Chapter 100: Eyeliner
The emperor called the Meng brothers and sisters to his side.
The emperor ordered the two to take back their dowries and property that had been used for disaster relief.
This is a national matter, how can it be placed on two children?
But the brother and sister were determined.
The emperor tried to persuade them in vain and had to agree with their decision.
I was just about to ask them what methods they had for disaster relief.
Concubine Lan started making trouble outside again.
She knocked on the door while crying and begging.
The sobbing and complaining voice made people feel upset.
It is no wonder that the emperor has been doting on Concubine Lan for ten years.
Even if it was Meng Chifei, he would not be able to withstand the beauty's crying.
The emperor's expression became increasingly ugly.
He called over Chief Steward Liu and said, "I've already forgiven her once, but she still doesn't know what's good for her. You should just give her all those things."
Steward Liu's hand holding the whisk trembled.
"Yes." He nodded and went downstairs.
It only takes a cup of tea.
He then led a young eunuch to the outside of the imperial study.
Chief Steward Liu stood straight, lowered his eyes to look at Imperial Concubine Lan, and said in a clear voice: "I have something to return to you, Imperial Concubine."
After saying that, he waved his hand.
Two young eunuchs carried a man and threw him in front of Concubine Lan.
The man was wearing the palace dress of the head aunt and was lying on the ground motionless.
Concubine Lan followed the line of sight and looked upwards.
I saw the man lying on the ground, motionless, with a deep purple mark on his stomach.
Look up again.
It was a face that was pale with a hint of bluish-gray.
His eyes were wide open and red, and his tongue was sticking out long.
That face was hideous and ferocious.
"Ah——" Concubine Lan screamed in fear, "Mu...Aunt Mu!"
This person was the personal maid she had sent out to investigate the informer not long ago.
The person who was still alive two quarters of an hour ago is now dead with his eyes open.
Concubine Lan angrily rebuked Chief Steward Liu, "Aunt Mu was my personal maid, how dare you kill her?"
Manager Liu did not respond to her.
Another wave of the hand.
Another body was thrown in front of her.
This time, it was the small pillar that I wanted to get close to yesterday.
Next came a eunuch who was responsible for transporting mountain spring water to the palace.
He was the middleman she usually used to pass messages to her parents' home.
Her eyeliner was all pulled out.
Concubine Lan was both sad and relieved.
fine.
Only three people died.
She still has several nails.
Just as I was thinking this, I heard Chief Steward Liu say again, "I won't drag out all the others for you to see."
What!
There are others.
Concubine Lan suddenly had a terrible guess.
All her chess pieces were removed by the emperor.
No, no, no.
The most terrifying thing now is that his behavior of monitoring the emperor has been exposed.
Although the emperor doted on her, that was based on her being obedient and sensible.
As the king of a country, how can you allow others to sleep peacefully beside your bed?
Concubine Lan felt a chill running from the soles of her feet to her head.
She was cold all over and collapsed to the ground.
She knew she was finished.
She wanted to faint right there and then, hoping to win the emperor's mercy.
But in the end, she got up by herself and walked back to her bedroom step by step.
Outside the imperial study, it was finally quiet.
The emperor began to talk about business and asked them if they had any good ideas for disaster relief.
Meng Xiyan looked at his sister.
Meng Chifei immediately took out a booklet and presented it to the emperor after it was examined by Chief Steward Liu.
The beautiful handwriting comes into view.
"Your Majesty, please look at this disaster relief plan that we have worked together to come up with."
The emperor flipped through the memorial at a glance.
At first, he frowned and looked almost nauseous.
Later, his brows relaxed again.
Finally, he nodded with satisfaction: "As long as this method is implemented properly, it will not only save more victims, but also save a lot of money for the national treasury.
only……
Are grasshoppers really edible?
Meng Chifei quickly explained: "Your Majesty, you don't know.
Grasshoppers are delicious when roasted over a fire. They are very fragrant."
The grasshoppers are the freshest and tenderest at this time of year. They are chopped off and dried, and then bought from the people at two cents per pound.
When the people have money, they can use it to buy food and overcome the current crisis.
It can also clear pests in the fields and avoid large-scale locust plagues.
Kill two birds with one stone.
The workers fry the collected grasshoppers and then grind them into powder.
Do not shell the grains. Grind them together, add dried vegetables and salt, and then make them into cakes.
The pancake contains vegetables, meat, and staple food, making it nutritious.
It is easy to preserve and because of its bad taste, it can prevent some resale.
After solving the problem of food, water supply is also a big problem.
There is no good way to do this.
We can only ask the Ministry of Works to send some people to dig some deeper drinking water wells.
After some discussion, the emperor nodded with satisfaction and decided on a general strategy for disaster relief.
As for the fact that the Meng family emptied their savings but still couldn't afford disaster relief, that was actually an easy problem to solve.
Once the imperial envoy arrests the officials in Jinyang Prefecture, he will surely be able to confiscate a lot of stolen money, which can then be used for disaster relief.
He added, "I will arrange for several officials to assist you. You will cooperate with each other and complete this task beautifully. When you return from your disaster relief work, I will certainly reward you."
The brother and sister kowtowed together: "Thank you, Your Majesty."
After the two of them finished speaking, they immediately left the palace to prepare for disaster relief.
As soon as the two of them left the imperial study, they saw several officials waiting outside.
They were surrounding an official and teasing him, "Brother Song, you stole the show today."
"That's right. A wife with a generous dowry is good. By spending money, you can not only become an official, but also catch the emperor's eye. You give us 10,000 taels of silver, and we will work hard for ten years."
"They say it's better for a woman to marry well than to be born well. I think it's the same for us men.
It’s a pity that we don’t have the blessing that Brother Song has, so we can only rely on ourselves to work hard bit by bit.”
These people were almost pointing at Mr. Song's nose, saying that he had bought an official position with his wife's dowry.
Lord Song was not angry, but just smiled innocently in response.
Those people talked for a while, then felt bored and stopped talking.
Meng Chifei curled his lips at the sight.
These guys are real men.
Not only does he act pretentiously and noble, he also mocks others.
Meng Xiyan tugged at her sleeve.
Let her mind her own business.
After the brother and sister left the palace, they went all the way back to the general's mansion.
After arriving home, Meng Chifei's first reaction was to look for Wen Yan.
Tell her that you have got the disaster relief job.
Wen Yan listened to what happened in the court and outside the imperial study.
She knew that the downfall of the Lan family was just around the corner!
Meng Xiyan said, "Disaster relief should be provided sooner rather than later. Chi Fei, count out all the money in your home."
Take out all the antique calligraphy and paintings, jade and gemstones, and pawn what should be pawned and sell what should be sold.
Ask the emperor and Nanny Ya more often to see what the wealthy people in the capital like, and then we can go to their homes to sell them.”
"Okay." Meng Chifei responded.
The two of them prepared to go about their own business.
"Wait." Wen Yan hurriedly stopped the two of them, "Listen to me. These antique calligraphy and paintings don't need to be sold at a pawnshop."
The brother and sister looked at her in confusion.
"Could it be that you have a faster way to cash in?"
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