With Doctor Tao taking care of Lu Cheng, Shen Wan and Xie Jingyan returned to Moyuxuan.
On the way back, Shen Wan kept thinking about the secret collusion between King Cheng and Xi Liang.
Shen Wan's head was about to explode, and she couldn't understand why King Cheng would do such a thing.
Prince Cheng is the emperor's own brother, born of the same mother. He has money and power, and is already second only to the emperor. No matter which of the emperor's sons succeeds to the throne, they will all show great respect to Prince Cheng, their uncle.
In addition, King Cheng only has a son and a daughter. The crown prince's health has only recently improved. Before, he was sickly and could not even leave the house. Almost everyone assumed that he would not live long. Even if King Cheng wanted the throne, he would have no successor.
To go through all that trouble to snatch the throne back from one's own elder brother, then adopt a prince from the emperor's lineage and pass the throne to him—even someone with a screw loose wouldn't do something so stupid.
Shen Wan couldn't figure out why Prince Cheng wanted to rebel, but what Prince Cheng did made them suspicious. If Prince Cheng was truly loyal to the emperor, he wouldn't have concealed the fact that there was an iron mine in his fiefdom and even mined it without authorization.
He freely entered and exited the palace, even murdered his own queen within the palace, and further protected the true culprit who plotted to kill the Crown Prince.
Thinking of what Xie Jingyan had said that evening—that Wangzhou, the fiefdom of Prince Cheng, had suffered from several days of heavy rain and flooding, requiring the court to allocate funds and grain for disaster relief…
Thinking of a possibility, Shen Wan forced herself to return to Moyuxuan. After entering the room, she asked, "Did Prince Cheng lie about a disaster in his fiefdom and ask the court to allocate grain and funds in order to recruit soldiers?"
War not only drains the resources and manpower of the people, but also severely depletes the national treasury. It would be no easy task for King Cheng to rebel.
However, he was the emperor's own brother, born of the same mother. While he was in the capital, officials in his fiefdom would submit memorials reporting the disaster situation, and the emperor would not suspect anything, much less send anyone to investigate.
King Cheng held an absolute advantage in status, making it easy for him to siphon money from the national treasury, further exacerbating the already strained finances.
Xie Jingyan also had the same suspicion, but compared to Shen Wan's worries, Xie Jingyan was very calm. He said, "I told Father Emperor that there is an iron mine in Prince Cheng's fiefdom. Even if Father Emperor did not believe what I said before, he will not miss such a good opportunity to test Prince Cheng."
Just as Xie Jingyan had guessed, the emperor indeed tested Prince Cheng at the morning court the next day.
A flood struck Wangzhou, and officials from Wangzhou sent an urgent message to the capital, requesting the court to allocate funds and grain to alleviate the disaster. At the morning court session, officials who heard this sighed in dismay. They hadn't expected that within just a few months, first there was the earthquake in Meizhou, then the dam collapse in Xizhou, and now this in Wangzhou. The earthquake in Meizhou, due to timely preparation, didn't cause much damage. When the dam in Xizhou was destroyed, there hadn't been any heavy rain yet; although hundreds died, it was still manageable. But the sudden downpour in Wangzhou caught everyone off guard.
Disaster relief is like putting out a fire. Even if the national treasury is tight and the soldiers' salaries are not paid, the army's food supply is not lacking, so the soldiers will not starve to death. But it's different for disaster victims. If the disaster relief food is delayed by even one day, who knows how many more people will die.
Even if the national treasury is empty, the money must be squeezed out from various sources. There are even suggestions to borrow the money for the Iron Cavalry first, since it doesn't cost two million taels to build the Iron Cavalry, and the Marquis of Pingyang still has at least half of it left.
After discussion, the officials decided to allocate 400,000 taels of silver to Wangzhou, along with 100,000 dan of grain.
King Cheng also pleaded with the Emperor to allocate funds to relieve the disaster-stricken people of Wangzhou.
The Emperor sat on the dragon throne and looked at Prince Cheng, saying, "Back then, I gave you Wangzhou as your fiefdom because Wangzhou was rich and rarely suffered from disasters, so you could stay in the capital and take care of the Crown Prince with peace of mind. I didn't expect that the Crown Prince's condition would improve so much now, but the fiefdom is not so worry-free. I will change your fiefdom. From now on, Yuzhou will be your fiefdom."
Yuzhou was the richest prefecture in the Great Chu, without exception.
Wangzhou has only experienced one disaster in so many years, which is already an excellent place. Just because Wangzhou has caused Prince Cheng trouble, the Emperor wants to move Prince Cheng to a more prosperous and worry-free place. Can the Emperor still spoil Prince Cheng a little more?
The officials were filled with envy.
Prince Cheng was surprised that the Emperor wanted to change his fiefdom. He quickly refused, saying, "I appreciate Your Majesty's kindness. Wangzhou has only experienced this one flood in so many years. I am already very content. I have no complaints about Wangzhou and there is no need to change my fiefdom."
The Emperor laughed and said, “You haven’t stayed in Wangzhou for more than a few days. Changing your fiefdom won’t affect you much. But with the flood in Wangzhou this time, it would be unacceptable if you didn’t go there in person to provide disaster relief. The Crown Prince’s illness has just improved a little, and now the Princess Consort has fallen ill. Right now, you can’t leave the capital. I’m busy with state affairs and can’t visit the Empress Dowager often to keep her company. If you stay in the capital, I will have a lot less to worry about.”
Prince Cheng hurriedly said, "I will leave the disaster relief to my subordinates. I have no intention of leaving the capital, nor do I need to. I beg Your Majesty to withdraw your offer to change my fiefdom. Yuzhou should still be given to the princes as their fiefdom. Your Majesty cannot allow the princes to become dissatisfied for my sake."
The Emperor still had a smile on his face, but the smile had faded considerably. "I only have one younger brother like you. I'm giving you the best place as your fiefdom. Which prince would dare to complain?"
Prince Cheng was about to refuse when the Emperor said, "My mind is made up. The matter of changing the fiefdom is settled."
The words that were about to come out of Cheng Wang's mouth could only be swallowed back.
Standing to the side, Eunuch Yuan saw no joy on Prince Cheng's face, and seeing that the Emperor's expression was also unpleasant, he couldn't help but sigh inwardly.
There were not many officials in the court who had the emperor's trust, and Prince Cheng was the emperor's own brother, born of the same mother, yet he harbored disloyal intentions towards the emperor.
Prince Ling told the Emperor that there was an iron mine in Wangzhou, the fiefdom of Prince Cheng, and that it had been illegally mined for two years. The Emperor did not send anyone to investigate, and Prince Ling dared not say a word. This time, the flood brought Wangzhou to the Emperor's attention, and the Emperor made a small test.
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