"Then let's set a date for the grand opening. I've emptied my coffers building this trade city. If I don't make some money back quickly, my child will be born to drink the wind!"
Fan Zehao was now solely focused on earning money quickly. His wife needed to rent land, and his child was due in four months. There were also workshops to manage, all of which required money. At this moment, he realized that becoming a prince had made him poorer than before.
Zong Han, in his limited speech, learned that Zhao Jiaqi was pregnant again, his face turning half black. "You're so busy, yet you can still find time to busy yourself with pregnancy matters!"
Hearing his words, Fan Zehao froze, a look of disdain on his face. "What are you talking about? Being busy with pregnancy is not the same as being busy with other things!"
Seeing Zong Han's unhappiness, Fan Zehao became even more smug. "Let me tell you, it's not that I'm trying to put you down, but my ability is definitely up to par. My wife is having twins this time. You... put in some effort, don't fall too far behind!"
As he spoke, he casually patted Zong Han's shoulder. His smug demeanor was truly an eyesore to Zong Han.
"What's so great about that? When I return to the palace, I'll take ten or eight concubines. We'll see if I don't have more children than you!"
Zong Han flicked his sleeves and walked away, going to inspect the progress of the construction on his side of the estate.
That afternoon, Zong Han returned to the prince's mansion with Fan Zehao. Zhao Jiaqi was very happy to see a familiar face. During dinner, the two of them, in high spirits, drank too much. The two grown men chatted incessantly, continuing until the early hours of the morning.
The next day, after Fan Zehao finished his martial arts practice, Xiao Ce arrived in a hurry and informed him of the results of Governor Qian Lai's investigation into the Ji family's case.
"After thorough investigation, Qian Lai confirmed that the Ji family was wronged. Those who ran small inns were shut down by Qian Lai and are not allowed to open inns in the future!"
After Xiao Ce finished speaking, Fan Zehao was still very surprised. "It was investigated so quickly? Is it true that the Ji family was wronged?"
Impossible. His wife had sent people to investigate discreetly. The Ji family had a monopoly on running inns in this area, and it was common for them to extort money from other inns. How could there be no evidence?
The collusion between officials and merchants was too obvious. Did they really think he, a prince, was a paper tiger?
"Send people to quietly investigate the other cities and collect evidence. Both human and material evidence must be complete. It's best to bring down the Ji family in one fell swoop, leaving them no chance to catch their breath!"
Xiao Ce understood Fan Zehao's thoughts. What he was worried about now was the inner city. "I suspect those small innkeepers will come to the prince's mansion asking for your judgment. You need to prepare for it in advance!"
"Don't worry. I've done plenty of diversionary tactics. Hurry up and go!" Fan Zehao wiped the sweat from his face, giving Xiao Ce a reassuring smile.
He was no longer a hot-headed youth who charged forward blindly. He had learned strategies in terms of schemes.
As expected, after breakfast, a crowd of people were kneeling outside the prince's mansion, all accusing the merchants of the Ji family.
Fan Zehao didn't even go outside. He summoned his副将 Zhang Heng. "Arrest those troublemakers outside and throw them into prison. Keep them there for a few days. Publicly announce that these people were making unreasonable demands and falsely accusing the Ji family and the governor. Imprisoning them is their punishment and a warning to others!"
Zhang Heng, not fully understanding the situation, followed the order and left.
Zhao Jiaqi raised her eyebrows silently, seeing her husband's confident demeanor, she suspected he had a plan.
After breakfast, Chen You and the eight county magistrates arrived, all looking a bit dejected, unlike their spirited appearance last time.
"What's wrong?" They looked like frost-bitten eggplants, all wilted!
Gu Liqun stood up and said, "The villagers heard that the princess wanted to rent land. They were all quite happy when they learned that the rent would be two taels of silver per mu per year. However, the next day, when the town mayor and village chief went to sign the contracts with them, they all reneged, saying the price was too low and that they would only rent it out for at least five taels of silver per mu."
The town mayor and village chief, helpless, found him and told him about the situation. Gu Liqun was so angry that he didn't know how many cups he had broken.
"Princess, your humble servant specifically investigated and found that it was the landlords causing trouble behind the scenes. Should we arrest and teach the landlords a lesson!"
Gu Liqun had truly put in the effort to investigate and discovered that the landlords were the ones stirring up trouble. Thinking of the cunning landlords, he wished he could catch them and devour them alive.
Zhao Jiaqi looked at the expressions of the people below. They all looked the same, their faces as black as charcoal.
"There's no need. Even if the landlords have a lot of land, it's only a few hundred mu at most. He's afraid that my renting land will affect him, so he's trying every means to incite the common people."
Since this path wouldn't work, she would find another way.
"Everyone has worked hard recently. Go back and rest. Before the trade city opens, the prince's mansion will send you invitations. You can bring your families to visit then! All food and drink will be covered by the prince's mansion."
Everyone had already heard about the trade city and didn't expect it to open so soon. At this, the dejected spirits of these people vanished.
Their faces immediately changed from gloom to joy, and they busied themselves with standing up and expressing their gratitude.
After everyone left, Qiufen looked at the princess's plan falling through and felt it was unfair to her mistress. "If you ask me, these villagers deserve to be poor to death. They're easily incited and don't know what's what. They want five taels of silver in rent per year. Are they crazy for money!"
They were already greedy enough. Truly, man's heart is never satisfied, and they deserved to be poor.
"These people are stubborn and won't budge until they see the coffin. It doesn't matter. If we can't rent land in the inner city, we'll go to Qingjiang Prefecture."
Qiufen couldn't believe what she heard. She exclaimed, "Mistress, you're still not giving up? Those people are simply not worth pitying!"
"How can I give up if I don't try them all!"
It would be a waste not to cultivate such a large expanse of land, which was a pity. She didn't believe that everyone in all places was the same.
Soon, Zhao Jiaqi invited the governor and prefect of Qingjiang Prefecture over. These two, having learned from Chen You's previous experience, had come well-prepared this time.
They even found out everything the princess wanted to do from Chen You. This time, they came with full confidence.
Qingjiang Governor Xiao Qinghe and Prefect Liu Qingfeng, with their young servants carrying stacks of documents, placed them on the table as soon as they arrived.
"Your humble servant Xiao Qinghe, and Prefect Liu Qingfeng, pay our respects to the Princess. May the Princess have peace!"
"You are excused, please be seated!" Zhao Jiaqi raised her hand slightly, smiling at the two of them.
Seeing their demeanor, she knew they had inquired in advance and understood why she had summoned them. So, she cut to the chase and didn't waste any more words.
"Since you already know, let's talk about the situation in your areas!"
Xiao Qinghe looked at Liu Qingfeng and nodded to him. "You are the local official, so it's most appropriate for you to speak!"