Chapter 183

Chapter 183: How Dare They

“Right now, cotton is the lifeblood of Ji Prefecture’s common folk. How could anyone burn it? Who wrote this letter? Are they so willing to play with people’s lives—”

A sharp slap struck Du Cheng’s face.

Third Master Du tried to intervene but was halted by a single, stern glare from his father.

“Third Du, who allowed you to bring him here?”

Old Madam Du, lost in her agitation, hadn’t even noticed Du Cheng was present.

“I—I just thought…” Third Master Du began, his voice hesitant. He had believed bringing his son would help forge an early bond with the sender of that letter, potentially earning their favor.

Yet he never imagined the instructions would be to burn cotton.

If only adults knew, it might remain secret, but a youth like Du Cheng—still naive—could ruin everything.

“Third Du, tie him up, lock him away—whatever you must. Not a word of this must escape, or else…”

Old Madam Du paused, glancing at Du Cheng.

Du Cheng felt a chill run down his spine. The grandmother who’d always been kind and gentle now appeared terrifying.

Third Master Du dragged his son back home without a word. On their way, Du Cheng tried to speak, but his father snarled through clenched teeth:

“Do you want the entire Du clan to die with you?”

Du Cheng swallowed his words.

Once home, he was confined to his room in a daze.

From outside, he vaguely heard his parents discussing something he couldn’t quite understand.

From that day on, he was locked in his room, his window nailed shut, leaving only a tiny slit open. Through it, he could see the deep snow and servants shivering from the cold. Even bundled in layers, they suffered frostbite—so what about the poor without warm cotton clothes?

Du Cheng fell ill again, more severely than before, his heart heavy with worry.

Madam Du sobbed by his side, blaming everything on Du Yi Zhi.

[If it weren’t for him, would my son suffer such fear and confinement now?]

Meanwhile, Lin Yi finished reading the letters. He sat alone in silence for a long time afterward before emerging from his room.

Jiang Mang, illiterate and waiting outside, brightened when Lin Yi told him they’d start releasing cotton in two days.

Lin Yi smiled, telling Jiang Mang to buy good food for everyone. Alcohol was forbidden, but meat and hot soup would warm their bones.

Happy, Jiang Mang quickly went off to make the purchases.

Taking advantage of Jiang Mang’s absence, Lin Yi quietly went to the South Du mansion, meeting secretly with Old Madam Du and Prefect Yan.

After a brief discussion, Lin Yi left the Du Residence and found himself inexplicably standing outside Prosperous Hall.

Outside the hall, commoners lined up patiently. Those who obtained cotton shed tears of gratitude, while those still waiting looked forward hopefully.

Prosperous Hall wasn’t closing up shop—instead, it was expanding, opening low-priced cotton branches in neighboring counties. This reassured the people, who began happily planning how they’d distribute the cotton they bought.

Lin Yi stood there for a long time.

“Master Lin?” someone behind eventually prompted gently.

Lin Yi turned around with a cool expression. “Let’s go,” he said.

That night, Du Yi Zhi felt uneasy.

In the distance, Prefect Yan’s guards still patrolled diligently—thirty men rotating in four shifts daily.

Recently, Du Yi Zhi had warned his people to avoid unnecessary interactions with these guards. Surprisingly, the guards had remained disciplined, helping only when disturbances occurred or assisting occasionally with moving cotton carts.

They spoke little and worked hard. If not for their ties to Prefect Yan, Du Yi Zhi might have believed himself overly suspicious.

Yet these bundles of cotton represented not only silver but countless lives. One couldn’t be too cautious.

Du Yi Zhi knew South Du, Prefect Yan, and the great cotton merchants couldn’t hold back for long.

Something had to break—but how?

Night fell gradually. According to Du Yi Zhi’s instructions, three teams patrolled simultaneously, each keeping watch over the cotton storerooms, inspecting and monitoring one another.

After dinner, it was time for shift changes again.

Suddenly, someone spotted a flicker of light from inside the cotton storeroom. He rubbed his eyes, stepping forward to investigate—

A moment later, he shouted, “Fire! There’s a fire in the cotton storeroom!”

The entire yard erupted into chaos, dozens of men rushing out.

Cold winds whipped across frozen snowbanks. Elsewhere, fires couldn’t spread easily, but the cotton storeroom contained cotton—the easiest thing to ignite and now Ji Prefecture’s most precious commodity.

Everyone knew why they’d been gathered, fed, and paid handsomely. Yet, disaster struck right under their watch.

How could this happen?

Men scrambled, fetching buckets, shoveling ice and snow, desperately trying to douse the flames. Even dampened cotton, dried later, was better than ash.

Du Yi Zhi’s face darkened grimly. He’d anticipated many tactics from Prefect Yan—fake bandit attacks, riots, or even attempts on his own life—but never this.

They burned the cotton outright!

Targeting him directly had countless possibilities, yet Prefect Yan chose the one most certain to enrage the public: destroying their precious cotton.

How dare he?

Anger surged through Du Yi Zhi.

But at that moment, the shrill cries of children rang from the adjoining courtyard.

Du Yi Zhi’s mind went blank.

“The Mercy House!” he gasped.

Next door was the Mercy House!

When he’d chosen this location, he had carefully inspected all three available residences, eventually picking this one. It was close to Prosperous Hall and isolated on three sides, the only neighbors being five women caring for over thirty orphaned children.

The oldest child was barely over ten, the youngest mere months old. He hadn’t thought they’d pose any risk.

Yet somehow, the fire in his storeroom had spread next door, to Mercy House.

The two residences didn’t even share a common wall, separated by a narrow gap wide enough for only a hand. And in this bitterly cold weather, how could the fire jump across?

“Ah Jian, take some men and go next door—quick!”