Mingzhu was heartbroken.
Because this pomegranate was so valuable, she had been feeling uneasy ever since she received it, thinking that she would give it to Yanran as part of her dowry when Yanran got married.
Unexpectedly, Yingying threw him.
Ren Yingying frantically tried to catch it, but failed. She watched as the pomegranate fell to the ground, chipping several gemstones.
But when she reached out to pick it up, her eyes widened in surprise.
After a few pomegranate seeds were knocked off, the surface of the pomegranate took on the shape of a flower.
The flower was clearly the same one she had seen on the mysterious box in Prince of Min's Residence.
"Mingzhu, look!" Ren Yingying exclaimed excitedly, "Doesn't it look exactly like the flower on the box?"
Mingzhu had seen the box before, and upon hearing this, she took a closer look and was also shocked.
They are exactly the same.
"Could this pomegranate be the key to opening the box?" Mingzhu murmured.
Ren Yingying: "I think so."
Even after all this, she still can eat this pomegranate.
Mingzhu said, "Then let's take it and try it?"
Who would have thought that this fall would reveal an answer that had puzzled everyone for so long?
"Wait a minute," Ren Yingying said, "The box is still with Qu Nian; you keep Shiliu safe for now, I'll go discuss it with Tangbao first."
What if they find treasure inside after opening it? Wouldn't that be a windfall for Qu Nian?
Mingzhu exclaimed in surprise, "But that box originally belonged to the Prince of Min's Residence, didn't it?"
"The box is his, that's true, but could he have opened it without us?"
Sharing half when we meet, no problem, right?
Mingzhu said somewhat uncertainly, "It's not certain that it can be opened; there's probably a hidden mechanism involved."
The lock doesn't look like a lock, and the key doesn't look like a key; they only have the same pattern. We can be roughly certain that they are related, but we can't be sure that they can actually be matched to open the box.
Moreover, Mingzhu no longer dares to keep the pomegranate.
After discussing it, the two returned the pomegranate to Tang Zhuyun.
Tang Zhuyun found this strange, and after thinking for a moment, said, "Let's see how the Prince handles it later."
Prince of Jin: What can I do?
Of course, I took the pomegranate and mercilessly mocked Qu Nian.
When Qu Nian heard that Ren Yingying had given the pomegranate to Tang Zhuyun instead of giving it to her, she was furious.
--This idiot, can't he even tell the difference between inside and outside?!
Who's her family?
However, after struggling for a long time, Prince of Jin and Qu Nian still couldn't open the box.
Finally Qu Nian collapsed onto the ground, exhausted. "Forget it, let those two women do their thing. I think they're actually quite lucky."
Prince of Jin: "You mean Ren Yingying?"
"What, you know your princess isn't as lucky as Yingying?" Qu Nian laughed smugly.
"It's known that Ren Yingying stepped on the dog..."
Qu Nian: "!"
A scholar should be viewed with new eyes after three days' separation; after several years apart, the Prince of Prince of Jin has honed his eloquence.
"Sizzle--"
Qu Nian suddenly tensed up, looking down intently at his crotch.
The Prince of Jin had just torn open a handkerchief, saw his action and asked in confusion, "What's wrong with you?"
Qu Nian gritted her teeth and said, "Why are you tearing your handkerchief like that!"
"I was thinking of tying it to a pomegranate to see if I could get anything, but the handkerchief is too wide to tie... What happened to you? Are you impotent?"
Qu Nian: "You're the one who's no good!"
The Prince of Jin said unkindly, "Dog Meat was a female dog before. So, after all these changes, I wouldn't be surprised if you turned into a woman."
Qu Nian: "... can pee farther than you!"
"That's really something, just like my son's wish when he was five."
Qu Nian was utterly defeated.
The two tried again, but to no avail, and finally gave up.
No matter how close the pomegranate was to the Zidu, it was to no avail.
Qu Nian said, "I'll write to my father and ask him if he knows about this."
The Prince of Jin nodded.
These belonged to the Prince's residence, and he didn't intend to take them for himself, but he was genuinely curious.
He then asked Tang Zhuyun to write a letter to Madam Yan to inquire further about the origin of the pomegranate.
Qu Nian asked the Prince of Jin a private question.
The Prince of Jin looked at him and smiled meaningfully, "You yourself are a man, and you're not even sure if you're Shang Ke to par. How can you compare yourself to Ren Yingying, a woman?"
Qu Nian: Lao Tzu was speechless.
He's so stupid, really.
He abruptly changed the subject, forcing a conversation into serious business.
The Prince of Jin, however, did not kick him while he was down. Instead, he went along with his words, saying, "... With advance preparation, provisions are not a problem."
What if it drags on for another year?
As commanders, they all understood the importance of supplies.
The Prince of Jin said, "A year is still Shang Ke."
Qu Nian immediately felt a little envious. "No need for the imperial court to allocate any more funds?"
Getting money from the imperial court is not easy.
"Yes, no."
Qu Nian gasped, "Where did you get so much money?"
The Prince of Jin raised an eyebrow. "You betrayed a subordinate."
Qu Nian naturally didn't believe it. "If that's the case, I'll sell a hundred."
The Prince of Jin, "Your thousand are not worth as much as one of mine."
"Who?"
" On the Huaishang."
"Wasn't that your right-hand man? Who did you sell him to?"
"The literary family of Jiangnan."
Qu Nian was shocked. "The Wen Family?"
"Um."
"The Wen Family also sent silver to the Prince of Min's Residence."
"It's perfectly normal for merchant families like this to be so adept at navigating social situations," Prince of Jin said casually.
Qu Nian, feeling a bit envious, said, "But now, you've firmly tied the Wen Family to your ship."
Supporting an army would have required the entire Wen Family's resources.
The Prince of Jin said, "That's one way to put it."
Qu Nian: "..."
This guy is just trying to annoy me.
The Prince of Jin said, "If you can help me, then I plan to drive the Northern Yi back to their homeland in one fell swoop."
That's quite a boast.
Qu Nian stared at him. "What do you want to do?"
Although the Prince of Jin joked with him and didn't seem serious, Qu Nian knew that he was a man of great ambition and not someone to be underestimated.
"In the next few years, we probably won't have the resources to deal with them, so we might as well scare them into submission once and for all."
"Can't free your hands? You think..." Qu Nian pointed to the sky.
The Prince of Jin laughed, "Otherwise, what did you think?"
Qu Nian pursed her lips. "I didn't expect you to dare say it."
"What's there to be afraid of in front of you? After all, who knows when you'll turn into a dog again."
Qu Nian: Damn it, can't we even have a proper conversation?
"Consort De is making a move," Prince of Jin said calmly, but his eyes were deep and dark. "I never took her seriously before; I underestimated her."
"Consort De? The Duke Meng's Residence's mansion, didn't your brother-in-law marry Meng Yulan?"
They're all related by marriage, so why isn't Consort De helping Prince of Jin?
Not only did she not help, Consort De has now taken the Eighth Prince under her wing, showing a subtle trend of challenging Prince of Jin's authority.
The Prince of Jin said, "No reason is needed; the fact is, she does indeed have feelings for him."
The reason is not important, because it could also be that the emperor indulged him; but the result is what it is.
Beset by internal and external troubles, we have no choice but to face them.
Qu Nian was also straightforward, "Tell me, how can I help you? After I get married, I'll do everything I can to help you!"
Prince of Jin: Sure enough, he won't act until he sees the rabbit.