Chapter 89: Stop Being a Lover and Be a Concubine (Sixteen)

The heavy snow continued for three days before it stopped. Not only outside the capital, but even inside the city, it was desolate and filled with the sound of snow being cleared from the streets.

Morning——

The emperor, wearing a jade crown, had a cold face and slammed the table.

"You even dare to embezzle disaster relief funds... Prince! How do you manage your affairs?"

The Crown Prince, the third prince born to Concubine Wu, walked to the center of the hall with his head lowered, feigning innocence: "Father, I don't know!"

The emperor snorted and threw the paper in his hand down in anger: "The victims of the disaster in Luoyang have come to the capital, and even the People's Book has been presented to me. How dare you say you didn't know?"

The prince immediately knelt down and said pitifully, "I beg Your Majesty to understand. I really didn't know. Minister Wu must have been deceived by the people below. Please have mercy on me, Your Majesty!"

Xiao, the Minister of the Central Secretariat, who belonged to Prince Yan's faction, stepped forward and confronted him in a stern voice, "Your Highness, the Crown Prince, has made a clean pass! Without permission, how could a mere magistrate in Luoyang dare to embezzle disaster relief funds? It's truly ridiculous!"

The Crown Prince turned and glared fiercely at the speaker. Before he could argue, the Emperor angrily interrupted him and made a direct decision: "Alright! The Crown Prince is lax in his rule and is confined to the Eastern Palace. Assistant Minister of War Wu Jianzhi is to be taken to the Dali Temple for interrogation. This matter will be presided over by... the Sixth Prince, Prince Kang."

During this time, a group of people walked towards the city gate and showed their badges to the soldiers guarding the gate.

Seeing this, the man bowed and said, "Greetings, Her Royal Highness the Eighth Princess."

The car curtain moved slightly, revealing a beautiful face: "Open the door."

The guard looked up and was stunned for a moment, then he clenched his palms tightly to avoid the sight and honestly opened the city gate a crack.

The rustling sound of crying outside the city instantly filled the eardrums. The team of guards squeezed forward and set up tents in an orderly manner on the open space a hundred meters outside the city.

A palace maid also came forward and set up a large pot to cook rice porridge, and Nanny Cui called on the guards who were guarding the city to go and help.

Amidst the hustle and bustle, a long line of mule carts came driving on the official road not far away. They were piled with bags of bulging objects, which looked particularly huge.

But looking at the tire tracks on the ground, the traces were so light that it was hard to guess what they were.

When I got closer, I could see some fluffy fur from the opening of the sack, accompanied by a strong smell of sheep.

The guards from the princess's residence stepped forward and shouted, "The Eighth Princess has ordered that the victims be gathered together and registered. Each group should be divided into 20 people, with one tent per group. Coal and quilts will be distributed according to the number of people.

We are provided with rice porridge twice a day. After dinner, the men go to pick wool, and the women follow Aunt Cui and others to learn how to weave clothes. Everyone should take it seriously, and if you do a good job, you will be paid!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the victims, who were originally freezing cold, suddenly became excited: "Official? Is there really money to be made?"

“Really, really…”

There was a commotion outside the city, and the news soon spread to the capital. The Wan family was the first to take cotton clothes and rice to hand over to Matron Cui.

Soon, the Yu family also sent a carriage to donate supplies... More and more people began to join in, including officials and even wealthy businessmen. The victims also assigned some people to build warehouses to store supplies, and the situation was prosperous.

The capital city, which had fallen into silence, gradually began to come alive, and the emperor specially summoned the eighth princess into the palace for detailed questioning.

Jiang Ye, sitting in a wheelchair, was exempted from kneeling. He lowered his head and remained neither humble nor arrogant. "Father, the victims have only been temporarily appeased. If we ignore them for a long time, I'm afraid they will riot. They have fled all the way here, most of them are alone and without relatives. Sending soldiers to suppress them at this time would be too cruel."

In my humble opinion, it would be better to set aside a piece of land to accommodate them. All the people want is a brick to shelter from the rain and food in their jars to keep from starving.

Otherwise, it would be bad to be stuck outside the city gate like this..."

The Emperor pondered for a moment and nodded in agreement. "You're right. If we send troops to suppress the rebellion, I'm afraid it will chill the people. You've done a good job. What reward would you like?"

"I don't want any reward. It's enough for me to share my father's worries."

Upon hearing this, the emperor subconsciously glanced at the wheelchair supporting the other person, then his eyes moved slightly, and a hint of guilt emerged and quickly disappeared.

"Have you seen your mother recently? Is she feeling better?"

Jiang Ye was silent for a moment and sighed: "He looks a little more energetic, but..."

The Emperor lowered his head, a look of melancholy on his face. His fingers gently rubbed the memorials on the table. "The only thing your mother can't let go of is your marriage. Do you have a suitable candidate in mind?"

The father and daughter had not seen each other for a long time, and the emperor felt guilty and seldom summoned them often, so it was inevitable that they would become estranged.

After asking this, Jiang Ye didn't speak for a long while. The emperor then raised his head in confusion and asked, "Why are you shy about talking about marriage? But which Jinshi have you set your sights on? I think Wen Nian, the third place winner in the last imperial examination, is quite good. He is talented and handsome. The wife of the Dali Temple Minister is from your Wan family, so we know her background well."

It was unclear whether the emperor's words were a test or genuine concern, which made it difficult to understand.

Jiang Ye pursed his lips, somewhat unwillingly: "I don't like Wen Nian. I like someone else."

The emperor paused for a moment, his fingers clutching the memorial, and looked up in astonishment: "Who is it?"

Jiang Ye seemed a little shy, his eyelashes trembling: "The legitimate son of Lord Yu, Yu Huo."

"What!" The emperor shouted in surprise, standing up and saying, "Then he's not a safe man. What do you like about him?"

Jiang Ye shrank back and looked up timidly: "He is good-looking."

The emperor sat back down dejectedly, wanting to refuse, but his eyes slid across the other's legs covered in a thick blanket. In the end, he didn't have the heart to reprimand her. He simply waved his hand and said weakly, "Please allow me to think about it. You can go back first."

After the Eighth Princess left, the Emperor sat in the imperial study for a long time before coming out.

He first walked around the yard. None of the eunuchs and palace maids who followed him dared to speak. They just followed him in silence.

It was not until the other party unknowingly came to Kunning Palace that he came to his senses.

He silently gazed at the tightly closed gates of Kunning Palace and beckoned to his personal eunuch, "Go and pass the message... Remember to explain your purpose. Say I'm here to discuss my daughter's marriage."

The old eunuch nodded, walked forward, knocked on the door, and whispered to the palace maid who opened the door.

When the palace maid ran into the hall, Eunuch Zhao secretly looked at the emperor and sighed in his heart. The only person who could make the emperor wait for the summons like this was probably the empress.

I don’t know if they can enter the gate of Kunning Palace today.

Soon, hurried footsteps were heard, and the palace maid flung the door open with a bang, bowing and saying, "Your Majesty, we are honored to meet you."

The emperor, who was waiting outside the door, looked slightly pleased and walked in quickly...

No one knew what they talked about that night, but I only knew that the emperor was very happy after he left. The next day, the imperial edict granting the marriage arrived at the Yu family.

The entire Yu family was still confused at this time, and the person who was supposed to receive the imperial edict was not in the house. It was a real mess.