Shen Yun led the way, tightly gripping Su Xiaoqi’s hand as they walked through a narrow alley.
During the day, Su Xiaoqi could barely find her bearings, let alone in the pitch darkness of night.
The alley was deep and black, appearing to Su Xiaoqi like the gaping maw of a monstrous beast.
As they walked into its mouth, she frowned, a chill crawling up her spine.
She couldn’t help but gently tug on Shen Yun’s hand, softly calling out, "Shen Yun…"
"What did you call me?" Shen Yun’s deep voice sounded by her ear.
Su Xiaoqi immediately, and obediently, corrected herself, "Husband." She didn't want to displease Shen Yun over such a small matter.
Shen Yun seemed satisfied, and whether intentionally or not, he blew a puff of air near her ear.
Su Xiaoqi’s senses tingled. She glanced at the dark alley, her body stiffening, her heart leaping into her throat. She quickly moved closer to him.
Shen Yun chuckled softly and, as if by instinct, wrapped his arm around Su Xiaoqi’s waist.
"Where… where are we going?" Su Xiaoqi was afraid of the dark, and coupled with her ignorance of what lay ahead, she felt a sense of unease.
Shen Yun glanced at her. Though he couldn’t see clearly, he perceived her fear in his heart.
The hand around her slender waist tightened. He lowered his head and kissed her cheek, murmuring softly, "Don't be afraid, I'm here."
Su Xiaoqi felt a pang of frustration.
The most important issue right now wasn't fear, but their destination.
Yet, Shen Yun seemed to relish Su Xiaoqi's dependence and closeness. He merely smiled, his lips curved, and offered no answer to her two questions.
Su Xiaoqi could only lean against his shoulder, wishing she could meld into him.
Fortunately, they didn't walk much further before Shen Yun stopped.
He paused before an unremarkable wooden door and knocked.
Su Xiaoqi noticed his knocking had a distinct rhythm: three times lightly, then two times again.
Soon, a faint creak came from the wooden door, and it was opened.
A young voice said nervously, "Benefactor, you've arrived! Quick, quick, come in. I've tricked them all out for drinks and to visit the brothel."
The two slipped inside.
Su Xiaoqi, by the faint moonlight, could vaguely make out a small courtyard, not very large. There were no lamps lit, and the house behind was shrouded in darkness.
Su Xiaoqi’s heart began to pound with nervousness, to the point that she didn’t properly process the young man’s words.
She couldn’t understand why Shen Yun had brought her here.
She started to regret it. Could it be that Shen Yun, with memories of his past life, intended to bring her here and then, without anyone noticing, do away with her?
No, surely not. Surely not.
Shen Yun released Su Xiaoqi’s waist and held her hand, squeezing it tightly.
What was this little wife of his thinking?
Past lives, future lives, doing away with her?
Could her imagination be any wilder?
"Silly," he couldn't help but gently tickle her palm, his thoughts stirred by Su Xiaoqi's vivid inner monologue.
Su Xiaoqi let out a little gasp, which caused the young man leading the way in the darkness to glance back.
Su Xiaoqi noticed him turn.
Even though she knew he couldn’t see anything in the dim light, Su Xiaoqi still felt a little uneasy.
She pinched Shen Yun’s hand forcefully.
Shen Yun, unbothered by the pain, let out a low chuckle, a laugh clearly laced with teasing.
Su Xiaoqi glared at him.
But then she quickly realized that in this darkness, he couldn’t see.
It was then that she understood her behavior was somewhat childish. She quickly composed herself and regained her composure, asking, "Whose backyard have we arrived at?"
Before her words had fully landed, the person leading them opened a door, and a pungent, musty odor assaulted Su Xiaoqi’s nose.
Su Xiaoqi let out a small sound and quickly covered her mouth and nose with her hand.
But her actions were not as swift as Shen Yun’s.
Just as she raised her hand, he quickly turned her around, pulled her into his embrace, and buried her head against him.
"Benefactor, I’ll go light the lamp," the young voice sounded again, with a hint of reverence.
The smell was too strong. Even though Shen Yun had pulled her away in time, Su Xiaoqi still inhaled a full noseful.
By now, she had realized.
A jolt went through her mind; she remembered.
"Is this where the Su family stored their inventory of rice?"
Shen Yun patted her shoulder, confirming her guess.
"Moldy rice. I never thought the Su family would actually be selling moldy rice."
During the farce that had taken place at the All-Under-Heaven Granary, Su Xiaoqi had entertained this thought.
But she had quickly dismissed it.
While the Su family's business ethics were questionable, the rice they sold at the Su Ji Grain Store was genuinely not moldy.
After all, no one was a fool. It was easy to tell if rice was good or bad.
Once discovered, those who had paid would naturally demand refunds.
Those who hadn't paid would definitely buy from somewhere else.
"This isn't for sale," the guide, having lit a lantern and carrying it, approached the doorway, allowing the two to see the interior more clearly.
Su Xiaoqi twisted and struggled to peek out. One look was enough to shock her.
It was a vast warehouse, packed to the brim with sacks.
Needless to say, they contained rice, and moldy rice at that.
The smell of mold was so thick it made breathing almost impossible.
Shen Yun said in a low voice, "Spring has abundant rainfall. This batch of rice got damp. Because of the soaring rice prices, the common folk couldn't afford it, so they hoarded it, and it ended up like this."
After speaking, Shen Yun turned to the young man holding the lantern and said, "Xiao Jia, close the door."
The smell was too strong; such odors could cause illness.
"So much moldy rice," Su Xiaoqi was overwhelmed with shock.
Having moved rice daily between her spatial dimension and her own warehouse, she had a rough idea of the countless sacks in the storeroom.
Conservatively, at least a hundred thousand piculs were hoarded there.
An adult’s annual rice consumption was at most a little over a hundred piculs. This, converted, was enough for a thousand people for a year.
At the current lowest rice price of three hundred wen per picul, this amounted to thirty thousand guan, or over twenty thousand taels of silver.
But it was all moldy rice, unsellable. This meant a loss of over twenty thousand taels.
But why was it piled up here?
What could the Su family do with it?
Su Xiaoqi’s mind teemed with questions.
Fortunately, Shen Yun had no intention of testing her. He simply gestured for Xiao Jia to tell her the answer.
"Disaster relief grain," Xiao Jia’s voice was muffled. "This is disaster relief grain meant to be transported to Tongchuan County."
Su Xiaoqi’s heart pounded, as if struck by a heavy hammer.
After a long moment, she regained her senses and couldn’t help but raise her voice, "Disaster relief grain! How is that possible? How dare they?"
Disaster relief grain was usually allocated by the imperial court, escorted by specialized grain officials, handed over to local authorities, and then distributed to the disaster victims.
Su Xiaoqi didn't understand much else, but she knew that rice allocated by the court would never be moldy.
Nor would it be found in the granary of an ordinary wealthy household in Mianzhou City.
There must be some clandestine collusion between officials and merchants involved.
Although Su Xiaoqi was not familiar with current affairs, she had read a lot of history.
It was certain that the detestable county official in Tongchuan County had colluded with the Su family to pull off this stunt.
They would transport the good rice from the imperial court to their granaries and sell it at high prices.
Then, they would ship this poorly stored, moldy rice to Tongchuan for the disaster victims to eat.
What a clever calculation, turning a small investment into immense profit.
Yet, it was also black-hearted and utterly wicked.