Repudiating a Good Wife Is Out of the Question

171. A Set of Interlocking Stratagems

Translator: Sissy That Walk

“You are the stupid one! That capable daughter-in-law of yours is trying to check and balance with the Ministry of Revenue, he thinks he can fool everyone, but I see him right through! He wants to control the grain in this whole country, do you think the Ministry of Revenue will just sit back and watch?” Xiao Yuqi sneered, “The Ministry of Revenue is Prince Ning’s fund sources, you are not expecting Prince Ning will just let him go, are you?”

“So you are here for Prince Ning?” Xiao Yugui shot him a glare.

Xiao Yuqi humphed, “Isn’t that obvious? I’m ready to die now that you’ve caught me, but I do need to remind you that you need to repudiate that good daughter-in-law of yours as soon as possible.”

Xiao Yi who was entering Xiao Yugui’s room happened to hear what Xiao Yuqi just said, he asked indignantly, “Second Uncle, I have no idea how Mo has offended you so much so that you insist on repudiating him!”

Xiao Yuqi raised his head and sneered, “You are well aware of the answer, have you never suspected him? He is so different from everyone else!”

A touch of hatred flashed across Xiao Yi’s eyes, “Second Uncle, you have hated Mo since Second Aunt said she was haunted because of Mo, haven’t you? But that’s not the reason for you to hurt your own family!”

“Mirror, art of printing, soap, lotion… grain coupon, haven’t you realized he is showing us his true color with his alien ideas step by step? He is changing us, he is changing the country we are living in, Yi, ask yourself that question! He is changing all of you, he has won your trust, all of you! Grain coupons is directly linked to the Ministry of Revenue’s interest, it’s not something we can meddle! Big brother, stay out of it, I don’t want our family to be wiped out overnight!” Xiao Yuqi felt deeply grieved.

Cao Mo who was standing outside had heard every word Xiao Yuqi said. In that society, he was indeed something else, he and his alien concepts didn’t belong in that feudal society. But never had he meant to bring trouble to anyone, he admitted the implementation of grain coupons was a bit too forward, but Cao Mo didn’t regret what he had done, he wouldn’t have found the actual strength of those big merchants without the grain coupons.

The big merchants were hiding their actual wealth and power, they all had sufficient in their shops for at least five years, but they would rather leave the grains rotten in their stores than make them have a healthy circulation on the market.

The more Cao Mo thought about it, the more determined he became. He clenched his fists and told himself that he would carry through firmly to the end even though Xiao Yi might change his mind someday.

Xiao Yi who was in the room replied Xiao Yuqi, “Second Uncle, you are suffering from imaginary fears. What Mo does has brought nothing but benefits for our country, we can prove our innocence even the emperor summons us up one day. Do you know how many merchants have told us they were willing to donate grains after we met Master Qi Three, more than ten! And each of them is able to donate near half a million kilos, that’s sufficient to feed our army for half a year. But do you know the price of grain has tripled in the capital city when there was drought, and no merchant has stood out and donated grains, why is that? Merchants prioritize profit above everything else!”

“Second Uncle, in your own conceit, you are doing everything for our family, but what you are actually doing says otherwise. You think you can stop us after you killed Master Qi Three, that’s absolutely wrong, there will be Master Qi Four, Qi Five, or Master Fang, Master Ping! No one can stop us from implementing this new policy! People who refuse to embrace it will be punished!”

Xiao Yuqi pointed at Xiao Yi, “You have it all figured out?”

“That’s correct, grain coupons is just a starter, surely Prince Ning will try to copy us and try to counterfeit the coupons, but he doesn’t fully understand the policy, so he will be trapped as soon as he is eager to copy us, no one can help him out, even the Imperial Concubine Fair. He will lose the emperor’s trust completely by then!”

It wasn’t until now did Cao Mo realize Xiao Yi was more farsighted than him, all he could think about was the grains, but Xiao Yi had predicted Prince Ning’s reaction after he found out he had lost his fund sources in the Ministry of Revenue, he would raise money by selling official titles and form his own clique unscrupulously. Soon he would lose the emperor’s trust.

‘Is this still the same guy I married? Isn’t he an invalid?’ thought Cao Mo.

Xiao Yi told Xiao Yuqi the truth for he knew Prince Ning must have already had started copying them.

The title of General Secretary in Raising Army Provisions that Prince Xing had granted Master Qi Three was a title that any prince could grant at his will. Therefore, Prince Ning surely would copy that as well.

But what they didn’t know was Xiao Yi made that arrangement to protect Prince Xing, Master Qi Three was just a minor official in Prince Xing’s manor if he could raise the army provision successfully, and Xiao Yi could always use Master Qi Three as the scapegoat if Master Qi Three couldn’t finish his task, or the emperor got upset if other princes followed suit. No way would Prince Xing be reprimanded either way.

Xiao Yuqi produced a forced smile, “You are making use of everyone!”

“Don’t blame me, Second Uncle. You and Second Aunt have tried to hurt Mo time and again, I’ve given you plenty of opportunity to bury the hatchet, but you refused. I know Second Aunt will keep forcing you to hurt Mo, so I made my move.”

Xiao Yugui took a look at Xiao Yuqi and said to Xiao Yi, “Hand him over to Prince Xing, I was going to save his life, he is my brother after all. But now I have to kill him, you are forcing me to kill him, aren’t you?”

“Father, I have to! Otherwise I will lose the whole game!” Xiao Yi shook his head and left the room.

Cao Mo took hold of Xiao Yi’s hand and said softly, “Great calculating, no wonder you have a hard time falling asleep these days! Let’s take a break after this, I’m tired of the calculating and scheming. Worst case scenario, let’s spend the rest of our lives in some deserted island.”

“Do you think I will buy that? How many days can you stay in a deserted island?”

Cao Mo chuckled, “I will say at least three!”

Xiao Yi said, “And you will spend the second day and the third day complaining about how boring it is, right?”