Chapter 410 - Chapter 410: Chapter 417: It Won’t Be Pleasant (1/2)
Chapter 410: Chapter 417: It Won’t Be Pleasant
Chen Li also thought of the most important thing in war: food. She was impulsive by nature, and once she thought of something, she acted on it immediately. She quickly gathered capital and began buying up food at prices higher than the market rate, causing a surge of panic buying and a frenzy of grain purchasing on the market.
When Su Wenyue heard the news of the drastic rise in food prices, her brows furrowed, uncertain whether it was caused by the purchases her own people made. But she had clearly instructed her subordinates to buy slowly and discreetly to avoid market disruption. On the one hand, she didn’t want to attract attention, and on the other, she felt the commoners already led hard enough lives. If food prices were to rise rapidly, she didn’t know how many would be unable to feed themselves, or might even starve to death. Although Su Wenyue always claimed to be selfish and mean, she was actually tender-hearted.
“What exactly is going on? The food prices were stable until recently, although they were rising, they were within a certain range. How could they have spiked so much in the past few days? Did something go wrong?” As soon as Su Wenyue heard about the severe rise in food prices, she immediately called back her people for questioning.
“Madam, your subordinates have followed your instructions to the letter, daring not to dissent. Only, a few days ago, a group suddenly appeared in the market buying up large quantities of food, which led to much speculation. Combined with rumors in the marketplace that the Imperial Court would send troops to attack Yiyang Prefecture, the people of Yiyang Prefecture became anxious, fearing unforeseen events, and they too joined in the frantic purchasing of food, leading to the current situation,” a subordinate reported.
Su Wenyue’s frown deepened upon hearing this news: “Have you found out who these people are and what they intend to do with such aggressive purchases of food?”
With so many events happening recently, upon hearing this Su Wenyue’s thoughts immediately turned to conspiracy theories, suspecting that these people were sent by the Imperial Court to sabotage Liu Xiu, causing market chaos with the aim of inciting panic among the populace and creating internal disorder.
“Since the appearance of these people, we have been vigilant and had people monitoring them. We found out that they were sent by a woman named Chen Li, but as to why she’s hoarding food and driving up the prices, we have no idea,” the subordinate explained.
When Su Wenyue learned that Chen Li was behind it, she breathed a sigh of relief but was also rendered speechless and furious. As for why Chen Li would do such a thing, Su Wenyue thought she had a guess—Chen Li was as selfish as ever, unconcerned about others’ lives and not considering how a sudden spike in prices would place many families in crisis. And it wasn’t just for this reason alone; such reckless actions could have consequences far beyond this, and might even affect Liu Xiu and Han Yu.
“This woman is simply—I don’t even know what to say. Has she gone mad?” Su Wenyue said, indignant. The situation in Yiyang Prefecture was already chaotic enough, and now this woman’s act of suddenly hoarding food and driving up prices would likely make the rumors even more rampant, destabilizing people’s hearts and even affecting the army.
Albeit angry, Su Wenyue thought of Han Yu. She wondered if he knew about this and whether Chen Li’s actions would affect Han Yu’s strategies and plans. She immediately sent someone to inform Han Yu, prompting him to prepare in advance.
At this time, Liu Xiu was also very irritable and angry. The rumors that the Imperial Court would attack Yiyang Prefecture had caused quite a stir, not only panicking the public but also demoralizing the army. Just as he had managed to stabilize the situation, this new crisis emerged.