Li Bin's fleeting thought was awakened by the screams from under the city wall.

Tens of thousands of civilians, their faces flushed red, shouted at the soldiers in grief and anger, "Don't touch Empress Zhao's body! We demand an explanation from the court!"

"If it's a crime for the imperial physician to save a city from plague, then aren't we the common people also sinners? Release the imperial physician's family! Release Empress Zhao's relatives!"

"Your Majesty, are you truly blind to the suffering of the people of the world and only care about your own imperial power?"

"We don't ask for equality like in later generations. We only ask that while you enjoy your bliss, can you glance at the bones of the starving people beneath the imperial city? Can you treat the loyal people and the country with kindness?"

Several soldiers who were ordered to bring back Zhao Ronghua's body stood there in a daze. Countless civilians stood in front of them, their eyes filled with anger and disappointment.

As the situation escalated, the people's reactions became more and more intense.

The soldiers had no choice but to retreat back to the palace and report to Pei Changying.

There was a chill in Pei Changying's eyes.

The actions of the emperor in front of them made the ministers suddenly understand...that was the reason why some emperors relied on the support of others to ascend to the throne and then fell quickly.

He cannot keep the power that does not match his virtue even if he is given it!

But Pei Changying was completely unaware of his mistake and continued to speak confidently, "These people are going to rebel, what on earth did I do wrong?"

"I attend court before dawn every day and diligently implement various policies. After all my efforts for so long, are the people going to deny all my efforts just because of the plague?"

"They are all a bunch of ungrateful wolves. Without me, how could the world live and work in peace and contentment?"

The ministers around him prostrated themselves on the ground, speechless. Did they dare to answer the emperor? Was it because of the emperor's narrow-mindedness?

Is it true that the people are now furious just because of Zhao Ronghua's death?

They all knew very well in their hearts that Zhao Ronghua’s death was just a flashpoint!

Pei Changying ignored the natural disasters and drought, and only cared about the lack of food in the national treasury, so he continued to increase the grain tax. He was worried that women would be like Gu Sang said, who would be unwilling to rely on men after reading books and seeing the world. The first thing he would do after becoming emperor would be to get rid of them, abolish girls' schools, and oppress his wives and concubines!

"Your Majesty is right. It is normal for the people to be deceived and unaware of the truth. In the future, the people will surely understand your Majesty's painstaking efforts."

After a period of silence, some ministers began to agree, but it was unclear whether these words were sincere or insincere.

The prime minister glanced at the ministers who were trying to protect themselves.

He sighed, braved Pei Changying's murderous gaze, and stood out from the crowd: "Your Majesty, please calm down."

"The most important thing now is to stabilize the people's hearts and minds. Other matters can be discussed later."

"Since the people are demanding the release of the Zhao family and the imperial physician, Your Majesty should take this opportunity to make a statement to the people of the world. The most urgent task is to calm the people's anger and win back their hearts."

Pei Changying suddenly turned around and stared at the prime minister.

His tone was so cold that he sounded like a Shura that had crawled out of hell. His powerful aura instantly suffocated the ministers.

Pei Changying laughed deeply: "Are you saying that I was wrong?"

The prime minister felt extremely chilled.

But does he dare to tell the truth in his heart?

He dared not, so he could only straighten his back and look at Pei Changying with pleading eyes, saying: "Your Majesty, is it important whether I agree or not? What matters is what the people think!"

"Now that the princess has found the sweet potatoes, she's actively recruiting soldiers. If we don't appease the people now, I'm afraid the princess will take advantage of the situation."

"The Emperor's release of the Zhao family and the imperial physician's family does not mean that he is admitting to the people that he has done something wrong."

"It's about giving people all over the world an attitude."

"To resist foreign aggression, we must first stabilize the country. Only when the people are stable can we fully focus on dealing with the rebels!"

Pei Changying understood what the prime minister said, he just didn't want to admit his incompetence.

Now that someone has brought it up, I don’t have a better solution.

Pei Changying could only make a decision by following the ladder, feeling aggrieved and unwilling to say, "Okay, then I will release the Zhao family and the imperial physician's family."

"But I don't want to hear any more rumors that are unfavorable to me."

Pei Changying turned away, and the task of reassuring the people was naturally left to other ministers.

All the ministers had no choice but to come forward and explain the situation, saying that the prime minister had gone to the Tianlao to release the Zhao family and the imperial physician's family, and the facts were not as exaggerated as Zhao Bin said.

After a series of assurances and earnest explanations, the public anger was finally calmed down.

The onlookers gradually dispersed. After all, the emperor had already made concessions, and they also needed to do farm work and eat. It was impossible for them to stand at the palace gate and shout that the court was unfair.

Looking at Zhao Ronghua's bloody body, several ministers didn't know what to do.

Are we really going to hand Concubine Zhao over to the emperor?

They knew very well that with the emperor's hatred for Zhao Ronghua, he would probably be reduced to ashes.

When in trouble;

A fourth-rank minister saw the prime minister approaching and hurried over to report, "Prime Minister, what should be done with Concubine Zhao's body?"

The prime minister suddenly stopped.

He looked up at the retreating figures of the people, lowered his eyes, and said thoughtfully, "Leave it to the Zhao family for a proper burial. As for the Emperor, I will go and speak to him personally."

"Alas... Your Majesty, you've lost the support of the people again! The Princess's recruitment of troops will also take time, so please don't mention it in front of Your Majesty for the time being."

"I'm truly afraid he'll be so absurd as to send a hundred thousand troops to utterly crush Plague City. Right now, the people of the capital are in turmoil, the government is unstable, and the people of Plague City regard the Princess as their savior. We absolutely must not rashly send troops! It won't be too late to deal with this after the storm has passed."

-

Under the suggestion of the civil officials, the Zhao family could only simply handle Zhao Ronghua's funeral and bury him hastily.

Upon learning that his daughter had righteously identified the emperor on the city wall and finally jumped off the city wall to her death, Zhao's father seemed to have aged ten years overnight.

A ray of setting sun shines lonely on Concubine Zhao's tomb.

There were paper money scattered all around, but in front of the tomb, there was only one missing tombstone.

Although Pei Changying allowed Zhao Ronghua to be buried, he ordered that no tombstone should be erected.

Father Zhao looked at the desolate and shabby grave and felt even more sorrowful. He cried bitterly in front of the grave: "Rong'er, it's Dad's fault!"

"What royal family! What glory and wealth! They are all fleeting, a thought for heaven, a thought for hell!"

"It was Dad who harmed you. For the sake of the Zhao family's honor and the stability of the clan, I forced the young man who loved you so much to death. I kept saying it was for your own good, but I didn't expect that I would cause you to die tragically under the city wall!"

“.......”

The cries of pain echoed throughout the wilderness.

Along with the Zhao family, the families of the imperial physicians who had been released from prison also came to pay their respects.

They had already heard about Concubine Zhao's affairs, and they knew even more clearly that it was Concubine Zhao who used her own life to shake the people's hearts, thereby threatening the emperor to release them!

Several imperial doctors knelt down with red eyes.

Every word he spoke was trembling: "Thank you, Madam, for saving my life! Without your sacrifice, how could we have redressed our grievances?"