Chapter 572: Paying Money to Eliminate Disasters

Naturally, many people will come out to refute what Lord Li said.

But they were all largely the same, ultimately coming down to one thing: "Lord Li was impetuous and reckless, leaving a bad impression on the people of our dynasty. Lord Li was responsible for this disaster, so naturally, he must bear the consequences personally."

"Your Majesty, I have not thought this matter through carefully. However, I hope Your Majesty will consider my humble position and help me as I am dedicated to the people!" Lord Li could not win over the other ministers, so he could only ask the Emperor for help.

However, the emperor seemed not to want to pay attention to him and only said a few perfunctory words.

"Sir Li, I know you are concerned about the people, but the people in the capital are still living a prosperous life, and you cannot use the imperial silver for disaster relief to distribute it to them." said the emperor.

Lord Li also understood that the emperor wanted him to clean up the mess himself.

"Your Majesty!" Lord Li gritted his teeth, determined not to let himself bear this disaster alone. "When those people were causing trouble that day, I could have stopped things before they got worse. However, that day, someone showed up..."

Jiang Lin, who had been staying out of the matter, raised a hint of sarcasm at the corner of his mouth when he heard this, but his gaze did not shift at all.

As expected, Jiang Lin heard his name from Mr. Li the next moment.

"Prince Jiang?" The emperor pretended to be surprised.

After the story happened, various different versions were heard by people in the court. Although the developments were different, without exception, Jiang Lin's appearance was heard in them.

In Jiang Lin's opinion, the emperor's doubt was unnecessary. Otherwise, the emperor must have planned to make things difficult for Jiang Lin and had been waiting for a long time.

Hearing Lord Li's mention of this, the two of them cooperated with each other and immediately dragged Jiang Lin into the trouble.

Jiang Lin was not interested in the whole process of how Lord Li turned right into wrong and concluded that if Jiang Lin was not there, he would not have to give money to the people.

Most people present understood that it didn't matter whether it was true or not.

They would be happy to see Jiang Lin suffer some loss as well.

The emperor didn't even let Jiang Lin argue, and directly made the final decision, "Prince Jiang, if you have no objection to this, the task of pacifying the people this time will be left to you."

Lord Li was naturally overjoyed to hear this, but he also knew that it was inappropriate to show such an expression at this moment, but he could hardly restrain himself. He could only lower his head in a hurry, trying to hide his face that looked like he had succeeded in his conspiracy.

In fact, Lord Li didn't even know that it would be so smooth.

After thinking for a moment, Lord Li understood that the whole matter could be put on Jiang Lin because the emperor wanted to do so. Otherwise, he would not be able to do it no matter how hard he tried.

Jiang Lin's expression was indifferent. He looked up at the man in a high position and said only one sentence that sounded pale and powerless.

"Your Majesty, this matter is not within my scope of responsibility." Jiang Lin said.

"Prince Jiang, do you want to resist the imperial order?" Lord Li's smile lasted only for a moment before being extinguished by Jiang Lin's words. How could he hold back?

Jiang Lin turned a deaf ear to Lord Li's words and just lowered his eyes waiting for the emperor's reply.

"Jiang Lin, what if I want you to do this?" the emperor asked in a deep voice.

"I can't do it." Jiang Lin was clearly saying something very bold, but he looked calm and composed, not caring at all about the consequences of his words.

The emperor looked at Jiang Lin, the rebellious son, and wanted to see him surrender, but Jiang Lin's bones were so hard that if he were to break them, the emperor knew that it was not the right time.

Lord Li had been expecting the emperor to severely punish Jiang Lin, but the next moment he discovered that the punishment had fallen back on him.

"Prince Jiang doesn't understand the people's sentiments as well as Lord Li. Let's leave this matter to Lord Li."

The emperor's words were the final word. Lord Li was so shocked that he forgot to refuse. Therefore, this difficulty really fell on his head.

After the court session, Lord Li chased Jiang Lin with anger.

"Prince Jiang, we have never had any grudges against each other in the past, why are you harming me like this!" Lord Li was so angry that he ignored the difference in status for a moment and was determined to get an explanation from Jiang Lin.

Jiang Lin stopped and turned to Lord Li.

Being stared at by Jiang Lin, Lord Li felt uncomfortable all over and wanted to escape from Jiang Lin's gaze.

When Lord Li's gaze began to wander, Jiang Lin finally spoke, "Lord Li, I have no grudge against you, but whatever you robbed from the people, it's time to return it."

"What does this mean, Master Jiang? When have I ever taken things from the people..." Lord Li's words stopped abruptly. He suddenly understood why Jiang Lin did this, but...

Jiang Lin saw Lord Li's expression change, and knew that he had finally remembered the ill-gotten gains he had been embezzling from various sources since he became an official.

"Isn't Prince Jiang being too harsh on me?"

Even so, Lord Li still felt that it shouldn't be him.

I would like to ask which official can truly be honest and love the people. Is Jiang Lin really clean?

Lord Li didn't believe it, but he also knew that Jiang Lin would not be stupid enough to tell him about his evil intentions.

However, Lord Li never told Jiang Lin about it, but Jiang Lin happened to find out about it.

"If Lord Li is not satisfied, just bear with it." Jiang Lin ignored his emotions. After making it clear, Jiang Lin said goodbye to him.

Staring at Jiang Lin's figure walking away, Lord Li began to feel resentful towards Jiang Lin.

Now there is a trend of faction in the court, and some people want to support Jiang Lin to take the throne.

Lord Li had heard that many people wanted to curry favor with Jiang Lin, but they were all turned down. Lord Li was observing secretly, determined to choose someone who could bring him benefits.

Now, Lord Li doesn't want to wait any longer. He wants to directly join the side that is hostile to Jiang Lin.

Jiang Lin didn't know that he had made another enemy here. However, even if Jiang Lin knew, he probably wouldn't care at all.

Jiang Lin already has a lot of enemies, so the addition of Lord Li is just like that, it won’t cause any big trouble.

In the end, Lord Li fulfilled his promise to the people within a month, and thus gained a good reputation among the people.

But Lord Li really spent a lot of money in this matter, and he also charged every penny he lost to Jiang Lin's account.

However, there was indeed silver appearing in Jiang Lin's account book every day, but the amount was gradually decreasing.

"Master, business outside the capital has been tough lately. Some shops are suffering losses. Should we…"

Jiang Lin flipped through the account books. The original intention of opening these stores was not to make money, but now they really can't afford to waste time.