Chapter 124 Meeting
Prince Qing shifted his gaze: "Are you lecturing me?"
His words were chilling, and coupled with his somber expression, his sharp aura was overwhelming. Lin Xin remained taut, not yielding an inch: "I did not mean that. It was Your Highness who detained my wife first, and I naturally argued my case based on reason."
Prince Qing leaned back in his chair, unconcerned: "What detention? I merely invited Madam Xu over for a visit. She and Shu'an get along well, so she's just keeping me company."
Xu Rong was speechless. This prince really had a different face every now and then. When did she become so friendly with Shu'an again? Their first meeting just now was when she was kidnapped.
However, she realized from this that Prince Qing really wanted to detain her.
Even when Lin Xin came after him, he did not change his mind—or rather, it was precisely for Lin Xin's sake that he detained her.
Xu Rong narrowed his eyes. The so-called "love of talent" was nothing but a joke; this was the real truth.
But then a problem arises. You see, the reason she's here is because of Bai Quan. At that time, Lin Xin was still sitting on the sidelines in the Hanlin Academy, with no sign of being promoted to imperial envoy. How could Prince Qing possibly have foreseen this when he was making his plans?
She understood it, and so did Lin Xin. Leaving aside the reasons for it for now, with Prince Qing's attitude already made, there was no point in trying to soften the blow.
"Your Highness, I have been ordered by the Emperor to leave the capital to provide disaster relief on behalf of the Emperor. Your Highness's detention of the Imperial Envoy's family is no different from violating the Imperial Envoy himself. Before I submit this memorial, may I ask Your Highness: are you sure you want to do this?"
...
"Are you saying that I intend to rebel?"
Prince Qing's voice was extremely soft, and his posture did not change, but suddenly he exuded an indescribable danger, which made Xu Rong pause: Prince Qing just said those two deadly words so voluntarily.
Fortunately, after a moment, Prince Qing bent down and continued, "How dare you slander me!"
"I dare not, I am merely reporting the truth."
Prince Qing laughed: "Truly? The capital is waiting for your 'truthful' letter, isn't it?"
"Your Highness is overthinking it. I say it is the truth, and that is the truth. Your Highness, the innocent will clear themselves."
In other words, it's unclear.
"Good, good!" Prince Qing laughed loudly. "The top scholar truly lives up to his title; his eloquence surpasses even mine!"
Lin Xin's face remained tense. Prince Qing's emotions were unpredictable and volatile. Such people were the most difficult to deal with. The fact that he could stand here and confront him for several rounds was simply due to his true nature.
"This time they actually sent such a greenhorn like you..." Prince Qing's smile hadn't faded when his voice lowered.
Xu Rong couldn't help but concentrate. What did "this time" mean? This was quite interesting—
"Interesting, very interesting."
Xu Rong was startled. When she came to her senses, she realized that it was Prince Qing who had spoken her thoughts aloud, repeating them twice. After he finished speaking, he waved his hand and said, "I am tired today. Go."
**
Xu Rong and Lin Xin stood on the street outside the Prince's Mansion.
After Prince Qing's abrupt and unrelated remark, they, along with Bai Fu and the others, were all kicked out—or rather, "released."
The whole process was so absurd that Xu Rong and Lin Xin stood facing each other for a while before Xu Rong finally said, "...Shall we go back to the inn first?"
The first thing I did when I got back was to eat.
Not only was she hungry, but Lin Xin had also skipped lunch in his search for her. He immediately buried himself in a meal and then the waiter brought him a plate of melons that had just been fished out of the well. The two of them sat opposite each other and finally relaxed a little.
While eating melon, Xu Rong told him about everything that had happened since they last met: "...So, I felt that I was the only one who could come."
She was a woman, and precisely because she was a woman, she was not conspicuous, which made it suitable for her to step into this chaotic situation at this sensitive time.
Lin Xin still looked unconvinced, but Xu Rong promptly stuffed a slice of melon into his mouth and asked with a smile, "Do you think this is a coincidence, or was it all planned by Prince Qing?"
Lin Xin met her smile, his mouth filled with a long-lost refreshing sweetness, and found it difficult to utter any objections. Understanding her meaning, he could only shake his head in agreement: "I don't know. It seems to be a coincidence."
Otherwise, it would be hard to explain why Prince Qing planned this so early. But then again, no matter how talented Bai Quan is, Prince Qing has too many ways to amass wealth. He wouldn't really need him, much less be indispensable to him.
Moreover, Prince Qing also detained Xiao Liu, who arrived later.
While the former could be presumed to be a coincidence with the best intentions, the latter was indeed a clear indication that could not be ignored.
Xu Rong casually tapped the table with her free hand. The problem was, Lin Xin, posing as an imperial envoy, had managed to get her out safely, but she hadn't seen Bai Quan or Xiao Liu, only briefly encountering Prince Qing. A bellyful of questions remained unanswered.
wrong.
Besides Prince Qing, she also met Princess Shu'an, so it can't be said that she gained nothing at all.
"I need to go to Prince Qing's residence again," Xu Rong muttered to himself.
Before she could finish speaking, her wrist tightened. Lin Xin reached out and grabbed her hand as if to warn her. His fingertips still carried the coolness of melon, and his words were even colder: "No. Go back. I'll send you away right now."
He stood up.
Xu Rong let him hold her hand, looked up and laughed, "Don't worry, I'm not going to see Prince Qing, I'm just going to see Princess Shu'an. She might know where Prefect Zheng is."
Lin Xin paused: "Prefect Zheng?"
Xu Rong nodded: "Pingliang is like a pot of boiling water now. The only way to control it is to find rice to cook. Hundreds of thousands of mouths to feed—how easy is that? Even if the imperial court approves the allocation of grain from other places, the entire process will take at least half a month to a month—"
“One month,” Lin Xin replied in a deep voice. “We have already submitted a petition, but there is drought throughout Gansu. If we need to allocate grain, we can only do so from outside the province, which will take at least a month.”
Xu Rong asked, "How long will the grain you and Zhou Qianxian brought last?"
"Seven or eight days," Lin Xin replied. "Including the grain we negotiated with the wealthy families in the city over the past few days, it will take about half a month in total."
Even from the most optimistic perspective, there was a gap of half a month in between.
It is impossible for people to go without food for half a month. Even if they survive on tree bark and grass roots for a while, how can we convince the people that the food will come in half a month?
Hungry people are unlikely to be rational.
If there is no solution, then a buffer point needs to be set.
“We must find Prefect Zheng.” Xu Rong asked him again, “Do you have any leads on him?”
Lin Xin shook his head silently and said, "We went to look for him as soon as we arrived. We asked many of his subordinates in the government office who were familiar with him, but they all said they knew nothing about it. This matter cannot be publicized, so we can only do it privately. Zhou Qianxian and I have been traveling for many days under the pretext of investigating the people's conditions, but we have not found any trace of him."
The news of Prefect Zheng's disappearance must be kept secret for now. Once it gets out, everyone will know that there must be something wrong with the Ever-Normal Granary, and then the people will be in trouble now, not even half a month from now.
But it's impossible to keep it a secret forever. Today there was already a storming of the government office, and the soup kitchens outside the city are still open. The people are clinging to a sliver of hope and can still be fooled. But the food supply won't last that long; it will eventually stop. When that happens, if they can't produce any more food, then at least they need to find out who the culprit is.
Without a doubt, Prefect Zheng was such a person. Before the situation was about to get out of control, Prefect Zheng was dragged out and beheaded to suppress the temper of the people and gain their trust, so that everyone would wait a little longer.
This is the "important role" that Xu Rong had previously thought Zheng Zhifu was irreplaceable.
"To see Princess Shu'an," Xu Rong thought for a moment, "it's not necessary to go into the Prince's residence. If I'm not mistaken, the princess might also want to see me right now."
Therefore, it is enough to simply pass on a message.
"Who should we send?" she asked Lin Xin.
This person can't be one of her subordinates, otherwise Prince Qing is well-informed, and she'll be gone again. The servant who went to find Xiao Liu hasn't returned yet.
Lin Xin breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing that she had given up her adventure at the Prince's mansion. Thinking of the starving people outside the inn, he hesitated for a moment before saying, "I've met some people in the city during my time here—"
Before he could finish speaking, Bai Fu appeared at the door, looking somewhat nervous: "Young Master, Grandmother, someone outside is requesting an audience, saying they are acting on the orders of Princess Shu'an."
Xu Rong's eyes lit up. What a coincidence! He was just looking for a good opportunity, saving them the trouble.
"Please come in quickly."
The newcomer was not a stranger; it was the same nanny who had been by Princess Shu'an's side all along.
She invited Xu Rong to one of Princess Shu'an's private residences in the city: "It's quiet and safe there, and it's convenient for the masters to talk."
Xu Rong happily stood up: "Please lead the way, Granny."
Seeing that she was so agreeable, the old woman's stern expression softened: "Please come with me."
Xu Rong walked out, and Lin Xin wanted to follow. Xu Rong smiled apologetically at the old woman, pulled him aside, and whispered, "Xuancheng, don't go. If something happens, you can help from outside."
If the two go together, they'll be caught in one fell swoop.
Lin Xin realized what was happening, but he couldn't let go of her hand. Xu Rong softened and let him have his way until the old woman couldn't bear it any longer and coughed.
Xu Rong struggled for a moment: "...Alright, I'll be right back. You have a lot of things to do too, so don't delay. Come over tonight when you're free, and we'll talk then."
The disaster relief work was complex and multifaceted, and Lin Xin was actually much busier than her. He had already asked Zhou Qianxian for leave in the short time he had left. He could only nod and watch her leave before he hurriedly left to return to the government office.
Princess Shuan's private residence is in the opposite direction.
This time I can take a car, which is much easier.
Xu Rong looked around at the scenery along the way and saw a scene of desolation everywhere. The entire city had lost much of its vitality.
With a sigh in her heart, her desire to see Princess Shu'an intensified, so much so that when she stepped into that quiet mansion and saw Princess Shu'an's golden face again, her expression and smile were even more eager than Princess Shu'an's.
"..." Princess Shu'an paused for a moment before saying, "Please sit down and have some tea."
After Xu Rong sat down, she couldn't help but ask, "I sent someone to force you to come, what are you so happy about?"
"Princess, what are you saying?" Xu Rong said with a smile. "I felt an instant connection with you when we met earlier. I was just worried that I wouldn't have another chance to speak with you. I didn't expect that you and I would be so in sync, inviting me over so soon. How could I not be happy?"
Princess Shu'an's expression was slightly strange: "..."
Is that so? How come she didn't know?
Xu Rong added: "When I later met with the Prince, he said that he knew I got along well with the Princess and that I should stay for a while to keep her company. However, my husband came looking for me, and it wouldn't be good to separate us, so he let it go."
Upon hearing her mention Prince Qing, Princess Shu'an's expression changed, and she pressed, "Did Father really say that?"
Xu Rong said, "Even if I had the courage to lie, how could I dare to fabricate the words of the Prince? If the Princess doesn't believe me, go back and ask the servants present, and you will know that what I said is true."
She was so calm and composed, and her reasoning was so compelling, that Princess Shu'an had no choice but to believe her, and her expression softened completely.
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