Birds on the edge of the abyss 32
The last thing he saw in his blurry vision was a pair of golden eyes filled with fear. Shen Luli moved his fingers, but he couldn't hold on any longer and fell completely into darkness.
When he woke up again, it was already half a month later. Seeing the old servants smiling happily, Shen Luli also laughed out loud. He coughed lightly, but it aroused the old wound in his body and he vomited a large pool of dark red and purple blood. Seeing the old people trembling and wide-eyed, Shen Luli only had two words left in his mind.
"It's over"
As expected, Uncle Fu fainted, and the other servants were no exception. The room was in chaos. Shen Luli felt much better after spitting out the pool of blood, but seeing the other old men in such panic, he became very passive. He was also shocked when he saw Uncle Fu fainted.
When he was about to get out of bed, he was yelled at by someone outside the door. Shen Luli, who had never been yelled at like this since he was a child, was stunned. He looked up and saw that person quickly came to Shen Luli, bent down and touched Shen Luli's face.
"Finally he woke up," he said with relief. "It's worth it that I personally asked for the Tianshan Snow Lotus. If it's of no use, I'll have to stew Lan Huan."
"Your Highness, how could you be so cruel to your subordinates?" Lan Huan's horrified cry came from behind, and the man immediately raised his mouth in disgust.
Shen Luli looked up in a daze, and what caught his eye was Chu Xin's handsome and dazzling face.
Chu Xin waved his hand and asked Lan Huan to carry the unconscious Uncle Fu out for treatment. Then he turned to look at Shen Luli and said with a smile, "What's wrong? Did you sleep with your brain damaged?"
"Your Highness, how come you are..." here?
"Oh? This is the prince's residence, why can't I stay here? You are the one who is staying here," Chu Xin said with a smile, raising his eyebrows.
[Ding, Chu Xin's favorability +1, current favorability 67]
Shen Luli looked at the decorations around him blankly and found that they were indeed a bit too luxurious. He was at a loss for words. Chu Xin explained it again, and he bowed his head and thanked him.
Chu Xin felt that he needed to sort out his thoughts, so he took his pulse first. After a while, he found nothing abnormal. He then asked Shen Luli about some of the abnormalities in his body. Shen Luli answered truthfully.
Chu Xin finally relaxed his frown. After a series of interrogations, he saw that he looked tired and drowsy. He immediately lowered his voice and watched him fall asleep before leaving.
Arriving in the study, Chu Xin opened the locked drawer on the lower left and took out an indigo jade plaque. The jade plaque was as lustrous and transparent as water, reflecting a beautiful halo in the sunlight. Inside the jade plaque, a reddish font could be clearly seen - Wind.
Chu Xin held the jade token in his hand, his eyes showing an inexplicable emotion. After a moment, he put it back into the drawer and locked it carefully.
————
Time flies, and the Jingtian Ceremony was held as scheduled. This ceremony was the most crude and most criticized ceremony since the founding of the Chu State. Not only was there no Jingtian Dance, but the Empress was absent. Instead, the Imperial Noble Consort attended the celebration in her place. Not only was her status unjust, but the court officials did not dare to speak out, fearing that the Emperor would be angry and their entire family would be executed.
The ceremony lasted three days. Although the arrangements were simple, it was still very costly and labor-intensive, causing great resentment among the people. Even the imperial court could not suppress the public anger. Moreover, the Meizhou incident was still unresolved. A large number of refugees followed the large army to Kyoto, sitting on the ground near the city gate, begging for royal protection. This was seen by many people.
The court's inaction naturally aroused public anger. The epidemic brought by the refugees made the court dare not easily open the city gates to let people in, so a large number of people had nowhere to settle down. It was also the winter season, and countless people died and were injured. In the past few days, large-scale demonstrations have begun.
And this is only on the surface, behind the scenes is the real undercurrent
Zhenguogong Mansion
Shen Luli was sitting in the study, painting with a brush, when he looked up and asked in surprise, "You said that the people of Kyoto also started protesting in the streets today?"
Tingyun heard Shen Luli's question and immediately responded with a chirping voice, "Yes, Master! Today, Aunt Liu from the kitchen went out to buy vegetables, but she didn't buy any and was scared back!"
Among the newly hired maids, Tingyun is the most clever and efficient, so Shen Luli keeps her by his side to take care of his daily diet and daily life. Now it seems that this girl's talent has not been wasted.
Ting Yun briefly described the current situation outside, and said with a look of fear that fortunately the area where officials lived was heavily guarded, and those unruly people could not get in easily, otherwise wouldn't they have to demolish even the officials' residences?
Shen Luli lightly wrote a prisoner on the paper. It was obvious who was bound.
He sighed and told Tingyun to tell the servants not to go out for the next few days. After they left, he rubbed his forehead, took out the pill from his pocket and swallowed it.
A month was enough for him to walk, but he still couldn't do much. Now the court didn't send anyone to suppress him, and seemed to be letting him do nothing, which made people panic.
Perhaps at tomorrow's morning court session, a different voice could be heard. Shen Luli stroked the word "prisoner" with his fingers, his expression indifferent.
really
Shen Luli stood in the queue, listening to the emperor above him loudly scolding the officials. He understood clearly in his heart. During this period, several officials involved were dragged out. The colleagues beside him were all trembling, their faces turned pale, cold sweat fell like a waterfall, and you could even hear the sound of them swallowing their saliva. They were really a bunch of mediocre people.
At this time, Shen Luli heard the voice of the Minister of Revenue coming out and starting to present the memorial.
"Your Majesty, the national treasury has been depleted recently. The relief funds allocated to Meizhou have not only failed to be effectively used, but have even made the situation worse. I believe that some officials have secretly transferred and embezzled the funds!"
As soon as this statement came out, it immediately caused an uproar, and everyone was talking about it, and there were constant whispers of discussion.
"Silence!" Chu Xin sat in the seat below the emperor, looking at the chaotic court with a serious face.
The court suddenly fell silent. The Minister of Revenue, observing the stern expression on the emperor's face, continued, "Your Majesty, I believe we should send officials to Meizhou to thoroughly investigate this matter and root out all the officials responsible for embezzling the funds. Only then... can the silver be truly put into practical use and the urgent need be resolved!"
After hearing his words, Chu Xin immediately stood up and bowed to Chu Yanting. Then, with his hands behind his back, he said, "Meizhou is the territory of Prince Jing. It would be useless for ordinary officials to go there. Not only would it be disrespectful to my brother, but it would also cause resentment from other princes of fiefdoms. Ministry of Revenue! So, you want me to go there by name?"
"I dare not. I am only discussing the matter at hand. Your Highness does not need to think so."
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