Zhou Qiongyue winked at Yuan Bohua slyly, "I sold it! How could I not have sold it? I brewed it into wine and sold it."

Zhou Qiongyue would not admit that only a small portion of the wine she sold was particularly wasteful of grain, such as the prescription for the emperor, which was particularly wasteful of grain.

The best-selling varieties in her shop didn't require much real grain, but she wouldn't reveal the recipe. And for those wines, which were brewed with real grain, she also had recipes that required a lot of real grain, which weren't fake at all.

Yuan Bohua was silent for a moment, his expression showing great approval. "I forgot Yue'er also has a winery. That's a food-intensive business."

Zhou Qiongyue responded calmly and wanted to skip this topic.

Yuan Bohua worriedly warned Zhou Qiongyue, "Don't do anything big now, especially about food. You are not allowed to buy any more. If the emperor really believes this, Yuan'an's food will be under his surveillance.

The palace still has a lot of farms, I will find a way to save some food when the time comes. The palace actually doesn't have many people to support, so Yue'er doesn't need to worry too much. "

"Yes! I have already stored enough food." Zhou Qiongyue behaved very well. The food worth 200,000 taels of silver that she wanted to buy had already been stored. It was stored in the basement of Taohua Manor, which was under her name!

But she was still very confident that no one had noticed, mainly because she bought it early and didn't buy it in Yuan'an or the south. In places with more grain production, Zhou Qiongyue felt that there were many people watching her!

She had Yu Hai buy people to organize a caravan to go to the northwest and neighboring countries to trade. Each time she bought a small amount, it was mixed in with various goods and it was impossible to make a mark.

Yu Hai was now in charge of leading the caravan, and his wife was in charge of the grocery store, which was doing quite well. It brought Zhou Qiongyue a good income every month, sometimes even surprising her.

The main reason was that the shop was under Zhou Qiongyue's name, and Zhou Qiongyue even went there frequently to check on it, so no one was so blind as to dare to cause trouble.

Moreover, the shop was next to the city gate, and Zhou Qiongyue had instructed someone to greet the gatekeepers, so they would keep an eye on it.

So even if only Mrs. Yu and her children are guarding the place, it is relatively safe.

Yuan Bohua looked at the smug princess in front of him with amusement and couldn't help laughing out loud, "How much food can you have with just your two farms!"

Zhou Qiongyue glanced at Yuan Bohua with disdain, "Humph, there will be a time when you will be dumbfounded and beg me."

"Yes, Yue'er is right." Although Yuan Bohua didn't believe it in his heart, he still agreed with the princess with a desire to survive.

Of course Zhou Qiongyue saw Yuan Bohua's disbelief, but she was not angry. She would force Yuan Bohua to beg her when the time came.

Even though this matter has been exposed, Yuan Bohua has no plans to take any action for the time being. The main reason is that he has just finished his mission, and there may be someone watching him in secret!

Just when Yuan Bohua was still worrying about how to store more food without arousing suspicion, the emperor made a big move.

After the court session that day, the emperor's chief eunuch, Eunuch He, had just finished saying he had something to report and would leave without further ado. The emperor was the first to speak, "Where is the director of the Imperial Observatory?"

Liao Yunqing, the director of the Imperial Observatory, immediately stood up in front of everyone and knelt in the center of the hall. "I am here."

Although Liao Yunqing, the director of the Imperial Observatory, said these two words in a sonorous and powerful manner, he couldn't help feeling a little guilty, fearing that the emperor would ask him something he didn't know.

Sometimes, whatever you fear will come true.

Liao Yunqing, the director of the Imperial Observatory, had just knelt down and finished his reply when he heard the emperor say, "I dreamed of the late emperor last night. He told me that Yuan'an will experience a two-year drought starting after this year's autumn harvest. I would like to ask your opinion, Lord Liao."

Liao Yunqing was extremely panicked at this moment. Every time the emperor spoke, his heart trembled. When these words were put together, he wanted to faint on the spot.

At this moment, Liao Yunqing's back was soaked and his brain was working frantically.

The other noble ministers were also in an uproar. The entire hall was like a vegetable market, filled with discussions.

Yuan Bohua and other insiders also looked extremely surprised and incredulous, and it was completely impossible to tell that they were insiders.

The emperor made a gesture to stop the crowd and said, "Quiet, let's first listen to what Lord Liao has to say."

Liao Yunqing...it was a pity that he was in good health and couldn't faint.

Liao Yunqing finally decided to take a gamble. "I believe the late emperor was wise. Since he has sent me a dream, I am willing to share your worries and live and die with Yuan An."

A few months after Liao Yunqing prayed for the first time, the severe drought came soon. If the drought did not come by then, he was afraid that his life would be over.

The Emperor was quite satisfied with Liao Yunqing's answer, so he did not embarrass Liao Yunqing any further. He simply looked at the people present and asked, "What do you think, my dear ministers?"

After that, the entire court was like a vegetable market, with all kinds of disputes coming out frequently, some of them believed it and some did not.

The emperor did not stop them from speaking, and even argued with each other. Only when everyone had almost finished arguing did he speak again, "What do you think, Marquis Cheng'en?"

Of course, Marquis Cheng'en knew the emperor believed it. He acted terrified and knelt tremblingly in the middle of the hall. "Your Majesty, I think it's better to believe it than not. Let's prepare it first. Even if we don't need it when the time comes, we can just use the food as military pay. The loss won't be too great."

If it's true, it could save many lives, so it's worth a gamble."

The emperor didn't say yes or no, and asked a few more people.

Everyone basically agreed with Marquis Cheng'en. After all, everyone was afraid that this dream was real, and if they did not agree to prepare in advance, then their nine clans would be doomed.

Everyone is not stupid. No matter whether they believe it in their hearts or not, they all say "The late emperor is wise!"

The emperor looked at the reactions of the crowd at this morning's court session and was very satisfied. At least no one objected to the preparations.

After the morning court session, before anyone had even left the palace, the emperor's decree arrived. The general meaning was that the late emperor, out of concern for the people, had appeared in your dream, announcing a two-year drought.

The emperor issued an imperial decree advising the people not to sell this year's harvest, and those who had money to buy more grain to store. Most importantly, the imperial decree clearly stated that grain merchants were not allowed to raise prices at will, and those who violated the decree would be severely punished.

When the ministers heard the imperial edict, they all knew that the emperor had prepared it long ago. They praised the emperor's wisdom. But they were more curious about whether it was true or not.