Chapter 257 I will take my revenge! (Seeking monthly votes)
In the blink of an eye, five days have passed.
The weather in Shuzhou changed from sunny to cloudy.
The gray clouds rolled like ocean waves, stretching for thousands of miles, and a large sun with a pale halo could be vaguely seen.
The lack of wind made the city feel slightly stuffy and dry.
Just like the people coming and going in the East and West markets, each of them had a somewhat sorrowful expression on their face.
"Grain prices have gone up again."
"Five days ago, a shi (a unit of dry measure) of fine grain cost 1.5 taels of silver. Three days ago, the price rose to 2 taels of silver. Today, the Lin family's grain store opened its doors and the price was as high as 2.7 taels of silver."
"In my opinion, the price of grain will probably rise to three taels of silver per shi tomorrow."
"Damn it, those scoundrels!"
"When food prices drop, everyone is slower than the next, but when prices rise, everyone is faster than the next!"
"If this continues, we're really going to run out of food."
"Sigh, my son has been complaining of being hungry for the past two days. I... I carry sandbags all day, and I only have enough money to buy a bowl of noodles..."
This situation naturally aroused complaints from the people.
Especially for poor families.
They work hard every day, but they don't even earn enough to feed themselves, let alone support a family.
"Damn it, wasn't it said that our Shu Prefecture had a good harvest this year? Why is there a food shortage?"
"It's good, but it can't withstand natural disasters and man-made calamities."
"The recent torrential rains caused the Chishui River to breach its downstream dikes, resulting in the flooding of farmland in three counties to the east."
"If it weren't for the Provincial Administration Commission's request to allow those county governments to distribute grain, there would probably have been a famine there long ago."
"And then there's our prefectural city..."
"It is said that the warehouse of the Ridong Grain Store was burned down some time ago, and the grain store had no choice but to raise prices."
"Who said that?"
"I heard that it was because the grain in Tiebi Town was burned that Lord Xiao bought a large amount of grain to make up for it, which caused several grain shops to raise prices."
"Lord Xiao? Impossible!"
“Early yesterday morning, someone from the Xiao family posted a notice at the yamen stating that the military rations for the three towns had another source, so how could it be the Xiao family?”
"You believe them just because they say so? I could say they're the ones who bought it."
"Hmph, you dare to slander even the Xiao family? I think you're tired of living!"
"You... Hey? Don't hit me, don't hit me, I misspoke..."
What may seem like a farce is actually a recurring occurrence throughout the prefectural city.
Most people certainly don't believe that the Xiao family is the culprit behind rising grain prices, but with so many people saying it, it's inevitable that some will blindly follow suit.
Those who were starving, in particular, directed their anger at the Xiao family and the grain shops in the East and West markets.
Regarding this situation.
The Xiao family was naturally aware of this, but public opinion is powerful, and even if they posted notices, they couldn't silence everyone.
"Son-in-law, do you think those people did it on purpose?"
Xiaodie clenched her small fists and waved them a few times, saying indignantly:
"Even though the Third Master had already posted a notice at the entrance of the yamen, they just wouldn't believe it, insisting that the large-scale purchase of grain by Tiebi Town was the culprit for the rising grain prices."
Chen Yi stood in front of the table, drawing on the paper with a pen, and said with a smile:
"You should listen less to what people outside the manor say. Just listen and don't argue with them."
"Now that grain prices in the city have increased several times, many people are not getting enough to eat. They are angry and have nowhere to vent their frustrations, so naturally they will be taken advantage of by those with ulterior motives."
Upon hearing this, Xiaodie's anger subsided somewhat, and she asked, "Young Master, do you mean someone is stirring up trouble behind the scenes?"
"Perhaps."
"In short, if the sky falls, the tall ones will hold it up. Let the gentlemen in the manor handle this matter."
As Chen Yi spoke, he finished drawing a line drawing, put down his wolf-hair brush, and picked it up to blow dry the ink on the cloud pine paper.
In the past few days, he has spent most of his time practicing his painting skills, and has already mastered the three painting techniques of ink wash drawing, color painting, and ink wash painting.
He is already able to depict the magnificent mountains, rivers and seas with ink painting, and can use line drawing to depict the appearance of people.
The same applies to painted decorations.
However, he has not yet shown any signs of mastery in painting, and he is still unaware of the effects that would occur if the spiritual essence of heaven and earth were incorporated into his paintings.
Fortunately, Xiao Wan'er didn't urge him, so he wasn't in a hurry to finish the portraits of the eldest son of the Xiao family.
Chen Yi glanced at it, nodded in satisfaction, and asked Xiao Die, "What do you think?"
Xiaodie stopped speaking, craning her neck to look at the painting in his hand, her big eyes blinking suspiciously a few times.
After seeing the portrait clearly, she opened her mouth slightly, pointed to herself, and stammered:
"Aunt, Uncle, is this a painting of me?"
Chen Yi smiled and nodded, handing over the painting. "A gift for you."
Xiaodie took it and said happily, "Thank you, son-in-law."
She looked at it again and again, and two blushes appeared on her face.
"But you painted Xiaodie so beautifully! Xiaodie isn't nearly as pretty as you!"
"And another thing, why is Xiaodie wearing an orange dress? Xiaodie has changed into a thicker jacket today, hasn't she?"
Chen Yi tidied up the clutter on the table, laughing and scolding, "Why so many questions? Just take it."
He wouldn't tell Xiaodie that his deepest impression of her was still from the time he was under house arrest.
Back then, Xiaodie dressed up cutely, but she also kept a close eye on him.
They watched him copy the Xiao family rules day and night.
He will probably never forget it in his lifetime.
Xiaodie had no idea about these things; she only thought that he had painted her to look better, and her little face remained rosy.
"Son-in-law, you paint so well."
"Is it because your son-in-law paints well, or because you're good-looking?"
"Of course, of course your painting is better..."
To make a few jokes.
Chen Yi tidied up the study, got up and went outside the wooden building. He looked up at the sky and said:
"I'm going out for a bit. You stay and watch over the garden."
Hearing the sound, Xiaodie hurriedly chased after him and handed him the umbrella hanging under the eaves:
"Young master, it might rain today, it would be better to bring an umbrella."
She didn't ask Chen Yi where he went; her mind was still absorbed in the painting.
Chen Yi took the umbrella, gave a few words of advice, and strolled out of Chunhe Garden.
These days, he has spent most of his time at the Xiao residence.
During this period, he only left the house once, when he was moving Asutai and Liu Hong's man named Zeng Zhifeng to the house on Chuanxi Street.
The rest of the time, he paints during the day, practices martial arts at night, and teaches calligraphy at Guiyun Academy at regular intervals.
He seemed indifferent to worldly affairs.
But in reality...
Chen Yi had been keeping track of the situation in the city through various channels.
Such as rising grain prices, the movements of several grain companies, the Xiao family's response, and Liu Hong's actions.
The first three, needless to say, were almost exactly as he had predicted.
But Liu Hong's situation was somewhat different.
Chen Yi never expected him to be so unscrupulous.
In their efforts to find Asutai, the prefectural government, the judicial commissioner, and the city guards have practically turned the city upside down over the past five days.
A door-to-door search.
If Chen Yi hadn't responded quickly and ordered Zhang Dabao to dig a cellar in the house on Chuanxi Street to move Asutai and Zeng Zhifeng there, it would have been different.
Pei Guanli alone was enough for the officials to discover Asutai's whereabouts long ago.
That's not all.
What concerned Chen Yi the most was that some unfamiliar faces had appeared in Shuzhou City at some point.
In Liu Lang's words, those people were nocturnal and their strength was not to be underestimated.
Although most of them were low-ranking martial artists, their equipment was so sophisticated that it was unlike that of ordinary martial artists.
He looks more like a soldier from a military background.
In addition, those people practiced special martial arts techniques and possessed combined attack skills, so few martial artists could deal with them.
At first, Chen Yi suspected that the Five Poisons Sect members had come.
But after personally observing them, he confirmed that these elusive individuals were all Liu Hong's men.
It should be noted that the Xiao family, despite holding the title of Marquis and commanding the troops of Shu Prefecture, only had three hundred personal guards and did not maintain a private army.
On the contrary, he was not as good as Liu Hong, the provincial governor.
"To keep a private army, huh, Liu Hong is indeed incredibly audacious."
Chen Yi pondered these matters, a smile appearing on his face.
Otherwise, his plan would be much less effective.
Not long after.
Chen Yi arrived at the front yard and saw Xiao Wan'er and Cui Qingwu walking towards him from afar.
Behind them followed Shen Huatang and Cui Qingwu's maid Huan'er.
The group chatted and laughed.
Chen Yi stopped and waited for them to approach. He bowed slightly and greeted them, "Miss Cui, elder sister."
Xiao Wan'er had seen him early in the morning, and her smile grew even brighter. Seeing the umbrella in his hand, she asked:
"Brother-in-law, are we going out?"
Chen Yi replied with a smile, "Judging from the time, the people from Baicaotang who went to Guangyuan to investigate should have sent back some news. I'll go ask them."
Xiao Wan'er recalled for a moment, then suddenly realized, "Is it Manager Yan Hai?"
"It's him."
"Then hurry back."
Chen Yi shook his head and was about to leave when he heard Cui Qingwu speak:
"I've heard that things are a bit chaotic in the city right now. Mr. Qingzhou, you should be careful since you're traveling alone."
Hearing this, Xiao Wan'er took it to heart and said with a slightly worried tone:
“Sister Qingwu is right. There has been a lot of trouble in the city because of the rising grain prices.”
"Brother-in-law, you might as well have your guards drive over there."
Chen Yi smiled and nodded, not refusing.
As he spoke, he glanced at Cui Qingwu without making a sound.
Seeing her smiling face, as if it were just a casual reminder, Chen Yi couldn't help but feel a little strange.
Why does his fiancée, Chen Yunfan, seem to harbor some resentment towards him?
Although it wasn't much, he could tell.
Little did he know that Chen Yunfan had been whispering his name in Cui Qingwu's ear from time to time these past few days.
This annoyed Cui Qingwu to no end, yet he couldn't pinpoint what was wrong with her reasoning.
That's why she said those things now.
The intention, you know.
She doesn't have many bad intentions.
He just wanted to use the White Tiger Guards of the Marquis's Mansion to see if Chen Yi had met with Chen Yunfan in private.
Chen Yi was unaware of these things. Once he was certain that he hadn't given himself away, he stopped thinking about it.
After saying goodbye to the group, he went to the front yard, greeted Liu Si'er, and then took a carriage to Baicaotang.
After finding an excuse to send Liu Si'er away.
Chen Yi had just asked Zhang Dabao to take him directly to his house on Chuanxi Street.
After a round of searches, the situation in Shuzhou City improved.
He should also meet Asutai, the son of the barbarian Left King, and Liu Hong's guard.
About half an hour later.
Chen Yi then completed his disguise, putting on a black cloak and a black iron mask.
Pei Guanli was envious and also wanted Zhang Dabao to disguise her.
Chen Yi couldn't persuade her otherwise, so he relented and agreed.
"Disguise is fine. From now on, you should present yourself with this appearance to avoid people discovering your identity."
Pei Guanli sat upright in the chair, letting Zhang Dabao put a mask as thin as a cicada's wing on her, and said, "Brother-in-law, don't worry."
"These past few days, I've stayed indoors the whole time, afraid that something might happen that would affect your plans. I'm so bored I could barely breathe."
Seeing that her lips were pouting so much they could practically hang an oil bottle, Chen Yi smiled and offered a few words of comfort.
He promised to give her some rewards after he finished this busy period.
"What are the benefits?"
You'll find out then.
Chen Yi doesn't make promises lightly, for fear of failing to keep them and causing himself trouble.
But if it were a tiger girl, he wouldn't be worried.
After all, based on his understanding of Tiger Girl, he knew she would be very happy even if he only gave her a painting.
Let's chat for a bit.
Chen Yi then instructed Pei Guanli to stand guard outside the door, and went to the quiet room located under the bed in the side room.
In the dim light of candlelight, a long bed board was placed in the small, quiet room.
Three figures lay horizontally on it.
They are Lü Jiunan, Asutai, and Zeng Zhifeng.
At this moment, they were all under the influence of the divine intoxication and were fast asleep.
Chen Yi glanced around and then inserted silver needles into several key acupoints on Asutai's body.
After a few simple turns, Asutai groggily opened his eyes and weakly sat up.
He spotted Chen Yi's figure at a glance, and a look of vigilance immediately appeared on his dark face.
"You, you...what, a person?!"
Asutai's Wei dialect was clearly poor, with a stiff and strange intonation and unclear pronunciation.
Chen Yi understood, and sat cross-legged opposite him, his exposed eyes scrutinizing him slightly.
Asutai's physique was almost identical to Chen Yi's.
His face, though seemingly rugged, had a youthful innocence similar to that of ordinary young people in the Great Wei Dynasty.
It was only because of the barbarian brand on his face and the vicissitudes of life he had experienced that he looked somewhat mature.
After observing for a moment.
Chen Yi waved his hand to signal Asutai not to be nervous and said, "Who I am is not important. You just need to know that I'm here to help you."
"Help?"
Asutai glared at him fiercely: "The Wei people cannot be trusted!"
Chen Yi chuckled, knowing that Zeng Zhifeng still harbored resentment over the fact that Zeng had killed his clansmen.
He thought for a moment, then pointed at Zeng Zhifeng and said, "I am different from him."
"We're all from Wei, so what's the difference?"
"He had dealings with bandits from Vashj, but I did not."
Asutai's expression froze, then he glared at Zeng Zhifeng and growled through gritted teeth:
"Bandits, kill them!"
As he spoke, he punched Zeng Zhifeng in the stomach.
Chen Yi was taken aback for a moment, but didn't think of stopping him.
Zeng Zhifeng previously possessed a cultivation level of the middle third rank, and even though he no longer had cultivation, his body could still withstand a punch.
Of course, it's okay if you can't handle it.
With Chen Yi here, there's always a way to save his life.
Asutai, however, had no time for such thoughts and threw several punches in a row, making Zeng Zhifeng's body throb with loud bangs.
Even though Zeng Zhifeng was affected by the "Immortal's Drunkenness" (a reference to a popular Chinese novel), his eyelids twitched from the punches.
Seeing Asutai's murderous look, Chen Yi shook his head and flicked his finger, sending a gust of wind through the air that knocked him back.
"Alright, he's still somewhat useful for now, so you can't kill him yet."
Asutai, panting heavily, stared at Zeng Zhifeng, his large, bloodshot eyes filled with bloodshot veins.
"Then, can you let me kill him?"
"If you agree to my conditions, I will give you a chance to get revenge, how about it?"
"I...I will take revenge!"
(End of this chapter)
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