good season

The next day, Xiao Zhen met Zhao Shiqing and finally learned from her what had happened the day before.

No wonder the retired emperor spoke of Emperor Yongjia and his son with such hatred and clenched his teeth; it turned out he had learned the truth about the hooked nose.

Indeed, the pain only comes when the knife cuts you.

The same applies to the retired emperor.

However, Xiao Zhen was still gratified to learn that Zhao Shiqing had secured benefits for Wan Ruyi and herself.

Although these benefits are currently just a written agreement, a king's word is law, and as long as the Great Yong Dynasty does not perish, this agreement will remain valid indefinitely.

Xiao Zhen only had a brief meeting with Zhao Shiqing before heading back down the mountain; the bombshell of the disaster relief grain had not yet exploded.

Before leaving, Xiao Zhen told him again: "The official road from Tongzhou to Gaoping has been destroyed. Can you go to Gaoping now? Yes, but it's a matter of life and death. Right now, Dayong is suffering from natural disasters and man-made calamities, and treacherous people are in power. If something happens to you at this time, you will ascend to heaven and be done with it. Think of Dayong, think of the ancestors of the Zhao Dynasty, think of Xiao Yue!"

After Xiao Zhen left, Zhao Xingzhou wandered around the mountain for a while, and then leisurely went to find Zhao Shiqing.

Xiao Zhen and the others didn't come back empty-handed last night; they brought back a grandmother and her grandson.

This grandfather and grandson were originally servants of the Han family, a wealthy household in Tongzhou. When the Han family mansion was flooded, the master of the Han family fled in panic. He didn't take much with him to begin with, and lost some more along the way. He was too busy to take care of himself, so he abandoned all the old and weak servants and fled to Gaoping with only a few strong servants and pretty maids.

This grandmother and granddaughter were abandoned by their master; they were Granny Wen and her granddaughter Xiaoru.

When Xiao Zhen encountered them, the grandmother and grandson had been trapped on a rooftop for several days.

There were no empty houses left on the mountain. Xiao Zhen originally wanted to send them to Huang Family Village, but after learning that they came from the Han family, and remembering that the young mistress of the Han family also lived on the mountain with her child, he brought them here instead.

When Xiao Zhen returned last night, worried about waking Zhao Shiqing, she let the grandmother and granddaughter spend the night in the teahouse lobby. This morning, they finally met Grandma Han.

When Zhao Xingzhou found Zhao Shiqing, he happened to witness this scene.

Grandma Wen was overjoyed to see Grandma Han, whom she hadn't seen for many days, and brought her granddaughter to the hospital, bursting into tears.

"Young Madam, this old servant thought I would never see you again in this lifetime."

Zhao Xingzhou stood aside, listening to his mother-in-law recount her experiences over the past few days.

"Alas, when we left home, the eldest young master asked the master and his eldest son to stay behind and look after the house. The daughter-in-law refused and wanted to stay with her eldest son. I tried to persuade her, but she wouldn't listen. She told me to take Xiaoru and go with the masters to escape for our lives."

But the rain was so heavy that the carriage couldn't go any further once it left the city. They had to use a boat, but the manor didn't have any. The young master spent a whole thousand taels of silver to buy one.

The boat wasn't big and couldn't seat many people. The old master brought his eldest son, four strong servants, Chunmei, and two maids. He didn't bring anyone else.

We, the old and the young, could only walk uphill on our own two legs, and before long we were separated.

The old servant and his granddaughter both knew how to swim. Seeing that the road ahead was impassable, they knew they couldn't go to Gaoping. So they gritted their teeth and turned back, thinking that the family would die together.

But when the old servant finally returned to the mansion with his granddaughter after many hardships, he found that the mansion had been flooded and all his family members had disappeared.

My granddaughter is too young to swim, so the old servant found some food in the house, and we, the grandmother and granddaughter, struggled to survive on the roof with that little food.

We thought we'd either drown or starve to death, but someone happened to pass by yesterday and rescued us. Even more unexpectedly, we even met the young mistress and young master!

Grandma Han's eyes were red. Like the Chen family, she was a maid in the Wen family. She left home in a hurry that day, only taking the Chen family and his sons with her. She had been talking to Meixiang about the Wen family these past few days and wondered how they were doing. She never expected to see them like this.

"Don't worry, Mom. Since you didn't see anyone in the house, Uncle Wen and the others must have escaped."

Grandma Wen smiled through her tears: "Yes, that's what I think too. They must have escaped."

However, when she thought about how Han Dalang had actually asked Uncle Wen and his son to stay and watch the house, Grandma Han was so angry that she gritted her teeth. In that situation, everyone knew that staying meant waiting to die, but Han Dalang not only kept people, but also made her maid stay. To put it bluntly, it was intentional.

That's despicable, absolutely despicable.

Zhao Xingzhou's attention, however, was focused on the word "Gaoping".

He asked Granny Wen, "When your master went to Gaoping, did you hear about the road being washed away?"

Granny Wen said, "When the master left, I hadn't heard anything. Later, I heard from people returning from that direction that the road ahead had been washed away and was very dangerous. That's when I changed my mind and took my granddaughter back to the mansion."

Zhao Xingzhou sighed. It seemed his grandson hadn't exaggerated; the road to Gaoping was indeed blocked.

Grandma Han was secretly gritting her teeth, hoping that the scumbag and his Chunmei would be swept away by the flood. Weren't the two of them so in love? It would be good if they could keep each other company on the road to the underworld.

Zhao Shiqing already knew from Xiao Zhen that Zhao Xingzhou wanted to take her to Gaoping with him. Seeing Zhao Xingzhou sighing, she guessed what was going on.

People shouldn't be too idle.

"Would you like to contribute your remaining energy?"

Zhao Xingzhou was taken aback: "What? I want to?"

Although I don't yet understand what it means to "contribute one's remaining energy," the words have already been spoken with a slap of the upper lip to the lower lip.

Zhao Shiqing led him to the back of the house, where an old woman was leading a group of children. When the old woman saw Zhao Shiqing, she looked at Zhao Xingzhou who was standing next to her and said, "Second Miss, are these the children you sent to help me take care of them?"

Zhao Shiqing smiled and said, "Yes."

She then said to Zhao Xingzhou, "The children's parents have all gone to work. Originally, it was just Aunt Sun and Aunt Di taking care of the children. But yesterday it rained, and Aunt Di's old leg pain flared up again, so she couldn't get out of bed. Aunt Sun can't manage on her own. It's good that you've come. You can help Aunt Sun take care of the children."

Before Zhao Xingzhou could speak, Aunt Sun pointed at him and shouted, "You, it's you, take the little fat boy to poop!"

A chubby little boy ran over, clutching his bottom: "Quick, quick, I'm about to poop in my pants! Hurry up and pick me up!"

Zhao Xingzhou instinctively picked him up, and Aunt Sun pointed into the distance: "The outhouse is over there!"

Seeing the old man and the child walk away, Zhao Shiqing said to Granny Sun, "This old man always wants to go to Gaoping to find his grandson. You've heard that the official road to Gaoping has been washed away by the flood. If the old man goes there, he'll just be throwing his life away. Find him something to do so he won't be too idle."

Grandma Sun agreed: "That's right, that's right. Don't worry, Miss, I'll make sure he's too busy to think about his grandson."

After arranging things for Zhao Xingzhou, Zhao Shiqing went back to her own business. Both Granny Wen and Xiaoru were injured, and Xiaoru also had a slight fever. These were all matters to attend to.

Xiao Zhen's plan continued. Yang Fan searched for several hours in his small boat but couldn't find the ten boats, so he had to go back and meet up with Liu Wang.

He had already figured out how to explain it, in order to make it convincing.

Yang Fan slashed his own leg and smeared the blood on his face and body. Liu Wang was startled when he saw him, but he was quick-witted and soon understood why Yang Fan did this.

The two returned to Huangjiazhuang with the remaining ten boatloads of grain and went to see Li Qing first.

As soon as he entered the room, Yang Fan knelt down and crawled to Li Qing's feet, bursting into tears.

"Boss Li, something's happened! Something's happened!"

Seeing Yang Fan covered in blood, Li Qing asked, "Did you encounter robbers?"

Yang Fan nodded through his tears: "The journey was extremely dangerous. We were worried about being targeted by bandits who would try to ambush us from behind. On the way back, Ding Gao and I discussed it and decided that he would lead the brothers to cover our retreat."

Everything went smoothly until I turned a corner and suddenly realized that the boats behind me hadn't caught up. At first, I thought they would catch up soon, but after waiting for a long time, they still hadn't come. I couldn't stand it, so I steered my small boat back. I saw the shadows of those ten boats in the distance and started chasing after them.

However, before I could get close, a boat rushed over from the side and blocked my way. Several people jumped off the boat, each wielding a sword and knife. Although I fought back with all my might, I was no match for their numbers and was knocked into the water.

Fortunately, I'm a good swimmer, which saved my life. I just wonder how Ding Gao and the other brothers are doing.

Liu Wang also cried, "And Zhang Hui, he was on the boat too!"

Li Qing looked coldly at the two of them. Yang Fan's words had many flaws, but the most important thing now was the ten boats of grain that had been lost.

"This matter is of utmost importance. You should come with me to see the Fourth Prince first."

However, Yang Fan and Liu Wang didn't even get to see the Fourth Prince. The Fourth Prince told them to take a bath with mugwort first before they went to see him.

Li Qing had no choice but to repeat what Yang Fan had said to the Fourth Prince. He originally thought the Fourth Prince would be furious, but to his surprise, the Fourth Prince only frowned and asked, "I had only heard that Gao Ping people were fierce and valiant, but I did not expect that other places were the same."

I encountered bandits once on the way from Yanzhou to Tongzhou, and now there are bandits on the way from Tongzhou to Huiji Granary. Even the Imperial Guards are no match for them.

The fourth prince was a little scared. What if those vicious bandits came and robbed us here?

Li Qing was unaware that the Fourth Prince was worried about his safety. He said, "This humble official is prepared to personally lead men along the river to search for the whereabouts of those ten boats. What do you think?"

The Fourth Prince frowned even more deeply: "Commander Li, you should let your subordinates handle this. You don't need to do this personally."

In an instant, Li Qing understood what the Fourth Prince was thinking. He was worried that he, like the ten ships, would become a target of the robbers, so he asked him to stay and be his bodyguard.

Li Qing had no choice but to step back and arrange for other people to search for the ten ships and the Imperial Guards.

Yang Fan had a leg injury that made it difficult for him to move around. Liu Wang took a shower and returned to his room, where he stood there in a daze.

The boat is gone, and the promised ten thousand taels of silver vanished without a trace.

Unlike Zhang Hui, Liu Wang had the You family behind him, and his sister was the favorite concubine of Master You. Therefore, he believed that he had more face in front of the Fourth Prince than Zhang Hui.

Therefore, he entrusted the business dealings with Zhang Hui and did not go himself, but unexpectedly, something went wrong.

Yang Fan trusted Ding Gao because they had gone through thick and thin together, but Liu Wang did not trust Ding Gao. He now suspected that Ding Gao and those Imperial Guards were behind it all.

Zhang Hui was just a weak scholar with no martial arts skills. He didn't need bandits at all. Ding Gao could kill him as easily as crushing an ant.

Just then, a servant's voice rang out from outside the door: "Young Master Liu, someone is looking for you outside the manor."

Liu Wang was annoyed and asked irritably, "Who's looking for me?"

The servant said, "That man claimed his surname was Dai."

Is your surname Dai?

There aren't many people with the surname Dai, but Liu Wang happens to know one—the merchant they do business with is surnamed Dai!
He slipped on his shoes, pushed open the door, and asked, "Where is he?"

"The man was stopped outside the estate. That Mr. Dai said he was your friend," the servant hurriedly said.

The mansion where the fourth prince lived was guarded by soldiers, and no one was allowed to approach it. However, outside the manor, there were only yamen runners patrolling. Therefore, if Mr. Dai wanted to see Liu Wang, he could only ask the yamen runners in the manor to pass on the message to his superiors.

Liu Wang hurried out and, after walking for the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, finally left the manor.

Mr. Dai was wearing a straw hat with the brim pulled low. When he saw Liu Wang, he took off the hat, revealing a familiar face.

It really was that businessman.

Liu Wang was both anxious and angry. He lowered his voice and asked, "What exactly happened? Where is the grain? Where is the silver?"

The merchant's face turned pale, and his lips trembled as he said, "Young Master Liu, we've fallen into a trap! Those Imperial Guards had no good intentions. They killed Young Master Zhang, robbed the silver, and now they want to kill me too. I told them that my servant was still waiting for me in Baofeng City, and if he didn't see me, he would report me to the authorities. If they were willing to let me go, I was willing to offer another 50,000 taels of silver. If there was any grain left, I could raise the price by another 10%. They were tempted and sent someone with me back to Baofeng City to get the 50,000 taels. On the way, I escaped while they weren't looking."

Liu Wang narrowed his eyes; it really was those Imperial Guards!
"Then how did you find this place?"

The merchant gestured toward the constables not far ahead, saying, "They brought me here thinking I was a refugee. I heard them say that the Fourth Prince lived in that big mansion up there, so I guessed that Young Master Liu must be here too. That's why I asked someone to invite Young Master Liu out."

Liu Wang knew that many disaster victims lived in Huangjiazhuangzi, all of whom were rescued by the yamen runners. It was understandable that the merchants were sent here as disaster victims.

More importantly, what the businessman said matched his guess perfectly!

"Alright, you can stay at the manor for now. The Imperial Guards haven't returned yet, so you're safe for now. Wait for my news about what happens next."

The merchant thanked Liu Wang profusely and said, "Young Master Liu, what I said to those Imperial Guards was only half true. My personal attendant is indeed still in Baofeng City, but my silver is not fifty thousand taels, but five hundred thousand taels. Moreover, it's not just my personal attendant, but several other people as well. This silver was pooled together by several families, and they are all in Baofeng City as well."

Liu Wang understood; it was a group of businessmen who wanted to profit from the national crisis. Among them, this man surnamed Dai had a past relationship with him, so he sent him to handle the transaction.

Five hundred thousand taels of silver, that's five hundred thousand taels of silver!

Liu Wang had seen wealth and honor while serving the Fourth Prince, but his heart still pounded when he heard about 500,000 taels of silver.

He returned to the house, his emotions still unsettled for a long time. (End of Chapter)