Chapter 542 A Plan to Turn the Tide
Before we knew it, dusk had fallen.
The city's usual bright lights were completely replaced by darkness after the plague broke out. The only place with light was in the north of the city, in a few residences closest to the Daxing Imperial Palace.
Among them was the residence of Yu Dingxing, the Left General of the Valiant Guard.
However, just as the Duke's mansion had turned off most of its lights in order to keep a low profile, the Yu mansion also had far fewer lights than usual, and the dim light made the entire mansion seem exceptionally quiet.
A moment later, the sound of horses' hooves broke the silence.
A group of people galloped in, bathed in the last rays of the setting sun, and finally stopped in front of the gate of the Yu residence. The tall, thin man at the head of the group was clad in full armor, which, though devoid of blood, exuded a murderous aura. His face was covered by a veil tied behind his ears with two thin ropes. Because of the hollowness of his cheeks, the veil was deeply indented, making his face appear very sharp. Above the veil, a pair of large, deep eyes were visible, their gaze cold and cunning, with a hint of meanness.
This man was none other than Yu Dingxing, the Left Valiant Guard General.
He was ordered to go outside the city to bring the plague patients into the city, so he had hardly been home for the past two days. Not long ago, after bringing back a group of patients and settling them in Yanzuo Ward and Changle Ward, he returned to his mansion covered in dust. As soon as he dismounted, the people in the mansion immediately came forward to greet him. A servant led away his horse, while several others welcomed him through the gate.
As Yu Dingxing took off his cloak, he asked, "How has the family been these past two days?"
The steward of the Yu residence, a round-faced middle-aged man in his fifties, immediately smiled obsequiously and said, "General, rest assured, although the plague is rampant in the city, our residence is fine. However—"
He hesitated for a moment after saying this.
Yu Dingxing immediately stopped in his tracks: "But what?"
The steward leaned close to his ear and whispered, "These past two days, the general has been away, so only—the madam is a little unaccustomed to it, so she took the young lady back to her parents' home."
"……oh."
Upon hearing this, Yu Dingxing frowned slightly.
Although the butler spoke tactfully, knowing his wife well, how could he not know that "uncomfortable" meant unhappy, or rather, angry?
However, he didn't say much, only paused to think for a moment before nodding and saying, "I understand."
After saying that, he continued walking inside.
But just as they reached the main gate, they saw a short figure emerge from the mansion.
Although the lanterns at the gate were bright, the person who came had dark skin and was dressed in a dark blue robe. He kept his head down and wore a veil, so his appearance was almost completely obscured. However, as soon as he entered, Yu Dingxing was irritated by the strong smell of medicine emanating from the person and made him grunt, subconsciously wiping his nose.
Upon seeing him, the visitor immediately stopped, cupped his hands, and bowed, saying, "Greetings, General."
"...Jin Daji?"
Yu Dingxing subconsciously called out his name, frowning as he asked, "Why are you here?"
After saying that, he seemed to suddenly come to his senses and pursed his lips.
Standing in front of him was none other than Jin Daji, who had just come out of the Yu residence and was leading people to administer medicine in Yanzuofang earlier.
Yu Dingxing seemed somewhat afraid of being seen, especially after seeing him come out of his house. He subconsciously glanced around again, then lowered his voice and said, "Didn't I tell you before that unless it's something urgent, you shouldn't come here these days?"
As he spoke, he glanced back at the gate of the mansion.
Jin Daji hurriedly smiled and said, "General, don't worry. I took a roundabout route this time to make sure no one was following me."
"oh?"
Upon hearing this, Yu Dingxing's expression softened slightly.
He then asked, "Then what are you doing here?"
Jin Daji said with a forced smile, "I have some important matters to report."
As he spoke, he leaned closer and whispered a few words in Yu Dingxing's ear. Yu Dingxing was startled and looked down at Jin Daji: "Pei Xingyuan deliberately pulled this stunt; this is what they want—"
Jin Daji nodded: "Yes."
Yu Dingxing thought for a moment, then narrowed his eyes slightly, a cold glint flashing in his long, deep-set eyes. He said, "Now that you know about their scheme, what are you planning to do—"
Jin Daji said, "Let's play along!"
|
Meanwhile, in Longqingfang, the carriage that Yuwen Ye and Shang Ruyi were riding in slowly drove toward the brightly lit gate of the Duke's Mansion.
Today, Yuwen Ye spent the entire day traveling through the various markets and wards of the western city. He discovered dozens more patients and finally managed to get them to Chang Le Fang before nightfall. After finally settling these patients, who were crying and making a scene, insisting on dying at home, it was already late.
So the two of them rode back to the Duke's mansion in a carriage.
On the way, Shang Ruyi told Yuwen Ye about what had happened during the day. He listened with a furrowed brow but remained silent until Shang Ruyi lifted the curtain and saw the lights of the Duke's mansion appearing ahead. Then she said softly, "If this matter escalates further, I'm afraid Father will still need you to give an explanation."
After all, they were applying and selling medicine at the same time.
No one cares when someone acts like a living saint, but when someone takes advantage of the epidemic to "harvest the韭菜 (a metaphor for exploiting people)," we can't ignore it.
Yuwen Ye said, "It's alright."
"..."
"But today's events have given me a wake-up call."
"Huh? What?"
Yuwen Ye frowned slightly and said in a deep voice, "In the future, things like medicinal herbs, which are related to the national economy and people's livelihood, cannot be completely controlled by 'Pei Xingyuan' or 'Guanghan Ke'."
"..."
"Otherwise, the imperial court will gain neither money nor popular support."
Shang Ruyi looked at him with some surprise.
All day long, she had focused her attention on the "Guest of the Moon Palace." After all, she had finally learned the identity of this person who could predict the future, even if it was just an alias. It made her feel that she was one step closer to some kind of "truth." She thought that Yuwen Ye would also be concerned about this person's identity, but she did not expect that he was thinking about something else.
However—it's not bad.
This incident clearly demonstrates that certain matters concerning the national economy and people's livelihoods cannot be entirely controlled by private individuals.
So he nodded and said, "Yes."
At this moment, the carriage stopped, and Yuwen Ye helped her down. As they walked inside, Yuwen Ye said again, "But you said, that Guanghan Guest—"
Before they could finish speaking, a man walked over and greeted them with a smile: "Second Young Master, Young Madam."
The two stopped immediately.
The person walking over was none other than Aunt Hui.
Upon seeing her, Yuwen Ye nodded: "Aunt Hui."
Aunt Hui smiled and said, "Thank you for your hard work. The meal has already been set out in the dining hall. The Duke invites the Second Young Master and the Young Madam to have dinner there."
"Oh? Father instructed you to do this?"
"yes."
"What about the eldest brother?"
"The young master has just returned and is changing his clothes. He will be going there soon after he finishes changing."
Yuwen Ye and Shang Ruyi exchanged a glance.
I thought that since I was coming home so late, my family would have already had dinner. Yuwen Yuan had been dealing with government affairs in the inner court all day, and I heard that official documents from all over the country were still being sent to the palace until dusk. I didn't expect that after he came back, he would make his family sit down together for dinner.
At this time, it was definitely not the atmosphere for the two brothers to sit together and have dinner.
But since Yuwen Yuan had made this arrangement, the two of them naturally dared not refuse. So they went back to their room to change their clothes, washed up a little, and then went to the dining hall.
Compared to other parts of the mansion, the dining hall was much less brightly lit, as always. As soon as they entered the gate, they saw Yuwen Yuan already seated in the main seat, and Yuwen Qian had just sat down as well. Upon seeing the two of them, he gave them a faint smile.
Yuwen Ye immediately led Shang Ruyi inside and bowed, saying, "Father, elder brother."
"Please sit down."
Although Yuwen Yuan did not show any obvious expression of joy or anger on his face, the deep wrinkles between his brows were clearly visible under the bright lights, revealing the pressure he had been under over the past two days. The two of them did not say much and hurriedly went to their seats.
Yuwen Yuan turned his head, looked at Yuwen Qian, then at Yuwen Ye and Shang Ruyi.
After a moment of silence, he said, "Let's eat first."
Upon hearing this, Aunt Hui immediately ordered the dishes to be served. Although it was just a simple home-cooked meal, it was a rare occasion for the whole family to sit together, so the dishes were quite plentiful. However, everyone had been busy all day and was tired and hungry, so when they actually started eating, they didn't have much of an appetite. Even Yuwen Yuan only managed to eat a bowl of rice and drink half a bowl of soup before putting down his chopsticks.
As soon as he put down his chopsticks, the other three people also put down their bowls and chopsticks.
Yuwen Yuan looked up at them.
After a moment of silence, he asked, "Qian'er, what's the situation in the East City?"
Yuwen Qian said, "Yanzuofang has a total of 2,214 patients. Although 31 patients have died, the situation is still under control."
Yuwen Yuan nodded, then looked at Yuwen Ye.
Yuwen Ye said, "There are a total of 2,464 patients in Chang Le Fang. In the past two days, 62 patients have died from their illnesses."
Yuwen Yuan asked, "Is the situation under control?"
Yuwen Ye glanced at him and said, "Controllable."
"..."
The answers from both sides were simple and concise, which would normally be most satisfactory to Yuwen Yuan. However, today, upon hearing the word "controllable," his brows furrowed even more tightly.
After a long silence, he said, "It would be good to be able to control the plague in the city, but I have heard that your methods of controlling the plague are completely different."
As he spoke, he turned to look at Yuwen Ye: "Ye'er, I heard that someone in Chang Le Fang is cutting some kind of chives?"
"...!"
Yuwen Ye and Shang Ruyi exchanged a glance.
Shang Ruyi's eyes showed undisguised astonishment. Although she knew that Yuwen Yuan had handed over the governance of the East and West cities to his two sons and could not possibly completely abandon them, the fact that he could accurately say the words "harvesting leeks" showed that he had at least placed his own people in Chang Le Fang.
Yuwen Ye paused for a moment, then said, "Father, the words of such common people are not worth mentioning."
Yuwen Yuan frowned and said, "You'd better not think that way."
"..."
"Though ordinary people are small and their voices are not loud, when these small voices are gathered together, they become deafening!"
"..."
"Moreover, the phrase 'harvesting leeks' is not something an ordinary commoner could utter!"
As he spoke, his gaze deepened: "A bowl of medicine for a penny—this kind of business isn't something an ordinary merchant would do."
Upon hearing the last sentence, Yuwen Ye's expression hardened again.
Yuwen Yuan said in a deep voice, "I always thought that although Pei's son was a bit dissolute, his character was impeccable. But what he did this time is truly disheartening."
Yuwen Ye was silent for a while, then said, "Hoarding and speculating, and profiting from rare goods, is something that is understandable."
"..."
"My son was talking to Ruyi about this on his way back. He said that in the future, these things that are related to the national economy and people's livelihood must not be completely controlled by private individuals."
Yuwen Yuan raised an eyebrow slightly, not expecting him to say this so righteously.
After a moment of silence, he said, "That's natural."
"..."
"but--"
"but,"
Before he could finish speaking, Yuwen Ye interrupted him, saying, "This time, the medicine is in his hands, and I am indeed powerless to help. Saving the patients in the city is the most important thing."
He was already somewhat displeased that he had been interrupted, but when he heard Yuwen Yuan's excuse of "being powerless," his brows furrowed even more.
But he didn't say anything more. He just frowned and remained silent for a moment before turning his deep gaze to Shang Ruyi and saying, "However, I seem to remember that during the Battle of Fufeng, a batch of medicinal herbs seemed to have entered the family's accounts?"
Shang Ruyi immediately said, "Then, it was Ruyi who asked Jiang Kesheng and the others to go outside Tongguan to buy it."
"Is this for this use?"
"yes."
"Since you bought the medicinal herbs, why are they with Pei Xingyuan? And why did you let him sell them at such a high price?"
Shang Ruyi said softly, "Please forgive me, Father. Ruyi did send someone out of Tongguan to buy that batch of medicinal herbs because of Fengchen's illness, but—because the quantity purchased was too large, and the mountains were high and the roads were long, we lost a lot of money transporting them back. And those medicinal herbs are not usually used much, so in order to save some expenses, Ruyi sold those medicinal herbs to Young Master Pei."
Yuwen Yuan's brows furrowed into a knot.
However, this time, before he could speak, Yuwen Qian, who had been sitting quietly to the side, smiled and said, "No wonder. Back in Fufeng, my sister-in-law clearly said that you bought that batch of medicinal herbs, but this time they ended up in Young Master Pei's hands. I thought something went wrong, but it turns out that's what happened."
Shang Ruyi replied, "Yes."
Yuwen Qian looked at her and then suddenly smiled and said, "However, I thought that with your intelligence, sister-in-law, you would keep those medicines."
"..."
Shang Ruyi's breath hitched slightly.
She didn't speak immediately, but instead raised her head and met those clear eyes, the penetrating light within them seemingly seeing right through one's soul.
Shang Ruyi paused for a moment before lowering her head and forcing a smile, saying, "This shows that Ruyi is truly dull-witted."
"..."
"If one is wise enough, one will indeed keep the medicinal herbs, at least for now, so that medicine can be administered in Chang Le Fang."
Upon hearing this, the dining hall fell silent once again.
Yuwen Yuan pondered for a long time before finally turning to look at his eldest son, his expression grave. "Qian'er, who was administering medicine in Yanzuofang?"
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