Four hours is neither short nor long.
But for the citizens of the Empire today, those four hours felt like an eternity.
finally.
It's noon.
People raised their blank heads and looked at the staff who came out of the trading station, wiping away the original prices and filling in the new numbers.
There have been changes.
Significant changes.
Twenty silver coins per hundred grams.
It was cut in half again.
...
...
...
"屮!"
Someone was the first to come to their senses, jumping up almost frantically, shouting, "Let's go sell the goods! What are we waiting for!"
The issue is no longer whether the market will recover or not. Even if the price of Poseidon Stone does rise to the same level as before tomorrow, we definitely can't keep it now!
After all, no one knows how things will turn out. Given the current situation, getting even one silver coin back would be a good outcome!
Otherwise, judging from this trend, it's very likely that by tomorrow, the Poseidon Stone will have become completely useless!
Those who had sales orders in hand breathed a slight sigh of relief; at least they could get some money back.
Those who only had physical shares looked helpless; this investment had been a complete failure. Why didn't they stop earlier?
Even worse are those who have signed countless purchase orders. Unless a miracle happens, it's easy to imagine that besides going bankrupt, they will also be burdened with a huge debt.
"Don't stop me, let me die!"
"Help! Someone, save our master..."
...
"Master Gu Jian, what should we do now?"
"Master Gu Jian, what should we do now?"
Inside the Imperial Study, Dongfang Xiao scrutinized Cheng Gujian before him, revealing an unprecedentedly questioning expression.
"minister……"
Even the usually high-spirited Cheng Gujian was momentarily speechless, unsure of how to respond.
It's important to understand that the Poseidon Stone trade wasn't just for the general public; the royal family was also involved. Now that the price has plummeted, they certainly can't escape unscathed.
Their losses were even greater.
The reason is simple: they already had a large number of Poseidon Stones.
If the royal reserves hadn't been liquidated, it would have been fine, since people didn't initially value them too much and could just laugh it off as a farce.
The problem is that within this month, these Poseidon Stones have already circulated in the market, whether they are being sold or bought. As one of the three major trading stations, they have even more orders in their hands!
Most of these are not small orders from individual citizens, but rather many large orders!
For example, there are bulk purchase orders from traders, or orders from royalty and nobles for medium and high-grade sea god stones... Each of these orders could involve tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, or even millions of gold coins, and the losses involved are unimaginable.
That's not all. As the royal family of the Hualan Empire, the legitimate ruling class, they have to pay for the losses of many people. The original orders were all approved and issued by you. If something goes wrong, who else can we turn to if not you?
This is absolutely not something that can be resolved by defaulting on debts or by forceful suppression—not that they can't do that, but that doing so would have far more serious consequences.
Not to mention the numerous deep-rooted disputes among the various noble families, what if this were to trigger a backlash from the common people and plunge the empire into turmoil? Judging from the current trend, if not handled properly, a major upheaval is inevitable.
This must be Xu Shi's real intention... Cheng Gujian closed his eyes and sighed deeply. The truth is, no matter how they handle it, the royal family's credibility in the hearts of the people will probably drop a lot from now on. Who told them to get involved?
The only thing to be thankful for is...
"I imagine the Vatican is also having a headache right now; their troubles are probably no less than ours."
He subtly changed the subject, trying to calm the young empress in front of him.
"Who cares about the Vatican?"
Dongfang Xiao, however, remained unconvinced, his brows still furrowed. "The most urgent task is to come up with a solution. Otherwise, if a large number of citizens go bankrupt and public morale is low, we will not fare any better."
Of course, you can't compete on who's worse, can you? Especially since the royal family has an extra responsibility compared to the papacy—you're the ruler, aren't they?
"……yes."
Cheng Gujian was well aware of this. Hearing the little empress say this, he could only nod and agree, "I will find a way to resolve this. Even if the royal family were to step in to cover the deficit, it would still take time to calculate the figures."
"Yes, I have always trusted Lord Gu Jian to handle things."
Upon hearing this, Dongfang Xiao nodded with satisfaction and smiled again. "However, in my opinion, shouldn't we talk to Xu Shi? He was the one who caused this, so he must have his own purpose."
"...Your Majesty is absolutely right."
Cheng Gujian thought it made sense. For Xu Shi, it would be too unreasonable if he went to such lengths to stir up such a storm just to make money.
"So? Did he say when he would come to see me?"
If I remember correctly... it's tomorrow.
...
Xu Shi was indeed already on his way.
This was his second time taking a local boat out to sea. As the saying goes, practice makes perfect, and this time it felt much better than the last. At least it wasn't as bumpy and uncomfortable as before—after all, the boats on Silver Pine Island had long been modified by Jiang Chengcheng.
What's even more interesting is Xie Qingyan. In comparison, she truly seemed to be walking on flat ground. Unlike last time when she looked like she was about to die, she was relaxed and happy.
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