Fenghou

Yao Mei has been serving Chen Qing for a whole year, and she will be 17 years old after the new year tomorrow. She has changed a lot this year, her youthfulness has quickly faded, her body has gradually become plump and well developed, and she is quite female feeling.

Especially she is extremely beautiful, Chen Qing's few wives are not as good as her, so Chen Qing likes her a lot.

Yao Mei was a little embarrassed and said: "Madam said that I have reached my peak and will not grow any taller."

Chen Qing sat down and asked with a smile, "How much reward did you get today?"

"Madam gave me two hundred silver coins."

Chen Qing was slightly surprised, two hundred silver coins were worth a hundred guan, but the other maids were only [-] guan.

With a thought, Chen Qing understood that his wife regarded Yao Mei as a concubine.

Chen Qing beckoned to her, and Yao Mei walked up obediently, leaning on Chen Qing's lap shyly.

Chen Qing hugged her waist and asked in a low voice: "I heard Ah Ying say that you and Chunxi are not on good terms?"

"It was okay at first, but later she became more hostile to me, saying that I robbed her seat."

"Where are the other personal maids?"

"They all treat me coldly, but I don't care. Madam treats me very well, and Sister Ah Ying often takes me shopping."

"Do you know how much reward Chunxi and the others get?"

Yao Mei nodded, "I know! Madam also said that from next month, my monthly payment will increase to thirty guan."

"You are already in power, can they not be jealous?"

"I don't want to bear this false name!"

"What false name?" Chen Qing didn't understand all of a sudden.

Yao Mei bit her lip, she lowered her head, and whispered in Chen Qing's ear: "A flower can be broken when it blooms, don't wait until there are no flowers to break the branches."

Chen Qing's heart became hot, and he put his arms around the little beauty in his arms and smiled, "This year is New Year's Eve, and it is customary to take a bath, so you can take a bath with me today!"

The master takes care of the bath by himself, he gave special instructions today, of course Yao Mei understands what it means?She nodded shyly, "I'll go prepare the vat!"

At this moment, a small head poked its head in, scaring Yao Mei to stand up quickly, "Xue'er, what's wrong?"

"Sister Ah Mei, Mother said that everyone will take a bath in the afternoon to greet the new year, so you can come and wash with us."

Yao Mei looked back at Chen Qing helplessly, Chen Qing knew it well, this was his wife reminding him that it was not time to pick the flowers yet.

He could only smile wryly, "Go! Ah Ying will come and wait for me to take a bath later."

……

The afternoon of New Year's Eve is the time for every family to bathe and remove the old, wash their hair and bathe, put on new clothes, have a New Year's Eve dinner, and hold vigil at night to worship their ancestors.

In ancient times, bathing in winter was a big deal. It was not a big problem for rich and powerful families, but it was not easy for poor families. Fuel consumption was of course an important reason. One load of firewood was needed to boil water for a bath, which poor families could not afford. rise.

But this is not the main reason. The main reason is that it is cold in winter, and it is easy to catch a cold when taking a bath. You must know that in the era without antibiotics, once a cold turns into pneumonia, and there is no money to treat it, the body can resist it. If the body is weak, it will be fatal. worries.

But on New Year's Eve, you must take a bath. The room is warmed up, and the family takes turns to take a bath.

Chen Qing took a bath in the afternoon with Zhao Yingluo and his two sons, three-year-old Chen Yang and half-year-old Chen Lu. Chen Qing was lazily lying in the large tub, enjoying the bath Zhao Yingluo gave him. After massaging and shampooing, Chen Qing watched his two bare-bottomed sons toss happily in the water, and felt a sense of family happiness in his heart.

"Yingluo, how did your father take a bath?" Chen Qing asked, wrapping his arms around Zhao Yingluo's waist.

Zhao Yingluo patted Chen Qing's restless hands away and said, "He! He takes a luxurious bath, with hundreds of maids and concubines waiting on him. You can't imagine the kind of ostentation, paved with gold and jade, full of silk and silk, just a pool of water. I just used dozens of high-quality medicinal materials to cook it, and I heard from the imperial doctor that the water will cost thousands of dollars."

Chen Qing thought about something else, "Is it because the women who take care of the old man's bath don't wear clothes?"

"of course!"

Chen Qing yearned leisurely after hearing this, "This is the life of an emperor! Am I a bit too old-fashioned as King Yong?"

Zhao Yingluo covered her mouth with a smile and said, "It's a bit dirty, but we all like it, so it's better to be a little bit dirtier."

Chen Qing rolled his eyes and said with a smile: "The whole family will take a bath together next time! Don't we have a big pool?"

"That's a good idea!"

Zhao Yingluo pursed her lips and said with a smile: "These two little brats are fine, but Ji'er is a bit older, so I'm afraid it's inconvenient."

"That brat doesn't count, he washes it off himself."

Zhao Yingluo giggled and said, "Tomorrow, I will tell my eldest sister about the ambitions of officials, so that you can also enjoy the imperial ostentation. Our five sisters will wash with you, and we will add a bunch of little kids."

"Can't wait for the next time..."

Chen Qing gave her a wink, Zhao Yingluo understood, immediately put down the curtain, wrapped herself in a big bath towel, called the two nurses waiting in the outer room, wrapped the two children in thick bath towels, and handed them to the two nurses. .

The nurse carried the baby away, Zhao Yingluo took off the bath towel, walked into the vat happily, and slipped into her husband's arms, she put her arms around Chen Qing's neck and smiled and said: "The servant girl is here to take a bath for the Lord Long Live! "

With the heart in hand, the two fell in love in the water, and the house was full of joy for a while.

……

In another large pool, Princess Lu Xiu and Zhao Qiaoyun took a bath together, and several maids washed their hair. On the other side of the pool, Yao Mei also soaked in the water, playing with two young ladies on a boat.

"Sister, the fruit is almost ripe!" Zhao Qiaoyun glanced at Yao Mei and said with a smile.

Lu Xiu sighed softly: "You said she is a girl from Datong in the north, why is her skin so white and delicate, and her appearance is so watery and beautiful, even more delicate than girls from the south of the Yangtze River? she."

"Let the prince take her into the room!"

"Wait a little longer, step by step, I'm going to arrange for her to be on duty at night."

Lu Xiu and Zhao Qiaoyun were talking in a low voice, but they didn't notice the two personal maids behind them, Chun Xi and Xia Huan. Although they were both naked, they were not qualified to enter the pool. They looked at the woman sitting in the hot pool Yao Mei, the eyes of the two were full of jealousy.

The first thousand 270 chapter six investment

On the third day of the first lunar month, Chen Qing met a special guest, Zheng Tongquan.

In the guest hall, Zheng Tongquan put a box on the table and pushed it to Chen Qing, "This is a gift for the princess, please accept it with a smile, Your Highness!"

"what is this?"

Chen Qing picked up the box and opened it. Inside was a bright pearl the size of a pigeon egg, shining with a faint luster.

"I got this from a Japanese businessman five years ago. There were two in total, one big and one small. I dedicated the small one to Queen Mother Zheng. Now it is in the hands of Queen Wei. This is the big one. Your Highness, this is Night Pearl."

Chen Qing nodded, he knew that this was not an ordinary thing, if it was an ordinary sea pearl, Zheng Tongquan would not dedicate it to him solemnly, it really was a night pearl.

"Such a good bead, you should keep it as an heirloom, don't give it to me!"

Chen Qing pushed the bead back to Zheng Tongquan, and Zheng Tongquan shook his head quickly, "It's true that it is a rare item, but Zheng Jiade is not worthy of it, and disasters will happen. Only His Highness can match it, Your Highness must accept it."

Chen Qing nodded secretly. Zheng Tongquan was very sober and understood that virtue is not worthy of things. For example, a poor family accidentally picked up a rare treasure. The best way is to hand it over to the museum as soon as possible. You can't think about selling it for a high price or leaving it to your children and grandchildren, otherwise it will be easy to be targeted by others, ranging from things being robbed, or even the whole family being wiped out.

Ye Mingzhu has been the emperor's pearl since ancient times, if Zheng Tongquan wants to leave it to his descendants, then what he leaves to his descendants must be a disaster.

Chen Qing didn't refuse anymore, he accepted the beads, and asked with a smile: "When did the Duke return to Jingzhao?"

"The morning before yesterday, hey! The imperial court started to attack maritime merchants and rich merchants, Your Highness knows it!"

Chen Qing said lightly: "I know, when the imperial court forcibly confiscated the big ships before, Hu Yun reminded them to transfer the wealth quickly, but they didn't listen, thinking that I was going to seek their wealth, but now they understand, I listened It is said that Wang Zhenbang's family and Yu Wanfeng's family's family wealth were basically stolen, and the imperial court stripped more than 400 million yuan of wealth from the two families, and the accumulated wealth of several generations was gone."

"These two families are three generations of maritime merchants, and their wealth is almost gone. I guess the few large merchants in Guangzhou and Mingzhou are also doomed."

"This is their fate. It doesn't matter if you don't mention it. I'm looking for the county magistrate. I actually want to talk to you about something."

"Please speak, Your Highness!"

"Last time, Hu Yun wrote me a brochure, talking about exchanging silver from Japan. The county lord should be very aware of this!"

Zheng Tongquan nodded, "Beizhi really knows that I once went to Hizen Kingdom to trade with their lords, and exchanged pig iron and armor for 10 taels of silver, which is almost ten times the huge profit."

Hizen country is today's Nagasaki area. It has been the most famous seaport in Japan since ancient times. The envoys sent to Sui Dynasty and Tang Dynasty set off from here. Later, it became the base camp of Japanese pirates.

The most important reason why Hizen country can become the center of Japan's foreign exchanges is its geographical location, which happens to be the first stop for the mainland and North Korea to arrive in Japan.

During the Tang and Song Dynasties, if you went to Japan, you could not go to sea from the mouth of the Yangtze River and cross the East China Sea to Japan. That would be a narrow escape. The safest route is to start from Laizhou on the Shandong Peninsula, cross the Yellow River to North Korea, and then walk along the Korean Peninsula. After Busan, cross the Tsushima Strait and arrive in Japan.

The ancients also discovered this safe route, so Nagasaki Port and Hizen Kingdom became the busiest overseas trade seaports in ancient Japan.

Chen Qing pondered for a while and said, "Does Japan really need pig iron?"

"Of course they need it. They are a bit similar to our Spring and Autumn and Warring States Periods. There were imperial courts, but there were many small countries, and wars often broke out between small countries in order to compete for land and population. However, Japan has no iron ore and can only buy pig iron from Korea and us. It is still far from enough, and the silver and gold sand domestically produced in Japan are in the hands of the lord, and I suggest that His Highness exchange pig iron for silver and gold."

"Then why don't other sea merchants go to Japan to exchange silver and gold? Could it be that they can't get pig iron?" Chen Qing asked again.

"Actually, that's not the reason. You can get pig iron if you want. The key is pirates. Pirates are very rampant. They don't like ordinary goods. They usually charge high tolls. Four times the profit becomes double the profit." , but there is gold, silver or pig iron on board, and if they stare at it, it will be over. I only did it once, and I dare not do it again, and other families dare not do this business. Others are profiteering as well, there is no need to take this risk.”

Chen Qing pondered for a moment and said, "If I send a navy escort, will there be any problems?"

"If His Highness sends a navy escort, the problem will not be a big problem. Although those pirates are rampant, they only dare to bully civilian ships, and they are vulnerable to the navy."

"What about Hizen Country?"

Chen Qing asked again: "Will the lord of the Feiqian Kingdom care about my navy's docking?"

"That's not true. The Western Army's navy is just for escort. The lords of the Hizen Kingdom will definitely welcome it. After all, overseas trade is very important to them. They specialize in transit trade, selling overseas goods to other lords, and making a lot of money."

Chen Qing nodded and asked again: "Is there any senior manager who is familiar with trade?"

"Of course there is, but I'll go in person for the first time! I don't need to do it next time."

Chen Qing was overjoyed, "Just ask the Duke!"

Zheng Tongquan said with a slight smile: "I would like to make four suggestions. First, it is best for the fleet to depart from Laizhou. In this way, it will take about a month to reach Japan; In this way, the lords of various vassal states will prepare a large amount of gold and silver to trade in Hirado Port; third, the fleet should also prepare some tea, silk, fine cloth, porcelain, etc., which can also be sold at high prices in Hirado Port; fourth, Escorting warships don’t need too many, a dozen warships, 2000 people are enough, the people there are all short in stature, like children, our elite army, one person can support three of them.”

"Okay! I'll let Counselor Jiang do all I can to prepare for this matter, and leave after the spring."

……

Zheng Tongquan said goodbye and left. Chen Qing returned to the inner house. He sat down opposite his wife and enjoyed the warm sunshine. Lu Xiu quickly asked the maid to serve tea.

Chen Qing put the box on the table, and said with a smile: "Just now Zheng Tongquan came to pay New Year's greetings, and the box is a gift he brought to me. Give it to you!"

"What is it?" Lu Xiu was a little curious, she knew that what Zheng Tongquan dedicated to her husband must be something extraordinary.

"A luminous pearl, this is not the kind of pearl made of fluorite, this is a real luminous pearl."

Lu Xiu hurriedly opened the box, and a crystal-clear and warm bead the size of a pigeon egg appeared in front of her eyes.

"This is... Ye Mingzhu?"

"I will know in the evening, and I will come to enjoy it together in the evening."

Lu Xiu put away the beads and said with a smile: "I have to put it away first, if those two little ladies see it, I'm going to get dizzy again."

Lu Xiu thought of another thing and said: "I heard from Qiaoyun that your husband wants to do overseas business?"

"There has always been overseas trade with Nanyang. It is estimated that what Qiaoyun is talking about is trade with Japan. There will indeed be trade after the spring."

Chen Qing suddenly realized, and asked with a smile, "Could it be that you also want to invest in trade?"

Lu Xiu nodded embarrassedly.

"Yes! Silk, tea cakes, fine cloth, porcelain, sheepskin, these five things can be invested, but the total amount cannot exceed [-] guan."

"Okay! Each of us will give four thousand strings. Except for tea cakes, each of us will vote the same."

The first thousand 270 seven chapters steal fragrance

In the middle of the night, Chen Qing was woken up by his wife Lu Xiu. He opened his eyes in a daze and asked, "What's the matter?"

"Amei, what is it, tell me!"

Standing in front of the bed, Yao Mei hurriedly said: "It's the inner guard Wang Dutong, who said that there is an emergency and he needs to report it to the prince."

Chen Qing sat up and asked, "What time is it?"

"Reporting to the prince, the fourth watch has just passed."

Chen Qing nodded, and said to Lu Xiu: "It's still early, lady, please sleep a little longer! I'll be back soon."

Lu Xiu hurriedly handed out her husband's clothes, "Amei, hurry up and put on the clothes for the prince, it's cold outside!"

Yao Mei lit the lamp and waited for Chen Qing to put on her clothes. When she lowered her head to tie the belt, Chen Qing suddenly saw the scenery in her bellyband. It was as plump as a peach, and she was really mature.

Lu Xiu also saw it, she coughed quickly and said, "Amei, first go get the hat for the prince."

Yao Mei hurried over to fetch the gauze hat and put it on for Chen Qing. She was very skillful in helping Chen Qing dress, and in just a moment, she arranged Chen Qing's clothes neatly, without any mess, and even combed his hair neatly .

Lian Luxiu couldn't help praising secretly, this little lady is really a smart person.

Tonight is Yao Mei's first night duty, that is, she sleeps in the outside room. Chunxi, who was on duty before, was a bit rough, and she hurt Chen Qing when she served Chen Qing at night. Chen Qing didn't like it very much, so Lu Xiu let Yao Mei It's night watch.

It is necessary for a wealthy family to be on duty at night. When the master wakes up at night and wakes up in the morning, there must be a maid to serve him. However, intercourse between husband and wife is also difficult to avoid. If it is a modern person, it may be difficult to accept, but it has been like this since ancient times. The average wealthy wife They are also used to it.