Traveling through ancient times: starting with live streaming

Chapter 351 Goodbye First Identity

Zhong Yu couldn't help sighing whenever he mentioned the imperial taxes: "I heard that the Jin Caosi has come up with a lot of tax items since the beginning of the year, and some of the original taxes have also been raised. Now not only is it difficult to do business, but the people's lives are also more difficult."

"The war is over, so some taxes should be abolished." Zhou Chang's fingers tapped on the table.

Although he said so, he couldn't help but think of the scene at the New Year's Eve banquet. At that time, someone had already impatiently suggested that the Jin Caosi find a way to collect taxes to fill the national treasury.

Zhong Yu shook his head repeatedly. If he hadn't been a scholar, he would have cursed in public: "It is precisely because the names of 'population donation' and 'military donation' have disappeared that we have to come up with other names to fill the gaps."

"Bang..." Zhou Chang's tapping of his fingers turned into pounding his fists. He was always in a bad mood when it came to New Year's Eve banquets. "Is this going to end?"

Emotional energy seems to be conserved. When Zhou Chang gets excited, Zhong Yu becomes calm instead.

Zhong Yu shook his head and advised Zhou Chang: "Your Highness, don't get excited. It has always been like this. No matter how hard life is for the people, they still have to live, and no matter how difficult business is, they have to continue. I don't know if there will be a day when things will change."

"Mr. Zhong, do you know how the Yuan family's business is doing? Has it been affected?" Zhou Chang thought of the Yuan family again. These days, she had focused all her energy on Liu E's affairs and had never asked about Yuan Qi's business.

Compared with the Yuan family's, Prince Yi's business is just a small one.

"Not right, not right..." It would have been fine if Zhong Yu didn't mention it, but as soon as he mentioned it, he shook his head.

Zhou Chang's heart tightened: "What's wrong?"

"I heard that the prince is doing business in partnership with the Yuan family?" Zhong Yu has been worried about this for a long time.

"Uh..., not really..." Zhou Chang denied. She had not discussed this matter with Zhong Yu before. "It's just that the dowry brought by the princess has to be taken care of. I gave some ideas, but the princess is still doing the business herself."

Zhong Yu was obviously not satisfied with this answer: "Did the prince allow me to use the name of Prince Yi's Mansion?"

"What do you mean?" Zhou Chang couldn't help but think about this question. Yuan Qi had only mentioned it casually before, and she had never thought about it seriously.

"Not right, not right..." Zhong Yulian shook his head and stroked his beard. "The imperial court has issued a clear order to prohibit royal family members and officials from doing business privately. Although this ban is in name only and everyone does it privately, if Your Majesty does it in such a high-profile manner, I'm afraid he will be criticized."

"Well, Mr. Zhong is right." Zhou Chang also knew that every time Zhong Yu spoke, the words following "not appropriate, not appropriate" made sense, but what could she do.

Zhong Yu was the biggest "creditor". She had no way of speaking, but if she wanted to make money, she had to take some risks. Then she thought, "But does the princess's dowry count? These businesses are not nominally owned by Prince Yi's Mansion."

"The princesses belong to the prince, so why doesn't the dowry count?" Zhong Yu said very directly.

This statement really went against Zhou Chang's "common sense", and he couldn't help but ask: "The princess is originally from a merchant family, and her dowry is a business. Does it mean that all women whose dowries include shops cannot do business?"

Zhong Yuchang said, "How can they be the same? If it is just real estate or land, it is fine to collect rent, and even if it is cultivated land, it is fine to resell grains and fruits, but doing business is another matter. So Your Majesty may not have noticed that on the day of your wedding, the last box of dowry sent by the Yuan family was all house deeds, land deeds, and even store leases, and there was no business in them. Even the 26 medical clinics and drugstores south of Peishui, why were they not directly given to Your Majesty? It was also due to the regulations that court officials and royal family members could not do business."

"Oh..." Zhou Chang finally understood.

Otherwise, she knew from the beginning that none of Prince Rong, Prince Duan, Prince Xian, and even Prince Yi had any profitable business, but now it seems that they all have other businesses.

"Speaking of this, I'm going to say something that shouldn't be said." Zhong Yutou was tired of shaking his head and was left with a frown. "I heard that the prince allowed the princess to continue to manage her mother's family's business. In this situation, it is really not a wise move."

Zhou Chang almost always acted on his own regarding all matters concerning the Yuan family and Yuan Qi, and never discussed it with Zhong Yu in advance. However, after Zhong Yu found out, he mostly disagreed.

Zhou Chang's heart couldn't help but tighten again.

Just because I always felt it was a fake marriage, I didn't have so many concerns.

But if you think about it carefully, it is true.

Today, Zhong Yu reminded her that she still had to find a way to end this fake marriage as soon as possible.

Thinking of "divorce", Zhou Chang was absent-minded no matter what Zhong Yu said next.

Her life as a fake couple with Yuan Qi had just begun, but she had to consider ending it.

As soon as this thought came to my mind, I felt uncomfortable for no reason.

Even after Zhong Yu left, Zhou Chang's mind was still full of random thoughts.

Not long after Zhong Yu left, Shouhou brought over some snacks.

"Where is the princess? In her bedroom?" Zhou Chang felt uneasy.

Recently, Yuan Qi has been getting busier and busier as the young master of the Yuan family. He usually goes out early and comes back late to take care of the Yuan family's business.

The skinny monkey frowned and put the snacks on the table: "Your Majesty, I heard that the princess was not feeling well today. She is probably resting in the bedroom."

"The princess is not feeling well?" Zhou Chang was surprised again, "Have you asked for a doctor?"

"No." The skinny monkey shook his head, "It's just a normal physical discomfort."

"Let's go take a look." Zhou Chang said as he stood up and walked out. He glanced at the snacks on the table and said, "That's right. These are the cakes made by Wang's mother. Let's bring them to the princess to have a taste."

Every time I went there I came back empty-handed, eating and drinking for free, and I couldn't give Yuan Qi anything.

"Uh, Your Majesty..." The skinny monkey hesitated to speak, picked up the snacks and followed behind, and the two of them went all the way to the bedroom.

Zhou Chang walked over quickly and saw from afar that Manager Li and two maids were about to go to the small kitchen at the back.

One of the two maids was thin and had a pretty face. Her heart skipped a beat when she saw her.

"Master Li, I heard that the princess is not feeling well. What is wrong with her?" Zhou Chang greeted from a distance.

Manager Li quickly knelt and bowed: "Greetings, Your Highness, the princess is not ill, she is just not feeling well and is resting in bed."

"Not feeling well? What's the reason? Do you want to see a doctor?" Zhou Chang didn't react and walked over, just wanting to confirm whether the maid was delicate or not.

"The princess is fine. There is no need to call a doctor. She just needs to rest." Manager Li replied respectfully.

Zhou Chang kept his eyes fixed on the back of Shopkeeper Li: "What are they holding?"

The two maids looked no more than fourteen or fifteen years old. One of them had thin eyebrows and eyes and a pointed chin. Zhou Chang was almost sure that she was Xiqiao.