Chapter 409: She didn’t fall into his trap at all
The next day, Shi Qingluo did not bring Xi Rong along and went to meet Secondary Consort Hua without her.
Shi Qingluo went to the private room with the maidservant, Qingqing.
Not only was Secondary Consort Hua already seated inside, but King Jin was also there.
There was also a young man and an old Taoist priest.
Shi Qingluo bowed. “Greetings, King Jin, Secondary Consort Hua!”
“Come and sit here, Mdm Shi,” King Jin said with a smile.
Shi Qingluo walked over and sat opposite King Jin.
King Jin then introduced the old Taoist to Shi Qingluo, “This is the Taoist priest, Chang Qing.
“This is my son, Liang Mingyu.” He then introduced the young man.
Shi Qingluo smiled at the two of them. “Hello, Taoist priest Chang Qing! Good day, prince!”
The old Taoist looked at Shi Qingluo and said with a smile, “I requested the royal highness that I wanted to meet you today, Mdm Shi.”
He did not beat around the bush. “Did your master teach you any Tao techniques? ”
Shi Qingluo shook his head apologetically. “My master did not teach me any Taoist techniques. He only taught me how to read and some recipes that can not be found outside.”
She didn’t know anything about mantras, so she didn’t pretend to know.
The old Taoist priest was a little disappointed.
He had wanted to talk about Taoism with the disciple of the old immortal, Shi Qingluo, but who would have thought that she had not learned it?
“Then, did your master leave behind any books related to mantras?” he asked again.
Shi Qingluo thought for a moment. There were indeed some books on Taoist techniques in the wooden box that the old Taoist had left behind.
She had flipped through it before but didn’t quite understand it.
Because it was something that Shengyuan cherished and she often made the old immortal take the blame, she didn’t throw it away but kept it in her space.
“My master did leave behind such books, but I left them in Heyang County.”
She naturally couldn’t take it out now, or it wouldn’t make any sense.
“If you want to see it, why don’t I have someone send it to you after I return to Heyang County?”
She looked at the kind-looking old Taoist priest, who gave off a feeling similar to a sage.
It seemed like he really liked Tao techniques, so he might as well make the best use of those books.
The old Taoist was overjoyed. “I’ve been preparing to travel around recently. Why don’t you let me know when you’re leaving Northern City? I’ll go to Heyang County with you.”
Shi Qingluo did not reject him. “Sure!”
Judging from King Jin’s expression, he seemed to respect this Taoist priest, which meant that this Taoist priest must have some ability.
It was not bad to have a good relationship with such a person.
“Many thanks!” the old Taoist said with a smile.
He knew that King Jin and Shi Qingluo had something to say to each other, but he did not want to get involved.
Hence, after making an appointment with Shi Qingluo to set off together for a few days, he took his leave first.
Even though King Jin was a little disappointed that the old Taoist was no longer helping him, he could only accept it.
After the old Taoist left, he smiled at Shi Qingluo and said, “Mdm Shi gave my concubine a money-making idea yesterday. What do you want?”
Shi Qingluo knew that King Jin was a smart man. “Your Highness, after you get the recipe for paper and food, can you build a cement road from Northern City to Heyang County?”
For a county to prosper, one had to build roads first.
The road to Heyang County was not only difficult to access but also difficult to walk.
Once the workshop for canned food was opened, transportation would become a problem.
However, the money the county government had now could only barely afford to build a workshop.
They had no money to repair the road at all.
She had seen some of her young hubby’s plans for Heyang County, and he was in need of money everywhere.
The cost of road construction was even greater, so it was best not to spend the county government’s revenue on it.
In this way, the couple would not have any leverage that others could take advantage of or gossip about.
They were thinking for the people of Heyang County, so they offered the recipe to King Jin in exchange for a cement road.
This was not considered as using their power for personal gain.
On the contrary, they were still focusing on benefitting the commoners.
If anyone were to find fault with them, her young hubby would be able to scold them back.
King Jin was taken aback.
He was clearly surprised that Shi Qingluo would propose such a condition.
“Aren’t you going to request something for yourself?”
Shi Qingluo smiled. “I’m not short of money now. I don’t think I need anything else in the northern border.
“I can see that Heyang County is suffering. The people are having a hard time, so I hope that I can do something for them.
“Your Highness, do you think it’s okay? Use a cement road in exchange for the recipe.”
When the cement road from Northern City to Heyang County was built, it would attract merchants to buy things from workshops.
After earning some profits, they could continue to build roads in other places.
In other words, they would first use a road to support a county. She and her young husband both had a bigger goal.
They hoped to develop Heyang County into a large trading center close to the northern border.
However, due to various unfavorable conditions, it was not easy to achieve and required more time.
King Jin had originally wanted to use the money-making idea from the recipe that Shi Qingluo had given to his concubine to drag her into the water before getting her onto his boat.
He didn’t expect this girl to be such a slippery loach.
She was the only one who could think of using the recipe to exchange for a cement road.
This way, there would be no evidence for those in the capital to use against them.
He wasn’t upset, but he couldn’t be happy either.
However, on second thought, at least Shi Qingluo was willing to give ideas to King Jin’s residence, which meant that there was room for them to win her over.
If the moment they arrived at Northern City and there was something that he could use against them, or let the people in the capital catch her flaws, he probably wouldn’t value Shi Qingluo and her husband that much anymore.
The more this was the case, the more he was determined to pull the two of them onto his boat.
His mind turned a few times, and he said with a smile, “It’s just building a road. You seem to be at a disadvantage.
“Why don’t I give you another 50,000 silver?”
Shi Qingluo thought to herself, if I were to take the compensation, wouldn’t I end up like that scumbag father?
She smiled and shook her head. “We’re not short of money now, so there’s no need for compensation.
“My husband wants to open a school in Heyang County, so he will probably use this recipe to make paper and provide it to the students.
“I’ve given this recipe to Your Highness, but I hope we can use it for ourselves.
“Your Highness, please use this as compensation.
“Of course, I won’t share the recipe with anyone else other than myself.”
She added, “We won’t open a paper workshop to compete with your concubine for business.”
This way, they would be able to make paper on a bright path.
She had no intention of snatching business from King Jin.
Otherwise, she would have to help him share the hatred among those big aristocratic families.
However, paper wasn’t just for writing.
If they made paper for other uses, such as toilet paper, the profit would definitely be very good.
King Jin realized that Shi Qingluo was a little difficult to deal with and did not fall into his trap at all.
Most importantly, her request didn’t sound too much.
If he refused, she would feel uncomfortable and it would be troublesome if she did not offer any more formulas and ideas in the future.
Thus, King Jin could only pinch his nose and admit it. “It’s not a problem. Not at all.”
“But we have to sign a contract,” he said.
He was afraid that Shi Qingluo would make a fool out of him. Not long after she gave him the formula, she would hand it over to someone else or someone in the capital. Then, what was the point of him going through all this trouble?
“Many thanks, Your Highness. Of course, there’s no problem with signing the contract.” Shi Qingluo chuckled.
Even if King Jin did not mention it, she would have mentioned it.
