Chapter 94 - 2#
“You are right.”
He strode towards the guards waiting for him and said in a deep voice, “I also have to find a way to feed this poisonous snake to be even bigger, so that its sharp fangs can bite to death all incoming enemies. If you need anything in the future, you can write to me.”
Li Suye gradually walked away.
Jiang Feishi watched the figure merge into the darkness and smiled with interest.
Li Suye sent troops overnight to guard every granary of the Marquis’s residence, and he really caught a few scoundrels preparing to set fire.
“Interrogate to find the mastermind, raid their homes!” Li Suye said coldly.
He was worrying about not finding an opportunity to punish those grain merchants, and the pillow was handed over. Continuously raising rice prices does not violate the law, but arson and murder should warrant beheading and confiscation of property, right?
Li Suye left the dark prison and returned to the Qi residence.
Qi Sifeng was waiting at the entrance of the main hall. Even under the illumination of red lanterns, his face still looked very pale.
“Fourth Prince, you went out so late—”
Li Suye coldly interrupted the other party’s inquiry: “The disaster is already so serious, why haven’t you released the grain yet?”
“Fourth Prince, this official has explained many times. If we cannot guarantee that the drought will end as soon as possible, it is most appropriate to release grain a few days before winter comes. Winter is when people are truly driven to death.”
“Now that the drought is over, open the warehouses tomorrow and release the official grain.”
Qi Sifeng immediately agreed. The granaries in Jiangbei City were still full, so he wasn’t worried at all.
“The official grain of several nearby cities must also be released together. This Prince has already given the order.”
Li Suye’s words were no less than a thunderclap to Qi Sifeng. You know, to earn a huge amount of silver, he colluded with officials from nearby cities and transported all the official grain out of the granaries.
If the empty granaries were opened, the result would only trigger a drastic change in the official circles of Jiangbei.
The first person to lose his head would definitely be Qi Sifeng!
Cold sweat was about to break out but was forcibly suppressed by Qi Sifeng. Don’t panic, there is still a way! There are still a few hours before the grain release tomorrow. He can send carrier pigeons to deliver messages, asking colleagues in nearby cities to burn all the empty granaries.
This way, there will be no evidence!
Qi Sifeng felt slightly relieved and was about to take a breath, but heard the Fourth Prince say with a smile: “This Prince’s personal soldiers have now controlled all granaries, big and small, nearby. Lord Qi, you just need to send people to transport the grain.”
Qi Sifeng swayed and almost fainted.
Already controlled all granaries? Then what he did…
Before Qi Sifeng could figure it out, a chilling broadsword was already placed on his neck.
The murderous aura suddenly released by the officers and soldiers startled the birds resting nearby.
A pigeon flew from high above and landed in Li Suye’s palm. Although Li Suye didn’t know who would send him a message by carrier pigeon, he still opened the note and glanced at it.
Then, his expression became extremely terrifying.
“You want to kill Qin Dehuai’s concubine and frame Qin Qing?”
Qi Sifeng’s eyes lit up, and he immediately answered: “Yes, this official did this to cooperate with the Fourth Prince. In this way, we can take down both the minting rights and the death exemption gold medal. Ruining Qin Qing’s reputation can ruin the Marquis’s residence; this is the fastest way.”
Deathly silence spread. After an unknown amount of time, Li Suye laughed deeply: “Good, you did very well. This Prince thanks you.”
In the most elegant courtyard of the Qi residence, Qi Siyu leaned on the soft couch, gently fiddling with the swaying candle wick with a gold hairpin.
“If Miss hadn’t reminded Young Master to hoard more grain this time, where would the mansion get so much income? Our Miss is the smartest.” A maid picked up the bank notes scattered on the couch one by one, hid them in a box, and spoke flattering words.
“Why haven’t Mother Yang and the others returned to the mansion yet?” Qi Siyu frowned and asked.
“That courtyard is already empty. Maybe Taohong heard the news and ran away. Mother Yang and the others went to chase her and haven’t caught up yet.”
Taohong was the name Tao Ran used in the mansion.
“So many people haven’t returned; something must have happened.” Qi Siyu sat up worriedly.
“Miss, don’t worry. In this Jiangbei City, is there any trouble that you and Young Master can’t solve? In the future, you are going to be a Princess Consort. Heaven protects you; nothing will happen.”
The maid’s words made Qi Siyu show a relaxed expression. On the day she was born, an accomplished master knocked on the Qi family’s door and said she had the fate of a phoenix soaring in the nine heavens. From then on, the Qi residence used the best of everything to support her.
And she firmly believed that she could get what she wanted no matter what she did.
Nothing will happen. It’s just a small bug; it’s easy to crush. It’s just trouble to transport it into the Marquis’s residence. It would be better to lure Qin Qing out…
Qi Siyu leaned back softly on the couch, thinking while exhaling.
Just then, a group of soldiers rudely kicked open the door and broke in, pushed away the servants and maids, walked straight to the soft couch, grabbed Qi Siyu’s hair, and pulled her to the ground.
“Are you the criminal woman of the Qi family, Qi Siyu?” The soldier asked fiercely.
“What criminal woman? I am the Miss of the Qi family!” Qi Siyu tried her best to raise her head to avoid her scalp being torn off. She felt like a dog being trampled on at this moment, completely losing her dignity.
“The Qi family has been raided; what kind of Miss are you?” The soldier dragged Qi Siyu out by her hair.
Qi Siyu’s struggles and curses were useless; she could only crawl out with her head down.
This feeling of being insulted and trampled on was more uncomfortable than killing her. She bore the fate of a phoenix! She was going to be the Empress!
However, this delusion was completely shattered when she saw Li Suye. That person carried a head and walked slowly into the main courtyard, blood spilling all the way.
The head was covered with messy hair, and the appearance could not be seen clearly, but Qi Siyu felt a chill in her heart.
A loud rumbling sound echoed in her mind, like bursts of thunder, or like a fate chart shattering.
All beliefs and arrogance vanished at this moment.
“The criminal official Qi Sifeng attempted to assassinate this Prince and was killed on the spot by this Prince!” Qi Siyu heard Li Suye’s cold voice coming from the hall.
“Heh~”
Qi Siyu chuckled neurotically. Her brother was a scholar with no strength to truss a chicken; where did he get the ability to assassinate a prince? This is an excuse!
However, just as the rice merchants in Jiangbei City said they didn’t have much grain in stock so they had to raise prices, who could refute this excuse?
Qi Siyu collapsed to the ground, and a stream of warm liquid seeped out from her skirt, causing the soldiers on both sides to look sideways.
Miss Qi, who always prided herself on elegance and even compared herself to Guanyin Bodhisattva, actually peed her pants in fear.
The soldiers on both sides showed sarcastic expressions.
Qi Siyu lay prostrate on the ground, biting her lip and daring not to cry out.
With a dull thud, the human head was thrown out and rolled in front of Qi Siyu. A face with eyes wide open in death was revealed in the messy hair; it was Qi Sifeng.
“Brother!” Qi Siyu rolled her eyes and fainted.
All the shops of the Marquis’s residence were still selling rice. For more than half a month, the price hadn’t increased. Because of the influx of official grain, the price had even dropped in the last few days.
People didn’t need to queue up. They came to buy a bag of grain, leisurely picked some other goods to buy, and then left.
The Marquis’s residence sold grain to everyone at a loss, so everyone naturally wanted to support the Marquis’s residence’s business.
Those shops that originally sold limited rice every day couldn’t hold on anymore and started to lower prices. However, no people went to buy rice anymore.
Passing by, people would spit into the shop and curse “die a bad death”!
This curse came true to some extent. Recently, grain merchants have committed suicide by jumping into the river one after another. It is said that they owed huge foreign debts and couldn’t survive. Several other grain merchants were arrested and put in jail, tortured daily. It is said that they committed a capital crime of beheading.
Jiangbei City became extremely peaceful and quiet.
A child squatted at the door of his house catching ants and playing, singing: “Tai’an Marquis’s residence is greedy—”
Just as he started, the child’s mother rushed out of the house, swinging a rolling pin and beating him fiercely: “Little beast, I told you to sing! I told you to sing! Without the Tai’an Marquis’s residence, our whole family would have starved to death! Come back with me quickly, don’t embarrass yourself here!”
The child admitted his mistake while crying and was dragged into the house by his mother covering his mouth.
Seeing this scene, the neighbor opposite opened the door and spat on the ground, whispering viciously: “Luckily you ran out to teach your child a lesson yourself, otherwise I would have smashed his mouth!”
“Miss Qi is going to be beheaded, right at the vegetable market entrance. Everyone go and watch!” A peddler shouted while walking with his load.
People living on both sides of the alley opened their doors and looked out curiously.
In a short while, the vegetable market entrance was full of people watching the excitement. Qin Qing and Jiang Feishi sat in the teahouse opposite, finding the best view.
996 was eating roast chicken, its two paws covered with oil.
“This Qi Siyu is the future Empress,” it muttered.
Qin Qing frowned, feeling a little uncomfortable in his heart.
“Qi Sifeng and Qi Siyu are both dead. The Marquis’s residence shouldn’t be raided again, right?” This was the question he was most concerned about.
“The fate charts are all messed up. The Marquis’s residence should be fine. You have to believe in your ability as a shit-stirrer.” 996 put its fat paw into the teacup to wash.
Jiang Feishi turned his head away, pretending not to see. If this were someone else’s cat, he would skin it.
Qin Qing finally exhaled the gloom accumulated in his heart. To survive, he had done his best, even giving up the person he liked initially.
Li Suye sat on the high platform not far away, looking expressionlessly at the prisoners kneeling on the ground. Qi Siyu, with disheveled hair, was mixed among them, no different. Her last meaning of existence was probably to let the common people curse a few times and spit a few times.
Now who doesn’t know that the rice porridge Qi Siyu took to distribute was actually all official grain. Official grain was supposed to be distributed to the people for free, but she took it to earn a good reputation. She also asked Qi Sifeng to empty the nearby granaries and sell the official grain at a high price in her own shop.
When praised as a living Bodhisattva, didn’t she feel guilty?
“Rotten-hearted bitch! Deserves to be beheaded!” A woman threw a stone, which hit Qi Siyu right on the head.
Qi Siyu lowered her head, daring not to look at the people below the stage.
In prison, she cried out for mercy to Li Suye countless times, but that man was always indifferent. Now she began to doubt whether the so-called phoenix fate was true or false.
If no accomplished master had come to the door, she would probably have grown up like an ordinary woman, learning to be virtuous and cautious, instead of being so unscrupulous.
The Qi family members were all killed by her! This realization made Qi Siyu feel heartbroken.
Qi Siyu cried but suppressed her voice, daring not to let others hear.
“Miss, you are not a living Bodhisattva, you are an evil ghost! I only hate that I didn’t see you clearly earlier!” A familiar voice came from below the stage.
Qi Siyu quickly looked down, only to see Tao Ran standing below the stage. Her originally beautiful face was scratched full of scars, her curvy body was wrapped in dirty and smelly ragged clothes, and her hair was let down and scratched into a mess.
“I scratched this face myself to survive.” Tao Ran’s hoarse voice carried hatred.
“If I had stayed by the Marquis’s side with peace of mind, I wouldn’t have fallen to this state.” Tao Ran showed a look of regret, then cursed coldly: “Miss, go well. Master and Madam can’t make it, I will collect your corpse for you. I will take your head to feed the dogs!”
After saying this, Tao Ran turned and disappeared into the crowd.
Qi Siyu was stunned for a long time before screaming miserably: “No, don’t feed the dogs! I beg you!”
Unfortunately, no one would give her a little pity at this moment. Li Suye threw down the execution token expressionlessly, then raised his head, looked at Qin Qing sitting on the second floor opposite, and touched his golden crown meaningfully.
Qin Qing also touched his golden crown and sighed wistfully.
Jiang Feishi embraced him from behind, breathing hot air: “If you sigh for him again, I will kiss you.”