Transmigration: From Farmer To Empress
Chapter 1109 - 1114 Thousand-year-old Ginseng (5)

Chapter 1109: Chapter 1114 Thousand-year-old Ginseng (5)

"Your servant is here!"

Huan Qiu approached, still holding the key to the Eastern Chamber. Cai Wei’s bridal gifts were carried in on the day she married into the palace, all covered in bright red silk satin, and had since been locked away in the eastern side room, with Huan Qiu holding the key. No one knew what her dowry actually consisted of.

"Bring out the bridal gifts one by one, and be careful not to damage the flowers!"

"Yes!"

Huan Qiu stood up and, along with the eunuchs of Chengqian Palace, went to the Eastern Chamber, personally opened the door, and entered with several eunuchs.

Empress Dowager Mo watched Cai Wei with an attitude ready to see a joke unfold. She had already investigated the dowry prepared by the Internal Affairs Department for her, as well as the bridal price provided by Nangong Yi when he was King Qin. If any of those items were in her dowry, she was determined to expose her on the spot.

The first set of bridal gifts was brought out—two lacquered rosewood chests with bronze buckles. Princess Tuotuo, already aware of Cai Wei’s background, said snidely, "The chests look decent enough, but it’s hard to say whether what’s inside is worth as much as the chests."

Cai Wei raised an eyebrow and smiled, tactfully responding, "I dare not claim their worth, but one thing is certain: you definitely couldn’t afford what’s inside!"

Humiliated by Cai Wei in front of Nangong Yi, Princess Tuotuo’s face turned red with anger, and she boastfully exclaimed, "What is it that this Princess cannot afford? If you’ve got the courage, open it up and let’s see. I dare not claim to know everything, but I can definitely provide ten times the silver for whatever’s in this chest."

Cai Wei laughed calmly, "Princess Tuotuo, it might be best not to speak too confidently, lest you find yourself losing face and unable to step down later."

Princess Tuotuo, fuming, retorted, "Enough nonsense, open your chest. If I cannot afford ten times the price of the contents, there will be plenty of time for arrogance later!"

Cai Wei chuckled, slowly sat down next to Nangong Yi, and instructed Huan Qiu to unlock the first chest with the key.

Inside the first chest were four identically packed brocade boxes, each about two feet long, exquisitely crafted from Shu Brocade, and even the clasps were made of ivory—signifying their value.

Huan Qiu took out the four brocade boxes and had four palace maids hold them as they all were opened together.

"Oh—"

The moment the boxes were opened, everyone gasped in unison. Inside the four brocade boxes lay four huge ginseng roots with double heads and double jujube-sized bodies, their stems fluidly long and anciently robust, their spirits energetic like iron lines, their skin whiskered, with clearly visible pearl-like spots. More importantly, the four ginseng roots had all taken on a human-like form, complete with limbs and distinct facial features, resembling four little children. Judging by the number of scales on the heads of those ginseng roots, they had at least eight hundred to a thousand years of growth!

In this era, ginseng was an incredibly rare and valuable item. Even the Imperial Medical Institute of the Great Jin Nation only housed a two-hundred-year-old ginseng root, with the rest being one to one hundred and eighty years old—most were mere thirty to fifty years. Ginseng of this age, which had grown into human form like these thousand-year-old roots, was unheard of; not even seen before!

Cradling her tea cup, Cai Wei took a delicate sip and asked with a smile, "Well? Princess Tuotuo, can you afford these four old ginseng roots?"

Princess Tuotuo pressed her lips together, her face now flushed all the way to her ears, but still stubbornly said, "Just a few old ginseng roots, what’s so remarkable about that? I can afford them."

"Oh?"

Cai Wei set her tea cup down on the plate held by a palace maid and, intrigued, looked at her and asked, "Does Princess Tuotuo know how much my ginseng roots are worth in silver?"

Princess Tuotuo huffed and said, "How much?"

Cai Wei held up a finger and gently shook it, speaking calmly, "Not much, just a hundred thousand taels."

"What? A hundred thousand taels? Are you taking this Princess for a fool?"

Princess Tuotuo raised her voice, even if she was aware of the ginseng market prices. She pretended not to understand, unwilling to admit she couldn’t afford these items.

She had brought twenty thousand taels of silver to the Great Jin for congratulations, thinking it more than ample for her expenditures in the Great Jin. Yet, when all her wealth was combined, she could not even afford a single one of this woman’s ginseng roots. The feeling of defeat was intolerably frustrating!

Cai Wei turned to Empress Dowager Mo and, smiling, said, "It seems that Princess Tuotuo is not familiar with the ginseng market. Would Imperial Mother trouble herself to tell her whether my ginseng roots are worth a hundred thousand taels of silver?"

Empress Dowager Mo, shocked by Cai Wei’s four thousand-year-old ginseng roots, felt her heart pounding violently, and became even more convinced that she was indeed the daughter of Emperor Tian. How else could she have casually brought out such a rare and extraordinary treasure?

Looking across the entire Great Jin Nation, finding even one ginseng root like this would be a challenge, yet Cai Wei had brought out four at once. Including the one previously gifted to Duke Li Guo’s Mansion, that was five in total!

This was simply inconceivable!