Chapter 488 489 Wronged the Second Prince
“What do you want me to do?” Ling Yunhe looked at Xie Jinshu and asked.
Xie Jinshu hesitated for a moment, picked up the wine glass and touched it with Ling Yunhe, then whispered: "I think we need to stock up on some food first."
Ling Yunhe's face was stunned, "Your Majesty is going on an expedition. Where can there be any food in more than ten prefectures and counties around the capital? Besides, the court is not short of food, so what are you doing to collect food? The price of food is not low at this time. If you don't use it, you can get it. Here, that’s a lot of money, and you’ll lose everything you’ve earned in the past few years.”
Xie Jinshu looked at Ling Yunhe and asked, "How long do you think this battle can last?"
“Your Majesty will lead the army in person, and he will definitely win the battle quickly.”
“You sound so hesitant, you’re not sure even if you think about it, right?”
Ling Yunhe said, "The weather this year is too bad. It's hard to say anything."
"I think so too. If the war is delayed, do you think the military rations will be enough?"
Ling Yunhe remained silent.
Xie Jinshu chuckled lightly, "I know you must be thinking, what does the lack of military rations have to do with us? But don't forget who is sitting in the position of Minister of the Ministry of Revenue."
Ling Yunhe sighed. He knew that the Xie family and the Song family were related by marriage, but he never expected that Xie Jinshu would go to such trouble for the imperial concubine in the palace. He asked, "Do you want to report this matter to the imperial concubine?"
Xie Jinshu shook his head, "The fewer people who know about this kind of thing, the better. Now I don't know how many people are staring at Song Shangshu and the imperial concubine. There must be people here watching too. You are better, I can't move even an inch in the capital. ."
“So you just want me to run errands for you?” Ling Yunhe almost rolled his eyes.
“Good brother, let’s not talk to each other. I can’t trust anyone to entrust such an important matter to you. Only you can make me feel at ease.”
"Thank you for looking after me." Ling Yunhe looked at Xie Jinshu, "Even when I leave the capital, the merchants have to keep an eye on me, and I still have to find a way. Besides, if I really want to collect food, I have to go south. Last year, when the New Deal was implemented, the south made up for it. A lot of rice and grain came to Beijing, and I don’t know how much more I can buy when I go to buy grain.”
Once a war breaks out, food, like medicinal materials, is in short supply and most people will not sell it easily.
Going to a grain dealer to buy it, the price would be a bit higher in this situation. Even if he teamed up with Xie Jinshu, he was not sure how much grain he could buy with the money in his hand.
Xie Jinshu chuckled lightly, "I would say that you are too strict. In business, there are buying and selling, but there are also replacements."
"What do you want to replace it with?" As soon as Ling Yunhe said the words, he thought of something and his expression changed instantly, "I really have it for you."
Xie Jinshu smiled and said, "Do you think it's okay?"
"I think it will work." Ling Yunhe gritted his teeth and said, "Baozhuanglou's goods are very in demand in the south. It's hard to say how to exchange this, but it can definitely be exchanged."
"Then give it a try, but do it quietly so that no one notices it." Xie Jinshu said softly, "Don't come forward and find a few of your subordinates to do it. If someone catches your eye, You have to get away too, and you can’t drag the imperial concubine into it.”
After the Ling family's misfortune, Ling Yunhe is no longer as stupid as before. He nodded slightly and looked at Xie Jinshu, "I know how to do it. Prepare the money. I will leave Beijing the day after tomorrow. Since I want to do it, the sooner the better. However, we have to be prepared, if this food is not used, it will be in our hands."
"It's just a loss of money and then sell it, and you can get back half of the original investment. But if it is used, I will have made a great contribution. Wealth and honor are found in danger, brother, give it a try." Ling Yunhe chuckled lightly and said it well. It sounds good, but I have an idea of why.
Xie Jinshu said goodbye to Ling Yunhe and went back to prepare money. Ling Yunhe also braved the cold wind and returned to Ling's house.
This heavy snowfall has cast a shadow over the entire capital city. Even though the capital city is like this, I don’t know what is happening to His Majesty on the march, and I don’t know what is happening to the soldiers and people in the border towns.
Song Yunzhao was worried, but he had nothing to do.
The Queen Mother's condition was getting worse here. After all, Yun Zhao didn't dare to neglect her because she was getting older, so she asked the doctors from the Imperial Hospital to take turns to be on duty at Shouci Palace.
She didn't like the Queen Mother, but she couldn't let the Queen Mother do anything good when the emperor went on an expedition.
She also had to take care of the Queen Mother's condition and take care of her two children. Feng Yi continued to study without interruption. Anshun continued to study in the front hall every day. Yue Guanlan and Yang Weiqing also went to the palace to read with her every day. As the weather got worse, The colder it got, it would not be a good thing to have the two children running back and forth. She was thinking of letting them suspend school in the twelfth lunar month.
Fortunately, Feng Yun is a well-behaved child, and Yun Zhao can sit beside him and keep him company, which makes him very happy.
When Feng Yun came back from get out of class, Feng Yun's attention turned to his brother. It was quite interesting that the two brothers were able to communicate even though they couldn't understand each other.
Ji Yunting and Song Weiran were busy with the snow disaster in the capital, and the six departments were even more busy.
On this day, Yun Zhao came back from visiting the Queen Mother. Concubine Shu braved the wind and snow to catch up with her and said: "It seems that the twelfth lunar month is approaching, why is there no news at all?"
Song Yunzhao had not received a letter since Feng Yi left Beijing. Naturally, he was worried, but he also knew that the army must be traveling all night. Under such circumstances, he had no time to write to her.
"At least we have to wait until the emperor arrives at the border town before we can send any news back to Beijing. In this kind of weather, we will have to spend more time than usual, so we can't be in a hurry."
Concubine Shu, why are you not in a hurry? She is such a lazy person. Now she has invited a Buddha statue to open a small Buddhist hall. She burns incense and chants Buddha every day to pray for your majesty to win the battle.
"The Empress Dowager has not recovered from the cold this time. The hospital said that she should take care of her slowly, so there is no rush." Concubine Shu looked at Song Yunzhao and said slowly, "I want to add an extra three minutes of charcoal at Shouci Palace. For example, what do you think?"
Song Yunzhao naturally couldn't agree, so he thought for a while and said, "Just send the second prince's share to Shouci Palace."
“How can this be done?” Concubine Shu disagreed.
Yun Zhao looked at her, "The weather this year is colder than in previous years, and the charcoal ratio of each palace has increased. There is not much left in the palace, and it needs to be prepared for the next year. The second prince and I stay together all day, It is enough to take out half of his examples. If you understand other places, it will be difficult to make up for it later."
Concubine Shu came to discuss with Yun Zhao because she was in a dilemma. When she heard what she said, she could only nod her head and say, "It's just that I have wronged the second prince."
"He is a little child, and he is now living with me. It is not a grievance. Besides, the Queen Mother is the most important thing. Your Majesty is away at war, so we cannot let any accidents happen to Shouci Palace."
Concubine Shu nodded, "I have to go there every day now. Concubine An has now moved to Shouci Palace to serve the sick. She is doing her best to serve the Queen Mother. With her by her side, the Queen Mother looks good."
Song Yunzhao paused slightly when he heard Concubine Shu mentioning An Shutong.
(End of this chapter)