"Say you know?" Jiang Nuan shrugged, then walked to the rocking chair in the yard.
Qi Yong really put his heart into it. Although the newly built house was much larger, it retained the original style of his own home. There were familiar stone tables and benches everywhere in the courtyard, and rocking chairs were placed not far apart.
After casually setting up a protective array around herself, Jiang Nuan closed her eyes slightly, emptied her mind, and allowed herself to completely relax.
An hour later, he lazily removed the formation.
"Madam, I have finally found you."
Upon hearing this, Jiang Nuan frowned. "What is it?"
"Half an hour ago, an imperial edict summoned you to the palace to discuss matters. I've searched the entire mansion, but I still can't find you." Her voice was already trembling with sobs as she spoke.
"Are the angels still around?"
“We have been waiting for you,” the maid’s voice became more and more respectful. “Come with me, and I will lead you to see the angel.”
"Lead the way."
On the surface, Jiang Nuan remained calm, but in her mind, she was quickly analyzing the situation.
Logically speaking, the remaining matters should be none of my business, so why the sudden rush to bring me to the palace? What happened?
Could it be that the aristocratic families have stirred up some trouble again?
A moment later, Jiang Nuan saw Qu Fang and immediately asked, "What happened?"
“Madam,” Qu Fang said excitedly as he finally saw Jiang Nuan, “the matter is urgent, let’s talk as we walk.”
"Can."
On the way, after confirming that no one was eavesdropping, Qu Fang began to explain the details.
The grain in Langshan was purchased and guarded by a group of powerful families, mainly led by the Cui and Liu families.
Last night, while the two armies were fighting, these people were not idle either; they were secretly observing, and then, infighting broke out.
The Cui family and their faction felt they should take advantage of the chaos to make their move, while the Liu family and their faction were unwilling to gamble with the fate of their entire family and only wanted to take their share of the grain and leave unscathed.
The Cui family, of course, disagreed.
One side took a hard line, while the other refused to back down. The two sides argued endlessly and became very emotional, eventually even coming to blows.
However, the majority of people backed down, and the Cui family remained at a disadvantage.
With allies betraying them and their own troops closing in from behind, in desperation, they simply burned all the food supplies.
The action was so swift that many of the guards were burned to death before they could retreat.
The imperial guards discovered the problem relatively early, but because there was no water source outside the city, they could only watch helplessly as the grain gradually turned into charcoal.
Seeing so much grain turn to ashes, many of his relatives wept uncontrollably. Upon returning to the capital, many knelt for a long time, begging the emperor to punish them.
After hearing all this, Jiang Nuan didn't say a word.
She had absolutely no idea how to express her melodramatic feelings.
What kind of mess is this?!
Each and every one of them was absolutely jaw-dropping.
Therefore, even after entering the Imperial Study, her expression still seemed very strange.
The atmosphere in the Imperial Study was heavy, and everyone had a somber expression.
When Ji Xuan saw Jiang Nuan arrive, she forced a smile and said, "Qi Yong, bring a chair over for Madam Jiang."
“No need,” Jiang Nuan waved her hand hastily, “I’m fine with the same things as everyone else.”
With Elder An, who is so old, standing to the side, she felt embarrassed to sit in a chair.
"Whatever makes you happy!"
Jiang Nuan was unwilling, and Ji Xuan didn't want to force her.
“Your Majesty,” An Qingyun said dejectedly, “several million catties of grain have been lost, and I fear the price of grain will become uncontrollable.”
It's August now, and there's not much time left until the grain harvest in October, but even just two months is enough to make people tremble with fear.
The people value food the most, and they cannot afford to make even the slightest mistake, otherwise chaos will surely ensue.
The national treasury was already running low on supplies, which is why they set their sights on this batch of grain, and then this happened...
“Let’s send a batch of emergency supplies from Shu first,” Ji Xuan said with a headache. “The situation will improve in two months when the new grain arrives.”
Upon hearing this, Liu An immediately opened his mouth.
The harvest in Sichuan has always depended on the weather. When the weather is favorable, the yield is high, but once heavy rains cause flooding...
After thinking about it, I finally swallowed all my thoughts.
These things haven't happened yet, and talking about them will only cause unnecessary worry.
“Scholarly families should have granaries,” Jiang Nuan said, frowning. “Have you gone to look for their granaries?”
“We haven’t looked yet, but,” Liu An shook his head and said, “the aristocratic families prepare enough grain to last them for five years at most. They usually prepare for two more years, and even then, it’s only a little over a million, which is only 20% of what’s outside the city.”
"A bunch of idiots with their heads on the soles of their feet," Grand Secretary Zhong was truly angry. "Destroying this grain won't do them any good, so why do they have to go to such extremes?"
Have you lost your mind? Why do something so harmful, self-defeating, and insidious?!
Zhong Ping had considered all possible outcomes, but he never imagined it would be this tragic.
Food, no matter who has it, will not be wasted. Whether it is used to make a comeback or to atone for past mistakes, it is much better than it is now.
"The most urgent task is to block the news and prevent it from leaking out!"
“I’ve already sent people to chase after them,” Ji Xuan’s eyes flashed with murderous intent. “Whoever was involved in this, they won’t escape!”
Previously, Ji Xuan had not been too worried about food supplies.
There is a lot of grain in Langshan, and it is not easy to move it. Even if three thousand people can move some of it, they can't go far. As long as they keep tracking it, they will eventually lose it.
Therefore, although it was not explicitly stated, Ji Xuan had long considered this batch of grain as his own.
"I hope nothing bad happens recently," An Qingyun sighed. "With food so scarce right now, if another place is in the same situation as Shandong, our lives will be even harder!"
"Can't you speak properly?" Qi Yong said angrily. "What if your jinx comes true?"
The situation was already difficult enough; if they encountered places that needed disaster relief, no matter how much money they had, it would be useless.
“I am also worried,” An Qingyun sneered, “A man who does not plan for the future will have trouble in the present. What year is it that no disasters occur? If we don’t consider this now, what will we do if we really encounter one?”
"There's always a way out when you reach the mountain; you'll find a solution eventually."
“That’s right,” Liu An also sided with Qi Yong. “It’s only two months. Just get through it. Once the new grain comes in October, we won’t have to worry anymore. How could we be so unlucky?”
It's true that there are disasters every year, but only once or twice a year. The mess in Shandong hasn't been cleaned up yet. If it happens to happen at the same time, how unlucky would the Great Zhou be?
“That sounds nice,” An Qingyun said with dissatisfaction, “but when things really get complicated, you’ll all be leaving it to me to handle…”
These two are all about flattery; they don't even consider the current situation.
There's a huge mess to clean up, and the Emperor is still up to all sorts of trouble; it's hard not to think the worst.
"Alright," Ji Xuan said calmly, "I've summoned you to discuss state affairs, not to listen to your arguments!"
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