After My Heart Turned Cold and I Divorced My Wife, I Rose as the Strongest Prince of Great Feng Empire - Chapter 10:

Chapter 10: It’s Over—The Lin Family Is Going Bankrupt!:

“Father, what happened? Why are you so panicked?”

Lin Jiang collapsed into a seat, drained of all strength. “It’s over. We’re ruined! Our Lin family is going bankrupt! Everything we have is gone!”

“What?!” Madam Lin cried out in shock, springing up and grabbing Lin Jiang by the collar. “What exactly happened? Speak clearly!”

Only then did Lin Jiang collect himself and explain with a trembling voice, “The locust plague in Fengyang has caught the court’s attention. His Majesty ordered Ning Que to handle disaster relief and spare no cost to save the people. Ning Que opened the granaries to stabilize the market and dispatched over a hundred thousand dan of grain escorted by the Three Capital Guards. Grain prices in Fengyang have collapsed, and the merchants are dumping their stock. Right now, it’s only a hundred copper per dan. Once more grain arrives, it will drop further!”

“That… how can that be?”

“Even people outside the city know. The roads are lined with grain carts!”

Chang’an has multiple granaries storing vast quantities of food, which were rarely touched in recent years due to unstable borders and the threat of war. If Great Feng were to go to war, those stores would be essential.

Lin Xianhong felt her head spinning. The Gu family sold them grain at 300 copper per dan. If delivered to Fengyang, it should have earned 200 copper profit per dan. But now, prices had plummeted!

Even prices in Chang’an had fallen. Selling now would mean a loss. They’d lose 200 copper per dan!

Their entire fortune might be gone!

“You wretched girl! This is all your fault!”

Madam Lin, consumed with fury, slapped Lin Xianhong hard across the face. She stumbled back several steps, holding her cheek.

“What are you doing?!”

“All the savings we worked for are gone. What are we supposed to live on? Dust and wind? It’s all because of this fool, believing the Gu family!”

Madam Lin shrieked like a madwoman. She was infamous for her greed, and even missing a little profit made her furious.

“Enough!” Lin Jiang roared, grabbing her tightly.

“This has nothing to do with the Gu family, or with Xianhong! Who could have guessed His Majesty would act so decisively? Even mobilizing the capital’s granaries?”

Lin Jiang was just as helpless. No one could have seen it coming. In previous disasters, grain was transported from other regions, which took months. But now, the capital granaries had been opened directly!

He sighed. “It’s done. All we can do now is sell off the grain quickly and cut our losses. The longer we wait, the lower the price will fall.”

“Father… I’m sorry…” Lin Xianhong lowered her head and bit her lip. Truthfully, she didn’t want to agree to it at the start. After all, it was just profiteering from national suffering. But Lin Jiang had insisted. If they didn’t profit, someone else would.

“It’s not your fault. But tell me—what about Qinghuan’s dowry?”

“Don’t worry.” Lin Qinghuan scoffed. “Ning Que is just putting on an act, trying to force Second Sister to admit she was wrong. I’m sure he’ll come begging within a few days.”

“Even without him, we’ll manage,” Lin Xianhong said firmly. She didn’t want to owe Ning Que anything. In fact, she hoped to divorce him. After all, Gu Yuan had promised her—once he recovered, he would marry her.

As for being repudiated? Did Ning Que have the right?

The more tactics he used, the more she resented him.

“The Empress Dowager gives me frequent rewards, and the Gu family will help too.”

“Yes, yes, Xianhong is right!” Lin Jiang finally relaxed a little. They had lost a lot, but it couldn’t be helped. After all, the decree came directly from the Emperor. Blessings and punishments were both forms of imperial grace.

“Master! Master! Someone from Prince Ning’s Mansion is here again!”

“Hmm?” Lin Jiang was stunned. Why were they here again?

“See, they must be here to apologize.”

“I don’t think so,” Lin Qinghuan said with dread. “They’re probably here to humiliate us and use it as leverage against Second Sister. If Ning Que could frame us once, he’ll surely do it again.”

“It can’t be that bad,” Lin Jiang frowned. If this dragged on, Prince Ning’s Mansion would lose face too. Ending things peacefully through divorce would be best. Then he could marry Lin Xianhong to Gu Yuan.

The Gu family was soaring!

Gu Mingzhi was Prefect of the Capital Prefecture and a 1st Rank official. His son Gu Yuan had just been made a First-Class General. They were also close with Prince Qi. And the west was unstable—Xiliang was preparing to strike. Once Gu Yuan healed, he’d return to battle. With more merit, he could become a duke in five years!

But Ning Que? He just knew a few petty tricks. He couldn’t even secure his princely title. His Majesty was clearly suppressing him. The people were already talking. The late Prince Ning had too much power and overshadowed the Emperor. He held military command and even served as regent. A man like that had to be eliminated.

…

The Lin residence gates opened. Lin Jiang and the others stepped out slowly.

Standing before them was Uncle Fu.

“Why are you here again?”

“By order of the Heir Apparent, I’m here to deliver a gift to the Lin family.”

“A gift?”

Uncle Fu smiled. He was glad Ning Que had cut his losses early. Over the years, the Lin family had drained the Mansion dry. Ning Que tolerated it for Lin Xianhong’s sake. But now that the divorce was final, it was time to collect with interest.

Uncle Fu clapped.

A servant presented a ledger.

Lin Xianhong frowned and took it. “What is this?”

“Master Lin has long been a regular at Heaven on Earth. He drinks, listens to music, and even has courtesans bathe and massage him. All of these were charged to the Heir Apparent’s account. It’s time to settle the bill.”

“What?!” Lin Xianhong froze, staring at her father in disbelief. His upright image crumbled instantly. Heaven on Earth was a brothel that Ning Que had rebranded. Though it had been remodeled, she still looked down on places like that.

“Fifth of Second Month, Year Three: 120 taels on credit.”
“Eighth of Second Month, Year Three: 150 taels on credit.”
“…”

“You owe 50,000 taels of silver?!”

Lin Xianhong gritted her teeth, glaring at Lin Jiang. “Father, how could you spend so much? Don’t you know what kind of place that is? As a court official, how could you frequent brothels?!”

“Ahem… this… well…”

Lin Jiang looked utterly embarrassed. Before he could reply, Madam Lin stormed out.

“You bastard! You wouldn’t let me buy rouge, but you wasted all that in a brothel?! All those times you said you were busy with court matters—were you handling court business at Heaven on Earth?!”

Madam Lin, infamous for her temper, clawed at Lin Jiang’s face, leaving bloody marks.

The bystanders watched everything.

Uncle Fu stood calmly.

This was Ning Que’s goal.

Not just to get the money back—but to throw the Lin family into complete chaos.