Destined

Liu Yu Ru gave Shen Ming the order, and Shen Ming went to investigate.

With little time to spare, Liu Yu Ru, after thoroughly understanding the situation in Yangzhou, employed her old tactics once more. She began purchasing grain at high prices to drive up the cost. She had her subordinates disguise themselves as multiple groups, inquiring about grain prices throughout Yangzhou City while spreading rumors of soaring costs. Within days, the price of grain rapidly increased.

During her first few days in Yangzhou, Yin Hong had been extremely anxious, her heart constantly unsettled. Only when things settled down as they had in the past did she finally relax. She said to Liu Yu Ru, "Thank goodness everything went smoothly. I was worried to death these past few days. We only planned to buy three hundred thousand dan of grain anyway, and we're not far off. The young master will find a way to handle it. Why must you take such a risk? What are you even seeking?"

"When I do this elsewhere, you don't consider it a risk," Liu Yu Ru looked up and smiled. "Why does coming to Yangzhou make it feel like a risk to you?"

"Can any other place compare to Yangzhou?" Yin Hong declared confidently. "Wang Shanquan is ruthless."

Hearing this, Liu Yu Ru chuckled. "If the military governors of other provinces knew what we were doing, they wouldn't be any kinder than Wang Shanquan."

Liu Yu Ru raised her hand to trace her eyebrows, speaking lightly, "What we do is always like walking on the edge of a blade. I've been through Cangzhou and Qingzhou—why should I let this piece of fat meat in Yangzhou slip away? Besides, do you think I'm just here to buy grain?"

She glanced at her reflection in the mirror, her tone calm. "War may seem to be about military strength, but in the end, isn't it all about money? If I can scrape a layer off Yangzhou, it will become much more stable in the future and won't cause trouble for Youzhou."

Yin Hong was taken aback. She hadn't expected Liu Yu Ru to have such thoughts. She cautiously said, "Madam, actually, these matters are the business of the men. You don't need to concern yourself so much."

Hearing this, Liu Yu Ru was momentarily stunned.

In the past, she had often heard such words from Yin Hong and had even occasionally said them herself. But somehow, it had been a long time since she'd entertained such thoughts. She glanced at Yin Hong and, after a moment, slowly replied, "Even if it's for my husband's sake, I should do more. Wang Shanquan has bullied the Gu Family to this extent. Since I've come to Yangzhou, if I don't vent this anger, I feel I can't get over this hurdle in my heart."

Yin Hong laughed upon hearing this and began massaging Liu Yu Ru's shoulders. "Madam, you still have the temper of a young girl. You've been like this since childhood, and you haven't changed. If Lady Su found out, she'd probably be angry."

"So," Liu Yu Ru turned to look at Yin Hong, "don't let her know, or I'll hold you responsible."

Yin Hong quickly nodded, and the two laughed and teased each other as they had when they were young. Just then, an announcement came from outside—Shen Ming had returned.

Shen Ming entered the room and took a gulp of tea before saying, "I've run all over Yangzhou and finally found out where this Luo Zishang came from."

Liu Yu Ru immediately turned around and urgently asked, "Where is he from?"

"Actually, no one knows for sure, but I kept asking everywhere, and heaven rewards the diligent. I met an old man living in the City God Temple, a beggar. He told me that this Luo Zishang looks exactly like a young beggar who used to live in the City God Temple. That young beggar was picked up by an old beggar at the temple gate and named Lai Fu."Hearing this name, Yin Hong couldn't help but laugh, whispering softly, "Isn't that a dog's name?"

"They're all from poor families," Shen Ming glared at Yin Hong, "Do you think everyone is well-versed in poetry and literature? They just want to give their child a fortunate-sounding name."

"What happened next?" Liu Yu Ru interrupted Shen Ming's words and continued, "What happened to that little beggar?"

"The old beggar raised the child until he was six years old and then died. The child lived in the City God Temple until he was twelve, then suddenly disappeared. That old beggar told me that the current Luo Zishang looks remarkably similar to that child."

"Just looking similar isn't enough to be sure it's Luo Zishang, right?" Liu Yu Ru frowned. Shen Ming took a sip of tea and continued, "Listen to me, of course mere resemblance isn't enough to confirm it. But later, a beggar from the City God Temple recognized him and tried to claim kinship, going to identify him. That very night, a group of assassins showed up, and all the beggars from the City God Temple back then were killed. He wasn't there, so he escaped."

Liu Yu Ru and Yin Hong looked horrified. Shen Ming raised an eyebrow: "Ruthless, isn't it?"

"Why would he kill all these people?"

Yin Hong couldn't understand. But Liu Yu Ru grasped it: "Because the reason Wang Shanquan holds Luo Zishang in such high regard is that he heard Luo Zishang is a descendant of the noble Luo family and was a student of the renowned scholar Zhang Huaizi. Initially, Luo Zishang used this identity to meet Wang Shanquan and become his advisor. Later, he consistently strategized for Wang Shanquan. Wang Shanquan became military governor four years ago, which happened just one year after Luo Zishang joined the Wang family. If Wang Shanquan's rise to military governor was entirely orchestrated by this man, then his current status is understandable."

"A noble family and a famous teacher—these are his credentials. If people found out he was originally a beggar, even if it didn't completely undermine his foundation, it would still be troublesome. But these were people who were like family and friends to him back then..." Liu Yu Ru sighed, "To be capable of such ruthlessness, his heart must be extremely malicious."

Yet as she spoke, Liu Yu Ru still couldn't understand: "So it seems he has no grudge against the Gu Family. Why is he targeting them?"

"Perhaps," Shen Ming pondered, "he isn't specifically targeting the Gu Family. Maybe dealing with the Gu Family is just a necessary step for him?"

Liu Yu Ru fell silent, thinking carefully. Given the situation at the time, Wang Shanquan using the Gu Family to establish his authority seemed like a necessary move.

She let out a deep breath and then said, "Keep investigating. This information isn't enough. There must be more details."

Shen Ming acknowledged her order, set down his tea, and said, "Then I'll go out and continue investigating."

After Shen Ming left, Liu Yu Ru suddenly remembered something: "You said all those beggars died back then. Why would that beggar tell Shen Ming such a critically dangerous secret?"

Yin Hong was stunned. Liu Yu Ru suddenly realized and said to Yin Hong, "Tell Shen Ming to stop the investigation! We've been discovered!"

Hearing this, Yin Hong hurried out.

Liu Yu Ru thought for a moment longer, then immediately instructed the others: "Except for those still working in the city, everyone else should withdraw to the docks outside the city and be ready to leave at a moment's notice."

Everyone acknowledged the order. Liu Yu Ru then began hurriedly packing her belongings with her people.As she tidied up, she pondered. How had Shen Ming been exposed? Who was investigating him now? Could Luo Zishang really be so formidable that he had already begun investigating her the moment she started?

Her heart fluttered with panic, but she quickly forced herself to calm down.

After some thought, she concluded that the most critical task now was to sever any connection between herself and Shen Ming, preventing anyone from tracing him back to her.

Thus, she instructed Shen Ming to find his own lodging and avoid visiting her casually in the near future. Then, she dispersed her people, assigning each to their own tasks.

She retreated to an inn outside the city, where she stayed, venturing into the city daily to drink tea and listen to music as a means of gathering information.

As expected, grain prices began to rise. Liu Yu Ru observed the trend and started gradually purchasing small amounts of grain, stockpiling it. Simultaneously, she had her subordinates prepare several covert trading locations. No one understood the purpose of training a group to handle these private transactions, and Liu Yu Ru merely smiled without offering an explanation.

Meanwhile, Luo Zishang’s desk was piled high with reports on Yangzhou’s grain prices.

“Why are grain prices rising so rapidly?” Luo Zishang asked, sipping tea as he addressed his subordinate standing nearby.

The subordinate replied calmly, “I’ve heard that many buyers from various regions are purchasing large quantities, driving up the prices.”

“Suddenly, so many people are buying grain?”

“Yes.”

Luo Zishang frowned, tossed the documents aside, and said indifferently, “Investigate where these people are coming from. This doesn’t seem normal.”

“Should we intervene?” the subordinate asked nervously, glancing at Luo Zishang.

After a moment’s thought, Luo Zishang replied, “Yangzhou has only just returned to normal. Many of these merchants are relatives of Lord Wang, so it’s best not to act rashly. For now, issue an order to restrict grain sales: outsiders are prohibited from buying grain, and locals may not purchase more than five dou per person per day.”

“Should we suppress the prices?” the subordinate inquired. “With grain prices so high, many commoners are profiting from buying and selling.”

Luo Zishang hesitated briefly before responding, “Forcing prices down would likely upset the merchants. Let the prices remain at their current level, but prohibit any further increases.”

The subordinate acknowledged the order.

The next day, the directive reached all major merchants in Yangzhou. Liu Yu Ru, still drinking tea in a teahouse, received the news. Her arranged agents grew anxious and came to her, asking, “Madam, with the Yangzhou authorities taking this step, what should we do?”

“Haven’t we prepared for this long ago?” Liu Yu Ru turned to look at Uncle Zhang, set down her teacup, and said with a smile, “Didn’t we set up several covert trading points? Have them start purchasing grain. We won’t buy directly from the grain merchants anymore. Instruct the commoners to buy grain from the merchants and then sell it to us. We’ll handle transactions starting from two dan, collecting goods every ten days, so they’ll need to form teams to manage this. Each team will receive rewards, encouraging more people to buy grain, which will naturally drive prices even higher. When I give the signal, we’ll sell off as much of our stockpile as possible within a single day.”

“But most of the grain is held by the merchants,” Uncle Zhang said, furrowing his brow. “If we keep buying from small-scale sellers, how long will it take?”

Liu Yu Ru chuckled. “Are the grain merchants fools? If commoners buy grain from them and sell it to us for profit, wouldn’t the merchants find their own ways to engage in private trading?”

“Don’t worry,” Liu Yu Ru said calmly. “Merchants have plenty of methods to benefit. Just make sure our channels for collecting money and grain remain undetected and secure.”Uncle Zhang acknowledged and followed Liu Yu Ru's instructions. Sure enough, the private circulation among the people caused grain prices to rise even higher. Before long, the grain merchants took the initiative to negotiate, offering to sell their grain to them privately.

Luo Zishang remained completely unaware of all this. By the time he realized it, Liu Yu Ru had already released all the grain into the market, and grain prices began to plummet rapidly.

At this point, several merchants in Yangzhou also sensed that someone was manipulating the situation. However, no one spoke up—smart individuals wouldn't reveal such a golden opportunity to profit quietly.

It was only after Luo Zishang apprehended one of the speculators that he grasped the situation was spiraling out of control. Meanwhile, Liu Yu Ru, seeing grain prices hit rock bottom, swiftly ordered her people to start buying up grain.

They were short by only twenty thousand dan, so Liu Yu Ru adhered to the principle of buying as much as possible, loading it onto the ship, and leaving immediately.

Luo Zishang sent his subordinates disguised as common grain speculators to investigate. Once the situation became clear, Luo Zishang fell into deep thought. A subordinate beside him asked, "Young Master, should we arrest all these people?"

After a long silence, Luo Zishang suddenly laughed. "Interesting," he said.

He lifted his gaze and spoke slowly, "So that was his intention all along. It took me until now to realize it."

"Young Master?" The others were puzzled. Luo Zishang cast a calm glance their way and then said, "A mastermind as clever as this would never stay in the city to invite trouble. Go now and seal off all the inns outside the city. Detain everyone there, then request from the soldiers at the city gates a list of people who have frequently entered and exited the city recently."

"Young Master, the inns outside the city... aren't there too many of them?"

Luo Zishang pondered and smiled. "With that much money on hand, they wouldn't rough it. Seal off the best few inns. If we have the capacity, block a few more."

The subordinate acknowledged the order.

Meanwhile, Liu Yu Ru was overseeing the loading of the goods. Yin Hong, accompanying her, complained, "Madam, you're not eating well, and you're not staying in decent lodgings either. At the very least, you should find a proper inn. What's the point of renting such a dilapidated place?"

Liu Yu Ru, while checking the grain, replied calmly, "That's where you're foolish. If our opponent discovers what we're doing and starts investigating, they'll assume we have money and would stay in good accommodations. Once they cross-reference the entry-exit lists and seal off the better inns, we're finished."

Yin Hong nodded in understanding. "I see. Then it's best we stay in the shabbiest inn."

As she spoke, she glanced at a thatched hut not far away—a place so drafty that no one would ever guess a fortune was sleeping inside.