Chapter 1854: Chapter 595: Huajin Paint, A Twist of Fate (2)

All of this made Su Xing’er feel dazzled and, at the same time, quickly develop a sense of belonging to the Great Xia. Coupled with an immense desire to earn recognition from her mentor, Xia Hong, she and her three brothers had almost no psychological barrier in integrating into the Great Xia.

Due to their significant contributions in the uprising in Evergreen Valley, the four siblings were rewarded with military merits ranging from 100 to 200 points each. Although they were still far from obtaining a noble title, according to Great Xia’s regulations, anyone who acquires military merits can convert them into a current silver reward on their first occasion, at a ratio of 1 to 500 taels. This meant by the time they arrived in Xia City at the beginning of the year, the siblings were already quite wealthy.

Being wealthy meant Su Xing’er had enough money to explore the abundant and diverse commodities in Xia City—summer clothes, summer food, Xia-made weapons and tools, refined salt, spirit pills, and various other goods. To accelerate her integration into Great Xia, she tried almost all of them.

Living in the Xia Capital was not easy. With several waves of population booms over the years, even settling in the Outer City was not a simple task. Excluding the cost of construction, a standard plot of land measuring 100 square meters in Xia Capital could easily cost over 30,000 taels. Considering the future expenses for cultivation and the fact that she and her three brothers had not yet married, the four siblings decided to live together, pooling resources to buy a plot of land and build a house.

Her three brothers were very protective of her. Without saying a word, they registered the land in her name, and she took care of most of the subsequent matters related to construction.

Because of this responsibility, Su Xing’er became exceptionally sensitive to building material prices. Seeing everything in Xia Palace was what triggered her current reaction.

Inside Xia Palace, there sat thirteen large palaces arranged in sequence, with the largest Lord Hall at the core and surrounded by twelve smaller halls scattered around like stars. Above the Lord Hall was an exquisite palace clinging to the mountainside, though not large in scale, its elevated position spoke of its extraordinary nature.

Crucially, the outer walls of these thirteen large palaces were all painted with Huajin Paint. Previously unseen through palace walls, now close up, Su Xing’er could see the thirteen glittering palaces, which caused significant internal shock.

When her new residence was completed, she had gone to shops in the Outer City to select paint. The shopkeeper introduced her to many types at the time. Probably out of a desire to boast, he particularly introduced her to the three highest-grade paints, including Huajin.

At the time, hearing the price of Huajin Paint was as high as 1,300 taels per pound and that only nobles have the privilege to use it, plus it was rationed annually based on noble rank, Su Xing’er was naturally stunned.

Therefore, seeing thirteen palaces entirely painted with Huajin Paint was an unsettling sight, causing inner turmoil.

The thirteen palaces of Xia Palace were all square arches in shape. The base length of the largest Lord Hall in the center should be 150 meters, while the twelve smaller ones seemed to have lengths around 50 meters. Calculating this, the consumption of Huajin Paint must be no less than 100,000 pounds.

The thirteen palaces on the ground already left her speechless. The grand hall on the mountainside was even more exaggerated—its outer layer gleamed with a bright silver light...

Su Xing’er could immediately recognize that this shiny silver light was not something paint could reveal; it was real silver.

The elongated palace on the mountainside, spanning 30 meters, surprisingly had its outer layer coated with silver!

The metallic ores from the Ice Abyss, the higher the grade, the greater the density, the higher the furnace temperature required for smelting, and the less liquid produced after smelting. To have an entire palace’s outer wall cast with silver slurry, the amount of silver it would require was unimaginable to Su Xing’er.

The crux is, up to this moment, she’d only seen the outside of these palaces. Given their extravagance on the outer wall, what could the interior be like?

"Whether it’s Cai Qiu’s Lin Chu County Mansion or Chen Cang’s Yanling County Mansion, they cannot be compared to here, nor the township governments of the two prefectures; whether they match this standard is uncertain..."

Su Xing’er couldn’t help but compare the Lin Chu and Yanling county mansions she had previously visited with Xia Palace before quickly eliminating them from consideration.

The richness of Great Xia’s products far exceeded her imagination...

"Miss Su has been in Xia City for less than half a year, yet even recognizes Huajin Paint. That’s quite impressive. This Huajin Paint contains a lot of silver and can prevent deceitful monsters. When Xia Palace was expanded at the beginning of the year, Director Mu proposed painting all the palaces with Huajin Paint. The First Lady feared excessive extravagance and waste, initially rejecting the idea. It was later that Director Mu strongly advocated for it, with the Minister adding that since Xia Palace is not only the Lord’s residence and the core of Great Xia but also the future township government of Xia Prefecture, safety and solemnity are indispensable, so even a higher specification would not be too much, leading to what Miss Su sees now...

Ming Yue’s mood was evidently good today. Seeing Su Xing’er staring at the great palaces of Xia Palace with a face full of shock, she couldn’t help but happily explain.

She had always been serving the First Lady Li Xuanling. Three months ago, when Lady Cai married far away for alliance, the First Lady assigned her to serve the newcomer.

Lady Cai held the title of Princess Tianyin, so Li Xuanling simply allocated a hall from Xia Palace, naming it Tianyin Hall for the lady’s living quarters. Ming Yue is now the Maid Chief Steward of Tianyin Hall, specifically responsible for serving Lady Cai.

Yesterday was her day off. She was already married, her husband serving in the Dragon Forbidden Captain, and they had two children. It was rare to have a day off, so naturally, she approached Lady Cai at dawn for permission to leave.

Speaking of which, Lady Cai is a good person. Married through alliance and hasn’t met the Lord’s face yet, most women would have made a fuss a long time ago. But she not only hasn’t complained, she has never made any demands, and treats the maids with courtesy, never making things difficult for them, even knowing they were sent by the First Lady as spies.

Unexpectedly, yesterday, when she went to ask for Lady Cai’s permission to leave the palace, the lady unexpectedly made a request.

That request was to bring Su Xing’er inside, who Ming Yue is now escorting.

Lady Cai grew up in Cai Qiu and clearly only just married, should have known nothing about Great Xia, yet she knew about an individual named Su Xing’er in the Outer City and pleaded for the maid to bring Su Xing’er to meet her.

Ming Yue knew that Lady Cai was only nineteen herself while she was already twenty-five this year. If not for the significant status difference and nearly three months of interaction with Lady Cai, she would have felt compassion for the lady.

Indeed, compassion!

A nineteen-year-old girl, coming from Cai Qiu to Great Xia for marriage, hasn’t seen her husband, the Lord Xia Hong, even once in three months. Above her is an extremely powerful First Lady. Li Xuanling gradually sent away all sixty accompanying individuals from Cai Qiu. Consequently, in the enormous Xia City, she has no acquaintances.

Given such circumstances, even someone as loyal to the First Lady as Ming Yue couldn’t help but feel a touch of sympathy, occasionally speaking well of Lady Cai in front of the First Lady.

Therefore, rare as it was to hear a request from Lady Cai, and considering it only involved bringing someone from the Outer City to Xia Palace, Ming Yue promised to help despite feeling constrained.

Of course, matters within Xia Palace were always decided by the Lady. Thus, her promise was only to ask for the Lady’s opinion on behalf of Lady Cai. Only if the Lady agreed could she proceed.

Fortunately, the Lady did not make things difficult for Lady Cai in this matter, hence the opportunity for Ming Yue to bring Su Xing’er into the palace.

Ming Yue did not hide anything, explaining to Su Xing’er about Lady Cai and her instructions as they walked towards Tianyin Hall.

Su Xing’er listened, initially puzzled, pondering briefly before seeming to realize something, her expression suddenly stiffening.

"May I ask, Sister Ming Yue, what is Lady Cai’s full name?"

Strum...

As they spoke, they were already at the entrance of Tianyin Hall. As soon as she asked the question, an ethereal and elegant sound of a musical instrument came from inside.

Upon hearing the familiar music, Su Xinger’s body shook, first showing excitement, then her expression unexpectedly became complex.

"Lady Cai’s full name is Cai Shiqin."

Coincidentally, Ming Yue spoke Lady Cai’s name at the same time.

The one sent from Cai Qiu to marry her mentor Xia Hong was none other than her friend from three years ago at Lin Chu County Mansion, Cai Shiqin!

How things in life can coincidentally unfold in such a manner!

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.