Chapter 465 He's been tricked!
How can they justify their title as the wealthiest noble family in the empire if their price is only one or two tenths higher than the market price?
Didn't they want to buy it?
Isn't the point to embarrass the royal family?
Alright, then let the Franklin family be their first customers of natural plants.
Upon hearing this, Eli's anger vanished, replaced by an eager excitement.
"I'll go ask Achi in a bit if he has any natural food left in his magical 'warehouse.' If he does, we'll 'reluctantly' sell it to the Franklin family too! They need it so much!"
The father and son exchanged a glance and both saw the same smile in each other's eyes.
"That's settled then!" King Eli waved his hand, feeling incredibly pleased. "Let them buy it! I want to see if the Franklin family's coffers are deeper, or if our royal family has more natural food!"
This time, we'll make sure they suffer a terrible loss and bleed profusely!
...
The atmosphere at the Franklin family mansion was unusually oppressive the day before the royal banquet.
In his study, old Franklin's eyes were sunken and bloodshot, staring intently at the constantly fluctuating financial statements on the screen, the shocking deficits on which seemed to devour him.
In order to acquire those damn natural foods, the family's working capital accumulated over many years has long been squeezed dry.
The money to buy the last few batches of natural food was obtained by him gritting his teeth and secretly mortgaging multiple family properties and the two most profitable commercial routes!
The price of natural foods on the market has already been inflated to more than three times its original price.
Fortunately, the palace banquet is tomorrow, otherwise the Franklin family would not have been able to hold on!
But even now, he hasn't received any news from the royal family.
Old Franklin narrowed his shrewd eyes at Shet, "Are you sure the royal family hasn't procured any decent natural food yet?"
His voice carried a hint of uncertainty; the closer the day of the palace banquet drew, the more uneasy he became.
On the one hand, the Franklin family's wealth was already stretched thin.
On the other hand, if the royal family really grits its teeth and goes through with humiliation, then the Franklin family probably won't fare much better.
Fortunately, he managed to buy all these natural foods, and he can sell them later.
However, the Franklin family will likely suffer a financial loss.
Shet was startled by the look in old Franklin's eyes.
He swallowed hard, forcing himself to remain calm, and then nodded vigorously. "Father, don't worry, absolutely not! I've had Chong keep an eye on all possible channels to enter the palace day and night, and there's no sign of the royal family making any large-scale purchases! They must have run out of options!"
If they can hold out until tonight, by tomorrow at the latest, they will definitely swallow their pride and beg the Franklin family for help!
At that time, they can not only sell the stockpiled natural food to them at twenty times the exorbitant price to recover all their losses, but also severely humiliate them!
The Franklin family will use the prestige of the royal family to regain their prestige among the nobility!
Just then, there was a rapid knock on the study door, and a servant insect rushed in. "Your Excellency! Another group of new sellers has contacted us! They have a huge quantity of extremely high-quality natural food! They asked...ask us if we still want it?"
The servant's voice trembled with tears, "Master, our funds... are really all gone..."
The market has already bottomed out. If they continue to buy more, the Franklin family could go bankrupt if they're not careful!
He was just a servant insect, so naturally he didn't dare to make a decision, and that's why he had to come to old Franklin.
Old Franklin's breath hitched, and for a moment he didn't know whether to continue buying.
If we buy it? We might have to buy up the last bit of our family's foundation!
If he doesn't buy it, the royal family will definitely snatch it up, and all the huge sums of money he invested will be lost!
He cannot lose! He absolutely cannot let all his efforts be in vain at this crucial moment!
The immense pressure caused the veins on old Franklin's forehead to bulge. He clenched his fists tightly, and in the end, the frantic desire to turn the tide overwhelmed everything.
He slammed his hand on the table and forced out the words through gritted teeth, “Buy! Buy them all! Now! Immediately!”
The servant trembled with fear, dared not utter another word, and scrambled out to carry out the order.
When the final astronomical sum was confirmed to have been paid out, old Franklin collapsed into his chair as if he had lost all his strength.
Just then, a servant insect walked in tremblingly.
"Your Excellency, a letter has arrived from the royal family."
Upon hearing this, Shit felt as if he had been given a shot of adrenaline and jumped up from the spot.
"They're here! They're here! Father Xiong! The royal family must be unable to hold on any longer! They've come to beg us!"
Shit's face contorted with ecstasy as he watched old Franklin take the letter and eagerly move closer.
Old Franklin was also invigorated, but compared to Shet's eagerness, he began to act leisurely.
The royal family finally couldn't hold on any longer. All his planning over the years was worth it. This time, the royal family will have to taste the bitterness of suffering!
He will make the royal family pay a hundredfold!
With that thought in mind, old Franklin opened the envelope.
Inside was a beautiful card.
There were no pleading words as expected, only four large characters elegantly printed in gold lettering—
Thank you for your patronage.
These four words shattered all of old Franklin's illusions in an instant!
He's been fooled!
The royal family doesn't need to buy any natural foods at all!
Even these strangely appearing natural foods on the market might have been released by the royal family!
The natural foods he spent so much money on, all at the cost of his life, are very likely produced by the royal family!
He even spent all of the family's liquid assets on this and mortgaged their core assets!
In the end, it turns out they were actually providing funds for the royal family?!
"puff--"
Old Franklin felt a sudden darkness before his eyes, his blood rushing to his head, and he uncontrollably coughed up a mouthful of blood.
His body swayed, then fell straight backward, crashing heavily to the floor.
"Father! Father!!" Shet was clearly terrified by this sudden turn of events.
He screamed and rushed over, frantically calling out to the servant insects, "Come quick, insects! Get Father to the medical bay! Hurry!"
...
In no time, the news of old Franklin vomiting blood and falling into a coma spread like wildfire throughout the imperial aristocracy.
When a wall falls, all the insects push it down. The other nobles, who had previously maintained a polite facade, immediately swarmed in like sharks smelling blood, and began to frantically divide up the Franklin family's various businesses and assets.
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