Chapter 58.1 - Hemp vs. Sea Ban

Lan Xiang Courtyard (Fragrant Orchid Courtyard)

Once Wang Qing Lan stepped foot into her room she kicked a chair over.

The two maidservants standing by the door were so scared that they couldn't speak. The door was closed and they couldn't see inside the room, but the sound of tables and chairs falling over was constantly coming. This wasn't the first time that they saw Concubine Wang throwing such a huge tantrum. Before, this happened whenever she suffered a lost to the main wife.

However, Wang Qing Lan was obviously smarter than Fang Jun Ping.

Things like porcelain tea sets and such, if these things were broken then An Zi Ran and Steward Su would eventually find out. But the table and chairs were a different matter. When An Chang Fu favored her, he sent a lot of good things to her courtyard. The table and chairs were made of high quality wood and very resistant to abuse. Every time she got angry she took her anger out on the table and chairs, but they were still not broken.

After venting for a while, Wang Qing Lan let the two maidservants come in to fix up the room.

The table and chairs were returned to their original positions. Although they suffered more dents and scratches, this did not affect the integrity of the furniture.

"You, go call Qi Qiao over here." Wang Qing Lan said to one of the maids. Qi Qiao was her confidant. She followed Wang Qing Lan when she married into the An family and was the only person Wang Qing Lan trusted.

Qi Qiao had not heard about the incident in the dining room yet. She only knew that Wang Qing Lan was looking for her, so she hurried over. Once she arrived in the room she sent the other two maids out and carefully closed the door. Then she turned around to face Wang Qing Lan. "Madam, what happened?" She was the only one who addressed Wang Qing Lan as Madam and not as Concubine Wang.

Wang Qing Lan gave her a brief explanation of what happened in the dining hall.

Qi Qiao thought for a bit and then said, "Madam, about the second young master, it's better not to mention anything about him in the future. The young master is shrewd. He won't let you take care of the second young master. If you persist it will only make him more wary of you."

"He has never relaxed his guard around me," Wang Qing Lan sneered. She wasn't a vapid bimbo. She had taken note of An Zi Ran's transformation. Compared to before, he was now a hundred times more astute. This type of person was the hardest to deceive. "Today, he suddenly said those words, obviously he's saying that he suspects us of harming him."

Qi Qiao nodded. "Madam is right."

An ominous glint flickered in Wang Qing Lan's eyes. "If we knew that it would become like this, then at that time…"

"Madam!" Qi Qiao suddenly shouted.

Wang Qing Lan quickly swallowed down the rest of her words.

Qi Qiao whispered, "Madam, these words definitely cannot be said. Be careful of eavesdroppers." Regardless of whether the young master had ears around the house or not, being careful was always the best policy.

……

At the same time, An Zi Ran arrived at his room with Fu Wu Tian. The two servants standing by the door were sent away. Only the two of them were left inside the room. An Zi Ran closed the door and turned around to the eyes of Fu Wu Tian. "There's something I want to talk to you about."

Fu Wu Tian's eyebrows arched precipitously. "That's all?"

An Zi Ran calmly countered, "If not, what else do you think there is?"

Fu Wu Tian stared at him for a long while, and eventually he actively shifted the topic. "Nothing. What does wang fei want to tell this prince?" It seems that it will still take some time to win wang fei over.

"Is there a way to lift the sea ban in Da Ya?" An Zi Ran asked.

Hearing this sentence, Fu Wu Tian arched an eyebrow in surprise. "Why did wang fei ask this question?"

The sea ban in Da Ya was issued a few years after the Chong Ming Emperor was enthroned. When the sea ban came out, many businessmen mourned at the time, especially the merchants who depended on the sea routes to buy and sell goods. As a result of the prohibition, many businessmen's lives were ruined. At the time, it was a topic of hot debate, but the Chong Ming Emperor was resolute in his attitude. Even though there were ministers that advised against it, he was still determined to execute it.

As of today, the sea ban policy has been implemented for more than a decade.

Although there were still businessmen who were interested in trading by sea, they also knew that it was a taboo in the heart of the Chong Ming Emperor to lift the sea ban, so it was nearly impossible to lift it, not unless a new emperor was enthroned.

However, the sea ban did not mean that all foreign ports were closed. There were still several ports that were engaged in foreign trade, but the vessels allowed to go out to sea could only be official ships.

It's not that An Zi Ran wanted to have a sea trade business. Although the profit of maritime trade was huge, he did not have the prerequisites at the moment. So the idea could only be placed on the backburner.

"Because I want to have someone go out to sea to help me find something."