After Liu An left, the old lady came over to find out what was going on. Upon hearing about the earthquake in Shu, she couldn't help but sigh, "What's going on this year? Why are there so many disasters? Is God not going to leave any way for us ordinary people to survive?"

Normally, the old lady would never be so disrespectful to heaven, but today, after realizing one misfortune after another, she was really a little scared.

"Mother, don't overthink it," Jiang Nuan gently comforted the old lady, noticing her unease. "Natural and man-made disasters have existed since ancient times. This year, they just happened to be concentrated in one place. Humans can overcome nature. With so many of us united, we can definitely overcome any difficulties."

"That sounds nice, but when you actually encounter problems, you can only rely on yourself to get through them."

The old lady snorted coldly, as if she were seeing the disaster more than forty years ago, and her voice was filled with lingering fear.

"Of course not, the imperial court will definitely organize disaster relief."

"Bullshit," the old lady said with disdain. "I know those people well. They put on a great show when things are going badly, but when something really happens, they run away faster than anyone else."

Jiang Nuan was quite taken aback by these words. After thinking for a moment, she tentatively asked, "Mother, do you have some misunderstandings about the imperial court?"

In this day and age, population is the foundation of productivity, and the imperial court would never destroy its own foundation under any circumstances.

“Your mother was frightened by what happened in the past,” the old man sighed and explained. “Back then, there was a severe drought in southern Henan. The entire prefecture suffered a complete crop failure. From June until October, we were without food and survived entirely on our own.”

"The imperial court hasn't distributed any grain, that can't be, right?" Jiang Nuan was very surprised.

“That little bit of grain is not enough,” the old man couldn’t help but shake his head. “The entire southern Henan province has a population of 400,000. How much grain would it take to fill the gap? They released grain a few times at first, but then they didn’t care much anymore, and many people starved to death.”

"Forget it, let's not talk about these things anymore, they're all in the past," the old lady said, feeling very upset. "The court has its difficulties, and we also want to live. We each have our own positions."

"This time it won't happen, you two can rest assured." Jiang Nuan's tone was somewhat subtle.

No wonder An and Zhong gave up so readily; they learned from their predecessors.

Thinking about this made me feel a little uncomfortable.

Everyone in this era is struggling to live, striving to make their lives better, but sometimes fate is truly beyond our control.

"The imperial court has grain?" The old lady was genuinely surprised. "That shouldn't be the case. With so many things happening, how could they possibly still have enough to produce?"

“Even if we don’t have food, we have to find a way. We can’t just do nothing,” Jiang Nuan paused, then continued, “The current emperor is different from previous emperors. He has ambition and aspirations, and he understands the importance of the people and their hearts. He will definitely not ignore them.”

"That's good," the old lady sighed. "I hope the people of Sichuan won't end up like we were before, having to strip all the bark off the trees in the mountains just to make a decoction."

"Definitely not."

After a heavy conversation, Jiang Nuan returned to her room.

She needs to conduct an experiment to determine the ratio and ensure that the rice matures within ten days.

The two Grand Secretaries, An and Zhong, did not believe Jiang Nuan's boastful words.

When he heard Qi Yong announce the imperial decree ordering them to send one million catties of grain to Shu, he was filled with disbelief.

Zhong Ping couldn't help but ask, "Qi Yong, you wouldn't be forging an imperial edict, would you?"

"Zhong Ping," Qi Yong's face darkened instantly upon hearing this, "You think I'm being disrespectful?"

Is it because I've been too lenient lately that these two old geezers have become increasingly presumptuous and arrogant?

"Qi Yong," An Qingyun said with great dissatisfaction, "be serious. This is not the time to throw a tantrum. What will we do if a million catties of grain are sent to Shu? What will happen to the garrisons in various places? What will we do if something goes wrong again?"

Upon hearing this, Qi Yong's brows furrowed even more deeply. "Hasn't this scholar already explained that the Lady Protector of the Nation has a way to make the autumn grain ripen ahead of schedule?"

"The Lady Protector of the Nation is indeed capable, and I believe she has the ability," Zhong Ping scoffed. "However, can she get a city to harvest grain ahead of schedule, and can she get the entire Great Zhou to do the same?"

“We don’t need the entire Great Zhou,” An Qingyun added after thinking for a moment, “just Shu and Guangdong will suffice.”

“That’s impossible,” Zhong Ping said firmly.

Such acts of defying the heavens cannot be without limits. If the Lady Protector of the Nation could do whatever she wanted, where would that leave us mortals?

“This is not something you need to worry about,” Qi Yong said, looking at the two of them as if they were mentally challenged. “Prepare the grain and transport it to Shu as soon as possible. If there is any delay, believe me, even if you are high-ranking officials, I have plenty of ways to remove you from your posts.”

After saying that, he didn't even glance at the two of them, and left with his head held high and arrogance.

"You damned eunuch, you neither-male-nor-female dog, what are you so arrogant about?"

“Why bother arguing with him?” An Qingyun couldn’t help but shake his head. “This eunuch has always been arrogant when he gets ahead. But nothing lasts forever. Once he falls out of power, someone will take care of him without us even having to lift a finger.”

"Too."

Thinking of Qi Yong's miserable state after losing power, Zhong Ping immediately felt relieved.

After a moment, he spoke angrily, "I suspected from the beginning that His Majesty had ulterior motives in keeping the Lady Protector of the State and Liu An, and it turns out that was indeed the case."

The sourness in their words could be smelled from a distance.

“Hmm,” An Qingyun nodded gently, then frowned and asked uncertainly after thinking for a moment, “Could the Lady Protector of the Nation really be able to reverse the seasons, just as Qi Yong said?”

Thinking of his days in Xianzhuang, a slight ripple stirred in his heart.

Although Liu An vehemently denied that he had regained his youth, anyone with eyes could see that he was indeed more than ten years younger.

As for himself, the minor ailments that the entire Imperial Physicians' Office couldn't cure were completely cured after just half a month of treatment at the Immortal Manor.

All these experiences and signs made An Qingyun begin to have doubts.

“Brother An,” Zhong Ping said earnestly, “Even if the Lady Protector of the Nation is just a banished immortal, so what if she is a true immortal? I have searched through all the books of the past and present, and there is no existence that can do that.”

Upon hearing this, An Qingyun carefully recalled the conversation and wholeheartedly agreed, saying, "That makes sense."

"I wonder how the Lady Protector of the Nation will explain herself this time," Zhong Ping said with a smirk. "If she can't do it and causes such a big problem, will His Majesty really still protect her?"

The Lady Protector of the Nation appeared out of nowhere and has always been highly respected, standing above everyone else in the Great Zhou. The rumors of the powerful families joining forces to attack her only lasted a few days.

Since becoming a Grand Secretary, Zhong Ping has hated having someone above him. Having Qi Yong was already a headache, but before Qi Yong could fall out of favor, a more powerful Lady Protector of the Nation appeared. Although he never said it, he was always uncomfortable with it.

So what if you're a banished immortal? Once you're in the mortal world, you have to abide by the rules of humanity!

"It would be best if it really came to fruition," said Grand Secretary An, whose awareness was much higher than that of Zhong Ping. "The people of Shu have made many contributions to the Great Zhou. This time, we are the ones who have let them down."

“Brother An, there’s no need to blame yourself,” Zhong An comforted him. “We didn’t want things to turn out this way either; we had no other choice.”