Chapter 299

"Your Majesty, please calm your anger!"

Jiang Tu rolled across the floor, and Qiu Defu finally shouldered the responsibility of being the most trusted eunuch by the Emperor's side, hugging the old Emperor's legs to ensure he would not be harmed by the sharp sword in his hand.

Clang!

The sword fell to the ground.

Qiu Defu let out a sigh of relief.

The old Emperor sat on the steps with a decadent expression, "How many people in the court actually want to share my burdens? Are you clear on that?"

Qiu Defu's heart skipped a beat; he buried his head and said cautiously, "I don't think anyone would dare to think that way." Except for that scoundrel Jiang Tu.

The old Emperor hummed twice and mocked, "I insisted on deposing the Crown Prince; in the eyes of the world, am I so eager for the Third Prince to die? Am I that ruthless?"

Are you not?

Qiu Defu bowed, "Your Majesty, please calm your anger. The court officials are dull and do not understand your painstaking efforts. But this servant understands; Your Majesty is only angry that the Prince Zhong does not strive for improvement and fears he will go astray."

"Alas! If everyone in the world could understand my painstaking efforts as you do, I would not have to be so troubled."

"Your Majesty, please take care of your health; do not harm yourself for the actions of one or two people." Qiu Defu never forgot to smear Jiang Tu, which was actually a way to test the old Emperor's attitude toward him. If he was still favored, then so be it. If a rift had formed, he would certainly have to kick him while he was down.

The old Emperor waved his hand, seemingly not wanting to discuss Jiang Tu. After a moment of silence, he said, "As for the Imperial Household Department..."

Qiu Defu hurriedly replied, "Should this servant go and give them a reminder regarding the Imperial Household Department?"

"It is very necessary." The old Emperor finally nodded, "Tell the Imperial Household Department that Prince Zhong is a prince, and everything must conform to the regulations for a prince. The items used must be the best. Forget it, permit Prince Zhong to take the furnishings and utensils from the Eastern Palace; do not obstruct him. Let the Imperial Household Department cooperate as much as possible."

"Yes!"

Qiu Defu knew that the old Emperor still harbored a shred of fatherly love for the deposed Crown Prince, and with a sense of indebtedness, he wanted to compensate him as much as possible in material terms. As for his previous actions—giving Prince Zhong a three-courtyard residence—that was a decision made in the heat of the moment. After being scolded by Li Liangcheng, he had instead come to his senses.

The supreme position of Crown Prince had been stripped away; to treat him harshly in material terms would indeed sound bad and damage his reputation. Since the position of Crown Prince was taken, he would compensate him materially; in this way, surely the world would understand.

The old Emperor suddenly changed the subject, "Li Liangcheng's loyalty is commendable. As for Wu Dashou, go and hint to him that he should voluntarily submit a memorial to retire."

Hmm?

So sudden?

Wu Dashou was the father-in-law of the Prince of Jin; retiring meant cutting off the wings of the Prince of Jin. Was this a signal that he did not favor the Prince of Jin and intended to suppress him?

"Yes!" Qiu Defu responded while speculating on the old Emperor's intentions. Praising Li Liangcheng—was this a return of conscience, or was the lingering debt to the Crown Prince taking effect? If Wu Dashou were forced to retire, who could take his place? A neutral party?

This was a major matter; what benefits could he reap from it?

The old Emperor's attitude changed three times a day; countless people were trying to guess the deep meaning behind it. Could it be that the deposed Crown Prince still had a chance?

Jiang Tu was beaten and left the palace with a bruised face; the news quickly spread throughout the court and beyond. Countless people were guessing, had he fallen out of favor?

The Divine Artifact Battalion and the Divine Sharp Battalion finally withdrew from the capital completely; order was restored, and the common people returned to the streets to work and earn money. It seemed as if nothing had changed, and the capital was still the same capital as before.

However, in reality, only those living in it could truly feel that after this incident, the marketplace was depressed, and the people had no money in their pockets. Families that originally had small savings had exhausted them and had to tighten their belts. Families that were originally getting by had fallen into abject poverty. Families that were already poor were now heavily in debt.

For the court officials, this month or so had been a difficult struggle. The struggle ended, and everything returned to normal. Except for the Crown Prince being deposed, it seemed as if nothing had changed. For the people of the capital, this month or so was enough to change their lives, and their existence had fallen into torment.

The chain reaction was that wages were lower, and money was harder to earn. Yet at this time, grain prices began to rise, changing daily, forcing the common people to the point of suffocation.

Life was becoming increasingly difficult!

Walking into the back alley of the Hou Fu, it felt like another world; the wind and rain outside could not drift in. Did the rising prices have an impact on the people living here? The impact was very small.

The people living in the back alley basically relied on the Hou Fu for their livelihood; as long as the Hou Fu did not fall, everyone's rice bowl was secure. If grain prices rose, they would go to the clan to buy low-priced grain, which was twenty to thirty percent cheaper than the market price. It was only supplied to the Chen clan members. This was a benefit for the Chen clan and one of the few welfare measures the Hou Fu had to take care of its clansmen.

Chen Guanlou took a cloth bag and also went to buy ten jin of welfare grain. He resold five jin to Sister Chunxiang at the original price.

Sister Chunxiang had many people in her family; growing boys eat their parents into poverty. Yet her husband was an outsider and not born into the Hou Fu, so the children could not enjoy the welfare grain discount, leaving the whole family hungry every day and forced to ration their food.

Sister Chunxiang was very grateful, yet felt a bit uneasy, "You shared the grain with me; do you have enough to eat yourself?"

"I eat in the cafeteria at the Heavenly Prison every day; five jin of grain is enough for me for half a month. When I finish it, I'll go buy more."

"Brother Lou, thank you so much. You don't know how exaggerated the grain prices outside are now; the price in the morning is different from the afternoon. I really don't know what's wrong with this world. When the government troops were rampaging before, the grain prices weren't this crazy. Now that the troops have retreated, the grain prices have skyrocketed instead."

Sister Chunxiang had become much more haggard recently. Their family originally had some small savings, and with the Hou Fu as their backing, their life was better than some but worse than others. Recently, grain prices had skyrocketed, and her savings were visibly decreasing; although they weren't yet at the point of borrowing money to survive, she couldn't help but feel panicked and uneasy inside. She calculated again and again, and her family's meager savings wouldn't last long. She was now hoping that the children could eat less and not cry of hunger all day, hoping that the court would quickly find a way to suppress grain prices, and hoping that the summer harvest would arrive soon. Every year when the summer grain is stored, grain prices fall accordingly.

"It is currently the time when the old grain is exhausted and the new has not yet arrived, so it is inevitable that grain prices will rise."

"But they shouldn't rise this crazily."

"People's hearts are in chaos, and the grain merchants are very shrewd."

When people's hearts are in chaos, prices will follow suit. Everyone has no confidence in the court, and the most intuitive reaction is the grain price.

Sister Chunxiang sighed, "Then what do you think we ordinary commoners should do?"

"When the summer grain is stored, you should store more grain and stop saving money." Chen Guanlou reminded her.

Sister Chunxiang immediately became anxious, "Brother Lou, do you have some inside information? Don't hide it from me!"

"I don't have any inside information. But I can guess a little about some things. The Crown Prince has been deposed, and the other imperial princes all have a chance; court officials will also begin to take sides and form cliques. The court is chaotic, and the local areas will certainly follow suit. As long as one link is chaotic, grain prices will rise. In short, storing more grain is definitely the right thing to do."