An Lingrong's Rebirth: The Lock of Qingqiu

Chapter 403 Counteroffer

After hearing this, the emperor frowned slightly, as if he was thinking deeply. He spoke slowly, with a firm voice: "Lord Xia, you are right. But what I want is not immortality, but to spend my life with Rong'er. I am older than her, and I don't want to die before her, leaving her alone to face the hardships of the world. Since she entered the palace, my heart has only been with her, and there is no room for other women. I know that such favor may make others in the palace jealous, but at the moment, I can no longer care about so much."

An Lingrong felt a warm current in her heart when she heard the emperor's words. The emperor's favor made her feel happy and terrified. Seven out of ten days, the emperor would stay in her palace and spend the night with her. And those who were disrespectful to Li Huang Guifei were severely punished by the emperor and never tolerated.

She had always dreamed of being favored by the emperor, but she had never dared to imagine being favored exclusively by him. Apart from accompanying the emperor wholeheartedly, she could not think of any other way to repay him.

After a few days of getting along, An Lingrong found that the emperor was not good at the details of life except governing the country and handling state affairs. He couldn't cook, wash clothes, and even needed her to teach him how to make firewood. She couldn't help thinking that if the emperor was to wander around, even the most basic survival would be a problem.

So, An Lingrong had an idea in her mind. She wanted to take advantage of this southern tour to let the emperor experience real life and let him know the hardships and difficulties of life.

On the farm, An Lingrong was busy washing dishes. She asked the emperor to remove the extra firewood from the kitchen, but the emperor looked at her dirty hands and said with some disgust: "Rong'er, my hands are so dirty."

The emperor usually does no rough work, his hands are clean and white, and he lives a life of luxury.

An Lingrong brought him to the pool and said nothing. She just took the emperor's hand and rubbed it on the stone slab beside the pool for a few times. Then she dipped his hand into the pool water to wash it, and then rubbed his hand on the stone slab for a few more times. She repeated this process over and over again. After a while, the emperor's hands were as white as before.

An Lingrong said softly, "Okay, Fourth Master, your hands are so clean!"

The emperor looked at An Lingrong's back as she turned around and went back to work. She washed the dishes, cleaned the stove, and moved the extra firewood outside. She was just like an ordinary woman, hardworking and willing to endure hardships.

The emperor was moved. After washing his hands, he stared at the several delicious and plump carps in the pond.

He whispered, "Rong'er, there are so many big carps in this pond. I wonder if the taste will be different from that in the palace?"

An Lingrong chuckled and shook her head. She knew that once the emperor saw these fresh poultry, he would be unable to resist tasting them. The poultry in the palace were all processed dishes. Although they were delicious, they were not as real as the lively poultry in front of him.

The emperor looked at the carp in the pond and the turtles beside it with great interest. He counted them excitedly: "One, two, three... There are a total of eighteen turtles, enough for us to eat for a while."

An Lingrong couldn't help laughing out loud: "Fourth Master, why are you thinking about food all the time? This is a farm, and the owner is doing business. Although we can borrow their cooking utensils to cook, we have to pay for these ingredients. Such a big turtle must be very expensive! I wonder if Fourth Master has brought enough money for this trip to Jiangnan?"

The emperor touched his waist and shook his head, saying, "The world belongs to the Fourth Master, and all the bastards in the world belong to the Fourth Master. Money has never been something that the Fourth Master should consider."

The emperor looked up at Xia Qian and said, "Master Xia, have you kept all the banknotes? I want to take all the turtles here back!"

Xia Qian touched his chest and said, "Fourth Master, the banknotes are all wet, useless, useless, and can't be used. I still have some silver on me, but the amount is not that much!"

The Emperor glared at him: "How could you be so careless?!"

An Lingrong, who was standing by, laughed softly when she heard this.

After a while, the farm owner came over. He was of medium height, honest and simple, holding a big abacus and a stack of yellowed papers.

An Lingrong smiled at the emperor and said, "Fourth Master, the boss is here to settle the accounts."

The emperor said disapprovingly, "Count the bill? Well, we ate a chicken, ten pieces of tofu, and several kilograms of Chinese cabbage. It's a pity that we didn't eat the carp and turtle. Master, can you calculate how much it cost?"

The boss unceremoniously calculated, and after a moment he said, "Master, the waterproof coat you wear when you go to the fields costs five taels of silver each time, and plowing the fields costs ten taels of silver each time."

An Lingrong interrupted, "Tsk, tsk, tsk, ten taels of silver, isn't that too expensive?"

Seeing this, An Lingrong quickly pulled the emperor's arm, signaling him to bargain.

The boss said calmly, "Master, I know you are a rich man just by looking at your attire. Why would a rich man care about such a small amount of money? Our farm is for experiencing life, we don't need you to till the fields. Looking at your attire, you must be from the capital, right? I guess you have never been to the fields or tilled the land before?"

The boss continued to calculate: "A chicken costs fifteen taels of silver, a piece of tofu costs one tael of silver, ten pieces of tofu cost ten taels of silver, a head of Chinese cabbage costs five taels of silver... and the bowls, chopsticks, iron pot, and firewood all cost twenty taels of silver. A total of sixty-five taels of silver."

An Lingrong couldn't help but smack her lips after hearing this and said, "I just had a meal here and you want to charge me 65 taels of silver? Do you want to blackmail me because I look like a rich person? I will never let you go!"

The owner put away the account book and said in defense, "My dear girl, I have received many dignitaries since my farm opened, and no one has ever said that my food is expensive. The ingredients here are different from those outside, and they are mainly for experiencing life. These cabbages are just pulled out of the ground and put into the pot, which is much fresher and more delicious than those bought outside. Once you have tasted it, you will know how delicious it is."

An Lingrong said dissatisfiedly: "It's just a cabbage. I can easily transport a truckload from other places, and it's much cheaper than what you have here! Your charges are unreasonable and will disrupt market rules!"

After much persuasion, An Lingrong finally lowered the price a little, but still wanted fifty taels of silver, so Xia Qian paid fifty taels of silver.

On the way back, the emperor said cautiously, "Rong'er, we are here to experience life. This fifty taels of silver is not expensive. You won't be angry, will you?"

An Lingrong smiled and said, "Fourth Master, how could I be angry? I am just used to bargaining with merchants. Merchants in this world are all thinking about making money."

The emperor said softly, "The money is a small matter, but Rong'er's happiness is a big matter. I think the fifty taels of silver are really worth it!"