Gu Yanxi handed her tea to Ah Zhi and pushed it towards her mouth, but she said to Xiao Liu, "Go back to your room and sort this out. If you have any questions, you can ask me. Don't waste Ah Zhi's kindness."
Xiaoliu responded obediently, walked to the door and turned around to say thank you. Although he was pushed to the front by Sister Hua, as the son of Concubine Zhen and the grandson of General Sun, he could not escape. It can even be said that he had already walked around the gates of hell. It was Sister Hua who planned a path for him with the best hope of seeing the light. Even if there were thorns ahead, he had the possibility to cut through them instead of being tripped by the thorns and then unable to get up.
He didn't think that there was a mutual benefit between him and the Hua family. First of all, he was the first to appear in front of Sister Hua, called her sister for half a year, and was taken care of by her like a younger brother for half a year before what happened later. He could clearly distinguish the cause and effect.
Hua Zhi smiled and said, "If you were like the other princes, I wouldn't worry about this."
As if he was praised, Xiaoliu lowered his head and scratched his face, then opened the door and ran out, feeling inexplicably as if he was escaping in a panic.
Hua Zhi smiled gently, but I don’t know how many times I can see Xiaoliu, whose emotions are so superficial.
Her hands felt empty and then hot again. Hua Zhi looked down at the steaming teacup and retracted her fingers, her smile growing wider. She was willing to watch such childish competition for favor for the rest of her life.
"Although Wu Xing is in the Qisu Division, he is my man. Not many people in the Qisu Division know about the black gunpowder. Apart from Wu Xing, only Chen Qing and I know about its function and power. Even Wu Yong only knows a rough idea. I will suppress this matter first, so don't worry about the emperor finding out."
"I'm worried that he'll find out about this, and I'm also afraid that there are people around him with ulterior motives or that the Chaoli tribe hasn't been cleaned up, and it will eventually become a secret known to everyone."
"Don't worry, I'm on guard." He stood up, took the thin blanket and put it on her knees. When he felt the warmth on her fingertips, Gu Yanxi felt satisfied. He could solve any difficult task, but he couldn't make Ah Zhi's body better all of a sudden.
It was a rare moment of leisure, so Hua Zhi didn't want to waste time thinking about what she had to do, so she asked someone to find large sheets of rice paper, and after applying a layer of paste, she hung the paper on the boat to dry. After pasting it for several layers, she felt the hardness was okay. Then she cut the paper into pieces of the same size and started making playing cards. Two to ten were easy, and the Arabic numerals could be changed into Chinese characters. J, Q, K and A could also be kept, but the patterns of the three flower cards had to be changed, and the jokers had to be changed to be more in line with Daqing's national conditions.
She explained the general rules and the importance of these cards and then left it to Xiaoliu to think about.
Gu Yanxi didn't want Hua Zhi to be tired, so he asked her to demonstrate and then took over the work. Hua Zhi, who was hibernating, was more than happy to do so. She took the lead while holding the hot water bottle and covering herself with a blanket.
"Sister Hua, do you think this is okay?"
Hua Zhi, who was almost asleep, took it, glanced at his messy hair and said, "Nian Qiu, tie his hair up."
Xiaoliu stood still obediently, looking at Sister Hua nervously, afraid that he had done something wrong.
Nian Qiu covered her mouth with her hand while getting a comb and giggled. Although they knew that he was a prince, they had been with him for a long time and often saw him following the young ladies like a little tail, so they really didn't feel much fear.
"The tiger and lion are good for the jokers, but the three flower cards need to be changed. Try to make them simpler. After all, this is also necessary for gambling. They don't need to be too fancy. Just keep it simple and clear."
With a direction, Xiaoliu knew what to do. In the end, J used bamboo, Q used osmanthus, and K used azalea, all of which are commonly seen among the people. They do not conflict with the precious flower species loved by aristocratic families, thus saving some unnecessary trouble.
On the last day on the boat, Hua Zhi simply taught them some ways to play. Not to mention that the young Xiaoliu had no self-control, even Gu Yanxi felt that he could not control himself and wanted to play again and again.
"No wonder they say gambling harms people." Gu Yanxi picked up the cards that had been torn at the edges after playing for half a day and played with them in her hands. "We are still like this, but if it spreads out, won't it harm others?"
"The original intention of any kind of entertainment is definitely not to harm people, but to have fun. For example, leaf cards are a kind of gambling after all, but who among the empresses and noble ladies in the palace doesn't know how to play? Gambling has existed since ancient times, and only Jinyang has been manipulated to this extent. Even if someone really treats this... flower cards as gambling, it is much more difficult to operate than dice. If this method can be used to divert the attention of Jinyang people, it would not be a bad thing."
Hua Zhi smiled, "I just thought of this suddenly. As for the result, it depends on how you guys handle it. Selling playing cards should be a good business in the future."
Only if the gambling addiction of Jinyang people can be eliminated, Jinyang will have a chance to return to normal, just like that famous city which is famous for its love of playing mahjong. Their love of mahjong is known to the world, but they have never stopped working because of this. People, first of all, have to survive.
Gu Yanxi didn't hesitate for long. After hearing what Ah Zhi said, he finally came out of his dilemma and started thinking about how to deal with the matter.
It was almost three o'clock in the afternoon when the boat finally entered the harbor with difficulty. The wind was already strong at the dock, and today it had even blown up waves on the water in the river. Hua Zhi was covered tightly in Gu Yanxi's arms as she got off the boat and was directly put into the carriage.
Hua Zhi quickly untied her scarf and gasped for breath, almost suffocating to death.
Outside, Chen Qing reported to the prince in a low voice, "Before I came out, I got the news that the Fourth Prince had been flattering you in front of the Emperor. Although the Emperor did not believe everything, he was very unhappy that you went straight to Yuzhou after returning from Yinshan Pass."
After a pause, Chen Qing continued, "The Emperor knew that the eldest girl went to Yuzhou, and you went straight to her place. I guess this is what made the Emperor angry."
Although Gu Yanxi had already thought of how to deal with it, he hesitated for a moment, knocked on the carriage, lifted the curtain and said softly: "I will go back to the palace to report first. Jinyang's matter is not urgent. You didn't sleep well on the boat, go back and have a good rest first."
"Okay." Hua Zhi agreed obediently, and lowered her voice and said, "Don't confront him head-on, touch his weak spot."
Gu Yanxi touched her face that was approaching her, said "hmm", and looked back at Chen Qing. Chen Qing understood and bowed in response.
In addition to Chen Qing, Gu Yanxi also kept all the people he took out this time. Things are different now than before. Although the emperor will not touch his money, it does not mean that others will not do anything. When he left, he threw Xiaoliu into the carriage, and this cannot go wrong.
Xiao Liu touched his sore butt and sat down by the door. He made sure that he could no longer hear the sound of horse hooves before he dared to say bad things. "Brother Yan Xi must be jealous that I can accompany Sister Hua."
Hua Zhi nodded, "You're right, he's just jealous."
Xiaoliu: "…"