After Guo Guoshi left, Qin Yi stepped forward and poured a cup of osmanthus tea for Yun Shang. The scent of osmanthus filled the room, and it was fragrant and sweet. Yun Shang supported her chin with her hand, squinted her eyes thoughtfully, and raised her fingers
Knocking lightly on the table.
Qin Yi put the teapot aside and said softly: "The Crown Princess wants all the shops in our hands to be donated?"
Yun Shang sat up straight, pondered for a moment, and then nodded, "His Royal Highness has just ascended to the position of crown prince, and Yun Shang was hit by such a serious drought. If he can gain some reputation from this natural disaster, it will be great."
most."
After a pause, he seemed to be lost in thought again, and then continued after a while: "I don't know what the situation is. I will discuss the donation with His Highness after he returns home. Maybe he will have some good ideas. You can ask someone
Let’s go and find out what the situation is like now? Are there any merchants in the city giving porridge or giving things to the refugees?”
Qin Yi responded softly, her eyes falling on the teapot on the table, and there seemed to be some hesitation in her expression, "The Crown Princess has to prevent one more thing. Wasn't the previous plague something that was deliberately done by someone with intentions?
In order to frame the Empress. Now this matter is also a bit strange. The drought is a natural disaster, but how could refugees suddenly appear in large numbers? I always feel that there is someone behind the scenes pushing this matter."
Yun Shang raised her eyes and looked at Qin Yi with a bit of admiration in her eyes: "Qin Yi has thought very carefully. You can ask the secret guard Haosheng to find out when refugees started to appear outside Jincheng. It's best to let people
Pretend to be refugees, sneak into them, and ask carefully where most of these refugees come from, why they came to Jincheng, how long it took them on the road, and how they were affected by the disaster."
"Yes, I will save you." Qin Yi agreed softly, bowed and left.
In the evening, the secret guards who went to investigate came with the news, "These refugees are all poor people from Liucang, Nanyang, and Siyang. The drought has lasted for almost half a year, with almost no rain falling.
The crops were also harvested, and before the autumn harvest, all the rice in the fields was dead. These people were already poor, and as a result, they had nothing to eat. The officials actually complained to the court.
However, the disaster relief materials provided by the government are exploited at all levels and cannot reach the hands of the people at all."
"So they had no choice but to beg along the road. Thinking that Jincheng was at the feet of the Emperor, His Majesty would definitely help them, so they all came to Jincheng. Some of them had arrived in Jincheng seven or eight days ago, and they were just begging along the street. There was not much.
People noticed that there were suddenly more beggars in the city. It was only because more and more refugees came in that they were discovered."
"There are currently three to four hundred refugees in the city, and there are more than a thousand people outside the city who have not been able to enter the city. No one has yet seen anyone giving alms."
Yun Shang frowned slightly, and there was some confusion in her eyes, "Logically speaking, isn't now the best time for businessmen to come out to help refugees and show off that they are good people? How come this time, there is no one?
stand out."
"I heard that the government secretly told me not to give alms to the refugees for the time being." The secret guard said softly.
Yun Shang was full of questions, "Government? Where is the government? Why did they issue such an order?"
This question seemed to stump the secret guard. He hesitated and said nothing. Yun Shang waved his hand and said: "Forget it, I will ask Qian Yin to come into the house later and ask. Since it is said to be an official order,
, our shop must have heard the news."
"What are you asking?" Luo Qingyan's voice came from outside the door. Qinyi, Hua'er and the standing secret guards quickly greeted Luo Qingyan. Yun Shang also stood up. The autumn mood was getting stronger, and Luo Qingyan
Qingyan's court uniform also had an outer robe added to it. Yun Shang walked to Luo Qingyan, took off the court uniform from Luo Qingyan, and took a more comfortable robe for Luo Qingyan to change into.
Only then did he tell Luo Qingyan what happened today and the results of the secret guard's investigation.
Qin Yi brought water over and asked Luo Qingyan to clean her hands. Luo Qingyan took the brocade handkerchief and wiped his hands before saying softly: "You don't need to ask Qianyin about this, I ordered it."
Yun Shang was stunned, but she really didn't understand, "Why is this? If the ministers of the DPRK find out about this, they might gossip about you behind your back?"
Luo Qingyan raised his lips and smiled before sitting down at the table. Qinyi quickly stepped forward to pour the tea. Luo Qingyan picked up the tea cup and took a sip of tea, "I have already told your Majesty about this matter. Those people
Giving porridge to a good person is just a pretense to gain a good reputation. In fact, there are only a few grains of rice in the so-called porridge, so it is almost useless to the refugees."
Luo Qingyan looked at the gradually unfolding tea leaves in the cup, was silent for a moment, and then said: "Tomorrow I will summon the most famous wealthy businessmen in Jincheng to come to our house for dinner. You will send someone to prepare some special meals tomorrow.
, I have to let these wealthy businessmen lose their skin."
"The disaster relief food allocated by the imperial court has also been exploited by corrupt officials at all levels, and almost none of it has reached the hands of the victims. I'm afraid this matter must be thoroughly investigated." Yun Shang frowned and said.
"Corrupt officials are the most hated thing by emperors and people of all ages, but it is not easy to eradicate them. In four days, the autumn examination will be held. I have to be busy with the autumn examination. I will go to Liucang, Nanyang, Siyang and other places.
For local disaster relief, I have better candidates." Luo Qingyan raised her eyes and smiled lightly at Yun Shang, with a bit of amusement in her smile.
Yun Shang raised her eyebrows and laughed: "His Highness is smiling like this. What bad idea is he planning?"
Luo Qingyan laughed out loud when he heard the words: "Those who know me are Chang'er. Although Xiao Ji is not very wealthy in Jincheng, almost everyone knows about it. This disaster relief matter, only
I’m afraid that my wife will have to help support my husband, how about Xiao Ji setting an example?”
Hearing this, Yun Shang laughed helplessly: "I don't know why I run this Xiao Ji, but His Highness is quite capable of making plans, and has made plans for his own family. Since His Highness has said this, how can I, my concubine?"
Can I not obey?"
Luo Qingyan stroked her palms and smiled, "I really can't do it for my husband, so I have to ask my wife for help. My wife works hard to earn money, but my husband spends it lavishly. Well, it's really a waste of money. Counting it, I'm more like
Madam’s male favorite.”
As soon as the word "male favorite" came out, everyone in the room looked shocked, but they did not dare to laugh openly. They had to lower their heads and shrugged their shoulders slightly. They only heard Yun Shang chuckle, and then with a few words
She asked rather frivolously, "Well, my lady's favorite boy is quite good-looking."
The people in the room finally couldn't hold it any longer and all laughed out loud.
Early the next morning, before Luo Qingyan went to court, Yun Shang received the news from the palace. Yun Shang unfolded the note and read it, and finally understood what Luo Qingyan said, disaster relief was more appropriate.
Who is the candidate?
It's Xia Houjing.
Today, Xia Huanyu brought up the issue of refugees at the morning meeting and asked everyone to come up with ideas. Naturally, relief was needed for this disaster, but it was necessary to ensure that all the relief materials were used on the victims.
The officials recommended different disaster relief envoys, and Luo Qingyan was nominated several times.
Xia Huanyu asked Luo Qingyan to express his opinion, but Luo Qingyan suggested that Xia Houjing go. This was something that almost no one expected, including Xia Huanyu.
The surprise in Xia Huanyu's eyes was obvious.
Luo Qingyan knelt down and said: "Disaster relief is a major event, and the imperial examination is also a major matter. Disaster relief is related to the lives of the victims, but the imperial examination is related to the rise and fall of the Xia Kingdom in recent decades. My son is preparing for the imperial examination, and he cannot leave anyone.
, I am willing to come and appease the refugees who are pouring into Jincheng. I am just going to Liucang, Nanyang, and Siyang for disaster relief, so I recommended my seventh brother for a reason."
Xia Huanyu's eyes were a bit deep, and his face could not tell the emotions or anger: "What makes you want to nominate a death row prisoner? Tell me."
Luo Qingyan said quickly: "What I hope most for disaster relief is that all the relief materials from the court can be used on the refugees to save the most lives. Those disaster relief materials are worth a lot of money, and everyone is greedy.
, this is the reason why the disaster relief materials cannot reach the hands of the refugees. For the past two days, Erchen has been thinking, what kind of person is not greedy? Who is the most suitable candidate? After much thought, there is only the seventh brother."
"Seventh brother will be beheaded in a few days because he committed a human life case. For a person, saving life is more important than satisfying greed. Those corrupt officials also know that if they are accused, it will be a death penalty, but in their hearts
There is always a trace of luck, just in case he is not discovered. But the seventh brother is different. He is already about to die. If the seventh brother is given a chance to redeem himself this time and he can survive if he does his job well, he will definitely
The first priority is to save life, and in this way, you will definitely not be greedy." Luo Qingyan raised his eyes and looked at Xia Huanyu, his eyes were extremely deep.
Xia Huanyu pondered for a while, wondering what he was thinking.
"I agree." Li Qianmo raised his eyes and looked at the officials who were whispering among each other, then slowly stood up and knelt on the ground.
One after another, Li Qianmo stood up, followed by several officials, "I agree with what His Highness the Crown Prince said."
Voices of support came one after another, and within a short while, a large number of them had already knelt down.
Xia Huanyu looked at Luo Qingyan with faint eyes, pondered for a long time, and then said: "But, the Seventh Prince killed two officials of the court after all. It is only right to kill people to pay for their lives."
Luo Qingyan clearly heard that Xia Huanyu's name for Xia Houjing had changed from the death row prisoner just now to the seventh prince.
Luo Qingyan quickly responded: "Yes, I also feel that killing people to pay for their lives is a matter of course. But if the seventh brother can distribute the relief materials to the victims in small quantities, it will save thousands of people."
The people who were affected by the disaster, I think, will be able to offset the merits." (To be continued)
