Chapter 48 Xiao Shen Recognizes Other Reincarnated Individuals...
The capital city.
The morning court session was filled with a great commotion.
Grand Secretary Mu, who had not relinquished his position as Grand Tutor, now only performed leisurely tasks and appeared only at grand court assemblies or important occasions. Therefore, when he appeared at this ordinary morning court session, not only were the ministers surprised, but even the somewhat sleepy Emperor Hongren sat up straight and became fully awake.
The ministers exchanged knowing glances, deciding to postpone reporting on trivial matters for the time being and wait and see.
Then they waited a while, and sure enough, an official from the Ministry of Personnel stepped forward to report:
The prefect of Wuling Prefecture sent urgent reports on the flood situation in many places, including the magistrate of Liujiang County in Liuzhou. The magistrate and the magistrate of Lingnan Prefecture jointly submitted a memorial, requesting assistance in the face of the devastating floods and hurricanes.
The officials were in uproar.
This happened so suddenly.
'But... Liuzhou?'
This is a sensitive place name. Others might not care much, but the Minister of Rites, who is related to the Third Prince's maternal uncle, vaguely felt that the name was familiar. Wasn't it the Second Prince, who was granted the title of Prince Rui, who went to Liuzhou?
If he is in danger...
The Minister of Rites had an inscrutable expression. He glanced around and made eye contact with his own protégé in the Ministry of Personnel's ranks—Shen Shuzhi, who was serving as a junior official in the Ministry of Personnel.
Shen Shuzhi was a handsome middle-aged man with striking eyebrows and bright eyes, and regular features. Despite being thirty, he hadn't lost his figure and meticulously groomed his beautiful beard every day, exuding a refined and cultured air. When he met his teacher's gaze, he shook his head neither humbly nor arrogantly.
"..." The Minister of Rites felt relieved and stood still, calming himself down.
Sure enough, the Minister of Rites soon overheard whispers behind him: "The magistrate of Liujiang County? What bad luck, isn't that where Old Master Mu's second son just took office?"
"No wonder, I would be anxious too."
The whispers gradually subsided, and the Grand Eunuch Zhao Fuman shouted, "Silence!"
"Bring it here." Emperor Hongren flicked his wide sleeves, glanced at his Grand Tutor a couple more times over the memorial, and began to read it. A moment of silence fell over the hall.
Mu Jie slowly closed his eyes, waiting, his expression authoritative without anger: "..."
He knew he was in for a tough fight today.
Historically, it has always been the case that when a sudden disaster strikes and causes severe damage, people submit memorials to the court requesting disaster relief. Today, the three prefectures can issue early warnings about flooding, which is something they will certainly address. However, sending people to Lingnan or Liuzhou for hurricane-related relief efforts is much more difficult.
To put it bluntly...
That's too troublesome, too risky, and there's no guarantee of achieving anything. Who would be willing to do that? The national treasury can't withstand the financial and material losses.
But no matter how troublesome the matter, we must find a way. As long as Emperor Hongren wants it, this matter can be accomplished.
With a heavy heart, Mu Jie urgently contacted his disciples and connections over the years to secure an official request for assistance, making it public. At the same time, the memorial presented to the Emperor included the name of the magistrate, Mu, who submitted it. Anyone with discerning eyes could see clearly that it was because Mu's beloved son was also serving in that area that he knew in advance, and that's why he couldn't help but go to court today to ask for help because of this personal matter.
Of course, the memorials would also subtly remind the officials that since it concerned the safety of Prince Rui, they dared not be careless and could only submit their reports as soon as possible to await further instructions.
In this way, all matters, whether public or private, whether related to the emperor's bloodline or his own descendants, were clearly written in the memorials. It was just a matter of how Hongren Emperor would react.
"You should all take a look at this and see how to arrange the procedures." After Emperor Hongren finished reading, he instructed Eunuch Fuman to send the memorial down and then made a round of visits to the Six Ministries.
But this time, no one stepped forward first; the atmosphere was strange, and the attitude was ambiguous.
Normally, it's understandable that they'd complain about being poor and unable to provide financial assistance, or about trivial matters, but today none of them wanted to be the first to step forward—who knew what His Majesty's attitude was? That was where his own son was. Even if His Majesty didn't care, who wanted to offend Elder Mu, who had connections throughout the court?
Even the Minister of Revenue, who was in charge of the purse strings, looked worried.
He still wanted to play the victim, a tactic he could never stop using. The national treasury couldn't withstand such reckless spending; they had a well-established process for handling disaster relief and flood control. But... normally he was the first to step forward and play the bad cop, but today he had no choice.
Old Master Mu was also kind to him!
Finally, a vice minister from the Ministry of Revenue reluctantly stepped forward to probe the emperor's intentions: "Your Majesty, the disaster situation is critical and cannot be ignored... However, the construction of the imperial mausoleum is currently underway, and the national treasury is empty... This specific matter still requires Your Majesty's decision!"
He gave a bunch of vague answers, then promptly knelt down.
Now the other officials were relieved, and they all knelt down in unison, repeating, "We respectfully request Your Majesty to make a decision!"
—Your Majesty, please give us your opinion, then those who should oppose can oppose, and those who should agree can agree.
"A bunch of slippery foxes." Emperor Hongren snorted, having already made up his mind.
"Wang Chuandao of the Ministry of Revenue will be in charge of all disaster relief work in Liuzhou and Lingnan from this day forward. Shen Shuzhi of the Ministry of Personnel will be in charge of river embankment protection..."
He named a few people and appointed three imperial envoys in a flash.
Hmph, everyone thought he would be so cold-hearted? They were still observing his attitude... At the very least, he's still his son, and Master Mu's son is there too.
Emperor Hongren disliked his second son and wanted to send him far away to avoid seeing him and calm his mind, but he hadn't yet reached the point of turning a blind eye to his son's continued plea for help.
His statement immediately eased the tension in the court, and the proceedings returned to their familiar routine—the next step was to discuss trivial matters such as how much grain to allocate, when to depart, and how the three ministries would prioritize tasks.
For a time, the officials argued heatedly, their faces flushed. The officials of the Ministry of Revenue refused to give an inch. Wang Chuandao, who had just been appointed as the Imperial Commissioner, made a brilliant turn and began to argue with them, betraying his own country.
The argument was incredibly fierce, with one side frequently rendered speechless.
Shen Shuzhi watched from the sidelines, feeling extremely pleased without showing any emotion: "..."
That's why they say it's always the officials from the Ministry of Revenue fighting each other—they know each other inside and out.
Occasionally, when Wang Chuandao's side was at a disadvantage, several officials who looked like Grand Secretary Mu would come out to support him, leading to a heated debate.
Shen Shuzhi observed the whole thing discreetly. It seemed like none of it concerned him, but in reality, he silently noted everyone's inclinations and statements.
Two hours later, the long morning court session finally ended, and the massive machinery of the court began to operate again. Shen Shuzhi dragged his weary body out of court and went home.
As he stepped into the house, his expression gradually turned solemn, and his eyes sharpened: "..."
Something's not right.
There are many people acting strangely in court today.
Whether it was Grand Secretary Mu, Wang Chuandao, or the other officials who were vying to push forward the process, they were all highly suspicious.
Shen Shuzhi wondered if the news he reported today was an unknown change caused by his life being given a second chance. Because in his memory, he had never experienced anything like this in his previous life!
At the very least, Grand Secretary Mu did not send anyone to court to report on his son's situation. Shen Shu knew that he had never been sent to such an event in his previous life.
As a senior official in the Ministry of Revenue, Wang Chuandao could not possibly be unaware of how empty the national treasury was and how the money should be spent. He had no reason to be so eager to argue about disaster relief in Liuzhou and Lingnan.
When did the procedures for disaster relief and approval in the imperial court become so complicated?
There are just too many suspicious points... This is definitely not a reaction that could be triggered by him starting over alone!
All of this involves one person—the Second Prince, who resides in Liuzhou. If we apply his own unusual behavior to others, things become more plausible.
If that's the case...
If that's really the case...!
"..." Shen Shuzhi stepped through the front gate of her house with an inscrutable expression, ignoring the gatekeeper's respectful address. She then passed through the second gate and heard her daughter's lively laughter ringing out in the courtyard.
She was catching butterflies and playing with them, accompanied by several servants and wet nurses, her little face flushed with joy.
"Daddy!" The little girl's clear voice rang out, accompanied by a small body rushing towards him. Shen Shuzhi's expression immediately softened, and he caught his daughter, coaxing her, "Daddy has to go out on business. I'll play with you when I get back, okay?"
"Well... okay then."
The servants whispered in surprise, "Did the master get some good job? He seems to be in a very good mood."
They looked at each other in bewilderment. When the master returned to the main house and gave his wife instructions, the servants realized that their master had been sent out as an imperial envoy to manage the flood situation.
This is truly a difficult and arduous task.
The servants were puzzled even more: Why was the master so happy?
That night, Shen Shuzhi tossed and turned in his study until midnight.
He was pondering how to proceed in the future, especially... how to have his trusted confidants keep a close eye on Elder Mu's household after he left the capital, and see who might try to test him.
Because if his bold guess is true... other intelligent people in court today will also notice the anomaly, and they will definitely follow the clues to find the source of the disturbance and ask Grand Scholar Mu for clarification.
He'll think about it then, whether or not he should acknowledge the person as his relative.
Because... if he's not the only minister who can be reborn, it's hard to say whether it's a good thing or a bad thing. Those who spoke out in court today were all in favor of the Second Prince, but what if other ministers under other princes were reborn?
What if His Majesty also knows about this? Or what if someone wants to use another prince to gain favor by marrying into the imperial family and tells His Majesty about it...? Would the Second Prince gain more favor then? Or would he face utter destruction?
Just thinking about these terrifying speculations made Shen Shuzhi break out in a cold sweat. That's why he paid such close attention to everyone's reactions in court.
So far, it seems no one is hostile.
...But in any case, we still need to wait and see.
Shen Shuzhi temporarily put aside his conspiracy theories, cleared his mind, and prepared to sleep. Tomorrow he would have to go through the follow-up approval process again, and if the progress was too slow, he would secretly urge him on.
This carries the risk of exposure.
But Shen Shuzhi and the other suspicious officials probably thought the same thing—
First and foremost, we must ensure the second prince's survival.
He was praying from the bottom of his heart. He had never heard of anything like it in his previous life because the Second Prince had overcome the difficulties in his fiefdom on his own.
Of course, there is another point of doubt, which Shen Shuzhi and others in the court today should have noticed. Why is the prefect of Liuzhou notably absent from the list of those who submitted the memorial?
Shen Shuzhi narrowed his eyes, sensing the danger.
Normally, it would be reasonable to report the disaster situation afterward. However, a prince resides in Liuzhou Prefecture, and the two neighboring prefectures are already reporting the situation urgently, while Liuzhou is still so negligent. This is not only wrong, but also wrong.
Could he be some incompetent slacker?
He planned to go there this time to see for himself. If it was just a misunderstanding, that would be fine. But if it was... he would give the other party a thorough dressing-down as soon as he got back!
...A new emperor needs obedient advisors by his side.
Shen Shuzhi pondered deeply.
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Author's note: I caught a cold. Since the collapse of Jinjiang Literature City, the data has been quite unstable, only reaching 3 points a day.
I currently owe everyone a bonus chapter for the landmine, but I will definitely make sure to add more chapters in the next few days, and try to squeeze in six chapters a day whenever I can, to try my best to bring the data back!
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