Chapter 94

Elara sat down beside Scholar Fu and looked at the tall stacks of bamboo slips next to him. "How's the sorting going?"

Scholar Fu put down his brush. The simple long robe he wore gave him a calm and refined look. His wide sleeves slightly covered his pale hands, and even the nails that peeked out were neatly trimmed and clean.

His gentle eyes turned to Elara. "The account books are almost sorted. Aside from the false and messy records you already know about, there are still several major problems in Marigold County. The most critical ones are the salt and grain supplies, which are about to run out."

Elara had expected the grain shortage, but she didn't think salt was almost gone too. Her brow furrowed slightly.

The Plumera Kingdom was located on the southwestern edge of the continent. It was already a remote and poor region, and its small size meant limited natural resources. Mines and salt wells were especially scarce. Back when she was in the capital, the problem wasn't so obvious. But now in Marigold County, it had become impossible to ignore.

Scholar Fu looked at the price list he had just compiled for basic goods like food, clothing, and shelter. He said calmly, "Right now, the prices of salt and beans in the Marigold County market are far above what ordinary people can afford. Gao Qiong and the others embezzled and resold a lot of grain for profit. Much of it was hoarded in the homes of rich merchants in the eastern district. They also took control of all salt distribution channels and worked with those merchants to drive up prices. Now, people are forced to spend everything they have just to buy salt and grain."

"When they can't afford it anymore, they start secretly killing cattle and horses to drink the blood and eat the meat. That's not even the worst. With the disasters, wars, and rebel raids lately, life here is unbearable. The government hasn't opened the granaries for disaster relief. Instead, it's still squeezing the people for more money. Starvation is everywhere, and more and more beggars and refugees are dying. Some bodies have even been eaten by others. The patrols have reported several such incidents. If we don't lower prices and find a stable source of food and salt, disaster will break out soon."

Cannibalism. Even though Elara had already prepared herself for the terrible state of the county, she didn't expect it to be this horrifying.

She forced herself to block out the scenes that word had triggered in her mind. Raising her hand to rub her temples, she turned to look behind her at Uno. Her voice was calm but cold. "Have the home raids been completed? What did they find?"

Uno lowered his eyes. "About eighty percent have been raided. The goods seized include nearly one hundred thirty thousand taels in gold and silver, countless pieces of jewelry and luxury items, close to one hundred thousand catties of rice and grain, over a hundred bolts of silk, nearly six thousand catties of official salt, and over a hundred pieces of bronze and other items. There are around fifty carts of various miscellaneous goods as well."

Elara exhaled. "Keep going. Take every last item they stole. Then go notify General Qi. Tell him to personally bring all the money, grain, and official salt we confiscated and deliver it straight to the four district streets. Set up ten relief points and start cooking immediately."

"Yes."

"Also, pick a few shops from the ones we raided and turn them into storefronts. Put all the beans, salt, and basic supplies I brought on the shelves. Sell them at the lowest possible price. If General Qi runs short, he can come to me directly."

Then Elara looked back at Scholar Fu. "Have you calculated the basic living costs for the people here?"

Scholar Fu reached behind him and pulled out three thick scrolls of bamboo slips from the stack. "I've finished the audit. If you follow these prices, all the normal citizens and merchants who haven't become refugees yet will be able to afford the goods. But since these prices are so low, compared to the capital, you'll probably take a big loss."

A loss? Elara glanced at Scholar Fu. She couldn't tell if he was just stating facts or testing her.

If she were still the same greedy person as before, then yes, this would be a loss. But now, in her view, prices that the average citizen and merchant could afford were the only reasonable ones. That was how the market should work. That was what would really get the economy moving.

The prices in the capital had already been manipulated by Lord Gregory and others into blood-sucking levels. There was no way Elara would bring those prices here. Otherwise, everything she had done would have been meaningless.

Besides, the money and goods she brought had been squeezed out of the people by Lord Gregory and his gang. If it weren't for needing to stabilize the local market and reserve funds for future plans, all of it should have been used for disaster relief anyway. So how could she care about losses just because the prices here were lower than the capital?

This wasn't a loss at all. It was the price that should have existed in the first place.

Whatever Scholar Fu's intention had been, Elara didn't mind, as long as it wasn't malicious. Her answer was firm. "That's not a loss. From now on, we'll set prices based on what ordinary people and merchants actually earn and need. Just like you're doing now. If it's reasonable, it's good."

Scholar Fu looked up at her when she replied. His eyes were clear, the color of amber glass, calm and see-through.

As he looked at Elara, her figure was clearly reflected in his pupils.

She suddenly realized this might be the first time he had looked her in the eye like this. And it was also the first time she noticed how bright and gentle his eyes were. She could even see herself reflected inside.

But before she could get a better look, Scholar Fu lowered his gaze and said, "Yes, Your Highness."

Elara didn't have time to admire his eyes. She took the bamboo slips and quickly scanned them. Every detail was listed clearly, even down to street snacks. She didn't have time to praise Scholar Fu's precision and speed. She just handed the slips to Uno.

"Go through these and memorize every price. Then post a notice in the city. From today forward, no basic goods like firewood, rice, oil, salt, or clothing can be sold for more than twenty percent above the set price. Anyone who breaks this rule will have their property seized and be jailed. Serious offenders will be executed."

Uno accepted the order and was about to leave when Scholar Fu suddenly spoke. "Wait."

Elara turned back to him with her brows still furrowed. "Is something wrong?"

Scholar Fu looked calm as always. He reached behind him and took out ten more bamboo slips from the heavy stack. "Your Highness, the merchants who colluded with Gao Qiong have mostly been executed. The remaining ones in Marigold County are still charging high prices, but most of them had no choice."

"What do you mean?" Elara's expression darkened. She stepped closer, sat beside him, and took the slips to start reading.

They were now sitting very close. A faint scent of ink came from Scholar Fu, light and pleasant, but Elara had no time to notice.

Scholar Fu didn't react to her sitting so near. He didn't move away, just calmly took out five more slips and placed them beside the ten he'd already retrieved. His tone was soft and steady as he explained, "Gao Qiong had set up a lot of extra taxes in the past. The tariffs were nearly three times higher than the Plumera Kingdom's standards. He also created many new kinds of taxes."

"These fifteen slips list all the extra taxes in Marigold County, compiled from Gao Qiong's private records."

Even though Elara already knew how corrupt Gao Qiong and his people were, seeing fifteen scrolls filled with ridiculous tax names made her sneer in anger.

The total of all those extra charges meant that taxes alone cost more than three times the value of every item.

Under these conditions, anyone still doing business in the city must either be incredibly kind-hearted or stuck here because bandits outside made it too dangerous to leave. No wonder the prices were outrageous. Gao Qiong and his people deserved to die. Elara suddenly wanted their corpses dragged out and whipped a hundred times every day.