Chapter 170: Self-Awareness

n Guifen's mouth gaped wide, her hands trembling as she pointed at the delicate object, unable to utter a single word."You should have expected this outcome when you switched babies. After all, I didn...The Third Princess's face shifted color back and forth, as if caught off guard by the emperor's question. She finally managed to stammer out a reply:

"Father, do you truly desire the position of Imperial Husband"

This is the reason he could come up with.

"That depends on whether you have the ambition to vie for the throne. Only then can your father fight for it."

The wise servant gazed intently at his daughter, not blinking for a moment.

"No! Father, I don't have such grand ambitions. I just want to be a carefree princess and spend my life leisurely. Please don't make things difficult for me. I can't compete with elder sister and second sister."

"My elder sister is highly favored by the Empress, my second sister's family controls the military, and I have no capital to compete."

The Third Princess directly waved her hand and said.

"Don't worry about these things. As long as I am on the throne, there will naturally be officials who support you to help you. Our current disadvantages will become our advantages in the future."

The wise servant still spoke calmly and collectedly.

"Father, even so, I don't want to be a puppet empress! I also don't believe these people would unconditionally support me becoming Empress. Just as Mother said, heaven wouldn't drop a pie for nothing, and when it falls, it might not hit me."

"The most important thing is that my daughter knows her own worth. I am not capable of sitting in that position. If someone is unfit for the throne, it will bring disaster to Fengchi Nation. I don't want to become a queen who brings ruin to my country."

The third princess shook her head like a rattle, her reasons for refusal were quite sufficient, and she was also trying to persuade her father not to get involved, fearing that the wise Lord would go his own way even if it meant involving the deceased Empress.

However, from another perspective, the Third Princess has a very clear understanding of herself. She was already a queen who lost her country in her previous life.

Only then did a look of relief appear on his face, and he said with pursed lips:

"It seems you have a clear understanding of yourself, then I'll gladly play the role of the villain."

Only then did the Third Princess realize that this was her father's test of her.

"Father, please don't frighten me! I thought you wanted to be the emperor's husband. At this turbulent time, it's not a good idea at all. Not only would the ministers in court oppose you, but even my elder and second sisters would tear you down."

The Third Imperial Princess wiped a nonexistent bead of sweat from her forehead and whispered.

“The Emperor and Concubine Rong left one after another, and some people set their sights on me, making me overwhelmed. Now that you're back, those people will probably become even more unscrupulous. I'm afraid you won't be firm enough, and I'm also afraid they'll scheme against you, so I wanted to confirm your thoughts.”

Since we're already talking, why not bring their situation into the open

"I said, my father who has always been non-confrontational and never competes, how could he say something like this."

The Third Princess patted her chest. If her father insisted on going his own way, she would be the one who suffered in the end.

The conversation between the father and daughter soon reached Lianyi's ears. The secret guard reported every word without omission, then vanished once more.

Liàn Yī smiled, she had never worried about Xiǎn Shì Jūn. As for this Third Princess, it seemed she didn't have much ambition now.

If that's the case, Lian Yi will naturally fulfill the youngest daughter's wish and let her be a wealthy and carefree person, living a happy life.

After entering winter, grain prices in various regions fluctuated, seemingly trending upwards. Unfortunately, this upward trend lasted only for three days before the government, in the name of the Empress, released a batch of affordable rice and posted notices.

The notice stated that this was the Queen’s compassion for the people. Knowing that everyone had suffered from the poor harvest due to the recent disaster, she exempted half of the taxes and also supplied a batch of affordable rice so that everyone could afford food and get through the winter. In the spring, there would be another batch of high-quality seeds available. People could take them on credit and repay them when the autumn harvest came around.

As soon as this announcement was made, the common people of the city spread the word everywhere, praising the Empress's benevolence. Those grain merchants who had hoarded their grain and planned to make a huge profit were dumbfounded. Now, even if they lowered their prices, few people came to buy.

Nobody is a fool. If there's a cheaper option, why would anyone buy the expensive one Moreover, the grain distributed by the government office requires you to bring your entire family's household registration when purchasing it, preventing individuals from repeatedly buying multiple times. They can't even try to make a profit by exploiting the situation.

"Don't be afraid, there will always come a day when the grain is stored. Let us wait."

The grain merchant, unwilling to give up, said.

Everyone looked at each other, intending to observe for a while before speaking.

For a day, two days, three days, until a month later, the food supply not only remained intact but also increased in variety. The merchants were dumbfounded and prepared to shift their operations to other cities. However, before they could leave the city gates, they were stopped by officials from the government office.

"You are colluding to inflate grain prices, hoarding grain and refusing to sell it to the people. You are considered profiteers. For the stability of Fengqi Nation, we will temporarily detain you. We will purchase your grain at a fair price and resell it to the people. You will not lose any silver, but afterward, Fengqi Nation will no longer welcome you."

The common people around, hearing the female official's powerful voice, finally understood. All these carts were filled with grain. These unscrupulous merchants, in pursuit of profit, refused to sell grain to them even though they had it. Now they wanted to transport the grain to other places to inflate prices.

For a moment, stones and mud flew at these people. If it weren't for the guards stopping them, I estimate that even feces would have been thrown at them.

Then, in full view of everyone, the government office paid for the food on the spot, settled the silver with them right there, and then drove those merchants and their attendants out of the city.

Gentlemen, the food we purchased with silver. I advise you to leave after taking your silver, so as not to attract unwanted attention and risk losing your silver.

The yamen servant's words were full of meaning, causing this group to jump in their hearts and immediately gallop away from the place of contention.

"Humph! A bunch of fools!"

The constable spat on the backs of the merchants who were fleeing as if they had been chased.

Such things were also happening in various cities. Some merchants, however, were shrewd and immediately lowered the previously inflated grain prices after the Empress's proclamation was issued. Although not at a bargain price, it was still within the reach of ordinary people. After all, people understood that high-quality rice would cost a few more coins.

Some merchants who had received news beforehand did not raise their prices when other grain merchants increased theirs. They continued to sell at the original price and were boycotted by all other merchants. However, in the end, these merchants gained a good reputation. Although they earned less than those who raised their prices, they still made a small profit.

But those who artificially inflated grain prices suffered losses, as they ended up losing money. After all, they had spent a fortune buying as much grain as possible in the first place.

After Fengqi Country's reorganization, the inflationary atmosphere was effectively suppressed, and another crisis was averted. Furthermore, various government offices seized this opportunity to repurchase all the grain from merchants, replenishing the granaries that had been reduced due to disaster relief, and also preparing grain supplies for the spring campaign next year.

The newly crowned king of Panlong saw the merchants he had sent to disrupt the grain prices in Fengqi Nation return dejectedly. He himself was so furious that he almost fainted. With a ferocious expression, he drove everyone out.

After the first spring rain, the first swordsman of Xuanwu Kingdom pointed his blade at Panlong Kingdom, claiming he was avenging his father. back again."Before it got dark, the two finished making Tiger's new cotton clothes for the New Year. When dusk fell, Song Dachuan also returned home. After having dinner, the whole family went to bed...