Ming Dynasty: Empress Ma and I swapped clothes!

Chapter 85 Yun Qi's Goodwill

"This salt is really good."

At the imperial table in the Qianqing Palace, Zhu Yuanzhang squinted, his face filled with a look of blissful enjoyment.

It felt as if this bowl of spicy soup made in the middle of the night, paired with that sesame flatbread, was several times tastier than the roast goose and pig's trotters from a hundred days ago.

It must be said that he really liked this salt.

"Yunqi, tell me, what should the price of this salt be?"

After Zhu Yuanzhang finished eating, his stomach was churning, and he was so full that he couldn't fall asleep anymore. He then began to have his real thoughts.

You should know that this salt was originally made by Ma Wenxiang specifically to alleviate the financial pressure on the national treasury.

"This snowflake salt should be priced at least three times that of the regular refined salt on the market."

"If we add to its status as a royal salt, and its health benefits and longevity-promoting effects, it would probably be consumed in great quantities by people of various ethnic groups in the south, all over the country."

"What I fear most are these people, who can also counterfeit and sell this item. In that case, the Empress's good intentions would be wasted."

Yun Qi's words at this moment were sincere and honest, and his reasoning was sound.

Upon hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang grunted, "What empress? It's just that rascal, nothing more than wearing our sister's skin."

"Your Majesty is right."

Yun Qi quickly echoed.

But then Zhu Yuanzhang changed his tune again: "But to be honest, this rascal does have some ability."

"Little Er, Little San, even Little Wu, and I heard that Little Shi is even Consort Guo Ning's son, Little Shi. They have all become more and more sensible in this palace."

"This is something we really didn't expect before. If these were just coincidences, we never thought we would be able to research something so beneficial to people's lives."

At this moment, Zhu Yuanzhang narrowed his eyes slightly, and his piercing gaze, following the shifts in his thoughts, began to ponder deeply once again.

"Yunqi, tell us the truth, is there really only one way to make refined salt? Could this rascal be secretly hiding another trick?"

If you were in that situation, would you have done the same?

Zhu Yuanzhang instinctively began to have doubts, a tendency that any emperor would have.

For Zhu Yuanzhang, the only people he could truly trust without reservation were his own sister and Biao'er; no one else could do that.

Therefore, it is only natural to suspect Ma Wenxiang.

"This...this servant is foolish and ignorant."

Yun Qi dared not say anything more about this matter.

Outsiders couldn't tell.

This servant girl did have some discernment; she could see that Ma Wenxiang indeed held considerable influence in the palace.

Even if he knew the truth, the fact remained that Ma Wenxiang was relied upon and even depended on by His Highness the Crown Prince and the other future princes.

This alone was enough to make him absolutely dare not offend him.

Not to mention the task of switching bodies with his own Empress, which was even more mysterious and possibly even granted by the heavens.

How could a lowly servant dare to utter such a word? Wouldn't that be asking for trouble and courting death?

Even slaves have their own way of surviving.

Hearing Yunqi's words, Zhu Yuanzhang could easily see through his little scheme. He pointed at him slightly and said with a smile, "Why are you trying to play tricks on me now?"

"This servant wouldn't dare."

Yunqi continued speaking.

"Dare not? I think you, this servant, have more courage than the heavens. What wouldn't you dare?"

Yun Qi lowered his head and dared not make a sound.

He couldn't afford to offend either the Emperor or Ma Wenxiang.

"Alright, we won't argue with a servant like you. Keep a close eye on Kunning Palace. Considering his service to the country, we can be a little more lenient with him from now on. Let him leave the palace whenever he wants."

"And this Kunning Palace, including the imperial guards within, can provide him with some flexibility and a little power, but only within the inner palace; he must never interfere in matters of the imperial court."

"Do you understand?"

In the first half of his speech, Zhu Yuanzhang appeared to be amiable, but in the second half, he undoubtedly displayed his imperial majesty to the fullest.

From the perspective of the saying that emperors and rulers are ruthless, this is indeed true, leaving one speechless.

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Yun Qi could only nod in agreement.

……

After leaving the Qianqing Palace and returning to the Kunning Palace, I saw that the Kunning Palace was still bright and shiny, and had not fallen into darkness.

Only then did Yun Qi dare to step forward and discover that the palace door was still open. Knowing that Ma Wenxiang had not yet gone to sleep, he sent someone inside to inform him.

However, he did not overstep his bounds in the slightest by knowing that Ma Wenxiang was not a concubine in the palace. It was as if in his eyes, Ma Wenxiang was still a concubine in the palace, unchanged in the slightest.

Ma Wenxiang frowned, then took the initiative to walk out of the palace and came to the courtyard of Kunning Palace.

Ma Wenxiang waved his hand, and the people in the palace slowly dispersed, which naturally showed Ma Wenxiang's current status in the palace.

Although there have been no rewards yet for the salt-making project, the people in Kunning Palace, including the maids and eunuchs who were close to Zhu Di, Zhu Shuang, and Zhu Gang, have received them.

Everyone knew perfectly well from the bottom of their hearts that the reward would come sooner or later.

In short, it was bound to happen sooner or later.

It might even be sometime in the future.

They all left the palace one by one, and each of them was able to return laden with spoils.

The benefits of this are too numerous to explain in a few words, so these people were naturally very grateful to Ma Wenxiang.

"Your Majesty is truly remarkable; everyone in the palace follows Your Majesty's benevolence."

Yunqi said considerately.

But these words reached Ma Wenxiang's ears.

He quickly shook his head and explained, "Father-in-law, others may not know, but how could you not know? My so-called Empress is nothing but a paper tiger."

Ma Wenxiang gave a wry smile, having no intention of continuing to act arrogantly in front of Yun Qi.

But Yunqi didn't think so. Instead, he pursed his lips and said meaningfully, "Your Majesty is joking."

Once a lady is a lady, she will always be a lady.

The Empress arrived just in time, at the age of fifty.

If it had been earlier, Your Majesty would not have received any good fortune. But now that our dynasty is established and the nation is secure, Your Majesty only needs to stabilize the foundation of the harem. In this way, our Great Ming Dynasty can enjoy peace and prosperity for a long time.

So it's good that the Empress came, and it's good that the Empress left; it's beneficial to our Great Ming Dynasty in every way.

Therefore, Her Majesty is still Her Majesty, and still the birth mother of all the princes.