Yu Feng and Shuanzi returned quickly. The two of them bought two hundred pounds of soybeans. They wanted to buy more, but they went late and only two hundred pounds were left.
Since ancient times, disasters had always been accompanied by plagues and rising prices.
The casualties from this earthquake were not serious. The epidemic was largely spared, but many houses and fertile fields were destroyed. Logically speaking, the price of food would increase.
Unexpectedly, it was quickly controlled even though it did rise.
“Oh? How did this happen?” Yu Wan asked in confusion. She helped Shuanzi carry a basket of soybeans. “Did the imperial court open the granary?”
Yu Feng carried a large basket of soybeans down the ox cart. “It’s not from the Imperial Court, it’s from Consort Xu. Her maternal family’s trading company mobilized supplies from all over the place overnight to stabilize the food prices in town.”
The Consort Xu that Yu Feng mentioned was the consort that the current Emperor thought highly of—one of the four consorts, Worthy Consort.
Worthy Consort Xu was not as good as Wan Zhaoyi in terms of favor. However, she was in charge of the seal on behalf of the Empress and was the true master of the six palaces. She had a prince who was an adult and a young princess.
The Empress’s son, the eldest prince, was ignorant and incompetent. There were rumors among the commoners that Worthy Consort Xu’s son, the second prince, was very likely to inherit the throne.
“Young Master Xu… Consort Xu.” Yu Wan was deep in thought.
“What’s wrong?” Yu Feng asked. Before Yu Wan could answer, he continued, “I forgot to ask you about the illness of the person that Old Cui brought.”
“I’ve already finished treating it.” Yu Wan paused and said, “That young master’s surname is also Xu. Could he be from the Xu family?”
“There are many people with the surname Xu,” Yu Feng said. “The Xu family is in Nantian City, and is hundreds of miles away from the Capital. How can Old Cui know someone so far away? Besides, that’s the Xu family. Old Cui can’t get close to them.”
Yu Wan nodded thoughtfully.
This was a common surname, and there were countless people with the surname Xu in the world. It was just that she felt that Young Master Xu’s bearing was too outstanding, unlike ordinary young masters from rich families, so she asked.
However, this had nothing to do with her. So what if he was Worthy Consort Xu’s son? What could she get from him?
Yu Wan no longer insisted on the other party’s identity and went to the backyard to prepare soybeans.
… .
It was dark in the dungeon.
Accompanied by the sound of chains trembling, the prison guard’s deep voice sounded. “Gao Yuan, someone is here to see you!”
Gao Yuan, who had fallen asleep leaning against the wall, slowly opened his eyes.
A beam of fire shone over. Gao Yuan, who had not seen light for a long time, could not stand such strong light and could not help but raise his hand to block it.
In the blink of an eye, that person strode over.
“Great Uncle!”
It was Qi Lin.
Gao Yuan put down the hand that was covering his forehead and looked at him in surprise. “Why are you here?”
Gao Yuan was personally thrown into the prison of the Dali Temple by His Majesty. Without His Majesty’s orders, the Dali Temple did not dare to let anyone in to visit.
In the past ten days, Qi Lin had thought of countless ways and found all the connections he could. He was only short of going to the Young Master Manor to block Yan Jiuchao. What Qi Lin did not expect was that on the way to block Yan Jiuchao, he would be met by Worthy Consort Xu’s palace maids.
Qi Lin knelt down on one knee and placed the food box on the ground. “It was Her Highness Worthy Consort who pleaded for me. She asked His Majesty for an oral edict. In the future, I can visit Great Uncle every day.”
“Worthy Consort…” Gao Yuan was in a daze. It had been too long since he heard this name. For a moment, he could not remember who she was.
Qi Lin looked at the dirty cell and then at his great uncle’s sorry state. His heart ached so much that his eyes turned red. “Great uncle, why did His Majesty lock you up? What mistake did you make?”
Gao Yuan did not answer. He only sighed helplessly.
Qi Lin tactfully didn’t ask further when he saw that his great uncle didn’t want to talk about it. He took out the dishes and snacks from the food box and said, “I heard that the food in the prison isn’t delicious. I asked the chef in the manor to make a few of your favorite dishes. Try them while they’re hot.”
Gao Yuan looked at the chestnut cake, three dishes, and one soup in front of him. Just as he raised his chopsticks, he thought of something and asked Qi Lin, “Was the surname of Worthy Consort Zeng or Xu?”
Qi Lin widened his eyes and said, “Of course her surname is Xu! You taught her son before. Have you forgotten her surname?”
Gao Yuan massaged his temples. “I was confused. Worthy Consort Zeng only appeared ten years later.”
Qi Lin had a bitter expression. “Great Uncle, you’re talking nonsense again.”
Gao Yuan laughed dryly.
Qi Lin scooped a bowl of soup and said, “Great uncle, Worthy Consort is so good to me. Is she trying to rope you in to support the Second Prince?”
“I can’t,” Gao Yuan said.
“Why? Don’t you like the Second Prince?” Qi Lin asked curiously.
Gao Yuan shook his head.
It was not that he did not like it. On the contrary, the Second Prince was a genius. He was skilled in both literary and military strategies, and he was also ambitious. If he could ascend to the throne, he would definitely become a wise emperor.
Unfortunately, this prince was killed before he could ascend the throne.
He did not die at the hands of his brothers who were fighting for the throne, nor did he die at the hands of Yan Jiuchao. Instead, he died under the blades of three demon kings.
Gao Yuan only found out before he died that the three demon kings who massacred the dynasty were the long-lost children of Yan Jiuchao.
… .
The soybeans had to be soaked until nighttime. Yu Wan had nothing to do and decided to go up the mountain to try her luck.
She returned to the house, took her fishing rod, brought a small shovel, and was about to go up the mountain with her basket on her back. However, the moment she left the back door, she saw three little lads who had come to look for her.
Ever since Yu Wan showed no interest in their calligraphy, the three of them stopped practicing and gave her flowers instead.
The flowers were ordered by Uncle Wan to be moved from the Young Master Manor to decorate the backyard. Uncle Wan carefully nurtured them in the greenhouse for a winter. Every flower was worth a hundred gold.
The little ones did not hesitate to bring disaster to the three peony flowers that were the biggest and the most beautiful.
The three of them handed the flowers they picked to Yu Wan.
Yu Wan did not know how precious these flowers were. She happily accepted it as it was the three little fellows’ intention. She didn’t expect that the first flowers she received were from the three little lads.
“You know how to give girls flowers at such a young age. What will you do when you grow up?”
Yu Wan narrowed her eyes and kissed the faces of the three of them.
The three of them blushed shyly.