SFS Chapter 21: The Cannon Fodder Lady: They All Want Her (21)
Chapter 21: The Cannon Fodder Lady: They All Want Her (21)
In the court, Sheng Yanzhao sat firmly on the dragon throne. A memorial was thrown from his hand and fell lightly to the ground.
"Is Huangzhou suffering from severe drought?"
The voice was extremely low, with a hint of impending storm, which made the officials kneeling on the ground feel uneasy. The fine sieve filtered out all the sorrow and worries, leaving only fear.
Now I don't even have the thought of shirking responsibility or wrangling.
The drought in Huangzhou had lasted for over three months, but the news had never reached the emperor.
Even with such a serious disaster, Shengjing was still preparing for the festival with great fanfare and indulging in joy.
The twists and turns involved cannot be fully covered up by the officials who are kneeling on the ground in cold sweat.
Sheng Yanzhao's eyes were fixed on Prince Rui who was standing in the front.
He was still standing there, as still as a mountain, but he did not have the steadiness and magnanimity of the green mountains.
A large group of people were kneeling below. From Sheng Yanzhao's perspective, the dark official hats formed a continuous dark cloud, covering the officialdom of Ying Dynasty.
The late emperor - his father, was still begging him to spare Sheng Yanxun's life before he died, and even... left a death edict in the hands of his younger brother.
Otherwise, King Rui would not have the courage to do such a thing.
It was precisely because of this imperial edict that Prince Rui firmly believed that Sheng Yanzhao had used conspiracy and trickery to sit on the throne, and the other two or three old ministers also had doubts about the words of the imperial edict.
Ghosts are lurking in the court, and they don't even care about the suffering of the people.
Pei Jing raised his eyes slightly and looked up, and their eyes met with Sheng Yanzhao's for a moment, and then a small official in a blue robe at the back of the official team stood up and made a report.
"Your Majesty, yesterday the Dengwen Procuratorate received a petition. Because the palace gates were locked, there was nowhere to submit it. However, I felt truly uneasy, so I hurried on horseback, carrying orders and leaving Shengjing through Zhengyang Gate..."
He spoke with rage, "As you said, a barrier was erected fifty miles outside Shengjing to keep the disaster victims from all over Huangzhou out of Shengjing, in order to conceal the news from the emperor."
Sheng Yanzhao sat at the top, looking coldly at the officials below. Some of them showed fake expressions of shock, while others, like King Rui, who relied on the influence of aristocratic families to get to this position, pretended to be serious, but in fact they were yawning so hard that they could almost reach two miles away.
"It's outrageous that such evil behavior exists right under the feet of the Emperor of Shengjing."
This one was even more fake, but it was so fake that he was very happy about it.
Xie Shengzhi met the emperor's gaze and smiled slightly, then calmed his serious rebuke, "Your Majesty, the court is fundamentally corrupt. If we allow those parasites to wipe out the prestige of the Ying Dynasty, it will be too late."
The chief of the termites, King Rui, was calm and composed. "Thank you, sir, for what you said. Why would those untouchables be so alarmist? It's just a severe drought. We are just allocating funds for disaster relief."
Allocate funds for disaster relief, what a great idea! Just by saying it, those people who are living in dire straits will be moved to tears.
"Since Prince Rui is so shameless... then we'll allocate funds from Prince Rui's Palace." Sheng Yanzhao supported his chin with his hand, looking down at Prince Rui who was jumping up and down with a smile.
"Your Majesty, you're joking. How can we allocate funds from the Rui Palace? There has never been such a precedent since ancient times..."
"Then let's set a precedent from now on. What do you think? Didn't King Rui say he was so bold and confident when he spoke about allocating funds?"
Why did he back off when it was time to go on stage?
King Rui sneered and said, "If it's not my money, then it must be very powerful. I don't feel sorry for it!"
"Nothing to say? That's good, Pei Qing..."
Pei Jing stood up, bowed his hands and said, "I am here."
"You go to Prince Rui's mansion and find...his name is Zhao Duan, right? Ask him for three thousand taels of silver and ten thousand taels of gold, and then come back to take Prince Rui back to the mansion."
Prince Rui's eyes widened, and he almost vomited his eyes out. "Ten thousand taels?"
Then he realized that this meant he was going to be imprisoned in the palace?
She pondered in her heart, gathered her courage, and bowed, "What does your Majesty mean by this order? If you want to use the money from my private treasury, then just take it. Why... why do you want to keep me in the palace?"
Pei Jing's lips curled up imperceptibly. It turned out that it was better to retreat in order to advance.
If he went straight to Prince Rui's mansion to get the silver, Prince Rui would definitely make a fuss. But if he was told to keep him in the palace as a "guest", he would naturally have something to hide and think badly of the rest of the people.
Afraid that someone would harm him.
Not to mention holding an imperial edict in his hand, if the emperor suddenly gets angry and ignores the edict, kills someone first and then confesses the crime, no one dares to say anything.
Old minister...there is no need to worry.
As long as the throne still belongs to the Sheng family, even if the old ministers are unconvinced, they have no choice but to accept it for the sake of the stability of the country.
What's more, the current emperor's ability to govern the country is obvious to all. Except for those ignorant and foolish loyal people, there are few who can't see it.
It was precisely because King Rui knew all this that he did not dare to act too pretentiously after listening to the analysis of his adviser.
They shrink back after being hit once, but if they remain untreated for a long time, they will jump out again with their heads held high, pointing fingers in the court, and... seriously playing power games.
Unfortunately, he was not cut out for it. The advisers close to him were either stupid or foolish. They couldn't see the situation clearly and just made a mess of things.
The secret guards had already sent people to report the drought in Huangzhou this time, and Pei Jingxun had discovered the clues when he went to suppress the bandits.
After the intervention, the number of victims was well controlled. However, due to King Rui's jumping around, those lazy people who would have become refugees even without the disaster gathered and rushed to Shengjing, resulting in the current situation.
As for the silver obtained from Prince Rui’s Palace?
Reconstruction requires funds, and it can be considered as accumulating blessings for him. Most of the remaining money can be used to fill the national treasury. There are so many places where money is needed.
Xie Shengzhi was already thinking about how to extort more money from the officials in the court.
It seems that this strategy is quite effective.
The people kneeling below couldn't help but shudder, as if they were being stared at by something terrifying.
........
There was turmoil in the court, but the flower-viewing banquet was peaceful.
Uh - maybe it's just an appearance.
After receiving several dresses from Sui Yu, Yi Rou picked out the least conspicuous one to wear. It happened to be a light color. At first glance, it looked like she had discussed it with Sui Yu.
"There's nothing fun to do in Shengjing after Shangsi. I've been embroidering and drinking tea in my mansion all day, without you sisters to keep me company. I'm almost bored to death."
Princess Yongle was swinging on the swing, her chin raised towards Sui Yu and Yi Rou, a hint of obvious resentment hidden in her eyes, "Where did that foreign princess come from? She actually asked Lady Sui Liu to bring her to my cousin's flower viewing party."
You know, she hasn't even spoken a few words to Sui Yu yet.
Sui Yu has always been a recluse, so it is considered good if she is willing to come to such a banquet three times out of ten invitations. So many people want to ask her about dress styles, hairstyles and the like that she sometimes can't even get in line.
The swing swung high, just like the flying willow catkins beside Yongle, sticking to him without any sense of propriety, and it was impossible to drive it away, like a stray dog.
Yirou, who had no idea that she had been mistaken for a "scallywag", sat there dignifiedly and was very interested in these activities.
During this period of time, the maids in the palace have been teaching her the etiquette of the Ying Dynasty. Although she is not as elegant as Sui Yu and the others, there are no mistakes at first glance.
With a delicate and beautiful face, she looks even more graceful.
"There are so many ways to play. I thought the flower viewing banquet was just about viewing flowers." Yirou watched with interest as the noble ladies gathered together to play pot-throwing and chess...
I think everything is interesting.
Sui Yu leaned her hands on the railing, sitting sideways and looking at the scenery by the lake. She smiled when she heard the words, but before she could say anything, she was interrupted by a voice.
"You don't know. How can a small country like Wuman know the fun of Shengjing?"
Sui Yu was startled, and her eyes turned with a glass-like color. She looked at the person who spoke and found that it was Yongle.
She and Yongle were not very familiar with each other, but they had met a few times. In her impression... she was not that kind of person.
Yirou was also confused by the sudden ridicule, "What did I say wrong?"
"Humph, you're wrong about everything."
There was a slight hint of jealousy in her tone, as if Yirou had stolen something precious from her.
Yongle, who had his hands on his hips, silently put his hands down when Sui Yu looked at him, put on a dignified look, and then - sat down next to Sui Yu.
"Yaoyao, why don't you come and swing with me? Look, the willow catkins are floating just right. You stand on it and I'll push you. It will definitely be fun."
By then, the gentle lake breeze will blow over, and today the sun is shining, so it's not too cold either. It's guaranteed to be comfortable and beautiful.