Many people couldn't help but laugh when they imagined how Miss Zhou had been beaten.
Thinking about it, if it were me, even if I didn't think much of the Empress, I would have no choice but to suppress her now.
Otherwise, if the Emperor and the old general's wife were to settle scores together, Zhou Jie would be severely punished, if not killed.
Mu Yurou was also secretly observing Zhou Jie. This woman looked somewhat familiar, but upon closer inspection, she didn't seem like her. For a moment, she wasn't sure if this was the woman she knew.
In front of so many people, she didn't dare to go forward to confirm, for fear that people would talk badly about her behind her back.
After arriving in the capital, she realized just how powerful the Zhou family was. Although they were also merchants, they were imperial merchants, the kind who were related to the emperor, completely different from ordinary merchants like them.
I wish her family could do that too.
“Miss Zhou is right, but isn’t it too much for you to put down 10,000 taels of silver all at once?”
One of the young ladies was still uneasy. These people were all cunning and shrewd, and some even began to wonder if Zhou Jie had some inside information.
"Is ten thousand taels of silver a lot? Besides, I'm not paying for it myself; I'll ask the Emperor for it after I lose!"
Hearing this, everyone around laughed. Zhou Jie didn't linger; she placed her bet and left.
After she disappeared from sight, many people began to whisper among themselves: "Do you think the Empress has some tricks up her sleeve? Does she have a lot of grain in her hands? Is she planning to make a final move?"
"It's hard to say. Although Her Majesty the Empress said she wouldn't let the Emperor or the Zhou family help, who knows what they might do behind the scenes?"
"I think you're all just overthinking things!" Some people disagreed. When the young lady saw everyone looking at her, she arrogantly raised her head: "Do you think the adults in my family are stupid? My grandfather and the others have been keeping an eye on the Emperor for a long time. There are also people watching the Zhou family and the General's Mansion. If they make a move, we won't be unaware!"
Everyone who heard this agreed wholeheartedly; there are no fools in this world.
"So Miss Zhou really came here to give us money?"
"Let me tell you, don't be fooled by the fact that Miss Zhou bet 10,000 taels of silver on Her Majesty the Empress. She might have secretly sent her maid to place bets with someone else."
There are always plenty of smart people in this world, and soon everyone started placing bets quickly again.
"Everyone, hurry up! We only have half an hour left before we close the market!"
The person in charge of placing bets spoke loudly, and when they suddenly heard that the betting was about to close, everyone became even more anxious, and in the blink of an eye, many people placed large bets.
Half an hour passed quickly, and the casino staff left with their loot. The crowd, however, was in high spirits.
"Oh, the Zhou family is so kind; they even know how to give us benefits."
"I didn't think I'd win much money, but I actually made a small profit! It's not much, but it's better than nothing!"
Several people at the scene also won by betting on the Empress, with many hoping to win big with a small bet.
The main problem is that too few people bet on the Empress to win. If more money were bet on her, everyone could earn more.
Mu Yurou's eyes were deep. She also wanted to suppress her emotions a little, but she wasn't suppressing the Empress.
Nonsense, she wants to enter the palace. If the empress wins, how can she enter the palace?
Because of this delay, Xu Lingyi wasn't paying attention to her. However, Mu Yurou was extremely uneasy. She knew that although she had temporarily escaped, she would likely still be targeted after entering the palace. The little maid pouted unhappily, muttering under her breath, "These noble ladies in the capital are really... How could they be like this? They have no class at all!"
As mentioned before, this donation was entirely voluntary; anyone could donate as much as they wanted. Her young mistress simply wanted to donate more grain and get a good ranking. So what if she's a merchant's daughter?
But those ladies from prominent families, daughters of high-ranking officials, were all at odds with each other. Anyone who didn't know better would think that their young lady had stolen something.
"Alright, that's enough!"
Mu Yurou was also in a bad mood. She never thought about standing out; she just wanted to get a better ranking so that she might get a higher rank after entering the palace. But who could have imagined this?
"We shouldn't donate anymore; being in eighth place is already quite good."
She won't fall out of the top ten for at least a while. Right now, she should be looking at the Empress.
As long as the Empress doesn't try to climb the ranks, her name won't be a problem.
Actually, if you think about it carefully, how many places could the Empress possibly make? Even with the Emperor's help, the entire capital doesn't have much grain.
The only one that's opened is that grain store. I heard they didn't sell any grain today, but how much can they possibly have in stock for a day?
The betting incident caused quite a stir, but everyone was still excitedly waiting because they had placed bets and their own interests were at stake. Everyone's eyes were fixed on the Empress on the leaderboard.
...
"Listen to what's in the backyard!"
Some people had sharp ears and heard noises coming from the backyard of the national treasury, while others acted faster than they thought and had already rushed out to see what was going on.
"Wagons, there are so many wagons behind, each carrying grain. I don't know how much there is!"
Hearing this, Li Qingluan and the others were shocked. They didn't know who was so generous as to deliver the grain directly to the back door.
"Have you heard whose family it is?" Li Qingluan asked the servant.
"I don't know! Miss, I heard there's a lot of grain over there, probably several thousand bushels?"
The noble ladies sensed something was wrong, so they went to the back door together and sure enough, they saw a steady stream of grain being brought in.
Moreover, the truck that had already been unloaded did not stop there, but turned around and drove away.
Li Qingluan sent her maid to inquire, as she hoped there were only two, or she would be happy to choose one of them.
First, this is not Her Majesty the Empress's food. If it really doesn't work, then Her Majesty the Empress's food can be reduced.
The idea was good, but reality slapped me in the face!
The girl rushed over, her face covered in sweat.
"Miss, I've already inquired, and this is grain sent by Her Majesty the Empress!"
"I heard from that official that there are many more to come, and the national treasury may not be able to hold them all!"
This shocked not only Li Qingluan, but also the other noble ladies, who couldn't believe it at all. Even the merchants who came to watch the excitement, as well as those who hadn't registered, were too shocked to say a word.
There was a lot of grain. Although they didn't know exactly how much, it seemed like quite a lot, judging from what the person in charge said!
"But why haven't the leaderboards been updated?!"
Xu Lingyi asked in horror, she didn't believe it, she couldn't believe it!
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