Chapter 57: Eating carrots She has always been a good baby who doesn’t waste food. …
Capital, Government Hall.
There were several memorials placed in front of the emperor.
The first one was Niu Dianqian’s memorial. Skipping the opening words of praise, the main text read:
"...I have secretly investigated Sima Yuan Sanqi of Sizhou. He was afraid of fighting, colluded with the barbarians, and secretly connected with the demons. He should be executed..."
"...such as Xue Jingzhen and Gongsun Ying of Duotian Sect, who practiced evil ways and incited people to mislead and poison the country..."
"…Governor Jiang Shigu is also in cahoots with the evildoer. Everyone in Sizhou only knows about Duotian Sect, but not the Holy Emperor…"
"…This is a matter of great importance. I dare not take the initiative to make decisions. I will submit a report based on the facts and humbly ask for your majesty's wise judgment."
The second book is a memorial from Governor Jiang, which explains in detail how the battle against the Dog-barbarians mobilized the soldiers defending the city to fortify the city walls and clear the fields, how the Dog-barbarians summoned the gods, and how Gongsun Ying of the Duotian Sect came down from the sky like timely rain and easily resolved a catastrophe.
Governor Jiang finally wrote:
"...Princess Changning went to the battlefield in person to persuade the invaders to surrender. The barbarian army was grateful for the emperor's kindness and obeyed the king's will..."
"…Because the barbarian king was disrespectful and repeatedly changed his ways, Princess Changning cried and said that she should serve her parents with kind words and that now that her husband was dead, she should be even more filial to her elders…"
"...I want to lead 5,000 surrendered soldiers back to the Dog Barbarians, and beg the Dog Barbarian King not to go against the will of the people and make mistakes..."
The two memorials talk about the same thing, but their focus is very different.
The palace lady Pei Jizai was serving beside her, and she added a bowl of tea very lightly without even raising her eyelids.
As early as in the Purple Palace, the emperor received an urgent report from Sizhou and had already lost his temper with Eunuch Lu, Niu Dianqian's direct superior.
At this moment, he arrived at the Council of State Affairs Hall, in front of the prime ministers and the chancellor, but he said nothing. He just put the memorial aside and continued to read the next few books.
This made the ministers, who had heard that the emperor was angry with Eunuch Lu and had wanted to help Princess Changning and Governor Jiang, become uneasy again, and no one dared to speak easily.
Among the next memorials, one was a report from the governor of Fengzhou, saying that seven counties in the state had been hit by drought, the water supply was about to be cut off, and the people's stored grain was almost exhausted. The only thing they had to do was to open the granaries and release the grain to solve the urgent problem.
In addition, all counties have already started to pray for rain, but there is a group of people who call themselves Taoist practitioners, who claim that they can pray with the blood of evil spirits and ask secular gods to bring rain. Although they are currently only offering sacrifices of pigs, cattle, sheep, etc., and have not yet made a big move, we have to send out demon hunters to monitor their actions.
The other one is about the Chizhou Demon Hunting Bureau, which is on an urgent mission of 800 miles. Eighteen counties in Chizhou were hit by a sudden rainstorm, and countless soldiers and civilians were drowned. It seems that there are evil spirits involved, and the investigation is still ongoing.
Because of the floods caused by this rainstorm, dormant demons and monsters in various places are ready to move. The Demon Hunting Bureau is short-handed and urgently requests support from neighboring states.
"There is drought in the north and flood in the south." The emperor was worried and asked his ministers, "Is there anyone who can share my worries?"
The left and right prime ministers sitting in the front looked at each other quietly. The left prime minister stood up and saluted, saying respectfully: "The Shan family of Fengzhou has inherited the art of praying for rain. Maybe we can recruit the talents of the Shan family to solve the drought and appease the people."
The emperor's brows relaxed slightly, and he nodded in praise, "Great."
Upon hearing this, the Right Prime Minister was determined and stepped forward to pay his respects, saying, "The He family of Jiao has lived by the Tu River for generations and is well versed in the art of flood control. If Your Majesty summons the He family to help, there will be no worries about the flood."
The emperor's frown relaxed completely. "Since that's the case, quickly summon the Shan and He clans and have the capable people in their clans serve as rain-praying officials and flood-control officials. When the disaster is alleviated, we'll reward them based on their merits."
The left prime minister, the right prime minister and the ministers behind them seemed to be honored. They all had joy in their eyes and eyebrows, and they all nodded in agreement.
It seemed that because the disasters in various places were under control, the emperor had the mind to pay attention to the military affairs in the southwest. She took out the memorial from Governor Jiang again, but ignored Niu Dianqian's memorial.
"Princess Changning has great righteousness in mind, but Jiang Shigu has no military knowledge. The two prime ministers should go back and discuss finding a general who can lead the army to go to the Quanyi King's Court on behalf of me and Princess Changning."
This is equivalent to free military merit.
As expected, Your Majesty began to doubt the eunuchs and lean towards the aristocratic families.
All the ministers were delighted. The Left Prime Minister and the Right Prime Minister received the imperial edict. After retiring from court, they contacted Shan and He respectively and discussed with their disciples and followers which general should be put forward to fight against the possible candidates of the Left Prime Minister/Right Prime Minister.
Both sides were busy suppressing the eunuchs and filling the vacant positions with their own people, but they didn't know that the emperor, who was only served by the palace lady Pei Jizai, overturned the imperial desk in front of him with an expressionless face, and the warm tea spilled on the back of the emperor's hand, leaving a slight red mark.
Pei Jizai did not panic, but took out the ointment and applied it carefully on the emperor's hand.
The emperor sat on the throne with a majestic posture, murderous intent in his eyes.
Are the prime ministers and ministers trying to slap the eunuchs in the face?
no.
It was a slap in her face!
In recent years, she has supported the Demon Hunting Bureau in order to eliminate the increasingly powerful wings of the nobles. However, the nobles are too powerful to be eliminated. In the face of natural disasters, the first consideration of the left and right prime ministers is how to get their people to power.
The emperor whispered to himself: "Do they still see me as the emperor?"
"Although the prime ministers have their own selfish motives, they still dare not have such disrespectful thoughts." Pei Jizai put away the ointment and took out a new set of tea bowls. "Your Majesty said in the Purple Palace that he was angry just for show. Why can't he hold it back now? Are you going to put on an act in front of me too?"
Knowing that the palace lady was worried about his health, the emperor breathed a sigh of relief. His anger came quickly, but it faded away quickly: "Of course it's not directed at you. Isn't there another person here?"
She looked behind her: "Come out."
The head of the Monster Hunting Division, Chi Yangzi, pulled out a jade screen with the Great Zhou territory carved on it, and said with a wry smile, "That's targeting me, your humble servant."
"The old Taoist priest still can't take a joke." The emperor raised his eyebrows and pointed at Chi Yangzi with a smile, "You just heard that the left prime minister wants to use the Shan family, and the right prime minister wants to use the He family. What do you think?"
"It's nothing." Chi Yangzi said calmly, "This natural disaster is indeed related to the gods, and it is not something that ordinary people can resist."
It turned out that the prime minister wanted to push forward his own people, but the emperor learned from Chi Yangzi the severity of the natural disaster and wanted to take advantage of this opportunity to deal ruthlessly to the nobles again.
The emperor uttered a “hmm” and said with understanding: “Gods? Only your Duotian Sect Master can handle them, right?”
Pei Jizai glanced at Chi Yangzi, whose expression changed slightly, and then looked at the emperor who was still smiling. Although he had followed this emperor since he was a child, he couldn't help feeling a little frightened at this moment.
Thunder, lightning, rain and dew are unpredictable. It is said that serving the king is like serving a tiger. This is not an exaggeration.
Although Chi Yangzi also heard the coldness in the emperor's joke, he still raised his eyelids, looked at her and said: "God, it is true that only the Duotian Sect can resist."
The emperor narrowed his eyes and stood up.
Chi Yangzi raised his head as she stood up.
The sound of dripping water, ticking, echoed in the empty government hall.
The two looked at each other in silence, as if time had slowed down. After an unknown amount of time, the emperor said, "Good."
She turned around and looked at the intricately carved mountains and rivers on the jade screen. Her tone was emotionless. "Can't we just ask the Duotian Sect Master to help?"
"No." Chi Yangzi said, "How the Duotian Sect acts is just like the gods, and mortals cannot interfere."
The emperor said: "Even if I go and invite him personally as the Son of Heaven?"
Chi Yangzi said: "Even if Your Majesty gives up the throne, it won't work."
Hearing such straightforward words, Pei Jizai shook his head helplessly.
The emperor also laughed out of anger, turned around and said, "I really don't know how you, Chiyangzi, have survived to this day. Go away, and don't let me see you again in the next two days."
Chi Yangzi said yes, performed a rolling gesture, and rolled out from under the throne.
emperor:"……"
Pei Jizai: "..."
The two looked at each other in astonishment, feeling extremely helpless and not knowing what to say.
…
Fujiao City.
The heavy rain was still pouring, and the low-lying areas were gradually flooded. The monks of Ciyu Temple opened the temple gate, wearing straw raincoats, waded in the flowing rain, and brought the women, children, the elderly and the weak living near the temple into the temple.
In the city, many people have climbed onto the roofs, but the water level is still rising. At a glance, half of the city has disappeared under water.
From time to time, a short person would be washed away by the water, floating up and down in the water, no different from a leaf or a weed.
He, who lived at the highest point in the city, saw the entire scene.
The elder of the He clan sighed and said, "If we didn't dare to disobey the emperor's will, how could we sit back and watch our relatives and neighbors suffer?"
Several younger generations looked moved, and just as they took a step toward the door, they were called back sternly by their parents.
"Don't you know that when the capital city caught fire three years ago, Wei was the first to rush into the fire. Twenty-three people died in the flames, the youngest of whom was not even twenty years old. But what happened after the fire was put out?"
This is a story that the elders often tell. Everyone in the He family knows it by heart. A young man continued cautiously, "The Dali Temple imprisoned Wei's entire family on the grounds that Wei could control fire, perhaps because the thief was crying thief. They interrogated him for a full six months. After six months, although no result was found, they had to release him. However, Wei was already disabled, and his fire control technique was also included in the arsenal of the Demon Hunting Bureau."
As the young man spoke, the young men, who were originally full of vigor and vitality, fell silent and stopped looking at the people suffering from the flood.
The elders looked at each other, with a mixture of mockery and pride in their eyes. When the young men raised their heads, their eyes were filled with grief and indignation.
"Only after your majesty's decree can we control the flood and save lives."
The clan leader patted a young man on the back and said gently, "Save others, but also protect yourself."
The young man nodded, his eyes hiding his dissatisfaction with the emperor, and he only said, "Yes."
At the same time, still in Fujiao City, in an ordinary wealthy family, a little girl wearing a bellyband and a gold collar bent down, grabbed a bunch of jet-black hair, and took a bite of the transparent object under the hair.
"Ahhhh!!!" The water ghost who thought he could easily eat the little girl screamed and flapped his body like a fish that had reached the shore.
No, is that reasonable?
How could a little kid of that size grab it like pulling a carrot, with a mouth that hasn't even grown all its teeth yet, and yet it could create such a big gash on its body.
Li Zhou was indeed eating radish.
It's crisp and refreshing, and can be served as an appetizer, but it's not so delicious that you can't stop eating it.
She took two bites and found it a bit boring. Then she remembered that she went out to look for her missing mother.
"Have you seen my mother?" Li Zhou asked the water ghost who was screaming.
The water ghost paused for a moment, then said in a panic: "Can you hear my voice? Why did you take two bites?"
"Wouldn't you be gone if you took three bites?" Li Zhou looked at the water ghost in confusion, feeling that it was not very smart. "If you don't know, I'll go ask someone else."
As she said this, she opened her mouth again, ready to eat the last bit of radish.
She has always been a good baby who doesn't waste food.
"Wait, wait." The water ghost screamed, "I know, I know, your mother is Yue Niang, right? I saw her on the way here just now, your father, your brother, and a nun, all together."
Li Zhou quickly put it down: "Then you lead the way."
The water ghost finally returned to the water, but only one third of its body was left. It glanced at Li Zhou, but didn't dare to run away. It swam obediently in front: "Don't blame me for not reminding you. There is a big monster over there, not a little ghost like me. That nun is so powerful, but she could only hold her own against it."
Otherwise, it wouldn't have gone around so many prey to catch the lone little carrot head here.
But what it didn't expect was that in the end it itself was eaten as the carrot.
Li Zhou didn't notice the water ghost's sad expression. He raised his foot and stepped over the threshold. The part below his neck changed in an instant.
It doesn't change, her feet can't touch the ground.
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