In the afternoon, Zhou Qiangwei arrived, this time accompanied by Song Xin. The two elders were stopped at the entrance again!
Their words and tone were the same, not deviating an inch from what Bai He had learned from her!
Zhou Qiangwei, with her quick wit, spoke first, "Sir soldier, you've misunderstood. My husband and I are here to visit the old madam. We heard she made sweet and sour pickled cucumbers, very crisp and tender. We're not used to so much meat, we just want to try some. Please go and announce us!"
The guard at the gate saw through her intentions at a glance. Just as he was about to refuse, he heard Song Xin, the former prime minister, loudly scolding him, "Aren't you going to announce us? Is this how the prince teaches you manners?"
The guard at the gate said aggrievedly, "No..."
"Then hurry up! Are you waiting for me to make a scene before you'll go?" Song Xin, for the first time, resorted to a tantrum!
Zhou Qiangwei quickly tugged at her old man and smiled at the troubled guard, "Look, the prince ordered that the princess is not to be seen, but he didn't order that the old madam is not to be seen, right? You wouldn't be disobeying the imperial decree! If this matter escalates, the prince will surely give my husband some face, and then you..."
They would be scapegoats!
The guard heard this and realized it made sense. He turned a blind eye and let them in!
The elderly couple paid their respects to the old madam and learned from her that the princess had a miscarriage!
Zhang Cuihua clutched her chest, sighing with heartache, "Alas, Qi Qi has truly suffered a great deal. She bled so much that the mattress was soaked through. Hao'er is very worried now. Not only won't he let Qi Qi get out of bed, but he won't even let her get out of that bed. The couple has been arguing for the past two days!"
Zhou Qiangwei, being a woman, knew how much a miscarriage could harm the body, and she echoed with a sigh, "No wonder the guards wouldn't let us in. We had to resort to both threats and persuasion to get in!"
Zhang Cuihua smiled and nodded at her, "You're the smartest, and you're also the most thoughtful!"
The two chatted for a while longer, then left their gifts behind. They did not go to see the miscarriage-stricken princess in the Peony Garden, knowing she was safe was enough!
Meanwhile, in the Peony Garden!
Her two sons were lying on the bed chatting with Zhao Jiaqi. The two boys seemed to have coordinated, both trying to cheer her up!
With their company, the days passed relatively quickly!
In the afternoon, Fan Zehao returned with a dark expression. Zhao Jiaqi merely glanced at him, thinking he was making a mountain out of a molehill. She had a miscarriage, and it was understandable that she wasn't allowed out of her room, but not being allowed out of bed? She wasn't lame!
"Listen, you'd better get those people in the room to..."
"According to the intelligence received, the snowfall this year has generally decreased, and some places are experiencing a warm winter with no snow at all!"
His sudden news stunned Zhao Jiaqi. After a moment of thought, she finally reacted!
"Then we should prepare for it as soon as possible!" she paused, then added, "Fortunately, we prepared a reservoir a few years ago. When spring comes, if the first rain is a bit late, we'll open the sluice gates to store water in advance!"
Fan Zehao nodded silently, "That's what I was thinking. If there's normal rainfall, we can release the water then. If... we must ensure the grain harvest!"
He finished speaking and paused, worrying, "There is grain, but what about water?"
This was a significant challenge!
Zhao Jiaqi fell silent, "This problem is too difficult. Let me think!"
The weather was too hot, and the river water would evaporate. If the water in the reservoir was fine, she could find a way to filter out clean water!
But without a water source, even with all her methods, it would be useless!
After thinking all night, Zhao Jiaqi came up with many ideas, but none of them seemed feasible. In the end, she decided to use a rather clumsy method to solve it!
The next morning, she told him about the most clumsy method she could think of!
"I don't have any good solutions at the moment. Right now, there's only one way to solve the water problem!"
He hadn't slept well either because of this matter. Hearing that his wife had a solution, he was overjoyed!
"You say it, I'm listening!"
He listened very attentively, even perking up his ears, focusing intently, lest he miss anything!
"The clumsiest method is to turn water into ice and store it!" This was the clumsy method she had thought of all night!
He stroked his stubbled chin and pondered for a moment, "This method is feasible. However, this would mean that the ice-making technology would have to be made public. The loss for elder brother and sister-in-law would not be insignificant!"
Zhao Jiaqi also considered this, "If a bit of money is lost to save everyone's lives, this loss is not a loss. I will make it up to elder brother and sister-in-law from other places!"
Money can be earned again, but a life lost cannot be bought back with money!
"I'll think about it more. I'll see if ice-making is managed by each region or uniformly by the prefectural city. Whichever is more convenient and efficient, we'll do it that way!"
Zhao Jiaqi glanced at him, puzzled. Such a simple matter, and he still needed to ponder?
"Of course, it's managed by each region. Village chief, town chief, county magistrate, prefect, and then up the hierarchy!"
Fan Zehao frowned, sensing his wife's annoyance. He explained, "It will definitely be managed this way, but what I mean is, after each region below the prefectural city reserves their needs, the prefectural city will also prepare an extra amount for the entire city's ice usage, to ensure there are no accidents!"
This way, they wouldn't be caught off guard, and it would also be a precaution. It might even save lives in the future!
Zhao Jiaqi misunderstood his intentions and smiled sheepishly, "Your method is good. However, we also need to reserve grain in advance. While the price of grain hasn't risen, we should stock up in advance, buying as much as possible from the vassal states, but we must be careful not to alert them!"
Fan Zehao understood and quickly thought of reliable people. After some thought, he felt that his godfather, Wu Lifeng, was the most suitable!
"Let godfather and Xie Kun do the collecting. One knows how to handle grain for making wine, and the other is specialized in trade. It would be most appropriate for Xie Kun to handle it!"
These two are definitely capable. Zhao Jiaqi gave him a thumbs-up, "That's great! Then you go now. Buy as much as you can. Even if there's no drought, this grain won't go to waste, and it won't get stuck in our hands!"
He believed this. He instructed her a few times and then left!
The woman on the bed stretched her waist, slipped on her shoes, and got out of bed. Hearing the sound of footsteps, the people outside wanted to stop her but dared not. They couldn't compare to Su Ya, and they feared that if their mistress got angry, she would sell them off!
One by one, they lowered their heads, feigned deafness and blindness, wishing they could do some strenuous work rather than stay in this warm room watching their mistress suffer!
Soon, Su Ya came with steaming bird's nest soup. Seeing her mistress out of bed, she smiled, "Your body isn't well, why aren't you lying in bed longer? Getting up too early, be careful not to catch a cold!"
"I've been lying down for days, my bones are about to fall apart. If I lie down any longer, I'll probably go back to being an infant and won't be able to walk!"
Rarely, Zhao Jiaqi was in a good mood and made a joke!
She had been confined for so many days that she felt she was about to become useless. While drinking the bird's nest soup, she hadn't forgotten that there were still several important matters to attend to!
"Go and invite elder brother and sister-in-law here. I have something to discuss!"
Su Ya was a little surprised, "Now?"
"Yes!"
Seeing that her mistress spoke little, Su Ya withdrew from the room!