Chapter 780 Zhao Chenan is almost mad
Gu Lu turned his gaze towards Gu Qingchen. There was approval in his eyes, but more of it was the advice of a brother to his sister: "Qingchen, have you thought it through? Once you say this, there's no turning back."
"I don't need to think about it." Gu Qingchen's answer was clear and concise. "Brother Lu, you just heard it too. This is a man-made disaster! My Zhenguo Mansion has been loyal for generations. My father and brother have defended our country, and for what? Is it just to allow these parasites to run rampant in the capital, preying on the people and taking their lives?"
Her voice was not loud, but every word was clear and powerful.
"If I don't stand up today, my father and brother will be humiliated!"
Gu Lu looked at her deeply, then nodded heavily: "Good! Well said! You are worthy of being the daughter of my Gu family!"
He said no more, turning to the officers behind him and barking orders: "Register the victims again! Count the casualties and damage to houses! Also, send a team to the major grain stores in the city immediately and tell them that the Duke of Zhenguo is funding the purchase of grain at a high price. Take as much as you can! Also, send people to the major pharmacies to buy all the medicine!"
"Yes!" The officers responded loudly, their morale high, and they immediately took action separately.
With the golden signboard of the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion and the real promise of money, the scene that was originally filled with despair and chaos was instantly injected with strong order and vitality.
Qian Zhenyun looked at the scene in front of him and at Gu Qingchen who was talking to Gu Lu in an orderly manner, and his heart was filled with mixed feelings.
She is always like this, unexpected, but always makes the most correct decision.
He planned carefully, taking every step cautiously, wanting to protect her behind him, but in the end, she was the one who rushed to the front and cleared a path for him.
"Get lost," Gu Qingchen finished explaining everything, turned around and looked at him, the corners of his lips slightly raised, revealing a sly smile.
"Now, we have the manpower and money. As the disaster relief minister appointed by the crown prince, isn't it time for you to do your job properly?"
She deliberately emphasized the four words "Minister of Disaster Relief", and the teasing in her tone diluted the tension and solemnity just now.
Qian Zhenyun looked at the snowflakes on her face and her eyes that were brighter than the snowflakes, and his tense heartstrings finally relaxed slowly.
He sighed softly, a helpless yet doting smile on his face: "Miss Gu, you really gave me a huge problem."
"Problem?" Gu Qingchen raised his eyebrows. "Don't you want to investigate those corrupt officials? Don't you want to save these people?"
"I do." Qian Zhenyun looked at her and answered seriously, "But I don't want to involve you."
"It's too late." Gu Qingchen shrugged, as if it was a matter of course. "Your business, Qian Zhenyun's, is my business, Gu Qingchen's. If others want to touch you, they have to ask my permission first."
Her voice was crisp, with the naiveté that only a young girl could muster, but the weight of her words was so heavy that it made Qian Zhenyun's heart skip a beat.
He looked at her steadily, and in those eyes that were always gentle and calm, there was now a surge of deep emotions that others could not understand.
He wanted to say something, but all the words he wanted to say turned into a low "Okay".
This "OK" was his response to her and also his promise to himself.
East Palace, study.
“Bang!”
A fine celadon teacup was thrown hard to the ground and shattered into pieces in an instant.
Zhao Chen'an's face was so gloomy it looked like water could drip out of it. His chest was heaving violently, and his eyes were filled with uncontrollable rage and humiliation.
"What did you say? Say it again!" His voice seemed to be squeezed out from between his teeth, with a chilling tone.
The young eunuch kneeling on the ground was trembling with fear, repeating tremblingly, "Reply, reply Your Highness. Miss Gu, Miss Gu went to the south of the city and publicly promised that the Zhenguo Mansion would bear all the disaster relief expenses, and, and threatened to thoroughly investigate the Ministry of Works' Construction Department..."
"Good, good Gu Qingchen!" Zhao Chen'an laughed in anger. He kicked over the low table in front of him, and the pens, ink, paper and inkstone on it scattered all over the floor.
"Who does she think she is? Just because she's the legitimate daughter of the Duke of Zhenguo, she can act lawless and interfere in government affairs!"
His original plan was flawless.
Qian Zhenyun was sent to provide disaster relief without being given a single soldier, a single penny, or a single grain of food. This was to keep him in a desperate situation, to be worn out to death amid the people's curses and despair.
Gu Lu's intervention, while unexpected, was harmless. A Dali Temple official had limited manpower to mobilize, and at most, it would only allow Qian Zhenyun to hold on for a few more days.
But he never expected that Gu Qingchen, the fool he always thought was just relying on his status to make trouble, would actually break his plan in such a decisive and direct way!
She was not helping Qian Zhenyun, she was slapping the prince hard in the face in front of all the people in the capital!
She used the money and food from the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion to win people's hearts.
She used the prestige of the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion to suppress his people.
She let everyone see how ridiculous and powerless the so-called "benevolence" of the prince was in the face of the thundering means of the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion!
"Your Highness, calm down!" The staff beside him hurriedly stepped forward to persuade him, "Gu Qingchen's move may seem grand, but it is actually extremely stupid!"
Zhao Chenan turned his head abruptly, staring at him with scarlet eyes. "Stupid? She's become a living Bodhisattva now, and what have I become? I've become the laughing stock who watched the people suffer and did nothing!"
"Your Highness, it is precisely because of this that she has given us a huge handle!"
The aide's eyes flashed with a sinister light. "She's an unmarried woman, holding no official position, yet she's meddling in the disaster area, arbitrarily diverting money and grain, and making promises. What do you call this? This is usurpation! To put it bluntly, this is meddling in state affairs and disrespecting imperial authority!"
"The Zhenguo Mansion is rich and powerful, but disaster relief is a matter of state. How can a girl like her arbitrarily interfere? She is putting the Zhenguo Mansion above the law of the land! As long as we seize this opportunity and report her to the Emperor, even the Zhenguo Duke won't be able to protect her!"
The anger in Zhao Chenan's eyes was gradually replaced by cold calculation.
He slowly sat back in his chair, tapping his fingers on the table.
"You mean to let me go to the emperor to complain?"
"That's right!" the aide bowed. "Your Highness, there's no need to argue with her right now. If she wants to spend money, let her spend it. If she wants to save people, let her save them. The more she does, the more mistakes she makes!"
"Once the disaster situation stabilizes, we will list all her crimes, including misappropriating the treasury, interfering with disaster relief efforts, and even directing the Dali Temple to investigate cases, and present them to the emperor!"
"By then, there will be witnesses and evidence. Even if Gu Qingchen has made great contributions, she cannot justify the charge of usurpation! At that time, whether to kill or cut her up will be a matter of your word, Your Highness."
Zhao Chenan looked at the falling snow outside the window and said in a low voice, "Let her be proud for a few more days. I want to see what she can use to fill that bottomless pit in the south of the city."
There was a glint of ruthlessness in his eyes.
"Pass the order down to the Ministry of Revenue, the Ministry of War, Jingzhao Prefecture, and all government offices. Without my order, no one is allowed to provide any assistance to Chengnan. Not even a grain of rice, not even an inch of cloth!"
"I want everyone to know who has the final say in this capital!"
South of the city, on the ruins.
The rescue work is proceeding in an orderly manner with the strong intervention of Gu Qingchen and the financial support of the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion.
Bonfires were lit in the makeshift huts, and steaming hot meat porridge was distributed to every victim. The injured were also properly treated by Doctor Qian and his apprentices.
Gu Qingchen did not leave.
She took off her luxurious fox fur cape and wore only a neat dark suit, personally moving among the victims.
She was not like those noble ladies who put on a show, just standing far away and saying a few meaningless words of comfort.
She would squat down and listen carefully to an old woman crying about her husband who was buried under the rubble.
She would take out a clean handkerchief from her bosom and wipe the mud off a child's face.
She would even personally hold the medicine bowl and feed the bitter medicine into a seriously injured person mouthful by mouthful.
At first, the disaster victims were in awe and distant towards her. But gradually, they discovered that this legendary spoiled and willful young lady from the Duke's Mansion was not as arrogant as they had imagined.
Her eyes were sincere and her concern came from the heart.
Qian Zhenyun stood not far away, watching all this silently.
He saw her directing the servants to distribute cartloads of quilts and winter clothes brought from the mansion to the poorly dressed victims.
He saw her holding a booklet, carefully checking something with Gu Lu, her brows furrowed and her expression focused.
Seeing that she was tired, he found a relatively clean stone to sit on, picked up a cold and hard steamed bun, and ate it in big mouthfuls with snow water.
At that moment, Qian Zhenyun felt as if he was truly getting to know her for the first time.
"What are you looking at?" Gu Lu walked up to him without him noticing, followed his gaze, and smiled knowingly, "Didn't expect that? Our Qingchen also has this side."
Qian Zhenyun withdrew his gaze and nodded slightly.
"Brother, thank you for your hard work."
"Why should I be working hard?" Gu Lu patted the snowflakes on his body. "The ones who are really working hard are you. Especially you. I'm afraid His Royal Highness the Crown Prince will not let it go."
Qian Zhenyun's eyes darkened: "When the enemy comes, we will fight them; when the water comes, we will block it with earth."
"It's best if you think so." Gu Lu looked at him, "Qingchen is determined to protect you this time. You, don't let her down."
Qian Zhenyun didn't say anything, but his eyes fell on the petite figure again.
Let him down? How could he bear to do that?
At this moment, an officer from the Dali Temple came running over with a serious look on his face.
"Gu Shaoqing, Master Qian, someone is coming from the palace!"
Both of them felt a chill in their hearts at the same time.
"Who?" Gu Lu asked.
"It's Madam Li who is beside the Empress."
The Queen's people!
Gu Qingchen also heard the noise. She walked over quickly with a hint of vigilance on her face.
"What is she doing here?"
As soon as he finished speaking, the crowd in the distance parted ways. An old maid in dark palace attire, with her hair meticulously combed and a serious expression, walked towards them, surrounded by eunuchs and palace maids.
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