Fearing being killed for his overwhelming merits, the empress decided to marry him.

"Prefect Li, what do you mean by that? Grain purchases are a matter between farmers and grain merchants, what does it have to do with me?"

"Grain collection teams are everywhere in the three prefectures and counties of Shu. Does the Duke of Zhenguo really not know that?"

"What a joke! Do you think I'm a god who knows everything? Li Ye, I advise you to straighten your attitude. What kind of tone are you using to talk to me like that!"

Seeing Shen Lang's anger, Li Ye's expression softened somewhat.

"I apologize for my rudeness just now. Please forgive me, Duke Zhenguo."

"Humph."

Shen Lang coiled the beads around his wrist, narrowed his eyes, gave a cold snort, and refused to pay him any more attention.

Li Ye realized that he wouldn't get any more information if he stayed any longer, so he simply got up and took his leave: "Duke Zhenguo, today's matter was my fault. I will come to apologize to you another day. Farewell."

"No delivery."

Shen Lang made no attempt to stop him, and simply let Li Ye leave.

After leaving the official residence, Li Ye's face darkened, and he walked directly to the carriage.

The monk Jingkong immediately stepped forward and asked, "Lord Li, how did your talks with the Duke of Zhenguo go?"

Li Ye closed his eyes and shook his head: "This Shen Lang is indeed very difficult to deal with. We can't get any useful information out of him at all."

Jingkong: "Then what should Lord Li do next?"

Li Ye opened his eyes: "There's no time to think about anything else now. The most urgent task is to ensure the summer grain harvest is completed."

"Now, grain merchants from other regions are everywhere in the various prefectures of Shu. This must have been arranged by Shen Lang."

Why did he do that?

"What else could it be for? It's obviously aimed at the Prince," Li Ye said with great certainty. "Right now, the Empress has eliminated external threats and rectified the court. The only remaining threat is the power of the local princes."

The prince is the person the Empress most urgently needs to eliminate. Once the Shu Prince's Mansion falls from power, Great Chu will have no force left to restrain the Empress.

Jingkong: "In that case, why doesn't Lord Li go and serve the imperial court? I believe that with Lord Li's talent, he will surely be valued by the court."

Li Ye shook his head: "The Prince has done my Li family a great favor, how could I abandon him? Besides, the current Empress appears to be benevolent and filial in governing the country, but in reality she is tyrannical and cruel."

Look at how he treated the Wu royal family when he annexed the Wu kingdom. The Wu emperor starved to death in a Taoist temple, and his children were all demoted to the lowest social class.

He showed absolutely no respect for royal etiquette. How could I dare to serve such an emperor?

Only when the King of Shu gains control of the land can order be restored. As the saying goes, a scholar will die for one who understands him; Li Ye's only wish in this life is to serve the King alone.

Having said that, he proudly mounted the carriage and rode away in a cloud of dust.

Inside the official residence, as soon as Li Ye left, Fa Xiaozhi slipped to Shen Lang's side.

"Duke Zhenguo, this Li Ye is meticulous and thoughtful. It seems he is completely devoted to Jiang Chong."

Shen Lang looked at him: "Xiaozhi, I'll just ask you one question: should we keep Li Ye or not?"

Fa Xiaozhi was silent for a moment, then replied in a low voice, "Li Ye is indeed talented, but he is also a man of great loyalty and righteousness. If he could apply his talents to governing the country, he would surely bring benefits to the people. However..."

"I'm only asking you, to stay or not to stay?" Shen Lang pressed again. "If he doesn't stay, Li Ye won't survive tonight. If he stays, can you help me persuade him to serve the court?"

Fa Xiaozhi shook his head: "Duke Zhenguo, Li Ye will not easily change his mind... Well, in my opinion, it is best to keep him."

"So you stayed?"

Shen Lang took out a photographic stone.

"Then let's find a way to give this to Cao Meng, and have him deliver it to Jiang Chong."

Fa Xiaozhi was taken aback, took the photo stone and asked in confusion, "Duke Zhenguo, what's on this?"

Shen Lang smiled mysteriously: "Doesn't he trust Jiang Chong? Then let's test whether they truly trust each other."

"As long as Jiang Chong sees the contents of this memorial stone and still chooses to believe Li Ye, regardless of whether Li Ye is willing to pledge allegiance to the court, I will spare his life."

Fa Xiaozhi looked at the jade tablet with the image in his hand, and then pondered Shen Lang's words, and immediately understood.

"Duke Zhenguo, aren't you being too cruel? You're killing him and then destroying his spirit too?"

“Be careful what you say. This prince is a compassionate man, how could he be so vicious?”

The two looked at each other and couldn't help but laugh.

……

At the end of June, it was harvest season for the crops.

The farmers are all in high spirits because this year's grain prices have doubled compared to previous years, and everyone's income has increased. How could they not be enthusiastic?

They were diligently harvesting their crops, hoping that grain merchants from outside would arrive soon.

Just then, a local gentry arrived in the field with a group of people.

The head steward, who had a mustache, banged on a gong and shouted, "Hey, the Zhao family is buying grain. The market is bad this year, and the price of grain has dropped. It's five shi (a unit of dry measure) for one tael of silver. Bring out your grain, we'll buy as much as you have."

As a result, the villagers busy in the fields completely ignored him and continued to work hard.

Seeing this, the Zhao family steward frowned and said, "You bunch of peasants, can't you hear me? Time to collect the grain!"

The burly man at the head of the group straightened up, glanced at Steward Zhao, and then said, "I'm sorry, Steward Zhao, we won't be selling you this year's millet. You'll have to go and look for other villages."

"Not for sale?"

Butler Zhao was taken aback, clearly having not inquired about the surrounding area before arriving.

"If you don't sell your grain, when will you ever pay back the money you owe my master? Don't forget, Li Tiedan, you still owe five taels of silver, principal and interest!"

Li Tiedan, however, remained unfazed: "Don't worry, I'll return the five taels of silver after I sell the grain. I guarantee I won't lose a single cent."

"Who do you plan to sell the grain to? Besides my Zhao family, who else can you sell it to?"

"Of course they're grain merchants from outside the region? They said the lowest price they'd pay is one tael of silver for two shi of grain, but you're only offering one tael of silver for five shi. That's outrageous!"

"What?"

Steward Zhao was stunned again, then looked at the other farmers: "What about you, are you selling or not?"

As a result, the answers obtained were almost identical.

Not for sale.

Steward Zhao immediately blushed: "You've all been swindled by those rice merchants from Jiangnan, do you know that? One tael of silver for two shi of grain..."

"With shipping and all that, they'd be losing money hand over fist, you know? How could they possibly charge such a high price?"

"We don't care about that. They've already signed a contract with us, and the village head has put his fingerprint on it. This year's grain will only be sold to them, so you shouldn't interfere."

Upon hearing this, Steward Zhao immediately flew into a rage: "Have you all lost your minds? Master Zhao understands your predicament and sent us here to collect the grain early on!"

"And you, just for a pittance, are planning to sell your grain to outsiders? Aren't you shameless?"

"Look at what you're saying! You call this 'a few melons and a few dates'?" Li Tiedan stopped his farm work, wiped the sweat from his face, and said, "Others charge two shi for one tael of silver, but your Zhao family charges five shi."

The price difference was a full three shi (a unit of dry measure), which is equivalent to one and a half taels of silver!

This year, my twenty mu of land should yield at least sixty shi of grain. If I sell it all, I can make thirty taels of profit. Selling it to you, I'll lose a full eighteen taels. Do you think we're stupid?

"Hahaha--"

As soon as he finished speaking, the field erupted in laughter.

(Never mind, I'll just find a chance to finish the whole book.)