They left behind one row of escorts to clean up the battlefield. Jin Feng led the rest of the group and escorted the Ninth Princess away from the small hill.
The Ninth Princess glanced back at the hill, her heart filled with mixed emotions.
When they had set out from the capital, guards, maidservants, and servants together numbered several hundred. The grand procession stretched nearly a hundred zhang in length.
Yet now, only Qin Ming remained among the guards, and even one of her personal maids had died.
Noticing the Ninth Princess’s low spirits, Qing Muluan softly comforted her. “Wuyang, don’t worry. As soon as we return, I will write to my brother at once and have him issue the highest-level wanted notice. We will definitely capture Feng Sheng and bring him to justice!”
“Sister, what worries me is not just one bandit, but why he did this.”
The Ninth Princess said, “A bandit who has never met me before would never dare lay a hand on me, nor would he have any reason to do so, unless someone was directing Feng Sheng from behind.
Write to Brother Xinyao and tell him to focus the investigation on Dangxiang spies within the Jinchuan border!”
Previously, whenever Qing Muluan praised the Ninth Princess, Jin Feng had thought she was merely flattering her.
Now Jin Feng could not help but admire her. The Ninth Princess was indeed very calm and extremely clever.
Ordinary people who suffered several brushes with death in a single day might not recover from the shock for half a year.
Yet the Ninth Princess had never shown the slightest panic. She had even worked out so quickly that the mastermind was a Dangxiang agent. That truly was impressive.
“You guessed exactly right, Wuyang,” Qing Muluan said. “Before we came, Mister caught a Dangxiang spy.
”
“Where is he?” The Ninth Princess brightened with joy at the news.
A ruthless glint also flashed across Qin’er’s eyes.
Experts from the palace were not only skilled in combat; their interrogation methods far surpassed the crude techniques of army men like Zhang Liang.
Even an iron man in their hands would yield a couple of liang of molten iron.
“At the ferry crossing, but he is already dead.”
Qing Muluan recounted how Jin Feng had encountered the spy.
“Captain Qin will head to the ferry later to gather the surviving guards. Zhu’er, go with Captain Qin and see if there are any clues.”
Even a corpse would not be spared by the Ninth Princess.
When they reached a fork in the road, the party split into two groups.
The main force escorted Jin Feng and the Ninth Princess toward Double Camel Peak, while the other group returned to the ferry.
Double Camel Peak was now bustling with activity. Carts came and went without pause.
Some carried rock salt from the ferry up the mountain, others hauled finished salt down.
On a large stone at the foot of the mountain, two lines of bright vermilion characters were carved.
The Ninth Princess read them softly. “Xihe Bay Saltworks. Let the common people afford safe salt… Sister, is this Mister’s saltworks?”
Jin Feng had only recently started producing salt, and Qing Muluan had not yet had time to write and tell her.
“Yes,” Qing Muluan replied. “Wuyang, Mister Jin is amazing at making salt. He can turn rock salt into refined salt!”
“Turn rock salt into refined salt? How is that possible?”
Everyone in Dakang knew rock salt was poisonous. The Ninth Princess’s expression changed. “It won’t cause poisoning?”
“Of course not!” Qing Muluan said. “Everyone in the whole of Jinchuan now eats Xihe Bay refined salt, and not a single case of poisoning has been found.”
“Really?”
A sharp light flashed in the Ninth Princess’s eyes.
Most salt merchants belonged to the great clans. The imperial family received tribute salt, but eunuchs, palace maids, and the like still had to buy from the merchants.
More importantly, the salt consumed by soldiers in the army was paid for from the state treasury.
Having helped Chen Ji review memorials for so long, the Ninth Princess knew perfectly well what an enormous expense this was.
The reason salt was so costly, apart from the clans’ monopoly, was mainly the difficulty of transport.
Dakang had no shortage of salt mines. If Jin Feng could remove the poison from rock salt, transport costs would fall dramatically.
At this thought, the Ninth Princess could not wait to climb the mountain. She signalled Qin’er to stop a salt cart, then opened a sack on the cart.
She grabbed a handful of snow-white fine salt from the sack and exclaimed in amazement. “This quality is simply too good!”
Though she rarely handled salt herself, she had seen plenty.
In terms of appearance alone, Xihe Bay refined salt was no inferior to the tribute salt used in the palace.
“Not only is the appearance excellent, it has no strange odour at all,” Qing Muluan added.
“How much does salt like this sell for?” the Ninth Princess asked.
Qing Muluan smiled and held up both index fingers to form a ten. “Ten wen!”
“Ten wen per liang. That really isn’t expensive,” the Ninth Princess nodded.
“You guessed wrong, Wuyang. It’s not ten wen per liang,” Qing Muluan shook her head.
“Ten wen per qian? Then that would be a bit expensive.”
The Ninth Princess glanced again at the words carved on the stone and faintly frowned.
“Wrong again. It’s ten wen per jin!” Qing Muluan said with a laugh.
“What?! Ten wen… per jin?”
The ever-composed Ninth Princess suddenly opened her eyes wide, her breathing quickening.
She stared at Qing Muluan in disbelief. “Sister, you’re not teasing me, are you? Such fine salt for only ten wen per jin?!”
“Why would I tease you?”
Qing Muluan said proudly, “Mister said he wants the common people to be able to afford safe salt. If it were sold too dearly, how could ordinary folk afford it? And ten wen per jin is the retail price, not the factory price. The small traders’ wages are all subsidised by Mister.”
The pride on her face made it seem as though Xihe Bay Saltworks belonged to her.
“Mister Jin, how much salt can your works produce each month? At ten wen per jin, this palace wants it all!”
The Ninth Princess turned excitedly to Jin Feng.
She had originally planned to negotiate for the salt-making formula, but the moment she heard ten wen per jin, she immediately changed her mind.
Ten wen per jin was, to the Ninth Princess, practically the same as giving it away.
“I’m sorry, Your Highness. The sole distribution rights belong to Guangyuan,” Jin Feng shook his head.
“You needn’t worry about that. This palace will handle it!”
When it came to serious business, the Ninth Princess’s tone grew much more commanding. “Mister need only answer whether you can supply the quantity!”
Business had come knocking. Naturally Jin Feng would not turn it away. He nodded. “As long as payment is not delayed, Your Highness may have as much as you require!”
“As much as I require?”
The Ninth Princess said, “To be frank, Mister, the salt I purchase will be supplied to the various armies. You may raise the price, but you must never use poisonous rock salt to pass off inferior goods. If anything goes wrong, it will cost you your head!”
“Luo Lan wrote to say that Your Highness has shown much favour to the Jinchuan Chamber of Commerce in the capital. Your Highness should therefore know the chamber’s ability to earn money. Do you think I am a man short of funds?”
Jin Feng said, “A thousand qing of good farmland still provides only three meals a day. Ten thousand grand rooms still offer sleep on a bed merely three chi wide. If I wished to make money, I could simply set a higher salt price. Why would I risk my neck by passing off inferior goods?”
“A thousand qing of good farmland still provides only three meals a day. Ten thousand grand rooms still offer sleep on a bed merely three chi wide… Well said!”
The Ninth Princess repeated the words several times under her breath, then bowed respectfully to Jin Feng. “Mister has composed so many brilliant poems. Truly you are a man of high principle! Wen’er has measured you with a petty heart. Please forgive me, Mister!”
