Chapter 79: Pulling the Wool Over the Second Prince’s Eyes

Upon hearing of an urgent report, Qin Zheng realized that this was a trap set by Qi Yanzhou, and his nervous tension eased.

De Yun immediately blocked the Imperial Guards who were about to apprehend Qi Yanzhou.

“Wait a moment.”

He spoke, then turned to look at the emperor, whose face was as dark as thunder.

“Your Majesty, let’s first listen to the urgent report. It’s not too late to punish Prince Chen afterward.”

The emperor, of course, could tell that the urgent report had been orchestrated by Qi Yanzhou!

He was so furious that it caused him chest pains, yet he had to yield.

The people were already disgruntled with him, and if he made a wrong move against Qi Yanzhou, he would surely be labeled a foolish emperor!

“Everyone step back. Bring me the urgent report, and read it aloud!”

The Imperial Guards quickly left the Golden Luan Hall, and a eunuch presented the urgent report to De Yun.

De Yun opened the memorial and read aloud: “For more than half a month, there has been continuous heavy rainfall in Jiangnan, causing severe flooding. Over ten cities have been submerged. Thousands of people have died or been injured, and many are displaced. Thousands of acres of farmland have been destroyed. We request the emperor to allocate grain and funds for disaster relief. This is the memorial submitted by the governor of Suzhou, Guan Hong.”

As soon as he finished speaking, the court officials began to murmur.

“Jiangnan is a major grain-producing region. This early spring planting has already been hit by a flood. The harvest this year will surely be severely reduced.”

“Over ten cities have been submerged. The money and food required for disaster relief are certainly no small amount.”

“Money and food are secondary; what worries me more is that there may be too many deaths. Once the weather clears, an epidemic will likely follow!”

“With so many displaced people, if they are not properly handled, there may be further issues.”

Taking advantage of the situation, Qin Zheng spoke up: “If the people find out how severe the flooding in Jiangnan is, they will surely think that it’s the result of Zhang Tianshi’s evil deeds, causing a heavenly punishment for Beichen Kingdom. The rumors about the emperor will only grow stronger!”

The censor chimed in.

“With the rumors of the ‘Eighteen Levels of Hell’ and ‘Demoness Destroying the Nation,’ and the scandal of Zhang Tianshi killing children to refine elixirs, any negative news will only reinforce the belief that it’s divine punishment for the emperor’s favoritism towards demons.”

“Your Majesty, in order to calm the people’s anger and stabilize their hearts, please issue a self-reproaching edict.”

Three censors knelt and begged.

Some officials with a bit of conscience, who had long been dissatisfied with the emperor, also knelt.

“Please, Your Majesty, issue a self-reproaching edict.”

De Yun saw the emperor trembling with anger and added fuel to the fire.

“Your Majesty, please issue the self-reproaching edict!”

With these words, most of the court officials knelt.

“Please, Your Majesty, issue the self-reproaching edict!”

The cries were deafening, resounding throughout the palace.

The emperor was so enraged that he spat out blood, his vision darkened, and he fainted.

The court was in chaos.

Some were worried about the emperor’s health, while others were concerned that the flooding in Jiangnan had yet to be resolved.

De Yun immediately said, “The morning court is adjourned for today. We will wait until His Majesty awakens before making decisions on the self-reproaching edict and the Jiangnan flooding.”

After speaking, he ordered the palace attendants to take the emperor back to his chambers and summon the imperial physician.

By the time the officials left the court, it was just before dawn.

The streets were still quiet, with only the breakfast stalls open, and shopkeepers occasionally calling out to passersby.

Qi Yanzhou went to a teahouse to have breakfast.

Soon, the news of the flooding in Jiangnan spread.

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Ye Chutang had gone to bed early the previous night, and woke up early today as well.

She took a few sips of spiritual spring water before heading to the backyard to practice martial arts.

An hour later, as the sky brightened, the maids finally rose.

Shan’er and Le’er went to the large kitchen to fetch ingredients for breakfast.

After returning, Shan’er brought news of the Jiangnan flooding and the emperor’s plan to issue a self-reproaching edict.

Ye Chutang knew that the dog emperor would never issue such an edict on his own initiative.

She curiously asked, “Who forced him to do it?”

“I’m not sure, but the master definitely knows,” Shan’er replied.

Ye Chutang wiped the sweat from her brow. “While you’re cooking, boil some water. I need to bathe later.”

Hongxiu, who had just come out of the left-wing room, spoke up, “Miss, I’ll boil the water for you.”

“Alright, call me when it’s ready.”

With that, Ye Chutang sat down on the corridor floor, focused on her breathing, and meditated while waiting for Hongxiu to prepare the water. Once it was ready, she planned to bathe.

After her bath, Ye Chutang took out her brush, ink, paper, and inkstone and copied three ancient poems.

After breakfast, Ye Chutang called for Steward Chen and handed him the poems she had written.

“This is the calligraphy the Second Prince requested. Have someone deliver it right away. Each piece of calligraphy is worth ten liang of gold.”

There had been so much going on lately that she almost forgot about this opportunity to pull the wool over the Second Prince.

Steward Chen took the three pieces of paper, his face full of hesitation.

“Miss, the Second Prince is of noble birth. If you send someone to look for him, he definitely won’t meet them, as it would be beneath his dignity.”

“Whether he meets them or not doesn’t matter, as long as he pays. If he refuses to pay, have someone make a scene and make sure everyone knows. After all, it was the Second Prince who requested the calligraphy, and he can’t possibly lose face over this.”

Steward Chen: “…”

If the servant actually did what Miss Ye said, they might not make it back alive!

Master had clearly instructed him not to provoke the young lady recently. Whatever she said, he must comply.

“Understood, Miss.”

After Steward Chen left, Hongxiu knelt in front of Ye Chutang.

Her tongue had healed well, though she still spoke with a slight lisp.

“Miss, I will never forget your life-saving grace. Now that my injuries are almost healed, I want to go to a country estate. Is that acceptable?”

As long as she stayed at the Ministry of Rites, she would constantly remember the torment and humiliation at the hands of the eldest young master.

She couldn’t sleep at night and was often awoken by nightmares.

She wanted to leave and, once she had fully let go of the past, she would come back and serve Ye Chutang.

Ye Chutang looked at the faint bruise on Hongxiu’s face and nodded.

“I’ll arrange for a carriage to send you to the country estate. The estate was burned down, so you’ll have to make do with what’s available. I’ll send someone to repair it soon.”

She had originally planned to wait until Hongxiu’s tongue fully healed before sending her away.

Hongxiu thanked her and kowtowed.

“Miss, I’ve saved up some personal money to fix the estate. I’ll take care of it myself.”

Ye Chutang didn’t insist, helping her up.

“Alright. Is there anyone in Wenbo Courtyard who wants to go with you?”

“I’ve asked. Xiu’er and Xingxu want to come with me.”

There were many maids who had been harmed by Ye Anzhi, and those who didn’t want to leave believed he had already reformed and that staying at the Ministry of Rites was better than going to the countryside.

“Go and tell them to pack up. We leave in half an hour.”

“Yes, Miss.”

When Hongxiu went to Wenbo Courtyard, Ye Chutang went to find Steward Chen.

She instructed him to prepare a carriage to send Hongxiu and the others to the country estate.

Once that was done, she was planning to go to Liuli Courtyard, but she happened to run into Ye Jingchuan, who had just come out of the government office.

After the morning court, Ye Jingchuan had arranged to meet some familiar officials for early tea, discussing the flooding in Jiangnan.

The flood damage in Jiangnan was so widespread that they needed to allocate three thousand shi of grain and two hundred thousand liang of silver.

Recently, the weather in Beichen Kingdom had been favorable, and grain was not lacking.

However, the royal treasury was running low on silver due to the emperor’s extravagance, with less than five hundred thousand liang left in total.

Officials’ salaries and soldiers’ pay amounted to a hundred thousand liang a month, just enough to get by until the autumn harvest.

Any additional expenses gave him a headache.

Ye Chutang, seeing her father troubled, asked, “Father, I heard the emperor is going to issue a self-reproaching edict. Who did this?”

“Prince Chen, why do you ask?”

“Just curious.”

“Don’t keep running around like this, especially with a bunch of men. People will start to gossip.”

Ye Chutang scoffed, “If anyone dares to laugh at me, let them come to the Ministry of Rites and say it to my face. I guarantee I’ll make them cry!”

Ye Jingchuan: “…”

Completely impossible to communicate with!

“Chuer, you…”

Ye Chutang didn’t want to hear her father lecture her, immediately cutting him off.

“People who claim to be righteous but gossip behind others’ backs are shameless scoundrels!”

“Father, if anyone laughs at me in the future, just use this to shut them up.”

She patted Ye Jingchuan on the shoulder and walked toward Liuli Courtyard.