The legitimate daughter was reborn, and the emperor’s little Jiaojiao went crazy.

Chapter 965 Sending the sheep into the tiger’s mouth

Shi Anxia was deliberately playing with Cen Che, turning the teacup with her fingertips, but her eyes fell on Xie Huai, "Master Xie, I heard that you often go to Tiema City recently? Are the medicinal materials there sufficient?"

Xie Huai immediately bowed and said, "Princess, Tiema City currently has sufficient stocks of Panax notoginseng, Angelica sinensis and other medicines, but we are still short of doctors. I have already gone around to invite doctors, so I hope the princess can rest assured."

"In this regard, your Xie family has always done a good job. This princess is very relieved." Shi Anxia gave affirmation to the Xie family.

She had checked and found that although the Xie family was a merchant family, they were honest and dutiful. Xie Huai was also honest and hardworking. He took care of many matters concerning the disaster in Tiema City, whether it was something he should or should not be involved in.

It can be said that every detail was done to Shi Anxia's satisfaction, saving her a lot of trouble.

She would definitely make use of such a merchant family. She couldn't let them spend money and effort and still feel disappointed.

And according to her people's investigation, Xie Huai did not know Cen Che's true identity and did not intend to collude with the prince of another country.

At best, you can only be considered to have been taken advantage of and deceived.

Of course, if she hadn't been deceived, the Xie family wouldn't have come into her sight. So, although Cen Che had ulterior motives, he had accidentally done a good thing.

Shi Anxia decided to protect the Xie family and reuse the Xie family.

Xie Huai was even more flattered, and hurriedly stood up and saluted, "It is a blessing for the Xie family to have the princess' trust."

Shi Anxia raised her hand to exempt him from the formalities, and asked him to sit down before continuing, "The few useful managers under you are all good. Cao Fu is good at accounting, Chen Song is good at managing warehouses, and Xia Sheng is the best at soothing people. He often tells the victims, 'Don't panic, there will be plenty of hot porridge.'"

Her words shocked Xie Huai so much that he was stunned.

Shi Anxia smiled and explained her intention, "The order in Tiema City is already good. This princess is thinking of borrowing them to go to other cities to help with disaster relief. They are familiar with these things and can also lend a helping hand to the officials in each city."

Upon hearing this, Xie Huai was about to stand up and reply.

Shi Anxia raised her fingertips slightly and lightly pressed to stop his politeness, "Just sit down and talk."

Xie Huai then sat down next to the chair and responded, "These are the shopkeepers of the Xie family. If the princess needs someone, just give me the order and I will arrange it. Their indentures are all in the Xie family, and I will deliver them later."

"No need." Shi Anxia interrupted and gently placed the teacup on the table, "This princess trusts the Xie family. Just take the indenture."

These words were like a bucket of warm water poured on frozen soil, and Xie Huai suddenly felt his throat tighten.

He thought back to those days when Cao Fu and his men had escorted food and medicine and sent doctors to Tiema City and Guicheng overnight, Chen Song had his ten fingers frozen and cracked from counting the food in the granaries, Xia Sheng had squatted in the disaster relief shed and registered the names of the people one by one, and his brothers and men had been traveling back and forth with difficulty.

He originally thought that these trivial achievements would be drowned in the wind and snow.

But the words "This princess trusts the Xie family" were like the sound of nature, and were more precious than any reward.

It was also at this moment that Xie Huai was truly certain that what the princess said to the Xie family was definitely not just polite words, nor was it just a perfunctory response.

From the names she mentioned and the trivial matters she described, it can be seen that every little thing the Xie family did was taken seriously by the princess.

Xie Huai's voice was hoarse, and he lowered his head to adjust his clothes. There were a few spots of dust on his cuffs, which were rubbed off when he personally checked the supplies this morning.

He suddenly felt fortunate that he had not slacked off at all during these days.

The two of them asked and answered each other in a lively atmosphere, leaving Cen Che aside.

In Xie Huai's eyes, the princess is smart and capable, kind and amiable, a woman who is as capable as any man and a person who gets things done.

In Cen Che's eyes, the princess was just pretending to be smart and capable. She was just a puppet, only eloquent. What did a woman know and what could she accomplish?

As the conversation got excited, Shi Anxia mentioned an important event, "The New Year is coming soon. This is the first New Year since Tiema City returned to my North Wing." Her eyes moved and she smiled, "I think we must hold a decent lantern festival in all the cities in Lingzhou."

Here comes the point, cities! Lantern Festivals! They also have to be "acceptable", which one is not asking for money?

Cen Che understood what was happening when he heard this. The princess was asking for too much, and even 100,000 taels of silver could not satisfy her.

Now that the disaster has not been resolved and food and clothing have become a problem, the princess wants to create an atmosphere of "there is still hope in life" for the people.

Where does the money come from? Aren’t they targeting those merchants who invest on their own?

He finally understood that this was an unexpected disaster! He and his elder brother shouldn't have made an appointment to watch the fun that day, and they had booked a private room next to the fourth son of Zheng.

Isn't this just sending a sheep into the tiger's mouth?

Cen Che was in a state of confusion, feeling that the situation was extremely difficult. Even with 100,000 taels of silver, he still couldn't save the person. What should he do?

He had no choice but to ask sincerely, "Princess, how much silver do you think is needed to prepare a lantern festival of this scale?"

Shi Anxia almost laughed out loud at that moment. This Cen Che was really funny. A dignified prince was blackmailed, but he couldn't say anything, and he had to pretend to be sincere.

She liked Cen Che very much. Since she met this boy, she found that he had a kind of stupidity that was clearer and purer than her stupid father.

This guy has a golden eye on his forehead, which is quite likable.

No wonder Emperor Heng in the previous life chose him to be the emperor in a hurry in order to keep Liang State from being in chaos.

"This..." Shi Anxia dragged out the last word, fiddling with the floating leaves with the tea lid, and smiled as she instructed Nan Yan, "Go and invite Mr. Qiu."

In just half a cup of tea, Qiu Zhiyan stepped over the threshold with two rolls of account books, and his blue satin official boots made no sound as they stepped on the blue bricks.

Cen Che stared at Qiu Zhiyan. His white and slender fingers were pinching the blue account book. He was obviously handsome and gentle, but his eyes were so shrewd that it was scary, as if he could draw out a person's soul, press it on the abacus, and skin and dismember it.

His heart skipped a beat and he felt a little nervous.

"I have calculated it." Qiu Zhiyan unfolded the account book, his voice was flat, and he looked like he was doing his job. "The Lantern Festival in the Eight Cities of Lingzhou, not to mention its splendor, was the most shabby event..."

The account books unfolded, densely recording the production of lanterns in each city, the manpower consumption of craftsmen and servants, the expenses of lantern shows and theater tours, and other miscellaneous expenses including public security maintenance and road repairs, totaling 498,576 taels.

Cen Che's eyes widened, "Four hundred and ninety-eight thousand five hundred and seventy-six taels?"

That’s five hundred thousand taels!

Just, take a breath.

He counted unconsciously with his fingers. The number seemed staggering, but when he looked closely at each item, he could find no fault with it. Even the oil consumption of each lantern was calculated based on the consumption of three nights.

Cen Che had to admit that this account was really well done. After the war, supplies were in short supply in the border town and prices were already high, so this amount could even be considered frugal.

Shi Anxia pursed her lips, "Master Qiu, please take a seat."

Qiu Zhiyan sat down as instructed.

Shi Anxia then turned to Cen Che, "With Master Xie's knowledge, you should know that this kind of spending is not extravagant..."