Chapter 58: Soaring Coal Prices
Before Lu Yingxi could figure out how to fight back, Lu Zhiran had already turned and left.
Her face turned gloomy and she immediately went to Zhichun Garden to complain to Fang.
"Mother, my sister has really changed. It's like she's covered in thorns. I'm constantly being defeated by her."
She told her everything that happened in Ruyi Pavilion. After listening to her, Fang narrowed her eyes slightly.
"Even the Marquis' Mansion is so wary of her. She is more resourceful than before."
Nanny Wei immediately echoed excitedly, "This servant has already told Madam that the eldest daughter seems to have completely changed. She simply doesn't take the master and the mistress seriously at all!"
Nanny Wei went to the Marquis' Mansion twice to deliver a message. The first time, Lu Zhiran's attitude was lukewarm. The second time, Nanny Jin sent her away without even meeting her. She had been holding back her anger for a long time.
Now I finally found the opportunity to complain!
Fang said in a gloomy tone, "It seems that she has been planning a divorce from the beginning. Now, she has the emperor's decree as her backing, and she has climbed up to the Xing family. I can't touch her for the time being."
"If Mother can't do it herself, just let others do it. There are many people who want her dead. Isn't the Xuanping Marquis' Mansion a ready-made helper?"
Because of Lu Zhiran, the Xuanping Marquis Mansion has lost all its reputation and dignity. How can they not hate her?
As long as there is hatred, there is motivation, and with a little guidance, they will naturally take action.
Lu Yingxi's voice was gentle and her face was sweet, but the words she spoke were as vicious as those of a snake or scorpion.
Fang looked at her with approval.
"Xi'er is becoming increasingly intelligent. But don't rush this matter. Decide on your marriage first and then deal with her. Otherwise, if she gets into trouble, it will implicate you."
A hint of shyness flashed across Lu Yingxi's face.
"Everything is up to mother."
The next day, Lu Zhiran received the silver sent by the Xuanping Marquis Mansion.
After counting the amount, she was very satisfied.
He smiled and said to the steward, "Although I have already divorced the Marquis' Mansion, we still have a bond. Let's write off the previous disagreement and not mention it again. As for the government, I will also send someone to ask Master Fu to drop the case."
After getting the promise, the manager left with peace of mind.
Before the silver in his hand could even warm up, Lu Zhiran made arrangements.
"Give it to Uncle Tan and have him buy the last batch of charcoal and cotton. Have him do it secretly and then find a chance to accidentally reveal this to the Xuanping Marquis' Mansion."
Soon the capital will enter a real winter, and she will have to start her next plan.
Lu Zhiran's every move was under Fang's control. The mother and daughter couldn't help laughing behind closed doors.
"I originally thought she had become smarter, but it turns out I overestimated her. She's still as stupid as ever. With so much silver, why not buy a bunch of worthless charcoal?"
Thinking of such a large sum of money, Lu Yingxi felt a pain in her heart.
It would be great if I could give her the money! It would be better than having it wasted like this.
Fang had the same idea. "Let her mess around. This time she'll definitely suffer a major setback. Then I'll have a legitimate reason to take over her property. Her money will be ours sooner or later."
She said this very naturally because she was already familiar with it.
Now, more than a dozen of the most profitable properties under the name of the Lu Mansion were all left by the Luo family. These were originally Lu Zhiran's dowry.
After Fang came in, it was natural for her to take over and help run the business, but as she was helping, the owner of the shop quietly changed.
Later, someone from the Luo family in Suzhou came to count Lu Zhiran's dowry, and only then did Fang stop. Otherwise, she would have taken over eighty to ninety percent of Lu Zhiran's dowry.
The Marquis Xuanping's Mansion also learned about Lu Zhiran buying charcoal, which caused another uproar.
Jiang was so angry that her heart ached. "We worked so hard to scrape together all the money, and she actually used it all to buy charcoal? Did she have too much money and didn't know where to spend it?"
If that's the case, don't ask them to pay it back in the first place!
Chu Yunqing was still brooding over the loss of his reputation, and hated Lu Zhiran to the extreme.
"She must have done this on purpose, deliberately forcing us to return the money, and then deliberately squandering it so she could humiliate us!"
They had worked so hard to scrape together the money, but she just squandered it so casually. Isn't this a humiliation?
Chu Yian and Zhao Shuning also felt upset and aggrieved.
Taking a deep breath, Zhao Shuning spoke, "The weather in Shangjing is warm this year, and the price of charcoal is low. Even silver charcoal can't be sold at a high price. If she buys so much, she will only end up with a loss in her hands."
These words finally made everyone feel a little relieved.
The people in both houses were tacitly waiting to see Lu Zhiran make a fool of herself, however, what they waited for was an unexpected change.
The temperature, which was originally as warm as spring, plummeted. Overnight, white frost hung on the eaves, and a biting cold wind swept in. Everyone had to wear thick cotton jackets.
Snowflakes began to fall from the sky. Another night passed, and the streets and eaves were covered with heavy fallen snow.
Cui Fu and Dan Yan waited and waited every day, and finally the heavy snow came.
The charcoal fire in the house was burning brightly, isolating it from the ice and snow outside, forming two separate worlds.
The two maids' eyes sparkled. "Miss, you are indeed as good as a god. The temperature has really dropped, and it is much colder than in previous years."
"At this rate, the prices of charcoal and silver charcoal will definitely go up."
Lu Zhiran's expression was not as happy as theirs.
Because she knew what kind of test the Great Qi Dynasty was about to face.
In her previous life, countless poor people froze to death. That tragic scene was beyond her imagination.
In this life, she asked Shi Qizhou to stockpile charcoal and cotton clothes in various states and counties. Making money was not her primary goal. What she really wanted to do was to do her best to reduce the casualties caused by this disaster.
For several days in a row, the weather became colder day by day, and the price of charcoal doubled from five cents to thirty cents in just a few days.
The silver charcoal used by wealthy families is already expensive, and now it costs as much as ten taels of silver for one tael of charcoal.
There are long queues at any shop that sells charcoal. Their business is so booming that it is simply enviable.
Everyone who was waiting to see Lu Zhiran make a fool of herself was dumbfounded. Even Fang, who was usually calm, couldn't help but show a look of loss of composure.
"How did that little bitch get so lucky? She even got it right!"
Lu Yingxi felt very jealous, "She's going to make a killing this time."
Thinking back to what Lu Zhiran had said before, Fang felt slapped in the face.
If she had listened to her and stocked up more charcoal when the price was low, she would be making a lot of money now.
However, it is too late to regret now. If I buy charcoal now, there will be no profit at all, and I will lose a lot of money instead.
The same situation was happening at the Xuanping Marquis Mansion. Everyone was jealous and just hoped that the weather would warm up and the price of charcoal would drop quickly.
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