Su Muqing took out some items from another Qiankun bag in front of the two, and then put them back one by one. Only then did the Emperor and Empress finally believe that she really had two treasures in her hands.
“Since you have two, then Father Emperor will accept this treasure,” the Emperor said, carefully taking the Qiankun bag, straightening the bag with a solemn expression, and then placing it horizontally on the table.
Su Muqing held back her laughter at his actions, but she was also very happy. The Emperor and Empress only asked once how she obtained these things, and then never asked again.
“Quickly accept it! I have already given the stir-fried hot pot base and the waterwheel blueprints to Regent Uncle. The cement making recipe is too complex, and I still need to study it. I already told you the method of making ice from saltpeter before, and from now on, the citizens of Tianzhao Kingdom will be able to achieve ice freedom.”
“That’s great! Everything here is good, but it’s too hot. Ice is definitely a good treasure for Tianzhao Kingdom.” The Emperor nodded, carefully putting away all the recipes she gave him. These were all passed down from the immortals to his daughter, and they had to be utilized well.
“What you’re saying makes it sound like you’re never coming back. Don’t tell me you really don’t want to come back?” the Empress asked, pulling her arm with some reluctance. Thinking about some of the recent events, she was really worried that Su Muqing might feel uncomfortable and not want to come back later.
“How could that be? As soon as I have time, I’ll come back to see you, or after I’ve arranged things on the other side and you’ve also handled things here, I’ll come and bring you to live in Huaxia City, alright?”
The Empress looked at the Emperor and said somewhat sarcastically, “That depends on whether some people are willing to let go…”
The Emperor’s face was a little awkward, and he secretly tugged at the Empress’s clothes, “You’re at it again! Who’s unwilling to let go? Didn’t we agree? There are so many things here, and they have to be arranged step by step. We can’t just leave like this and abandon such a huge mess, can we? The child is about to set off, don’t be so moody.”
Seeing their old married couple’s dynamic, Su Muqing felt very satisfied, and her smile was sweet. Lu Yuzhi had decided to return tomorrow, and the fleet was still the same group they had found in Wanfeng Kingdom.
They had initially thought they could leave after two days of detoxification, but they had been delayed here for so long. Later, the crew members were invited to temporarily reside in the side courtyard of the Regent’s mansion. Therefore, they still had to go back to Witters City first to send the people and ships back.
The Emperor knew she had a treasure that could store anything, so he directly took her to his private treasury. Except for things like property deeds and land deeds that couldn’t be taken away, he let Su Muqing pack all the gold, silver, jewelry, antiques, and calligraphy and paintings that could be taken.
Especially the tribute piled up high in the Emperor’s private treasury. He originally had a red coral that was half a person’s height, which the Emperor treasured very much. Whenever foreign guests visited, he would take it out to display in the main hall to broaden their horizons.
Even such a treasured item, the Emperor was prepared to part with it. When he was about to pack this red coral, Su Muqing directly raised her hand and refused.
The Emperor looked at Su Muqing as if she didn’t know its value, but she directly chose a suitable spot and carefully took out a blood-red coral that was two heads taller than the Emperor and placed it carefully.
The Emperor blinked hard, hardly believing his eyes. He put down the half-person-tall red coral and excitedly rubbed his hands as he approached Su Muqing.
He extended his hands, wanting to touch the corals, but was also afraid of damaging them. As the monarch of a country, he considered himself to have seen many good treasures, but since Su Muqing arrived, she had been constantly refreshing his worldview and broadening his knowledge.
The Emperor could not resist and touched it. “Tsk tsk! No wonder you look down on Father Emperor’s, it turns out the one you have is the real top-quality treasure!”
“I have a lot of these things from the seabed. I’ll offer this to Father Emperor.” Luo Li, the king of the Merman clan, had given Su Muqing many beautiful things from the seabed.
The Emperor was very happy with her filial piety, but to his surprise, he actually refused. “No need, Father Emperor has this small one, that’s enough. You keep these precious things safe. My imperial throne is inherited, and the national treasury still needs to spend a lot of gold and silver every year to maintain the normal operation of the country. You are going to build a city from scratch, which is not an easy task, and the gold and silver needed will be countless. It will be more convenient for you to do things if you have more money on you.”
Seeing that Su Muqing was about to say something else, the Empress pulled her away and threw a Qiankun bag to the Emperor, telling him to pour some of the things inside out, then pack the things from the private treasury, and come find them after he was done.
Then the Empress linked arms with Su Muqing and went to her own private treasury. “Alright, alright! Didn’t you say you would take us to Huaxia City in the future? We’ll have plenty of time to admire these treasures then. Now, let’s look at what Mother has prepared for you. See which sets of hair ornaments you like. If not, you can take them all, so you don’t have to carry them back and forth later.”
As they walked towards the private treasury in Fengyi Palace, Lu Yuzhi and the others followed behind. When they reached the private treasury, the two of them went in while the others waited outside.
Looking at the piles of hairpins and jewelry in the Empress’s private treasury, Su Muqing felt her scalp tingle. The terrifying feeling of being suffocated by her hairstyle and headdress during the investiture ceremony began to dominate her again.
“Mother, I have a lot of these things already. You should keep your treasury items for yourself.”
The Empress ignored what Su Muqing said, took out a Qiankun bag, shook it, and with a look of a supermarket shopper, stuffed the good things into the bag with all her might.
“You have a lot, but that’s yours. These are gifts from Mother. Can they be the same? Besides, Mother only has you as a daughter. It’s rare for our family to meet in this world. Everything Father Emperor and I have will eventually be left to you, won’t it? If you don’t take them, they’ll go to outsiders after we’re gone! Then I’d rather give all these things to you and just keep some ordinary items for myself to give to others as rewards. It’ll save you the trouble of moving these things back and forth when you come to pick us up.”
Looking at the Empress, who was wearing a dignified phoenix robe but had a focused expression like she was shopping in a market, Su Muqing’s eyes welled up with tears. Even though they had forgotten most of their past lives, their love for her had never wavered. No matter when or where, her parents were always thinking of her.
Su Muqing didn’t stop her anymore. She wiped her tears and stood aside watching the Empress pack things. In fact, she couldn’t help at all.
Just then, the Empress suddenly walked to the rack where the phoenix coronets were placed. Su Muqing saw her looking back and forth at the phoenix coronets on the rack, and finally her gaze fell on the one in the very center.
This phoenix coronet was called “Feng Lin Tian Xia” (Phoenix Descending Upon the World). It was entirely made of gold in the shape of a phoenix. The crown was inlaid with various jewels, and the phoenix’s mouth held a perfectly round, large pearl with a diameter of about 14 millimeters.
The phoenix feathers at the back numbered seven, and there were also phoenix wing hairpins on the left and right sides. The hairpins were mainly to fix the overall structure, so they were simply and elegantly carved with auspicious cloud patterns.
In contrast, the phoenix feathers at the back were much more complex. Each feather was interspersed with small pearls of uniform size. The pearl net woven from pearls extended to both shoulders and then became tassels hanging behind, making it look like wearing a pearl-tasseled dress from behind. Of course, the weight of so many pearls hanging on one’s head could also be imagined to be terrifying.
The seven-feather phoenix coronet symbolized her status as the mother of a nation. However, after so many years, because she had never been able to conceive, she had only worn it once during the empress’s investiture ceremony.
The Empress stared at the Feng Lin Tian Xia coronet on the rack for a long time. Su Muqing had to speak up to stop her. “Mother, this is the phoenix coronet you wore when you were crowned Empress. You can’t have ideas about it!”
The Empress held the phoenix coronet, carefully stroking the lifelike golden phoenix on the crown. Her eyes were somewhat unfocused, and a smile hung on her lips. “Mother has several coronets. This one is the most luxurious and my favorite. You take it too! Keep it to wear when you get married.”
Hearing the Empress say that, Su Muqing felt her neck ache faintly. Being the princess of Tianzhao Kingdom once had given her psychological trauma. “This really won’t do! This phoenix coronet is so magnificent. Only someone with your temperament and aura, Mother, can wear its unique grace and nobility. I’m far from being as good as Mother, and I don’t think I’m worthy of it yet. However! I can change the pearl for you to a better and bigger one, so it will match you even better.”
Seeing her look of refusal, as if she really resisted, the Empress didn’t force her anymore. She thought that she could bring it to her later when she visited her in Huaxia City.
Su Muqing reached out and removed the half-drilled pearl from the phoenix coronet, then selected a white pearl with a diameter of about 18 millimeters from the several boxes of pearls gifted by Luo Li. The pearl was perfectly round and flawless. Pearls from the deep sea were beautiful as ornaments. This pearl was several sizes larger than the original pearl on the phoenix coronet, and its color and luster were also whiter and more translucent.
Su Muqing used a drill to make a half-hole in the pearl, then dripped some jewelry glue into it. She then inserted the half-hole into the gold wire that was originally shaped in the phoenix’s mouth. She instructed the Empress not to touch it, as it would be very firm after the glue dried.
With the large pearl set in the phoenix coronet, it felt like its class had risen several levels. The Empress also loved the modified version very much. Often, the original pearls would be overshadowed by other gems, but after this pearl was placed, it was simply too eye-catching.
The three of them rummaged through the two private treasuries until the afternoon. In the meantime, Su Muqing left to attend to other matters. She still had many things to arrange before leaving tomorrow.
Outside time was too short. She found an opportunity to enter her space and compiled different vegetable seeds, the blueprints for the restaurant’s modifications, and employee training into manuals. She also left several boxes of hot pot base and materials that were not available here for Ke Bina.
It wasn’t until evening that Su Muqing finished arranging the matters and items she needed to. The group then returned to Fengyi Palace. The Emperor and Empress, each holding a Qiankun bag, were waiting for her with smiles on their faces.
Looking at their way of presenting treasures, Su Muqing shook her head helplessly. They were really chasing her to give her money and not allow her to refuse. This also indicated that Tianzhao Kingdom’s treasury was abundant, otherwise, the Emperor and Empress would not have given her the treasures from their private treasuries.
Su Muqing carried the two Qiankun bags and, under Lu Yuzhi’s cover, entered her space. She poured out all the treasures from one of the bags and placed them on several shelves that had been specially cleared.
She stayed alone in her space for almost three hours before she could barely sort the items roughly. By this time, half an hour had passed outside. Thinking that everyone was waiting for her to eat, Su Muqing packed more items into a Qiankun bag before leaving her space to join them for dinner.
Not long after the group finished their dinner, someone from the Prince Qing’s mansion entered the palace to deliver a waist token, stating that they had heard Su Muqing and her party would be departing tomorrow. Prince Qing and Princess Qing wanted to enter the palace to pay their respects to Princess Ning’an and thank her for saving their lives with a gift.
The Emperor and Empress had strong prejudices against Prince Qing. They sent word for them to leave the gift and said that the princess accepted their gratitude. However, it was late, and they had to travel tomorrow, so there was no need to meet.
Upon hearing this, Prince Qing and Princess Qing looked at each other and sighed before returning to Prince Qing’s mansion by carriage. No one could have imagined that Ke Biping would act so recklessly, plotting rebellion and assassination, eliminating rivals, patricide, and framing others!
Not only could Prince Ping’s mansion no longer be kept, but Prince Qing, who had spoken up for him, could no longer stay in Rongcheng. Their family was also preparing to depart in the coming days and settle in the most remote border town of Tianzhao Kingdom.
Today was destined to be a good day for Su Muqing to make a fortune!
Looking at the piles of large boxes filled with gold and silver coins in front of her, Su Muqing couldn’t help but wonder if the God of Wealth was in a particularly good mood today, as he kept sending her money. What puzzled her was how the gold and silver reserves in these households were as abundant as roadside stones, as if they had been blown in by the wind.
However, receiving gifts this time felt completely different from receiving gifts from her parents. Ke Biqing was someone Su Muqing had spent a lot of effort to save, so she felt that she had earned these consultation fees deservedly.
Although she had not met Ke Biqing, his appearance had reminded Su Muqing of something. Ke Biping had been a prince for so long, so his mansion must have hidden a lot of wealth.
As the saying goes, revenge for grievances and repayment for kindness! Prince Qing had repaid her for saving his life. Should Ke Biping also compensate her for her emotional distress?
The two swords he had stabbed into her last night had caused her to bleed so much, and in the end, he had wanted to kill her. If she hadn’t gritted her teeth and persevered at the critical moment, it was hard to say who would have died this time!