Farm Girl's Manor-Chapter 274 A Farce to Buy a Shop (3)_1

"Hanzhang, to speak dishearteningly, after waiting so many years without any news, and next year... I will turn twenty-five, perhaps I will never... wait long enough,"

Chu Heng’s face showed a despondent expression for the first time. Thousand-year Ginseng might be found, but Black Lingzhi was a legendary treasure that was said to revive the dead, something no one had ever truly seen. Such Lingzhi probably didn’t exist in this world.

"Your Highness, do not lose hope! If the Medical Code passed down by Doctor Gui’s ancestors mentions Thousand-year Ginseng and Black Lingzhi, they must exist. Ever since Your Highness started using the medicine that Huaixi found, your condition has improved a lot. As long as you continue to take it, you will certainly be able to wait,"

Xiao Ruiyuan looked at Chu Heng with steady eyes. He refused to believe that he couldn’t find those two types of Spiritual Medicine. His Highness would surely live on and become Great Chu’s most outstanding emperor.

Chu Heng knew his cousin esteemed his health too highly. To continue arguing would likely lead to anger. Gazing at the gloomy skies outside, he changed the topic to the possibility of a severe snow disaster at the border this year.

"It’s just Hanzhang’s guess. Whether it happens or not, it is always necessary to be prepared."

Xiao Ruiyuan’s answer was vague. Since Yanyan’s dreams had been confirmed by other matters, it was likely there would be a severe snow disaster at the border, and the barbarians would probably march southward.

Chu Heng, however, knew his cousin never made groundless guesses. Seeing that he did not want to talk about it, he did not press further, only asking about the preparations at the border. Learning that the general defending the pass had already commenced preparations, and even if the barbarians truly intended to march south, they could not easily break through, he felt considerably more at ease.

Before long, Mo Yan received a letter from Xiao Ruiyuan, informing her that the matter of the moldy grain had been nearly resolved, and she was delighted. What excited her even more was that the Merit Pearl in the Space was now covered with many red streaks, its entire surface overtaken by a stunning red. It must have been stopping the continued poisoning of the people with moldy grain, saving their lives, that caused such a result.

Upgrading the Space was more difficult with each level. If raising from First Level to Second Level required only about a hundred and some Merit, then to go from Second Level to Three Levels, at least three hundred were needed; from Three Levels to Fourth Level, a full five hundred were necessary; from Fourth Level to the fifth level, it wouldn’t be less than eight hundred.

As for the levels beyond, Mo Yan had not experienced them, but they would certainly not be less than a thousand.

The fact that the Space had upgraded three times in just one year, reaching the Fourth Level, was countless times faster than in her previous life, and for this, Mo Yan was very satisfied.

No wonder, in her previous life when she first discovered the Space, she did not know that accumulating Merit could cause the Space to upgrade. It wasn’t until several years later when the Space first upgraded that she learned the use of the red streaks.

In this life, the appearance of Xiao Ruiyuan was an unexpected boon, making the Space upgrade many times faster than in her previous life. Although she did not know the specific reasons, having the Space upgrade was always good. Now, due to the moldy grain incident, she had accumulated a significant amount of Merit, thanks also to Xiao Ruiyuan’s help. Otherwise, the Merit Pearl would still be transparent, and the shadow of reaching the fifth level wouldn’t even be in sight.

...

Before long, under Emperor Huian’s edict, the officials suspected of privately selling moldy grain were all convicted. The Ministry of Revenue’s Right Minister and a few main conspirators were sentenced to immediate execution with their entire wealth confiscated. Their wives, concubines, and children were also enslaved.

The other officials involved also received varying degrees of punishment: the lighter cases lost their positions and were fined, demoted to commoners, while the more serious ones faced several years of imprisonment.

As for the rice shops that traded in moldy grain, they too faced strict punishment. They were not only caned but also had to pay a large fine to be released; otherwise, they would rot in jail.

To redeem Zhang Fugui, the Zhang Family scrambled to come up with eight thousand taels of Silver for the fine. This payment nearly bankrupted the Zhang Family, grievously harming their vitality to the point where they could barely keep their rice business running.