CHAPTER 433: CHAPTER 430 COOPERATION

Meng Su looked at his daughter. Ever since Meng Changshu returned from the Capital City, the Princess Jia’an was the most mentioned topic.

Back when Princess Jia’an was with the Li Family in Yuezhou, she had been kind to the Meng Family. What he was most grateful for was that Princess Jia’an warned his daughter to avoid Ji Yuan.

After learning about the issue between Ji Yuan and the Wang Family, his mother-in-law had constantly blamed him, saying that he did not thoroughly investigate but made a reckless decision. With Ji Yuan’s scheming nature, if they really married, Changshu would be easily manipulated.

Meng Su didn’t know if he was overthinking, but he had a dream at night where Ji Yuan bullied his daughter using evil servants after marriage. His daughter was pregnant, and the child in her womb was lost. In anger, he drew his sword to kill Ji Yuan, only to find that he was not a match for Ji Yuan.

Meng Su woke up drenched in sweat, taking a long time to come to his senses. Meng Changshu’s biological mother passed away early, and Meng Su didn’t remarry, raising his daughter by himself. Apart from being busy with political affairs, his daughter was his most cherished. If his negligence truly resulted in such an outcome for her, he wouldn’t die peacefully.

Because of this matter, Meng Su felt even more grateful towards Princess Jia’an.

Now, upon seeing the herbal diagram and recalling the tales his daughter shared about Princess Jia’an and Zhenzhou, even though he hadn’t met Princess Jia’an, a vivid image was already formed in his mind.

"Master," the steward entered and handed over the letter, "A letter from Song Jiedu of Zhenzhou has been delivered."

Meng Changshu perked up immediately: "Is it for me or for Father?"

The steward smiled and said, "There are two letters, so one for each."

Meng Changshu took the letters from the steward, handed the one addressed to her father from Song Xian, and eagerly opened the letter from Liangchen herself.

After reading Song Xian’s letter, Meng Su couldn’t help but frown slightly. Song Xian mentioned a case involving someone named Liu Xi, a case tangled with those smuggling sea merchants.

If it were an ordinary case, Song Xian wouldn’t specifically write a letter to him. Moreover, the case didn’t occur in Yuezhou.

They had long known about coastal residents secretly sending ships, and Liu Xi was among them. It was natural that Song Xian sought his advice not for analyzing case clues but to discuss the chaos on the sea.

Song Xian used this case as a means to speak with him about the sea merchants.

Could it be that Song Xian knew other insides stories? Could the Liu Xi case unravel something more? Meng Su had a vague suspicion. He hadn’t been entirely clueless these past years, being well aware that someone was stirring things up on the sea, but he couldn’t investigate further without support in the court.

What if there was someone to aid him? But being so far away in the Northern Border, how much help could Song Xian actually offer?

As Meng Su pondered, he heard Meng Changshu calling him: "Father, see what Liangchen has given us?"

Meng Changshu quickly approached Meng Su, placing a paper in front of him.

Meng Su scrutinized it carefully. It was a diagram, and following this diagram... one could create a...

Meng Su exclaimed in surprise, "Is this... a spinning wheel?"

Meng Changshu nodded: "Father, this is the large spinning wheel used in Zhenzhou, but the one Liangchen gave us is different from the one in Zhenzhou. In Zhenzhou, they spin wool, but this one spins silk."

Meng Su had heard about a large spinning wheel existing in Zhenzhou, but never expected that Princess Jia’an would teach them how to make it.

The Yuezhou area raised many silkworms, and this spinning wheel would be highly beneficial for them.

Meng Changshu said, "Father, you should quickly have someone make it and try it out. With such a detailed diagram, it shouldn’t be difficult to create."

Holding the paper in his hand, Meng Su felt the weight of it. The intricacy of the objects depicted made him wonder how long it took Princess Jia’an and her people to create it, and now it was given to him so easily.

"I always said Liangchen is different from others," Meng Changshu said, "People in the Capital used to say she grew up in a farmer’s house and was always pondering over trivial gains, but isn’t it the reality for commoners to count these small benefits? If everyone were like the prominent families without worries about food and clothing and spent their days drinking tea and listening to tunes, who would care about these?"

"Why could the people of Zhenzhou send their grain to the eight states? It’s not due to the high-sounding words of the prominent families, but because Song Jiedu and Liangchen fought for these so-called ’small gains’ for them."

"It’s small gains," Meng Su said after a while, "but the people depend on these for their livelihood, which is also where Daqi’s foundation lies."

Meng Changshu continued, "Improving the spinning wheel is no small task. When I was in the Capital, I visited Liangchen several times and saw many such papers on her table. Even when we went out for carriage rides, Liangchen was contemplating her spinning wheel."

"Your daughter was busy just helping draw herbal diagrams every day; Liangchen has more than one or two tasks to handle."

Of course, Meng Su knew it wasn’t easy.

Meng Changshu said, "Father, you must remember Liangchen’s kindness well."

Meng Su couldn’t help but laugh: "Don’t you remember whose daughter you are?"

Meng Changshu nodded: "Of course I do. I just feel that reciprocating kindness is a common courtesy, something we shouldn’t forget."

Meng Su, too, felt unsettled at this moment, wishing he could immediately test out the spinning wheel, but he restrained his emotions and asked, "What else did Princess Jia’an say?"

Meng Changshu replied, "Liangchen mentioned that there are also many silkworm-raising folk in Zhaozhou, and they too will use this spinning wheel, and when Liangchen wrote to me, they had just started trying out the new spinning wheel."

There are many silk weaving workshops in Yuezhou, and many women are skilled in brocade weaving.

Meng Su’s heart was moved: "Zhaozhou has silk, and if our silk isn’t enough, we could also buy from Zhaozhou in the future."

Meng Su looked at his daughter and said, "Would this be considered reciprocating kindness?"

Meng Changshu reluctantly nodded: "This large spinning wheel from Liangchen also helped Zhaozhou save manpower, naturally allowing more people to use looms and produce more brocade. Besides, with such a spinning wheel, how could Zhaozhou worry about bad silk thread? If Father insists... on reciprocating kindness, then I suppose it barely counts!"

"However, Father needs to act quickly, as others might want good silk thread as well."

Meng Su reached out to touch his daughter’s head: "When the time comes, I’ll think of other ways to help."

Meng Su went out to consult on spinning wheel matters, while Meng Changshu returned to her room to write back to Xie Liangchen.

A gentle breeze blew, sending a whiff of floral fragrance to his nose, giving Meng Su a feeling of joy and freedom. His daughter wasn’t wrong; Song Xian and Princess Jia’an were indeed broad-minded people; otherwise, they wouldn’t have shared the spinning wheel diagram with him.

Regarding the situation at sea, should he also be open and sincere with Song Xian? Song Xian wholeheartedly served the people, and opening the sea for trade was a good thing for the people.

However, it would inevitably involve some people.

After a few steps, Meng Su made up his mind. Why not give it a try? Perhaps this time, the long-standing maritime issues could be resolved.

But just how should he join forces with Song Xian?

Taking advantage of making the spinning wheel this time and buying silk thread from Zhaozhou, perhaps he could meet Song Xian. This way, if others asked, they would have an excuse to cover it up without alarming anyone.