Chapter 303 Flood in Jiangnan

In this battle for the throne of queen, apart from Song Zhao, the person with the greatest chance of winning is Concubine Ying.

If Rong Yue can get close to Concubine Ying and gain her trust, she can learn many of her secrets that are unknown to others.

These secrets might be the key to overthrowing Concubine Ying in the future.

This method was originally proposed by Rong Yue.

Song Zhao originally didn't want her to do this, because if Rong Yue followed Concubine Ying openly, not only would the other concubines be wary of her, but even Xiao Jingheng might distance himself from her.

But Rong Yue smiled and said, "Oh? Then I am looking forward to it even more."

"......"

Although Rong Yue was not allowed to get close to Cheng Yu in private today, her love for the child overflowed from her words.

"The little guy will be one year old next month. Since he has the same birthday as the emperor, we have to have a grand celebration. I feel happy just thinking about it." Song Zhao joked, "What's the point of just being happy? Sister, don't think about escaping the ceremony~"

Rong Yue smiled, "Why would we run away? We have prepared everything three months ago. What we give to Cheng Yu must be the best thing in the world."

Song Zhao curiously asked her what it was, but Rong Yue pretended to be mysterious, scratched her nose, and said with a smile:

"It's a secret. I won't tell you. Why don't you go there in a hurry~Haha~"

After returning to the palace, the two sisters finally had the opportunity to be alone in private without arousing suspicion.

Even if they just chat casually, they will be happy with each other.

After talking for a while, Song Zhao suddenly straightened his face and asked Rong Yue,

"Master Tong, have you made any progress in your investigation into Qu Yanran?"

"How can it be that easy to find out?" Rong Yue shook her head helplessly. "All the people involved are dead. Qu Yanran disappeared after escaping that day. It is not easy to find such a person in such a huge crowd."

Song Zhaolue pondered for a moment, "To be able to do things so flawlessly outside the palace, he must be a powerful person. I'm afraid the emperor must be suspicious of many people this time."

"That's why it's a good thing." Rong Yue held her hand and said, "You don't have a family background, so the emperor naturally won't doubt you. That's enough."

Song Zhao nodded slightly, then said slowly, "Sister, can you ask Lord Tong to investigate in detail outside the palace to find out what the background of Tan Yuezhi is?"

Rong Yue couldn't help but be curious, "What does Zhao'er suspect him of? Anyone who can enter the palace has had their background thoroughly investigated long ago, so there shouldn't be any problems."

Song Zhao frowned and shook his head, "I can't really explain it, but I always feel that there is something strange about him, inside and out."

"My Lady! Something happened!"

Outside the door, Xiao Fuzi's anxious shouts came from far away.

He barged into the inner chamber without paying any attention to etiquette. After taking a look at Rong Yue, he stammered:

"There's a flood in Jiangnan!"

Song Zhao's heart tightened when he heard this.

Jiangnan is Rong Yue's mother's home after all, and Rong Yue was also extremely anxious, "What's going on? Speak slowly, is it serious?"

Xiao Fuzi nodded vigorously, his face gloomy, "The situation is serious! The Chidong Dam has burst, and the people will definitely suffer..."

"What?"

Rong Yue stood up anxiously, her right hand tightly grasping the front of her shirt, even her breathing became rapid.

"The Chidong Dam was just reinforced and rebuilt, so why did it burst out of nowhere?"

Xiao Fuzi said, "I don't know about that... The emperor is extremely worried about this matter and has summoned important officials to the palace to discuss disaster relief measures. The money for the earthquake has also been allocated first."

Seeing that Rong Yue was trembling all over, Song Zhao put his arm around her shoulders and said to her in a gentle voice:

"Don't worry, sister. Lord Tong is the admiral of the navy. Sister's mother is familiar with water, so nothing will happen."

Rong Yue bit her lips tightly, her red lips becoming even more rosy, as if they were broken and bleeding.

"But I also need to get some information... The flood is so serious now, I'm afraid the news can't get in..."

Her whole body went limp, and she cried in Song Zhao's arms.

Song Zhao Yibi tried to comfort her, but Yibi felt very strange.

Is Tan Yuezhi's divination really that accurate? He can even predict natural disasters and floods in advance?

*

Later, Song Zhao learned that the severity of the flood in the south of the Yangtze River was unprecedented and unheard of.

In late summer and early autumn, torrential rains hit the south of the Yangtze River, causing disasters day and night.

The Chidong Dam burst, the five weirs were flooded, and the Taihu Lake overflowed into the sea.

Lin'an was even worse, and within a thousand miles, all the land and sea were turned into floating corpses, and the corpses were everywhere...

Xiao Jingheng was so busy in the previous dynasty that he didn't sleep for several days.

The Queen Mother also brought her concubines to chant sutras and pray for blessings in the Fahua Hall day and night.

After all the trouble, praying didn't work, but instead I exhausted myself.

It was not until early September that news from Jiangnan finally reached the palace.

The good news is that this flood did not have much impact on Rongyue's mother's family. Except for her aunt who accidentally drowned, the rest of the family members were intact.

The bad news is that the floods were so severe that hundreds of thousands of people were killed or injured in the Jiangnan area...

However, this is not the worst.

There is a lot of rice in the south of the Yangtze River, and now is the autumn harvest season. After this flood, the south of the Yangtze River is destined to have no harvest this autumn, and famine will follow.

Moreover, after a disaster, if the bodies of people and animals cannot be properly handled as soon as possible, then plague will follow.

This is a disaster that is more likely to take lives than floods.

This disaster was unprecedented in history. The imperial court was fully focused on the disaster and invested almost all the manpower, material resources, and financial resources that could be mobilized in Jiangnan.

Xiao Jingheng even issued an imperial decree that as long as the disaster-stricken people still had a breath left, they must be treated with all their strength and no negligence should be allowed!

But the whole country's efforts were used to deal with the earthquake, and the Qi Dynasty was at its weakest.

If the foreign countries that had previously paid tribute took advantage of this opportunity and started a war, it would be a matter of national survival for the Qi Dynasty.

Fortunately, the Adahu and Mongolian tribes did not take advantage of this opportunity to rob, but instead donated money and effort to help the earthquake victims.

Especially the Adahu tribe, in order to help Qi Dynasty survive this disaster, almost all of them were mobilized.

They even spontaneously dispatched garrisons on the border to prevent Zhu Yin, who had just surrendered to the Qi Dynasty, from rebelling again.

The harem and the former dynasty are one and the same. These days, in addition to being busy dealing with state affairs, Xiao Jingheng would summon Concubine Ying and Ruchang to accompany him whenever he had time.

The great contribution made by Ying Fei's mother's family laid a solid foundation for her to be crowned as the queen in the future.

Everyone in the palace saw this and thought that Concubine Ying had a sure win, so they all flattered her.

The harem changed in an instant because of this natural disaster.

Song Zhao fell silent for a while, and everyone in the palace seemed to be focusing on Concubine Ying.