"Even if His Highness disliked those people in Chonghua Palace, he never did anything to Consort Du. At least he gave the two consorts the respect they deserved."
"As long as Consort Du lives peacefully in Chonghua Palace, even if His Highness doesn't treat them differently, he can at least guarantee them some dignity after serving them for many years."
Li Shiyue paused for a moment, then sat down beside him: "Young General Du is young, brave and resourceful. If he seizes the opportunity in the future, it is not impossible for him to be made a general."
“If the Du family’s daughter truly loves you, then the Du family’s risky actions are understandable. But from what you’ve said, the Du family’s daughter, who is born out of wedlock, already has someone she loves, and it’s even a marriage arranged since childhood, and the two of them have mutual feelings for each other.”
"The Du family coerced that young master to break off the engagement, and they also wanted to bring the Du family's daughter into their mansion. Is it not enough for them to hold Chonghua Palace? They also want to hold Rongguo Duke's mansion."
"It's a pity for that Du family girl. If she hadn't come to you to confront her, her reputation would have been completely ruined if this matter got out."
Xu Yunci raised his head: "When that woman heard that you took the money, she insisted on thanking you, but she was afraid of gossip, so she said she would visit you in a few days to express her gratitude."
Although this Du family girl was born out of wedlock, her birth mother was not a lowly person, and there were still people in her maternal grandparents' family who could make decisions. They simply came to her house and took her away to get married.
Even though the Du family was unwilling, their actions had been discovered by the Emperor, and they were afraid of displeasing him. So, both the Du family and Consort Du in the Chonghua Palace could only shrink back and dared not cause any more trouble.
As night fell, Xu Yunci was nowhere to be seen. After spending the whole day looking at the account books, Li Shiyue felt a little uneasy looking at the empty house.
Before she could even sit down, Qiu Fan came in and announced that Chang Shun outside was requesting an audience.
Leading him into the main room, before Li Shiyue could even see his face clearly, Chang Shun had already knelt down with a "thump".
"Madam, please go and see the young master. He has locked himself in his study since he returned and won't let anyone in."
Chang Shun had been with Xu Yunci since childhood and was usually very lively and active, but today he was unusually worried.
"What happened?"
Li Shiyue was puzzled, and took Chunling and walked outside.
Tongxin Hall is divided into two courtyards, front and back. The back courtyard is named "Hua'e Tower". After exiting the arched moon gate, there is a corridor that circles the artificial hill and green lake in the middle.
Passing through an arched moon gate, you enter the front courtyard study, "Green Field Residence," where, as expected, Chang An is also outside.
"The young master went out for a while, and when he came back, he locked himself in his study and wouldn't let us in. I had no choice but to go and ask the madam to go in and persuade the master."
Chang Shun followed, looking at the closed study with a worried expression, hoping that the young master's wife could go in and persuade her master.
“After the previous floods, some places failed to report the situation, and as a result, large areas are now reporting outbreaks, and some villages have been wiped out.”
Chang An lowered his voice: "These are things that local officials knew about but did not report. As a result, the governors of various prefectures discovered the matter during their inspections. When the young master found out, he felt that he had been negligent. If he had been more careful at the time, so many villagers would not have died from the plague."
"The governor's report stated that the villagers had no medicine to cure them and were all ravaged by the epidemic to the point of death. Those local officials were heartless and treacherous, concealing such a huge matter, even in the outskirts of the capital."
"Several villages on the outskirts of Beijing also suffered from the epidemic, but just like everyone else, no one was able to treat them. Some villagers were left to die, while others were carried away and dumped in the wilderness. The Emperor was furious, and even the Crown Prince was severely reprimanded."
Li Shiyue could not hide her surprise. She really hadn't expected that despite the emperor's benevolence and diligence, there would still be such a hypocritical local official in the world.
"I understand. Keep watch and don't let anyone wander off to watch the commotion."
Li Shiyue took the food box from Chunling, pushed open the door, and went inside.
The study was spacious, but the windows were closed and no candles were lit; it was dark and quiet, as if no one was there.
"It's past dinner time, and I'm still waiting for you to call me in the flower hall, but you're hiding here."
Li Shiyue took out a tinderbox, fumbled to light a candle, and saw Xu Yunci sitting on a wooden chair by the light.
Compared to his radiant appearance during the day, he now slumped in a wooden chair, his eyes lifeless, though the corners of his eyes were bloodshot.
She had just put down the food box when Xu Yunci grabbed her hand. Before she could speak, her arms were filled with his.
Li Shiyue did not refuse, but reached out and put her hand on his back, letting him get closer.
"Yan Yan, do you know that those villagers died from illness?"
His voice was muffled; this man, who was usually so aloof, now spoke with a slight tremor at the end of his sentence.
Xu Yunci buried his face in her chest, but his eyelashes fluttered, and even this seven-foot-tall man couldn't help but shed a tear.
"People infected with the plague were thrown into the wilderness, and some were found to be infected as well, so some people are still surviving to this day."
"Today I met a child who begged me to save him and his family."
“Those people deserve to die a horrible death. How could they, for their own selfish desires, fail to report what they knew, leading to this mess?”
Li Shiyue didn't know what to say to comfort him, so she could only hug him tighter.
Xu Yunci appears to be a cold and aloof person, but in reality, he has the softest heart. He may seem to disregard everything, but in truth, he values all his relatives, whether they are the third branch of the Duke's mansion, the fourth branch next door, or the dilapidated second branch.
Even those villagers he had never met, in his eyes, the sage knowledge he had learned since childhood had led him to become an official in the court, and the profound principles he had learned were all for the sake of making the world more stable under the rule of a wise ruler.
But now, real-life examples have shown him that this is all an illusion. While some are striving to protect it, others are recklessly destroying it.
Li Shiyue breathed a sigh of relief as she watched Chang Shun take a basin of clean water inside. She then spotted Mama Luo under the eaves.
"Why are you here so late? Is there something your mother wants to tell you?"
Madam Luo didn't hide anything, but since she hadn't seen Xu Yunci, she lowered her voice: "When Madam heard about this, the Duke was not in a good mood and was worried about the young master, so she specially sent me to check on him."
No one knows a child better than their mother. If even the Duke of Rongguo was so heartbroken and distraught, how much more so must Xu Yunci be?
Li Shiyue glanced into the inner room, a glance that was also carefully observed by Luo's mother.
"Your Highness is well. I will go and give my reply first. We will go and pay our respects to Father and Mother after Your Highness comes out."
Li Shiyue smiled slightly. Although she didn't say it explicitly, Luo's mother understood clearly and had a general idea of what was going on.
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