Upon hearing this news, Song Zhiyu's expression changed, and her voice became somewhat urgent, "What happened?"
"Last night, the refugees in Liangzhou City suddenly rioted, surrounding the inn where Lord Pei and his entourage were staying, and falsely accused Lord Pei of embezzling the court's disaster relief grain." Lu Bai's face was also extremely ugly; those people really didn't know what was good for them.
Despite the danger, Lord Pei personally went to Liangzhou to solve the flood problem and even persuaded famous merchants in the capital to donate grain to the people of Liangzhou. However, he did not gain any good reputation and instead became the target of resentment. Now, his fate is unknown.
Song Zhiyu asked in confusion, "Wasn't the imperial court's disaster relief grain sent to Liangzhou a long time ago?"
"The imperial court's disaster relief grain has already been distributed, but there are too many refugees, and that grain is simply not enough. I don't know who they heard it from, but they actually thought that Lord Pei had embezzled the remaining grain, and they were incited to go to the post station to demand an explanation. Who knew that they would start fighting while they were arguing?" Lu Bai shook his head, his tone quite helpless.
Song Zhiyu took a deep breath. It was truly one wave after another. It seemed that the people hiding in the shadows were determined to stir up trouble in Liangzhou.
The eldest and third brothers thwarted their plot, so they decided to go all the way and stir up trouble, then use the people of Liangzhou to get rid of them.
"With Third Brother here, Eldest Brother is safe for now, but the longer this drags on, the more uncontrollable the situation becomes."
Despite saying that, Song Zhiyu's tightly furrowed brows did not relax.
"Miss, what should we do now?" Lu Bai licked her dry lips and asked cautiously.
She knew how important Lord Pei and General Su were to Miss Yu. Although Miss Yu didn't show it on her face, she was probably very anxious about their disappearance.
Song Zhiyu turned to look at Huishengtang behind her, her expression inscrutable. "We can only wait now for Huishengtang to prepare the herbs I need."
When she heard the news that her eldest and third brothers were missing, she did panic for a moment.
But now that I've calmed down and thought about it, the whole thing seems a bit strange.
It's truly unbelievable that those refugees could surround the inn and force my elder brother to such a state.
When the incident occurred, the prefect of Liangzhou was there, and there were also the secret guards dispatched by His Majesty to protect him. They could not possibly sit idly by.
The only possibility is that he did it intentionally.
By now, news from Liangzhou should have reached the palace.
*
The emperor, far away in the Taiji Hall, shared the same thoughts as Song Zhiyu.
"Minister Chu, when will the floods in Liangzhou be resolved?" Emperor Yun asked casually, looking at the memorial that had been rushed from Liangzhou with complicated emotions.
Grand Tutor Chu stepped forward with a worried expression, his lips moving as if he wanted to speak but then stopped. “Your Majesty, I do not know either. But Lord Pei and General Su are both brave and resourceful, and they will surely be able to turn danger into safety.”
Emperor Yun didn't even look up. "You also think that something really happened to those two?"
Grand Tutor Chu couldn't answer. The news had already been sent back to the capital. Even if nothing had happened, the situation was probably not much better.
"Your Majesty, the people's hearts will not be at ease until the flood in Liangzhou is resolved. I believe that Your Majesty should send a few more people there." Although Grand Tutor Chu was somewhat regretful that the court had lost two capable ministers, Pei Qingyan and Su Jinyang, the most important thing at the moment was the people of Liangzhou.
Emperor Yun put down the memorial in his hand and turned his gaze to Zhou Xingzhi beside him. His cold and hard face softened slightly. "Xingzhi, what do you think?"
“Father, I think there’s no rush to send this person. Perhaps Pei Qingyan will return safely in a couple of days. Sending other ministers might only cause a bigger riot.” Zhou Xingzhi lowered his eyelids to hide the dark glint in his eyes, his thoughts going against those of Grand Tutor Chu.
The Pei Qingyan he knew was not so useless.
Zhou Xingzhi's only worry was Song Zhiyu; he wondered how anxious she would be if she found out about this news.
Grand Tutor Chu sighed, saying with difficulty, "Your Highness is right, but the flood in Liangzhou has not been resolved yet. We can wait two days, but the people of Liangzhou cannot."
“Liangzhou is ravaged by floods, and the refugees have revolted. There are also people with ulterior motives stirring up trouble in the dark. If these people are not brought to justice, the difficulty of controlling the floods will only increase.”
Zhou Xingzhi remained noncommittal, but he suspected that Pei Qingyan had also considered this issue.
Pei Qingyan was willing to use himself as bait to lure the snake out of its hole, so naturally he had to lend a hand, after all, he was his future brother-in-law.
If he wants to win the heart of the beauty, he still has to get past Pei Qingyan.
Zhou Xingzhi smiled helplessly. It's not good for Yu'er to have too many brothers.
Chu Taifu awkwardly shut his mouth; it was self-evident who those people with ulterior motives were in Zhou Xingzhi's words.
"In that case, let it be as the Crown Prince says." Emperor Yun made the final decision. He had personally promoted Pei Qingyan, so how could he not know Pei Qingyan's abilities?
*
Liangzhou.
"Brother, as you predicted, these people can't hold back any longer." Su Jinyang, hidden in the darkness, curled his thin lips and coldly looked at the group meeting not far away.
He finally caught him.
Pei Qingyan, also dressed in black night clothes, stood next to Su Jinyang with an imposing presence that was in no way inferior.
"Make your move." A hint of ruthlessness lingered in his clear voice, and for the first time, Pei Qingyan's face was devoid of its usual gentle smile.
In the blink of an eye, Su Jinyang's ghostly figure disappeared from sight, and he quietly stood behind several men who were meeting him.
"Well done. The master said that once this is done, he will promote you and give you a title when we return to the Northern Kingdom."
The others were delighted to hear this, "Those two high-ranking officials from the capital have disappeared without a trace since that day; they're probably not alive now."
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