But isn't this a bit too forceful?

You really don't mince words when you talk to people, do you?

She even felt a strange sense of frustration—saying nice things to you doesn't work, and using my kingly demeanor can't intimidate you, so what else do you want from me?

In Dongfang Xiao's view, although being an empress was frustrating, she still possessed the basic qualities of a ruler. At least she could control the general officials, and it wasn't a situation where "the world only knew the Grand Duke and not the Empress."

But when he faced Xu Shi, it felt like none of his tricks worked.

Tsk.

"...Since Mr. Xu says so, I can understand your feelings."

Despite her frustration, the conversation had to continue, so she thought for a moment and said, "However, some things cannot represent my will... I wonder if you are feeling any better now?"

"well enough?"

Xu Shi's answer was ambiguous: "In the end, I didn't get anything good out of it. I don't care what the people of the Empire think of me, but I really did put in a lot of money."

"I think that's not necessarily true."

The young empress shook her head and said, "I do know something about what Mr. Xu has done... It seems that from the very beginning, you have set up many trading posts to trade houses and livestock with my people?"

When the price of Poseidon Stone skyrockets, the prices of other goods will only get cheaper and cheaper. She was aware of this. Previously, the market price of a draft ox was three silver coins, but later it could be bought for as little as one silver coin. By extension, the situation of other things was not much better.

but.

"Now that Poseidon Stone is worthless, the prices of these things will naturally rise, and may even be higher than before."

"So, you are actually the biggest beneficiary, aren't you?"

Buy at a fair price or even a low price, and then sell at a high price. The difference between the purchase and sale price alone will be a lot of money. Don't pretend here, I can see through you!

Not to mention that he was the one who started this whole thing. Dongfang Xiao doesn't believe he's the kind of person who would be willing to hurt others a thousand while hurting himself eight hundred. Who would believe that he also lost out?

"You can't say that."

Xu Shi did not deny it, but of course he had to act innocent after getting the benefit. "What use is it for an outsider like me to have so many houses, cattle and sheep? I have to spend money to hire people to manage and clean them... I don't know how much I have to spend on feed every day. It's not as easy as Your Majesty makes it sound."

"In that case, Mr. Xu, would you consider selling these items back to the royal family?"

The young empress pursed her lips, not bothering with pleasantries, and said directly, "I'll take as many as you have. As for the price, we can discuss it. I can guarantee you won't lose out. This way, you can get revenge for yourself. How about it?"

Upon hearing this, Xu Shi raised an eyebrow slightly.

Pretty clever... Ultimately, the royal family brought him here today to discuss things, mainly to minimize their losses.

And this is indeed a good method—for the Hualan Empire, especially for its people, these are indeed indispensable parts, as they have not yet completely broken away from the scope of an agrarian society.

In this situation, using produce as compensation to appease people is far more effective than directly filling the gap with money.

If he put himself in the shoes of the affected citizens, he might have sold the items back to them at a lower price, which would not only have reduced their losses but also minimized the royal family's losses.

At the same time, they can earn a lot of prestige, since the royal family saved everyone from dire straits, which is much more substantial than the small favors from the Papacy.

Of course, if the produce could be distributed back for free, everyone would be even more grateful.

These are all feasible solutions; it just depends on how much of her life she's willing to sacrifice.

Therefore, this little empress, Dongfang Xiao, is not really just a mascot. At least when faced with such an unprecedented and difficult situation, she can quickly come up with a solution, which is commendable in itself.

This made him appreciate her more; she wasn't just a pretty face.

only.

"Why should I?"

After thinking for a moment, he just shook his head. "Selling it to the royal family is not as good as reselling it myself. I think I can definitely make more money. The market is in short supply now, and I can offer whatever price I want and someone will buy it."

"you!"

This sentence made Dongfang Xiao lose his composure. That's enough!

From the very beginning of the conversation, she had been trying to curry favor with Xu Shi and had always maintained a very humble attitude. She had never done this even when facing Cheng Gujian.

The result was a "Why should I?", which really made her lose her temper.

"Mr. Xu, don't forget, this is the Hualan Empire, not your city-state."

Her face was ashen, and she tried her best to keep her tone from being too angry. "And I am the Empress of this empire, and I will never let you do whatever you want."

"But Your Majesty, didn't you say before that there are many things you can't decide?"

Xu Shicai wasn't buying it and responded with a smile, "Even if I were to talk to the royal family, why wouldn't I just go directly to Grand Duke Gujian? If I'm not mistaken, he'll have to pay a portion of the money no matter who I talk to."

That's already a very tactful way of putting it. To put it bluntly, I never considered you an empress. Cheng Gujian is the real power holder, okay?

We used to have a relationship, why should I waste my time on you?

"..."

This was the third time Dongfang Xiao had stayed in Bengbu during this short conversation.

Moreover, this time it can be said that it hit her sore spot, and it was the most outrageous time.

After all, who would actually tell her outright that she was a mascot? No matter how tactful the words were, they still sounded quite harsh to her.

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