Chong Yan put down his chopsticks and looked at Wakabu Tetsuhiro. He stood up and said,""But what happened? Why are you looking for me so late at night?”
"The Empress said she wanted to see you, but she didn't explain the reason."”
Zhong Yan frowned and looked at Zhe Hao apologetically. Today was his birthday, so she couldn't accompany him. Zhe Hao also expressed his understanding and nodded.
Zhong Yan followed Yue Qing out of the door and immediately sat on the carriage.""It's really strange. Mother even came out to pick me up. It doesn't seem to be an urgent matter.”
Yueqing only nodded, but then shook her head, not knowing what to say. Finally, she stomped her foot and said,""Princess, let's go!"
Zhong Yan had no choice but to nod.
The carriage was lifted up and swayed forward. In fact, it was not as fast as walking. It was just that ancient women's steps were broken and they were not allowed to run, so it always made people feel that they were walking slowly. This was also one of the rules that Chong Yan hated the most.
The sky was completely dark, and occasionally bats could be seen flying low in the air, before immediately turning around and spinning upward. Occasionally, there would be an ear-piercing cry.
Lanterns were lit up in the palace, and the candlelight shone through the thin red cloth on half of Zhong Yan's face. Yue Qing looked at that face and sighed slightly, but no one heard her.
From time to time, the patrolling guards could be seen circling around. Zhong Yan felt uneasy.
When they finally arrived at their mother's bedroom, they realized that Yueqing had no intention of stopping. Instead, she continued walking forward. If they walked further, they would reach his mother's study room. Generally speaking, national affairs would be discussed there. However, because Zhong Yan was young, he had never been there. His mother had only asked her eldest sister and second sister to take care of it. No matter what, there was no reason to call Zhong Yan over.
Young Master Yueqing didn't explain the situation to him. Something must have happened today.
With this thought in mind, Zhong Yan got off the carriage.
At this moment, Yueqing did not rush him, but slowly followed behind him.
The study was brightly lit. The little palace maid went in to report. Zhong Yan followed her in and saw her mother sitting on the dragon chair with her hand on her forehead. Eldest Sister and Second Sister were also standing at the side.
"Dong Yan greets mother." She bent her knees and nodded slightly at her two sisters. The two sisters also replied to her.
"Dong Yan, I have something urgent to ask of you.”Her mother raised her eyes, and her bloodshot eyes showed that she had been working hard for a long time." This year, there was a flood. All the villagers near Qianming River were flooded, and the crops were not harvested. The people there became disaster victims.”
Zhong Yan's eyes widened. Clearly, she did not think that these things had anything to do with her. Could it be that she had asked her to come up with a plan?
However, he had never participated in political affairs, nor had he spoken in front of state affairs. He was afraid that one day, his sister would point her finger at him. He just felt that he should muddle through such days. His mother would not give up so soon. He had a lot of time to kill. However, if his mother had asked him to come up with a plan this time, he was afraid that his days in the future would not be so leisurely!
She sighed in her heart, but she still expressed her worry and said,"This is truly unfortunate for the country."
Xia Jiao looked at Zhong Yan's anxious expression and could not help but interject,"Fourth Sister is really worried about the country and the people!”
Zhong Yan glanced at her." I can't compare to Second Sister. Dongyan can only talk about it. Second Sister is always working hard to contribute to the country's labor force."”
On the surface, she was referring to Xia Jiao's hard work for the country, but in secret, she was mocking her and her male companion for not knowing their place and not sleeping day and night.
Xia Jiao didn't hear it at first and even raised her face to look at Zhong Yanxiao. Only when she realized that there was something wrong with Zhong Yan's expression did she realize it. Her face immediately turned livid with anger, but she couldn't refute.
Seeing the two sisters like this, the Empress only sighed.""Now that the grain harvest is not good, the government is anxious, but the people also need to be appeased.”
"Why don't you allocate some silver and food to let the people settle down first?" Chun Qing said slowly.”
The Empress shook her head." It's fine if that's the case. However, how much of the things in the national treasury will end up in the hands of the people if they are distributed to the local areas and exploited layer by layer?”
Chong Yan was extremely impressed by the Empress's knowledge. The corrupt officials of every dynasty and every generation were vermin of the country, and many of the relief funds could not reach the hands of the common people.
Zhong Yan recalled a TV series she had watched in the past. It was called " The Granary of the World." The opening scene was about the common people hiding from the government's pursuit. An honest official wanted to let the common people eat, but he had no rice at all. He could only cook very thin porridge, which was almost filled with water. At that time, the requirement was that the chopsticks could be inserted into the porridge without falling down. Another upright official was of a higher rank. At that time, he wanted to kill the previous person without any explanation. No matter what that person said, he refused to delay the execution. In the end, the mother of the official who was about to be beheaded was also among the beggars. She was so thin that she was only skin and bones. He bit off his own flesh, wanting to let his mother eat until she was full, but he scared his mother until she fainted. In the end, he was beheaded. When the honest official opened the warehouse to release the grain, he realized that the warehouse was empty. The rice used for disaster relief had long been exploited by the government and sold for money!
Thinking of this, he felt a chill down his spine and suggested,""Why don't we find a trustworthy person to transport the food all the way there? That way, we won't be robbed.”
Unexpectedly, the Empress shook her head.""The things in the national treasury might not be enough.”
The expressions of the three sisters changed drastically at the same time. The second sister, Xia Jiao, blurted out,"How can that be? I saw that the national treasury was full a few days ago. It must be enough to support it!”
" I can hold on for a month or two," the Empress said with a bitter smile." Can I hold on for half a year or a year?"”
Zhong Yan was silent. Indeed, no matter what, the area affected by the disaster this time was too large. No matter how rich the national treasury was, it could not compare to the food and drink of tens of thousands of people. What should he do?
"Mother." The big sister suddenly said,"Isn't Big Brother Ruowen in the Chongtian Kingdom?" We might be able to find Chongtian Kingdom to help us temporarily. Moreover, the prince of Lanling Kingdom, Yu Zhehao, is also in our hands.”
"No!" Without waiting for the Empress to speak, Chong Yan retorted," If the two countries know that our national treasury is so empty, they will immediately join forces to eliminate our Li Country. This was something that absolutely could not happen. No matter what, he couldn't let the news leak out until the last moment.”
Suddenly, a child ran in from outside. His big eyes were like a replay. The boy threw himself into the Queen's arms and said coquettishly,"Mother, Ruoyan misses you. Why aren't you accompanying him?”
This child was the boy the Empress had conceived six years ago, Ruoyan.
Zhong Yanzheng was helpless. He had never relied too much on his mother when he was young. Of course, it was not the Empress, but his real biological mother. Perhaps it was because the children of the poor had taken care of their families early.
The Empress hugged him lovingly and placed him on her lap to comfort him.""Ruoyan, be good. Mother is talking to the sisters. I'll go and accompany you in a while, okay?”
Ruo Yan was quite clever. Seeing that Zhong Yan and the others were looking at him, he smiled and said,""Hello, sisters. It's so late, why aren't you resting?”
Zhong Yan looked at his mischievous appearance and could not help but laugh.
He suddenly thought of something and immediately said," Mother, why don't you send a trusted aide over to appease the people first? We can only think of another way to solve the problem of funds. It's better than letting the people riot first."”
The Empress nodded and said,""Then who do you think is more suitable?”
Zhong Yan was extremely disgusted with Xia Jiao at this moment and could not wait for her to leave immediately, so she recommended,"Second Sister is very clever and knows how to please people. Why don't you ask Second Sister to go? Besides, she's a princess. With such a big face, the people will know how much you value them.”
The Empress nodded and looked at Zhong Yan, narrowing her eyes slightly. Zhong Yan felt that something was wrong. As expected, the Empress said,""Xia Jiao has to assist me in the government and cannot leave. Dong Yan, why don't you go?"
Only now did Zhong Yan feel that he had been tricked. When his mother sent Yueqing to call him, she had probably already thought of this countermeasure."Mother, why don't you let Third Sister go? Dong Yan had not seen much of the world since she was young, and she was afraid that she would embarrass her mother.”
The Empress shook her head slightly." Qiuling's body is frail. She can't travel far. It's better for you to go. It's also an excellent exercise."”In fact, the Empress wanted to use this matter to give Zhong Yan some prestige so that he could inherit the throne in the future.
This book comes from：m.funovel.com。