She got pregnant after the swap marriage, and the scumbag's family regretted it so much they cr

Ishigu scoffed, "Cash on delivery! The goods are here, take it or leave it!"

"You!" Cai Die had lost count of how many times she had been angry today.

She felt extremely wronged.

Large tears fell, landing on my shoes and freezing into ice flowers in no time.

If it were anyone else looking like this, they would definitely feel sorry for her.

Unfortunately, Cai Die had just offended He Niang, so Shi Gu, as her son, naturally wouldn't give her a friendly look.

He locked the door to the woodshed behind him and threw the scale on the ground. "If you want to weigh it again, do it yourself."

After saying that, he turned around and quickly slipped out of the kitchen.

All that remained were the colorful butterflies, two large bamboo baskets, and the biting north wind.

As if she felt that Cai Die hadn't suffered enough, He Niang stood in front of the kitchen door and said calmly, "Our master is asking you, when are you going to leave the Gao family?"

Wow--

Butterfly could no longer hold back and burst into tears.

She ran towards the backyard while crying, and plunged into the side room where she and Yuzhu lived.

*

On the tenth day of the first lunar month, it snowed heavily for three consecutive days, and on the fourth day, it finally began to lighten.

The clouds in the sky don't seem as thick as they used to be.

Gu Chengbin's face remained gloomy.

Everyone in the North knows that when it snows, it's not the coldest time.

It gets even colder when the snow melts.

There was no more open space in the city to build snow.

In the release pond in the northeast corner of Dongshi, a "snow mountain" as high as three zhang (approximately 10 meters) has been piled up!

After discussing the matter, Prefect Di Bo and Prince Yan decided to use grain as payment to conscript able-bodied men from the city to open the official road.

In previous years, not many people would have responded. But this year, the Prince of Yan's mansion gave away winter clothes to ordinary people at a discount.

Even in the freezing cold of Yanjing, you won't get cold while working outside.

What's more, the wages were paid in grain!

As we all know, winter is tough, firstly because of the lack of winter clothes, and secondly because of the lack of food.

Now that both are available, all the residents in the city who have surplus labor in their families have registered with the village chief.

Gu Chengbing finally relaxed as he received a steady stream of good news from his subordinates.

As long as the casualties in the north are not too great, the punishment from the Emperor should not be too severe.

He then remembered something else and asked a man in a nearby corner, "Yichen, how's it going with the team I gave you to keep an eye on the movements of the wealthy merchants in the city?"

Yi Chen emerged from the corner and reported, "Everything is under control. There are seven families in the city who have been secretly stockpiling food."

The Lu family had the largest stockpile of grain. Although the Li family lagged slightly behind, their momentum was strong, with only 20% less grain than the Lu family.

The other five families all had some connection with the head of the Lu family, but their capabilities and financial resources were limited, so they didn't hoard much.

"The Li family? Which Li family?"

Gu Chengbin was no stranger to the Lu family, thanks to Lu Huan. However, he didn't have a good impression of them.

But I've never heard of this Li family before.

Yi Chen thought for a moment and replied, "It is the maternal family of the concubine whom the head of the Lu family officially recognized. They rose to prominence by relying on the Lu family."

I've never dealt in grain before, I don't know why I've suddenly started hoarding it.

"There will always be smart people who will notice something amiss!" Gu Chengbing did become somewhat curious about the Li family, but he didn't take it seriously.

Instead, he asked about something else he was concerned about: "Have any of the grain shops under these seven names raised their prices?"

"Not yet."

Gu Chengbing leaned back in his armchair. "Keep an eye on it. If it rises by 10% or 20%, we can turn a blind eye. But if they dare to inflate grain prices and cause panic, report it to Di Bo and have them arrested!"

The government and the prince's residence have spent a considerable amount of money to weather this snow disaster; it's only right to make an example of them!

"Yes!"

After Yichen left, Gu Chengbing said to the person sitting in the warm pavilion by the window, "Great monk, you've been calculating for so long, haven't you figured it out yet?"

Hong Yuanzhou's fingers trembled, and the divination results instantly became chaotic.

He fiddled with his fingers haphazardly, but no matter how he tried to work backward, he couldn't get back to the step he had just calculated.

He simply pushed the paper and pen in front of him away, saying, "Forget it, forget it!"

Gu Chengbing found it somewhat amusing. "You're usually quick at calculating the weather, aren't you? But now that I've asked you to calculate how many more days the snow will last, why can't you figure it out?"

Hong Yuanzhou stroked his mustache and waved his hand: "Who can't figure it out! It will be sunny in seven days! If it's even one day longer, I'll eat all the snow in this entire capital city!"

"Then you can't say it counts!"

"I was just calculating celestial phenomena! Oh well, three days have passed, things might have changed by now!" Hong Yuanzhou's voice trailed off.

Just as Gu Chengbing thought he was just being mysterious again, Hong Yuanzhou suddenly raised his voice: "I heard that the Ninth Prince, who was lost before, has been found?"

When Gao Yan was mentioned, Gu Chengbing couldn't help but think of Lu Huan, and his expression softened considerably.

Leaving aside the numerous hides that Lu Huan had donated, the estates and grain he purchased from the Qin family through Lu Huan's connections alone were enough to supply 50,000 troops for half a year.

Moreover, the estate can produce a continuous supply of grain, so there is no need to worry about the garrisons in Yanjing City running out of food in the future.

Gu Chengbing snapped out of his thoughts and nodded: "That's right. Although he suffered some hardships, he's fortunate to have married a good wife. He's finally reaped the rewards of his hard work!"

Hong Yuanzhou was very interested in this kind of thing. He jumped off the kang (heated brick bed) in the warm room, dragged his tattered monk's shoes, and shuffled to the table.

"Tell this old man the boy's birth date and time?"

This is not a secret.

Gu Chengbing recalled: "That year should have been the fourth day of the fourth month of the year my father became emperor, but I can't remember the exact time."

All I remember is that later, the old Duke of Dingguo sent news of victory, saying that on the fourth day of the fourth month, they captured Bianliang City. My father said that Ayan was blessed and even made an exception to entrust him to my mother's care..."

Recalling that time, a rare look of nostalgia appeared on Gu Chengbing's face.

"No!" Hong Yuanzhou interrupted him at this inopportune moment.

Gu Chengbing stretched out his foot and kicked Hong Yuanzhou under the table. "What's wrong with that! I found that bag. The person looks eight-tenths like the Crown Prince when he was young! What do you know!"

In a fit of anger, the dignified Prince of Yan revealed himself to be somewhat like a rogue soldier.

Hong Yuanzhou glared angrily, retorting, "Who told you that! I said his birth chart is wrong!"

"This concerns the late Duke Dingguo and my father-in-law, how could I possibly be mistaken! It must be that your skills are lacking and you made a mistake in your calculations!" Gu Chengbing said with a hint of schadenfreude, "Old charlatan, I never thought you'd end up like this!"

"That's impossible!" Hong Yuanzhou refused to believe it and started calculating again.

"How could I be wrong! His birth chart clearly indicates weak family ties, no chance of marriage, let alone children. He's destined to be childless and without descendants! Moreover, he'll be forced to leave his hometown in his old age and never be able to return to his roots!"