Chapter 47 Flip the Card Again
This decree of demotion was like a thunderclap from the sky, causing Su Xiuyi to fall to his knees.
The eunuch on the rice paper closed the imperial edict and handed it to her.
"My lord, please get up and receive the order."
My dear, have you changed your address to calling her my dear now?
Su Qingrong took the imperial edict with a look of resentment and unwillingness on her face.
"Then we will leave. It's late at night. My dear, please go to bed early."
After the imperial attendants left, Lan Xiang quickly knelt forward and helped Concubine Su up.
"My lady! Do not be sad. It is only natural that His Majesty punishes you for being disrespectful in front of the emperor. No one can escape this punishment. Fortunately, it is only a demotion. There is still a long way to go, and your position will rise quickly."
Su Qingrong wiped her tears with the back of her hand. "Lan Xiang, doesn't His Majesty love me? Why are you so cruel? I've already been removed from the list of the Nine Concubines, yet when he saw Jiang Yingli, he actually had to bow to her and call her Empress!"
The more he spoke, the deeper the humiliation Su Xiuyi felt, and his shoulders were shaking.
Lan Xiang supported her and tried to comfort her: "My lady, don't be discouraged. My lady, think about it, His Majesty only demoted your rank and didn't ask you to move to another palace. Isn't it because of his concern for your relationship with the Empress?"
Su Qingrong was stunned for a moment, then looked at Lan Xiang hesitantly: "Is what you said true?"
There was a complicated look in Lan Xiang's eyes. Although it was not a good thing for the young lady to be too obsessed with His Majesty, she had to cheer her up first.
She nodded, "Yes, the young lady is still the head of the first palace, which means that His Majesty still can't bear to punish her too much."
Su Qingrong thought about these words carefully and finally managed to calm down.
"You are right. I cannot be discouraged. Your Majesty has me in his heart. When Your Majesty calms down, he will come to see me."
On the other side, at Roufu Palace, there were musical instruments and singing all night long, and the atmosphere was comparable to a festival.
Song Zhaoyi thought it was satisfying enough that Jiang Yingli had made Su Qingrong so angry that she was jumping up and down today, but she didn't expect that Su Qingrong would be demoted in the evening. It was really satisfying!
So cool, so cool, so cool!
At this moment in Zhaohua Palace, Lian Qiao couldn't help humming songs no matter what work she did.
After Jiang Yingli came out of the bathtub, Lian Qiao told her this great news.
"Your Majesty, from now on, when Concubine Su sees you, she will have to bow her head and call you Your Majesty." Lian Qiao emphasized the three words "Concubine Su".
Jiang Yingli stroked her hair in front of her chest, raised the corners of her lips and smiled, looking quite proud.
"Today she was still stirring up trouble in front of the Wanshou Palace, using her position to pressure me. It seems justice will prevail and retribution will come."
Changqing Palace.
Xiao Chenglan had just finished reviewing a memorial, rubbed his forehead, and looked at the three court officials below.
Kneeling in the hall, from left to right, are Shen Xi, the assistant minister of the Ministry of Revenue, Zhang Qian, the deputy minister of the Ministry of Works, and Li Younian, the junior supervisor of the Imperial Observatory.
"Your Majesty! Daye has suffered from severe drought for the past three years. Heavy rain will surely fall at the end of August this year. When that happens, the Fen River will overflow, and the people and fertile fields along its banks will be completely destroyed. We cannot delay any longer."
Xiao Chenglan opened his eyes and sighed.
"Young Master, I know we can't delay any longer, but ask Minister Shen. Can he possibly conjure up silver out of thin air?"
Li Shaojian fell silent, and Minister Shen looked disheartened.
During the last three years of the late emperor's reign, there were successive years of severe drought, followed by a major epidemic. Not to mention the poor harvest, the money for disaster relief had to be transported out of the national treasury like water, and now the national treasury is empty.
What's even more ridiculous is that, after all the money that flowed out of the national treasury like water and was shaved off layer by layer, most of it probably never left the capital and was kept in the private vaults of a few families.
Xiao Chenglan looked at the Deputy Director of the Ministry of Works and asked, "Mr. Zhang, how many months will it take to start diverting water from the Fen River and building a new dam?"
Zhang Qian said, "Given the scale of the project, the funds must be allocated by the end of the month at the latest. This way, there will be enough time to start construction and complete it before the flood season."
Minister Shen immediately retorted, "The end of the month? Can't we squeeze out more time? That's 150,000 taels of silver. The national treasury is scraping together money here and there, and at most, 50,000 taels can be raised. The rest is military supplies for the southeast, and we must not touch it."
Zhang Qian frowned and clapped his hands: "This is already the most urgent time! The Minister still wants to squeeze in. Do we have to delay it and watch the flood rush in, and then we will all be doomed along with the unrepaired embankment!"
Minister Shen glared at him, "What do you mean, Master Zhang? It's not that the treasury is out of money, but I'm not refusing to allocate money to the Ministry of Works. Even if you chop off my head, you can't conjure up 150,000 taels out of thin air!"
Xiao Chenglan rubbed his eyebrows.
"My dear ministers, please stop arguing. I summoned you today to inquire about your arrangements for matters other than the money."
Zhang Qian reported, "Your Majesty, everything from blueprints, supervision, local material supply, and manpower has been compiled into a document and will be presented to Your Majesty within the next two days."
Minister Shen also said: "The households that need to be relocated from the riverbank have been compiled into a list, and the household registration and settlement matters are already being processed."
"That's good. Let's do what we can first. As for the silver, I will work with Minister Shen to find a solution."
Minister Shen was stunned, his eyes slightly moist. "Your Majesty! Your Majesty is busy with countless affairs every day, and all the decisions you make are of the utmost importance. I am incompetent! I actually let Your Majesty worry about the money yourself."
Xiao Chenglan smiled meaningfully, "That's fine. Besides, given the current situation, I can certainly scrape together more money than you."
The emperor had not set foot in the harem for three days. On the fourth night, the news from the emperor was shocking.
His Majesty turned over the name card of Concubine Su of Qixiang Palace.
When Song Zhaoyi learned about this, she jumped up from the chaise longue in shock.
"What? Did you hear wrongly? Didn't Your Majesty just walk away from her the last time he came to the harem?"
Hanlu: "The news is absolutely true, my lady."
Song Zhaoyi made a "tsk" sound and rolled her eyes.
"This time the villain has succeeded again."
In Qixiang Palace, Concubine Su paced back and forth excitedly.
She had misunderstood His Majesty. She thought His Majesty was cruel to her. It turned out that His Majesty had always been thinking about her.
His Majesty has not picked any names in the past few days. When he entered the harem today, the first place he came to was her.
This time, she must serve His Majesty well and let His Majesty know her feelings.
"Your Majesty has arrived, Concubine Su is here to receive you—"
Su Qingrong knelt to receive the emperor. From her peripheral vision, she could see the emperor's dragon robe slowly approaching her, but stopping a few steps away.
"Su Jieyu, do you blame me?"
Su Qingrong slowly raised her head and looked at Xiao Chenglan, tears glistening in her eyes.
"How dare I complain? I just... just feel a little wronged. Your Majesty has no idea of my feelings and has left me alone."
"Don't you know what I mean?"
Su Qingrong was startled, "Your Majesty..."
There was a hint of bitterness between Xiao Chenglan's brows. "I've been looking forward to your confinement ending so I can finally see you. But you keep nauseating when you get close to me. If you don't like being close to me, why did you enter the palace?"
Su Qingrong's heart instantly broke into pieces. She said anxiously, "How is it possible? How could I not like Your Majesty? I miss Your Majesty day and night. I was really unwell last time, not to Your Majesty."
Xiao Chenglan smiled with relief and his voice softened.
"Really? Then prove it to me."
He extended his hand towards Su Qingrong, "My beloved, come here."
Happiness was right before her eyes. Su Qingrong stood up with a smile, holding up her skirt and ran towards Xiao Chenglan.
When she wanted to hug Xiao Chenglan's waist, the dizzy feeling came over her again.
Su Qingrong's face turned pale and she tried her best to suppress the urge to retch, but she couldn't move at all.
Xiao Chenglan even stretched out his hand towards her with a gentle smile.
"My beloved, come here."
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