After My Heart Turned Cold and I Divorced My Wife, I Rose as the Strongest Prince of Great Feng Empire - Chapter 9:

Chapter 9: The Gu Family of the Capital Prefecture—It Was All His Scheme!

In front of the Gu residence, carts loaded with grain rumbled past. On top of each cart were sacks of heavy grain, guarded by armed soldiers bearing royal flags. These soldiers were fully armored—bronze helmets on their heads, dark armor over their bodies, quivers at their waists, and bows strapped to their backs. Such a grand scene naturally drew crowds of onlookers.

“What’s going on here?”

“Why are there so many grain carts?”

“Have none of you heard the news?”

“Please enlighten us, elder.”

An elderly man stroked his beard and spoke quietly, “A few days ago, a locust plague struck Fengyang. The skies went dark with insects, and all crops and vegetation were destroyed. The disaster victims are now eating grass and bark. The price of grain has soared to 500 copper per dan. His Majesty has issued an edict—spare no cost in aiding the people. The Heir Apparent of Prince Ning has been given full authority. As you can see, the granaries have been opened for relief!”

“The Heir Apparent of Prince Ning?”

“Why him?”

“Shouldn’t it be Prince Qi?”

The old man shot them a glance and explained, “Fengyang is Prince Ning’s fief. It’s only been temporarily managed by Prince Qi. All taxes and grain rents still go to Prince Ning’s Mansion.”

“Gasp…”

Everyone looked at each other, startled. On the surface, it seemed like simple disaster relief. But thinking carefully—it hinted at something much greater. Perhaps Ning Que was about to officially inherit the princely title?

The old man smiled mysteriously and disappeared into the crowd. Moments later, he reappeared elsewhere, repeating the same story—stirring public opinion.

Naturally, word spread into the Gu residence as well.

…

Gu Mingzhi, Prefect of the Capital Prefecture, returned home looking exhausted and changed into casual clothing.

“Father,” a youth greeted him.

Gu Mingzhi frowned, “Yuan’er, why are you up? You’ve just recovered and need rest.”

The young man smiled. He was Gu Yuan—the main commander at Yumenguan, who had heavily injured Xiliang’s forces. The court had awarded him the rank of 1st Rank General and even broke protocol by letting him inherit his grandfather’s Marquis of the Tiger title.

“It’s all thanks to Xianhong for saving me.”

“Don’t mention that foolish woman,” Gu Mingzhi waved dismissively, looking his son over. “Don’t tell me you actually like her?”

“Of course not…”

Gu Yuan looked disdainful, his handsome features tinged with malice.

“She’s just a used woman. Why would I like her? If she wasn’t still useful, I wouldn’t even look at her. A few sweet words, and she’s head over heels in love. Women like that shouldn’t go to waste.”

“Hahaha, well said!”

Gu Mingzhi nodded with satisfaction. Now that’s my son!

The Lin family was just a petty household. What right did they have to marry into the Gu family? A foolish woman like Lin Xianhong—only someone like Ning Que would fall for her.

Gu Yuan changed the subject.

“What’s troubling Father today?”

“Lin Xianhong is foolish, but her sister is even worse. She had the nerve to cause a scene at Prince Ning’s Mansion! So she was given thirty strokes of the board as punishment.”

Gu Mingzhi narrowed his eyes, voice low.

“Word is, Ning Que is furious that Lin Xianhong aborted their child to save you. He’s even threatening to repudiate her. Do you think this punishment of Lin Qinghuan is real?”

“Impossible.”

“Oh?”

Gu Yuan sneered, “Ning Que is a useless romantic who spends his days chasing women. This punishment of Lin Qinghuan—it’s just a trick, a show of feigned severity. That kind of tactic is laughable!”

“Hah, you’re probably right.”

Gu Mingzhi chuckled. It did sound about right.

Everyone knew what kind of things Ning Que had done over the years.

Then Gu Mingzhi sighed, “One more thing. After the locust plague broke out in Fengyang, His Majesty issued a decree—Ning Que is to handle relief efforts at all costs. He’s been granted authority to mobilize the granaries in Chang’an, and grain is now being sent non-stop to Fengyang.”

“He’s in charge?”

“Yes.” Gu Mingzhi’s eyes narrowed. “There’s a rumor spreading that this is all part of a plan to raise Ning Que’s status and weaken Prince Qi’s influence. After all, the four princes guard the borders, while Prince Ning protects the capital. And Fengyang is his fief. But for now, let’s focus on the grain problem.”

The Gu family’s side branches ran grain businesses—and had hoarded tens of thousands of dan in Fengyang. During the locust plague, they exploited the crisis and raised prices to 500 copper per dan—ten times the normal rate!

As for whether people lived or died?

That had nothing to do with them.

The people belonged to Great Feng. But the money? That belonged to the Gu family!

“We’ll have no choice but to lower prices…”

“Agreed.”

Gu Yuan frowned in thought. He hadn’t expected the Emperor to act so decisively—mobilizing Chang’an’s granaries without hesitation. It seemed the Emperor truly wanted to use this disaster to promote Ning Que.

But so what?

Ning Que was still trash. The higher he climbed, the harder he’d fall!

…

Lin residence.

“Uuuuuhhh…”

“Second Sister, you can’t forgive him this time!”

“That bastard Ning Que really sent me to the authorities. I got thirty full strokes of the board!”

Lin Qinghuan lay on the couch, crying with snot and tears everywhere. She had never been so humiliated in her life.

“He even brought Master Yu there! He set me up to be embarrassed and got Master Yu to expel me!”

Lin Xianhong applied medicine to her, her face extremely grim. Their mother sat nearby, sobbing uncontrollably and wiping her tears.

“Ning Que, that animal!”

“How could he be so heartless to treat Qinghuan this way?”

“She only went to ask him for an explanation!”

“Sinister, shameless!”

“Mother, don’t worry—Qinghuan is fine.”

“This is your fault!” Madam Lin cried, glaring at Lin Xianhong with teary eyes. “Just look at the kind of man you married! Your sister was beaten and expelled, and it’s all because of him!”

“I…” Lin Xianhong was speechless, her heart full of bitterness.

She had never been her mother’s favorite. She always had to give way to Lin Qinghuan. The only person who had ever been truly good to her… was Ning Que.

“Mother, don’t say that to Second Sister,” Lin Qinghuan muttered. “This is all Ning Que’s fault. It has nothing to do with her. If you ask me, he’s just trying to sow discord between us—so Second Sister will think he’s better than us.”

Is that so?

Lin Xianhong froze for a moment. Just earlier, she really had that thought! Ning Que was still as scheming as ever—doing anything to get what he wanted. He was even trying to fracture their family to make her change her mind.

If Lin Qinghuan hadn’t said it, she might have fallen for it!

“Hmph!” But Madam Lin didn’t care about any of that. She was furious.

“Let me ask you—what are you going to do? Your sister’s been beaten and expelled from the Six Arts Academy. If this gets out, it’ll affect her marriage. And what about her dowry? As her elder sister, you can’t just ignore it!”

“I understand.”

Lin Xianhong stood up and said softly, “These past years, the Empress Dowager has rewarded me generously. A few days ago, I saved General Gu Yuan, and their family gave our family a good business opportunity.”

“A good deal?”

“Yes. Fengyang is in a locust crisis and grain prices have skyrocketed. They sold us 100,000 dan of grain at a low price. If we deliver it to Fengyang, we can make 200 copper per dan.”

“The Gu family really is reliable!”

Madam Lin finally relaxed.

With 1,000 copper to a tael of silver, that meant a profit of 20,000 taels!

Enough for Lin Qinghuan’s dowry.

“It’s over!”

“It’s all over!”

Lin Jiang burst into the room, panicked, staggering so badly he knocked over a teacup.

What had happened?!