Lin Xianhong walked very slowly.
As far as the eye could see, it was a barren expanse.
The exposed yellow earth had only grass roots left.
The children were emaciated from hunger.
Yet, they tightened their belts and swung their nets.
They worked hard to catch locusts.
Some even strung the locusts together.
After simply roasting them, they chewed them in large mouthfuls.
It was just that the way they ate was too horrifying, with juice bursting out on the spot!
Lin Xianhong almost threw up.
“Didn’t they say the Prince of Ning was here to provide disaster relief?”
“He’s just letting the common people eat locusts?”
“Ugh—”
The maid’s stomach was also churning.
Her small face was pale, and she was full of disgust.
How was this disaster relief?!
It was clearly harming people!
Didn’t they say grain had been allocated?
Why were they still eating these things?
Could it be… all of it was embezzled by Ning Que?!
Lin Xianhong, however, looked as if it was only natural.
“Ning Que is just a good-for-nothing fop.”
“He’s best at eating, drinking, and merrymaking.”
“I don’t know what His Majesty is thinking, to entrust such an important matter to him. If it were given to General Gu, at least people wouldn’t be so hungry they’d have to eat locusts.”
Lin Xianhong only felt despair.
She couldn't believe Ning Que could be so shameless.
He even dared to embezzle disaster relief grain!
In reality, she hadn’t seen anything at all.
It was entirely her own conjecture based on appearances.
But was that important?
People always believe what they want to believe.
Lin Xianhong had decided that Ning Que was a fop.
He only knew how to eat, drink, and frequent brothels for entertainment.
So, no matter what Ning Que did, it was wrong in her eyes.
A familiar cursing voice suddenly rang out in the distance.
“You bunch of idiots!”
“How many times have I told you?”
“Don’t step on these locusts and crush them.”
“You’re hopeless. If they’re crushed like this, how can I collect them?”
It’s him?!
Lin Xianhong frowned and hurried forward.
She saw some farmers walking away dejectedly.
There were still stinking locusts in their bamboo baskets.
But they were clearly all crushed.
Lin Xianhong frowned and walked closer.
She saw Ning Que sitting on a stone table.
He was arrogantly chattering away.
He had no aristocratic demeanor whatsoever.
Instead, he was like a peddler haggling over every penny.
Looking at Ning Que, Lin Xianhong only felt disgusted.
Thinking of the Lin Family’s situation, she still gritted her teeth and stepped forward.
“Ning Que.”
“Eh, where’s that dog barking from?”
Lin Xianhong raised an eyebrow.
She suppressed the anger in her heart.
“I don’t want to argue with you.”
“You caused my parents to fall out, and you even brought out the account books from all these years. Ning Que, you are truly insidious. From the very beginning, you’ve been calculating against me. I’m so glad I didn’t have your child, or they would be as insidious as you.”
“Who is this stinky woman?”
“How dare she call His Highness by his name?”
“Tie her up and send her straight to the authorities!”
Ning Que, however, raised his hand.
Only then did they all quiet down.
He looked at the disgusted Lin Xianhong.
No hurry!
He still wanted to torment Lin Xianhong slowly!
The real show was yet to come!
“Lin Xianhong, you really are a ‘Puxin Nü’…”
“Puxin Nü?”
“So ordinary, yet so confident!” Ning Que chuckled playfully, then calmly said, “Why do you think everything I do is for you? Do you even deserve it?”
“You…”
Lin Xianhong was instantly choked with anger, but she still forced herself to suppress it and said, “Heh, you know in your heart whether it is or not. I’m telling you, no matter how much you do, you’ll never compare to General Gu. If you don’t have the ability, don’t take on the task. Look how pitiful these disaster victims are; it would be better to let General Gu be in charge.”
“Hahahaha…”
Ning Que burst out laughing.
The common people also laughed along with him.
Pitiful?
Their lives were much better now!
Even better than before the disaster!
In the evening, they ate millet rice.
Plus two large pieces of fatty meat and some vegetables!
Go ask around outside.
Which county could have everyone eating meat every night?!
“Damn it, I can’t take it anymore!”
“You stand here talking without any pain in your back!”
“And General Gu, my ass? The damn Gu Family are all beasts! They clearly have grain but refuse to sell it, deliberately driving up prices!”
“Is this their disaster relief?”
“This is them trying to kill us!”
“It was His Highness who saved our lives!”
They also guessed Lin Xianhong’s identity.
However, they had no good feelings for her whatsoever.
How dare she try to whitewash the Gu Family?
The Gu Family were a bunch of animals!
In just a few days, how many people had they killed?
Were they even qualified to compare with His Highness?
“Presumptuous!” Lin Xianhong frowned and angrily retorted, “If not for General Gu’s assistance, the grain price in Jingyang would only be higher. Thanks to him, it was maintained at five hundred coins per picul of rice. You don’t thank him, fine, but you dare to insult him?”
“So, we should thank him?”
“Five hundred coins per picul of rice, is that something a human would do?”
“Look at His Highness, it has now returned to fifty coins!”
“That’s also His Majesty’s credit, nothing to do with him.”
Lin Xianhong remained quite disdainful.
Ning Que was too lazy to argue with her about these things.
She was the typical person who wouldn’t give up until she hit a wall.
“Stop with the nonsense, what do you want to do?”
“My father owes you fifty thousand taels of silver.” Lin Xianhong let out a long breath, “Now, my Lin Manor cannot produce that much money. We will use grain to settle the debt, at one hundred coins per picul of rice. We’ll give you one hundred thousand piculs of grain to offset ten thousand taels of silver.”
“Heh.”
Ning Que smiled.
This fellow truly was a little fairy.
How could she have the nerve to act so condescending?
“One hundred coins per picul of rice?”
“Lin Xianhong, where do you get off?”
“Even if I sold you, would you be worth that much?”
“You scoundrel!”
“You’re cheap!” Ning Que’s face turned cold, and he said calmly, “Fifty coins per picul of rice, take it or leave it. I’m not afraid to tell you, His Majesty has also mobilized the navy to transport grain this time, determined to stabilize grain prices. If you don’t sell, there are plenty of others who will. In less than three days, grain prices will fall even further!”
What he said was half-true, half-false.
Mobilizing the navy was definitely true.
But it would take at least three months for them to arrive.
“You…”
“Stop with the ‘you, you, you’.” Ning Que’s face showed a cold smile, and he said mockingly, “I’ll suggest a method for you. If you’re really short on money, why not ask Gu Yuan? Gu Yuan is now a First Rank General, and the Gu Family is even more vast and powerful. Isn’t he the one you’ve been longing for?”
Facing Ning Que’s cold sarcasm, Lin Xianhong’s heart inexplicably trembled. She thought she had given Ning Que an out, but she didn’t expect him to still be causing trouble.
Now, he made her feel like a stranger!
Before, Ning Que would never be like this.
No matter what she did, he would always try to please her.
As for Gu Yuan…
She really didn’t want to ask Gu Yuan for help.
She had already been married once.
If she were to ask Gu Yuan for money now, would she still be able to enter the Gu Family’s doors in the future?
“Are you really that heartless?”
“You have no right to criticize me here.”
Ning Que was directly amused, “Now you want to talk about feelings? When you aborted the child, did you consider feelings? Now, to me, you are just a stranger. Sell if you want, or get lost if you don’t. But I must remind you, if you sell tomorrow, the price won’t be the same.”
“I’ll sell!”
A full one hundred thousand piculs of grain!
One picul could only be sold for fifty coins.
Yet the Lin Family’s purchase price was three hundred coins!
They would lose two hundred fifty coins per picul of rice!
Tsk tsk, that number certainly was fitting!