ther-in-law, "Don't worry about the money, I'll figure something out. We can't give them the wild boar."Master Zong lowered his head and looked at his daughter-in-law, "Should we give them silver"Fang...Chapter 1118: And many died.

Although Kyoto Castle was under the emperor's rule and more prosperous than most provincial cities, it didn't mean that all the people living there had a good life.

The wealth gap exists everywhere, which Fang Jinshui is very aware of.

She had never thought that all the commoners in Beijing were wealthy and lived a comfortable life. But at least, they should be stronger than the commoners in Xizhou, even most of the commoners in other cities.

The people within the city lived comfortably and happily, and there were very few beggars or those in ragged clothing on the streets.

But as you move further out from the city, into the countryside, people's lives are definitely not as good as those in the capital. However, they should be able to eat and keep warm, which is something many people in the capital dream of.

The area around Kyoto Castle is vast and produces a relatively abundant harvest. If this were not the capital city of Da Xi, housing the imperial court and most of the nobility, its output would be more than enough to support a population the size of another city.

Fāng Jǐnxiù sat by the window, staring out at the small pond. Xiǎo Yuè came over with a pot of freshly brewed hot tea.

"Madam, perhaps I should stay and watch over Miss Ling. You go back to rest first, I'll call you when she wakes up."

Xiaolings was the young woman they had rescued on the road before returning home. Fang Jinshu gave her a few acupuncture treatments, and Xiaoling briefly regained consciousness. She spoke two words before fainting again.

Fāng Jǐnxiù has already treated her, after all, she is young and has a good foundation. She just hasn't been eating enough or sleeping well recently, and coupled with the fact that her emotions may have gone through a period of ups and downs recently, her spirit has been tense, which led to her current weak physical condition.

After a meal, taking a few doses of medicine and resting for a while will be fine.

Xiaoyueji's Madam didn't speak, and she poured her a cup of hot tea and passed it over.

"Madam, how many days has Miss Xiaoling gone without food How could she be so weak"

Xiaoyue was also a person who had gone through hardships, but ever since she followed Fang Jinshu, she had never seen anyone go hungry. Because those who followed the mistress would all live well.

When she was changing Xiaolings clothes, she saw that the girl was so thin, just bones were left on her body, she couldn't bear it.

"It's been about half a month since I've had a proper, filling meal," Fang Jinxiu sighed.

Xiaoyue was a little incredulous when she heard this.

"Isn't the capital city under heaven It's not our Western Zhou, how come the common people in the capital are living such a hard life"

Xiaoyue's words touched a nerve in Fang Jinshi's mind, making her realize something, but she couldn't quite grasp it for the moment.

"Has Zhao Xingzhou come back"

Just as Xiaoyue was about to reply, Zhao Xingzhou's voice requesting an audience came from outside the courtyard.

"My lady, Zhao the guard has returned."

"Let him come in."

When Zhao Xingzhou entered the room, his face was grim, which only confirmed her growing sense of unease.

Have you heard what you were looking for

Zhao Xingzhou nodded.

"I heard, this girl isn't from the city. An old beggar said that recently there have been many more people coming into the city from the suburbs."

They were all farmers with their own land. A while back, a wealthy businessman came along and rented all of their farmland from them, using it to grow vegetables. He also bought up all their livestock at prices higher than market value.

The people in the suburbs initially thought it was a great thing, they did make money at first. Then somehow, their lease contracts turned into sales contracts.

There are many tyrannical clauses above. The common people must continue to grow vegetables for the wealthy merchants. If they fail to deliver a certain amount of vegetables and ingredients each month, they will have to pay a fine.

Those who were drained of their wealth and left with nothing but barren lands saw all their property seized. Unable to survive, they fled to the capital city, becoming beggars to make a living.

"The young lady rescued on the road was one of these people."

Xiaoyue was dumbfounded. Just hearing Zhao the Guard say this made her furious, and Fang Jinshi's face was also very ugly.

"This is outrageous! This is under the Emperor's feet, how dare these ruthless merchants bully the common people like this!"

"Why didn't those people report the officials Those wealthy merchants must have tampered with the contracts, taking advantage of the common people's illiteracy and tricking them into signing!"

Zhao Xingzhou nodded.

"I suppose so."

However, reporting to the authorities wouldn't help either. It was all written in black and white, with their own fingerprints on top. The government probably wouldn't side with the common people.

"Too much! I didn't expect even the officials in the capital to be so useless."

Fang Jinshui's brows furrowed tightly.

"How long ago did this happen"

Zhao Xingzhou replied, "A month ago."

A month ago... Wasn't that the time period she just learned about the Four Nations Trade Conference

"Something's not right about this."

Zhao Xingzhou nodded, "I agree."

Logically speaking, even if they were greedy, as the emperor's subjects, they wouldn't suddenly act so boldly. They should have taken a gradual approach, hidden their actions, and amassed wealth over time without being easily detected.

Fang Jinshu hummed in response.

"It definitely gives off a feeling of urgency and haste."

"There's one more thing." Zhao Xingzhou paused for a moment and said.

"My informants have also discovered that those people are forcing the peasants to grow vegetables and raise poultry. All the harvested food is eventually sent to the restaurant Jiang Chuang opened."

"Not only that, the restaurants acquired by Jiang Chuang have also reopened one after another, selling dishes at extremely low prices."

The more Fang Jinshu listened, the tighter her brows furrowed.

“At this rate, I'm afraid the entire liquor industry in Beijing will be swallowed up by them.”

And it will be done at an extremely fast speed.

What on earth does he want to do

Fang Jinxiu stood up, her face cold. Xiao Yue saw that the madam's entire demeanor had changed, and she sensed the madam's anger. She immediately shut her mouth.

Zhao Xingzhou knew his husband was angry and bowed his hands in farewell.

Those commoners who had their land seized and their wealth drained were probably in even worse shape than he'd heard. They were likely at death's door, with many having already perished.

A month ago, something happened. But so far, there hasn't been a single word about it in the capital city.

It's certain that someone is deliberately suppressing the news, perhaps even controlling those people.

The next day, when Fang Jinshu went out in the morning, Xiaoling was still asleep. She went to Yuanke Lai as usual, and the other merchants from the Three Kingdoms who came to participate in the trade fair also ate there.

Although Jiang Chuang's restaurant was cheap, it was almost entirely occupied by commoners.

Wealthy and influential merchants had no need to compete with them, so foreign merchants seeking a place to dine chose Yuanke Restaurant.

Fang Jinshui took advantage of this convenience and really struck several deals with several merchants.

Mount Wu Kingdom relies on the sea and produces the most salt among the four nations. Although Daxian also has many coastal cities, its salt production, including the quality of the salt, is far superior to that of Mount Wu.

But the Da Xi territory is vast and its population numerous.

The salt trade has always been tightly controlled by the government, so the price of salt for ordinary people has never been low. A family of four could only afford to buy two kilograms of salt per year at most, making every penny count.

People get sick if they don't eat salt, even though salt is more expensive than meat, the common people have to grit their teeth and buy it.spersed the commoners at the gate of the Hou Mansion.The crowd that spread rumors while watching the excitement had already dispersed, and Fang Jinshu was too lazy to act. Zong Yu pursed his lips tigh...