Upon hearing Pang Xiao’s question, Qin Yining’s heart skipped a beat. However, she was always composed in crisis. After briefly analyzing Pang Xiao’s expression, she knew he wasn’t here to interrogate her accusingly. His gaze was focused and intense, as if he wanted to devour her whole.

Qin Yining said somewhat shyly, “Since the masters wish to hear, I naturally must go out with you.”

“Good. Have them put an extra cloak on your mistress – it’s very windy outside.”

“Yes!” Ji Yun and Bingtang immediately moved efficiently to open the trunks and help Qin Yining change clothes.

While admiring the beauty changing clothes, Pang Xiao chatted with her, “Are you getting tired of staying at home? If you don’t like it, I’ll take you out to play another day.”

“That sounds good. But with this rain never stopping, even going out wouldn’t be much fun.”

Pang Xiao sighed.

After Qin Yining put on her cloak, she stepped forward and took Pang Xiao’s arm. “Let’s go.”

Upon leaving, they saw Mu Jinghu drinking tea in the outer room.

Qin Yining smiled, “I had them prepare black chicken soup. Let’s eat together tonight.”

“Wonderful.” Mu Jinghu agreed cheerfully.

The group walked toward the front hall with laughter and conversation. Worried about getting her embroidered shoes wet, Qin Yining wore wooden clogs over them, making clicking sounds as she walked. Even hearing her footsteps made Pang Xiao’s heart feel comfortable, as if her steps were treading on his heart.

Reaching the front hall, everyone greeted each other according to their status and took their seats. Xie Yue, being more familiar with Qin Yining, smiled and asked, “Did the Princess Consort purchase grain at Sifang Business?”

Qin Yining smiled, “Yes. When His Highness was conducting large-scale searches for fugitives, I thought that given Earl Zhongyi’s personality, he wouldn’t tolerate anyone challenging his authority. So I speculated about what methods he might use against us if he was dissatisfied.”

“So the Princess Consort guessed he would control grain supplies?”

Qin Yining nodded, “Not only that. I was thinking – if their family can sell official positions and titles, perhaps they would also profit from national disasters by inflating grain prices. So I thought, regardless of whether my guess was right or wrong, grain prices definitely wouldn’t stay as they were. Making early preparations wouldn’t hurt.”

Her pair of bright, watery eyes looked toward Pang Xiao, as if inquiring about his opinion.

Pang Xiao smiled, “Fortunately you were so prescient. Today’s attempt to purchase military provisions failed.”

“Really? Then this batch of grain can fill the gap perfectly.”

Huzi laughed heartily, “Princess Consort, we owe it all to you that we have grain to eat. When the brothers find out, they’ll surely be grateful to you.”

“I just happened to guess correctly by chance. I’m not paying for the grain though – your prince still has to feed you all.”

Qin Yining deflected all credit, making everyone present laugh.

Pang Xiao said with mixed amusement and exasperation, “Don’t worry, as if I would embezzle your silver. This money should come from me anyway.”

Qin Yining smiled, “Actually, I didn’t just buy a small amount of grain for everyone in the mansion. Through Shopkeeper Yin at Sifang Business, I also purchased quite a lot more grain. It’s just that with the long transportation distance, it can’t be delivered immediately.”

Pang Xiao sighed and shook his head with a smile, “Fortunately you thought so thoroughly.”

Xie Yue said, “The Princess Consort has been paying attention to court gazettes since the first day she arrived in Huichuan County. With the Princess Consort’s intelligence and having her own business operations, she naturally knows what to prepare when.”

Qin Yining smiled sweetly, “It’s not that exaggerated. I just thought of something temporarily and willfully acted on it. But regarding this failure to purchase military provisions – the two larger grain stores in Huichuan County and several smaller grain shops all refused to sell grain to us. I think it’s definitely Earl Zhongyi pulling strings behind the scenes. I’ve been guarding against his underhanded moves all along, but now that he’s actually made them, we can’t just be soft persimmons that anyone can squeeze.”

Everyone nodded repeatedly.

Pang Xiao smiled, “Compared to you, I’m too rash. Yining, tell me how we should deal with him? I’ll listen to whatever you say.”

Actually, hearing Qin Yining say she’d been guarding against Lu Heng all along made Pang Xiao’s heart feel more satisfied than eating ten jars of honey. All thoughts of house arrest were immediately thrown to the back of his mind.

Qin Yining said, “They intend to inflate prices, but how much silver do common people have to buy such expensive grain? This batch of grain I asked Shopkeeper Yin to help import, while more expensive than before, is still much cheaper than their prices inflated several times over. So I plan to have Sifang Business sell this grain at prices that just avoid losses.”

“Oh?” Xu Weizhi smiled, “This is a good opportunity to make money. Will Sifang Business agree?”

Mu Jinghu on the side said, “They’ll agree. Shanshan definitely won’t object.”

With Mu Jinghu present, his word could be taken as final.

Qin Yining said, “A gentleman loves wealth but obtains it properly. Looking at this continuous rain, I’m afraid before long, there won’t be enough grain in all of Great Zhou. Especially in the south – much of my farmland is in the south, and now with the floods, land that previously had excellent harvests will probably yield nothing this year. If even I face this situation, who knows what the common people will endure. One cannot profit from national disasters.

“Having Sifang Business sell grain normally will also help balance Huichuan County’s prices. You know, with continuous heavy rain, even the most airtight warehouses will become damp, and grain becomes moldy after getting wet. With their prices so high, if their grain molds, they’d be too embarrassed to sell it, wouldn’t they?”

“The Princess Consort speaks truly.” Xu Weizhi said with deep admiration, “The Princess Consort truly thinks ten steps ahead with each move. This way, those inflating grain prices will see Sifang Business’s grain selling so quickly while their own grain might rot in storage, and they’ll surely resent whoever instigated them behind the scenes.”

Qin Yining nodded with a smile, “Exactly.”

Xie Yue said, “What an excellent stratagem! The Princess Consort’s method is excellent.” He turned to look at Pang Xiao, “Your Highness, with the Princess Consort being such a heroine, confining her to the inner quarters for embroidery truly wastes her talents. You shouldn’t let the Princess Consort suffer such injustice – please release her and allow her free movement.”

At this point, Xie Yue spread his hands, “Look, even with the Princess Consort under house arrest, hasn’t she still accomplished everything she needed to?”

Pang Xiao laughed, “Indeed! Ji Yun is always going out to shop for you – I never thought she was also helping you pass messages.”

Qin Yining felt somewhat guilty, as it was indeed through Ji Yun’s message delivery that she had successfully entrusted those people to Shopkeeper Yin for hiding.

She wasn’t necessarily intent on saving two people with ill intentions; she just felt that keeping these two people around might prove useful someday in the future.

“Alright, alright. Yining has been under house arrest for many days now. Since we can’t find those two fugitives for the time being, I was actually worried it would be dangerous for Yining to go out. How about this – from now on when you go out, either I’ll accompany you or I’ll arrange more guards for you. Would that work?”