Chapter 334: For the estate’s matters, you decide (1/2)

Chapter 334: For the estate’s matters, you decide

It was rare for Long Feiye to be at the estate at this time of day. Han Yunxi saw him as he strode into the hall. Mu Qingwu was both excited and nervous, because he never expected to run into the Duke of Qin today. Even though asking Han Yunxi for help yet again left him remorseful, he still couldn’t help but feel happy. His Highness Duke of Qin had certainly picked a good time to show up.

Mu Qingwu quickly fell to one knee and exclaimed, “This soldier greets Your Highness Duke of Qin!”

Long Feiye shot him a glance. “Rise.”

Although Long Feiye was always cold, Han Yunxi sensed something off today. He seemed to be in a bad mood. Han Yunxi was still considering how to help out Mu Qingwu when Long Feiye sat down and said icily, “You two still have business?”

Both Han Yunxi and Mu Qingwu grew awkward at the words. Long Feiye was asking the question after he sat down–wasn’t that an obvious order for the guest to leave? With his intellect, it’d be easy enough to guess the purpose of Mu Qingwu’s visit. His current attitude was a clear sign of his refusal to help. Han Yunxi felt even more unable to speak up. Of course, Mu Qingwu was no idiot either. If the Duke of Qin was still like this even in front of Qin Wangfei, then there was no hope for his case.

Despite his disappointment, Mu Qingwu kept a smile on his face, “Your Highness Duke of Qin, esteemed wangfei, this soldier shall take his leave.”

But Han Yunxi suddenly said, “Wait!”

Long Feiye sipped his tea as he glanced at Han Yunxi without saying a word.

“Young General, take a seat!” Han Yunxi said good-humoredly.

Mu Qingwu had found her because he had no other ways left. He knew that Han Yunxi was favored, but he didn’t know whether those rumors matched the reality. He was only certain of one thing: no matter how much Long Feiye doted on Han Yunxi, it’d be hard to change his mind if he was already showing this attitude. Tianning’s Duke of Qin wasn’t a man who was swayed by women! But when Mu Qingwu saw that Long Feiye didn’t protest, he sat down on one of the guest chairs.

“Your Highness, Young General’s come to borrow grain from you,” Han Yunxi said skillfully, earning Mu Qingwu’s private admiration.

“Borrow? Then when does the Young General plan to return them?” Long Feiye asked.

Both Mu Qingwu and Han Yunxi rejoiced, but Long Feiye’s next words dashed their hopes. “Young General, you should know that Tianning’s been suffering from droughts throughout the country ever since last year?”

Mu Qingwu nodded. “This soldier knows.”

“Could it be that Young General is planning to borrow grain from your lordship to send relief to those disaster areas?” Long Feiye asked next, effectively shutting up Mu Qingwu. “If Young General is borrowing grain to relieve the people’s suffering, then there’s no need to pay it back. But if Young General is borrowing grain to make up for the soldiers’ provisions…”

Before Long Feiye finished, Mu Qingwu immediately stood up. “This soldier shan’t borrow any! Many thanks to Your Highness Duke of Qin, this soldier understands now!”

Mu Qingwu didn’t know about the widespread famine, but the imperial court had already sent out relief grain two to three times from its national stores. Not only that, they’d allocated a large sum from the national treasury to buy grain from the merchants in Jiangnan to relieve the disaster areas. There had been nothing but good news of late from the famine regions. It wasn’t just Mu Qingwu, but everyone else, who assumed that the problem had been taken care of. Emperor Tianhui had told him to gather grain in the first place because the national granaries were all emptied out!

Mu Qingwu’s expression was serious. He knew that the Duke of Qin’s words today meant that the famine situation was still unresolved. If that was the case, where did the grain from the national coffers go? The emperor’s maternal granduncle, Li Zhiyuan,1 was in charge of relief efforts. Where did all the grain and money go?

Because Mu Qingwu had left in a rush, Han Yunxi suddenly didn’t know what else to say. She looked at Long Feiye and said, “I…acted on my own initiative.”

She never expected a cold man like Long Feiye could actually show consideration for victims of natural disasters. She liked to praise herself for being intelligent, but she couldn’t keep track of the times she’d shown her stupidity before this man. There had to be a reason why Long Feiye hadn’t reached out to help an easy ally like Great General Mu.

“Mm.” Long Feiye even nodded his head.

Han Yunxi felt like a child who’d done something wrong as she hung her head pathetically. But Long Feiye simply said, “Starting from tomorrow, you’ll be the judge for everything in the estate.”

Urk…

Although Han Yunxi was already the true mistress of the Duke of Qin’s estate, many details were still under Long Feiye’s rule. Overwhelmed by the unexpected favor, she said, “Your Highness, I…”

“Your lordship has to take a trip to the Tang Clan, I’ll be leaving immediately,” Long Feiye explained. This was probably the first time he’d ever told Han Yunxi what he was up to. Han Yunxi wasn’t even used to it. She simply replied with a ‘Oh.’

“Aside from ‘oh,’ do you know how to say anything else?” Long Feiye said, his tone chilly.

Immediately, Han Yunxi changed her tone. “Ah?” she said instead.

“Anything besides that?” Long Feiye asked again.

Han Yunxi gave up with ‘ah’ and simply stared doubtfully at Long Feiye. She suddenly felt like he was acting differently, though she couldn’t tell where. Maybe he’s speaking more than usual? Han Yunxi was about to speak when Long Feiye rose to his feet. “Be careful. If anything comes up, find Chu Xifeng and Zhao mama.”