Chapter 79: Taking Advantage of the Second Prince
When Qin Zheng heard the urgent news, he knew it was a trap set by Qi Yanzhou, and his heart settled down.
Eunuch De immediately stopped the imperial guards who were about to arrest Qi Yanzhou.
"Wait a minute."
After saying this, he looked at the emperor with a gloomy face.
"Your Majesty, please listen to the urgent report first, and then it will not be too late to punish Prince Chen."
How could the emperor not see that the urgent report was written by Qi Yanzhou!
He was so angry that his heart ached, but he had to give in.
The people were already very dissatisfied with him. If he hit the wrong person, Qi Yanzhou, he would definitely be called a tyrant!
"Everyone, step back and present the urgent report. Read it!"
The Imperial Guards quickly left the Golden Palace, and the eunuch presented the urgent report to Eunuch De.
Eunuch De opened the memorial and read: "It has been more than half a month since the torrential rains hit Jiangnan. The floods are severe and have submerged more than 20 cities. More than 10,000 people have been killed or injured, and the people have been displaced. Ten thousand acres of good farmland have been destroyed. Please ask the emperor to allocate grain and funds for disaster relief. Suzhou prefect Guan Hong has submitted this memorial."
As soon as he finished speaking, all the officials started talking.
"Jiangnan is a grain-producing area, but it was hit by floods just after the spring planting. This year's output will definitely shrink significantly."
"More than 20 cities were flooded. The money and food for disaster relief is not a small amount."
"Money is a small matter. What I am afraid of is that too many people will die. Once the weather clears up, there will be a plague!"
"With so many people displaced, if they are not properly handled, I'm afraid something bad will happen."
Qin Zheng took the opportunity to say, "If the people knew that the flood in Jiangnan was so serious, they would definitely think that it was Zhang Tianshi who did too much evil and caused Beichen Kingdom to suffer heaven's punishment. The rumors about the emperor would also intensify!"
The censor agreed.
"With the 'Eighteen Levels of Hell' and 'The Devil Destroys the Country' in the past, and then there's Zhang Tianshi killing children to make elixirs, whenever something bad happens, the people will think it's God's punishment for the emperor's favoritism towards the devil."
"Your Majesty, in order to appease the people's anger and calm their hearts, please issue an edict of apology."
The three imperial censors knelt down and begged for orders.
Officials who had some conscience and had long been dissatisfied with the emperor also knelt down.
"Please ask the emperor to issue an edict of repentance."
Seeing that the emperor was shaking with anger, Eunuch De added fuel to the fire.
"Your Majesty, please issue an edict of apology!"
As soon as these words were spoken, most of the officials in the court knelt down.
"Your Majesty, please issue an edict of repentance!"
The shouts shook the sky and echoed throughout the palace.
The emperor was so angry that he vomited blood, his eyes went dark and he fainted.
The court officials were in chaos.
One was that they were worried about the emperor's health, and the other was that the flood problem in the south of the Yangtze River had not been resolved.
Eunuch De immediately said, "Today's morning court session ends here. Regarding the imperial edict of repentance and the flood in Jiangnan, we will make a decision after the emperor wakes up."
After saying this, he asked the palace servants to escort the emperor back to his bedroom and call the imperial physician.
When all the officials returned home from court, it was just dawn.
The street was still deserted, with only the breakfast shop open, and the owner shouting out a few words from time to time.
Qi Yanzhou went to the teahouse for morning tea.
Before long, news of the flood in the south of the Yangtze River spread.
***
Ye Chutang went to bed early last night and got up early today.
After drinking a few sips of spiritual spring water, he went to the backyard to practice martial arts.
An hour later, when it was light outside, the maids got up.
Dan'er and Le'er went to the big kitchen to get ingredients for breakfast.
After returning, Shan'er brought Ye Chutang the news of floods in the south of the Yangtze River and the emperor's intention to issue an edict of repentance.
Ye Chutang knew that the dog emperor would never take the initiative to issue a confession of guilt.
She asked curiously, "Who forced him to do that?"
"I don't know, but the master must know."
Ye Chutang wiped the sweat off his head and said, "Boil some water while I cook. I need to take a shower later."
Hongxiu came out from the left ear room and said, "Miss, I'm here to boil some water for you."
"Okay, call me when it's done."
After saying that, Ye Chutang sat down on the ground in the corridor, concentrated his Qi into his Dantian, and breathed in and out quietly.
After Hongxiu boiled the water, she went to take a bath.
After bathing, he found a pen, ink, paper and inkstone and copied down three ancient quatrains.
After breakfast, Ye Chutang called housekeeper Chen and handed him the poem he had written.
"This is the calligraphy that the Second Prince wanted. Send someone to deliver it immediately. One piece of calligraphy costs ten taels of gold."
She has been busy lately and almost forgot about this opportunity to make some money.
Butler Chen took the three pieces of paper with an embarrassed look on his face.
"My lady, the Second Prince is a nobleman. If you ask a servant to look for him, he will definitely not see you. It would be beneath his dignity."
"It doesn't matter whether he meets or not, just give him the money. If he doesn't give, he will have his servants throw a tantrum and make everyone know that this is the calligraphy that the Second Prince took the initiative to ask for. He can't be shameless, can he?"
Butler Chen: “…”
If someone really did this, he would probably not come back alive!
But the master has told us not to mess with the eldest lady recently, and whatever she says is what counts.
"I understand, old slave."
After Butler Chen left, Hongxiu knelt in front of Ye Chutang.
The injury on her tongue healed well, and although she still spoke with a lisp, her speech was clear.
"Miss, I will never forget your kindness in saving my life. Now, my injury is almost healed. I want to go to the farm in the countryside. Is that ok?"
As long as she stayed in the Shangshu Mansion, she would think of the torture and humiliation she suffered at the hands of the eldest young master from time to time.
I can’t sleep well every night and am often awakened by nightmares.
She wanted to leave, wait until she had completely let go of the past, and then come back to work for the eldest lady.
Ye Chutang looked at the blue color under Hongxiu's eyes and nodded.
"I will arrange a carriage to take you to the farm in the country. Part of the farm has been burned down. You can stay there for now. I will send someone to repair it later."
She originally wanted to wait until Hongxiu's tongue was completely healed before sending her away.
Hongxiu kowtowed to Ye Chutang gratefully.
"Miss, I have saved some money over the years, so you can repair the manor yourself."
Ye Chutang did not force her and helped her up.
"Okay, is there anyone over at the Cultural and Museum Institute who wants to go with you?"
"I asked before, Xiu'er and Xinghua want to go with me."
Many maids were harmed by Ye Anzhi. Those who were unwilling to leave felt that he had restrained himself and it was better for them to stay in the Shangshu Mansion than go to the countryside.
"Go and tell them to pack their things and leave in half an hour."
"Yes, Miss."
When Hongxiu went to the Cultural and Museum Institute, Ye Chutang went to find Butler Chen.
Ask him to prepare a carriage and take Hongxiu and the others to the country farm later.
After giving the instructions, she prepared to go to Liuliyuan, but ran into Ye Jingchuan who had just returned home.
After Ye Jingchuan left the court, he made an appointment with a few familiar officials to have morning tea and chat about the flood in the south of the Yangtze River.
The disaster-stricken area in Jiangnan this time was too large, and we had to allocate 3,000 dan of grain and 200,000 taels of silver.
In recent years, Beichen Country has enjoyed good weather and has no shortage of food.
But the national treasury had little silver left due to the emperor's extravagance, and the total amount was less than five million taels.
The salaries of officials and soldiers totaled one million taels a month, barely enough to last until the autumn harvest.
Any extra expenses give him a headache.
Ye Chutang looked at the irritated Ye Jingchuan and asked, "Dad, I heard that the emperor wants to issue an edict of guilt. Who did it?"
"Lord Chen, why are you asking this?"
"Nothing, just curious."
"Don't go out all the time if you have nothing to do. Hanging out with a bunch of men makes people laugh at you."
Ye Chutang sneered disdainfully, "If you have the guts, come to the Shangshu Mansion and laugh in front of me. I promise to make them go back crying!"
Ye Jingchuan: “…”
Totally unable to communicate!
"Chu'er, you..."
Ye Chutang didn't want to listen to Ye Jingchuan's preaching, so he interrupted him immediately.
"They claim to be upright gentlemen, but they gossip about others behind their backs. They are simply shameless villains!"
"Dad, next time someone laughs at me, you can say this back."
After saying that, she patted Ye Jingchuan on the shoulder and went towards Liuliyuan.
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