Chapter 478 : Profiteering

Only after Qingyang Gongzhu(1)’s funeral did Qiu Shi learn that all four members of the Qiao family had died.

Qiu Shi uttered a cry of ‘Amitabha Buddha(2)’ and said, “Good will be rewarded with good, and evil with evil. Nothing is without retribution, only that the time has not yet come.” Back then, the Duke of the State Residence lost so many people and money because of Heshou’s evil intentions. Now was the time for retribution.

Seeing this reaction from Qiu Shi, Mama Li swallowed the words she was about to say. At that moment, the people outside were all blaming the deaths of Qingyang Gongzhu(1), Fuma(3), and the others on Jing Wangfei(4) and the Duke of the State Duke Residence. It was better not to tell the Old Lady about this. “What the Old Lady said is true.” She immediately changed the subject by saying, “If you ask me, our Fourth Miss is still the kind-hearted one. She has earned great merit for saving so many children.”

Qiu Shi turned the Buddha beads in her hand as she said, “Yes, this child has been kind-hearted since she was young.” Not only was this child’s heart good, but she also made others feel distressed for her.

Mama Li smiled. “Miss must have been influenced by my Lady.” These words were not merely a compliment to Qiu Shi but came from the bottom of her heart. It was because Mama Li didn’t feel that Yuxi had much of a good heart but only knew the feelings of gratitude and loyalty. In retrospect, she had initially been defensive towards the Fourth Miss, and it was only when she saw that the Fourth Miss was indeed sincere to her mistress that she breathed a sigh of relief.

Qiu Shi put down the Buddhist beads in her hand and wondered, “Speaking of which, this child has been in the Northwest for almost two years! I don’t know if she’s all right now.”

Mama Li smiled, “Don’t worry, my Lady. Fourth Miss must be fine.” It was already not bad that Guye(5) thought so highly of Fourth Miss. For an experienced person like Mama Li, a life of brocade clothes and jade meals(6) wasn’t a definition of a good life, but rather the comfortable days of a husband and his wife living their lives with one mind.

Qiu Shi put down the Buddhist beads and muttered, “Jianye will leave for the Northwest in a few days.” Han Jianye originally wanted to leave at the end of the seventh month, but Qiu Shi disagreed. She argued that a person travelling on a hot day would be prone to heatstroke and insisted that Han Jianye wait until the ninth month before leaving.

Mama Li reassured her, “My Lady, when the Second Master goes to the Northwest, Fourth Miss will look after him, so he’ll be fine. Besides, Fourth Guye(5) is so good at fighting in wars. What happened at the beginning of spring will definitely not happen again.”

Qiu Shi sighed. “I remember my mother once said that if you raise a child for a hundred years, you will worry about them for ninety-nine years. Now I understand what she meant.” Speaking of which, she hadn’t seen her own father for almost twenty years, and even his appearance was somewhat blurred in her mind.

Since Qingyang Gongzhu(1) had passed away, Yuchen, as her nephew’s wife, followed Jing Wang(7) to the Gongzhu(1) Residence to offer incense to Qingyang Gongzhu(1).

Heshou, who was kneeling on the ground and burning paper money, stared at Yuchen with a deadly stare. If eyes could kill people, Yuchen would be dead by now.

After Yuchen lit some incense, she said to Heshou, “Biaomei(8), I’m sorry for your loss.” The look of grief on her face made it seem as if she shared Heshou’s feelings.

Jing Wang(7) was unhappy to see Heshou looking at Yuchen as if she wanted to eat her. After offering some incense, he immediately took Yuchen back home. In the carriage, Jing Wang(7) reminded her, “Only come back here when it’s time for the funeral, not at other times.”

Feeling aggrieved, Yuchen said: “I know that Biaomei(8) said I killed Gumu(9). I have no grudge against Gumu(9). I don’t understand why Biaomei(8) would say such a thing.”(🏆)

Jing Wang(7) replied with a distressed look on his face: ”Ignore her. She is a madwoman now, biting everyone she sees. After Gumu(9)’s funeral, she won’t be able to leave the Eastern Palace anymore. So there’s no need to take her seriously.” Jing Wang(7) had never liked Heshou since he was a child. She was overbearing and arrogant in the past, and then he didn’t know what kind of medicine she had taken; the dignified Xianzhu(11) had become a merchant and started a business. Ultimately, she came up with a messy thing like opening her all-seeing mind(12). If someone of her character could open the so-called all-seeing mind(12), then there would undoubtedly be many more people under heaven who could do the same. Of course, Jing Wang(7) didn’t appreciate that Heshou had saved the life of his Jiu Ge(13). Instead, he found Heshou to be unusually evil.

After returning to the wangfu(14), Jing Wang(7) was summoned by the Crown Prince to discuss matters of state. Yuchen sent him to the courtyard entrance, and after he left, she headed back into the house.

Momo(15) Gui lowered her voice and asked, “Wangfei(4), do you think Qingyang Gongzhu(1) actually died of illness?” Yuchen did cause Qiao Meng’s death, but she had nothing to do with Qingyang Gongzhu(1)’s death. No matter how guilty Qingyang Gongzhu(1) was, Yuchen would not dare to kill her. Otherwise, even Jing Wang(7) would not be able to protect her if she was caught trying to kill a member of the imperial family.

Yuchen frowned. “It would be too coincidental to say that she died of illness. But if she didn’t die of illness, neither the physician nor the coroner could find anything wrong with her.” She also found this matter strange.

Momo(15) Gui said: ”Wangfei(4), do you think the Duke of State had done it…” According to the information they had gathered, Qiao Meng’s son was most likely the work of the Duke of State. As for the death of the Gongzhu(1), Momo(15) Gui suspected that he might have done it as well.

Yuchen shook her head. ”This matter ends here. Don’t interfere anymore. Without the support of Qingyang Gongzhu(1), Heshou can’t even be considered a paper tiger.” What if Heshou had opened her all-seeing mind(12)? What about Heshou’s ability to foresee risks? She couldn’t even predict that a great disaster would befall her closest bloodline! It would be absurd if the Crown Prince still believed Heshou had this ability.

Momo(15) Gui, however, thought that it would be better to cut the weeds and dig up the roots(16). “Letting Heshou Xianzhu(11) live is always a disaster.” Heshou was now convinced that her Master was the murderer of her family. If she was not eliminated, in case they slipped up some parts one day and she exploited them, the consequences would be unimaginable. According to Momo(15) Gui, the only thing worse than having something stolen was having a thief have you in their sights(17).

Yuchen did not want to let Heshou go either. It was just that the time was not right now: “It’s not appropriate to do anything at the moment.” If Heshou died, Yuchen would truly be suspected. Even if she wanted Heshou to die, she didn’t have to do it herself. Heshou had offended so many people in the past, and now that she had lost her power, many people would want to get rid of her. Not to mention the Meng family, whose eldest di(18) son she had killed.(🤔)

When Han Jianming heard the news of Qingyang Gongzhu(1)’s death, he was slightly surprised. Although he didn’t believe that Qingyang Gongzhu(1) had died of illness, he couldn’t think of any other reasonable explanation.(😯)

Mr Zhao wondered: “My Lord, do you think Jing Wangfei(4) did it?” Apart from Jing Wangfei(4), Mr Zhao didn’t think anyone else could kill Qingyang Gongzhu(1) silently.

Han Jianming shook his head. “It can’t be Yuchen’s.” If Qiao Meng were said to be Yuchen’s work, he would believe it. But Qingyang Gongzhu(1) had a special status, and Yuchen would not be so reckless.

Han Gao called out from outside, “My Lord, someone from Fujian is here.” Since Han Jianming took charge of the Duke of the State Residence, he had been in frequent contact with the Fujian side.

When Han Jianming saw the visitor, the first thing he asked was, “How’s Waigong(21)’s health?” The old man was getting on in years, now over sixty, but fortunately, his body had always been strong.

Knowing that all was well with his Waigong(21), Jiujiu(22) and the others, Han Jianming received a thick stack of letters. In addition to the letter to him and Qiu Shi, there was also a sealed official letter of vindication for Mr Chen.

Looking at the official letter, Han Jianming said, “It’s just right for Er Di(23) to bring this thing to the Northwest.” Since Han Jianming had personally requested it, the work rate became very efficient. Otherwise, it would have taken at least a year or two, even without thinking about it.

Mr Zhao commented, “The Fourth Miss and Guye(5) are having a hard time in the Northwest!” The Imperial Court didn’t allocate them any money, and the hundred thousand troops spent a lot of money daily, which was unbearable for ordinary people.

Han Jianming sneered. “The Ministry of Revenue doesn’t have much money, but can’t they even get the tens of thousands of taels of silver for the Charity Home? They just don’t want to give it.”

Mr Zhao said, “My Lord, Grand Chancellor Yu did not treat Guye(5) as an ally at all by doing this.” If Grand Chancellor Yu had considered Yun Qing an ally, he wouldn’t have been so rigid in his decision.

A sneer spread across Han Jianming’s mouth. “Grand Chancellor Yu is someone who even dares to contradict the words of the Crown Prince. Do you think he would treat Yun Qing as an ally? In the beginning, the cooperation was just his desire to bring down Qin Zhao. Now he’s using this to pressure Yun Qing, wanting Yun Qing to submit to him!” He had wondered why Grand Chancellor Yu had been so easy to talk to before and had simply complied with all their requests. Now that he knew, they had already started thinking of countermeasures.

Mr Zhao asked: “What if Yun Qing doesn’t submit? Will he still refuse to pay? He’s not even afraid of a mutiny in the Northwest Army.” There was no way to make people fight without giving them something to eat.

Han Jianmin said, “It depends on the couple’s choice.” If they could solve the problem of lack of money on their own, they would have 100,000 troops under their control. If they were to submit to the Yu family, he could also help as the front bridge to connect the families.

Mr Zhao said, “There is a shortfall of millions in military expenditures. Trying to solve it on your own is even harder than reaching the sky(24).”

Han Jianming replied, “That depends on their abilities.” If the couple could solve this problem, Yun Qing’s revenge would be just around the corner.

At the same time, in Yu City, Yuxi received evidence that the Xu family were selling army provisions and cloth to the northern barbarians. This incriminating evidence was delivered to her personally by Mr Xia.

Mr Xia said, “Madam, these are all hand copies, not the original. However, our people know where the originals are and will be able to get them when the family is raided.” If the originals were to be stolen now, not only would the planted spies be in danger, but the Xu family would also get wind of it. At that time, the Xu family would certainly flee from Xinping City with their property.

Yuxi lowered her head and looked at the account. After reading only a few lines, she burst out: “Beyond the Pass, three jin(25) of salt can be exchanged for a lead sheep.” A jin(25) of salt in Yu City was usually sold for only nine wen(26), and three jin(25) of salt was only twenty-seven. In Yu City, a jin(25) of mutton was worth twelve wen(26), and a lead sheep was counted as twenty-five jin(25) worth more than two hundred wen(26). What did this mean? The price of salt outside the pass was ten times higher than in Yu City. This was really profiteering!

Not only was the salt costly, but the wok used for cooking was also ridiculously expensive. An ordinary household wok could be exchanged for a fat sheep beyond the Pass. Seeing this, Yuxi also understood why the Xu family could live so luxuriously. Who wouldn’t be rich when doing this kind of business?

Yuxi asked Mr Xia, “Have you read this account book, sir?” Seeing him nod, she asked another question: “How long has the Xu family been doing this?”

Mr Xia replied, “It’s been more than twenty years! But in the past, it was done secretly and not in large quantities. Ever since Xu Shi married into the Qin family, the Xu family have used the Qin family name to sell even more things beyond the Pass, and in the end, they even sold grains.” It was also because the number was too large for the Marshal to tolerate that he began to investigate thoroughly.