"Second Brother, how are you?"
Xu Mingyue now followed Feng Jinyao in calling him Second Brother, showing more intimacy.
"How am I?"
Feng Jinlin was utterly confused by their question.
"Didn't you go to save someone? Are you injured?"
Xu Mingyue didn't care about Liang Quanbin's fate, as long as Feng Jinlin was unharmed.
Seeing her worried expression, Feng Jinlin felt incredibly pleased.
So, he spread his arms and said, "Dealing with a few petty thieves is no problem."
Feng Jinyao glanced at him. Seeing his smug look, she couldn't bear to expose him in front of Xu Mingyue. There were some things Xu Mingyue didn't know yet, so she didn't intend to involve her.
"It's good that Second Brother is alright. Sister Xu has been worried about you for a long time."
"You two can rest assured. I'm not an idiot to risk my life saving Liang Quanbin, am I?"
This was the truth, and Xu Mingyue gave him a glare.
"If that's the case, why did you save him?"
Feng Jinlin fell silent. Some matters were not yet convenient to discuss. Saying too much might affect the Prince's plans.
So, he chuckled and said, "I just happened to run into it. It's not time to break ties yet, so I couldn't just not save him."
He changed the subject, but Feng Jinyao sensed something amiss. However, it wasn't the right time to discuss it. Only after the three of them had finished their meal and Feng Jinyao used the excuse of discussing family matters with Feng Jinlin did they get a chance to speak alone.
Feng Jinyao got straight to the point.
"Second Brother, everyone outside is saying that Huo Chong was the one who assassinated Liang Quanbin. Is that true?"
"Of course, it's fake. That Huo Chong was impersonated by Su Cheng. The real Huo Chong has been captured by Xu Lin. He's currently locked up in another courtyard, waiting for the Prince to interrogate him personally."
"To interrogate the person behind him?"
"Exactly!"
"Is it related to Qingzhou?"
"Qingzhou?"
Feng Jinlin's surprise made Feng Jinyao realize that he might not know about this matter. It seemed she would have to speak to Prince Ding.
So, she replied, "It's nothing. I was just guessing. The Wei family seemed to want to send Eldest Brother to Qingzhou for an appointment, so I thought it might be related to Qingzhou."
Feng Jinlin wasn't very knowledgeable about these matters, so he didn't doubt Feng Jinyao's words.
"Liang Quanbin's shoulder is now crippled and his leg is broken. It will take at least three months for him to recover. It looks like the matter of grain collection will likely fall to me. I just don't know if he dares to let go."
"You owe him a life-saving grace twice. It would be understandable for him to promote you with the grain collection matter, but he probably won't involve you in dealings with the Wei family. After all, you have the Feng family, the Bai family, and even the Lin family and Prince Kang's mansion behind you. He wouldn't dare to take the risk."
Feng Jinlin thought the same way. "So, all I can do is handle this grain collection matter properly, ensuring that all the grain painstakingly collected from the people is stored in the national treasury."
"It's good that Second Brother has this intention, but I fear that not only will you be unable to collect grain, but you will also need to distribute a large amount for disaster relief."
"Disaster relief?"
"Second Brother, haven't you noticed that the rainfall this year has been incessant? In such a situation, if there's even a slight mishap, the riverbanks could break, and fertile land could be flooded. What do you think would happen?"
"Ayao..."
Feng Jinyao's words startled him. Having grown up in the comfortable and prosperous Dongdu City, he had only encountered the words "suffering of the common people" in books.
But he couldn't truly connect with the reality.
Feng Jinlin felt ashamed. "Ayao, if you were a man, you would surely be a good official! In this regard, Second Brother is not as good as you."
"Second Brother worries too much. I'm just idle and can only pore over these matters all day."
She actually felt guilty. The reason she knew these things was entirely due to her memories from her past life. Now, relying on these memories, she had helped the Feng and Bai families avoid disaster, but unexpectedly harmed her uncle's family. Now, she had to rely on her memories to help many people change their destinies. She didn't know if other complications would arise later.
But she couldn't afford to think too much at the moment. If Liang Quanbin didn't defect soon, Duke Wei and the Ninth Prince wouldn't be implicated, and her uncle's family would still be in danger.
Therefore, she was in a difficult situation.
"I once heard the Prince say that he had asked the Min family to stockpile grain in advance. This time, to enlist the help of the Chi family, he also had the Chi family stockpile grain. So, I guessed there must be a deeper meaning behind it, which led me to speculate that there might be a disaster."
"What do you mean? The Prince wants the Min and Chi families to profit from the national crisis?"
Impossible. What kind of person was the Prince? If he truly intended to do so, why would he travel all the way here to investigate corruption cases?
Wouldn't it be better to collude with Duke Wei and the others?
"How could that be? I guess the Prince wants to secretly stockpile grain. When a disaster truly occurs, with grain in hand, there will be no panic, and the people will still have a way to survive."
"The Min family is the Prince's maternal clan, so I can understand them doing this. But the head of the Chi family is said to be someone who only acts if there's profit. Would he be willing to take out the grain he stockpiled for disaster relief?"
Feng Jinlin didn't believe it at all, even though he had only met Chi Zimo a few times.
But he could sense that Chi Zimo was deep-minded, unfathomable, and unwilling to suffer a loss.
Feng Jinyao smiled. Some things, she feared, would have to be kept from Second Brother for now.
Chi Zimo, who was being discussed by the two, somehow felt a chill down his spine despite the scorching weather.
With thirty million taels, he had taken control of more than half of the Zhu family's businesses and shops. The remaining ones had long since been devoured.
Now, the Zhu family's businesses were in decline externally and heavily indebted.
Business matters are handled by merchants themselves; this has always been the rule in Jinling City.
So, those who had business dealings with the Zhu family approached the Chi family. Chi family's Fifth Master and Madam Lan hid in the backyard and refused to acknowledge their debts.
They had now lost both their daughter and their troops.
Their daughter's husband had died, she had a miscarriage, and they had divorced so soon after marriage. It was both hurtful and heartbreaking.
Now, the Fifth Madam was resting in her courtyard, fearing she might do something rash.
Chi Lingyou, who had personally participated in the downfall of the Zhu family, felt guilty towards his sister.
But from the beginning, he had never intended for his brother-in-law, Zhu Xiaoxian, to die. Before he started doing these things for Prince Ding, it had been agreed that the Zhu family could be destroyed, but Zhu Xiaoxian's life would be spared, as he and his sister were still a loving couple.
Who knew that Liang Quanbin would be so ruthless? By the time he arrived at the Zhu residence, his brother-in-law was already dead, and his sister was weak and half-dead.
He was heartbroken and immediately brought her back.
After a long period of treatment, her physical ailments had mostly healed, but her mood had been continuously gloomy, and she would often shed tears by the window, which made Chi Lingyou feel distressed.
He wanted to comfort her, but he didn't know where to start.
Suddenly, he heard a commotion outside. Since his father and grandmother were hiding and not showing up, he naturally had to take responsibility for the family!