Chapter 78 The Emperor's Expectations
The Imperial Palace.
"You said the people you sent to track him were shaken off?" The emperor's tone was somewhat angry.
The head of the imperial guards lowered his head even further: "Your Majesty, please calm your anger! After Prince Cheng left the city, he took many detours, specifically choosing narrow paths and dense forests. We...we lost him in a moment of carelessness..."
"Does he think that by shaking off people, I won't be able to find my place? I just don't want to make a big fuss about looking for him!"
If an emperor were to send people to inquire about the goddess circulating in the streets, the rumors in the capital would likely spiral out of control.
The Empress quickly brought over tea and gently comforted her.
"Your Majesty, please calm down. Cheng Fang is a loyal and affectionate young man. He must have made some prior arrangements with Miss Jiang to avoid disturbing her with outsiders."
Although it cannot be confirmed that the Miss Jiang is the goddess, she does act like a hermit, and probably doesn't like to be disturbed.
The head of the imperial guards quickly added, "Your Majesty, we have discovered that it is not only the imperial guards who are following Prince Cheng. Perhaps it is because there are too many people following him that Prince Cheng is taking precautions."
Ever since news of the life-saving elixir spread, many high-ranking officials and nobles in the capital have been trying to find out where Jiang Shennu is.
The emperor snorted coldly, picked up his teacup, and took a sip.
"He's quite loyal and sentimental, just like his father when he was young!"
After the Grand Eunuch withdrew, the Emperor asked his personal eunuch,
"I asked you to investigate who was maliciously instigating the rumors about Jiang Shennv in the capital. Have you found anything?"
Rumors about the Goddess Jiang began to circulate when the Crown Prince returned to court some time ago.
At first, it was just said that a goddess gave medicine to cure diseases, but now the rumors are getting more and more outlandish, saying that the goddess Jiang has the ability to bring people back to life and make them young again.
There are even rumors that to worship the goddess, one must be a pair of young boys and girls, or have one's heart dug out and offered as a sacrifice, and then the goddess Jiang will grant that person any wish!
The eunuch, Wang, stammered, cold sweat beading on his forehead. "Your Majesty, we've made progress on this matter and are investigating further..."
The emperor grew impatient. "That means there's still no progress!"
Eunuch Wang was so frightened that he knelt down on the ground: "Your Majesty, please forgive me! The rumors have spread too far and the source is hard to trace. It seems that several groups of people are simultaneously composing and spreading songs among children..."
The Empress gently patted the Emperor's back: "Your Majesty, there's no use in rushing. Let's investigate slowly."
The emperor waved his hand: "Enough, you may leave!"
"Yes." Eunuch Wang breathed a sigh of relief and quickly withdrew.
At this moment, only the Emperor and Empress remained in the hall.
The empress walked behind the emperor, placed her hands on his shoulders, and gently massaged them.
"Your Majesty has been overly worried lately. Regardless of whether that Miss Jiang is truly a goddess, even if she is, the appearance of a goddess in the Great Yu Dynasty is not necessarily a bad thing."
At least for now, what this goddess is doing is beneficial to the Great Yu Dynasty.
Those who were on her side were all people who sided with the Crown Prince.
Judging from the Crown Prince's intention to protect her, his relationship with Goddess Jiang was by no means casual.
Although Cheng Fang concealed her information, as long as he could still contact her, it would be a good thing for the Crown Prince and the Cheng family.
As a daughter of the Cheng family and the emperor's wife, the empress believed that the current situation was the most advantageous.
However, the emperor's thoughts were not so one-sided.
The emperor's gaze fell on a corner of his desk. There sat a strangely shaped lamp, and on a tray were a gleaming black lighter and a transparent, gossamer-thin raincoat.
These were not things that the artisans of the Great Yu Dynasty could have made.
Ever since he heard the beautiful music from the music box in the Empress's palace that day, he couldn't wait to confirm that Miss Jiang was indeed a goddess.
If the goddess could be used by the Great Yu Dynasty, or even show some favor to the Great Yu Dynasty, it would be a blessing for the Great Yu Dynasty's ruler and people.
He sighed softly. "I know, of course, that the appearance of the goddess in the Great Yu Dynasty is more beneficial than harmful. Perhaps I was too hasty."
The Empress continued, "Throughout history, the actions of truly accomplished people have often differed from those of ordinary people. Zhao'er also mentioned that the shop is rarely open. If Your Majesty rashly sends someone to search for it, and you happen to disturb Miss Jiang and displease her, she might simply close the shop and never appear again. Wouldn't that be a loss for the Great Yu Dynasty?"
How could the emperor not understand this principle? However, his anxiety was not without reason.
"The borders are currently unstable, and the Great Wei Kingdom is eyeing us covetously. A major war could break out at any moment. In a war, provisions are the top priority, and medicine is the second. However, I have asked the Crown Prince, Cheng Fang, and Zhao Jingxing, and their answers are all the same. They all say that this medicine was obtained by Miss Jiang's father during his travels in the Western Regions, and was not made by Miss Jiang herself. Now, the only remaining stock has been put into the national treasury."
"But how can the national treasury's meager reserves support the expenditures of a major war?"
He frowned: "Our Great Yu Dynasty also has caravans that travel to the Western Regions. I personally sent people to inquire, but they all said they had never heard of or seen this kind of medicine."
The empress suddenly stopped what she was doing and squatted down to look at the emperor.
"Does Your Majesty suspect that Miss Jiang is lying? That this medicine was indeed made by Miss Jiang? Was the claim that Father obtained it during his travels in the Western Regions merely a pretext to deceive everyone?"
The emperor remained silent.
He truly hoped that Miss Jiang was indeed the Goddess Jiang, a goddess who could create life-saving elixirs and cure diseases!
The Great Yu Kingdom may not need these ingenious toys, but it cannot do without life-saving medicine.
However, as the ruler of a country, he could not go there rashly.
Ms. Jiang donated medicine because an epidemic had broken out in Ping'an County, with thousands of patients teetering on the brink of death and the disease still spreading. Unable to bear the suffering of people, Ms. Jiang distributed the medicine to save lives.
Now that the world is at peace, if we were to presumptuously go there and demand more elixirs, wouldn't that make the emperor of our Great Yu Dynasty appear greedy and insatiable...?
————
The sky was already dark, but the moonlight was very bright.
Although it was still summer, the evening breeze already carried a slight chill.
Jiang Ling carried water and cleaned up the bloodstains at the door.
She certainly didn't want to be greeted by a swarm of mosquitoes the next time she opened the door.
I had just rinsed the doorway with two buckets of water when I vaguely saw a blurry figure carrying something, staggering over.
When they reached the light, Jiang Ling could see clearly.
"Xiao Ran? What brings you here so late?"
Xiao Ran carefully placed the heavy wooden bucket at Jiang Ling's feet. The water in the bucket was crystal clear, reflecting the moonlight.
"Sister Jiang, this is well water that Xiao Ran drew. It's very clean. I'll use it to wash your floor."
Actually, it would have been more convenient to fetch water from the river, as there's a river to the east of the village. However, the water from that river has a slightly fishy smell, and knowing that Sister Jiang is a clean person, he took the long way to fetch this bucket of water from the well at the west end of the village.
Well water?
Jiang Ling was somewhat taken aback; she had only ever heard this word on television.
Her shop has a constant supply of clean tap water when you turn on the tap.
But they forgot that the villagers here all rely on well water for their livelihood.
If Jiang Ling hadn't been unable to find the water pipe, she wouldn't have had to carry out bucket after bucket of water.
"No need, Xiaoran, you can take the water home and use it. I have water here. You've been working in the fields all day, go home and rest early."
Since Zhao Yin broke his leg, the heavy work at home has mostly fallen on the shoulders of this twelve-year-old child.
She's busy from morning till night, working in the fields, doing laundry, and cooking. She's so sensible it breaks your heart.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com