Chapter 135 Visit

Watching the back of Xiao Qingzhu as she left the Imperial Garden, Emperor Lu Changsheng remained silent.

He turned to look at the clear lotus pond nearby, tossing some bait casually, causing the fish to swarm and scramble frantically.

It was just like the arguments between officials in the imperial court, and just like the struggle for power within the royal Family.

"How is the progress of Alchemy on the Imperial Preceptor's side?"

At this moment, a personal elderly eunuch appeared beside Emperor Lu Changsheng, bowing respectfully, his voice slightly shrill and effeminate.

"Replying to Your Majesty, Imperial Preceptor Cai says the progress is smooth, and the Medicinal Pill will be completed in a few days. However, to safely achieve a Breakthrough to the Foundation Establishment Stage, multiple Medicinal Pills need to be refined, and for that, some rare materials are still missing."

"Give Imperial Preceptor Cai whatever he wants! Spare no cost to prepare all the materials! My Breakthrough to the Foundation Establishment Stage must not go wrong!"

Emperor Lu Changsheng stood with his hands behind his back, looking up at the sky beyond the high walls, his eyes filled with a touch of madness and obsession.

"Yes!" The old eunuch bowed slightly again.

On the other side.

In the carriage heading home, Xiao Qingzhu kept pondering her previous conversation with her father, the Emperor.

Rewarding her with Mu An as her consort was expected, but having her participate in the management of the Tower of Demon Suppression was somewhat surprising.

There were nine Towers of Demon Suppression within the capital, centered around the Demon Suppression Bureau, suppressing all directions and imprisoning most of the heinous great demons from all over.

Therefore, the daily work of the Demon Suppression Bureau was quite dangerous, and to become a member, one needed to have a certain level of cultivation.

However, in this current era where Spiritual Qi is exhausted, it was not realistic to expect every member of the Demon Suppression Bureau to embark on the path of cultivation.

The members active on the front lines at most mastered some Jianghu skills for self-preservation; their strength was stronger than a Mortal, but weaker than a demon.

But correspondingly, the benefits enjoyed by the members of the Demon Suppression Bureau were of the best class, and countless people wanted to squeeze their way in.

Many officials also took pride in getting to know the high-level officials of the Demon Suppression Bureau, even going so far as to offer heavy bribes, which also led to many cases of embezzlement and the like.

"Did Father see that I possess the Ninth Level of Qi Refining cultivation and decide to test me? Or was it for some other reason?"

"Regardless, this opportunity is both a challenge and a crisis. I must ask for Mu An's opinion when I get back..." Xiao Qingzhu thought to herself.

The carriage stopped steadily in front of the Ninth Princesss Residence.

Looking at the maid who came to greet her, Xiao Qingzhu asked casually, "Where is my consort?"

Mu An had left before her, so if there were no accidents, he should be back by now.

"Replying to Your Highness, the consort is in the hall receiving the Fifth Princess."

The Fifth Princess? Fifth Princess Xiao Shuning?

What is she doing here?

Xiao Qingzhu frowned slightly, already having some guesses in her heart.

As she walked to the outside of the hall, she could faintly hear the conversation coming from within.

"I've come to visit uninvited. I've prepared a small gift for you and Ninth Princess, I hope you like it."

"I don't visit without a reason, so just say what you have to say!"

"Oh my, Brother-in-law, you are being too formal. As Qingzhu's sister, isn't it normal for me to come and visit her? Don't think of me so badly!"

Xiao Qingzhu walked straight into the room, without any intention of hiding.

This was her 'home turf' after all; if she really hid, it would be a joke.

"Fifth Sister."

Glancing at the flamboyantly dressed Fifth Princess Xiao Shuning, Xiao Qingzhu's expression remained unchanged, and she nodded slightly, which counted as a greeting.

"Speak of the devil, and the person arrives."

"Ninth Sister, I heard that your consort just stole the show in the imperial court. That heroic bearing is truly worthy of the name of an Immortal Master."

"Sigh, it's just that your sister has a hard life. If only I could find such a perfect husband, that would be wonderful. I would probably wake up laughing in my dreams!"

Fifth Princess Xiao Shuning was very familiar, a charming smile on her face as she stood up to greet Xiao Qingzhu.

At the same time, she quietly pulled up the neckline of her dress, which she had deliberately lowered, slightly covering that alluring patch of white skin.

...

"Fifth Sister, if you have something to say, just say it. The consort had a martial arts competition today, and he is physically exhausted. I still need to serve him so he can have a good rest later."

Xiao Qingzhu walked naturally behind Mu An, her jade-like slender fingers reaching out to massage his shoulders.

Such an intimate act was silently declaring ownership!

And that just-right pressure also made Mu An feel physically refreshed.

On the side, hearing the couple's identical response, Fifth Princess Xiao Shuning's expression was slightly awkward.

"They really are two of a kind, aren't they?"

Fifth Princess Xiao Shuning didn't hide it anymore and directly stated her purpose.

Besides trying to win over Mu An, she had an important matter to ask for help with, hoping to find an answer.

"Fifth Sister, you might not know, but some time ago, Father gave the task of disaster relief to me. However, natural disasters are unpredictable and are getting worse. Countless refugees are swarming outside the city, causing many issues. Just maintaining public order every day is a huge burden, not to mention the most troublesome food problem."

"Grain prices continue to soar with no end in sight, and many unscrupulous merchants are taking the opportunity to loot, eating human blood buns and making a fortune from the national disaster."

"I have already ordered the transfer of grain from various places to the capital, and executed several unscrupulous merchants to serve as a warning, but currently, it is still difficult to solve the urgent need."

How to solve the problem of unscrupulous merchants, how to settle the refugees; Fifth Princess Xiao Shuning had been worried about these things lately.

If she had known the situation was so tricky, she shouldn't have easily accepted this task.

However, this could not be blamed on her recklessness; everyone knew this was a hot potato, but if it could be solved smoothly, it would be a great opportunity.

It would prove her ability to solve problems and further increase her weight in the Emperor's heart.

It would also leave a good reputation among the people and lay a Foundation for future plans, killing many birds with one stone.

Of course, the premise was that she could successfully solve all the current troubles.

"You came to us, is it... to ask me to help you kill all the unscrupulous merchants?" Mu An blurted out subconsciously.

After possessing powerful strength, there was one more simple and crude way to solve problems, and that was to kill!

Anyway, those unscrupulous merchants were not good people. If they dared to raise prices to extract profits today, tomorrow they would dare to scrape the people's wealth and collude with officials.

Looking at the history of dynasties, when the country was broken and the Family was destroyed, merchants were often the most ruthless, mostly speculating and profit-seeking.

As the saying goes, the four classes of society, and it is inevitable that the ancestors would list them as the lowest class.

Pfft—

Fifth Princess Xiao Shuning, who was sipping tea, heard this thunderous answer and almost lost her composure, spitting out a mouthful of tea.

What does 'kill them all' mean?

Does the operation have to be so outrageous!

Honestly.

She herself had thought about doing this, but she only thought about it and dared not put it into action.

As a person within the rules, what one does must strictly follow the rules; killing a few people can be said to be killing the chicken to warn the monkey.

But if you kill a group, it is likely to cause large-scale resistance and riots. Regardless of whether they are suppressed or killed, the innocent people will be the ones hurt in the end, the food problem will still not be solved, and those who should starve to death will still starve to death.

In the face of absolute profit, killing one unscrupulous merchant will only lead to the birth of the next one, so killing is never-ending.

Furthermore, the cancer of collusion between officials and merchants has always been difficult to eradicate. On the surface, it is the unscrupulous merchants who are in power, driving up prices.

In secret, they all have major noble families standing behind them, and the latter are the real culprits who dominate the market price trend.

Large families are rooted in the national destiny and, to a certain extent, are a community of interests with the country.

Emperors of all dynasties have been troubled by this, and it is not something that can be solved by a simple 'kill'.

"Since killing cannot solve it, let's use a more civilized method!" Mu An chuckled.

Anyway, he was just mentioning it casually, without thinking too much about the rights and wrongs.

"The specific solution can be handled by my princess."

Mu An gently patted the jade hand of Xiao Qingzhu that was resting on his shoulder, signaling that it was her turn to perform.

Xiao Qingzhu also understood, her pretty face slightly flushed as she simultaneously moved her gaze up, finally landing on her Fifth Sister.

"I will state this beforehand: we have no obligation to help you."

The first sentence the young girl said made the highly expectant Fifth Princess Xiao Shuning's heart go cold.

Does this mean... a refusal?

It's understandable, her trying to get something for nothing like this, using others' methods to solve her own worries, is a bit inappropriate. Even if she said she gave many gifts, who is Xiao Qingzhu, and who is her consort? It is almost impossible for them to look down on any of her gifts, and the excuse of exchanging help for eating people's food naturally doesn't hold water.

"Then... I have bothered you today..."

Fifth Princess Xiao Shuning's beautiful eyes struggled for a while, intending to leave.

Unexpectedly, Xiao Qingzhu suddenly changed course, a 'but' completely freezing her delicate body as she was about to stand up.

"But..."

"We will still try our best to help you with this."

Hearing this, Fifth Princess Xiao Shuning couldn't help but show a look of astonishment.

No obligation to help, yet they chose to help; could it be because...

"This is not just your own business, it concerns the lives of thousands of refugees. If I can help, I naturally will." Xiao Qingzhu said indifferently.

On the way back to the capital from the remote town, she had seen too many people starve to death; the tragic scene of exchanging children to eat was not rare.

Exposing her own cultivation in front of the Emperor today also had the meaning of 'requesting power'. To do something and change something, one must first stand in a high enough position.

Since ancient times, it has always been so.

"Then what do you mean..."

Looking at her Fifth Sister who seemed to be shining, Fifth Princess Xiao Shuning felt somewhat... ashamed inside.

From the beginning, she only thought about solving the problem, only standing from a self-interested perspective, and didn't care much about the casualties of those people if it dragged on.

It could even be said that in this cultivation world, human life is like grass, and no one cares about the withering of a blade of grass on the roadside.

"The method is very simple, and that is for the government to raise prices."

Fifth Princess Xiao Shuning: ?

"How so?"

Fifth Princess Xiao Shuning frowned, not quite understanding this absurd approach.

"Currently, grain merchants have raised the price of rice to a very exaggerated level. If our government continues to raise the price of rice, then even fewer people will be able to buy rice, and more people will starve to death. Isn't this exactly what those unscrupulous merchants want?"

At this moment, Xiao Qingzhu spoke unhurriedly.

"Now, a large amount of grain in the market is hoarded in the hands of rice merchants and cannot flow normally to the common people."

"The solution is also very simple. As long as we can make the grain flow again, then alleviating or even solving this refugee incident is completely no problem."

"As for the method, it is also very simple. Given the profit-seeking nature of merchants, if the price of rice is further increased, they will naturally be unable to resist moving grain from various places to the capital. At that time, we will then sell a large amount of rice at a very low price. In order not to let the grain rot in their hands, they will definitely follow suit and sell at a low price."

Fifth Princess Xiao Shuning had always been shrewd. After Xiao Qingzhu said this, her head felt like it had been enlightened, and she instantly understood a lot.

Undoubtedly.

This was an unsolvable open conspiracy.

But how to make this open conspiracy realized still needs to be discussed in depth.

"It is very simple to let the unscrupulous merchants transport grain to the capital. The Grand Canal in the city runs north and south, and it will only take a few days to realize the transportation of grain from the south to the north."

"The problem is how to make them believe that we have enough rice in our hands. I can give you the bottom line now: the grain currently available in the national treasury is no more than three thousand dan, which is completely unable to support the huge consumption of refugees. Once it drags on for a few more days, it will be exposed sooner or later."

A clever housewife cannot cook without rice.

Regarding this, Fifth Princess Xiao Shuning was also very helpless.

Xiao Qingzhu seemed to have already thought of it and explained her ideas one by one.

"My idea is, from this moment on, spend a lot of money to fully purchase grain from various places and transport it to the capital, at least to release this signal to the outside world."

"Then, start a 'show' in the eyes of everyone!"

"Grain may not be purchased in a short time, but as long as we make others believe that we have enough grain, then the grain hoarded by the unscrupulous merchants will gradually become our grain, flowing back into the market, and the famine problem will be solved."

"The specific implementation method is also very simple."

"Just deliberately cut some bags and 'waste' some grain when the transport ships are unloading, then naturally someone will believe that these fakes are real goods."

"And to ensure the plan is foolproof, all those unloading and transporting grain must be our own people."

Hearing this, Fifth Princess Xiao Shuning's beautiful eyes became brighter and brighter, and she couldn't help but re-examine her Fifth Sister.

She had only left the capital for a few years, but when she returned, she seemed to have been reborn, much more mature, and her style of handling things had become extremely experienced.

Just on this 'refugee incident', she herself felt inferior.

Xiao Qingzhu didn't know what Fifth Princess Xiao Shuning was thinking and was still trying to explain some details that needed attention.

"After solving the unavoidable hunger, we must also deal with their excessive labor force."

"My suggestion is work-for-relief, using the imperial court to pay wages or exchange labor for food, mobilizing the people to carry out infrastructure projects beneficial to the future development of the capital, such as reinforcing the canal embankments and further developing the coal mines near the capital."

"We can even hold flower boats under the name of 'poetry gatherings', widely inviting scholars and elegant guests, merchants and rich people to gather together, driving the economy of the small vendors on both sides of the canal."

"Of course, there is an even tougher move, and that is to erect a monument for eternity, carving the donation situation of all parties in this famine clearly on it, stroke by stroke. People have always loved their reputation, and noble families even more so. Whether to leave a good name for thousands of years, or to leave a bad name for ten thousand years, I think they will definitely make the right choice."