"Two of the emperor's grandsons have suddenly fallen seriously ill..."
As soon as the steward finished speaking, Duke Cheng'en gave the order: "Prepare the carriage immediately and go to the Crown Prince's residence."
At this time, nothing can happen to the Crown Prince's offspring.
That night, the stewards of the Crown Prince's residence and the Duke of Cheng'en's residence led men to frantically knock on the palace gates and report to His Majesty and the Empress that the two imperial grandsons had fallen seriously ill.
The Crown Princess's family also received the news and rushed to the Crown Prince's residence.
The two young princes were said to be fine when they went to the academy in the morning, but started to feel unwell around noon, and the imperial physician treated them for typhoid fever.
They started having a high fever around 3 PM. Normally, a high fever in a child isn't a particularly serious problem, but the key issue is that both of them got sick at the same time. In addition to fever, they also developed rashes and vomited terribly.
The Empress was worried, so she brought the imperial physician with her to the Crown Prince's residence.
After the imperial physicians sent from the palace examined the two imperial grandsons, they exchanged opinions with the original imperial physicians in the mansion and confirmed that both imperial grandsons had contracted smallpox.
This was terrible. Smallpox was not only contagious, but also had a very high mortality rate, and many children did not survive it.
The smallpox disease struck with great force, and despite the three imperial physicians working tirelessly for a day and a night, they were unable to control the illness.
The next day at noon, the little prince, who had been crying and fussing, began to breathe weakly. The Duke of Cheng'en and the Empress stayed at the Crown Prince's residence for a whole night and a whole day, and the imperial physicians on duty in the palace were summoned.
At the hour of Wei (1-3 PM), the Crown Prince's two sons died despite all efforts to save them.
The Crown Prince is thirty years old this year, and he has two sons, one legitimate and one illegitimate, neither of whom survived.
Not only did she lose both sons, but her two daughters also showed signs of smallpox.
When the Empress and the Duke of Chengen learned that both of their grandsons had died, they both fainted.
Empress Dowager Wei was so enraged that she suffered a stroke.
The imperial physicians in the palace all looked ashen-faced.
The head of the Imperial Medical Bureau, with a solemn expression, said to all the imperial physicians, "Everyone, please organize the medical records. You have all done your best, and I will take full responsibility for this."
With such heavy casualties, someone must bear the wrath of the royal family.
The head of the Imperial Medical Bureau was prepared to die.
This year seems particularly cold; the first snowfall in November was exceptionally heavy.
Although aftershocks continued after the earthquake in Central China, the capital city remained unaffected.
Xie Zhaozhao had already moved back to the main courtyard, and Mo Yan and several servants swept the courtyard clean.
When Gu Shaoyu returned in the afternoon, he saw Xie Zhaozhao standing under the eaves, wearing a duck-egg blue cloak with fox fur around her, a hat covering her head, and her face covered with snow-white fox fur.
She smiled gently as she watched Yuan Yuan, Manman, and Mo Yan having a snowball fight. Several snowmen were built in the yard, each one looking adorable.
He stood at the gate of the courtyard, watching her smile, and felt a sense of peace and beauty that touched him deeply.
"The Grand Secretary is back?"
Yuanyuan called out, and everyone stopped playing around. Xie Zhaozhao hurriedly came to greet them.
His hands were cold, so he didn't take her hand. Instead, he walked back inside with her side by side.
Xie Zhaozhao helped him take off his cloak, Yuanyuan took it and hung it up, then went into the inner room.
Inside, there's a cozy fireplace and underfloor heating, a world apart from the outside.
Aunt Cui brought out rice, braised pork ribs, braised fish, and braised eggplant. Gu Shaoyu pointed to the green vegetables and said, "Did your boat bring these up?"
"They came from Citong Port." The two pirate ships, never idle, had a new crew of sailors who transported two boatloads of vegetables from Citong Port to the capital along the outer coast, only to plunder them all upon arrival.
Each trip yielded a gross profit of over ten thousand taels of silver. Yin Jin'an didn't want to worry about it; it was Li Yunmu who handled it. After one trip, they earned twenty thousand taels of silver. The young men on the boat received ten thousand taels, and Li Yunmu took the rest and gave it to Xie Zhaozhao to save.
Gu Shaoyu didn't dwell on the vegetables, and simply said, "Both of the Crown Prince's sons died of smallpox."
"Huh?" Xie Zhaozhao was somewhat surprised. This news was blocked by the royal family and did not reach the common people.
"He fell ill yesterday morning, and the imperial physicians tried to save him for a day and a night, but to no avail. He passed away at 1-3 PM. The Empress and His Majesty are deeply saddened."
Gu Shaoyu explained the incident to Xie Zhaozhao simply and clearly: "The Crown Prince failed to provide adequate disaster relief, leading to a riot among the people of Zhongzhou, and the Crown Prince fled."
Xie Zhaozhao frowned and remained silent for a while. In her previous life, she had not heard of any uprising in Zhongzhou at this time, nor had she heard that the Crown Prince's two sons had died of smallpox.
However, perhaps she hadn't heard about it at home. After all, in her previous life, Gu Chengyan was busy making a fortune in Jiangnan during the national crisis, and no one told her these royal secrets.
The Crown Princess and Wei Chuchu, among others, became pregnant and gave birth again, and the news of the death of the eldest grandson of the Emperor only came to light a year later. By then, His Majesty had already taken the Panacea and was somewhat insane.
However, smallpox is most prevalent in the hot summer months. It's already winter, so why is there a smallpox outbreak?
Gu Shaoyu wasn't in a hurry and waited for her to process it slowly.
After waiting for a while, Xie Zhaozhao asked, "Should we send people back to provide disaster relief?"
"yes."
"Send you there?"
"yes."
“You…” Xie Zhaozhao frowned slightly. “The Crown Prince’s disaster relief efforts have been ineffective. If you go now, it will be like declaring war on the Crown Prince. In addition, the Crown Prince’s disaster relief efforts have caused a riot among the people of Zhongzhou. Someone must take responsibility for this. His Majesty will definitely hold the Crown Prince accountable. The Duke of Cheng’en’s faction might cause trouble, right? It is not appropriate for you to leave.”
Gu Shaoyu tapped her nose and said, "I think there's someone quite suitable."
“Ice storm!” Xie Zhaozhao said.
Gu Shaoyu nodded.
Xie Zhaozhao said, "He's the most suitable person to go. His ability, background, and character are all impeccable."
Gu Shaoyu ate slowly, watching her with a mixture of admiration and heartache.
“If you recommend Ling Xun, I will discuss with Yin Er and Li Er that the three boats of grain urgently transferred from Johor will be given to Ling Xun to appease the people of Zhongzhou. We will only charge a profit of one coin per catty.”
Their three ships transported 30,000 shi of grain across the ocean, and the total cost was about ten wen per jin.
She earns a profit of one coin per catty, so even if she sells 10,000 shi (a unit of dry measure), she only makes a profit of 1,500 taels of silver.
Transporting three ships of goods back via the open sea at such great risk, the 1,500 taels of silver were essentially earned for nothing.
"This batch of goods has arrived safely. We have also rented a few more boats from others, and the grain will continue to arrive. We will definitely be able to appease the people of Zhongzhou, and the unscrupulous merchants will not be able to sell a single grain of their high-priced grain."
Only an outsider like Ling Xun could do such a thing.
Otherwise, if it were Gu Shaoyu instead, no matter what contribution she made, she might still be criticized for not bringing out the grain earlier, and only bringing it out when Grand Secretary Gu was appointed as Imperial Envoy.
Appointing Ling Xun as imperial envoy would not only allow Gu Shaoyu to promote Ling Xun but also effectively avoid suspicion and highlight his ability to judge character.
Gu Shaoyu walked up to her, squatted down, took her hand, kissed her forehead, and said, "Okay."
His daughter Zhaozhao wants to promote Ling Xun, so he'll cooperate with her! (*?︶?*).?.:*?
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com