Chapter 1242: Disharmony between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law!

After Xiao Ba was born, Ye Cui first gave him a series of precious objects such as a longevity lock, and later gave him a three-story house in Yijingdong City worth tens of thousands of taels of silver. Such treatment made many people envious!

You should know that this was the treatment that Jingren, the eldest son, did not have when he was born. For this reason, many people were curious why Xiao Ba, who was just born not long ago, could win the favor of Ye Cui so quickly.

Although everyone else was confused and curious, Murong Qingwu knew very well that this was more of a compensation and balance from Ye Cui than a favor from her!

Six hours after she gave birth to Xiao Ba, the news that her father Murong Yuliang had an accident spread like wildfire in the Ye Mansion, and many people were talking about it. If they said that there was no one behind the scenes doing something fishy, ​​they would be kidding!
And everyone knows who is the one who is doing this little trick!

I believe that Ye Cui was also very dissatisfied with this little trick. After all, she had issued an order to keep the news secret in the mansion so as not to affect her pregnancy at the time and her future confinement.

Therefore, An Miaoyi's action undoubtedly violated Ye Cui's orders and went against Ye Cui's ideas, making Ye Cui somewhat embarrassed!
Before this incident, Ye Cui was dissatisfied with An Miaoyi's perfunctory and neglectful attitude towards her on a series of issues, such as donating to the temple and refusing to say hello to Liu Ning. So this incident became a fuse, making Ye Cui think of warning An Miaoyi...
Murong Qingwu believed that Ye Cui wanted An Miaoyi to understand that although she held all the power in the Ye Mansion, she had to listen to her!

Although she had this idea, Ye Cui had to be careful about the methods and ways when she was beating An Miaoyi, especially the strength. If the strength was too light, An Miaoyi would not feel any pain, but if the strength was too heavy, An Miaoyi would be completely irritated, causing the relationship between the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law to break down.

Now Ye Cui and An Miaoyi have great common interests, and the consensus between the two is greater than their differences, so Ye Cui must be careful to know the right degree of pressure. She must use just the right amount of force to make An Miaoyi feel nervous, but she must not make An Miaoyi angry.

So Ye Cui finally chose to pamper Xiao Ba. Feeling Ye Cui's thoughts, Murong Qingwu was very disdainful in her heart. Ye Cui might think that her method was very clever. She not only warned An Miaoyi but also won herself over. It could be said that she killed two birds with one stone!
Then she would use herself to create a sense of urgency in An Miaoyi's heart, and eventually make her obey the "Queen Mother" completely!
But she underestimated An Miaoyi and herself. Although she was very disdainful in her heart, the situation was stronger than she was. So when facing Ye Cui, Murong Qingwu still showed gratitude and was determined to listen to her mother-in-law in everything from then on.

Murong Qingwu has her own ideas. Since the empress dowager wants to check and balance An Miaoyi herself, she should not think about getting rid of herself easily with a few things and a house. She should at least help her get the power to assist in managing the affairs of the mansion!

Although An Miaoyi and Ye Cui, the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, still seem to be close at this time, a rift has already appeared between them. As time goes by in the future, Murong Qingwu believes that the rift between them will become bigger and bigger, and this will give her the opportunity to take advantage of the situation!
Without Ye Cui's strong backing, An Miaoyi's life will never be as good as it is now...

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Jiangnan, Lin'an

Ye Mingsheng, who was dressed in casual clothes in Plum Blossom Villa, was about to walk out of the room with a few guards who were also dressed in casual clothes when he encountered Song Haibo and Ye Kui, a pair of generals.

"Sir, are you going on a private visit?" Ye Kui bowed and asked:

Upon hearing this, Ye Mingsheng said in a deep voice:

"Do I need to report to you two where I'm going?"

Before Ye Mingsheng finished speaking, Song Haibo and Ye Kui immediately knelt down with their heads bowed. Song Haibo reported to Ye Mingsheng:

"Sir, we dare not interfere with your whereabouts, but the son of a wealthy family cannot sit still in the hall, so please bring more guards with you!"

Upon hearing this, Ye Mingsheng glanced at the people accompanying him and immediately asked:
"Zhang Chong, can you protect me?"

Hearing Ye Mingsheng's question, the leading guard immediately said:

"I swear to protect the Marshal's safety until my death!"

Ye Mingsheng nodded slightly when he heard this and looked at Song Haibo again. Just when Song Haibo was about to say something, Ye Kui, the commander of the guard camp, said:

"Sir, although Zhang Chong and his men are highly skilled in martial arts and very loyal, Jiangnan is a mixed bag with many different races on the streets, so please give me some time and let me send more people to ensure your safety!"

Ye Mingsheng couldn't help but frowned slightly when he heard this. He still remembered vividly how deserted the streets were when he first entered Lin'an, so he didn't want this to happen again...
It has been some time since he came to Lin'an in Jiangnan. He has also listened to the opinions of the wealthy businessmen, officials, and gentry in Jiangnan through some channels, but Ye Mingsheng has not heard the voices of ordinary workers, farmers, and small vendors.

When he just arrived in Jiangnan, Ye Mingsheng gave Zhu Chen an order, which was to ask him to find some representatives from various industries in Jiangnan. Ye Mingsheng wanted to hold a meeting to let them express their ideas on the current situation in Jiangnan and look forward to the future situation in Jiangnan.

Zhu Chen also reacted quickly to Ye Mingsheng's explanation and soon found a group of people. However, although he reacted quickly, he could not understand Ye Mingsheng's thoughts, and he himself had a strong habit of GL. The group of people he found sang praises. They almost praised Ye Mingsheng as the first saint in the creation of the world, as if Ye Mingsheng was their sun and they could not live without Ye Mingsheng!
Although Zhu Chen did this to flatter Ye Mingsheng and please him, Ye Mingsheng was not impressed by this kind of exaggerated performance and words. On the contrary, he was very disgusted with it. He immediately stopped the performance and criticized Zhu Chen's actions, asking Zhu Chen to focus on his work and not do these things that were not presentable.

Zhu Chen also conducted a profound review of Ye Mingsheng’s criticism, and expressed his intention to reconvene the meeting, but Ye Mingsheng found it difficult to trust him anymore, so he let Song Haibo take charge of this work and let Zhu Chen focus on the work of the Governor General...

As a close minister who has been with Ye Mingsheng for many years, Song Haibo has a deep understanding of Ye Mingsheng's thoughts, so he has organized the ideas and suggestions of gentry, wealthy businessmen, and officials very well.

However, Ye Mingsheng did not ask Song Haibo to collect the ideas of workers, farmers, small vendors, handicraftsmen, sailors, fishermen and other working people. This is not to say that Ye Mingsheng did not trust Song Haibo, but Ye Mingsheng wanted to experience and hear the ideas of these grassroots people with his own ears!
One of the important purposes of Ye Mingsheng's southern tour this time is that Ye Mingsheng wants to go deep into the grassroots level to see how the lives of the people of Da Zhou have changed under his series of reform measures, whether their income has increased, whether they can eat three full meals a day, whether they can buy a few sets of clothes, whether the SF environment has improved, and whether the public security situation has improved!
Although Ye Mingsheng has always been concerned about the situation in this area and has listened and paid attention through various channels, some things still need to be seen with one's own eyes and heard with one's own ears in order to have the most real understanding!
Ye Mingsheng had always wanted to see the prosperity of Lin'an and see what the World Trade Center was like. However, when he entered Lin'an City that day, the deserted streets poured cold water on Ye Mingsheng, making him realize that if he wanted to see the most real Lin'an, he had to do it by making a secret visit!

So after finishing today’s work, Ye Mingsheng planned to take advantage of today’s free time to stroll around Lin’an as a tourist. Knowing that Song Haibo and Ye Kui would definitely not agree, Ye Mingsheng didn’t bother to inform them at all. He just wanted to have fun with Zhang Chong and the others. However, he didn’t expect that he would be stopped by these two people in the end...

Seeing Ye Mingsheng didn't say anything, Song Haibo and Ye Kui looked at each other, and then Song Haibo said:
"Marshal, how about this? Commander Ye Kui will lead a group of people to follow you, and I will lead some people to follow you. This way, you can relax on the outside and tighten your grip on the inside, and it won't hinder you from understanding the people's sentiments. We promise not to disturb your interest!"

Ye Mingsheng also knew that Song Haibo and Ye Kui were concerned about his own safety. When he had previously made an incognito visit to Huainan, although everything went smoothly and he did not encounter any danger, he returned one day later than the scheduled date, which scared Song Haibo and Ye Kui enough. That's why these two people kept clinging to him like this!

Feeling the earnest looks of Song Haibo and Ye Kui, Ye Mingsheng nodded helplessly. Just like that, surrounded and protected by more than thirty guards, Ye Mingsheng came to the streets of Lin'an.

Although Ye Mingsheng and his group were all in plain clothes, because Ye Mingsheng's personal guards were all well-trained martial artists with great martial arts skills, when these people walked on the street, it was obvious that they were not easy to mess with, and the pedestrians on the street all walked around Ye Mingsheng and his group.

Soon Ye Mingsheng and his party arrived at Sihai Street, the most prosperous and lively street in Lin'an City. At this time, some foreigners appeared on the street, including white people, native people from Southeast Asia, and people from Dongdao wearing kimonos and wooden clogs.

What surprised Ye Mingsheng the most was that there were dozens of black people in simple clothes, wearing handcuffs and shackles, standing dejectedly on the street, and next to them was a blond and blue-eyed white man holding a whip and talking business with a Da Zhou businessman in the somewhat clumsy Da Zhou dialect.

"Master Wang, look at their muscles. These black slaves are very strong. If you buy them back, they will plow the fields like cattle. Besides, they can also fight for you. They will do whatever you ask them to do!"

“One of these black slaves only costs ten taels of silver. Is there a better deal than this? If you buy ten of them, I will give those two women to you…”

"Mr. Smith, I am a businessman. I don't need them to fight for me. I just need them to carry goods for me at the dock. So ten taels of silver per person is too expensive. How about five taels of silver per person?"

"NO! NO! Five taels of silver per person is robbery! I brought them here from a distant continent. I spent a lot of time and energy. Five taels of silver per person is absolutely unacceptable!"

"How about six taels of silver per person? That's a fair price, Mr. Smith!"

"Manager Wang, you damn miser, you must give me at least eight taels of silver. If you give me less than eight taels of silver, don't even think about taking them away from me!"

Hearing Smith lowering the price, Shopkeeper Wang also raised the price to seven taels of silver and tried to reach a deal with Smith at this price. However, Smith insisted on eight taels of silver and was unwilling to compromise again. Seeing this, Shopkeeper Wang put the deal on hold and turned away from the stall.

Watching the back of Shopkeeper Wang leaving, Smith wiped the sweat from his forehead and muttered:
"Damned Grandet! Go to hell with your silver!"

After saying this, Smith noticed Ye Mingsheng, who was observing his stall with great interest. Seeing Ye Mingsheng dressed respectably and surrounded by dozens of guards, Smith immediately put on a bright smile and continued to speak in the somewhat unclear Da Zhou official language:
"Sir, I am Smith from Tudor. These are the black slaves I brought from a distant continent. They are very good laborers. They can grow cotton and plow fields for you. They are the best slaves. They are gentle and love to work. One piece of black bread can make them work for a whole day!"

"Such good slaves only cost ten taels of silver each. If you buy ten, I can also give you two women as a gift. What do you think?"

Ye Mingsheng nodded and asked:
"Mr. Smith, can you tell me how you came to Da Zhou?"

Facing Ye Mingsheng's question, Smith wiped the sweat from his forehead and said without hesitation:
"Sir, I came here by boat..."

(End of this chapter)