mesbooks Chapter 128 The doctor said that this baby is a boy
Chapter 128 The doctor said that this baby is a boy
"Your Excellency the Prime Minister, I think this must be a smokescreen released by those officials in the court who are secretly reselling grain in order to drive up the price of grain and quickly reap a wave of silver. Should we also sell some grain at this time and make a profit from the price difference?" said one of the officials wearing a fourth-rank court robe.
"Master Zhang, this is wrong."
Another officer stood up and stopped him.
"Currently, many aristocratic families are still waiting and watching, hoping to wait for grain prices to rise to an unprecedented high before selling. The rumor that Chu is planning to attack our country is only known to a few of our top leaders. Why not wait for prices to rise again and earn more profits?"
After this person's analysis, the official couldn't help but shut up.
Yes, people are greedy, just like stock trading. When they see the price rising, they always think it can go up a little more. At worst, they can wait until it starts to fall a little bit and then sell it, and they can still make a lot of money.
"But what if Your Majesty takes coercive measures and forcibly collects grain from us?" The official raised his concerns earlier.
At today's morning court session, the emperor had a huge tantrum in front of all the civil and military officials, saying that if the price of grain continued to rise, he would have to resort to compulsory means to collect grain.
"This is impossible!"
Guo Xiang stroked his beard and spoke with a relaxed look on his face.
"If Your Majesty forcibly collects grain, it will arouse public outrage and shake the foundation of the country. If you were in this situation, would you take such a risk in the face of internal and external troubles?"
After hearing Minister Guo's analysis, the official who spoke earlier also put his mind at ease.
A few people decided to wait and see before deciding whether to sell the food they had.
Unexpectedly, the very next day, the emperor issued an edict encouraging wealthy businessmen and officials from all over the country to donate grain to resist taxes. Those who donated more could receive rewards from the court or be granted honorary positions.
As a result, some merchants heard the news and some court officials also took the lead and donated a small amount of grain as an explanation to the emperor.
However, in the view of Guo Xiang and others, this move cannot fundamentally solve the food crisis.
As expected, the results were minimal, the price of grain continued to rise, and the grain collected was not enough to be transported to Jiangnan for disaster relief.
Guo Xiang and his party couldn't help but secretly feel fortunate that they did not follow the advice and sell the grain early, otherwise, they would have lost a lot of silver.
At this time, they did not know that someone had already secretly infiltrated their organization, waiting for an opportunity to obtain evidence of their manipulation of food prices and hoarding goods.
For example, Lin Qinniang, who was already three months pregnant and had managed the business in an orderly manner, had won the Liu family's trust and her power was growing. She soon obtained new evidence against the Guo family.
At the same time, the emperor arranged for Wan Changfu, the Minister of Rites, to hold a thank-you banquet in the largest square in the capital, inviting the wealthy merchants who donated grain and some local dignitaries to attend.
After a period of singing and dancing, Gu Li quickly arrived with his men, claiming to have received reports from the public that some officials were hoarding grain and manipulating prices. At this time, some wealthy businessmen, led by the Ge family, boycotted and criticized those officials who did not take action.
Someone from the Guo family was present at the time and took the initiative to speak for the representatives of the aristocratic family, saying that this was slander and that there should be evidence when speaking.
Soon, Gu Li brought the so-called witnesses and physical evidence to the scene. At this time, a group of officials from the aristocratic families discovered that their own industries had long been infiltrated by the emperor's people, and they had collected all kinds of shady evidence of them.
For a time, officials from various families were in a panic.
At this time, Gu Li took out another imperial edict, ordering the officials of various families to sell all the grain in their hands at the purchase price to stabilize the grain price, and the court would not pursue the matter.
Otherwise, once convicted, everyone will be dealt with according to the law.
According to current laws, if an official knowingly commits a crime, his crime will be aggravated and his entire family will be sent to prison.
Some officials with little power immediately expressed their willingness to sell their grain at a low price in exchange for pardon.
The people below started to move. The representatives of the Guo family and other aristocratic families could not continue to compete with the imperial power, so they had to grit their teeth and agree to sell all of their goods at the previous price of fifty wen per liter.
In this way, a crisis that could have shaken the foundation of the country was successfully resolved in such a drastic action.
At this time, the Guo family.
As soon as Guo Yian returned home, he hurriedly walked towards the courtyard. He was spotted by Liu who was passing by. Seeing his appearance, she hurried forward and asked:
"An'er? Didn't you go to the thank-you banquet? Why did you come back so suddenly?"
Guo Yian stopped walking, his face still not looking good. He bowed to Liu and asked, "Mother, where is Qi Niang?"
Upon hearing this, a smile immediately spread across Liu's face. "She's in the yard nursing her baby. The doctor came to check her pulse this morning and said it's a boy. I just had someone stew some bird's nest and was about to send it to her. Why are you coming back to see her now? Is there something wrong?"
Guo Yian opened his mouth, but seeing his mother's expectant and delighted expression, he didn't know whether he should say what he wanted to say.
Just now at the thank-you banquet, a large part of the evidence that Gu Li brought out was related to the businesses managed by Lin Qinniang. Considering that Lin Qinniang had not been in the mansion for long, suspicion naturally fell on her very quickly.
After thinking for a moment, he asked Liu, "Mother, I heard that you've handed over all of Zhonggong's assets to Lin to manage. Aren't you worried that she might develop some ulterior motives?"
In order to give Liu some time to buffer, Guo Yian asked tactfully at first.
Hearing his question, Liu pointed at Guo Yian's arm and said, "You kid, didn't you bring her back? You said she was alone and helpless, fallen into prostitution, and asked me to treat her well. What's wrong? I've already handed Zhang Jiaquan over to her, and you're still not at ease?"
But she is just a weak woman with no one to rely on, and she has no family to support her. Now she is pregnant with the blood of my Guo family. What kind of evil thoughts could she have? "
In Liu's opinion, even if Lin Qinnan had any ulterior motives, it should be just some jealous tactics in the backyard.
But she hasn't even arranged a marriage for Guo Yian yet, so it's too early to say that. Therefore, Liu is 100% satisfied with Lin Qinnan now, and he wouldn't suspect that she would have any ulterior motives.
"But mother..."
"Well, this bird's nest is about to get cold. If you don't have anything to do, then you can go and deliver this stuff to the person for me. A pregnant woman needs more care."
Liu patted Guo Yian on the shoulder and gave instructions.
In desperation, Guo Yian had to carry the bird's nest given by Liu and stepped into Lin Qinnan's yard.
As soon as he entered the door, he was stunned by the scene in front of him.