The nanny hurriedly said, "There's no need to bother Miss Qin to come to the palace. The Empress Dowager has already asked the imperial physician to see her, but she refuses to take the medicine and insists on seeing the Emperor. I'm afraid the Emperor hasn't visited the Empress Dowager in the palace these days and he misses her."
Yuwen Ran said indifferently: "It was indeed my negligence."
Yuwen Ran went to Cixi Palace and saw that the empress dowager was pretending to be more conscientious this time. When Yuwen Ran entered, the empress dowager was lying on the bed and shouting softly.
Yuwen Ran quickly walked to the Queen Mother's bed, took her hand, and asked anxiously, "What happened to Mother? Why is she so ill?"
The Queen Mother coughed lightly a few times, then grabbed Yuwen Ran's hand and used it to push herself up from the bed. "Emperor, it's nothing serious... I just have something to ask of you."
Yuwen Ran thought to himself that the Queen Mother really had something to ask of him, but he still pretended to be concerned. "Mother, if you have anything to ask, just tell me. As long as I can do it, I will definitely do it."
Seeing Yuwen Ran continue, the Queen Mother expressed her thoughts: "Of course the Emperor can do this. I heard that there is a severe drought in Qianzhou and the Emperor is worried about who to send to provide disaster relief. I do have a candidate here."
This news had just reached him, and he was certain that no one else had seen it. How did the Queen Mother get the news? Could it be that one of the people who passed the message was the Queen Mother?
But Yuwen Ran still pretended to listen attentively and said, "Please speak, Mother." If his expectation was correct, the person recommended by the Queen Mother should be Prince Xiang.
As Yuwen Ran expected, the Queen Mother's next sentence was, "I think Prince Xiang is a good candidate, Your Majesty, what do you think..."
"Mother!" Yuwen Ran suddenly interrupted the Queen Mother. "Prince Xiang has no experience in disaster relief. The situation in Qianzhou is urgent. If we send him there, and he's incapable of organizing rescue efforts, what will become of those victims?"
"But Emperor Xiang Wang has been in the court for a long time but has not made any political achievements. What's more, as a member of the royal family, he is supported by the people on weekdays. Now that natural disasters and man-made disasters have occurred, he should go to Qianzhou and work together with the victims to fight the disaster!" The Queen Mother's words were so righteous that Yuwen Ran could not find any loopholes.
"Queen Mother! Even if the royal family should work together with the victims of Qianzhou to fight the disaster, Prince Xiang is usually careless. Do you think he can do a good job in disaster relief? Fighting the disaster with the people is a good thing, but you shouldn't joke with the lives of the victims!"
Yuwen Ran's eyes turned red with anxiety. This was the first time he had encountered such a severe drought since he ascended the throne. Even when the previous emperor was still alive, there had never been such a large-scale drought.
The news that came back said that the people in Qianzhou had started gnawing on tree bark and eating loess. King Xiang had always been accustomed to a life of luxury in the capital, and he would probably not work in Qianzhou, which might even hinder the disaster relief work.
"But the emperor has no one else to send to Qianzhou now. Sending Prince Xiang there can reassure the people of Qianzhou and tell them that the court has not abandoned them. As long as Prince Xiang is in Qianzhou, the people of Qianzhou will never riot!" The Queen Mother suddenly raised her voice.
What the Queen Mother said was not without reason. The news that Yuwen Ran received not only showed that the people of Qianzhou had started gnawing on tree bark and eating loess, but also that some of them had even rioted.
Initially, the Qianzhou government took no action, believing it was just a small portion of the crops that failed to harvest, as was the case in previous years. It wasn't until the rioting Qianzhou residents stormed the government office and looted all the food supplies that the government officials realized the severity of the drought. They quickly dispatched envoys to Beijing to report the situation to Yuwen Ran.
Yuwen Ran thought for a while, and finally agreed to the Queen Mother's suggestion that Prince Xiang go to Qianzhou to provide disaster relief. "Then do as mother says. I will issue an order in the court tomorrow to send Prince Xiang to Qianzhou immediately to provide disaster relief."
The Queen Mother achieved her wish and decided to call it a day. She also made a suggestion to Yuwen Ran, "If the Emperor is worried about Prince Xiang going to pray for disaster relief, he can send another minister to deal with disaster relief. He only needs to let Prince Xiang stay in the disaster area to appease the people, and leave the rest of the disaster relief work to the minister."
Yuwen Ran stood up and said, "Then I will go back and think about who should be sent to serve as the Minister of Disaster Relief. Mother, please take good care of yourself and remember to take your medicine on time. Also, I want to ask Nanny to take good care of you and don't make me worry anymore."
Yuwen Ran played the whole role of the Queen Mother with her. Nanny was standing by, waiting for Yuwen Ran to call her name. She didn't react for a moment and just stood there. By the time she realized what was happening, Yuwen Ran was already about to leave. Nanny hurriedly said, "Please rest assured, Your Majesty. I will take good care of the Queen Mother and won't let Your Majesty worry."
Yuwen Ran returned to Fengqi Palace and told Gu Yanyue everything that happened in the Queen Mother's Palace. At the end, he asked: "Ayue, who do you think should be sent to rescue the disaster?"
This matter was not only difficult for Yuwen Ran, but also for Gu Yanyue. "I can't think of who the right person is at this moment. But is it really reliable for A Ran to send Prince Xiang to rescue the disaster?"
"What my mother said makes some sense. Prince Xiang's visit to Qianzhou this time serves as a mascot. As long as he's here, the people of Qianzhou will know the imperial court will never abandon them. I'll then gather some grain from other states and send it to Qianzhou. No matter what, we must ensure the people of Qianzhou survive this winter. When spring rains arrive, things will improve."
Yuwen Ran had previously thought sending Prince Xiang was unreliable, but since the Queen Mother had said that Prince Xiang's presence was merely to appease the people and would not interfere in disaster relief efforts in Qianzhou, she assumed the Queen Mother would also tell Prince Xiang the same thing: as long as he appeased the people of Qianzhou, there would be time to transfer food from other states for emergency relief.
While Yuwen Ran and Gu Yanyue were worrying about who to send to Qianzhou for disaster relief, the situation in the Empress Dowager's Palace seemed much more harmonious.
After Yuwen Ran left, the empress dowager had no reason to continue lying in bed pretending to be sick, so she got up from the bed and asked the nanny to comb her hair.
As the nanny was combing the empress dowager's hair, she fell into her old habit again, thinking about what would happen if Prince Xiang went to Qianzhou without anyone to take care of him. She couldn't help but say, "I don't know why the empress dowager insisted on sending Prince Xiang to Qianzhou for disaster relief. Qianzhou is in chaos right now, and everyone is avoiding it. Why did you insist on sending Prince Xiang there, empress dowager?"
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