"Thirdly!" Emperor Mingde wanted to see what else his niece could say. "I want to find a good wife for my descendants." Of course, this third point was made up on the spot, inspired by Sun Yun's rejection of him, and it also served to ease the awkwardness.
He thought that Sun Yun and Zhao Shu were very close friends, and Sun Yun would definitely tell his niece about this. He might as well find a reason to ease the awkwardness and save face while she was still unaware.
Zhao Shu paused, then put on an extremely aggrieved expression, "Uncle, have you considered your niece's feelings? And those of my elder sisters as well?"
"Hahahaha." Emperor Mingde laughed loudly, "You, you! Someone, select two governesses for the princess and send them over."
As they spoke, they arrived at the Imperial Garden. Night had fallen, but in summer the days are long and the nights are short, so even though it was dark, it wasn't pitch black. In addition, there were palace lanterns along the path, so Zhao Shu immediately chose a rockery.
“Uncle, when A-Jun was in Guanzhou, she saw others building mud houses and discovered a type of marl.” The artificial mountain she chose happened to be gray in color, but it was not marl.
"That kind of stone has a very high adhesiveness. It would be excellent to use it to make mud and ash for water conservancy projects."
Reading more books is indeed the right thing to do. In 1796, the Englishman J. Parker produced a type of cement by firing marl. It was made directly from natural marl without any additives, hence the name natural cement.
Zhao Shu only remembered this simplest and most natural method. As for how to improve it, she left it to the experts. She was just an ordinary royal princess who was happy as long as she could earn money.
Upon hearing this, Emperor Mingde said, "What kind of life did you lead in Guanzhou? You were actually watching others build mud houses." He was puzzled, but as long as they were useful, that was the most important thing. He then ordered Liang Yunsi, "Summon Minister Yan and Minister Luo to the palace."
"Sigh." Liang Yunsi admired Zhao Shu greatly. Only Princess Jun could make the Emperor summon ministers to the palace overnight.
Yan Shiren, who had just left the palace and hadn't even sat down for a sip of tea, heard a voice say, "Lord Yan, the Emperor summons you to the palace for a meeting." He immediately felt a stomachache. It was one thing that he hadn't volunteered for the flood control work, but to be summoned back in right after leaving the palace? Was he not allowed to be an official in a proper manner?
As for Luo Hu, he is in a better position and is still in the palace.
At this time, behind the side hall of the Taihe Hall, there was a garden. In the garden, apart from the large water vat for fire prevention and large summer flowers, there was only a stone table and a few stone benches.
He sat on a stone bench, with the Crown Prince and Prince Yong sitting opposite him. Sun Yun stood in the courtyard, her clothes still missing, and she was wearing Prince Yong's outer robe.
At her feet lay a woman dressed in a peach-red palace gown with gold and silver thread peach patterns, her hair styled in a phoenix-like updo, adorned with a teardrop-shaped gemstone hairpin. She appeared to be about twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old, with a beautiful face. Judging from her clothing and hairstyle, she was not of a very high rank in the palace, at most a concubine.
The Crown Prince recognized the person. "It seems that my fourth brother is unwilling to accept this situation and wants to drag me down with him. Nineteenth Uncle, I have implicated you." He felt quite guilty.
Prince Yong waved his hand, "It's nothing. The fourth and eldest sons were really outrageous. If they didn't want to manage the floods, they could have just said so. Why make such a fuss? It has caused my brother to lose face and become a laughing stock among the officials." The Crown Prince had already briefly told him what had happened in the hall.
“I’m afraid it’s not that simple. Jiangnan and Shu are thousands of miles apart, but the urgent reports came at the same time. Such a clumsy scheme is probably someone trying to frame us. The Crown Prince and I will go to Shu tomorrow. This matter will have to be investigated by my disciple.” He stood up with his hands behind his back, looking at Consort Duan from afar, his face expressionless, seemingly lost in thought. “I’m afraid that after all the hardships we’ve gone through to control the flood, we’ll be questioned when we return.”
Evidence may be hard to find, but Zhao Shu needs evidence to get things done?
"Lord Luo is absolutely right, Imperial Uncle. Please take this matter to heart." The Crown Prince's eyes concealed a murderous intent. If someone deliberately delayed the urgent report, that would be too cruel. One day's delay would cost countless lives and destroy countless farms in the flood.
There should be a bottom line in being a person. To fight like this is to lose one's humanity! How is that any different from terrorism?
As soon as he finished speaking, Uncle Fu returned, but his hands were empty; he hadn't taken anything. "Your Highness, this servant lost him."
Those who dare to cause trouble in the Taihe Hall are not so easy to deal with.
Upon hearing this, Sun Yun turned ashen-faced. If someone with malicious intent were to use her clothes to cause trouble, she would rather die than live.
Prince Yong and the Crown Prince exchanged a glance, but before they could speak, Luo Hu spoke first, "Go and steal a couple of pieces of clothing from the concubines and princesses as well. If we're going to suffer, we'll all suffer together. Let's see who's the most shameless."
Uncle Fu: ...How come he didn't think of that? "Your Highness, Your Highness, this servant will be right back."
Despite his large and stout build, he was incredibly agile. With a leap, he vanished from everyone's sight. Apart from Sun Yun being slightly surprised, Luo Hu and the Crown Prince were quite used to it.
The crown prince said, "Take the person away."
Xiao Fuzi had already sent word to the Crown Prince's men, and upon receiving the order, she immediately dragged away Consort Duan, who had been knocked unconscious by Luo Hu with a stick, and her maids and eunuchs.
The situation was extremely urgent. Just as everyone was wondering whether to hide on the roof beam or behind the screen, Luo Hu cleanly and swiftly knocked someone unconscious with a stick. Xiao Fuzi happened to see this scene through a crack and went out to help without saying a word. A crisis was resolved with a single blow.
Therefore, there is nothing that cannot be solved by taking action.
After the person was dragged away, they waited a while longer before Uncle Fu returned, carrying several women's outer garments. "This is Consort Ning's, this is Consort De's..."
He was very clever. He even grabbed a piece of cloth to wrap the bundle, took out a set of palace maid clothes from among several outer garments and handed them to Sun Yun. Then he put several palace clothes into the bundle, carried it on his back, and said, "Your Highness, we should leave the palace. Just now, I heard the Emperor say that he summoned Lord Yan and Lord Luo to the palace to discuss matters. I suppose he also sent someone to the East Palace."
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