Tianliangyuan

Chapter 96 Openly Provoking

Xu Zhaozhao ordered people to sell these cloths directly along the official roads of Yongzhou Prefecture to various counties, mainly those far from the capital.

Due to the heavy snow, the weather is still very cold even in early February.

Cotton cloth was still in short supply in some remote areas, but because the roads were blocked by heavy snow and Jiang Ning was not good at business, he was unaware of this news from the beginning and never even thought about it.

Xu Zhaozhao ordered people to sell these cloths to the people at the normal market price of two coins per foot.

If the fabric shows obvious signs of uneven dyeing, it will be given directly to the disaster victims.

In just one trip, Gao Da Kui's men sold out the entire cloth before it even left Youzhou.

They brought back a total of 720,000 coins.

Xu Zhaozhao's actions this time, which took only a few months, caused Jiang Ning to lose more than three million yuan, and the money she lost basically went into Xu Zhaozhao's pocket.

If Jiang Ning knew, she'd probably be furious.

Even with all the necessary measures in place, some houses in Wannian County and Chang'an County still collapsed under the weight of the blizzard.

Fortunately, preparations were made in advance, and the county government ordered people to prepare tarpaulins and support them with wooden stakes, which could barely provide shelter from the wind and rain.

The oilcloths that Xu Zhaozhao had prepared earlier also came in handy. She sent several hundred feet to Chang'an County, and in Wannian County, she ordered her subordinates to cooperate with the government to set up more than twenty simple tents.

Oilcloth is flammable, so these locations were designated by the government and patrolled day and night by constables.

The evil in human nature often exceeds the comprehension of normal people.

The imperial court naturally considered this matter more thoroughly. Since it was a disaster relief effort, it was essential to ensure that nothing went wrong.

With these oilcloths, plus the dozen or so cartloads of firewood that Xu Zhaozhao had sent over, the immediate crisis in Wannian County was temporarily resolved.

The magistrate of Wannian County was a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations) in the previous imperial examinations. Now that he had received such a great favor from Baiguoyuan (a fruit orchard), he would naturally remember it.

"Sir, Baiguoyuan has sent several more cartloads of coarse grains. I opened a few bags and saw that some of the sorghum rice still had some broken husks mixed in."

The magistrate, being a wise man, nodded and said, "That is the way it should be."

If refined grains and rice are used for disaster relief, that would be disastrous!

Only true disaster victims would be so forgiving, readily offering food and bowing in gratitude.

Wannian County performed exceptionally well in this disaster relief effort. Whether in terms of measures or other aspects, it was a step ahead of Chang'an County. Its credit for this achievement is undeniable and cannot be denied.

Although Xu Zhaozhao invested a lot of money in this snow disaster, she had Jiang Ning as her backer, so in the end, she actually made a net profit of one million yuan!

Wow, these methods are truly impressive!

After Jiang Ning lost a large sum of money, he immediately calmed down.

Although Prince Zhong also lost some money and provisions, at least it let his father know that he, as a prince, was still of some use. Moreover, Emperor Yong'an could not really take his son's money and provisions for nothing; that wouldn't sound good to outsiders.

Since the imperial court allocated those grains, the reputation naturally belongs to the imperial court and the emperor. How could the reputation of the two sons be further enhanced?

Therefore, Emperor Yong'an transferred Prince Zhong to the Ministry of Revenue for training. At the same time, Emperor Yong'an promoted one of Prince Zhong's wives' brothers by two ranks and rewarded Prince Zhong with a set of writing implements and several jade artifacts, so that people would know that Prince Zhong was effective in front of the emperor.

In addition, the Second Prince was also credited with contributing grain and was granted the title of Prince An, a mansion, and the Ministry of Works was ordered to repair it as soon as possible, while the Ministry of Rites was to choose an auspicious day for Prince An to move into his new residence.

When Jiang Ning heard the news, her mind was actually a bit confused.

She remembered that in her previous life, Prince An was granted a title before the new year, but this time, he was only granted the title now.

Could it be that my rebirth caused some changes in things?

After calming down, Jiang Ning felt that this was normal.

All his painstaking efforts were just to suppress Prince An so that Prince Zhong could ascend to the throne.

Since she could change the timing of the Second Prince's investiture as a prince, and even the residence he was granted, she should be able to change other things as well.

This incident, ironically, helped Jiang Ning regain her confidence.

What's a little financial loss?

As long as she can help the Loyal King ascend to the throne, she will gain something more important than money.

Money is not important to her; power is what she desires.

The Jiang family is currently in a neutral position, not favoring any of the princes. Grand Tutor Jiang has always maintained that he is loyal only to the emperor.

However, he could hardly accurately judge what his children and grandchildren thought.

Jiang Wenchong carefully avoided the main courtyard, and after leaving the mansion with a servant, he casually found an excuse to send the servant to buy something, while he went straight into a teahouse.

“Jiang Ning spends almost every day in her own courtyard and doesn’t come out much. As for my second uncle, there has been no news of him since the blizzard before the New Year. However, I heard that my grandfather has sent people over. Although my second uncle is in exile, he has quite a few people with him, so he shouldn’t suffer too much.”

Mai Dong nodded slightly, knowing that the Jiang family couldn't possibly abandon Jiang Yanhui completely.

As long as there is still a chance, they will definitely find a way to reinstate Jiang Yanhui.

"Sixth Young Master doesn't plan to take the imperial examination?"

Jiang Wenchong sneered: "Since your master knows some of the secrets of my Jiang family, how could he not know how I grew up in the Jiang family? I am just a son of a concubine, and my status is not much higher than that of a servant in the family. My stepmother is also jealous, so how could she allow me to succeed?"

This is the truth, but because it carries a hint of resentment, it sounds full of bitterness.

Mai Dong laughed and said, "Since the literary path is blocked, has Young Master Jiang ever thought about taking the military route?"

Jiang Wenchong rolled his eyes: "Look at my small frame, how many beatings can I take from you?"

Mai Dong chuckled softly: "Sixth Young Master, you are still a young master of the Jiang family. Even if your stepmother can't tolerate you, your father should at least try to secure a future for you, right? Does he really intend to separate you from the manor, let you marry and have children in the countryside, and live the rest of your life as a wealthy little landlord?"

If you're an ordinary person, dreaming of becoming a small landlord every day means you'll have no worries about food and clothing in the future.

But Jiang Wenchong grew up in the Jiang family mansion and was used to wealth and luxury, so how could he be willing to really become a farmer?

Once he leaves the manor, he will be a commoner, without any official rank or title, only possessing a little wealth. He will be suppressed by others in every way!

Jiang Wenchong remained silent, his tightly clenched fists revealing his resentment.

"I heard that the eldest grandson of your second steward has been freed from slavery. Not only that, the second steward also asked Master Jiang for a favor. I estimate that after the imperial examination, his eldest grandson will become a minor official. Although it's only a ninth-rank official, it's still a proper official position!"

Jiang Wenchong was so angry that the veins on his forehead bulged out.

He could even take care of a servant's child, but Jiang Yanping never thought of donating money to give him an official position. He really didn't treat him like a son!