As soon as I climbed the stone steps, the strong wind from three sides made me shiver. It was almost April, so the weather shouldn't be so cold. I thought Jiu Ye would deal with Hong Er immediately, but I didn't expect that he was really busy and only put her in prison temporarily.
When I reached the door, I saw several neatly dressed officials kneeling at the door.
Outside the door, I heard the man who was gentle last night become frightening and imposing.
"Six hundred thousand taels, only six hundred thousand taels are left in the treasury! There's even less than a hundred dan of grain! If I hadn't ordered an overnight inventory of the treasury silver, how long would you two have continued to deceive me?"
There was a sudden silence.
Thinking back to last night, Lu Zhenzhi gently called "Tong'er" in her ear, and gently stroked her body with a strong hand. Thinking back to last night, his kiss was both warm and domineering... Now, he seemed like a different person.
Fu Tong'er walked in with her head lowered, carrying a tea tray. She passed through the kneeling ministers and came to Lu Zhenzhi. She silently poured a cup of tea, handed it to Lu Zhenzhi, and whispered, "Brother Lu Jin, drink some tea to cool down."
Lu Zhenzhi hummed. He took the teacup, opened the lid, and took a sip. He turned to look at Fu Tong'er, who was standing beside him. Seeing her well-behaved appearance, he couldn't help but reach out and stroke her head. He leaned over and said gently, "Are you up? Why don't you sleep in a little longer? Have you had breakfast? I get up early, so I'll lie down with you later."
The ministers were startled by the doting tone. Is this the Prince Regent?
Fu Tong'er blushed and said, "Master Jiu... Master Jiu, no need. I'm not sleepy. You can continue to be busy... and I'll just watch over you."
Lu Zhenzhi hooked Fu Tong'er's chin, and the smooth touch in his hand made him touch and touch again, finally stopping at her chin. He pressed her lips with his thumb wearing a jade ring and said, "Just look at me. It seems that the girl misses me."
"No, no, Master Jiu, just focus on your own things and don't worry about me."
Lu Zhenzhi looked at her holding the tray and said with a smile: "You really look a bit like a maid. Come, sit down. Here are some books. You can read them at your leisure." As he said that, he took her tray, pulled it over and sat down in his seat.
He turned to the kneeling ministers and said: "The Wei River burst its dike because of human neglect. If the dike breaks today, it will overthrow Great Yan tomorrow!"
Li Yongdao, the Minister of Revenue, said, "Your Majesty, the most urgent priorities are money and grain. We need to allocate funds for disaster relief, repair river dikes, open granaries, and stabilize Pingxi Province. Only by repairing dikes and replenishing grain can we stabilize the people's hearts. In my opinion, we should immediately transfer treasury silver and grain reserves from officials in neighboring provinces of Pingxi. However... the Pingxi Dingnan Marquis is Your Majesty's uncle, so this is difficult to handle!"
Lu Zhenzhi patted the treasury bills he had ordered checked last night and said, "Money and grain, both of which are allocated for disaster relief... Some people are counting on this money!"
The Ministry of Revenue's Secretary, Qian Youmao, said, "Master Li, have you forgotten that the Regent previously approved 1.2 million taels of silver to repair the river embankment? At that time, the embankment was only slightly broken, but now it has burst. That 1.2 million taels of silver capsized in a boat downstream on the Wei River, at the border between Shangyang and Liushui counties, and all the official money for the embankment repairs has disappeared!"
Turning to the Ninth Master, he said, "Prince Regent, in my humble opinion, you should immediately send an imperial envoy to Pingxi Province to investigate the boat capsize. Then, you should collect silver and other funds from local officials to repair the riverbank and provide relief to the victims. Only by striking the tiger in the head will it dare not fight with the people."
Fu Tong'er said: "That makes sense."
Lu Zhenzhi looked back.
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