Chapter 123
Zhou Li's submitted painting received another poor grade, but she was not worried. She ate happily and slept happily every day.
Days passed, the Crown Princess was married, and finally it was the time for the major princes and royal families to get married. After one happy event after another, the capital finally calmed down. Gong Yinai finally caught the eye of the Crown Prince with her excellent abilities and began to hold some power. Even the Third Prince, who usually barked like a dog when he saw her, barked much quieter. The only person who remained unchanged in the palace was Gong Yifu. Those who got married in Yangying Hall began to accept the tasks of the saints, but she was the only one who still acted like a dandy, teasing cats and dogs in the capital.
That day, an urgent report came from the capital that a flood had occurred in Southern Liang. The natural disaster had led to man-made disasters, and a mob had even attacked officials.
After a long debate in the court, the sage finally made a decision and selected Gong Yi Fu and Gong Yinai to go to provide disaster relief.
Nanliang is the territory of the King of Nanliang. Although he has not returned since his enthronement, he is also responsible for not supervising the civil riots strictly. However, it has been raining continuously in the capital recently. The King of Nanliang has a cold leg and cannot walk, so he has to let the prince do it for him. Gong Yinai volunteered to go to provide disaster relief.
Zhou Li sat in the carriage and said to Gong Yinai, "You don't have to come with me. This is our family's territory. If there is any problem with the territory, it is my responsibility as the prince."
"I'm not helping you either." Gong Yinai used his folding fan to lift a little of the bamboo curtain and looked outside. The rain was still falling in the suburbs of Beijing. The horses' hooves were walking in the mud, and the roads were muddy. The crops on both sides were obviously malnourished due to too much rain.
"Huh?" Zhou Li asked in confusion.
Gong Yinai lowered the bamboo curtain, sat upright and said, "I want power." Ambition appeared on her face.
In the past, he only did it to protect himself, but after realizing the beauty of power, Gong Yinai didn't want to let go.
Zhou Li sneered, "What rights do you have by following me?"
Gong Yinai looked at him and shook his head, "You don't understand."
Gong Yifu was born into a royal family, she didn't have to worry about being bullied or having no one to treat her illness. Although she was a prince, she was bullied in the palace. When her servants fell ill, she couldn't even get a doctor...
The lips and teeth are interdependent.
Gong Yinai remembered the experience of that day deeply, and she was afraid that the same thing would happen if she got sick one day.
But things have been different since I followed the prince.
Her food, clothing and other necessities were all provided for, and even if she coughed in the past, people would pay close attention.
The third prince didn't dare to harass her again and trample on her self-esteem.
Gong Yinai realized the beauty of power.
She followed Gong Yifu to provide disaster relief just to let others see her abilities. As long as she did a good job on this mission, Gong Yinai would catch the prince's eye, and the prince would assign her more tasks. The more power she gained, the less Gong Yinai would have to worry about her affairs being exposed.
Zhou Li shook her head. How could she not understand? She understood everything. This was Gong Yinai's first step towards her ambition. Her desire for power began to sprout, and she moved towards the pinnacle of power step by step.
The dark clouds floating from Nanliang followed them to the disaster relief area. It had been raining for a month without stopping, and the rain had not stopped. Several counties in Nanliang were flooded by the river water that broke the dike due to the rain, but no refugees were seen along the way. The people in the several counties arrived by the disaster relief team were stable and seemed to be living and working in peace, which was completely inconsistent with the intelligence sent to the capital. Zhou Li had a hunch that there was something fishy going on, but she was not the protagonist of this disaster relief. She was served comfortably every day and watched Gong Yinai busy.
Entering the territory of Southern Liang, Zhou Li went to the capital. The Nanliang prince had his own palace there. Although he seldom returned, the palace was well managed by a housekeeper. Zhou Li did not want to leave once he moved in. However, Gong Yinai summoned the county magistrates of Nanliang upon his arrival, asking them to calculate the damage and where the mob had attacked officials. He also asked them to investigate the cause of the incident.
I saw Gong Yi Fu squatting at home and warming himself by the fire because of the rain.
The continuous rainy days made the house cold and gloomy. Gong Yinai came to find Gong Yifu. Gong Yifu was sitting under the eaves, warming wine by a small red clay stove. Beside him was a beautiful woman, who was reading a book with great interest.
Gong Yinai's face darkened as he sat down. Zhou Li took a moment to look away from his book and asked, "Didn't you call me to a meeting today? Why did you find time to come to my place?"
Gong Yinai said through his teeth: "It's over."
"So soon?" Zhou Li reluctantly put down the scroll. "Have you finished the statistics? When do we start distributing the relief grain? Let's go back as soon as we're done. This damn place is not as comfortable as the capital."
Gong Yinai saw that Gong Yifu had rosy lips and white teeth, and her face was plumper. However, Gong Yifu was always busy investigating everywhere, and her eyes were so dark from exhaustion.
Gong Yinai pursed his lips: "No."
Zhou Li looked at Gong Yinai, blinked, sat up straight, and waved to the maid who was warming the wine to leave. The maid lowered her head and silently withdrew. Then she asked, "What happened?"
Gong Yinai lowered his eyes and said, "They will give the list only after they see you."
"See me?" Zhou Li looked puzzled. "Didn't I tell you when I came here that all matters related to disaster relief, big or small, are your responsibility?"
Gong Yinai smiled bitterly: "After all, it is your family's fiefdom, it is normal for them to have doubts."
Zhou Li looked at her and felt that it was more than just this matter, but she didn't ask. She nodded casually and said, "Okay, have they left? If not, then let's meet them."
"Still there." Gong Yinai said.
Zhou Li sighed and stood up: "Let's go."
The person beside him bent down to tie Zhou Li's cloak. Zhou Li looked at the rain under the eaves, took the bamboo umbrella, and tilted his head to urge Gong Yinai, "Hurry up."
The raindrops dripped down the tiles in a continuous line. Gong Yifu's sleeves slipped down to her elbows, revealing a fair arm. There was still a hint of fatigue on her face as she urged Gong Yinai repeatedly.
He was the one who was not anxious just now, and he is the one who is anxious now.
Gong Yinai followed, holding an umbrella with Gong Yifu, and walked out of the yard.
The people in the front yard had not yet dispersed, and they were all looking at each other with displeasure. The county magistrate who came in had his eyes closed and looked sullen.
"Prince, the Sixth Prince has arrived!"
Someone announced at the front door, and several people looked at each other, stood up and bowed their heads.
After entering the room, Zhou Li did not ask them to stand up, but took off his cloak first and threw it to the servants casually.
The bottom of her cloak was already stained with rain, and even the corners of her trousers and the uppers of her shoes were soaked by the rain. Several county magistrates saw a pair of white boots passing by in front of them, followed by countless pairs of feet. They could only bend their waists and wait for the prince to call them.
Zhou Li and Gong Yinai sat down at the upper seats, looking at everyone who was still greeting people with their backs to her, and then said lazily, "I actually forgot about you. Please sit down."
Everyone took their seats, and then they looked up at the prince who was sitting in the upper seat.
They had met the Sixth Prince before. He looked frail, but was actually a man of deep thoughts. Everyone present was an old fox, so how could they not see what the Sixth Prince was thinking? However, disaster relief could not be rushed, as there were more important matters that had not been resolved.
Looking at the prince sitting on the high seat, his face was as white as jade and his temperament was lazy. He looked pretty much as they had guessed. It was obvious that he was a noble man who had rarely walked around.
Everyone has different ways of dealing with things. For someone like the prince, I guess he would be happier if we praise him.
The county magistrate near the door was the first to speak: "Congratulations, Prince! Congratulations, Prince! As soon as the Prince arrived in Nanliang, the dam was blocked! It's simply the Prince's blessing!"
Zhou Li burst out laughing, "How could I not know I have supernatural powers?" Seeing that the other party wanted to say more, Zhou Li waved his hand and said, "Alright, didn't I tell you to leave everything to the Sixth Prince? Why didn't you listen to him and come to me instead?"
Her tone was calm, and it was impossible to tell whether she was happy or angry.
The people below hurriedly said, "This...it's difficult to leave our territory's affairs to outsiders."
Zhou Li held his chin in his hand and sneered, "Isn't Nanliang part of Qing? The Sixth Prince is a prince of Qing. If he is considered an outsider, then what are you? You are just people helping Qing govern the land. If you don't do a good job, you can be replaced at any time. I give you face, but don't be shameless!"
Unexpectedly, the prince changed his attitude so quickly that he almost pointed at their noses and accused them of treason. This shocked everyone and they knelt down quickly, saying they didn't dare.
Zhou Li waved his sleeves, "Where's the list? Hand it over quickly!"
Several people hurriedly pulled out a list they had prepared long ago from their sleeves and handed it over. Zhou Li didn't even glance at it, but handed it directly to Gongsun Nai and said, "Look."
Then he asked her, "What else do you want to ask?"
Gongsun Nai said, "The county magistrate who was attacked."
Zhou Li nodded in understanding and asked in a steady voice, "Who knows about the mob attack on officials?"
"I understand, Prince!" someone said.
"You stand up and speak. Everyone else keep kneeling." Zhou Li wasn't going to tolerate this bad habit. The man stood up nervously, lowering his head, not daring to look directly at the prince. He said, "Qingshui County was the hardest hit by the disaster. County Magistrate Min summoned the people to reinforce the levee and worked in advance. After the levee collapsed, countless people were killed and injured, which led to the civil unrest."
Zhou Li laughed at what she heard. She asked, "After a month of rain, didn't the river workers give any warning that the levee would collapse?"
The five county magistrates were silent.
Zhou Li knew there was something fishy going on, but she wasn't there to investigate, so she waved her hand and asked, "What about County Magistrate Min?"
"Your Highness, because he was corrupt and made mistakes, he was thrown into prison."
After Zhou Li finished asking questions, she looked at Gongsun Nai.
Gongsun Nai was quickly reading the list of disaster victims. She was good at counting. After reading it, she was silent for a while before asking, "I remember that Nanliang had its own grain depot. Why is there still so much food shortage?"
The crowd fell silent. It wasn't until Zhou Li slammed his fist on the table that someone stepped forward and said, "Last year's harvest was poor, and several granaries were unable to collect their grain. The King of Nanliang has been reducing taxes, and this year's heavy rains have flooded the highlands where grain was stored. As a result, there's far less food."
Zhou Li held her chin with her hand. Gongsun Nai didn't want to ask anymore. She needed to sort out her thoughts.
Zhou Li waved his hand and asked someone to invite these county magistrates into the guest rooms first, and not let them go home.
Gongsun Nai was surprised for a moment, then thought that this was also a solution.
These people are not telling the truth. They are new here and they have to find a way out.
Zhou Li would not think of this method. She could not steal the limelight from Gongsun Nai. She went back to lie down after finishing her work, but she did not expect the door to be knocked again. Gongsun Nai came in with a frown in his hand.
"I want to borrow your good hands."
Zhou Li sighed, put down the novel she had just picked up, and asked, "What are you going to do?"
"I received news that someone wants to kill County Magistrate Min!"
"Is this person important?" Zhou Li asked.
Gongsun Nai nodded, and Zhou Li took off the jade pendant from his waist and threw it to her. "Take this and go find the butler. He will arrange it for you."
Gongsun Nai took it and saw that it was the family emblem of the Southern Liang Palace.
She rubbed her fingers and looked deeply at Gong Yifu, but Gong Yifu lay down nonchalantly, picked up the book and covered his face with it, saying, "Just tell the people down there to go. You're powerless, and I don't want to have to brave the rain to rescue you later."
"I won't take any risks," Gongsun Nai promised.
Zhou Li said lazily: "It's good that you know."
The rain is still falling and it looks like it won't stop in the next few days.
Zhou Li locked up all the people in charge in the mansion. Recently, people kept coming to visit the prince and begged her to let these people take charge of the situation.
Zhou Li simply said: "If you can't work here, you can work here, so you don't have to come to me when something happens." He completely kept everyone in the Nanliang Palace. There were many people coming in and out of the Nanliang Palace, and relief food was distributed in an orderly manner. The people who were flooded were temporarily resettled, and finally they began to deal with the civil riots. At this time, Gong Yinai suddenly disappeared.
Zhou Li had not yet reacted to the news that the Sixth Prince had disappeared.
Gongsun Nai has been handling disaster relief work these days. In the morning, Zhou Li took a walk around the conference hall. Seeing that everyone was busy, she went back to lie down with a guilty conscience. She believed that Gongsun Nai had the ability to handle things, and this was also a training for her ability.
In the afternoon, Gongsun Nai said he was going out to visit the nearest place where the disaster victims were resettled. Suddenly, he disappeared. Only the guards who had lost track of Gongsun Nai ran back in a panic, saying that the Sixth Prince had asked them to help lift heavy objects. As soon as they finished, the Sixth Prince disappeared. After asking the disaster victims, no one noticed how the Sixth Prince disappeared.
Zhou Li couldn't believe that such a living person could just disappear like that, so he sent a lot of people to look for him.
Late at night, Zhou Li received a letter, and the Nanliang Palace was in an uproar.
County Magistrate Min was killed on the way to rescue him, and the people from the Southern Liang Palace narrowly escaped death and brought the news to Zhou Li.
There is another secret behind the levee breach. It was that the river workers had been cutting corners over the past decade, which resulted in the levee becoming vulnerable and destroying the homes of 100,000 people.
The high-ranking official in charge of river works throughout the world is none other than the third prince's mother's family, the Gao family.
Zhou Li received Min Hu's blood letter and was shocked by the accusations against the Gao family in the book. She felt sweat on her forehead and her neck was cold.
Gongsun Nai's disappearance should be related to this matter.
The Gao family has been cutting corners and engaging in corruption on riverbanks for decades. If it weren't for the incessant heavy rain, no one would have noticed.
There are five major canals in the world, and countless tributaries. If all the river banks are made of paper, the flood in the future will probably reach the capital!
Zhou Li flicked his sleeves and asked the secret guard to report the matter to the capital and go to look for Gongsun Nai in the rain!
She believed that Gongsun Nai was so smart and should still be alive!
On a rainy night, the ground was wet.
The recent rains have lessened, and a light drizzle continues to fall, like willow catkins in April.
The puddles on the road were trampled by horse hooves, and a person emerged from the reed marsh.
Gongsun Nai was covered in mud, as if she had just been pulled out of the ground. She kept gasping for breath. The sound of horse hooves that had just run away was gradually approaching. A cold light flashed, and a knife fell towards her head.
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