Chapter 48: Flood You are obviously worried about something.

"You are the Left Pacification Commissioner of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, but you chose to hide behind a beam instead of going through the main gate... Lord Mu, what do you mean by this?"

Zhou Xian leaned on the window frame, supported his chin with his right hand, and looked at the bamboo forest outside with a smile.

The bamboo forest was in disarray, a deep pit had been dug out by someone. Many of the neatly trimmed bamboos were broken, and even the carefully planted flowers and plants were destroyed. Mu Guang fell into the pit, his face covered by a book. It happened to be the scripture that Zhou Heng had sent flying.

Mu Guang stood up in a panic, picked up the scripture respectfully, brushed off the dust, knelt on one knee, and said helplessly, "It is my humble servant who has offended you. I beg your forgiveness, Your Highnesses."

"Now that you're here, why don't you just come in? Why are you hiding outside? Sixth brother doesn't eat people." Zhou Xian said with a smile.

Mu Guang's expression changed slightly upon hearing this, and he quietly glanced up at the person behind Zhou Xian. The person was lying on the couch, eyes closed, resting. His Taoist robes were flowing, his black hair was like clouds, and he looked like a banished immortal.

"When I arrived, I saw the princess and His Highness having a very pleasant conversation. I did not dare to disturb them and had to hide on the roof for a while." Mu Guang withdrew his gaze, and his hand holding the book trembled slightly.

"You talked as if my sixth brother and I were discussing confidential matters. Lord Mu was so scared that he didn't dare to come in through the main gate." Zhou Xian glanced at Mu Guang, then turned back to look at Zhou Heng, with the smile on his lips still there.

"I..." Mu Guang looked embarrassed.

"Okay, come in and talk. What's the point of talking in the woods?" Zhou Heng was annoyed. He got up from the couch. After the acupuncture treatment, there was no sign of injury on his right leg.

Mu Guang walked around and entered through the main gate. He bowed politely and placed the scripture in front of Zhou Heng, saying, "Your Highness's leg...is it okay?"

Zhou Heng lowered his eyes, his pale fingers brushing across the cover of the scripture, and said lightly: "Doctor Sun treated me, it's nothing serious."

"Nothing serious? Oh, you bunch of young people, you take advantage of your good health to act recklessly and fool around! Your leg is really... Alas!" Sun Yi, who was drinking tea on the side, jumped up anxiously after hearing this, and didn't care that the person in front of him was a prince appointed by the emperor himself, and started to scold him.

Zhou Xian hurried over to persuade the old man: "Alright, alright, Grandpa, Sixth Brother knows his own health. If he's not feeling well, I can also sense it. You don't have to worry too much!"

“…” Mu Guang glanced at Zhou Heng’s right leg and sighed silently.

"You came to see me, what's going on?" Zhou Heng sat back in the main seat. "If it's about the marriage granted by my father, you can get out now."

"Cough cough..." Zhou Xian had persuaded the old man and was drinking tea. When she heard this, she choked on her tea without paying attention and started coughing until tears came out.

Sun Yi hurriedly stroking his back.

Mu Guang frowned and whispered, "No, I came to you for business."

"Oh?" Zhou Heng raised his eyes and glanced at him.

"Your Highness is also aware that it is now September and the Yellow River has flooded. People in Henan and Nanzhili have fled thousands of miles away. The dikes have collapsed and there is a shortage of food. The situation is extremely critical." Mu Guang looked serious.

Zhou Heng sneered, "So what if the situation is dire? Anyway, as long as we refine some elixirs and pray to heaven and earth, the treasury will be full and state affairs can be solved on their own. What does the death of a few people matter?"

"Your Highness!" Mu Guang looked around nervously, fearing that someone would eavesdrop.

"And then?" Zhou Heng controlled his expression and regained his composure.

Mu Guangdao said, "The imperial court wants to send an imperial envoy to the disaster-stricken areas to provide relief to the people and distribute disaster relief grain, but..."

"But the national treasury has no money and has been in deficit for a long time. It can't even allocate money for disaster relief, right? Then who will be the imperial envoy?" Zhou Heng raised his eyebrows.

"Prince Jing recommended Your Highness to His Majesty today." Mu Guang knelt on the ground with a thud. "I am incompetent. Please forgive me, Your Highness."

"What?!"

Zhou Xian had initially just listened quietly, but at this point he couldn't help but speak out. He slammed the teacup in his hand down on the table, a scowl on his face. "Sixth brother just returned from Shaanxi. He's been on the battlefield for over three years, nearly dying. He finally returned to Beijing to recuperate, and within a few days, he's been asked to go provide disaster relief again? Zhou Huang is so capable, why didn't he go to Nanzhili himself? Humph, that's right, he's a coward. Nanzhili is so factionalized, he doesn't dare to offend anyone, so he lets Sixth brother go! With someone like him, how can he be a crown prince, how can he be an emperor?"

"Hum, that's enough." Zhou Heng coughed.

Zhou Xian curled her lips and walked to Zhou Heng's side, the pearl flowers in her hair trembling. She usually looked lively and cheerful, but at this moment she seemed a little aggrieved.

"The princess is right." Mu Guang stared at Zhou Heng intently. "Your Highness has not yet recovered, and providing relief is not an easy task. The entire court is watching your every move. Please reconsider your actions."

Zhou Heng closed his eyes and whispered, "Why are you so anxious? I haven't said whether I want to go or not." He took Zhou Shan's hand again and sighed, "Sister Shan, go back and tell Zhang Jinwei to be careful. There are so many people who want our heads lately."

…

When Zhou Xian returned home with several boxes of snacks, it was already past dinner time. He had already eaten at Zhou Heng's place, so he went straight back to the backyard.

Unexpectedly, Zhang Jinwei hasn't come back yet.

"Where is the prince consort?" Zhou Shan searched the room but couldn't find even a strand of Zhang Jinwei's hair, so she turned to ask Mu Xue.

Mu Xue was sitting at the table embroidering. Upon hearing this, she smiled and said, "The prince consort sent a message this afternoon from Saoyan saying that his teacher has returned to the capital and will be meeting with him at Jingchun Pavilion that evening. He will be back late and told the princess not to wait for him."

"Oh." Zhou Xian nodded.

He had nothing to do, so he went to the inner room to change into home clothes, sat down next to the embroidery table, and continued to work on the unfinished Chao Yuan Tu.

Emperor Yongchang's birthday was approaching, and the princes, concubines, and court officials were preparing celebrations for him. This year's victory against the Tatars had been a temporary victory, and a grand celebration was in order. However, the Yellow River flooded, and Emperor Yongchang issued a special order to cut spending to replenish the treasury.

Therefore, this birthday gift must not be costly and must please Emperor Yongchang while also being economical. After much deliberation, Zhou Shan decided to bring out her embroidery frame and do the work herself to please Emperor Yongchang.

There is no way to avoid it. If I hide for a lifetime, my mother's suffering will be in vain. If I want to make that person pay the price, I can only move forward step by step and make him notice Zhou Shan's existence.

"By the way, Muxue, I remember that you all love to eat cakes and pastries from the palace. Today I went to Sixth Brother's place and brought back a few boxes. You can take them back later and share them with everyone." Zhou Xian carefully trimmed the eyebrows and eyes of the gods with a focused expression, but he was multitasking.

Mu Xue smiled: "Great! After three or four years in the borderland, I've almost forgotten the taste of the palace."

The two of them were embroidering and chatting about family matters until the candlelight dimmed and they heard noises outside saying that the prince consort had returned.

Zhou Xian put down her needlework, stood up to greet him, and opened the door. She saw Zhang Jinwei standing under the veranda, looking up at the fat birds in the cages, motionless, and no one knew what he was thinking.

"Why don't you come into the house now that you're back?" Zhou Xian quietly ran behind him and spoke suddenly.

Zhang Jinwei had already noticed his wife and smiled slightly, tilting his head. "I just drank a lot of wine and I reek of it. You said you didn't like it, so I'll just stand outside and let it cool off."

"If you want to disperse the alcohol, why don't you ask them to make some hangover soup?" Zhou Xian suddenly leaned in closer and said seriously, "You clearly have something on your mind."

Zhang Jinwei laughed dumbly: "What should I do? I can't deceive Xianxian anymore."

"When have you ever managed to fool me?" Zhou Xian was quite pleased with himself. He took Zhang Jinwei's hand and pulled him into the house. He then instructed Mu Xue, "Make me a bowl of hangover soup."

Mu Xue agreed and went out.

"Didn't I tell you not to wait for me?" Zhang Jinwei walked into the room and saw the needlework scattered on the table and the oil lamp was out. He knew that the person in front of him had been waiting for him for a long time. "Still embroidering at night, what if you hurt your eyes?"

"I'm not waiting for you." Zhou Xian shook her head deliberately. "I went to see Sixth Brother today. I didn't have time to embroider during the day, so naturally I can only do it at night. Next month is the Wanshou Festival. If I don't hurry up, it will be too late."

Zhang Jinwei's eyes swept across the exquisite Chao Yuan painting, and he suddenly felt irritated for no reason. He exhaled lightly, and the teacher's angry expression not long ago flashed through his mind again. He couldn't help but clench his hands.

"Zhang Huaiyu?" Zhou Xian raised his hand and waved it in front of his eyes. "Have you drunk yourself silly?"

"Hanhan, I have something to tell you." Zhang Jinwei stepped forward, put his arms around Zhou Han's waist, hugged her tightly in his arms, and whispered in Zhou Han's ear.

Zhou Xian was a little confused: "Huh? I have something to say to you too. No, it's Sixth Brother who has something to say to you."

"That's a coincidence."

Zhang Jinwei touched the face of the person in front of him.

"What I want to say is also related to King Rui."

…

"Big companion."

Hearing the old man's call, Liu Renfu shuddered, hurriedly lifted his robe, ran to the dragon bed and knelt down: "Your Majesty, are you awake? It's not even night watch yet, and you've just been ill. Would you like to sleep a little longer?"

The gauze curtains fluttered, smoke from the stove rose into the air, and the old man was supported by someone, half leaning on the dragon bed, so his true face could not be seen clearly.

"I just had a dream. I dreamed that a big beast broke into the palace, eating human flesh and blood, and wanted to destroy my Daning's century-old ancestral business..." The old man said slowly, sighing as he spoke.

Liu Renfu prostrated himself on the ground and said respectfully, "Your Majesty, please be at ease. This dream is a very auspicious sign!"

"Oh? How do you know?"

Liu Renfu's face was covered in sweat, and his eyes, no bigger than green beans, rolled around. Suddenly, an idea flashed on his mind, and he said in a hurry: "Your Majesty, dreams and reality are opposites. I dreamed of a giant insect entering the palace, and now it means that a talented person has come to the palace to continue our ancestral heritage for thousands of years! Congratulations, Your Majesty, congratulations, our Daning Kingdom is blessed!"

"Then tell me, among these sons of mine, which one is the noble man you are talking about?"

"This..." Liu Renfu thought to himself that this was not good. He had probably just slipped up. He quickly tried to make amends, "Your Majesty, you are this noble man! The Daning family business has been continued in your hands. How can a junior interfere?"

"You're the only one who can talk. Forget it, it's just a dream. Ask the Astronomical Bureau to come over and interpret it for me later."

"Yes." Liu Renfu agreed and waited for a while. Seeing that the old man didn't seem to intend to say anything else, he slowly knelt back.

Just as he was about to stand up, the old man in the bright yellow curtain spoke again: "I think this dream may be related to a memorial I saw a few days ago."

Liu Renfu quickly crawled back and knelt down.

"Someone told me that after three years of fighting the Tatars, collecting military rations from all over the country was already a struggle, but I never thought that some people were secretly reselling military rations for their own benefit..."

"That person said that the mastermind was none other than my good son, Prince Rui, and my son-in-law..."

"Otomo, what do you think I should do?"