Chapter 118 - Wonderful memories at the tea room

The new factory, ordered by Bai Chongye, was built. The new disease was picking up steam in other smaller towns all over Anhui, and thousands of deaths were recorded.
Moving all the raw materials from Zhejiang to Anhui proved to be a logistical nightmare. The distances were long and reaching the mines was not an easy task. To alleviate this, Xia Chunyu provided some 400 men to help in the mines and as many horses and carriages as Jiangsu could provide.
The effort seems to be paying off in places like Huangshan. Virtually no new cases or deaths were recorded in 20 days, and the city was totally reopened to traffic. In the neighbouring kingdom of Jiangxi, however, a slight increase in cases and deaths was observed. Meng Zhang promptly reacted to it and ordered thousands of doses of medicines, getting things under control again.
In Jinhua, Feng Long was standing on one of the palace's balconies, looking at the city below. Yu Lexuan arrives from behind, touching his shoulder. Feng Long smiles:

-It must be the most handsome prince in the world...
-This is debatable...

Yu Lexuan gently hugs Feng Long:

-Other princes might be much more handsome than I am. - Yu Lexuan smiles.

Feng Long puts his hands over Yu Lexuan's, slowly turning and looking into his eyes:

-I do not care... You are better than anyone else...

Yu Lexuan tightens the hug:

-Feng Long... You feel so satisfied, don't you?
-Yu Lexuan... I feel as good as it gets... We now have effective medicines, our people are protected, and the kingdom will resume a normal life.

-Yes, I agree. All this situation was excruciating, especially for you and Zhong Kunyi.

-Zhong Kunyi was under pressure. The economy is recovering slower than he expected, but this is what really matters, as long as it recovers, I'm satisfied.

Yu Lexuan moves a step behind:

-Would your majesty accompany me? I'll brew some tea.

-Yes, for sure! I'm waiting for some news coming from Jiangsu, Xia Chunyu told me he would send daily reports about the operations. 

-The pigeon is likely to enter the palace, I'll let the windows open.

Yu Lexuan bows and walks away. Feng Long walks down to the tea room, sitting in a chair close to the tea stove. Yu Lexuan ends up opening all windows, and then lights up the tea stove, sitting beside Feng Long while the water heats up.

It does not take long for the pigeon to come. It lands on one of the window's sills. Yu Lexuan smiles and walks towards the pigeon, taking the letter and handing it to Feng Long.

Feng Long smiles, opening the letter. Yu Lexuan moves behind Feng Long so he can read the content:

-"To his majesty, Feng Long. We've had some trouble transporting the raw materials from Shaoxing, the original route was blocked due to a landslide, we are now using the Puyang river as an alternative route, and unloading in Songcheng. We found out that this route is about 20 li shorter compared to the old one, and also we can use Songcheng as a temporary buffer, which may allow us to transport a larger quantity quickly. Anhui also reported that the number of deaths across the empire is rising rapidly. I hope your majesty is feeling well and happy, as things should be. With love, Xia Chunyu."

Feng Long blushes lightly, and Yu Lexuan laughs:

-Hahaha, I knew it! But, jokes aside, this is interesting progress! I should have provided some support for them when it all started.

-I understood that it was not necessary back then... But it is all up to you. I don't want to stay away from you for too long. - Feng Long smiles.

Yu Lexuan sits down close to Feng Long, passing his right arm around him:

-Don't be so worried... I'd probably ask someone to come with me on that, maybe Zhang Yi or even you!

-I'd certainly not let you go alone...

-I'd certainly not forget you if you need to stay here.

Feng Long and Yu Lexuan kiss before he gets up to brew the tea. Meanwhile, Zhang Yi and Zhong Kunyi chat in a nearby room:

-But how profitable could it be? I mean, there are costs involved in these mining operations, and if we don't make some profit, it will throw a significant spanner in the works here. - Zhong Kunyi looks at Zhang Yi.

-It is not up to me to set prices, but I think Feng Long will eventually charge a small amount. What matters to me is to have the medicine shipped and ready to use everywhere, quickly. The pathogen might mutate at any time and get us by surprise again.

Zhong Kunyi takes a piece of paper and writes down some calculations on it:

-We'd have had a huge loss if not for Jiangsu's willingness to help us with their own workforce for free. 

-I mean, it is not technically free. We must keep those workers fed and warm, and it does have a cost, but it is still peanuts compared to closing the empire for days... 

-Yes, it makes sense, but I think Feng Long could have handled it more carefully. Anyway, the economy is slowly recovering from the shutdowns. We will not survive another one.

-I'll do my best to avoid it... I also don't like to impose these rules, and Feng Long certainly doesn't like it as well, but it was the only sensible way back then. Now, we have good medicine that can prevent the disease from spreading like wildfire and more like honey slowly running on a piece of wood. 

Yu Lexuan serves the tea to Feng Long, also taking a cup for him. He sits at his side, smiling:

-Feng Long... This tea remembers me of our first time in this room... 

-Yes, I can remember that. You told me this room would be one of your favourites in the entire palace.

-Yes, and it is... I love that we have a small lake just after the windows. The air comes fresh and fragrant from the flowers nearby.

-It was one of the first times we had... well.. a rather hot moment here... - Feng Long blushes.

-I can remember it... You were standing by the window sill, I came from behind and hugged you... I whispered some silly things and touched my hip on your back... You got a bit confused, but that was fun to see you blushing.

-I was not prepared for that... I was a bit serious, I was just crowned. I knew the journey would be long and tortuous, but your support was so important... Even if it was just making me blush.

Feng Long and Yu Lexuan drink tea, getting up after finishing. Feng Long then moves to the nearest window, leaning on the sill. Yu Lexuan also gets up, getting in front of him:

-I do not care about the background... You are so handsome, Feng Long...

-You own me... And I'm proud of that. 

Yu Lexuan moves closer, kissing Feng Long deeply. A few moments later, Zhang Yi and Zhong kunyi enter the room, and they stop, blushing intensely. Both Zhong Kunyi and Zhang Yi bow immediately to apologise:

-Please, Your majesty and your prince, we're sorry!!!

Although red as pepper, Yu Lexuan and Feng Long walk towards them, smiling:

-Please rise... You have done nothing wrong. - Feng Long helps them rise.

-Sometimes, things can get a bit informal, you know... - Yu Lexuan smiles.

After everyone recovers from that funny situation, Zhong Kunyi moves closer to the tea stove:

-This tea seems to be so fragrant and tasty, may I have a cup of it?

-Yes, please, you both can drink it... I brew it for us. Take a seat! - Yu Lexuan smiles.

Zhong Kunyi and Zhang Yi sit close to each other. Feng Long and Yu Lexuan sit in front of them:

-We've just received a letter from Xia Chunyu. I think it might interest you, Zhang Yi.

-Yes, please, let me read it.

Feng Long hands the letter to Zhang Yi, and Zhong Kunyi also reads it to him:

-This is nice. They found a new path so the raw materials can be shipped faster! Also, using a city along a river to store large quantities of the raw material allows for faster shipping within the empire. 

-Well, I was discussing something with Zhong Kunyi that is worth mentioning here. - Zhong Kunyi looks at Feng Long.

-Well, please, tell us. 

-Your majesty, what is going to happen next? I think it is unfair for us to simply give these raw materials away. I understand it is ultimately cheaper to defeat the disease than to close the empire again, but I also think we should receive compensation. 

-I partially agree. We shouldn't charge anyone now, but maybe in the future. This is a collective effort to eradicate the disease. The less bureaucratic the process, the better. - Feng Long smiles.

-I don't think asking for it to be paid will be a nuisance, but let's proceed as your majesty wishes. - Zhong Kunyi smiles.

Feng Long gets up and walks toward him:

-Zhong Kunyi... Sometimes I am a bit unruly when economic affairs are concerned... Do you really agree with me on that?

-Majesty, being honest... No. Yes, the economy is gradually recovering, but I think we must use every tool available to increase our revenue. I have learned so much in the last few months, economics is an unforgiving matter. Having a reserve is crucial.

-Yes, I agree with you, the only problem I see is what other emperors think about it?

Yu Lexuan gets up, approaching Feng Long:

-I don't see any problem if we want to charge for it. We can set a fair price and maybe give some time for the other emperors to think about it, and pay as they can. Even though I can't say anything wrong will happen this year, I'm sure we have enough resources to survive by now. 

-The epidemic brought us together as never before. We've achieved great heights in this period, and our empire is rock solid. I side with Yu Lexuan on that. - Zhang Yi gets up and moves closer to the others.

Feng Long smiles:

-Well, it seems fair to me. We mostly agree on selling it instead of giving it away. Of course, it would be incredibly impolite for an emperor like me to send last-minute bar tab-like notices to all emperors and ask them for some money. First, I'll guarantee them that our supply chain will remain constant, regardless of what they want to pay. The health of their people comes first. We can temporarily bypass economic issues using other methods.  Second of all, well, I think Xia Chunyu should not be charged a cent. He provided men and means to ship all the raw materials safely and quickly through his empire. Third, Bai Chongye will pay most of the bill anyway. Anhui is huge and they delayed it for too long. If not for his utter ignorance when it all started, we could have eradicated it a long time ago. 

They all move back to their rooms shortly after. Feng Long remains alone in the tea room.

...

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