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Considering their several years of friendship, Ming Ye couldn’t help but offer a reminder, which infuriated Gu Xiruo to the point of wanting to physically confront him.
Ming Ye grabbed Gu Xiruo’s wrist, his expression turning grim, “Gu Xiruo, if you dare lay a hand on me, what kind of person do you think you are?”
Did she think she could act this way just because she felt she owed him?
Absolutely absurd.
Frowning slightly as her hand was held, Gu Xiruo struggled to break free, saying, “Let go of me.”
Ming Ye pushed her away, looking at Gu Xiruo coldly, “Gu Xiruo, you are nothing more than a foster daughter of the Gu family. If it weren’t for the slight favor you’ve shown me, you wouldn’t even have the right to see me.”
“Who gave you the audacity to strike me?” Ming Ye said disdainfully, staring at Gu Xiruo coldly.
Feeling uneasy and somewhat flustered under Ming Ye’s gaze, Gu Xiruo’s heart began to race.
Over the years, Gu Xiruo seemed to have forgotten Ming Ye’s true identity.
“I…”
“Gu Xiruo, this is my advice to you. If you don’t want to listen, that’s fine. You will regret it sooner or later. Now it’s Gu Sheng, but in the future, it will be Qing Yukong.” It appeared that Qing Yukong had finally regained his wits.
Thinking back to the moment she saw Qing Yukong’s icy expression, Gu Xiruo couldn’t help but feel a sense of panic, “What should I do?”
“This is your own affair, and it has nothing to do with me,” Ming Ye said before walking away.
Despite harboring numerous grievances towards Ming Ye, Gu Xiruo dared not say much at this moment and could only watch as Ming Ye departed.
If Ming Ye had been willing to use his connections to help her, she wouldn’t be in this predicament.
Watching the play unfold, Wang Jinhe was pleased. He had thought Gu Sheng’s love for Gu Xiruo was crucial, but it seemed otherwise.
“Madam, Gu Sheng has abandoned the part of the business that requires taking lives,” Wang Jinhe was informed by Wan Feng after receiving the news.
Wang Jinhe was somewhat surprised by the news.
“Really? Gu Sheng went to great lengths to establish connections with those people, and now he’s just abandoning it? He truly is willing to let go,” Wang Jinhe remarked.
“After all, this involves matters of life and death. Gu Sheng probably doesn’t want to meet a tragic end due to this. Giving it up now is the best choice,” Wan Feng added quietly.
While Wang Jinhe understood Wan Feng’s point, knowing and doing were two different things when it came to Gu Sheng.
These businesses were all in highly profitable industries, yet Gu Sheng decided to walk away from them.
“A person like him doing such things for Gu Xiruo is truly laughable.”
“I bet Gu Sheng is probably regretting it now,” Wan Feng commented.
Wang Jinhe chuckled softly, “What does his regret have to do with me? This is all Gu Sheng’s doing, and it has nothing to do with me.”
“Let’s not dwell on that. How is the situation with Su Yu?” Wang Jinhe asked Wan Feng.
“He hasn’t sent any messages back yet, but based on the previous pace, it should be soon,” Wan Feng cautiously responded.
Wang Jinhe nodded, “I’ve been impatient.”
The lack of correspondence from Su Yu had left her somewhat worried, but hearing Wan Feng’s reassurance alleviated some of her concerns, replacing them with a sense of calm.
“Let’s wait for his message.”
“What about the investigation I asked you to conduct on the livelihood of the commoners around the capital?” Wang Jinhe inquired.
“Their lives were passable before, but with the introduction of high-yield crops, everyone’s living conditions have improved. However…” Wan Feng hesitated, unsure if he should continue.
“What is it?” Wang Jinhe rarely saw Wan Feng hesitate like this. His demeanor indicated that something had happened.
Wan Feng looked at Wang Jinhe helplessly and said, “In one village, about half of the villagers have sold off most of their grain, leaving very little. I’m concerned about this.”
If they continued like this, what if they faced natural disasters or other calamities in the future? Would they rely solely on government assistance? What if the government couldn’t provide for everyone, then what would they do?
Wang Jinhe was surprised to hear about this situation.
“How much grain did they sell?”
“After deducting taxes, they only have around five hundred pounds of grain left from what they sold.”
Upon hearing Wan Feng’s report, Wang Jinhe’s brow furrowed slightly. What were these people thinking?
Don’t most commoners have a habit of storing grain? How come they are selling off their grain here instead?
“Furthermore, I found out that those buying grain for them don’t seem like ordinary merchants. They are purchasing large quantities of grain at high prices, enticing about half of the villagers to sell off their grain.” Wan Feng initially didn’t pay much attention to it.
Later, he discovered that the movements of those buyers were quite secretive, unlike typical merchants, which made him cautious.
“Are they still buying grain now?” Wang Jinhe asked thoughtfully, tapping his fingers lightly on the table.
Wan Feng nodded, “Indeed, they are still buying, and the price of rice has risen from twelve wen per pound to fifteen wen per pound. If this continues, I fear the villagers won’t be able to resist the temptation and will sell off all their grain. If those individuals have any intentions that are detrimental to Xuan Empire, it could be highly unfavorable for us.”
This was Wan Feng’s greatest concern.
“Let’s go take a look,” Wang Jinhe had a notion forming in her mind and planned to accompany Wan Feng to investigate what was happening.
“By the way, did the village chiefs say anything about the villagers selling the grain?”
“One village chief scolded the villagers harshly, which deterred them from selling the grain. In another village, the chief led the selling himself.”
Wang Jinhe looked at Wan Feng speechlessly, “Is all of this true?”
The village chief leading the sale of grain? Unbelievable.
Wan Feng’s expression was also hard to describe, as he nodded slightly, “It’s all true.”
Wang Jinhe furrowed her brow slightly, “It seems like these people have been too well-fed, leading them to do such things.”
Being too well-fed can lead people to think about unnecessary things.
Wan Feng nodded in full agreement, “Madam is right. In the past, when grain production was low, everyone treated grain as precious. Now that grain production is high, they seem to take it for granted.”
“I’m not too concerned about that. What I am concerned about is something else.”
“What is it?”
“What if the people buying the grain are from another Empire? What would we do then?” Wang Jinhe asked meaningfully.
Another Empire…
Wan Feng’s expression changed immediately, “Madam, are you suggesting that the buyers are foreigners intending to use this grain as seed grain?”
Wang Jinhe nodded, “It’s not impossible.”
“If they use this grain for planting, will it have any effect?” Wan Feng asked nervously, looking at Wang Jinhe.