met free Chapter 108: King of Zhenbei
Chapter 108: King of Zhenbei
“Your idea is good.” Zhao Yi pondered for a moment, guessing that Shen Qingtan would probably have further actions. He said gently, “When I go to the palace to be on duty tomorrow, I will present your plan to the Emperor.”
"What do you mean by my scheme?" Shen Qingtan pulled out the hairpin that held her hair up and glanced at the man. "How would I, a woman confined to the inner quarters, understand the affairs of your court?"
"So what if she's a woman confined to the inner quarters?" Zhao Yi looked at her black hair cascading down like a waterfall, which accentuated her snow-white skin and luscious cherry lips. He unconsciously turned his gaze away and stared at the translucent jade hairpin in her hand: "There are countless examples throughout history of women proving themselves equal to men. To be confined to the inner quarters simply because you are a woman is a waste of your talents, Madam."
Shen Qingtan: "..."
“Nowadays, local officials all act like local emperors, colluding with local merchants to exploit the people. In addition, local officials band together and protect each other, leaving ordinary people with no way to seek justice.”
Zhao Yi returned to the main topic and said in a low voice, "The fact that the refugees were able to flee to the capital shows that the situation in Guanzhou is not optimistic and may be even more severe than we imagined."
Shen Qingtan agreed with Zhao Yi's guess. If the officials in Guanzhou had embezzled the grain, they would definitely guard it closely and not allow the people to leave Guanzhou, for fear that the news would leak out and they would lose their heads.
The common people are simple and honest, and they are afraid of officials at heart. If there is any chance of survival, how could they dare to risk their lives to escape from Guanzhou?
“I’ve been thinking about this for a while. When the refugees flee to the capital, the officials in Guanzhou will definitely try to cover it up and destroy the evidence against them. Once the emperor takes notice of the refugees’ situation, he can send an imperial envoy to Guanzhou to investigate. By then, the ones caught will be scapegoats.”
Shen Qingtan calmly said, "If the Emperor hadn't sent anyone to investigate, but instead had the officials who borrowed the grain fill the gap, the situation would have been completely different."
"His Majesty only needs to send someone to secretly keep an eye on the official in charge and see who he contacts after receiving the imperial edict. Once they have made up for the food shortage, they will definitely think that the matter is over, and they will not even think about exchanging statements."
At this point, Shen Qingtan sneered: "When the time comes, we'll arrest them one by one and interrogate them. Are you afraid we won't be able to pry their mouths open?"
As Zhao Yi watched her calmly and rationally set up a trap for the corrupt official, a thought inexplicably arose in his mind.
He had suffered from illness for more than 20 years, and fate compensated him by marrying her to him.
Shen Qingtan noticed that he didn't speak, but instead stared at her.
She instinctively covered her face with her hands, looked up, and asked, "What's wrong? Did I say something wrong?"
Zhao Yi shook her head: "What you said is very good."
He spoke so seriously that Shen Qingtan felt a little embarrassed.
She subconsciously turned her face away to avoid his gaze, only then belatedly realizing that Liu Yue had already quietly left the house.
"It's late, let's go to sleep."
After saying this, Shen Qingtan turned her back to Zhao Yi, put the hairpin into her dressing case, combed her hair with a comb, and then slowly walked to the bedside.
Zhao Yi was already asleep on the inside of the bed, the blanket covering his chest, his hands neatly placed at his sides.
Previously, she went to a banquet with the Fourth Madam. After getting drunk, she took over Zhao Yi's bed. She then discussed with Zhao Yi that she would sleep on the outside and he would sleep on the inside, so that her sleeping posture would not be bad and would push him off the bed.
For a moment, Zhao Yi's expression turned strange. He looked at her with an indescribable look for a while before finally agreeing to her request.
Actually, she felt that he was frail and sickly, and that it would be more convenient for her to take care of him if she slept on the outside.
Shen Qingtan blew out the oil lamp, lifted her quilt, and lay down in bed.
"I'll go with Uncle Qin to the city gate tomorrow to check on the situation."
She pulled the blanket up to her chest, said those words, and then closed her eyes wearily.
Zhao Yi gave a soft "hmm," and then he heard even, long breaths coming from beside him.
She has fallen asleep.
Zhao Yi: "..."
When the two had just gotten married, she slept very restlessly at night, tossing and turning several times before finally falling asleep.
Perhaps because they had become more familiar with each other, she became less and less guarded around him, going to bed earlier and earlier each time, until now she could fall asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.
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The next day, after having breakfast, Shen Qingtan took Jiang Mu and Tingxue to the Qin residence.
It seems that she and Zhao Yi have made an agreement: if she goes to a dangerous place, he will take Liu Yue away and leave Jiang Mu to protect her safety.
The carriage stopped in front of the Qin residence. Tingxue went down to deliver a message, and after about fifteen minutes, Boss Qin finally came out of the residence.
He didn't get into the carriage, but stood by the curtain of the carriage window: "Tan'er, where are you going? I've hitched up the carriage and am following behind yours."
Shen Qingtan lifted the curtain of the carriage window and said, "Uncle Qin, you are my elder. Please ride in the same carriage with me. I have something to tell you."
Boss Qin hesitated for a moment: "This..."
Shen Qingtan said, "Tingxue is also in the carriage."
Upon hearing this, Boss Qin boarded the carriage.
"Tan'er, I've contacted several caravans and asked friends for help. Some have already set off for the Northern Qi Kingdom. My wife has also written to her brother, asking her nephew to go to the Northern Qi Kingdom again. My nephew has met Zhongyuan, so he should be able to find Zhongyuan sooner."
Boss Qin reported the progress of the search to Shen Qingtan, and then brought up the matter of grain: "I received your letter yesterday and immediately ordered my men to collect the grain."
At this point, Boss Qin asked doubtfully, "We sell our grain to the people at the usual price. If we pay 10% more to buy the grain, then the price we sell it for will definitely have to go up. We can't do business at a loss."
“Uncle Qin, we won’t lose money.” Shen Qingtan knew that Boss Qin’s concerns were not only about losing money, but also about the controversy that would arise if he raised the price of the grain. She comforted him, “If the grain cannot be sold, we can use it to brew wine.”
When Boss Qin thought of the ancient brewing recipes that Shen Qingtan had collected and the price that the brewed wine would fetch, his heart instantly settled down.
The carriage slowly drove to the city gate. For safety reasons, Shen Qingtan did not have the driver drive the carriage out of the city, but stopped it on the side of the road inside the city.
She stepped off the carriage wearing a veiled hat and looked towards the city gate. There she saw a group of refugees gathered there, all of them pale and thin, dressed in rags, holding a broken porcelain bowl in their hands, begging from passersby.
She discovered that most of the refugees were young adults, or young women and children.
Boss Qin frowned: "Today there are twice as many refugees as yesterday."
Shen Qingtan was about to ask Boss Qin about some things in Guanzhou.
At this moment, several refugees tried to enter the city, but the soldiers guarding the city gate stopped them, and a conflict broke out between the two sides. Other begging refugees all rushed over, and the scene suddenly became chaotic.
Suddenly, the heart-wrenching cries of women and children rang out from the city gate. The cries were so desperate and filled with helplessness and despair that they made one's heart clench.
Shen Qingtan's expression gradually turned serious as she boarded the carriage with Boss Qin.
"Uncle Qin, why don't you find an opportunity to distribute porridge at the city gate?" Shen Qingtan thought of the women and children at the city gate, who were so thin that they were just skin and bones, making their heads look particularly large.
She said in a low voice, "They finally made it to the foot of the capital and saw a glimmer of hope in their desperate situation. We can't let their hope be shattered and let them starve to death at the city gate."
Boss Qin agreed, lifted the curtain of the carriage window and looked out, and saw a refugee rush over and bump into the spear in the soldier's hand.
His eyes held a resolute glint, as if he wanted to use his death to draw the attention of the people in the capital, and then give them justice and a way out.
Seeing this horrific scene, Boss Qin was deeply shocked and said angrily, "The officials of Guanzhou have committed too many atrocities. I wish the Emperor would send a killing machine like the Prince of Zhenbei to kill them all."