Li Jin Qing: The one behind it all

Chapter 51

"What's with such the hurried conversation?" Yu Qi asked, walking a little faster to catch up with Jin Qing's hurried speed. "I'd thought the conversation with the recruiter would take a little longer."

"So did I." Jin qing answered "But he seemed to be in a hurry to go somewhere and I got what I needed and wanted to know. Besides..." She smirked and patted her chest pocket were a paper package crinkled "I brought myself some sweets."

Yu Qi laughed "Oh you'll never change. Of course, you'll buy some sweets while you're at it."

"Why, who do you think I am?"

"But..." Yu Qi trailed off "You got what you needed just from that short conversation? You never cease to amaze me. Are you sure you're younger than me?"

"I'm sure."

Yu qi seemed to be having a hard time remembering that she is supposed to be a lady walking with her brother. She constantly had to watch and mind her steps, always staying rather close to Jin qing. "What do you want to do now? Do you want to head back?"

"im not too busy today, are you?"

"No, nothing much."

"Then accompany me around. I want to see the state of the city..." Jin qing mumbled under her breath "How the people are living is an important way to see how stable the country is... And not to be blinded by the whims and the advantages of the rich."

Just how wealthy were the upperclassmen compared to the poor and the slaves?

That was one question so many people overlook. They always look at how poor is the peasants, but never the comparison.
In every balanced society, there will always be a need for servants to support the kingdom as a whole. There's no point in destroying the lower class entirely- that would be pointless. Instead, a kingdom should be striving toward a balance where the workers are willing to do what the state requires because they know they won't starve under the protection of the emperor.

Tian Xiang seemed to be smart enough to avoid making any economic problems, considering how vast the Song's trade network was.

Jin qing knew Shen Feng must be managing military affairs, and Gui Fei governing over the court. It would only suit their style that way.

That did get her thinking.

After I exiled them from the Liang, they must have fled to the Song. But how did they get such high positions?

The previous emperor died roughly eight or nine years ago, which does leave the possibility of the two gainings his trust and then assassinating him and is now using Tian Xiang as a pawn. But Tian Xiang doesn't act like one, on the contrary, he seems to be quite confident in himself other than the fear of having a rebellion overthrowing him. Shen Feng and Gui Fei, as far as I'm concerned, have no talent in managing an extensive trade system, and eight years of poor management would have been enough to send it crashing down.

Or are all three of them working together? And Tian Xiang only let me out as part of a bigger plan?

Jin qing looked around as the thought, taking note of the change in both architectural style and material of the buildings. While the houses and buildings in the obvious wealthy parts of the city were made of stone and elaborately painted, the buildings in the area they were walking in smelled of rotting wood and-