Chapter 385: Esteemed wangfei is impressive (2/2)

“It really is grain!”

“Esteemed wangfei, that one has to be esteemed wangfei!”

“Esteemed wangfei came to deliver us grain!”

“There’s so much grain! So much…so much!”

As the caravan came closer, the famine victims all grew excited and danced with boundless joy. After all, esteemed wangfei wasn’t just giving them grain, but hope and their very lives! There were no more instigation or duplicitous acts. In an instant, swathes of people fell to their knees and hailed loudly, “May Your Highness Duke of Qin prosper for thousands and thousands of years! May esteemed wangfei prosper for thousands and thousands for years!”

In the end, nearly everyone was kneeling on the ground. One could only imagine the magnificent sight of all those tens of thousands of people, bowing down in the city streets and alleys before her procession!

Official Nanguo was left dumbfounded, staring at cart after cart of grain until he recovered his wits. He couldn’t believe his eyes. How could this be possible?! Even if His Highness Duke of Qin did have all this grain, where did he get them from? Aside from the imperial uncle’s estate, there was nobody else in the world with so much stock. But…but the imperial uncle would never sell his grain to the Duke of Qin! Meanwhile, Official Yu so astonished that his entire body had stiffened. He found himself unable to move an inch. Everyone else around him had knelt down, but he was still standing there like an idiot, unable to recover his senses. How was he supposed to accept the reality before his eyes?

I have to be dreaming!

Graced with the kowtows and gratitude of the crowds, Han Yunxi smoothly reached her destination before jumping off her horse. She purposely took the time to straighten out her robes before ascending the steps to the provincial official’s estate.

“Your Highness Duke of Qin, chenqie has successfully fulfilled her mission. All 1,500,000 dan of grain have been delivered, may Your Highness inspect the delivery!” Han Yunxi’s voice wasn’t loud, but everyone present heard her speak.

1,500,000 dan! Heavens, no wonder there were so many carts. There was that much grain!

1,500,000 dan of grain was enough to feed all the famine victims in South Ning Prefecture for two to three months!

The cheers and cries of gratitude from the peasants intensified again in wave after wave of earthshaking shouts and exclamations! Right now, all they knew was that they had grain–real, tangible grain that they could see with their own eyes! As for the rumors–well, they’d long forgotten those at the back of their heads! His Highness Duke of Qin and Qin Wangfei were their great benefactors. How could they ever have embezzled the grain? Someone else must have done it. His Highness Duke of Qin must have come to capture the corrupt officials responsible for the deed!

“Official Nanguo, why don’t you make a personal inventory?” Long Feiye said coldly.

Nanguo Mingde’s legs collapsed beneath him as he fell to his knees again, unable to speak. Official Yu finally came back to his senses. He wanted to kneel, but it was already too late. Long Feiye had long taken notice of him. Chu Xifeng had already done a preliminary investigation of the places where the famine victims had gathered in droves. Why wouldn’t he be able to uncovered Official Yu as the culprit fanning the flames behind the scenes?

“Or would you like to do that instead, Official Yu?” Long Feiye said in a chilly tone.

Official Yu’s legs crashed to the ground as he too, fell to his knees. But as one of the imperial uncle’s hand-picked men, he was still steady in the face of this crisis. “The number must be as esteemed wangfei says! Your Highness Duke of Qin has finally delivered grain to us. Truly, Your Highness Duke of Qin is the fortune of our people, the fortune of our entire Tianning! This official cannot describe the admiration I hold within my heart…”

Official Yu looked even more moved than the people around him. As he spoke, he worked himself into prostrating repeatedly before Long Feiye, mimicking the peasants’ cries. “May Your Highness Duke of Qin prosper for thousands and thousands of years! May esteemed wangfei prosper for thousands and thousands of years!”

Nanguo Mingde felt like crying at the very sight he was seeing. He had no idea what would happen next. Meanwhile, Long Feiye only snorted in contempt at Official Yu’s display. He glanced at Nanguo Mingde and asked, “Official Nanguo, don’t you want to know where I found my grain?”

Of course Nanguo Mingde did. Official Yu wanted to know even more. Thus, Official Nanguo feigned ignorance and said, “Perhaps it was bought with the silver from the relief funds set aside for the disaster areas.”

“Exactly so!” Long Feiye said.

Official Nanguo and Official Yu were both floored by the answer. They had no idea why His Highness Duke of Qin was asking such questions. At this moment, Han Yunxi laughed. “Your Highness, we bought this grain, but what about the supplies that the imperial court sent to the disaster areas? Chenqie already heard news on the road that people were asking Your Highness where it’d gone. Chenqie didn’t get it, either. It was clearly Official Yu who was in charge of distributing grain to the famine regions, so why were the people questioning Your Highness instead?”

Official Yu didn’t even dare to lift his head and look at Han Yunxi. Official Nanguo remained silent as well. The peasants all waited to hear more, while the few that had instigated the crowd before were now too scared to talk.

Where did the original grain meant for the disaster regions go?

Long Feiye coldly issued orders. “Men, search the senior provincial official’s estate. If you discover any grain, don’t leave a single granule behind!”

Just then, Official Nanguo had expressed that he’d emptied the estate of all his grain already. He was supposed to have none left, but if anyone found any more…