Chapter 513 - 507_1
"Look at how stingy you are, you’ve snatched plenty of good stuff from me in the past, yet now you can’t bear to part with even these few things, and this alcohol, it’s not something a lady like you should drink. I’m confiscating it." After a visit to Yongle Palace, Huangfu Jing found that half of the things were gone, which made Princess Yongle clench her teeth in anger.
"Bullying the weak with your strength, what kind of ability is that, stinky elder brother! Next time Yueyue sends over some nice things, I’ll make sure you don’t find out, always competing with me for everything."
Not long after, a wet nurse from the Empress Dowager Palace came over, and half of the Princess’s remaining items were taken again. This time, Princess Yongle didn’t complain, as it was for her own mother, after all, and it was only right for her to offer her filial respect. Moreover, the Empress Dowager had caught a cold these past few days and wasn’t in the mood to eat much, so if these items were presented to her, and the Empress Dowager managed to eat more, Princess Yongle could rest easier. There was a natural difference in her attitude toward her mother, who had always doted on her, and her older brother, who merely supervised and bullied her.
The Empress Dowager and the Emperor didn’t just take Princess Yongle’s things for nothing. The next day, they each sent over many precious playthings, but since the storeroom in Yongle Palace was already overflowing with such items, the Princess lost interest after playing with them for a while and had them stored away.
Zhao Erhu handed over the goods he bought from the western lands to the Family Head of the Marquis of Zhenbei’s shop. What happened after that was out of his hands, but the Princely Heir took twenty percent of the shop’s profits and gave it to Zhao Erhu.
"Princely Heir, after deducting the cost of goods, expenses, and rewards for the crew, we’ve made a net profit of 630,000 taels of silver," reported Zhao Erhu calmly, having already been through the initial surprise; he had expected to make money from the sea venture but never imagined such an enormous profit. The value of the goods sent overseas was less than 100,000 taels of silver, so this was a several-fold increase, with some items even making ten times the cost.
This 630,000 did not include Lin Yue’s batch of goods, but Zhao had already discussed this with the Princely Heir, who had agreed that his wife’s goods would be considered separately, with no regard to the profit, similar to the previous batch taken from his storehouse, which was also not accounted for.
The Princely Heir had thoroughly researched the prospect of seafaring trade and was well aware of the potential for high profits, which is why he was interested in the business in the first place. Yet, the reality of such a staggering profit still took him by surprise. But having learned from a young age to maintain his composure, he didn’t show much emotion compared to Zhao Erhu’s initial reactions, "Such an immense profit indeed; with just and fair dealing, when could one earn so much silver? No wonder so many risk the dangers of the sea; the higher the risk, the greater the reward."