The next day, Duan Changchuan woke up in Alpha’s arms again.

Thinking of the teaching-like kiss last night, he felt a little embarrassed. But he was very dependent on it and unwilling to get up.

Oh … she smelled so good. Her body had flowers and herb scents after bathing, as well as a peony scent.

But in the end, driven by his responsibility, the hardworking emperor lifted the warm quilt and got up.

–

After three days, there was no change in the court.

Other than Imperial Physician Sun, who hadn’t attended court for a long time. He was chatting with a few old officials about their health problems. It added a bit of liveliness to the usual court.

After Duan Changchuan entered the hall, the officials hurriedly stood properly. After he sat on the dragon throne, they shouted “Your Majesty” and performed the ceremony of kneeling and greeting the Emperor.

He raised his arm slightly and said, “Dear officials, please rise.”

His gaze swept across everyone below the stone steps.

It could be seen that after the last court, the officials had put away a lot of their thoughts. The Regent and Prime Minister Bai stood on both sides, looking more cautious than before. At least they stood a lot straighter.

–

In the last morning court, Duan Changchuan issued an edict, ordering the official Jiang of the Supreme Court to go to Huainan who had already set off two days ago. And the case of Huainan governor Chen Kangcheng was now in charge of the trial.

Duan Changchuan first asked about the junior official of the Supreme Court’s trial progress.

A youth knelt on one knee and replied, “After three days of interrogation, the guilty official, Chen, confessed, a total of thirteen officials and merchants from various villages and counties. Among them, eight people received bribes, five offered bribes, four embezzled government funds, eight sold disaster relief food privately, and five hoarded and raised the price of food.”

Then he handed over the case report with both hands.

Thus, in the main hall, under everyone’s gaze, the young emperor held the spine of the book with one hand and calmly started to read the book.

In the spacious hall, only the crisp sound of pages flipping could be heard.

And every time he turned a page, the young emperor swept a glance at the officials below, making them tremble and lowering their heads, not daring to meet his gaze.

When he closed the book, he looked at Prime Minister Bai with a meaningful gaze.

“The people were suffering from the disaster. In the cold winter, they don’t have food to eat or warm clothes to wear. However, some people are stuffing their pockets and eating until their mouths are full of oil.”

Then, he lifted his chin and looked at the Prince Regent who was sitting at the head of the table, “Are these the talents that Imperial Uncle has selected for Datong for more than a decade? Perhaps Imperial Uncle is getting old and his eyes are failing him?”

With that said, he turned to Imperial Head Eunuch, who was dressed in an official robe and said, “Chang Le, pass on the decree. I am worried about the Regent’s eyesight, so I grant Imperial Uncle a month’s rest to recuperate at his residence. No one is allowed to disturb him.”

Then, under the Prince Regent’s furious gaze, he returned the book to the junior official of the Supreme Court.

“Record all the names from the report. Capture them secretly and send them to Shengjing. Coincidentally, the spring examination had just ended, and many talents had yet to be assigned official positions. Even if they don’t want to or can’t do it, there are plenty of people who can. Also, convey my decree, those who confess or surrender voluntarily may be punishment reduced. Otherwise, their nine generations will be executed without mercy.”

The junior official of the Supreme Court received the report and hurriedly kowtowed, replying word by word, “This official obeys the decree!”

–

After discussing the corruption and bribery case in Huainan, Duan Changchuan was already a little tired …

However, he still tried to cheer himself up. The matter of the plague had yet to be resolved.

“During my recuperation in the past few days, I heard that there were patients with similar symptoms in Huainan, and they had infectious characteristics. At present, there is already a report of death. Have my ministers heard of it?”

The ministers looked at each other and shook their heads blankly.

Only one person stepped forward and hesitantly said, “This official has indeed heard of it … I heard that a medical hall took in a patient, and the next day, the entire medical hall was sealed. However, the other pharmacies haven’t taken any action. No report of disruptions to people’s lives and medical care. Some rumors are exaggerated, saying that it’s plague … This official hasn’t heard more about the situation, so I don’t dare to jump to conclusions.”

Duan Changchuan nodded and turned to look at the Prince Regent, asking, “Has Imperial Uncle heard of it? What are your thoughts?”

The person who was asked was obviously still immersed in the punishment of being “confined” for a month and only came back to his senses when he was called.

His expression froze, and after a long time, he said, “This official hasn’t heard of it.”

The corner of the young man’s lips raised into a mocking smile, “Perhaps the government office is still screening and doesn’t dare to report it? Or perhaps … they’re all busy with other things and don’t have time to take care of it, don’t you think?”

The person standing at the head of the row cupped his hands modestly, saying, “Your Majesty has just touched upon political affairs, so it’s normal to have doubts. The government office hasn’t concluded, naturally, they won’t report it. Otherwise, if every little thing is reported to the imperial court, the documents will likely overflow the entire Ming Sheng Hall.”

He was worthy of being a veteran who was in charge of the imperial court for more than ten years. he could still turn the tables at this time.

Duan Changchuan directly asked, “So, in Imperial Uncle’s eyes, a matter like a plague is also a trivial matter? If Imperial Uncle doesn’t understand, let me explain it.”

As he spoke, he slowly unfolded a report and read it out word by word, “In Huainan City, seven people were infected five days ago, and one died. Among them, a family of three was infected. furthermore, an attendant in charge of the medical hall was infected after only one day of contact with the patient, so there was a total of eight infected people. The medical hall immediately closed itself and no longer received patients. This was the news that Li Daren had just heard. Today, I just received news that two days ago, the number of infected people in the city had risen to fifty, with four of them being medical hall attendants. The four people were infected earlier, and their whole families were infected, accounting for sixteen people. Currently, five people have passed away, and three were critically ill. The five who died were the first batch of infected patients.”

As soon as he finished speaking, there was another uproar. The officials discussed it among themselves.

“It’s only been three days and five people have already died. This is no small matter, not a trivial matter!”

“Initially, only one person was infected in the medical hall. Now, the number has increased to four. Including an attendant and a physician, there aren’t that many people in the medical hall … This …”

“Those who were previously infected, their entire families were infected, and none of them were spared … This disease is spreading too fast!”

In the end, he concluded, “This … is most likely a plague, right? Huainan is really sinful, sigh …”

Everyone began to panic, and even the Prime Minister began to tremble, not daring to meet Duan Changchuan’s gaze Only the Prince Regent still stubbornly insisted on his opinion.

“Leaving aside whether the news is accurate or not. Even if it’s true, the government office has to go through layers of approval and inspection before reporting it to the court. How can we make a hasty decision?”

Duan Changchuan was so angry that he wanted to laugh. A stubborn duck indeed.

He directly called a minister randomly and asked, “The late Emperor had set up the memorials that local officials could bypass the usual channel and report directly to the court, what are the circumstances?”

The minister who was called was under the Prince Regent’s wing. He stood up nervously and looked at the gloomy Prince Regent first … before answering Duan Changchuan’s question obediently.

“Your Majesty, the late Emperor had set a rule thirty years ago. In case foreign enemies invade the border, or a first-level emergency natural disaster, including floods, mudslides, strong earthquakes, large-scale wildfires, typhoons, and so on, they could be directly sent to Shengjing to be heard by the Emperor. However, thirty years ago, there was a plague raging, and nearly a million people died. The impact was far and even affected Shengjing. The late Emperor issued a law and added the plague to it.”

Duan Changchuan nodded with satisfaction and then turned to ask the Prince Regent, “Layers of approval? Can’t make a hasty decision? I didn’t know, it turns out Imperial Uncle had been governing like this for over a decade. As I say, Chen Kangcheng is just an imperial envoy, where did he get the courage to brazenly and unscrupulously deceive the emperor and his superiors?! But it turns out that Imperial Uncle is deaf and blind, unable to see or hear anything.”

The two people standing at the pinnacle of power suddenly confronted each other.

Almost no one dared to speak lightly for fear that one misstep would make them cannon fodder in the fight between the two tigers.

Sitting at the very top, a young man in bright yellow attire, after a round of comments, looked down at the person below.

The Prince Regent’s forehead was sweating.

After a long time, he finally staggered, lifted his robe, and knelt down. He gritted his teeth and said, “It’s … This official, who misjudged people.”

The young man who won the game did not make any response. He directly ignored him and called, “Imperial Physician Sun.”

The spirited old man immediately stepped forward and knelt in front of the emperor’s stone steps, responding with full energy, “Your Majesty, this official is here!”

The ministers finally understood why Old Imperial Physician Sun, who had been away from the court for a long time, suddenly appeared in the court today.

The Son of Heaven, who was condescending and gave no face to the senior ministers any face, walked down the stairs step by step with Chang Le’s assistance. Then, he respectfully half-squatted and helped the old man up, saying, “Elder Sun, please rise. Although Master has been away from the court for many years and should be enjoying his retirement. I should not disturb you. However, Huainan is a serious matter and I have no choice but to trouble you. I, on behalf of the millions of people in Huainan, respectfully invite you out of retirement.”

His words caused everyone to be moved.

The old imperial physician, who had fought on the frontlines to prevent the plague, immediately teared up, “Your Majesty, you must not do this! The people’s affair is a serious matter. Saving Huainan is saving countless lives from disaster. I cannot shirk this duty! It is the blessing of the people and the fortune of Datong to have a benevolent Emperor, Your Majesty!”

After he finished speaking, he looked to the side, “Compared to some people who only care about the power in their hands and will do anything to win over people’s hearts, His Majesty is a million times better!”

What a bold rebuke.

However, the Regent and Prime Minister Bai, who were scolded, could only endure. After all, if they refuted, wouldn’t they be admitting their guilt? They could only swallow this loss.

Seeing the two old foxes suffer, Duan Changchuan was very happy. He watched as Chang Le finished reading the imperial edict and personally handed the yellow scroll to Imperial Physician Sun.

“I wish for Master’s safe return.”

“I will not disappoint Your Majesty!”

–

After the morning court, Duan Changchuan simply sent Imperial Physician Sun out of the hall.

The two walked and chatted along the way.

“This time, we have troubled Master. As for whether the Empress will go with you, I … only got the news today and still need to finalize it. I’m afraid I can’t give Master a definite answer today.”

“Last time, this official was impulsive…”

“Master’s words are reasonable.” Duan Changchuan said, then changed the topic, “Master has a straightforward personality. Datong needs someone like Master who is straightforward.”

The old man laughed heartily, “Your Majesty must be talking about how this official scolded the Prince Regent today? He raised a servant like the old dog Chen, shouldn’t he be scolded? I am getting old now, so my temper is better than before. If it was me from the late emperor’s period, I would have scolded him even more harshly. Besides, this old man is not afraid of him. His family’s disappointing eldest son, who went to the brothel every day for pleasure, has been impotent since last year. Looking at the whole Shengjing, only this old man has the skill to treat him. This old man has his family’s destiny in my hands. Even if I scold him harshly, he still has to bring gifts to say nice things to me.”

Duan Changchuan, “…”

Pfft.

It was as if he had accidentally heard something incredible.

Moreover, as he sent Imperial Physician Sun out, the other officials also came out in twos and threes. The old man’s spoke with full vigor. When he said “impotent”, one could even hear the echo against the courtyard walls.

The young man glanced back without batting an eyelid. Sure enough … the expressions of the ministers were truly varied and colorful.

The Regent was probably still in a meeting with Prime Minister Bai and had not come out.

Speaking of which … during the last Flower Appreciation Gathering, it seemed that the Prime Minister’s real legitimate daughter, Bai Jinzhi, had been betrothed to Duan Xuyuan?

Tsk, tsk, tsk.

Marrying an impotent man?

Since the morning court, the young man, who had been maintaining a serious and dignified appearance as an emperor, finally could not help but curve his beautiful eyes.

What could be more delightful than someone who [tore up the marriage contract and humiliated herself] marrying an [impotent man who was ten thousand times worse than Duan Changchuan himself]?

What could be more delightful than the fact that [this happy news would be known by everyone and immediately spread to the ears of everyone in Shengjing]?

The young man smiled and waved goodbye to Imperial Physician Sun, then hurried to Ming Sheng Hall.

He couldn’t wait to share this good news with Bai Su.