Volume 1, Chapter 20: The True Heiress Is a Mastermind

Si Chengnian gazed out the window, remaining silent for a moment.

"Your Highness, for all these years you have lived in obscurity here in the Shang Kingdom, and those on the outside all take you for a weak and submissive soul."

The guard in black stood with his head bowed before the tent, his voice tinged with earnestness. "I was patrolling the city today and noticed that all the Yan Kingdom spies have withdrawn. Since that is the case, Your Highness... must you continue to endure as you have in the past?"

He paused, then added, "Now that the winds of suspicion have died down, this is the perfect moment for you to reveal your true edge. We cannot let those people continue to look down upon you."

"Did you find out why the spies left so suddenly?" Si Chengnian frowned.

"There is internal strife in the Yan Kingdom; their Emperor is gravely ill."

"Has the Empress sent word?"

"None."

"Very well. Tonight, take some men to the Prince Chen Estate. Heqin has provoked others one too many times; she needs to be taught a lesson."

Mu Yi, the guard, twitched his mouth stiffly. In the past, Princess Heqin had been arrogant and overbearing, yet the master had never paid her any mind. Today, simply because she had insulted Miss An a few times, he was actually mobilizing their elite shadow guards. It seemed the master was truly smitten. Given the status of the Duke of Rong’s estate, it was a match befitting the master.

Mu Yi even went as far as to consider how he would serve a future young master, before finally asking, "Liu Shan has repeatedly bullied you, Your Highness. Shall I have him taken care of?"

"No, I will deal with him myself."

The following day, Yuan Mei from the Prince Chen Estate arrived at the Duke of Rong’s residence with a retinue of guards. An Qianqian, An Huanyan, and Cheng Mingyue were seated in the main hall.

After bowing, Yuan Mei said to Cheng Mingyue, "The Prince Chen Estate can produce two million taels of silver for now. For the remaining one million, we offer ten chests of jewelry and ornaments as compensation."

An Huanyan weighed a silver ingot, peeked into a jewelry chest, and suddenly let out a scoff. "Young Master Yuan, has the Prince Chen Estate emptied out the bottom of its trunks? Ten chests of trinkets to cover a million taels? Are you trying to pass off the copper scraps from your warehouse as valuables?"

He tossed the ingot back into the chest and continued, "I said before that not a single tael of the three million could be missing. Bringing these things to make up the count—do you think the Duke of Rong’s estate is lacking in such trifles?"

Yuan Mei’s face turned from green to white. "An Huanyan, this is the absolute limit of what we can provide! Do not push your luck!"

"What’s the rush?" An Huanyan took a brocade box from Chun Tang, opened it, and pushed it forward. "The ginseng is here. Inspect it."

Yuan Mei quickly took it. Seeing the thousand-year-old ginseng root intact with amber-colored cross-sections, he let out a sigh of relief.

An Huanyan clapped his hands. "The item is yours; we will take the silver and the junk. If the Prince Chen Estate ever finds itself short on funds, feel free to come to the Duke of Rong’s estate to 'borrow.' We have always been generous."

Yuan Mei was so furious that his face turned a mottled shade of blue and purple, but he eventually flicked his sleeves and stormed out.

An Qianqian looked at An Huanyan, puzzled. "Fourth Brother seems to really dislike Young Master Yuan."

"Of course. Aside from Prince Chen himself, there isn't a single decent soul in that estate. You should know, Little Sister, that the Shang Kingdom suffers from a locust plague every three to five years. Last time, Yuan Mei volunteered to oversee the disaster relief. Not only did he embezzle the grain, but he also triggered an outbreak of plague."

"With such things happening, was he not held accountable?"

"He was, of course, but it only resulted in six months of house arrest. Because of this, the Emperor reclaimed Prince Chen’s military authority, and he has been bedridden ever since."

"No wonder they are going to such lengths to beg for the ginseng."

Hearing the conversation between her son and daughter, Cheng Mingyue interjected, "The Prince Chen Estate has been one of the wealthiest in the capital for years. Their family fortune is so deep that even the national treasury might not compare."

An Huanyan suddenly realized, "So this time, it wasn't that they couldn't produce three million taels, but that they wanted to avoid drawing too much attention?"

Cheng Mingyue nodded. "Yes. The Ice Banquet the Crown Princess is hosting in a few days is actually meant to raise more disaster relief funds. If they had produced three million taels today, they would have a hard time keeping a low profile later."

Listening to them, An Qianqian thought of the remaining rewards from her system tasks. She pulled out one million taels in silver notes and handed them to Cheng Mingyue, her expression as calm as ever.

"Mother, I have some extra money here. Please donate it on my behalf. As for what Yuan Mei brought, you may dispose of it as you see fit."

Cheng Mingyue clutched the bank notes, her eyes reddening as she pulled An Qianqian into an embrace. "Good child, Mother thanks you on behalf of the disaster victims."

She choked back tears; the million taels were significant, but her daughter’s heart was far weightier. The disaster in the south was as urgent as a wildfire, and the Crown Prince was fretting over grain procurement. This money would save countless lives.

An Huanyan also bowed to An Qianqian. "Little Sister, this bow from your Fourth Brother is on behalf of the victims."

"Money is just a worldly possession; it is nothing. But we must find a way to resolve the locust plague. Otherwise, if it keeps returning every few years, even having silver won't help."

Cheng Mingyue released An Qianqian, her brows furrowed in a knot. "Sigh, that is easier said than done. How can a locust plague be easily resolved? In past years, the government tried burning fields and spreading pesticides, but those insects come too fast, covering the sky and the earth. Just as we extinguish them in one area, they swarm in from another."

An Huanyan sighed, the joy from the silver donation fading. "Little Sister, you don't know—those locusts don't just eat crops; they can strip a tree of its bark. During the last plague, I inspected the south and saw the villages afterward. The fields were barren, with even the grass roots dug up. The Imperial Medical Bureau tried concocting medicines, but they were either too toxic and ruined the fields, or completely ineffective against the swarms."

He irritably grabbed at his hair. "The Crown Prince has gathered many agricultural officials to discuss this, but the solutions are either too expensive or too slow to see results. This thing is like a maggot in the bone; without a way to eradicate it completely, it truly is a headache."

Cheng Mingyue patted An Qianqian’s hand, her voice filled with helplessness. "It will be good enough if we can just make it through this year. As for a permanent cure... I fear we must wait for someone more capable to devise a plan."

An Qianqian took their words to heart, and after chatting for a while, she returned to Chunfeng Pavilion.

[Host, are you planning to help the people of this world deal with the locust plague?]

"I am just a village girl; what kind of locust plague could I possibly handle?"

[That's true. When I found you, you were a starving village girl, so you certainly couldn't. But I can! Why don't you beg me, and I'll come up with a way for you?]

"No."

[Just beg me a little! You’re always pulling such a cold face; I’m just teasing you.]

"No."

[I...]

"Shut up!"

No sooner had An Qianqian spoken those words than she realized she could no longer hear the system’s voice.

"System?"

"System?"

"System, are you there?"

Huh?

Could it really be muted?

A subtle smile tugged at the corners of An Qianqian’s mouth. She had been so annoyed by the system all this time; she hadn't expected to stumble upon a solution by accident.

"Unmute."