The letter has been sent to the frontier, but Xiao Mohan has not heard back yet, I don't know what happened, Qian Qianqian has been waiting for news, before that, the eightieth birthday of the old lady of the Ye family has also passed.

This big birthday, invited half of the civil and military officials of the imperial court, and it was very lively, originally Ye Pei also handed an invitation to the general's mansion, but Qian Qianqian did not go.

She is not the general's wife now, on that occasion, all the people who go are the daughters of the official family, if she goes, her identity will inevitably be unclear, and it will inevitably cause people to laugh at that time, where there are many women, there are many rights and wrongs, so she doesn't want to be contaminated.

"Miss Qian, it's so big outside, why don't you stay in the house?"

Shao Huaigu came over to teach Qian Hui to read, walked into the garden, and happened to bump into Qian Qianqian, Xue Yihou was on the side, and several people were silent, and there was no movement at all.

Qian Qianqian came back to her senses and turned to look at Shao Huaigu, in fact, she was waiting for Shao Huaigu here, and after waiting for more than an hour, she finally waited for someone to come.

"Master Shao, you are here, can you take a step to speak."

"Of course." Shao Huaigu nodded, there was no superfluous look on his face, and followed Qian Qianqian to the corner, Xue Yi stared outside, not letting anyone approach.

"General Xiao sent a letter a few days ago, saying that the border war is going well, I don't know if the emperor can know."

Qian Qianqian didn't say it explicitly, her expression became solemn, her brows were tightly locked, it was estimated that Shao Huaigu could hear what she meant, and she was like a mirror in her heart.

"The excerpts sent back from the frontier are all here, I didn't fully say it when I reported to the emperor, the emperor won't think much about it, don't worry."

Shao Huaigu explained lightly, knowing that Qian Qianqian would inquire about this, so he said it well.

Qian Qianqian knew that with Shao Huaigu's cleverness, he would definitely be able to settle this matter well, no matter where the fold was handed over, it would fall into his hands first, and then present it to the emperor, so he must know what to do, and he would not let Xiao Mohan be suspicious of the emperor.

"That's good, the old lady of the Ye family had a very lively 80th birthday a few days ago, didn't you go to take a look?"

Qian Qianqian looked Shao Huaigu up and down, now that the weather is getting hotter, Shao Huaigu's legs and feet are much better, he should be able to go out, and the Ye family should also hand him an invitation when he has a happy event.

"My legs and feet are inconvenient, and it is not only useless to go, but it will also make other guests unhappy, so I don't want to spoil the fun, this kind of occasion is really not suitable for me."

Shao Huaigu explained lightly, shook his head helplessly, and what he said was reasonable.

"The Ye family and the Li family are not moving now, but they are not at all at ease in secret, I don't know when they will make a move, there are not many troops in this capital, and they won't catch us off guard when the time comes."

Qian Qianqian thought about it in her heart, she had been worried, she could ignore the previous matter of Qian Fen and Qian Xuan, but the Li family and the Ye family may not understand this situation.

"Qin Li has already secretly deployed in the palace, if the Li family and the Ye family make a move, they will definitely approach the palace, as long as the palace is firmly guarded, they can consume their troops, and they will not succeed."

Shao Huaigu is very sure, although he is a civilian official and has never led troops to fight, he has also read military books and knows that soldiers are not tired of cheating, so he also knows in his heart.

"Since that's the case, I'll rest assured, now that General Xiao is not here, this capital can only look at you, if there is anything you need my help with, just ask, I can't give up."

Qian Qianqian's expression softened a little, and she didn't mention the landscape painting, nor did she mention Liu Wei, she didn't want to implicate the innocent, so even if it was Shao Huaigu, she still didn't know well.

"This is nature, if I need it, I will definitely look for you, this war will consume a lot of grain and grass, so you can pay more attention to the food in this capital."

Shao Huaigu reminded her, and Qian Qianqian remembered that she hadn't seen the price of food in the capital for a long time, and she didn't know what to do when she thought about it.

"I understand, I will look at the food in the capital for a long time, and I will not make the Xiao country short of food and the people hungry like the last war."

Qian Qianqian tore the corners of her mouth, a light smile appeared on her face, her eyebrows and eyes were crooked, and she looked very bright.

Shao Huaigu didn't stay long, and after speaking, he left here directly, and went to the backyard to find Qian Hui, I have to admit that he really has a way of governing people, Qian Hui is a stubborn age, but he is obedient to him, and his words are like holy decrees.

As for Qian Yao, he is still too young to study, so he has been following Qian's mother, giggling all day long, and living a carefree life, and sure enough, children are the most enviable.

The wounds on Qian Fen and Qian Xuan's faces slowly scabbed, although they were a little ugly, but they were also a sign of improvement.

Qian Qianqian sat in front of the bronze mirror, and asked Xue Yi to comb her in a simple bun, insert a few hostas, and the bun was dotted with a few small bead flowers.

"Miss Qian, you bring this, defend yourself, this is full of dangers outside, the Li family and the Ye family are eyeing each other, so you have a weapon on you, it is somewhat safer."

Xue Yi took out a small dagger, which looked like a hairpin at first glance, but in fact, there was another mystery in it, and it was just right to rest on her body.

"Thank you." Qian Qianqian put away the dagger, hid it in her sleeve, and nodded lightly towards Xue Yi.

Xue Yi prepared the carriage outside, Qian Qianqian left through the back door, and only a few people in the house knew about it, which was very low-key.

The market outside looks a lot deserted, and the people who come out to catch the market seem to be getting fewer and fewer, and there was nothing big happening in the capital originally, but now it seems to have experienced vicissitudes, which is really strange.

"Let the carriage stop, let's get out of the carriage and walk around by ourselves, this is sitting in the carriage, and we can't see anything."

Qian Qianqian turned her head and ordered Xue Yi, and Xue Yi lifted the curtain and stopped the driver in front.

The carriage stopped, Qian Qianqian got straight out of the car, wearing a veil on her face, Xue Yi and Yuan Ying followed behind her, and although several people were not very eye-catching on the street, they were still not very similar to ordinary people.

"The weather is good these days, and now is the time to catch the market, what's wrong with the people, don't they come out to shop and buy some necessities?"

Qian Qianqian was very puzzled, looking at the men and women on this long street, most of them were old people, women and children, and there were not many middle-aged men in sight, and those people still had sad faces.

"Now that Xiao Guo is fighting, many middle-aged men have joined the army, in ordinary people's homes, men are often the pillars of the family, and if there is no man in the family, there will be no family silver, so you say, will those people still come out to catch the market?"

Xue Yi explained unhurriedly, Qian Qianqian's heart suddenly understood, it seems that this ancient and modern times are similar, the economic situation is not good, the people can't make money, and the whole city will be depressed.

"Alas, it's all caused by the war, the people and the money, after this battle, I don't know how many people will die, and I don't know how long it will take for the Xiao country to recover."

Qian Qianqian sighed, her brows twisted into a dead knot, and she glanced at Xue Yi, her eyes became cold.

"This is also inevitable, whoever makes Yang Guo and Xiao Heng dishonest, if they don't get rid of them, the people will always be in dire straits, so sometimes those who should be given up have to be given up, and they can't be indecisive."

Xue Yi is not as soft-hearted as Qian Qianqian, she was originally Xiao Mohan's dead soldier, and she has also been on the battlefield, so she knows that fighting will inevitably lead to the destruction of life, so she has long been numb.

Qian Qianqian didn't say anything, just strode forward, passed by a grain store on the side of the street, stopped, turned around and walked in.

"Such a good grain only sells for fifty wen a catty, your store is good, very conscientious."

Qian Qianqian looked around, picked up a handful of rice, and sniffed it carefully, it was this year's new rice, the particles were full and round, and it was high-quality rice at a glance.

"Alas, this is also no way, the imperial court does not let our grain shops increase their prices, so we can only sell them like this, it is estimated that it will not be long before our store will be closed."

The shopkeeper was checking the accounts, and when he heard Qian Qianqian's words, he came over to talk, with a sad face, and the pressure was not small.

"Now in this capital, many grain shops are closed?"

Qian Qianqian was very puzzled, she hadn't inquired about the situation in the capital for several days, so she had no way of knowing about these changes.

"Yes, now the capital is so depressed, we don't have much grain in stock, and this grain can't be sold at a price, and we are losing money all day long, our grain shop is a time-honored brand, so we can carry it for so long, and other small shops can't open it for a long time."

The shopkeeper kept sighing, his face was very ugly, which made Qian Qianqian interested.

"I see that the price of this grain is so low, and no one comes in to buy it, can't those people even come up with this little money?"

Qian Qianqian looked around, there was no one else here except for a few guys, presumably the same was true of other grain stores, the price of grain was low to the dust, but it was still a crowd.

"Those people would rather buy sweet potatoes and sweet potatoes than rice, those coarse grains, a few pennies can buy a big bag, the people will live, in comparison, can fill their stomachs with less money, why not?"

The shopkeeper is also miserable, they have no business in this grain shop, but the small traders and peddlers who sell coarse grains in the vegetable market are good at business, but the profits of those coarse grains are too low, and they can't make any money, just enough to make a living.

"Let's go."

Qian Qianqian put down the rice in her hand, commanded Xue Yi and Yuan Ying, and then turned around and left here, and the shopkeeper saw that she just turned around and didn't buy anything, and couldn't help muttering in her mouth.

"It can't go on like this, if all the grain shops in the capital are closed, then where will the people buy food in the future, we must find a way to ease the situation."

Qian Qianqian pondered in her heart, her expression was very solemn, she just thought about whether the people in the city would be hungry, and she didn't think about whether the grain store could support it, so she buried this hidden danger, and if she was not careful, it became a dilemma.

"If you want to protect the people, you have to let the merchants suffer, and if you want to protect the merchants, the people have to suffer, and you can't have both."