She mistakenly got into the bridal sedan chair and married a sickly but powerful minister, becoming

Chapter 455 Leaving the City

Zhao Yi's eyes flashed with coldness: "I killed accomplices of traitors; His Majesty will not punish me."

Jiang Chao looked puzzled.

"The Northern Qi emperor sent me to Yongqing County to quell the rebellion, but he didn't intend for me to return to the capital unharmed. So why would he arrange for royal guards to protect me?"

Zhao Yi sneered: "If the Emperor of Northern Qi sent his secret guards to assassinate me, wouldn't giving them documents and a written order be making his intentions public?"

Jiang Chao instantly understood the key point: when the Northern Qi emperor sent someone to assist Zhao Yi in quelling the rebellion, he was essentially selecting an official from the court and appointing him as an imperial envoy.

If the reason for sending someone to monitor Zhao Yi was to prevent him from fulfilling his duties, that would be the responsibility of the censor, not a secret guard.

Anyone with eyes can tell there's something fishy going on.

The Northern Qi emperor not only wouldn't pursue the matter of the secret guards against Zhao Yi, but was actually afraid that Zhao Yi would hold onto the matter of the secret guards.

Thinking of this, Jiang Chao breathed a sigh of relief.

Zhao Yi looked at the open city gate: "I captured Feng Zhihuan and was about to quell the riot in Yongqing County, but at this critical juncture, the secret guards closed the city gate. I'm afraid they want to take action against me from inside the city."

Jiang Chao asked, "What about Li Yong..."

“Although I have control of Yongqing County, Feng Zhihuan’s influence is too deep-rooted, and there are still many of his men in the city. The secret guards must be using Feng Zhihuan’s case as an excuse to seal the city gates.”

The best way to prevent Feng Zhihuan's faction from destroying evidence and to prevent him from fabricating evidence to frame Feng Zhihuan was to seal the city gates and prohibit anyone from leaving.

Unfortunately, Feng Zhihuan's subordinates were unaware of the secret guards' conspiracy. They took this opportunity to collapse the lead mine, killing several innocent civilians, and using this to frame him.

Who knew that it would backfire and help him?

Now that he has killed the secret guard, the guard's accomplices dare not make any rash moves for the time being, and are probably waiting for instructions from the Northern Qi Emperor.

He needed to return to the capital before the Northern Qi emperor's secret order reached the secret guards.

“Feng Zhihuan was the root cause of the riot in Yongqing County. Now he is in prison, and we have evidence of his crimes. He can no longer cause any trouble.”

Zhao Yi instructed, "You stay in Yongqing County and assist the county magistrate in settling the people. Tomorrow I will leave the city with my sister's procession to worship the mountain god and return to the capital ahead of schedule."

"Your subordinate obeys." Jiang Chao then remembered another matter: "Master, you offered to buy grain from grain merchants at a price of ten coins per pound, but they refused to sell."

"The grain merchants said that Yongqing County was already short of grain, and even at fifteen coins a pound, they would only break even. If they sold it for ten coins a pound, they would lose everything."

"They heard that the price of grain in Yongqing County had reached thirty copper coins per catty, so they brought their grain to Yongqing County to sell, hoping to make a small profit and ensure that the people here have something to eat."

"Although they will be forced by circumstances to sell us grain at a low price, this batch of grain can only temporarily alleviate the famine in Yongqing County."

The implication is that this is a one-time deal; if you want to do business with them long-term, it must be mutually beneficial.

Zhao Yi frowned: "Didn't you tell them that we were exchanging lead and silk for grain?"

The silk fabrics of Yongqing County were exquisite and of superior quality. Feng Zhihuan sold these silk fabrics to foreigners and made a great profit from them.

If grain merchants had any vision, they should have known the value of silk fabrics.

Not to mention minerals that are controlled by the government.

Jiang Chao mumbled, "I told them that even so, the grain merchants still want fifteen coins per pound. They are merchants; they don't do business at a loss."

Zhao Yi sneered. He could make a profit even if grain was eight coins per shi, let alone ten coins per jin.

They sold grain in Yongqing County and then bought silk fabrics and lead to sell elsewhere. This business, which involved profiting from both ends, was quite profitable, if not extremely so.

"Go and post notices to summon grain merchants in Yongqing County. Whoever has grain and sells it to the people for ten coins a pound will be given minerals and silk products by the government."

Jiang Chao's eyes lit up; there were plenty of people eager to do a profitable business.

The grain merchants from other places were simply taking advantage of the fact that Yongqing County was short of grain and that their masters were eager to solve the problem, which is why they were unwilling to compromise on prices.

Once the news gets out, these people will probably be scrambling to sell their grain to them.

Jiang Chao quickly replied, "Alright, I'll take care of it right away."

Zhao Yi watched Jiang Chao ride away on horseback, took the reins from the soldier, and planned to go see Princess Guangning.

Then he remembered the chaotic situation in Yongqing County and feared that it might cause unforeseen complications, so he abandoned the idea.

Zhao Yi returned to the Plum Garden and wrote letters to Prince Yu and Princess Guangning respectively, then instructed Jiang Mu to deliver them to them.

Princess Guangning was kneeling in front of the Buddha shrine, her hands clasped together, praying to Buddha to bless her so that her wish could be fulfilled.

"Your Highness, Your Highness—" Yun Shu rushed into the room, her expression anxious, and said, "The Prince of Guangling has been cleared of his crimes, but the sealed city gates have been opened."

Guangning suddenly opened his eyes, his face turning deathly pale.

The city gates are open, which means Prince Yu can leave the city without hindrance, so he definitely won't take her with him.

Yun Shu helped Princess Guangning to her feet, intending to say a few words of comfort.

At this moment, Yunying hurriedly entered the room, took out a letter from her sleeve, and handed it to Princess Guangning: "Your Highness, this is a letter from the Prince of Guangling to you."

Guangning hurriedly opened the letter, read it at a glance, and breathed a slight sigh of relief.

She instructed Yun Shu: "Aunt Yun, I am going to the mountain god temple to worship the mountain god tomorrow. Please prepare a set of clothes for me."

"Yes, Your Highness." Yun Shu bowed and immediately went to prepare the sacrificial robes.

Afterwards, Guangning instructed Yunying: "Tomorrow we will leave Yongqing County under the pretext of worshipping the mountain god. We can't take anything else with us, so please take the important things with you."

"Yes, Your Highness." Yunying hurriedly went to pack.

Guangning stood by the window, looking towards the courtyard where Prince Yu lived, and clenched the letter in her hand.

Hopefully... Prince Yu will take her away, just as my brother said in his letter.

The next day.

Princess Guangning, dressed in her finest attire, sat in a sedan chair and headed towards the mountain god temple, surrounded by the people.