Chapter 368: Not even going to the disaster area (1/2)

Chapter 368: Not even going to the disaster area

The carriage left Tianning Capital leisurely in the middle of the night. Han Yunxi had been exhausted over the past few times and was planning to sleep, but she was surprised when Long Feiye ordered them to turn southwest as soon as they reached the outskirts of the city.

Tianning’s famine crisis had struck three major areas in the middle of the country. The capital city was located in the north, so logically speaking, they should head due south. Why is Long Feiye leading them southwest?

Bewildered, Han Yunxi asked, “Your Highness, is there an ambush up ahead?”

They might have hidden the news of Long Feiye’s injury, but there was no telling whether the assassin had spread word instead! Plenty of people in Cloud Realm Continent wanted Long Feiye dead, so it was only natural they be extra cautious on the road.

“I’m taking you to a place,” Long Feiye replied, reclining lazily against a high pillow. He was obviously relaxed, his eyes closed to rest. If anything, he didn’t look like someone who was injured at all, much less a man troubled by the complications of the famine crisis.

Where’s he bringing me at a time like this?

Han Yunxi guessed that the location must had something related to the disaster areas, but she couldn’t venture to know any of the details. She perched against the window and looked curiously at the night scenery outside. Truthfully speaking, she’d never traveled along this road before. Still, she was so tired that she soon fell asleep.

By the time she woke up next morning, the carriage was still moving. Long Feiye had already woken up before her and was reading a few secret missives in his hands. Han Yunxi scooted to his side and tugged at his sleeves like a lackey man.

“Your Highness, where are we going? Tell me about it!”

Long Feiye ignored her completely, not even bothering to lift his eyes.

“Your Highness, say something, won’t you?”

“Your Highness, just tell me. I have no way of guessing. It looks like it’s pretty far away.” Han Yunxi just wouldn’t give up. Long Feiye didn’t usually like to be disturbed when reading his messages, but he didn’t even lose his temper this time. Instead, he handed Han Yunxi one of his missives instead. There were a total of three messages this morning, all of them concerning the imperial uncle’s desperate efforts to sell off his grain. He only had three more days before the deadline to pay over 1,000,000 taels for the auction bids. Over the past few days, the imperial uncle had been busy trying to sell off his stores to convert them into cash. Unfortunately, he hadn’t managed to sell any of it yet.

It wasn’t for a lack of buyers, but the simple fact that his asking price was too high. The imperial uncle had originally embezzled the grain with intentions to sell it at an exorbitant price once the grain market skyrocketed. Now he was being forced to sell it ahead of time, but his shrewd, greedy personality meant he’d try to raise the price as much as possible. Moreover, he really needed a lot of money fast! How was he supposed to get enough funds unless the grain was pricey enough?

Of the 2,400,000 taels he owed to the Ministry of Revenue, only 1,200,000 taels had been paid in advance. Some of those taels came from the betrothal gifts that the crown prince was supposed to give Mu Liuyue. Others came from the imperial uncle’s private stores, while the rest came from usurious loans. Naturally, the imperial uncle’s estate was worth far more than 1,200,000 taels, but the crafty imperial uncle had long changed his ready cash into things like land and collection objects. There was very little actual money on the premises. He could probably sell off any old antique or curios for tens of thousands of taels. Some were even worth a million taels on their own. But none of those items were equal to ready cash, nor could they be easily sold off. Once they made their appearance at an auction or similar bidding grounds, the imperial uncle’s estate would be selling off its own face, too.

There were plenty of wealthy members within the royalist faction, but the imperial uncle’s estate was the richest of them all. His family was supposed to be the strong patron backing the emperor’s faction. Because their standing was so high and mighty, there was no way for the imperial uncle to lower himself in the eyes of others. Thus, his only solution was to take out loans with high interest rates from the black market to get taels immediately. He’d requested the transaction be made with utter secrecy.

It was impossible to get an exact sum, but a rough estimate of the loans they owed and the money needed for the Ministry of Revenue meant that the imperial uncle’s estate was missing at least 2,000,000 taels. Unless they sold their grain at high prices, it’d be impossible to earn a profit or even break even with their losses.

Naturally, there was no way for news like this to be commonplace. Even the aristocratic circles in Tianning’s capital city would be hard-pressed to uncover its rumors. However, the traveling merchants that came in from all directions had sharp ears and quick wits. A single rustle of the wind was enough to hint them towards the big picture. The news of Grand Concubine Yi’s charity auction had long spread amongst them. The smarter merchants smelled a business opportunity in the air and knew that the imperial uncle would have to undersell his grain, and in great quantities, soon!

Those who rose late missed out on profits, those who weren’t crafty couldn’t be merchants! Nobody was willing to play Good Samaritan and help out the imperial uncle’s estate this time. Everyone wanted to take advantage of his misfortune, and secretly came to agreements to force the prices down. The missive explained everything very clearly. Someone spread news in Tianning’s black markets that there was 30,000 dan of husked rice for sale. Anyone who could unload that much grain at once during a famine had to be from the imperial uncle’s estate. Of course, they had no concrete proof despite all their guesses.

Moreover, everyone was aware of the imperial uncle’s embezzling habits as well. But again, there was no concrete proof, so the rumors remained rumors to the end. After reading through all three messages, Han Yunxi was just about caught up with the situation at hand. She grinned and said, “Is Your Highness planning to buy the grain to help the disaster areas while ridding the people of a corrupt official at the same time?”

Long Feiye actually shook his head. “No, your lordship is going to sell grain as well.”

This… Han Yunxi was surprised. Is he joking? Selling grain at a time like this, when they need it everywhere else?