Summer was drawing to a close, and the weather should have been getting cooler, but for some reason, the heavens had kept the temperature soaring for days without a single drop of rain. The palace, already crowded and hot, was filled with people who longed for rain to bring relief from the heat.
Lanqin pushed open the window, and a blast of heat hit her face. In no time, beads of sweat appeared on her forehead. She fanned herself, glanced at the sky, and squinted, saying, "It's already September, why is it still so hot..."
Baoqin brought in some cool tea, picked up a fan, and went to Lanqin's side to fan her: "Yes, it's usually much cooler by this time of year. We were even woken up by the heat last night..."
Lanqin walked to the table, drank some cool tea to cool off, and saw Baoqin's worried face, so she asked, "What's wrong? Why do you look so sad..."
Baoqin hesitated, but Lanqin deliberately provoked her, saying, "Speak quickly!"
Baoqin bowed slightly, almost bursting into tears, and said, "Your Majesty, my family harvests grain every year at this time to prepare for the winter, but this year the weather has been so unpredictable. I'm worried that my family won't have a good harvest this year and won't be able to survive the winter..."
As she finished speaking, tears welled up in her eyes. Lanqin felt a pang of sadness and quickly comforted her, "Why didn't you tell me sooner? I'll have the storeroom give you some silver to take home. Don't worry..."
Holding the zither, she knelt down and thanked them, saying, "Thank you, Your Majesty, thank you, Your Majesty..."
Looking at Baoqin, Lanqin suddenly thought that if Baoqin's family's summer harvest was affected by bad weather, what would happen to the rest of the Qing Dynasty? She couldn't help but worry. People depended on the weather for their livelihood; if food and clothing became a problem, the entire country would be in turmoil. Lanqin silently prayed for a heavy rain...
Sure enough, a few days later, news came from Kaifeng Prefecture of a drought, and people even starved to death. The thing Lanqin had feared had finally come to pass; as soon as the Fourth Prince went to court that morning, someone reported the disaster situation.
The imperial court was abuzz with discussion. The Fourth Prince was most concerned about the people's basic needs and asked, "Has Kaifeng Prefecture been actively providing disaster relief?"
"Your Majesty, Kaifeng Prefecture opened its granaries to distribute grain at the earliest possible time, but there were simply too many disaster victims, and looting often occurred. Every time grain was distributed, it was chaotic, with many dead and injured. Now it is under strict management..." an official replied.
Fourth Master slammed his fist on the table and roared, "Nonsense! The people can't even fill their stomachs. How can we control grain supplies at a time of life and death?"
Seeing that the Fourth Master was angry, everyone looked at each other and dared not say anything.
"Your Majesty, news of the grain distribution in Kaifeng has spread to the surrounding counties and towns, and disaster victims are rushing to Kaifeng... I'm afraid that even if all the grain in the granaries were released, it wouldn't be enough to distribute to the disaster victims..."
"Your Majesty, at this critical juncture, it is still necessary for the court to send people to provide disaster relief. Only when the court's people go down can the lower-level officials stabilize the situation..."
"Your Majesty, the weather is bad right now. If it doesn't rain, I'm afraid not only Kaifeng Prefecture will be affected by the disaster, but other areas may also be hit soon. Your Majesty should make arrangements as soon as possible to avoid chaos later..."
Everyone in the court offered advice to the Fourth Prince, but no one volunteered to go and provide disaster relief.
The Fourth Prince, his face grim, swept his gaze around, and everyone deliberately avoided him. With the Thirteenth and Seventeenth Princes absent and Li Wei preoccupied with other matters, it was impossible to find a suitable person for disaster relief. Besides, disaster relief was hard work; doing it well didn't guarantee a reward, while doing it poorly could lead to consequences. Everyone knew this and didn't want to attract the Fourth Prince's attention.
Left with no other option, the Fourth Prince pointed to the Vice Minister of Revenue, who was in charge of the national granary, and said, "Guo Huaibing, you immediately go and inspect the granaries in the capital. I will make further plans..."
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