CHAPTER 641: CHAPTER 641: LOSING EVERYTHING

The opponent was cunning, but Zhou Lin was not one to give up easily. If he couldn’t find his quarry in one day, he wouldn’t relax his vigilance. If two days passed without success, he would simply continue his stakeout. Fortunately, the heavens were watching. At last, on the fourth day, he discovered their traces.

This house appears to be a civilian residence on the surface, but there’s a hidden passage in an old well in the backyard leading to the docks, he noted. Once the grain entered the house, it was directly taken through this hidden passage to the docks and shipped away.

Zhou Lin followed the trail, which eventually led him to some of the largest merchants in Jiangnan Prefecture. The grain entered their granaries, and the escorts were their men.

Zhou Lin let out a cold laugh. "So, it really was you few causing all this mischief!"

「Capital City.」

Zhou Lin returned to the Capital City overnight and reported the news directly before the Emperor. The Emperor listened but, instead of the expected fury, fell into deep thought.

"The Lian Family, the Song Family, and the Rong Family?!" Zhao Junyao was surprised and incredulous.

Zhou Lin answered cautiously, "Yes, Your Majesty. I saw with my own eyes boat after boat of grain entering their granaries!"

Before Zhou Lin finished speaking, Zhao Junyao crushed the cup in his hand. His gaze was piercing, yet his eyes betrayed a hint of avoidance and disbelief. After a short pause, he ordered, "Continue the investigation. Find out what exactly they are up to!"

Zhou Lin hesitated for a moment before speaking up, "Your Majesty, the rumors in Jiangnan are growing wilder by the day. It’s clear that..."

"It’s clear these people want to deceive the common folk out of their grain, then drive up prices. When disaster strikes, they’ll sell it all back at exorbitant rates! They..."

Zhou Lin didn’t continue; the Emperor was no fool.

Zhao Junyao listened, squinting. "I still think their objective isn’t that simple," he said lightly.

"However..." Zhao Junyao’s tone changed, a cold smile touching his lips. "I could just play along with them!"

After Zhao Junyao gave a few quiet orders, Zhou Lin, who moments before had been lamenting and wishing he could deal with these merchant families, suddenly had a spark in his eyes.

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

Zhao Junyao waved his hand, and Zhou Lin bowed and exited.

Sitting before the imperial desk, Zhao Junyao squinted with satisfaction. So, you want to raise grain prices? he thought. Fine, I’ll let you. We’ll see how you spit out what you’ve swallowed!

News that the Imperial Court was going to war with the Grassland Tribes and needed to purchase large quantities of grain had been buzzing for some time, yet no actual movements were reported. The commoners were puzzled, debating whether to continue frantically trading grain.

"After all, this is illegal! If the Imperial Court finds out, we’ll be arrested and jailed!"

"Isn’t that the truth? Disasters are happening everywhere!"

"Although selling grain can make us money, it’s like dancing on a knife’s edge. My heart isn’t at ease at all!"

"Who could be?"

Just as everyone was feeling uneasy, a piece of news suddenly spread: "The Imperial Court has won a great victory, completely routing the Grassland Tribes! They fled helter-skelter, abandoning their armor in disarray! The scene was truly a delight to behold!"

In a bustling tavern, someone was vividly recounting the events, attracting an ever-growing crowd. Those who didn’t know better might have mistaken him for a famous storyteller. As he concluded, the man added, "The Emperor, having won a great victory, is in high spirits! Hearing that our Jiangnan suffered a disaster and lacks food, he immediately decided to open the granaries for disaster relief! Perhaps the Imperial Censor is already on his way at this very moment!"

The common folk listened with joy and excitement. In just one afternoon, the news spread everywhere, and those engaged in grain speculation saw their business come to an abrupt halt.

Upon hearing the Imperial Court would provide disaster relief, who would still buy grain at inflated prices? Decades of savings could be wiped out in a few months; no family was willing to accept such a loss. Business ground to a halt, and grain prices plummeted. Even so, a dou of rice still cost over a hundred copper coins—still expensive. So, people simply chose not to buy.

If they could endure hunger, they did. If they could bear it, they bore it. As long as they could cling to life, they were willing to wait. Indeed, the news proved true. A few days later, the Imperial Court’s disaster relief grain arrived.

The grain carriages stretched for miles. The impoverished commoners looked upon them as if they were life-saving deities; some even knelt on the ground in worship.

Zhou Lin found the sight quite disheartening. It’s always the common folk who are poor, he thought. They suffer from natural disasters and endure the merchants’ oppression!

Once the grain transports arrived, porridge and rice were distributed in and around the city. The commoners ate their fill and no longer bought exorbitantly priced grain.

At this time, merchants big and small throughout Jiangnan still held varying amounts of grain. Big fish eat little fish, and little fish eat shrimp. But now, the "shrimp"—the common people—were suddenly out of reach. Wouldn’t the big fish starve? Starvation was unlikely, but bankruptcy was certainly possible.

The magnates of Jiangnan’s three major families met secretly, drinking and complaining about the Imperial Court.

"Damn it! This is cutting off our livelihood!"

This little brat has plenty of tricks, Old Lian fumed internally. But how could our ancient, venerable families fear a whelp whose hair hasn’t even fully grown?

"Now, now, Old Lian, don’t say that," cautioned Old Song. "Although the Little Emperor is young, his methods are said to be quite effective. He has his grandfather’s air about him!"

Old Lian immediately retorted, "Pah! Don’t compare him to his grandfather. I think he’s not even as good as his father—only knows how to scheme in secret. I wonder who he learned that from! Don’t try to persuade me; I’ll fight him to the bitter end on this!"

Seeing this, Old Song quickly tried to soothe him. "Ah, Old Lian, you’re taking this too hard! ’Under all heavens, there is no land that is not the King’s.’ Even if our ancestors earned merit serving his, so many years have passed. The Little Prince might not even acknowledge that old favor. If this truly escalates, it will be ugly for everyone. Wouldn’t you agree, Old Master Rong?"

Finished, Old Song, who had been smiling amiably, turned to Old Master Rong, who had remained silent. Old Master Rong was dark and thin, rather unremarkable in appearance. However, his eyes were bright, shrewd, and so penetrating that few dared to meet his gaze directly. After listening, Old Master Rong leaned on his cane, stood up, and said indifferently, "Actually, we should never have waded into these muddy waters."

As soon as these words were spoken, the other two fell silent, as if instantly muted.

...

Under Zhao Junyao’s extremely cunning offensive, the grain that Jiangnan’s three major families had bought at high prices could no longer be sold. Ultimately, with grain prices returning to near normal, the three families were almost ruined.

But a merchant, after all, is a merchant. Merchants don’t engage in politics or schemes; they pursue profit. This time, their attempt to exploit the natural disaster by inflating grain prices had been thwarted by the Imperial Court. Caught red-handed, they could only resign themselves to their misfortune.