Marrying a treacherous official

After Hua Chao got into the carriage, she was worried the whole way that Li Xiuji would send someone to follow her.

As she stepped out of the carriage and looked back at the road she had come from, she heard Yinxiang beside her offer a word of advice:

"Manager Hua, there's no need to look anymore, no one is following."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Xiao Kui stands guard at the gate of the mansion. If any guards ride out on horseback, she will blow her whistle to signal me."

Yinxiang pointed to his ear and said, "I've been listening the whole way. While I'm still within the range of the whistle, I need to speed up and catch the carriage so those guards can't catch up!"

"Drive carefully. When I get back, I will reward Xi Kui handsomely."

Hua Chao returned to the carriage with a smile, and even Chunxuan couldn't help but say something to her:

"Can you relax now? Madam is sitting comfortably in the carriage, what do you have to worry about?"

"Do you really think everyone is like you, carefree and waiting for your wife to make all the decisions?"

Hua Chao spoke of Chunxuan, but his eyes fell on the thoughtful lady.

Only she understood that the lady had been working tirelessly lately, pouring her heart and soul into it, and that she had stepped forward to take responsibility for the lady's troubles.

The carriage stopped at the back gate of Helelou.

Yunji led Huachao off the carriage, while Yinxiang continued driving forward, taking Chunxuan to the estate.

The innkeeper personally greeted the master and servant as they entered, leading them up the outer staircase to the top floor on the seventh floor.

Yunji was delayed for a moment before leaving. When she arrived at the pavilion, all the owners of the three major merchant guilds had arrived.

She walked behind the eight-panel brocade screen, sat down on the rosewood armchair, took the tea offered by Hua Chao, and gently adjusted the lid of the teacup.

The three owners rose and greeted her, saying, "Greetings, Madam Cui."

"The three bosses have been in the business world for decades, and in terms of seniority, they are all my elders. Please sit down."

Through the hazy screen, Yunji's gaze fell on the three old men, and he said frankly, "The reason for this invitation is to discuss with the three owners the fate of those three vermilion chests."

The prosperous old Mr. Liu flattered:

"Madam Cui is joking. Now that the vermilion chest has been brought into your esteemed residence, the contents naturally belong to General Cui and Madam Cui. What does it have to do with us three old masters?"

"Old Liu was unaware of the dangers behind this matter. My husband and I are walking on thin ice in our pursuit of what the three of you are asking for."

Yunji made a painful decision and said, "Therefore, all three vermilion chests must be returned in full."

The three owners' expressions changed drastically; they never expected the Cui family to go back on their word and trick them for no reason.

Old Master Liu tried to salvage the situation, saying, "Madam Cui, is there really no way to turn this around?"

Yunji: "No."

Mr. Zheng from Qinghe was unwilling to let the matter drop and tried to reach a settlement, saying:

"Is that what General Cui also meant?"

"What I mean is what my husband means."

Yunji was deliberately testing their capabilities, and she resolutely refused to budge until Old Master He of Jingtai spoke.

Old Master He sat in his armchair and spoke calmly:

"Since Madam Cui invited us to the top pavilion to discuss this matter, there must be room for negotiation. The fate of these three vermilion chests is negotiable. What would it take for Madam Cui to keep the chests?"

Yunji looked at Old Master He across from her with admiration. He truly deserved to be the head of the No. 1 merchant group; every word he said resonated with her.

"The silver ingots and banknotes in the vermilion box were all minted by private merchants. Their traceability is too strong. Once it is verified, the consequences will be unimaginable."

"Then what does the First Madam mean?"

"Replace everything with rice."

"Madam, have you thought this through? Converting so much silver into rice and grain will be a problem in terms of storage and trading. Moreover, this move is very likely to attract the attention of officials. If it implicates General Cui, then it will be a loss."

Despite Mr. He's earnest attempts to persuade her, Yunji insisted on going her own way.

"I want to buy out the grain stored in the Shengjing granary by the three owners at the price of seventy cash per dou of rice before the disaster."

The three owners exchanged glances, each seeing fear in the other's eyes.

When they first heard that the First Madam wanted to exchange the silver for rice, they laughed at her, thinking she was a woman who didn't understand business.

Now, hearing that she was going to buy up their stockpiled grain at pre-disaster prices, they thought her scheme was too ruthless, snatching all their profits into her hands in one fell swoop.

Old Master Liu and Old Master Zheng both exchanged glances with Old Master He, knowing that too much talk could lead to mistakes, and they were both hoping that he would refute this absurd request.

"What does Madam Cui intend to do with so much grain?"

"Distributing porridge to relieve famine."

After pondering for a while, Old Master He quickly did some mental calculations and said frankly, "Relief for the refugees doesn't require nearly as much grain."

Yunji retorted, "Not enough, far from enough. I still need to exchange grain for land."

The three landlords had only ever heard of exchanging land for grain, and that displaced people in famine years could only survive by selling their land for food. They had never heard of exchanging grain for land.

"What does Madam Cui mean by that?"

"To be honest with you three, while I'm distributing porridge at Xiangguo Temple, I'm also going to lend half a bushel of rice to farmers who own land but can't survive the harsh winter at a low interest rate."

Yunji's goal was not only to save the lives of the refugees, but also to protect the land they depended on for survival. She wanted to stop the corrupt practice of local gentry, wealthy households, and corrupt officials from seizing land.

Although her money was limited and she couldn't help all the refugees, she would save whoever she could.

Old Master He was greatly shocked, impressed by her character and decisiveness. However, as a businessman, he had to be pragmatic and could not act impulsively.

"General Cui would never allow the First Madam to do such a thing."

Yunji took a sip of tea to moisten her throat and then unleashed her first trump card.

"My husband has never mentioned the deal with the three merchants to me, but I can roughly guess that the court is about to implement a new policy of government control over the sale of salt by merchants, and he is using the salt permits in his hands as bait to attract the three major merchant groups to compete for his favor."

The three owners exchanged glances again and remained silent.

"If the censor is determined to impeach my husband, he may not be unable to find any fault with the various employers."

Yunji said coldly:

"If we add a clause requiring merchants holding salt permits to have made substantial donations to the imperial court, and since the Xiangguo Temple relief effort is being funded by three owners, wouldn't it be perfectly legitimate for everyone to collect their salt permits then?"

After deep thought, Old Master He finally spoke:

"What the First Madam says is absolutely right. Unfortunately, General Cui will not allow her to do so."