Chapter 37 Chapter 37 Getting used to his company
The next day, the Provincial Surveillance Commissioner led a group of officials to the hardest-hit areas. No matter how much Wei Zhaosheng tried to persuade him, the Crown Prince insisted on going in person. Seeing the young crown prince's stubbornness, Wei Zhaosheng was at a loss.
It was already very dangerous for the Crown Prince to go to the south of the Yangtze River. Now he had to go to the plague-stricken area himself. What if he accidentally contracted the disease? How would he explain this to His Majesty and to the people of the world?
The old minister felt like he was walking on thin ice and was trembling with fear.
The final outcome was predictable; the prince went anyway. Seeing the unkempt, disheveled, ragged victims living in straw huts, their bodies torn from life by the virus and hunger, Li Cheng clenched his fists.
The most pressing matters now were post-disaster reconstruction and locating the government funds. Wei Zhaosheng personally assigned his subordinates to their respective duties: some supervised the reconstruction of homes, some resettled the victims, and still others restored farming and planted the fields with crops. The previous flood had already nearly submerged the crops.
Because grain and grass had sunk into the river, it was impossible to transfer them directly from Taicang. The Crown Prince ordered that grain be transferred directly from neighboring Chunxian and Lingxian counties to provide disaster relief.
Although the borrowed food and fodder wasn't much, it would at least last for a while. As for the difficulties ahead, we'll have to think about them later. When I finished, I looked up and saw that the sky had darkened without me noticing.
Liu Yi also bustled around, but it was just a pretense, not any real work. Although they were guilty, they were still officials. As long as the emperor didn't issue an order to escort them back to the capital, he wouldn't have the right to deal with them. Most importantly, if they were dealt with prematurely, how would the rest of the story proceed?
Liu Yi had no idea what the censor was thinking. In order to show his hospitality and to establish a good relationship with the other party, he specifically suggested that they meet at Qingfeng Tower.
Qingfenglou is the largest restaurant in the area, and business is booming. It is usually difficult for ordinary people to even reserve a table. He chose this place because he really intended to treat his guests with all his heart.
Wei Zhaosheng glanced at him and said with a smile: "Why bother with so much trouble? I have not yet visited the governor's residence. If you want to invite guests, just hold it directly at your house."
The more he looked at Liu Yi and the others, the angrier he became. If it weren't for the fact that everything was in ruins and they were still needed, how could they be so happy and cheerful?
Liu Yi refused, but agreed with a wry smile. Before leaving, he glanced at Judge Cui again, a questioning look in his eyes.
The moonlight was like a thread. A thin layer of light shone across the courtyard. Fireflies occasionally flitted through the air, and cicadas sang tirelessly. It was a beautiful summer day.
Governor's Mansion.
Liu Yi hosted a banquet. Knowing the provincial governor disliked extravagance, he specifically ordered that only a dozen dishes be served, all home-cooked. The only relatively expensive dish was June yellow, a specialty of Jiangnan. While expensive in the capital, it became commonplace in Jiangnan.
"Thanks to the help of the Censor, the situation in Jiangnan was able to stabilize quickly. Your talent is truly admirable!" He raised his glass and saluted from afar.
Wei Zhaosheng also toasted him. Judge Cui, standing beside him, hardly touched the wine, but quietly ate his food. His manners were elegant and unhurried, a noble son raised in a prominent family.
Liu Yi smiled, his green eyes gleaming with brilliance. "Brother Cui, why don't you drink? Is this wine not rich enough?"
Li Cheng put down his chopsticks and said with a smile: "I can't drink much, I hope you can forgive me this time." Governor Liu wanted to persuade him again, but Wei Zhaosheng said:
"This trip to the south of the Yangtze River is for the safety of the people and the peace of the world, not for eating, drinking, having fun, or seeking personal gain. Judge Cui always keeps your majesty's will in mind, which is truly admirable."
With this interruption, he successfully uncovered the truth. Although Liu Yi was annoyed, he could do nothing about it. His real purpose in the first place was not to offer a toast. He simply felt that Judge Cui was acting suspiciously, and he wanted to test him by offering a toast.
After three rounds of drinking, Judge Cui excused himself to go out and look for Dong Qing. His attendant led him out. As the green official robe gradually disappeared, Liu Yi's eyes darkened.
As soon as he entered the back garden, he quietly walked up behind the attendant and knocked him unconscious. Xia Chang, a member of the Azure Dragon Guard who had been waiting nearby, jumped down from a tree. Because Li Fu was bulky and the Eastern Palace's chief steward, many people knew him, so Li Cheng hadn't brought anyone with him on this trip to Jiangnan.
What's more, if he is placed in the East Palace, he can take care of Liang Yuan if anything happens.
"Is there anything unusual?" Li Cheng looked at the lamppost in the distance. Although he had a strange face, his whole demeanor was no different from ordinary.
"The entire mansion isn't heavily guarded, but I noticed an attic next to the lake in the backyard. It looks dilapidated and rarely visited, but it's guarded by many secret guards." Thanks to his exceptional skill, he hadn't alerted them when he was probing nearby.
"It seems that there really is something fishy going on in the Governor's Mansion." Li Cheng's voice was calm, as if he was stating a fact that he had already known.
Xia Chang was ostensibly an attendant who had accompanied him, so a few words with him outside was understandable. However, if this continued for too long, it would surely arouse suspicion. Li Cheng wasn't afraid of suspicion, but now was clearly not the right time.
After a brief pause, he turned back. Liu Yi's attention had been focused on the vacant seat. Seeing someone come in alone, he couldn't help but wonder, "Why did Judge Cui come back alone? Where are the guards who led the way?"
Li Cheng lowered his hand from the teacup and bowed, "That young man was careless while walking and injured his head. I had the audacity to ask him to treat the wound. I know I am overstepping my bounds, but seeing the young man's injury, I am truly worried..."
Wei Zhaosheng glanced at him furtively, only to realize that the usually high-handed Crown Prince had never been so humble as he was now. He had thought the Crown Prince would be uncomfortable with this change of status, but unexpectedly, he was the one who was uncomfortable.
After all, seeing the prince constantly bowing to others made him break out in a cold sweat. He only hoped that the troubles in Jiangnan would soon be over.
-
Zhilan Residence. After Li Cheng left, the East Palace fell completely silent, empty and deserted. Although it wasn't always lively when the man was around, at least he would talk to her when he came home at night.
Especially after she became pregnant, he got some advice from somewhere and actually spent time reading to her unborn baby every day, calling it "learning by observation and hearing", hoping that the child would be smart and clever when he was born.
At that time, Liang Hanzhang asked him with a smile: "Don't you like your child because he is not smart?" The man's handsome eyebrows frowned slightly, and he seemed to be thinking about this question very seriously.
His slender white fingers held the scroll, and he was afraid that she would be suspicious, so he didn't dare to think too much: "Even if she is not smart, I still like her."
But he is the crown prince. If this baby is a boy, he will be the eldest grandson of the emperor of the Great Jin Dynasty and have a prominent status. He naturally hopes that the child will be smart and able to take on the test of being a monarch in the future.
However, that was just a hope. If he wasn't smart, he wouldn't force it. This was his child. When he grew up, he would be crowned king, have his own fiefdom, marry, and have children. As long as the child was happy, he, as a father, would be at ease.
He put down the book and gently pinched her cheek with his long fingers. This was a hobby he had recently discovered, and he seemed to find pinching her face quite amusing.
Seeing the woman staring at him angrily, her cheeks puffed up like a pufferfish, he couldn't help but laugh. "Don't worry, no matter what the child is like, I won't dislike him." After all, this was the child he had been waiting for so long.
He was reserved and rarely laughed out loud, at least Liang Hanzhang hadn't seen him laugh so far. Even when he did laugh, it was silent, with the corners of his mouth slightly raised and his eyebrows curved, revealing a sense of joy.
Looking at him, Liang Hanzhang couldn't help but smile. She naturally believed him, and just asked casually.
Habits are truly terrible things. On the first day after the prince left, she felt completely out of place and uncomfortable. Mingyue brought her some pregnancy-maintaining medicine and reminded the person staring blankly at the windowsill, "Your Majesty, it's time to take your medicine."
Liang Hanzhang finally came to her senses. Without refusing, she took the medicine bowl and drank it all in one gulp. The abortion-preserving medicine had been pre-cooled, and now it was just the right temperature in her palm. Having decided to keep the child, she decided to treat it well and listen carefully to the imperial physician's advice.
The imperial physician came to take her pulse on time every day. Now she was the core of the entire Eastern Palace. Not only was she served by Mingyue Yuhu and others, but the prince also left Li Fu behind before he left. The entire Eastern Palace was surrounded by three layers of walls, for fear that assassins would sneak in.
After drinking the pregnancy-maintaining medicine, Yuhu saw that she was in a depressed mood and seemed unhappy, so she took out the prepared candied fruit and advised: "Your Majesty, have some candied fruit. This was specially prepared by Eunuch Li Fu."
Liang Hanzhang sat on the Luohan couch by the window and shook her head, "No thanks." She had never liked sweet things like that; they always made her throat greasy.
Staying cooped up in the room all day wasn't a good idea. They were both new and didn't know what the Empress liked. The two maids who had been serving her closely had been beaten with sticks and were still lying in bed.
As if noticing the worry on their faces, Liang Hanzhang reached out his hand and stood up with their support, then walked towards the study room next to him: "I'm free anyway. His Highness has been urging me to practice calligraphy before, so I might as well practice calligraphy today."
The two maids, Yuhu Mingyue, were always by her side. Liang Hanzhang had initially tested them several times and discovered they seemed truly illiterate. But to be on the safe side, she had someone stand in front of a nearby screen while she wrote the letter "T" and secretly wrote a few words on a slip of paper.
Yuhu and the other two looked at the person sitting behind the desk. She was dressed in a pink skirt, with only a white jade hairpin in her hair. She looked simple, elegant, and demure. Her skin was so white that the light shone on her face, revealing the fine hairs on it.
Such a stunningly beautiful girl, yet she could also write. Even though she was pregnant with the Crown Prince's first child, she never let herself become spoiled. In all the time they had been serving the Empress, they had never heard her say a harsh word, and she was always kind and gentle to all the servants.
No wonder they please His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. If they were the Crown Prince, they wouldn't be able to help but be moved. Thinking this in my heart, I suddenly felt that it was impolite to stare directly at the Queen, so I lowered my head to look at the ground.
The woman behind the desk appeared calm on the surface, but in reality, she was already torn between her own conscience and her own desires. She didn't know whether to disclose the Crown Prince's trip to the south of the Yangtze River. If she did, would the Crown Prince's life be in danger?
Now the Crown Prince was not only her target, but also the father of her child. She didn't want the child to be born without a father. But if she concealed the truth, would they attack her brother?
The woman clenched her fingers into fists, hesitant. Suddenly, the sharp voice of Li Zongguan came from outside: "Your Majesty!" Liang Hanzhang's pen tilted, and a large smudge of ink smeared the paper. She looked at her handwriting and let out a long sigh.
Yuhu invited the person in. The old eunuch held a brocade box in his hands, his fat face wrinkled with a smile. He bowed and said, "Madam, the jade bracelet you ordered at Taoranju a few days ago has been made. I just went to pick it up. Would you like to see it?"
Liang Hanzhang crumpled the paper in his hand, his face turning slightly pale. He immediately stood up and said, "Let me see it." Mingyue took the brocade box and presented it to him.
She opened them and found a pair of jade bracelets. At first glance, the texture seemed simple and unadorned, but a closer look revealed intricate carvings. There were vibrant grapes, distinct pomegranates, and three Chinese characters for "Fu" (good fortune) carved around the bracelets. The workmanship was meticulous, and it looked like a real effort had been put into them.
However, this bracelet is not suitable for newborn babies. It can only be worn on the child's wrist when the child is one or two years old. However, she only made the bracelet as an excuse and had no real intention of letting the child wear it in the future.
Queen Wang sent people to the Eastern Palace to give rewards almost every once in a while, and the rewards were much better than this small jade bracelet.
She tried hard to keep her mind calm and nodded, saying, "Not bad. The sculptor's craftsmanship is excellent. My father-in-law, please reward him for me." The Crown Prince was not in the East Palace, so she couldn't leave. Even if she wanted to see the people at Taoranju, she had no way to do so.
Li Fu shook the whisk in his hand, smiled and went down to do it.
She handed the brocade box to Yuhu and had it safely stored. She practiced calligraphy at her desk for a while before getting up. Her baby was only two months pregnant, her abdomen was flat, and she hadn't experienced any nausea or vomiting. If the imperial physician hadn't diagnosed her pulse, she would have suspected a mistake.
More than a month passed in a flash. Because the Censor and others went to the south of the Yangtze River in person and directed everyone to perform their duties in an orderly manner, the plague in the south of the Yangtze River was effectively controlled.
However, despite all the precautions, something went wrong. Because the grain sank into the river, it could not be transferred in a short time. In addition, the treacherous people maliciously obstructed it. The people in the south of the Yangtze River were talking about the prince, and some even said that the prince was incompetent and was punished by God.
At first, officials were able to silence them, but public outcry is as powerful as iron, and as more and more people died of starvation, the people's complaints grew louder. When the news of the destruction of grain in Taicang reached the capital, the whole government was shocked.
Emperor Hui'an's health has been getting worse over the years, and the arrow poison on his chest has relapsed during this period, causing him to be in a coma for more than half a month.
In his youth, the emperor fought many battles and suffered many injuries, including the poisoned arrowhead that struck him in the chest. Fortunately, the wound was not deep and the doctor treated it in time, so his life was not in danger.
However, although the poison was suppressed by the doctor's medicine, it was not completely eradicated. It was not obvious when he was young, but now that he was old, his health was getting worse and worse.
This time, due to his coma, court was suspended for over half a month. This had never happened before. This was also why he was so eager to pass the throne to the crown prince, because he had a hunch that his body might not last much longer.
The emperor was ill, and the crown prince was recuperating in the Eastern Palace. With the two most distinguished figures in the Jin Dynasty falling simultaneously, the entire court seemed to have lost its backbone and was leaderless.
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