Chapter 96 The Emperor's Inquiry
News must be coming that the dikes in China have been breached!
Song Hui thought to herself, and couldn't wait to slip on her shoes and open the door.
Madam Zhang also got out of bed.
The rain was pouring down outside, and she was worried about her husband. She lay on the bed fully clothed and couldn't fall asleep.
The mother and daughter went to the outer room and lit candles.
Bang.
The door was pushed open from the outside.
Amidst the rumbling thunder and flashes of lightning, Zhao Hong and Vice Minister Song stumbled and fell in, soaked to the bone.
Both of them were soaked to the bone, their hair disheveled, looking like wild ghosts.
"master."
"My husband."
Zhang and Song Hui were so shocked that they quickly stepped forward to help their husbands.
Zhao Hong straightened up and grabbed Song Hui's arm tightly.
With a hoarse voice, he questioned, "Why was it Changyuan that breached the dike? Wasn't it supposed to be the entire Red Land? Why did it change?"
His fingers were wrinkled from being soaked in the rain for so long, and the coldness at his fingertips made Song Hui shiver involuntarily.
Zhao Hong's words were like thunder outside, making her ears ring.
"What? The Changyuan dike breached? What about Chixian? Didn't the dike breach in Chixian?"
Zhao Hong was breathing heavily, his eyes fixed on her.
"What do you think? If the dikes in China burst, will my father-in-law and I still need to come back?"
Song Hui collapsed to the ground, her face turning deathly pale instantly.
"No, this is impossible, this is absolutely impossible."
"How could it be Changyuan? I clearly remember it being Chixian."
A tremendous panic struck her, as if she had suddenly fallen from flat ground into an ice cave; she trembled with fear.
She clearly remembered that the flood in her previous life occurred in Chixian, so how did it become Changyuan?
Did she remember it wrong?
Song Hui clutched her head tightly, desperately trying to recall her past life.
Song Shilang sat on the ground, looking at Song Hui with pleading eyes, as if he had grasped at the last straw.
"Hui'er, you have to think of something quickly, otherwise my husband and I are definitely doomed this time."
Just then, the butler's panicked cries came from outside.
"My lord, someone from the palace has arrived."
Minister Song gasped in surprise and sat up abruptly.
"Oh no, will the palace send someone to punish us?"
Zhao Hong's face was extremely ugly.
A palace attendant, dressed in a straw raincoat and holding an umbrella, stood under the eaves and announced in a shrill voice, "His Majesty summons Zhao Hong to the palace immediately."
Vice Minister Song breathed a sigh of relief and slumped back down.
"It's just... just summoning my son-in-law. When you go to the palace, remember to plead for me."
Zhao Hongqiang struggled to his feet and bowed to the eunuch.
"Please, sir, sit in the flower hall for a moment. I will change my clothes and then come with you to the palace."
The eunuch nodded and followed the steward to the flower hall.
Zhao Hong went next door to change his clothes.
He needs some time to sort out the current situation and also needs time to think.
In the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, after he changed his clothes, he calmed down.
He turned and went to the flower hall, where he slipped a silver note to the eunuch.
"Such heavy rain, thank you for your trouble, sir. I wonder how the situation is in the palace?"
The eunuch quickly tucked the silver notes into his sleeve, a smile playing on his lips.
He lowered his voice and said, "Lord Zhao, what the Left Prime Minister means is..."
at the same time.
In the palace.
The emperor's sharp gaze swept across the hall.
"I heard that the Duke of Xin's Mansion, the Right Prime Minister's Mansion, and your families have all taken precautions against flooding, and even harvested the grain on your estates ahead of schedule."
What? Did you know in advance that it was going to rain heavily?
Duke Xin and Wang You exchanged a glance and quickly stepped forward.
Duke Xin: "Your Majesty, my elderly mother suffers from severe rheumatism. A few days ago, her legs were so sore that she could not get out of bed."
The day before yesterday, the wife of the Marquis of Anping was busy harvesting crops and sent the head of Renchen's estate to give her a few words of advice, saying that she was afraid the weather might change.
My elderly mother believed it upon hearing this, and she arranged for people to harvest the crops and took precautions to prevent flooding at home.
Wang Youxiang echoed, "My family also received advice from the wife of the Marquis of Anping's heir, and my elderly mother made arrangements in advance."
The emperor frowned, his expression momentarily blank.
"The Marquis of Anping's residence? Which one?"
Wang Youxiang said, "Half a month ago, the heir of the Marquis of Anping was reported for embezzlement. Later investigation revealed that he had never been to the government office and was framed."
His Majesty then fined him half a year's salary, and he's still imprisoned in the Censorate.
The emperor remembered this matter and immediately recalled it.
"Oh, that's Li Mu, the one who had someone sign in for him."
"That's right, it's his house."
The emperor stroked his beard.
How did the Marquis of Anping's residence know that the weather had changed?
No one could answer the emperor's question.
The emperor then asked, "Where is Wei Yan?"
Wei Yan quickly stepped forward.
"Your subject is present."
"I heard that you dug many drainage ditches in the city in advance and also sent people to help the people in the city repair their roofs."
The people of Bianjing suffered very little damage this time; you deserve the greatest credit.
The emperor suddenly changed the subject, "Why did Minister Wei dig additional irrigation ditches and repair roofs before the rainstorm arrived?"
"Could it be that you also received prior notice from the Marquis of Anping's residence?"
Wei Yan hesitated for a moment.
That doesn't seem wrong.
His information came from Shen Cong, and Shen Cong's information came from the young girl from the Anping Marquis's mansion.
Just as he was about to speak, a weak voice suddenly came from outside.
“He heard it from me.”
Shen Cong walked in wrapped in a thick cloak, his hair still damp, his face so pale it was almost transparent.
The emperor frowned, stood up, and strode down the steps.
"Nonsense! Why aren't you staying home and taking shelter from the rain? What are you doing running to the palace?"
She touched his hand and then tried the small heater in his hand.
"Look at your hands, they look like they've been coated with ice. The heater isn't even hot anymore. Ding Wang, go and get a new heater right away. Also, bring over that chair for Prince Xuan and put a blanket on it."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Shen Cong smiled and said, "Brother, there's no need for such trouble."
The emperor glared at him.
"Shut up, don't you have any idea what kind of body you're in?"
The ministers were not surprised by this situation.
The emperor doted on his younger brother Shen Cong, who was twenty-four years younger than him.
Twelve years ago, when the Empress Dowager was still the Empress, she was too weak to care for her young son after giving birth to Shen Cong, so she entrusted him to her eldest son.
Shen Cong can be said to have been raised by the emperor.
After a flurry of activity, Shen Cong was settled in a chair covered with a blanket, holding a warm hand warmer in his hands.
He brought up the topic from earlier, saying, "The estate my elder brother gave me is in the capital, right next to the dowry fields of the wife of the Marquis of Anping."
The wife of the Marquis of Anping's heir sent someone to inform me about the emergency harvesting of crops. I happened to be recuperating at the estate at the time, and Wei Yan came to visit me and overheard a few words.
Wei Yan nodded quickly.
"Yes, I took the risk of believing it to be true and returned to the city to arrange for people to dig more drainage ditches and repair houses, thinking that we could cope with any heavy rain."
Even without heavy rain, digging drainage ditches and repairing houses are still beneficial to the people.
The emperor was even more confused after hearing this.
"Even the Imperial Observatory couldn't predict this, so how could the Marquis of Anping's residence have known about the impending rainstorm?"
His gaze fell on the memorial that the eunuch had just picked up and placed on the table.
The memorial was written by Zhao Hong.
"I have investigated and found that the dikes in the country have been in disrepair for many years. With the weather changing today, there is a risk of the dikes bursting."
Zhao Hong also knew in advance that the weather was going to change...
These days, who's more powerful than the people at the Imperial Observatory?
It was at this moment that Zhao Hong was led into the main hall by the eunuch.
"Your subject Zhao Hong pays his respects to Your Majesty."
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