couldn’t cook as well as they used to.

The Emperor, however, kept blaming the Imperial Chefs for all the problems.

At this time, rumors spread within the Capital City that some people were reselling goods from the Northern Land, and the merchants were arrested the next morning. Any sensible person would know that Chu Suifeng exchanged goods for grain, and the Emperor had decreed that no one was allowed to send even a grain to the Northern Land. Obviously, someone intentionally defied the decree. Could the Emperor not be angry? Then things got worse; many court officials, including concubines and even the Empress Dowager, were involved.

The dilemma was, the Emperor was angry, but he couldn’t arrest everyone because one is bound by the common law.

In the end, the Empress Dowager and the Empress made a fuss in front of the Emperor. The Emperor issued a decree that all goods from the Northern Land should be sent as tributes to the Capital City.

After Prince Chu read the content of the decree, he sneered in his heart.

The ministers in the court were all eyeing the Northern Land, hoping to get a share of the benefits there. But these people were all daydreaming. Why didn’t they think about it - could Prince Ling be someone who anyone could take advantage of?