Eunuch Liu has been calculating in his heart before entering the door, and now hope that the crown prince will not buy high-priced food, only he and several other internal court buy eunuchs.
Xue Yao is just following the Sixth Prince to visit Jiangsu and Zhejiang to accompany the line, there is no need to take such a big risk to spoil the Crown Prince's big event.
If you think about it, Xue Yao might have come up with a way to deal with the situation, but why would he continue to speculate on the price of food?
Eunuch Liu thought that he should not think too much, since Xue Yao has already said that he will take the blame himself, if he does not cooperate, the matter will be yellowed, but it can be put on his head.
Simply close your eyes and do as Xue Yao instructed.
Three people and a few attendants divided into three groups of people, approached the food bank hall in succession, pretending to be unknown to the foreign grain merchants, in the lobby to find a seat to sit down, queuing up to wait for the reception of the shopkeeper.
Sitting around were foreign merchants buying grain.
At the moment the guys are anxious as fire, and head to head scolded Zhejiang grain merchants black heart, betting that next year must go to Huguang grain collection.
Xue Yao put his teacup on the table and dangled it, drawing the attention of the people around him, and then said in Jinling dialect with a resigned look, "This year, the grain merchants are all black-hearted! It's not their fault, but God's, with no snow in the winter, and half a month of heavy rain this summer, how many areas of farmland have been flooded?"
"Isn't that so?" The eunuch surnamed Fang immediately followed Xue Yao's previous instructions and picked up the story with a worried expression, "This year, even if the people around the country have a good harvest, it is only enough to pay the court's grain tax, and the rest of the grain is barely enough to feed a few members of the family for a year, so how can we have any left over to sell to the grain merchants?"
"Yes, do not say Zhejiang," Eunuch Liu said to talk to the faction full, convincing, full of nonsense but said with a nose: "Jinling City, I have been to the grain store, Hunan and Henan grain line I have also been to the price of grain in those places, than Zhejiang is only expensive and not cheap ah! "
"Alas, I came from Jinling to collect grain in Zhejiang." Xue Yao complained in his native accent, "In Jinling's big grain houses, the inferior rice is sold to almost 600 Wen, and it is said that the officials and merchants from the capital are raising money to buy grain everywhere, and are ready to lend it to the people in the disaster counties. We want to buy, but also have to take advantage of the early, late, is the hand holding silver, there is no place to buy food!"
The group of grain merchants around them went white as they listened.
Some people looked suspicious, suspecting that Xue Yao's gang was a trust brought in by the grain bank to deliberately trick them into looting high-priced grain.
A few merchants anxiously inquired like Xue Yao, asking him where he got the information.
Xue Yao said that his grandfather was an official in the capital, and the letter reminded them to stock up on grain as soon as possible, but the letter was delayed on the road, and when he saw the letter, the price of grain had already risen.
The surrounding merchants were half-hearted.
The shopkeeper who was serving tea on the side had heard the news, and went to report the news to the shopkeeper without missing a word.
"Those two Beijing merchants bought such a high price of grain, actually for the purpose of borrowing from the victims." The shopkeeper relayed the matter back to the grand proprietor of the grain store truthfully.
"No wonder even the price of six hundred and forty Wen is willing to pay, so many victims, as long as the interest is added on 10%, the next year can still make them earn a lot of money!"
It was only after half a month that the proprietor of the big grain house realized the real purpose of those two groups of people who had spared no expense to collect the grain.
The big proprietor's face showed a cynical color: "I have seen that they are not small, they are all official style, how can any businessman dare to lend food to the people of several counties at the same time? If the court pursues them, they won't even be able to protect their heads, and we can't be jealous of this kind of thing."
*
The news traveled fast, and on the second day, the price of grain in Hangzhou's large and small grain houses went up by another twenty cents.
Eunuch Liu was on the verge of fainting, calling out "Master Xue" and "Master Xue", begging Xue Yao for an explanation.
At this rate, food prices are really going to poke the sky!
Xue Yao remained calm and told him to wait at ease.
Because he was worried that the Crown Prince had a mole on his side, Xue Yao didn't explain his plan to anyone this time, and he was the only one who took the risk.
As long as no one around him understands what he's trying to do, it's impossible to secretly shade him.
On the third day, the price of food went up another ten cents.
Eunuch Liu, who couldn't sit still for fear of being held accountable for delaying the big event, sent his own little eunuch to report Xue Yao's crazy behavior to the Crown Prince, wanting to use this to mitigate his own crime.
The prince was informed, but a calm attitude, lifted the lid of the tea and said softly: "Xue Yao said, will take full responsibility, you do everything according to his instructions, he did not let you come to the air, you are not allowed to come to the air, to no one can not, and the next time, canes 20."
The eunuch was so scared that he was shaking like a sieve, and he repeatedly apologized and retreated, going back to Eunuch Liu to say the Crown Prince's command.
Eunuch Liu was stunned, but in his heart, he was even more impressed with Xue Yao.
No wonder the eunuchs working at the Qingdao Palace are always talking about this Xue Yao, saying that Empress Shi Fei simply treats this second son of the Xue family as if he were half a son.
The mischievous seventh prince was even more obedient to Xue Yao, and when he was in the mood for mischief, as long as Xue Yao pulled and persuaded him to behave, the little prince was well-behaved.
This kid looks like he doesn't know how to calculate, but I'm afraid he's got a lot of depth inside.
By the fourth day, the price of grain had risen another five cents.
Xue Yao still pressed on.
The Sixth Prince was bitter.
He was used to taking the blame for the failure of everything on his head, especially since he had been cheated out of a few taels of silver for dozens of bags of worm food earlier.
If the crown prince fails to raise food this time, the sixth prince will be sad for a few months.
The Crown Prince was actually depressed, not knowing what this Xue Yao kid was up to.
But what can the Crown Prince do?
The market price of medium grain is fucking seven hundred Wen, it doesn't matter if it's more expensive, he can't afford it anyway.
It's better to coax your brother.
The Crown Prince brought the Sixth Prince to the bazaar, and the Sixth Prince dragged Xue Yao along with him.
Xue Yao was actually even more depressed, because of this matter, the responsibility he had taken on, his own little life was trapped in, how could he have the heart to go shopping?
In fact, he was quite confident in his approach, it was just that there was a lot at stake, nothing could be 100% sure of success, and he had thought of two outcomes.
The best result would be to keep the price of grain down to about five hundred and fifty cents.
The worst that could happen was that the price of food would skyrocket after the failure, so that the Crown Prince would be forced to abandon this purchase.
Pushing back or canceling this fateful change in the law, for the Crown Prince, it was a blessing in disguise, for Xue Yao, screwing up such a big deal, I'm afraid he's going to get a slap on the wrist.
His heart was not in the right place, and along the way, the two emperors and Xue Yao were both distracted, casually chatting about the customs of Hangzhou.
As he passed a large restaurant, a woman's melodious singing came from inside.
Already not wanting to run out of things to say, the Prince proposed to go into the restaurant to listen to the singing.
The three of them found a seat where there were fewer guests and could think about their thoughts in peace.
This kind of silence was hard for Xue Yao, raising his eyes to sneak a peek at the Crown Prince and realizing that the Crown Prince's brow was slightly furrowed, obviously still worried about the ever-rising price of food.
Xue Yao also didn't expect the Crown Prince to be so composed, completely letting go and not asking him what kind of set he had actually laid out.
This trust made Xue Yao very touched, and in his heart, he also wanted to let the Crown Prince rest in peace, so he opened his mouth and said, "Your Highness doesn't need to worry ......"
The eyes of the Crown Prince and the Sixth Prince lit up with a swish as they simultaneously looked at Xue Yao, waiting for him to give a reason why they didn't need to worry!
Halfway through his speech, Xue Yao thought that he was not ten percent sure that the price of grain would fall back, so he could only turn his words around and comforted, "Heaven helps the fortunate!"
"......" The two princes became even more desperate.
Is it just a matter of fate now!
Just then, there was a sudden clamor from the north side of the tavern, and the women's singing stopped.
Xue Yao turned his head to look, and saw a brocade-clad, flamboyantly dressed man with a group of boys, climbing onto the singing stage, laughing lewdly and pulling and teasing the singing girls.
"My lord! Please let go of me!" The songstress struggled desperately as she was pulled by the wrists of several men.
At the sight of someone causing trouble, the guests in the restaurant left their coins to settle their bills and left.
By the looks of it, that troublemaking male is a person of status, otherwise even if no one comes forward to help in a righteous manner, there should be a group of commoners who are curious to watch.
"This group of evil thieves!" The Sixth Prince angrily clapped his hands, "In broad daylight, how dare you ......"
"Sixth brother." The Prince signaled with his eyes that he should not act rashly.
They have a special status and should not be too visible.
"Big brother!" The Sixth Prince spoke accusingly, "Let's not go help that girl?"
"Go report to the officials." The crown prince waved at the shopkeeper with an expressionless face, ready to settle the bill and leave.
And at this moment, on the singing stage, the rowdy gang had begun to barter the women's outer shirts.
A few of the accompanying musicians around him bravely stepped forward to stop them, but they were all knocked to the ground by the group of thugs.
Among the musicians, a fifteen or sixteen year old boy rolled and clutched the left leg of one of the villains and roared sternly, "Let go of my sister!"
After saying that, he was kicked by a few boys, holding his head and couldn't stand up.
The Sixth Prince was so angry that his little face turned white.
Hangzhou such an affluent area, in broad daylight, but such evil deeds, where is the king's law!
But the elder brother is worried about the attention, intends to go to the police, the sixth prince is not good to get involved.
Xue Yao wasn't afraid of exposing his identity, but he just glanced at the singing stage, the followers of that troublemaking man, one more robust and ferocious than the other.
Even if they wanted to step in and help, they wouldn't be able to beat them three against six.
Still, Crown Prince Brother was right, it was wise to hurry up and report to the police, so he lowered his head and trotted all the way after the Crown Prince.
However, the moment the trio stepped out of the store, the woman behind them let out a mournful hiss.
Xue Yao couldn't help but turn around to look at the situation and found that the lewd man in the lead had put his hand into the woman's clothes and rubbed them, and was saying humiliating words: "Singing bitch! You're pretending to be a chaste woman with me?"
Xue Yao frowned in anger and rushed out the door, intending to dart off to report to the police.
But just turned his head, a flash of white in front of his eyes, saw the Prince's long legs stirrup, fit as a fly, swept to the singing stage, short body leap, toes step on the side of the wooden table, using the force to fly step on the stage.
The man who led the trouble had not yet realized that someone had swept up beside him, and heard his own men shouting "What are you doing?" before he turned his head to look at the person who had come--
Without saying a word, the Prince backhandedly drew the long sword on his waist side.
"Thud, thud" two muffled sounds, the man who molested the songstress was hit in the chest by the hilt of the Prince's sword that opened his wrist, and he retreated three steps backward.
Before the sword was unsheathed, the sword was turned around, and the Prince crossed his sword and stalled in front of the songstress, like a high wall guarding her.
"If you don't want to die, get out immediately." The Crown Prince spoke coldly.
A group of men in trouble immediately flared up, retreated a few steps, stood in formation, waiting for the leading man's wink, and at the same time launched an attack, surrounded and pounced on the trouble "white-faced scholar"!
"Dang, clang" a muffled sound, the Prince's long sword is still unsheathed, but a group of three big and five thick hans were sent flying, fell off the singing stage.
The leading man saw this and shouted angrily, "You bunch of losers, look at my old son ......."
He screamed and cursed as he went to pull out the dagger in his pocket.
"Choke--"
A sharp roar of fine iron clinking in his ears, a flash of cold light under his eyes, the man came back to his senses and looked down, the sharp tip of the sword trembled slightly, already pointing straight at his throat.
What a fast sword!
The Crown Prince slightly raised the tip of his sword, half-intimidatingly gathered his chin, stared at the troublemaking man, and spoke again, "Get the hell out of here."
Xue Yao, who had chased over from the stage, saw this scene and was practically swooning with handsomeness!
Little fanboys are worth it in this life!
Although the man whose sword was pointed at the throat by the Crown Prince did not dare to move, his face showed a sinister color.
Hearing the white-clothed gentleman's foreign accent, the man gritted his teeth and spoke, "Where did the short-lived ghost come from? Eat the bear's heart and leopard's gall! Do you know who my father is!"
"Is it hard to be an official?" The Prince feigned surprise.
"That's right! Go ask around and find out who Huo Qitai is before you mind your own business!" The man glared.
"Since it is an official." The Prince was calm: "Is it not a crime to condone your son's wrongdoing?"
The man was shocked and stormed out, "I think you're not going to shed a tear until you see the coffin! My father is the county magistrate!"
The Prince sneered and asked in return, "Do you know who my father is?"
Xue Yao under the singing stage froze: ".................."
Don't suddenly start spelling father ah Prince!
It's too much of a fall!
The man was stunned by the question and re-sized the white-clothed male once more.
Listen to his mouth Beijing accent, all body extraordinary temperament also amazing martial arts, maybe it is really what the son of a nobleman.
With a few scruples in his heart, the man warily inquired of the Crown Prince, "Who is your father?"
The Prince instantly sheathed his sword, kicked the man off the stage, turned around, bent down and carried the songstress, and darted away outside the tavern!
His Highness the Crown Prince, who was handsome for no more than three seconds, only left Sixth Brother and Xue Yao with a fluttering, "Run! He doesn't recognize us!"
Xue Yao: "......"
The group of people who were knocked over by the Prince were so angry that their mouths were crooked, but they fell and hurt their legs and feet and could not stand up for a while.
Xue Yao and the Sixth Prince picked up the musician boy and brought the other musicians with them, running out of the restaurant together.
All the way chasing after the crown prince's back for three miles, he almost lost him several times, and when he caught up, Xue Yao was so out of breath that he was about to roll his eyes.
The Sixth Prince, however, was in great spirits and asked with a concerned face if that little musician was hurt.
After dropping the songstress on his shoulder, the Prince nodded and said, "Offense, girl."
The songstress instantly softened her knees and knelt down in gratitude, "Thank you, Your Excellency, for saving my life!"
The few musicians who caught up afterward were also running so hard that they were blue in the face and couldn't catch their breath.
Xue Yao couldn't help but complain about the little fat cub in his heart.
It was because the Seventh Prince usually refused to practice martial arts and fitness, causing Xue Yao to rarely have the opportunity to exercise as well.
Turning his head to look, than his own two years younger than the sixth prince ran this way, all with the play, just him and a group of musicians gasping, heart very reluctant.
In any case, this life together lazy delicious, at least there is a little fat cub with him like "weak willow wind".
There is a reliable brother like the crown prince to protect, it is enough, he only need to help the crown prince to change the law to succeed, the little fat cub to raise the waste also does not matter.
Thinking so, Xue Yao looked at the Crown Prince with a face of adoration.
His Royal Highness is helping the songstress to get up.
The author has something to say:
Yao Yao: I didn't realize you were such a spelling prince!
A certain submerged dragon: Who says I'm weak? Do you want to go to Hades to see the white rabbit I sent you?
Telekinesis pulls out a 100-mile sprint to flee the scene!