Within a few days, Grand Secretary Song recovered from his illness.
The torrential rain in Beijing finally stopped, but the sun still couldn't be seen, and a light drizzle continued to fall.
When Grand Secretary Song returned to the cabinet, before he could even say anything, Chen Dafu, the emperor's chief eunuch, walked over with a beaming smile.
"His Majesty invites Chancellor Song to the Hall of Mental Cultivation to discuss disaster relief."
This was an important matter of state, and Grand Secretary Song dared not delay, so he immediately went to the Hall of Mental Cultivation.
But after hearing the emperor's words, Grand Secretary Song almost cried out in disbelief.
"Should His Highness the Crown Prince leave the capital to provide disaster relief?"
As soon as he finished speaking, realizing that his emotions were showing, Grand Secretary Song pretended to be unwell, coughed several times to calm himself down, and then continued in his usual calm tone.
"Your Majesty, although there have been torrential rains and disasters in various places for days, there has not yet been a large-scale flood. Several key river embankments are still intact. If we want to provide disaster relief, we can simply send a third-rank official. Why does His Highness the Crown Prince need to go in person?"
He thought to himself: Although the rain has stopped, the roads are still quite dangerous after being washed by the rain. Asking the Crown Prince to provide disaster relief at this time is just asking him to cause trouble.
The emperor's eyes were half-closed, and his crown obscured his gaze, making it impossible to discern his expression.
His voice remained calm and composed.
"The Crown Prince is getting older and will soon have children. Naturally, he can no longer just study in the Wenhua Hall as before. It's time for him to gain some experience. Although this rainstorm came suddenly, it has passed and there is no danger. Isn't it only right that he goes out of the capital to provide disaster relief and comfort the victims, conveying my benevolence?"
That's a statement that no one can refute.
Because, you can't expect the emperor to leave the capital himself to provide disaster relief, can you?
The crown prince's act of providing disaster relief on behalf of the emperor is considered a commendable act in historical records.
Grand Secretary Song sighed inwardly and cupped his hands in greeting.
"Since Your Majesty has made the decision, this old minister will return to the cabinet to make the arrangements."
Grand Secretary Song withdrew from the Hall of Mental Cultivation.
Soon, the Crown Prince's Palace received the news.
It was naturally impossible for Grand Secretary Song to be the one to pass on the message, but the Crown Prince also had his own connections and channels, so it wasn't too difficult for him to find out information about the Hall of Mental Cultivation.
"Disaster relief?"
The prince put down his book, walked to the window, and looked at the drizzling rain outside, his eyes flickering.
Feng Jia, who had mostly recovered from his injuries, stood behind him and heard the news, his face showing anxiety.
"Your Highness, this is a trap! You must not put yourself in danger!"
His Majesty previously ordered Your Highness to reflect on your mistakes behind closed doors, without specifying a time limit. How many days have passed since then? It's as if His Highness has been completely forgotten!
But then, at this very moment, His Highness suddenly came to mind, mentioning something about leaving the capital for disaster relief. It was obvious from that that it wasn't a good thing!
Absolutely not!
However, the crown prince had a different idea.
“No, Feng Jia, this is a rare opportunity.”
The Crown Prince's original plan was to deliberately make a mistake and be punished, pretending to be confined to the Eastern Palace, so that all attention would be focused on him, making it much easier for people outside to act.
Therefore, he sent Song Xibai away from the palace with his trusted confidants in advance, and also prepared himself to sit idly in the Eastern Palace.
But to his surprise, the emperor actually asked him to go south to provide disaster relief.
Even Feng Jia could see through his intentions, so naturally the Crown Prince would too.
There's a risk that multiple groups of people might ambush them on the road, either openly or secretly, to kill them on their way to disaster relief.
At that time, no matter how much others doubt, it will be useless. Once he, the crown prince, dies, the noble families and officials who originally relied on him will naturally find a way to choose a better bird to perch on in the future.
The reason given was disaster relief, which was an open conspiracy that he couldn't refuse.
If a crown prince is unwilling to even leave the capital to provide disaster relief, it shows that he has no concern for the people and is cowardly and afraid of trouble. Such a character is completely different from the image he has established in the past.
Putting everything else aside, even the teachers who once instructed the Crown Prince would speak out in condemnation.
The Crown Prince did not listen to a word Feng Jia said after that.
He stood by the window for a long time until night fell and the rain gradually stopped, at which point he seemed to awaken from a dream.
"Feng Jia, grind the ink; I need to write a few letters."
Since we can't refuse, let's face the challenge head-on.
However, before that, we need to make thorough preparations.
The prince turned back to the table, pondered for a moment, and then wrote three letters.
After sealing the letters, guards immediately emerged from the shadows, took the three letters, and sent them out of the Eastern Palace through secret channels.
One letter was sent to the Zhou family, the maternal grandfather of the Crown Prince.
One letter was then delivered to the Sixth Prince.
As for the last letter, it took several days to reach Song Xibai's estate.
The following day, the imperial edict was issued, and the accompanying officials were almost finalized.
Due to the urgency of the situation, the emperor only gave the accompanying officials one day to pack their belongings.
Early on the third day, the Crown Prince abandoned his entourage and, with the five hundred imperial guards ostensibly given to him by the Emperor, a dozen or so officials of various ranks, and relief supplies, embarked on his journey south.
Just an hour after the Crown Prince left the capital, Song Xibai, who lived on the estate, received his letter.
Song Xibai took it as just an ordinary family letter and opened it without thinking much of it.
In the letter, the Crown Prince inquired about her condition in recent days and asked about the well-being of the child in her womb. After a long and rambling conversation, he suddenly changed the subject.
"I've been searching through countless books these past few days and finally found a few good names for the children. If it's a boy and a girl, how about Yangxu and Roushu?"
Upon seeing this, Song Xibai couldn't help but complain to Wei Hong.
"Your Highness's naming skills are really not good!"
Wei Hong struggled to suppress her laughter.
Song Xibai continued reading.
"If they are both daughters, then name them Menglan and Zhongya."
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