Dongfang Xiao was not particularly surprised by Xu Shi's words.
Because she had seen through it all clearly. Although Xu Shi had gone too far with the Sea God Stone trade, he had left plenty of room for maneuver. It was obvious he did not truly intend to wipe them out completely.
For instance, the Sea God Stone trade had remained confined to the Imperial Main City and had not spread to the surrounding prefectures and counties.
Moreover, although he had opened trading posts to purchase goods from citizens, he could have been far more ruthless. The simplest example would have been offering loans.
If he had truly done that, it would surely have dealt a devastating blow to the Empire's economy. But he had not. That already suggested he knew where to stop.
Including the first point, she could not say nobody had done such things, but none of them had been Xu Shi's people. Coupled with how quickly the turmoil had come and gone, its effects remained contained within the main city for now. That counted as a blessing amid misfortune.
In any case, Dongfang Xiao did not believe this was an oversight on Xu Shi's part. She had to admit that when it came to manipulating economics, Xu Shi's methods far surpassed everyone in the Hualan Empire. If she could think of it, how could he possibly have failed to?
And his coming to speak with her face-to-face today... honestly, while his aggressive attitude truly irritated Dongfang Xiao, the very fact that Xu Shi had done this showed that he wanted to negotiate.
And he wanted to negotiate with her alone. His personal preference could not have been clearer.
Otherwise, he could have simply ignored everything and remained on Silver Pine Island, sitting back and waiting for