Chapter 212 Court
"Ah He, this trick of playing hard to get... I really like it."
Xue Minglan's voice was like honey dipped in poison, sweet yet deadly.
The last trace of warmth in Chen He's eyes also disappeared.
She looked at the handsome but distorted face in front of her and felt it was absurd and disgusting.
"Xue Minglan, you're crazy."
Her voice was not loud, but it was like an ice pick, piercing Xue Minglan's ears.
"open."
Instead of letting go, Xue Minglan held it even tighter, the fanaticism in his eyes almost overflowing.
"Look, you're ordering me around again."
"Ah He, the more you are like this, the more I..."
He didn't finish his words.
Chen He turned his wrist, and a silver needle as thin as an ox hair had been placed on his pulse gate at some point, with the tip of the needle emitting a faint blue light.
"I say again, let go."
The smile on Xue Minglan's face froze.
He could feel the biting chill coming from the needle tip, just as icy as the violence surging in his body.
He slowly loosened his grip.
Chen He took back the silver needle, not even bothering to look at him any longer, and turned and left.
"Ah He!"
Xue Minglan growled behind her.
"You can't escape!"
Chen He's footsteps did not pause at all, leaving him with only a resolute back.
She knew that someone like Xue Minglan would never give up.
***
Within a few days, the atmosphere in the capital suddenly became tense.
Regarding the flood in the south of the Yangtze River, urgent reports from eight hundred miles away flew into the capital like snowflakes.
The dams burst, fertile fields were flooded, and the land was flooded for thousands of miles with starving people everywhere.
Countless disaster victims were displaced and flocked towards the capital.
Inside the Golden Throne Hall, the atmosphere was as stagnant as iron.
Crown Prince Xiao Jingyan, with a worried look on his face, was the first to step out.
"Your Majesty, I believe the most urgent task is to immediately open the granaries and release grain, set up tents in the suburbs of Beijing to distribute porridge, and properly accommodate the victims to reassure the people!"
His words were sincere, showing the benevolence of a ruler.
However, a cold voice completely refuted his proposal.
"Your Highness, this is wrong."
Xue Minglan, dressed in royal court robes, walked out slowly.
"Open the granaries and release the grain? Set up sheds outside the capital? Your Highness, do you know how much the national treasury will cost?"
"The national treasury is not well-off right now, and this move is tantamount to drinking poison to quench thirst!"
The prince frowned, "Then according to Prince Yi's opinion, what should we do?"
Xue Minglan's mouth curled up into a cruel arc.
"When disaster victims gather together, chaos is most likely to occur."
"Rather than expending enormous resources on appeasement, it's better to resort to drastic measures and dispatch troops to forcefully disperse the gathered victims!"
"Prevention is the best policy!"
As soon as these words were spoken, the whole court was in an uproar!
An old minister stepped forward tremblingly, "Your Highness Prince Yi! Those are tens of thousands of lives at stake!"
Xue Minglan glanced at him coldly, his tone full of contempt.
"Just an ant."
"For the sake of our country and our people, even the slightest sacrifice is worth it."
When this conversation reached Shen He's ears, she was accompanying Xiao Jingchi in flying kites in the yard.
After listening to the maid's report, her fingers gripping the kite string tightened inch by inch, until her knuckles turned white.
really.
Exactly the same method he used in his previous life.
Cold-blooded, cruel, and regards human life as worthless.
***
In the end, the emperor temporarily adopted the prince's suggestion and ordered the granaries to be opened to release grain.
However, the disaster relief process was far more difficult than imagined.
The grain and money for disaster relief were extorted at every level; the officials sent there pretended to obey but actually disobeyed.
Half a month later, not only had the disaster victims not been properly resettled, but they were complaining bitterly due to lack of food and clothing, and there was already a sign of rioting in the suburbs of Beijing.
In the court, Xue Minglan took this opportunity to launch a fierce attack on the prince.
"Your Highness, is this the benevolent government you advocate?"
"The victims are now filled with resentment, and civil unrest is imminent! Where do you think this country and its people will be?"
His voice was stern and every word he said was heart-wrenching.
The prince was so tortured by his questioning that his face turned pale and he was sweating profusely. He couldn't even utter a word in rebuttal.
At this tense moment, a childish voice that was out of place suddenly resounded throughout the hall.
"Father, Father!"
Everyone looked in the direction of the voice and saw Ning Wang Xiao Jingchi, who had a mind like a child, pulling the sleeve of the emperor's dragon robe with an innocent face.
"The water is so big, it can't be stopped."
He gestured and spoke in a baby voice.
"Just let it flow away."
All the civil and military officials in the court were stunned.
Xiao Jingchi ignored it and pointed at his stomach again.
"Also, if you give food to hungry people, they will stop making trouble once they are full."
This childish metaphor was simple and straightforward, but it was like a thunderclap that split the dark clouds over the court.
It is better to loosen than to block, and appeasement comes before pressure.
The emperor was stunned at first, then a hint of interest appeared in his eyes.
He looked down at his silly son and asked gently.
"Oh? That's interesting."
"Which master taught you?"
Xiao Jingchi immediately pointed to Shen He, who was standing in the female seat not far away, with a clear and loud voice.
“It’s He He!”
"It was He He who taught Jing Chi!"
In an instant, everyone's eyes were focused on Xiao Jingchi.
The emperor's gaze was scrutinizing, and he asked in a deep voice, "What did she say?"
"What she said...it's better to disperse than to block. Rather than expend military manpower to forcibly disperse them, it's better to use 'work-for-relief'."
"Let me think... It seems they're talking about recruiting young and strong disaster victims to repair the river and reclaim wasteland, with the court providing them with grain as wages. This way, we can both solve the livelihood problems of the disaster victims and improve water conservancy, thus preventing further disasters."
"As for public opinion, it should be channeled. Select people of high moral character and prestige to appease the people, severely punish corrupt officials, and let the victims see the court's resolve, and their resentment will naturally dissipate."
After these words were spoken, one could hear a pin drop in the Golden Throne Hall.
It was incredible that such words came out from the mouth of a prince who knew nothing.
Everyone seemed to understand that this must have been taught to him by Shen He, or even made him memorize it.
An unprecedented brilliance flashed in the emperor's eyes.
"good!"
"What a 'work-for-relief' policy!"
He clapped his hands and laughed, looking at Xiao Jingchi with admiration in his eyes.
"Although Chen He is a woman, she has such insights that surpass many men in the court!"
"Come here! Convey my order and do as Prince Ning says! This matter will be handled by the Crown Prince, with Prince Yi assisting!"
Upon hearing this, the prince looked at Chen He with gratitude as if he had been pardoned.
"Thank you, Sixth Brother, for rescuing me."
On the other side, Xue Minglan's face was extremely ugly.
He stared at Xiao Jingchi, who was still pulling the emperor's sleeve and grinning foolishly, with a poisonous cold light in his eyes, as if he wanted to eat him alive.
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