After saving the Empress, I became the top scholar in the imperial examination.

The young man, who had just finished cooking and whose sleeves were still stained with oil, spoke eloquently.

Zhu Boqing narrowed his eyes slightly.

It was calculated! It was actually calculated! How could something like this be calculated?

He had indeed consulted the Minister of Revenue about cotton, and the price the Ministry of Revenue gave was about right. This price was calculated based on the account books from previous years, and it was roughly 150 wen. Once the price reached this level, they could start preparing to kill a batch of people.

"However, Your Majesty, killing won't eradicate the problem. As Bao Rui, the 'Little Judge Bao,' said, it's better to guide than to block. The disaster in Jiangnan is a fact, and a cotton price that is too low will not help alleviate the disaster. Therefore, the cotton price will definitely be higher than 150 wen, or even 200 wen, but as long as we kill a group of hoarders, it will have some effect and can ease people's minds." At that time, the Minister of Revenue said this with a sorrowful face.

In years of famine, a number of ordinary people and a number of merchants will always die. This seems unavoidable; the latter will always hoard goods and speculate, unafraid of death or having their property confiscated, they will always do it.

Fortunately, the imperial court had granaries, and the Jiangnan region was prosperous. This year's floods were not too severe, so there were no major problems with food, and the price increase was minimal.

Cotton, however, suffered from insect infestation after the floods, which led to a significant reduction in production.

A crisp "clang" sound came from the dining table.

The little girl put down the porcelain bowl, wrinkled her flat nose, and looked extremely puzzled on her not-so-pretty face.

The situation was too bizarre and unexpected. My mind was full of questions, but because of all the confusion, I didn't know where to begin.

At this moment, it was the emperor beside him who raised an eyebrow and said softly:

"Because cotton is needed to get through the imperial merchant mission, and Songjiang Prefecture must be willing to sell cotton to Sujin Pavilion, while also ensuring that Sujin Pavilion doesn't end up losing money. So, brother-in-law, you immediately raised the price five times?" Zhu Boqing's voice was slow and deliberate, weak yet resolute.

"That's right," Ning Nan said with a smile, holding up the white bowl. "That's exactly the point. There was no prior planning; it was just something we had to do, with no other choice."

"Then why did you buy three million catties of cotton from Suzhou Prefecture?" the little girl asked, frowning. "And why sell it at a low price after buying it?"

At the time, she guessed that the other party wanted her to become a cotton merchant, betting that the price of cotton would rise more than five times, which was why they went to Suzhou Prefecture and bought so much cotton.

They plan to sell the cotton at a high price later and make a profit.

It was only then that she realized a brilliant trick the other party had overlooked.

It means allocating five percent of the money to the Imperial Guards!

At the time, she thought the other party wanted to bring in the Embroidered Uniform Guard to intimidate the cotton merchants.

But later, when he saw that the other party used the remaining 30,000 taels to buy cotton from Suzhou Prefecture and Jiaxing Prefecture.

Only then did I realize the other party's true intention: that 10% deposit!

They used 50,000 taels of silver to secure a contract for the production of 5 million catties of cotton.

What other cloth merchants could accomplish with 150,000 taels of silver, he accomplished with 50,000 taels.

The difference between 50,000 and 150,000 taels is that... no single cloth merchant can come up with 150,000 taels of cash on their own.

When she realized this, she gasped in shock.

As she had predicted, cotton prices soared rapidly, quadrupling in just a few days, leaving all the cloth and cotton merchants in the city utterly astonished.

But...it was far beyond her expectations.

At this point, the other party surprisingly did not sell the cotton at a high price.

Instead, they sold it at a lower price!

The cotton, which was bought for 100 coins per catty, was sold to the other party for 60 coins per catty.

Although this allowed the other party to obtain 180,000 taels of silver in one go, it was still too risky.

How could I dare to lose 120,000 taels of silver directly?

Ning Nan thought for a moment, then said seriously, "There's nothing we can do about it, um..."

He frowned. Although he didn't know why the little girl across from him was so curious, there was nothing he couldn't say.

In fact, it could be said that he had been prepared for this for a long time.

After all, this time, I was indeed a bit reckless, causing both Sujinge and myself to bear such a huge debt. The reason I slept in the study was partly because I was worried that my wife, Cui Cui, would ask about this.

He was gambling with her family's assets and their lives.

But to his surprise, his wife never asked, which only made him feel more guilty.

Now that the situation is largely settled, I can take this opportunity to talk to my wife and put her mind at ease.

Although my family still owes more than 300,000 yuan in payments, I doubt any cotton or cloth merchant in the city would think I can't pay it back.

Of course, the first reason is that financial concepts such as 'market,' 'futures,' and 'pricing power' are too complicated to explain.

Secondly, there was a concern that his brother-in-law might impulsively start a futures market for "grain" or some other futures market, only to end up in chaos and possibly disrupt the grain market, resulting in his execution by the imperial court.

He thought for a moment and said that he had only taken a gamble because he saw Sujin Pavilion in dire straits, and luckily he succeeded, but it was indeed too dangerous and he would never do it again in his life.

They also said that this risked disrupting the imperial court's cotton order and might be banned by the court.

He had no choice but to bring in many shareholders and had already written a letter to Grand Tutor Gu, saying that after he paid off his debt of over 300,000 taels of silver in a few days, the imperial court would intervene and take over Baiyufang.

He will retain some shares, but will no longer get involved.

Although she was speaking to Lizhi and her brother-in-law, her eyes kept glancing at Cui Cui... Don't worry, your man isn't one to cause trouble, and there won't be any risks in the future, so relax.

That's the truth. If you stand by the river long enough, you're bound to get your shoes wet. You should do things honestly and uprightly, accumulating experience step by step, always having a way out so you don't suddenly perish because of some unexpected gust of wind. That's the right way.

The brother-in-law frowned and said, "You plan to give Baiyufang to the imperial court?"

"Hmm." Ning Nan nodded, then worried that his brother-in-law might think this was a golden goose and be reluctant to part with it.

He then elaborated further, saying that such a golden rooster was related to the national economy and people's livelihood, and the Ministry of Revenue would definitely be envious. Rather than waiting for some unfounded charges to be attached to him, it would be better to take the initiative and gain favor with Grand Tutor Gu.

Zhu Boqing glanced at his brother-in-law with approval and smiled, saying, "Brother-in-law, you are very thoughtful. However, it is good that Baiyufang is handed over to the imperial court... but the money... does not need to go to the Ministry of Revenue."

"Huh?" Ning Nan frowned. If not the Ministry of Revenue, where else should they go?

Lychee Lady's focus, however, was not on this.

She put down her chopsticks, frowned, and said, "What do you mean... after you've paid off that 300,000 taels of silver debt in a few days?"

In a few days... over 300,000 taels of silver... silver, not paper money... how will you survive?

……

……

The backyard of Baiyufang is square and neat, with a small lake in the middle. The weather is clear, and the lake water has long been connected to the city's running water, making the water even more beautiful.

Weeping willows sway in the wind, rippling the water, while several koi fish flick their tails and blow bubbles on the lake's surface.

Shangguan Xiu walked silently around the lake and watched as Fang Hongcai entered an inconspicuous side room.

Shangguan Xiu frowned, somewhat curious.

He remembered this person as someone Ning Baixuan trusted quite a bit, but he wondered what he was up to.

After a short while, about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, the time was up.

Fang Hongcai came out again.

Shangguan Xiu turned her body to the side, avoiding his gaze.

Only after Fang Hongcai had walked away did he approach the side room.

He originally thought that Fang Hongcai was secretly putting something away and wanted to take a look. If it was something that was not good for Prince Consort Ning, he would take action.

But upon approaching the side room, one hears...

There were sounds coming from inside.

It was a clear, childlike voice.