Chapter 100 The Grand Secretary Donates Grain

After the Emperor finished speaking, Gu Nanxiao brought up the three guards who were watching the granary and the three shopkeepers.

Upon seeing these six men, the Prime Minister knew that everything had been exposed, and immediately kowtowed deeply once more. He understood that this time, words alone would not be enough to fool them.

So, gritting his teeth, he decided to sell the grain to the imperial court at the price it was hoarded at. After kowtowing, he hurriedly touched his bleeding forehead and said sincerely:

"I have been busy with government affairs these past few days and have not had time to manage the grain shops. Who knew that the people under me would raise the price of grain in line with the market price?"

"I will immediately lower the grain price; the grain will be sold at the same price it was purchased at."

As he spoke, the Grand Secretary, fearing the Emperor might not believe him, ordered someone to bring the grain purchase register as proof. They had indeed spent a considerable amount of money purchasing the grain; the price they paid was not low.

Normally, they wouldn't need so much silver. However, there was another group of people who were stockpiling grain at the same time as them, and they were always more extravagant than them.

Moreover, they consumed more grain than the others, which led them to spend twice as much as before to hoard over a million bushels of grain.

When the Grand Secretary tremblingly handed over the grain register, Gu Nanxiao snatched it away, then held it up and loudly proclaimed in front of everyone:

"At that time, the Grand Secretary voluntarily donated all the grain listed in the grain register to the court, requesting the Emperor to reward him for his loyalty and patriotism."

As soon as Gu Nanxiao said this, the Imperial Guards immediately replied in unison, "Please grant a reward, Your Majesty! Please grant a reward, Your Majesty!"

The Emperor was taken aback upon hearing this, for he had indeed never considered forcing the Grand Secretary to donate grain for nothing. However, after Gu Nanxiao's outburst, he also felt that this solution was more effective.

The Emperor was quite frustrated by the Shi family's profiteering during the national crisis, and now he was finally able to vent his anger.

So, while the Grand Secretary was stunned and bewildered, the Emperor immediately announced: "The Grand Secretary has rendered meritorious service by donating grain. His eldest son shall be appointed to the Ministry of Rites as an official, and given the rank of third grade, as a sign of imperial favor."

With the Emperor's word, the matter of donating grain was now firmly in place. At this point, the Grand Secretary could no longer voice any objections to donating grain; he had no choice but to swallow his pride and bear the consequences.

He knelt upright as if he had lost his parents, kowtowed again, and said in a trembling voice, "Your subject kowtows to thank Your Majesty for your grace."

The Emperor looked down at the ground, and the chief minister, who seemed to have aged ten years in an instant, finally felt a sense of relief. This trip out of the palace had not been in vain.

This gave them over a million shi of grain for nothing. Without lingering any longer, they lightly boarded the imperial carriage and prepared to return to the palace.

Gu Nanxiao volunteered to stay behind and hand over the donated grain from the Shi family. The Emperor sat on his dragon carriage, looking down at his nephew with mixed feelings.

To be honest, Gu Nanxiao is the most effective weapon he has used in the decades since he ascended the throne. Although he is not old, he always manages to do his job better than he expected.

Gu Nanxiao hadn't understood the complex and conflicted look in the Emperor's eyes before, but after learning the truth, he understood completely. His imperial uncle wanted to kill him, yet also wanted to continue using him.

Gu Nanxiao showed no emotion on his face, maintaining an expression of both admiration and loyalty as he assured the emperor that he would ensure the grain was handed over perfectly.

The Emperor was in a very good mood at the moment, especially seeing how obedient the boy was. Even his anger from not being able to sleep with Zhao Yunxi earlier had lessened somewhat.

He smiled at Gu Nanxiao for the first time since the palace banquet, and said in a loving voice, "As long as you are dedicated to serving me, I will grant you your wish for even the smallest thing you desire."

The Emperor was not a man of lasting affections to begin with, and his initial amazement at Yunxi's appearance that day was merely a fleeting moment. After several busy days, he could no longer even remember what Yunxi looked like, and his longing for her naturally diminished somewhat.

Moreover, the Emperor has his own plans. Even if Gu Nanxiao marries Yunxi as he wishes, it won't stop him from favoring her. Every woman of the Great Yan Kingdom has the obligation to serve her monarch.

Once I've recovered my health, I can find an opportunity to bring her into the palace for a taste of something new; that wouldn't be out of the question.

If Gu Nanxiao is sensible, he'll spare the boy's life; if he's not, he'll make him die alongside his useless father, the Prince Yong. Then, Yunxi will inevitably become his woman.

Gu Nanxiao pretended not to understand the emperor's calculations. After receiving the order, he organized people to move the grain in a grand manner. Seeing this, the emperor's eyes flashed with satisfaction. Then, he leisurely returned to the palace in his sedan chair.

The Emperor was relieved of a great worry, but the Grand Secretary Shi was nearly killed. If this batch of grain had only been purchased with his family's spare money, it wouldn't have been so bad.

But because of his greed, he mortgaged all his properties and land deeds to borrow money to hoard this grain. Now that the grain is gone, isn't this going to kill him?

The Grand Secretary returned to his residence in a daze, and then hurriedly sent his advisors to arrange a meeting with the Third Prince. However, this matter angered the Emperor, and the Third Prince, fearing a stain on his reputation and being disliked by the Emperor, went into hiding again.

Not only did he not keep the appointment, he also sent a message telling the Grand Secretary to take all the blame himself. His reasoning was that since he had already been exposed, it was better to let the Emperor be dissatisfied with only him than to let him vent his anger on everyone else.

The Grand Secretary once again felt the chill of betrayal from his closest relatives. But he had to admit that the Third Prince's actions were correct.

The emperor outwardly bestowed honors upon the Shi family, but in reality, he was deeply dissatisfied with Shi's actions. Furthermore, the lies he told were utterly unbelievable to the emperor.

The reason the emperor did not punish him after his intention to profit from the national crisis was fully exposed was because he was willing to use all the grain to ward off the disaster.

If the Third Prince is also implicated at this juncture, it will be even more detrimental to the Shi family's career. The Shi family is currently disliked by the Emperor, and their official careers may be stagnant for some time.

But once the Third Prince ascends the throne, the Shi family will usher in unprecedented glory. Until then, no matter what situation he is in, he must not show any dissatisfaction with the Third Prince.

The sale of grain is over. The most urgent task is to quickly use the IOUs from the four major money houses to redeem his property.

Because of the blow he suffered, the Prime Minister was very weak at the moment, so he sent his three eldest sons to the accounts of three grain shops to withdraw cash.

Half an hour later, the three legitimate sons returned to the manor with ashen faces, all saying that there wasn't a single penny left in the accounts. After the head manager was arrested, the third prince sent people to take away all the cash in the accounts. He said he wanted to use this money to gamble on the public funds embezzled by the Ministry of Revenue.

Upon hearing this, the Grand Secretary was so enraged that he fainted. However, he was only unconscious for an hour before the imperial physician roused him with needles.

When the chief minister slowly woke up, he saw his eldest son looking anxious and then dropped another bombshell: "Father, please make a decision quickly."

"The gold mine we were mining with the Third Prince was discovered by the Imperial Guards this afternoon. They have already arrested everyone at the mine and brought them before the Emperor."