Chapter 116 Chapter 116 is the only genuine version...

The fifth day of August is the day of the grand court.

In the Golden Palace, the court officials waited and waited until dawn, but they did not hear the sound of the whip.

In the past, even when the court was adjourned occasionally, Li Deshun would come to make an oral announcement or something, but this time even Li Deshun did not show up.

It was quiet at first, but later on, there was a constant rustling sound.

Duke Weiguo cleared his throat and asked, "Prime Minister, will the Emperor come?"

Prime Minister Song: "I don't know."

When Prime Minister Song heard the news of the Qingzhou Earth Dragon's resurgence, he went to the palace to ask for an audience that day, but he has not seen the emperor until today.

He said, "I have sent someone to invite Governor Shen."

"The earthquake in Qingzhou has affected at least four provinces." Minister Mo's beard was twitching with anxiety. "There's not even a set of rules yet!"

During the reign of Emperor Taizu, carrier pigeons were installed at post stations in all prefectures. After the earthquake in Qingzhou, the carrier pigeons sent by the local governor reached the capital immediately.

For three consecutive days, there were more than a dozen letters, and the Ministry of Revenue almost became a pigeon farm.

"Houses are collapsing one after another, and hundreds of thousands of people are likely to be killed or injured. If disaster relief isn't provided in time, who knows how many more will die. Will the Emperor even care?"

"It's been three days and no one has come!"

Minister Mo grew angrier as he spoke. Even if he were to pass away, at least a bell should be rung.

Prince Jin's face was expressionless: "Where has the emperor gone to? How can you, Minister Mo, have such a say?"

"Prince Jin," Minister Mo said sarcastically, "The Emperor didn't tell you where he was going, did he? Stop pretending to be a favored minister. Just say something, just say something, bah."

"Minister Mo, you are so bold."

"You're so bold! You have no right to control this minister. If you have the guts, call the emperor. If you can't, then shut up."

"you!"

It's a mess facing upwards.

They had been waiting for two hours.

Even if the cabinet could first discuss and set a set of rules, the Qingzhou disaster is such an urgent matter that the emperor should at least show up to reassure the people.

"Lord Shen is here."

Someone reminded them, but everyone fell silent and turned to look in the same direction.

Shen Xu walked into the Golden Throne Hall with the sun at his back. He walked through the crowd of ministers and stepped onto the vermilion lacquer platform. He said impatiently, "The Emperor is not in the palace."

Minister Mo quickly asked, "Where is the emperor going?"

"This is not your business." Shen Xu was high and mighty, his tone full of disdain, looking down on everyone equally.

"Your Majesty is on a private visit in disguise, accompanied by the Third Prince. Everything is fine."

What he meant was that the emperor was fine and you should not worry about anything else.

After Shen Xu finished speaking, he flicked his sleeves and walked away. His bright red sleeves seemed to be boiling with flames as he moved.

He glanced at Xie Yingchen. This was not what they had originally agreed on. He was inexplicably doing more things, which made him feel particularly unhappy.

Xie Yingchen smiled, and put the tips of his thumb and index finger of his right hand hanging by his side together, making a drinking gesture.

Humph. Someone who can't even drink a sip wants to buy him a drink? Is he that easy to fool? Shen Xu snorted coldly.

No one noticed the subtle little movements between the two.

The fact that the emperor was not in the palace made the court even more chaotic, especially since no one knew where he was. How could people not be suspicious?

"Quiet."

Prime Minister Song clapped his hands three times.

He didn't care if anyone else was talking and said directly, "Since the emperor is away, according to the order of Emperor Taizu, the cabinet will select someone to serve as regent until the emperor returns."

Regent?!

Some people gasped, but others nodded silently.

Indeed, if the emperor suddenly fell ill and lost consciousness and failed to leave an imperial edict in time, or was unable to attend court for various reasons, then according to the law, the cabinet would choose a suitable candidate from the royal family to act as regent.

But who should be the regent?

The eldest prince was eager to try after hearing this. He was the oldest among the princes and the only one who was qualified to attend court, so he was definitely the most suitable candidate.

The emperor didn't know what had happened. If he were to take over as regent now, and if his father couldn't return, he might be able to take advantage of something. With this thought in mind, the eldest prince suppressed his excitement and took a half step forward, wanting to let the court officials see him there.

Prime Minister Song's eyes swept across the Golden Palace and, as expected, lingered on the eldest prince for a moment.

"It can be..."

The eldest prince: Tell me quickly, tell me quickly.

"Prince Chen is the regent."

Prime Minister Song bowed deeply in the direction of Xie Yingchen.

As soon as these words were spoken, there was an uproar in the court. The eldest prince froze in place with his lips half opened.

Prince Jin immediately said, "No, even if the selection of regent is made by the cabinet, it is not up to you, the Prime Minister, to decide alone. How can Prince Chen be qualified to be regent?"

"During the reign of the previous emperor, Prince Chen was only fourteen years old and served as regent for half a year. Does he have the qualifications?!"

Prime Minister Song's rhetorical question left Prince Jin speechless.

"Prince Chen was personally appointed by the late emperor as the crown prince, and the title remained in place until the late emperor's death," Prime Minister Song said proudly. "The late emperor decreed that if the monarch is unable to manage state affairs, the crown prince shall act as regent. If there is no crown prince, the crown prince shall act as regent. If there is no crown prince, the cabinet shall nominate someone to act as regent."

"The cabinet unanimously nominated Prince Chen to serve as regent."

Prime Minister Song! Prince Jin's eyes widened. Has Prime Minister Song completely surrendered to Xie Yingchen?!

Looking at the other cabinet ministers, they did not voice any objection. Does this mean that Xie Yingchen has taken over the entire cabinet?

Duke Wei was equally astonished. Not long ago, he had tried to win over Prime Minister Song for the Third Prince's sake, but at that time, Prime Minister Song hadn't made a clear decision, hadn't he? He had assumed that Prime Minister Song wouldn't easily take sides.

Prime Minister Song: "Everyone, does anyone have any objections?"

The Duke of Wei and the Prince of Jin exchanged bewildered glances. The princes were still young, too young to participate in government affairs. They probably didn't even know how many provinces and counties there were in Qingzhou. Furthermore, the late emperor's sons, after the current emperor ascended the throne, had mostly become idle wanderers, ignoring state affairs.

For a moment, they couldn't think of anyone else qualified to be regent except Xie Yingchen.

Prime Minister Song's move caught them off guard.

When he came to his senses, Xie Yingchen was already standing next to the dragon throne on the vermilion lacquer platform. There was a faint smile on his lips, and his condescending attitude made people feel submissive.

"The earthquake in Qingzhou is the most serious."

His voice was clear and melodious, with a soothing charm, and the throne room fell silent without anyone noticing.

"Minister Mo, how much grain and silver can the Ministry of Revenue allocate?"

Minister Mo's spirits brightened. He had recently reorganized the national treasury for the Qingzhou issue. Without hesitation, he said, "Two hundred thousand dan of grain and one hundred and fifty thousand taels of silver can be mobilized immediately. If we transfer grain from the Changping Warehouse now, we can transfer an additional one hundred thousand dan."

This amount is not large, it can even be said to be quite small, not enough for a province.

"Minister Song, activate the Yangjiyuan and first transfer grain from the Changping Warehouse. Also, mobilize the local Pingjia Guard, Liyang Guard, and other garrisons to escort the grain and fodder."

"Commander Wu, order Liu Guangming to lead 50,000 imperial troops to Qingzhou for rescue."

Admiral Wu was the Right Admiral of the Five Armies Commandery. With Gong Hai in charge, he'd been patiently waiting for his retirement, never getting involved. He muttered, "To mobilize the Imperial Guards, you need the Left Admiral's tiger talisman, or an imperial edict. I don't have that authority yet."

This is purely perfunctory.

If there was a Left Admiral, he, as the Right Admiral, could not abuse his power. However, if the Left Admiral was absent, the Right Admiral must fill in. Even if the emperor was absent, someone else could be appointed as regent according to the law, let alone a five-army military governor's office.

The King of Jin disapproved and retorted, "My Lord, you don't have a military token, how can you mobilize the imperial guards?"

Since Xie Yingchen's regency was already a foregone conclusion, he had to at least hold him in check and prevent him from becoming too powerful. If Xie Yingchen were to take advantage of the situation and get his hands on military power, things would get out of control.

"Uncle Prince Jin." Xie Yingchen asked calmly, "Has the Crown Prince not arrived in the capital yet?"

What's the meaning?

"The court is in need of new personnel, and the Crown Prince's delay in taking up his post is extremely inconvenient. In my opinion, the position of Left Admiral should be filled by another person."

Xie Yingchen has gentle eyes and a refined demeanor.

He has no military command and cannot mobilize the imperial guards, but he is now the regent and has the power to dispatch officials.

Xie Yingchen had a hold on Xie Qiyun, and with just one sentence, he made the King of Jin lose face.

The Prince of Jin's face turned pale and then blue. He chuckled dryly and compromised, saying, "Young Master, you're worrying too much. With the Left Admiral away, the Right Admiral should naturally take over his duties temporarily. There's no need to appoint another. Admiral Wu, the affairs of Qingzhou are of paramount importance right now. You should obey the Young Master and not slack off just because he's young. Otherwise, I will not let you off easily."

Admiral Wu was put in a difficult position. If he refused again, he would not only offend Prince Chen, but also the King of Jin.

He said with a bitter face: "Yes."

"Master Xun, I appoint you as an imperial inspector. Leave immediately for Qingzhou to oversee disaster relief efforts."

"Order the Imperial Hospital to recruit doctors within three days..."

Xie Yingchen looked at his ministers calmly, and arranged everything one by one in an orderly manner.

At first, many people were still on the sidelines, but soon, as he called out their names one by one, they unknowingly became serious and nervous. For years, the court would often argue for days over trivial matters before making a decision. It had been a long time since it was like this, with only discussions and no arguments. Everyone was focused solely on how to provide disaster relief, not on vying for power.

The court meeting lasted until noon.

When coming out of the Golden Palace, Xie Yingchen was still discussing with Minister Mo how to transfer grain as quickly as possible.

"Prime Minister Song."

Xie Jing came panting from the direction of Shuntian Gate. He had originally gone to Wenyuan Pavilion, but when he heard that the court meeting had not yet ended, he hurried over.

"Cousin Jing?" Xie Yingchen diverted a little of his attention. "Where's the emperor?"

The Prime Minister and others also looked at him subconsciously.

Chen Xu said that the Third Prince had accompanied the Emperor out of the palace. Now that he was back, had the Emperor returned? Even Prime Minister Song didn't want the Emperor to come back and get in the way.

"Father, he..."

Being stared at by so many eyes, Xie Jing felt a little scared and blurted out: "Father is at the farm, and..."

He stopped talking as soon as the words came to his lips.

The emperor and the former wife of the Duke of Zhenguo, Ji, were together on the farm, and they were as loving as a couple. He really couldn't say such words.

He had originally persuaded his father to return to the palace, but when Ji cried, his father immediately changed his mind.

Xie Jing couldn't understand why his father could be so affectionate towards such a disfigured face. Unless Ji Shi had resorted to some trickery. Later, Ji Shi said that the court couldn't be without a ruler for a day, so his father asked him to return and take charge of government affairs.

Xie Jing said: "My father ordered me to..."

"Who is the emperor with in Zhuangzi? What's there to hide?" Xie Yingchen interrupted him, lifting the fig leaf. "Could it be that he has a beautiful woman in his house, so happy that he doesn't want to leave, and you can't say it out loud?"

He still had a faint smile on his face, as if he was just saying it casually.

Xie Jing had not yet experienced the cunning and treacherous nature of the imperial court. He knew he had said the wrong thing and did not respond to Xie Yingchen. Instead, he said hesitantly, "I will persuade my father to return to the palace as soon as possible."

It would have been better if he hadn't said it. Once he said this, he was personally admitting that the emperor ignored everything in the court because he had a beautiful woman in his arms.

This, this... Prime Minister Song's face was extremely grim. The earthquake in Qingzhou affected the lives of millions of people, and it was just a beauty in the emperor's arms? He had ignored everything for so many days!?

Even the officials who were walking out from not far away stopped to watch.

"Cousin Jing," Xie Yingchen said calmly, "then I'll trouble you to persuade the Emperor to return to the palace as soon as possible."

He ignored her and said, "Prime Minister Song, it's getting late. The first batch of food and fodder must be sent out today. Let's go to Wenyuan Pavilion first."

Yes, yes.

Prime Minister Song and others all agreed.

If you don’t want to come back, then don’t come back. If the emperor were still alive, we would have been arguing for half a month just about how to provide disaster relief.

The affairs of Qingzhou are important.

The earth dragon's turning over caused three or four minor earthquakes in succession in the capital. People were in panic everywhere, and there were all kinds of discussions. Some people took advantage of the chaos to rob and fight.

As soon as the court meeting was over, the Five Cities Military Commission was ordered to strengthen patrols in the capital, and the Jingzhao Prefecture arranged for yamen runners to walk through the streets and alleys to comfort the people.

"Bang!"

"Anyone who breaks into a house and robs it during a disturbance will be killed without mercy."

"Anyone who harms someone's life will be killed without mercy."

"Those who spread rumors..."

The sound of the gongs could be heard clearly even in the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion.

Gu Zhizhuo looked back outside, ignored it, and continued to listen to the report from the steward.

The chief steward had previously, as instructed by her, stored the summer grain in several granaries near Qingzhou, ready for immediate use. Besides grain, he also stockpiled some necessary medicinal herbs. However, he couldn't store too much, lest it drive up grain prices too much and prompt the people to sell all their stored grain.

"Manager Xing, please go there in person," Gu Zhizhuo said to a manager in his forties. "Putting saving lives first is the most important thing. Do everything that's sensible."

"Don't worry, young lady." Xing Zhong bowed and went down respectfully.

What needs to be done has been done.

Gu Zhizhuo tapped the coffee table with his fingertips.

As long as disaster relief is provided in time and there are no riots and epidemics like in the previous life, at least hundreds of thousands of people can survive.

"Huh."

Gu Zhizhuo was about to return to the yard when his eyes suddenly lit up: "You came to play with me."

A small black head peeked out from the doorway, revealing one ear.

"come over.

Gu Zhizhuo waved his hand.

Cat Shen shook his ears and disappeared.

Gu Zhizhuo smiled and walked slowly to the door. Just as one foot stepped out of the threshold, Shen Mao suddenly pounced and jumped in front of her.

"Meow~"

"Oh my," Gu Zhizhuo exclaimed exaggeratedly, "I was so scared."

The cat was happy and ran away. When he turned around and didn't see her, he stood there with a suspicious look on his face, and then walked back cautiously to see what was going on.

Gu Zhizhuo imitated it and hid at the door. As soon as it approached, he took the opportunity to grab it.

"I got it."

"Meow~"

The tabby cat's whiskers were shaking with excitement.

"If you catch me, you have to follow me."

Gu Zhizhuo put it on his shoulder, carried it back to the yard, and took out a gold necklace from the jewelry box.

This gold collar was specially made not long ago. It is inlaid with a golden cat's eye stone and has a silent gold bell hanging on it. On the inside of the collar, she also personally engraved the words "Chen Mao".

Gu Zhizhuo put it on the beauty bed and gave it a new collar.

"Move back a little and let me see."

Shen Mao rolled over on the beauty couch, his soft belly turning over and over, scratching the little bell with his two claws.

"Big girl."

Qiongfang came in from outside, stroked the cat's head, and reported: "Miss, the Ji family's patriarch and others have already arrived in the capital, and they were not allowed to see Ji Huacheng."

The road to Jiangnan was long, and these people were all old. In order to avoid dying on the road, they had to slow down their journey and it took them more than two months.

Gu Zhizhuo picked up a peacock feather to tease the cat and asked thoughtfully, "Is the emperor still at the farm?"

"yes."

Qiongfang said, "Since he went to Lotus Manor three days ago, he hasn't left yet. Today at 9:00 PM, the Third Prince left the manor and should be returning to the capital."

Gu Zhizhuo flicked his peacock feathers intermittently.

Ji Nan Ke's luck must have gotten worse, because she saw it when she was buying the marriage talisman.

Gu Zhizhuo has been thinking about to what extent he should use the marriage talisman these days.

She had calculated two hexagrams, one was bad and the other was unknown.

However, this matter was deeply related to Ji Nan Ke, and it was difficult to predict whether it would be good or bad, which was why she had not taken any action yet.

“That’s right!”

Gu Zhizhuo looked at the tabby cat that was kicking its limbs while holding Peacock Feather and snapped his fingers.

She threw the peacock feather aside and leaned over to pick up the cat.

cat:? ?

The little paws waved in the air and then licked them awkwardly.

"Kitty~ Tell me your fortune."

Kirin cats love bad omens.