"Instead of questioning me here, Madam, you might as well ask the elders of the Fang family how they raised their daughter. Also, it would be better to worry about whether the Fang family will be implicated." Chen Qiu was no longer polite at the end.
Mrs. Zheng knew that she could not rescue Fang Yu no matter what. Her life or death depended on her luck. All she could do was write a letter to the Fang family. However, she knew that the Fang family would definitely give up Fang Yu in order to protect the Fang family. She had no doubt about this.
Just like they gave up on her without hesitation, but she followed the right person. Fang Yu was afraid that she would not be able to wait until the day when they would regret it.
As soon as Madam Zheng left, someone came from the palace and summoned Ye Chen to the palace, saying that there was an urgent matter but did not say what it was.
Ye Chen entered the palace and went straight to the study. Unexpectedly, the ministers of the six ministries and the left and right prime ministers were all there. It seemed that the matter had come.
Ye Chen collected his thoughts and saluted the emperor, "May the emperor be well and safe."
The Emperor waved his hand to excuse himself. "Chen'er, this is an urgent report from the northwest, eight hundred miles away. A locust plague has struck the northwest, a disaster unseen in a century. All the growing crops have been devoured, and even the trees and grasses are not spared. Everything edible has been eaten."
Ye Chen looked at the report and said, "It says that the locusts came from the Western Regions further west and headed east. Does the emperor have a map of the northwest?"
The emperor ordered a map of the entire Great Yin Empire to be brought. Two eunuchs held it open, and everyone stood before it. "The northwest is the western gateway of the Great Yin. It's vast but sparsely populated. The entire northwest is like a giant bone. The Qishan Snow Plains are to the south, where humans are rare, but packs of snow wolves are plentiful. To the north are the Daqing Mountains, and beyond them are grasslands. The Tatars have lived there for generations, so the locusts are likely to follow the long river eastward."
"Until... we reach Yushan. This mountain range is like a feather, oriented north-south and located west of Great Yin. However, this feather is high enough to intercept the locusts without any problem. We'll be fine once winter arrives."
"Now the only problem left is the food problem for the people in the northwest," Chen Qingyun continued.
"Yes, this is the Ministry of Revenue's business. We'll transfer as much as we can. I have some grain here, which will be sent over first. I hope the people can wait until we get there." Ye Chen seemed to be thinking about something. In his previous life, the Ministry of Revenue did not give out a single grain of grain. In this life, the imperial power was in the hands of the emperor. It seemed that the Ministry of Revenue would not shirk its responsibility like in his previous life.
As expected, just as Ye Chen finished speaking, the Minister of Revenue, Li Shixian, spoke up, "This is within the Ministry of Revenue's responsibility, but it will take some time to transfer and transport the grain. Please, Your Majesty, give us a few days."
The emperor drummed his right fingers on the table, paused, and then spoke, "I can wait, but the people's stomachs cannot. It's hard for anyone to face a disaster. Only when the people are well fed can they have peace. So, Li Aiqing, I can only give you seven days. After seven days, the grain from the Ministry of Revenue must be shipped from Kyoto on time."
He looked at Ye Chen again, "Chen'er, how long can your food last?" Ye Chen estimated, "According to our previous calculations, there are about 300,000 civilians and troops in the northwest who need our aid. The food I have can last for a month."
"Okay, Chen'er, when can you leave? I will send the Imperial Guards to accompany you."
Ye Chen shook his head. "The Imperial Guards are quite skilled, but unlike the local troops, they can't get close to the people. I only need a thousand defenders from Kyoto City. I can set off tomorrow. I need horses and carriages. The Ministry of Revenue can't move. My lords, could you let me use the carriages in your palaces?"
Chen Qingyun raised his hand and bowed to Ye Chen, "I can spare ten horse-drawn carriages with food." Ye Chen was asking them for food in disguise. If you really think you just want horse-drawn carriages, then you might be recorded by the emperor. Sure enough, after hearing what Chen Qingyun said, Ye Chen's mouth corners couldn't help but rise a lot.
In this way, Ye Chen raised a hundred carts of grain in front of the emperor. The six ministers, two prime ministers and the emperor were all left with their own private grain, including the emperor.
Ye Chen didn't know when this would end, so he asked Eunuch Gao to go to the Ye Mansion and said, "Madam, the Duke said that he will leave for the northwest early tomorrow morning. He asked you to settle your family and send someone to arrange for food."
Chen Qiu suddenly received this news. "Excuse me, Eunuch Gao, is there something wrong? My husband didn't say when he would be back."
Eunuch Gao whispered the whole story in Shen Qiu's ear, and Shen Qiu didn't ask any more questions. Since her husband had made the decision, she would just do as he said.
After seeing off Eunuch Gao, Chen Qiu called all the housekeepers, maids and servants around her. She would definitely go to the northwest with Ye Chen, so she had to settle down at home.
"Mingyue, you're pregnant, so you can't go. Muqing, you have to be wherever Mingyue is, so you can't go either. Liuyun, Xiaofu isn't in good health, so you have to take good care of her. You're smart, so I need you to stay home and help me take care of the house. Do you understand what I mean?"
Mingyue nodded and said, "Madam, I will move in to Qiuchen Courtyard tomorrow. All your important people are here. I will help you look after them. Don't worry." Chen Qiu nodded and continued to arrange the rest of the matters.
"Madame Hua and Madame Sun, I'll leave Grandpa, Grandma, and An'an in your care. You usually help with the housekeeping in the mansion. After we leave, no visitors will be received. All the storerooms will be locked. I'll leave the keys with Madame Sun. Madame Hua, all matters concerning An'an are in your hands. You and An'an will stay with Grandmother. An'an's two wet nurses don't have to go home until we return. If all else fails, you can bring their children into the mansion."
"Yes, madam, both wet nurses are from our own farm. I will go back and make arrangements with them and report back to you later."
The two equally important maids cannot have any grudges against each other because of the master's family. If one arranges important things and the other arranges nothing, the one will feel that the master's family does not trust her. If the two of them have a grudge because of this, wouldn't it be unfair? This arrangement is just right for each of them to do their own job, and they are all good at and willing to do it, so they are naturally happy.
"Madam Zhang, when we are not here, you should go out to buy groceries for the backyard once every three days. Try to do it by yourselves and don't ask them to send you off, so as to avoid strangers sneaking in. I don't want something like what happened to Madam Cai to happen again." Madam Zhang nodded in agreement.
"Xing'er, please hand over the inner courtyard account books to Madam Sun. Come with me to the northwest. Madam Zhang's purchase account books should also be checked with Madam Sun. Madam Sun, I'm sorry to trouble you!"
"This is my duty." Nanny Sun responded indifferently, but you could tell from her expression that she was very happy.
The inner courtyard mostly deals with trivial matters of life, which Mu Qing left to Ye Chen to arrange, and the safety of the family still had to be left to him.
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