Royal Palace.

The Hall of Nourishing Heart.

"Why is the prince so happy?! Don't you know that the people of Changzhou are in dire straits?!"

Zhu Yuanzhang stared at the smiling Zhu Biao and asked in a deep voice, his words full of dissatisfaction.

“Hasn’t the crisis in Changzhou been resolved?”

"Has Shangshu Teng not yet reported this matter to his father?"

Zhu Biao was stunned for a moment, glanced at Zhu Yuanzhang, and then turned to look at Teng Demao beside him.

After listening to Zhu Biao's words, Teng Demao's face became even more ugly, and he couldn't express his pain.

"What happened? What was solved? How was it solved?!"

Zhu Yuanzhang frowned, looked at Teng Demao, then looked at Zhu Biao and asked.

"Reporting to my father, two days ago, people rushed to Changzhou for help. Not only did everyone in Changzhou have food to eat, but the people also received great comfort. They are all thinking about my father's kindness."

Zhu Biao cupped his hands and said with a smile.

"What? Haven't the disaster food supplies been collected yet? How come the disaster is already under control?!"

Zhu Yuanzhang was stunned for a moment and couldn't help but ask.

"Someone has taken the lead from the Ministry of Household Affairs and stabilized the disaster situation in Changzhou."

Zhu Biao said with a smile.

"who?!"

Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't help but hurriedly asked, and the shadows of countless people flashed in his mind.

"Hu Fei!"

Zhu Biao replied with a smile.

"Hu Fei?!"

"he?!"

Zhu Yuanzhang was shocked and couldn't believe it.

Among the figures that flashed through his mind just now, Hu Fei was not there, and he did not expect that Hu Fei would play such a big role at this time.

"What exactly is going on? Tell me quickly."

Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Zhu Biao and asked curiously. The solemn look between his eyebrows finally dissipated.

Therefore, Zhu Biao told Zhu Yuanzhang everything Hu Fei did in Changzhou, including factories from all over the country rushing to help, Hongbin Building being open for free, building a porridge shed, Hanlin Daily publishing an article to promote the imperial court and Zhu Yuanzhang's compassion and love for the people, etc.

After listening to Zhu Biao's answer, Zhu Yuanzhang smiled from ear to ear, because he never imagined that Hu Fei would take the initiative to do this without receiving any instructions at this time.

Through this incident, Zhu Yuanzhang's impression of Hu Fei once again changed greatly.

"Shang Shu Teng, hasn't this matter been reported to the capital by the Changzhou Prefectural Government? Why don't you report it to your father?"

Then, Zhu Biao turned to look at Teng Demao and asked in a deep voice.

In fact, he had already guessed in his mind that the reason why Teng Demao concealed it and refused to report it might be related to the grudge between his son and Hu Fei.

"That's right, Teng Qing, why did you hide this matter?!"

Zhu Yuanzhang also looked at Teng Demao and couldn't help asking loudly.

"Your Majesty, please calm down. Your Majesty, please calm down. The rat epidemic in Changzhou happened suddenly. I have been worrying about raising food for the past few days and forgot to report it. Please forgive me, Your Majesty. Please forgive me, Your Highness, Prince!"

Teng Demao knelt on the ground again and said with trembling lips. His face looked uglier than if he had eaten a hundred flies.

After hearing Teng Demao's explanation, Zhu Yuanzhang snorted coldly and looked at Teng Demao doubtfully.

Although he had no involvement in the matter between Teng Demao's son and Hu Fei, he had heard more or less about it.

"Since it was an unintentional mistake, it can be forgiven. I hope that Shangshu Teng will not let down my father's respect and collect the disaster food as soon as possible."

Zhu Biao hesitated for a moment and said slowly without going into details.

"That's right, after the disaster food is collected, it will be sent to Changzhou as soon as possible!"

Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Teng Demao and said in a deep voice.

"I obey the order!"

Teng Demao hurriedly bowed and saluted, and replied firmly.

Immediately, Zhu Yuanzhang ordered Teng Demao to retreat first.

Teng Demao, who was in a complicated mood, left the Yangxin Hall dejectedly with a nervous mood, and devoted himself to disaster relief matters, unwilling to let Hu Fei completely compete with him.

"Father, Hu Fei's move must have made a great contribution, right?"

After Teng Demao left, Zhu Biao looked at Zhu Yuanzhang and asked with a smile.

"Hahaha, are you so eager to ask for credit for him? With his temperament, he will definitely try his best to get rewards from me, so why do you need to ask for credit for him?"

Zhu Yuanzhang smiled and couldn't help but said.

Although it sounded like he was mocking Hu Fei, he didn't seem to be blaming him at all.

"Father, I'm afraid he really has no intention of asking for a reward this time. As you said, with his temperament, he would have caused a storm in the city before he did this."

"But this time it was very quiet. No news was leaked beforehand. It was not until the disaster in Changzhou was under control that the news was sent back to the capital. It was completely different from his previous behavior."

"So I thought that this time he really cared about the victims and acted spontaneously."

Zhu Biao looked at Zhu Yuanzhang and said seriously.

"Well, what you said makes sense."

"Then let's recruit him into the palace. I want to see if he is acting from his heart this time."

Zhu Yuanzhang smiled and said slowly.

Immediately, Zhu Yuanzhang ordered Pang Yuhai to send someone out of the palace to summon Hu Fei into the palace.

...

Hong Bin Building.

Backyard main hall.

Hu Fei was sitting on a chair, lazily crossing his legs and sipping tea.

Mu Ping stood aside and reported to Hu Fei one by one the current situation in Changzhou and disaster relief matters.

"It seems that the disaster has been brought under control. Once the disaster food from the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development arrives, the rat problem will be completely resolved."

Hu Fei nodded with satisfaction and said with a smile.

"Fortunately, the young master strategized and supported Changzhou in time, preventing the disaster from worsening. Is this considered a great achievement?"

Mu Ping asked while smiling.

"Hey~ I never ask for any credit when doing things, but I just want no fault."

Hu Fei waved his hand and spoke sternly, with a hint of a smile on his face.

After listening to Hu Fei's words, Pei Jie, Mu Ping and Chundie standing aside looked at each other and shook their heads helplessly.

The young master doesn’t seek credit? Even if he kills them, he won’t believe it!

But they also know that maybe the young master wants to take credit, but he also sincerely wants to help the victims. It's just that the young master is smart and knows how to take advantage of the situation.

"But this time, young master, I stole the limelight from the household department. I'm afraid the old man from the Teng family will hold a grudge against me even more, right?"

Hu Fei smiled bitterly and said slowly.

"The young master is saying that Teng Demao, the Minister of Household Affairs, will help Teng Ziqian get into trouble with the young master because of this matter?"

Chundie frowned and asked solemnly.

"I protect my son. This has been true since ancient times, and there is nothing wrong with it. As long as Teng Demao doesn't go too far, I won't argue with him."

Hu Fei smiled, curled his lips and said.

In his impression, Teng Demao was a pretty good official. Otherwise, if Teng Ziqian kept causing trouble for him, he would have taken action long ago.

"Hahaha..."

At this moment, a burst of hearty laughter came, and Hu Weiyong and his butler Qin Hai strode into the backyard and went straight to the main hall.

Seeing the cheerful Hu Weiyong, Hu Fei grinned. He knew that this old man must have known about his dispatch of people to Changzhou for disaster relief, otherwise he would not have come to Hongbin Tower easily.

Then, the palace should have received the news.

"You brat! You are indeed my son, Hu Weiyong! Well done!"

Hu Weiyong said loudly as he walked into the main hall, the happy smile on his face could not be concealed at all.

"Didn't you, an old man like you, teach you well? As a junior, I should try my best to see you looking worried all day long."

Hu Fei looked at the happy Hu Weiyong and said with a smile.
To be continued...