Chapter 297 - 186: Called Wanwan

Chapter 297: Chapter 186: Called Wanwan

"They’re handing out rice! They’re handing out rice!"

The grandson of the old man from Wang Dayun’s village burst joyfully into the small earthen hut.

"They’re handing out rice?"

A light sparked in the old man’s eyes. "See? I told you. Now that we’ve won the war, the Government Office has rice to distribute."

A plague of locusts had swept through this year, leaving nothing but bare stalks in the fields. The autumn harvest was expected to yield nothing.

The little bit of grain he had saved by scrimping and saving last year had been requisitioned as army rations earlier. A great weight had been pressing on his heart, and he hadn’t known how he would survive the days to come.

He never expected that they would actually hand out rice. It was unprecedented for the Government Office to even consider returning grain to the people after a war.

The young grandson said excitedly, "The Eldest Princess is so benevolent. She might even waive this year’s taxes."

The old man nodded, but his thoughts drifted elsewhere.

He remembered a year ago, when a fisherman from his village who made his living on the river had frantically pulled a dark, greenish-black stone from the water. There seemed to be writing on it, crooked and squiggly, like crawling worms.

The fisherman was illiterate, so he carried the stone from door to door, asking everyone. He eventually alerted the Village Headman. A few days later, men from the Government Office arrived. They gave the fisherman a hefty reward and, placing the stone on a red cloth cushion, sent it to Luoyang City with a procession of gongs and drums.

Then, six months ago, he heard that someone in a more distant place had found a Divine Turtle in the mountains. An Eight Trigrams Map was carved on its back, and the Government Office officials declared it an auspicious omen.

The Divine Turtle was also "invited" back to Luoyang, wrapped in red satin. The person who found it received a considerable reward as well.

But it didn’t end there. People kept finding auspicious omens, and people kept getting rewards. As a result, the common folk believed in these omens even more, and every day, people would go out searching for them, all for the sake of a government reward.

Gradually, words began to spread from the mouths of these people: "The Eldest Princess is wise and holy, which is why so many auspicious omens are appearing this year."

The old man muttered to himself, "Perhaps the Eldest Princess truly is an Immortal descended to the Mortal World."

~~~~~~~~~~

「As the sun was setting, before Lu Changyuan returned to the inn.」

Shopkeeper Luo, a rice merchant in the West Market, watched the last rays of the setting sun and felt a sudden chill, for no apparent reason.

He had been in the rice and grain business in Luoyang for over twenty years.

Everyone knew that selling rice was traditionally a reliable path to wealth.

And the more capital a rice merchant had, the more reluctant they were to lower prices, wishing they could sell last year’s old rice for the price of this year’s new grain.

Not to mention, with a war on the front lines, the price of rice would be even higher.

But this past month, the situation had been bizarre. All the rice shops in Luoyang City, large and small, seemed to have conspired to push their prices down to an astonishingly low level.

The rumors all said it was because the Eldest Princess’s benevolence had moved the heavens, leading to favorable weather and a bountiful harvest last year. This created a surplus of grain, and now that the war was over and the surplus hadn’t been used up, the price of rice naturally dropped.

’But the fighting at the front was so fierce,’ Shopkeeper Luo knew crystal clear, ’consuming countless provisions. The surplus grain was used up long ago.’

The common people, however, were unaware of these complexities. To them, cheap rice that filled their bellies was the hallmark of a fine, peaceful year.

A Constable from the County Yamen ambled into his shop.

"Shopkeeper Luo, business is booming, I see."

"Only by your grace, sir. Just barely getting by."

Shopkeeper Luo quickly bowed, having already discreetly prepared a heavy silver bag in his sleeve.

He forced a pained smile. "Sir, if these rice prices continue, forget about profit—I’ll lose my burial savings."

It wasn’t that Shopkeeper Luo didn’t want to sell at a high price; he didn’t dare.

Outsiders only saw the low rice prices. He, however, knew that these prices were made possible only through the ruin and suffering of many of his peers and the grain-producing gentry, not just in Luoyang but in several rice-growing regions farther away.

Historically, when the National Treasury was tight, the government either carved a pound of flesh from the merchants or scraped rice from the commoners’ pots.

Now, the one in charge was determined to win the hearts of the people, so the merchants naturally became the meat on the chopping block. But there’s only so much blood you can squeeze from a merchant, so some of the less-established prominent families had also fallen on hard times.

’This rice price is unnaturally low,’ Shopkeeper Luo understood perfectly. ’There’s bound to be a vicious backlash later on. But for now, I just have to survive.’

The Constable didn’t take the silver bag offered from his sleeve. Instead, he pulled a scroll from his own sleeve and placed it gently on the counter.

"Soon," the Constable said, lowering his voice. "Tomorrow at 7:00 AM, in front of the palace’s Vermilion Bird Sect gate. Have all the employees from your shop, and as many other reliable people as you can find, be there on time. And make a big, lively scene."

Shopkeeper Luo’s heart skipped a beat. He asked tentatively, "Sir, do you mean... the price of rice is finally going back up?"

"Soon. Rest easy." The Constable smiled faintly. "The Eldest Princess has another decree of grace. This year, all market taxes in the West Market will be reduced by thirty percent."

This time, Shopkeeper Luo’s surprise was mostly genuine. "Really?! This... This is a heavenly grace!"

The Constable patted his shoulder, his tone full of meaning. "The Eldest Princess has always been benevolent and considerate of the merchants. Shopkeeper Luo, don’t let anything go wrong tomorrow."

~~~~~~~~~~

「When the sky had grown completely dark.」

At Pure Land Temple outside Luoyang City, a Little Monk saw the official from the Government Office out.

The Temple Supervisor summoned him to his meditation chamber. "Tomorrow, you will accompany me to the palace gate."

The Little Monk put his palms together. "Master, we monastics are not to involve ourselves in the affairs of the Red Dust."

The Temple Supervisor smiled, a look in his eyes the Little Monk couldn’t comprehend. "This is not an affair of the Red Dust. It is a meritorious deed. The Eldest Princess is the reincarnation of an Immortal Buddha. To support her is to support the Buddhist Dharma."

The Buddhist Temples of the Mortal World did indeed have connections to the Sect’s Buddhist Temples in the Immortal Realm.

But because the Daoist Sect held overwhelming power, the Buddhist Temples in the Mortal World could only obey the Emperor’s command. They enjoyed no special privileges, nor did they receive protection from the Immortal Buddha Temples.

"But..."

"The temple’s grain supply for the second half of the year depends on tomorrow."

The Temple Supervisor sighed. "The Government Office said that if we send thirty monks, the temple will be exempt from its labor duties for the entire year. If we don’t go... I’m afraid we won’t be able to protect the golden bodies of the Buddha Statues."