Chapter 306: Chapter 306: Hoarding a Rare Commodity

Pan Ying said, "Mr. Ye collects five thousand shi every year."

Five thousand shi.

When Ye Heng was a fourth-rank official, his annual salary was no more than three hundred shi.

But after returning to Qingzhou, he collected this much every year. Where did he get the appetite—and the capital—for that?

Pan Ying explained, "Mr. Ye told us that Qingzhou is a remote place. After paying the land rent, there’s still a lot of grain left over each year. It would be too time-consuming and inefficient for us to haul it out and sell it ourselves. As it happened, he knew a grain merchant in the business, so he arranged for them to come every year to take the rice. They even offered a higher price."

Ye Chutang almost had to laugh.

’I had no idea my dear second uncle had such a talent for playing matchmaker.’

He gave up a perfectly good official post to dabble in this sort of business.

Although Ye Heng’s performance in his early years at court was mediocre, he had a smooth career thanks to his older brother, Ye Zheng.

Not to mention his meteoric rise in recent years. His connections in the Capital City alone were enough to ensure he’d never have to worry about food or drink. Why would he now bother himself with a business of a few thousand shi?

Five thousand shi. It wasn’t really enough to warrant a major grain merchant making a special trip, but it wasn’t a small amount either. It represented the harvest of quite a few farming households.

Qingzhou’s population was small, just over thirty thousand, so each household was allocated more arable land.

The total annual harvest for most farming households was barely a hundred shi, and this was their sole source of income.

This was why Pan Ying had come in person. She guessed many farmers were anxiously waiting behind him, eager to exchange their grain for money.

He was well-liked and got along with everyone. Plus, he was a government officer of some standing and could get a word in with the Ye Family. That’s why he was chosen to come.

Seeing Ye Chutang fall into deep thought, silent for a long moment, Pan Ying grew increasingly uneasy.

He gritted his teeth and mustered his courage to ask, "Second Miss Ye, Mr. Ye’s people are late this year. Did... did something happen?"

Ye Chutang pulled herself from her thoughts. Hearing his question, she seemed to hesitate for a moment before giving a slight nod. 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

"My second uncle has indeed run into some trouble."

Pan Ying’s heart sank.

Then, he heard Ye Chutang continue, "For selling official posts, embezzlement, and dereliction of duty, my second uncle’s assets have been confiscated, and he has been exiled to Tongbei."

Though it was just a short sentence, it struck Pan Ying’s ears like a clap of thunder.

"What!?"

Pan Ying’s eyes flew wide with shock.

Even when Ye Zheng got into trouble a few years ago, he was merely demoted. Everyone who heard the news sighed with pity, lamenting that serving a ruler is as dangerous as accompanying a tiger.

But Ye Heng’s situation was completely different!

He had committed a major crime!

’Confiscation of assets and exile... he’ll probably never have a chance to recover in this lifetime!’

Pan Ying couldn’t help but look at Ye Jingyan and Ye Yunfeng again, asking subconsciously, "Then... then you all—"

’Aren’t they all one family?’

If Ye Heng had fallen to such a state, then what about these siblings...

Ye Yunfeng sneered, "We’ve long since cut ties with them—"

"His Majesty showed mercy." Ye Jingyan glanced at Ye Yunfeng, cutting him off. "Only Second Uncle was severely punished. All his family assets were confiscated, but no one else was implicated. The women of his household were not enslaved. As for us... we haven’t lived with Second Uncle for a long time, so we were even less affected."

Ye Yunfeng clenched his fists, swallowing the words caught in his throat.

To Pan Ying, Ye Jingyan’s explanation was very convincing.

’The two brothers, Ye Zheng and Ye Heng, established their own households long ago. With their parents having passed away early, it’s true there’s no reason to consider them one single family.’

If even Ye Heng’s wife and daughters weren’t affected, then it was even less likely that Ye Chutang and her siblings would be.

Pan Ying, reeling from the shock, began to pace back and forth uneasily.

"This... this... How could something like this happen?"

’Then what are we supposed to do with the rice we’ve already collected?’

Ye Chutang watched his anxious expression, contemplating silently.

’These are just innocent commoners. They don’t understand the treacherous undercurrents and hidden struggles of the capital. All they know is that Ye Heng is in trouble, and the fruits of their year of hard labor might have no outlet.’

’Those desperate to exchange their grain for cash must be at a complete loss.’

Pan Ying, his heart heavy with worry, glanced at Ye Chutang several times, but each time he seemed to want to speak, he held his tongue.

He had asked Ye Jingyan and his brother to summon Ye Chutang because he believed she was now the Ye Family’s decision-maker and might be able to resolve the matter.

But now it was clear that Ye Chutang and her siblings were unaware of Ye Heng’s dealings. How could he possibly bring this up with them?

He couldn’t just ask Ye Chutang to clean up the mess, could he? That would be completely unreasonable.

But if things were just left to drag on like this, then...

Ye Chutang glanced at Ye Yunfeng, who took the hint and immediately went to close the door.

"Pan, don’t be anxious just yet. This is a serious matter, so it’s best we think of a solution together."

Ye Chutang gestured with her hand, inviting Pan Ying to sit and have some tea.

Pan Ying met her gaze. Seeing the young woman’s calm expression and relaxed features, his own anxiety subsided considerably.

He then realized that after talking for so long, he was extremely thirsty. He quickly gulped down two mouthfuls of tea and asked eagerly:

"Second Miss Ye, does this mean... you’re willing to help us with this?"

His eyes shone with unconcealed hope.

In his eyes, the Ye Family members were all exceptionally capable. Since Ye Jingyan and his brother respected Ye Chutang so much, she surely couldn’t be an ordinary person.

Maybe she really did have a solution!

Ye Chutang paused for a moment, then asked, "You just said the grain merchant who comes every year to collect the grain is a friend of my second uncle’s. So—do you know him?"

Pan Ying nodded repeatedly. "I do!"

"Then can you contact him?"

Pan Ying’s expression froze, and he shook his head guiltily. "N-no... I can’t. Every year, after the rice is harvested in the eighth month, they just show up. There’s never been a need to wait for them. After they haul the goods away, they don’t linger and leave quickly."

That was normal. The grain collection season was tight. Once they were done here, they had to move on to the next place.

No one had worried about this in previous years, so they never thought to build a closer relationship with the merchants. Unexpectedly, the moment Ye Heng got into trouble, those people stopped coming.

They couldn’t contact the merchants, so their only hope was Ye Heng. That was why they had come to the Ye Family.

But the result was—

Ye Chutang lowered her gaze slightly, gently stirring the tea leaves with the lid of her cup.

’This whole affair is suspicious.’

Ye Heng’s downfall didn’t implicate anyone else, yet the grain merchant he introduced had also vanished without a trace.

No one would believe that Ye Heng wasn’t involved in this somehow.

But what Ye Chutang was more concerned about was—

"Do you know where the grain was sent each year?"

Pan Ying froze, a look of confusion on his face.

"Th-that... We... we were just concerned with selling it. We never asked where they were selling it."

That was also normal.

The court didn’t prohibit the private sale of grain. Some merchants would buy up large quantities in years when grain prices were low, hoard it, and then sell it at a high price when harvests were poor and grain was scarce.

As long as the farmers could get a good price, their year of hard work wouldn’t be in vain. Why would they care where the merchants were doing business?