Shen Yanchuan kept his gaze lowered, his tone even as he spoke:
"This was a premeditated, secret plot. From start to finish, only a few grain merchants were ever involved on the surface. Even the common folk had no idea who was truly buying their grain, much less where it was being taken."
Farmers depend on the heavens for their livelihood. When someone offered to buy their grain at a high price and handled everything for them, they were overjoyed. Why would they ask any questions?
"If the grain merchants hadn't been late for their scheduled pickup last year, the locals probably would never have suspected anything was wrong."
Emperor Muwu snorted.
"The commoners may have been ignorant, but don't tell me the local officials knew nothing either!?"
'On a matter of this scale, the county magistrate must have been aware. It was even to be expected that he had secretly facilitated it.'
Shen Yanchuan paused for a moment.
