Chapter 3412 Princess, stop talking
Two small figures were walking under the moonlight. Mingxin had clasped his hands together, looking intently, when he suddenly heard Xinping, who was walking in front of him, let out a long, low sigh. He couldn't help but ask, "Your Highness, what are you sighing about?"
Xinping looked back at him, a bright light flashing in her big eyes.
She said, "I was thinking about the people I saw during the day. Were they really hungry all the time?"
Mingxin didn't dare to speak, and only said, "Amitabha."
Xinping asked, "Why can't they tell Father that they don't have enough to eat? Isn't it Father's responsibility to ensure that everyone in the world has enough to eat?"
“…”
"If he can't even manage his own people, then what's the point of him being the emperor—"
When she said this, she seemed to feel that it was a bit rebellious and did not dare to continue. However, the audacious idea had already emerged in her mind and was taking shape.
After a while, they arrived at Yiku Palace.
Delu had been waiting here for a long time. He had someone take Mingxin away first and bring her to live in the rooms behind the Yikun Palace. Xinping looked at the bright lights in front and said, "Is mother still awake?"
De Lu said, "Your Highness, the Emperor has arrived and is talking to the Empress."
"The Emperor is here?"
Xin Ping thought about it and said immediately, "I will go and pay my respects to my father and mother."
After saying that, he walked straight over.
Just as he reached the gate of Yikun Palace, before he could push the door open and go in, he heard Zhu Feng's low and hoarse voice coming from inside: "Zhu Chengjin's rebellion brought disaster to Jinling. After that, I reduced the taxes of the people for the past few years, so this happened."
Xinping stopped immediately.
Neither of the two people in the room noticed the small figure standing outside the half-open door. After listening to Zhu Feng's words, Nan Yan frowned and thought for a while, then felt something was wrong.
She said, "Even if the emperor exempted the people of Jinling from taxes, Jinling is right next to the Fengji Granary. It's impossible for such a large granary to be empty in the past few years."
There were four major granaries in the Great Yan Dynasty, among which Fengji Granary was the largest. Even Emperor Gao established his capital in Nanjing because he had taken this granary first. With sufficient food and grass, he was able to gain a foothold in the south and compete with other heroes for the world.
The Fengji Granary was so large that even if the people in the south did not hand over a single grain, it would still be enough for them to eat for several years.
“…”
Hearing her calculating so clearly, although he felt troubled, Zhu Feng couldn't help but smile bitterly and said, "You're like a housekeeper, calculating everything."
Nan Yan said seriously, "How can this not be counted?"
Zhu Feng shook his head.
When Nan Yan saw him like this, her heart couldn't help but skip a beat.
Could it be true, as he just said, that Fengji Granary was really emptied?
If that's the case—
This time, Nan Yan suddenly came to her senses. She lowered her voice and said, "The food that was looted this time wasn't transported to Jinling, but was transported out of Jinling?"
“…”
"Where will that batch of grain be shipped to?"
Zhu Feng's expression had brightened a little just now, but when he heard Nan Yan ask this, his expression darkened again.
Not only that, Nan Yan also sensed a hint of murderous intent in his eyes that she had not heard for a long time.
The gloomy murderous aura added a bit of chill to the already sultry summer night.
Nan Yan immediately realized that this matter might really be as she had guessed before - "not simple".
She frowned, moved closer to Zhu Feng, and lowered her voice, "What exactly is that batch of food going to be—"
Before he could finish his words, Xinping's voice came from outside the door.
"Father..."
They both turned around and saw Xinping standing at the door. She stretched out her hand and slowly pushed it open. The flickering candlelight from inside shone on her face. Xiaoman looked at them with a look of disbelief. Nanyan finally came to her senses. This girl and Mingxin had been staying in Jianfu Palace the entire time. She had been so preoccupied with her thoughts about the outside world that she had actually forgotten about them.
So he immediately stood up and went over to pull her over.
Xinping's small face was filled with a complex expression as she was led by Nanyan to the chair and looked at the emperor, whose expression remained gloomy. Normally, she wouldn't dare speak easily at this time, but today, she was filled with doubts that had been plaguing her since she arrived at the Great Ci'en Temple. Finally, she couldn't hold it in any longer and asked, "Father, why are some people starving?"
Upon hearing this, Nan Yanxian frowned and shouted in a low voice: "Xinping, stop talking nonsense!"
Xinping looked up at her, but continued to ask, "Why is Father shipping food out when some people are already starving?"
“…”
"Could it be that the Emperor doesn't care about the common people anymore?"
Nan Yan was caught off guard. Her heart nearly stopped when she heard her daughter's barrage of questions. She grabbed Xin Ping's arm and yelled, "What nonsense are you talking about?!"
As he said this, he glanced at Zhu Feng carefully.
In fact, she didn't even need to look to feel that the temperature in the entire Yiku Palace had dropped suddenly. A chill rose from the soles of her feet to the top of her head, and she shivered involuntarily.
Zhu Feng's face had turned ashen.
His thin face showed obvious signs of gritting his teeth. When he spoke, his voice was low and it was obvious that he was suppressing something. He said, "You don't understand. Go down and rest first."
Nan Yan was as if she had been pardoned. She immediately dragged Xin Ping's arm and walked out, saying, "Stop talking nonsense in front of your father. Go down and get some rest!"
But Xinping is a little stubborn.
She struggled hard twice, but couldn't break free from her mother's hand. She could only stubbornly turn around and stare at Zhu Feng, anxiously saying, "Father, why didn't you answer me? As the emperor, why did you let the people of the world go hungry? Why did you ship the food away when there was enough food to feed them? Doesn't your father care about his people at all?"
Nan Yan's heart almost stopped.
Ruoshui, Tongyun, Delu and the others outside had originally seen the princess coming and were waiting outside, fearing that the emperor and the imperial concubine would summon them. They didn't expect to hear Princess Xinping say such outrageous words as soon as they arrived. They were so frightened that their hearts and livers broke and they all knelt down. Aunt Tongyun winked at Xinping desperately -
Your Highness, stop talking, stop talking!
But it was too late.
Zhu Feng gripped the armrests of the chair with both hands and slowly stood up. Although he had lost a lot of weight, his tall body still looked as majestic as a mountain under the dim light. However, this time, he gave people the feeling of not being a mountain to rely on, but a mountain that was about to crush people into powder.
He walked up to his daughter and looked down at her.
"Say that again."
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