Translator – Xiao He Lian
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Chapter 92.1
When it was dark, Li Di left the Prince of Wei’s palace.
The Sixth Prince sat quietly with his eyes closed. Suddenly, a servant knocked on the door, “Come in.”
The servant whispered, “I just went to the Xu family. Young Master Xu’s situation is not good.”
“How bad is it?”
The servant hesitated to speak.
“Hurry up and tell me!” the Sixth Prince said angrily.
“Young Master Xu’s life roots have also been smashed…” the servant said, pinching his nose, “I’m afraid it will be difficult for him to have children in the future.”
“How ridiculous!” The Sixth Prince stood up suddenly, “Prepare the carriage, I want to enter the palace.”
In the Anhua Palace, smoke was curling up. Empress Xu sat on a square chair made of peach lacquer wood, rubbing her temples while asking, “Are you here?”
The Sixth Prince asked, “Mother, how is Xu Wei’s case going? What did Father say?”
“What can he do?” Empress Xu slowly opened her eyes. “Your uncle went to see His Majesty yesterday, but His Majesty handed the case over to the Ministry of Justice. We’ll see. In the end, this matter can only result in sending a scapegoat.”
The Sixth Prince said angrily: “If Xu Wei has no children, there is no need to think about the future… If there is no explanation for this matter, how will the Xu family gain a foothold in the capital in the future?”
“Then do you know who Xu Wei met before he was attacked?”
“This son heard that it was the third daughter of the Shen family.”
Empress Xu raised her eyebrows, “You didn’t hear the whole story. He not only met Third Young Lady Shen, but also the Grand Princess.”
The Sixth Prince was stunned.
Thinking about Lu Yan’s attitude through Princess Jing’an, the Sixth Prince couldn’t help but wonder, “Mother means… this matter was not done by Marquis Changping, but by the Lu family? That doesn’t make sense. I have so many spies in the capital and I have never heard of the Shen family and the Lu family having any relationship! Even if Sui Yu is in the middle, aunt shouldn’t come forward.”
“This is also what I don’t understand. But if I think about it in the worst case, if this was really done by the Lu family, your uncle will have to swallow his anger. Forget it, let’s talk about this after Wei’er wakes up.” Empress Xu rubbed her left shoulder and said, “The East Palace has been restless recently. Have you explained tomorrow’s matter to Li Di?”
“Don’t worry, mother. He will request to go to East Henan at the court tomorrow morning.” The Sixth Prince gritted his teeth and said, “We have lost the Ministry of Justice. We can’t lose the Ministry of Works too.”
The Sixth Prince coughed twice.
Empress Xu said, “Okay, you just came back from Luoyang not long ago, go back and rest early.”
The flood was getting worse, and the Emperor wanted to select someone to serve as the river defense envoy. The Xu family gathered their staff for a long talk, and the sixth prince was not idle either. Obviously, they were all preparing for the morning court tomorrow.
Tonight, the night scene in Chang’an was like the rising moon over the sea, dragging along the vast waves.
The noise of the West Market came to an abrupt end with the sound of the evening drum.
Lu Yan entered the carriage. Yang Zong was about to ask if he wanted to go to the young lady’s place, but he heard Lu Yan say, “Go to Zhou’s house.”
Tonight’s Lord Lu, between his future father-in-law and his future wife, he chose his future father-in-law without hesitation.
——
On 28th of the seventh month, in the 17th year of the Yuanqing reign, at the hour of Mao[mfn](the period of the day from 5 a.m. to 7 a.m)[/mfn].
The bright stars were illuminated the sky, and dawn was far away in the vast sky. The locust trees were dark and the fog was thick.
The morning mist had not yet cleared and the palace walls are covered with weeping willows. Officials of the fifth rank and above walked inside the Xuanzheng Hall[mfn](Xuan Zheng Hall was the second largest hall in the Daming Palace in Chang’an City during the Tang Dynasty. It was the hall for regular court sessions, and its status was second only to the Hanyuan Hall, the main hall)[/mfn] and stood in two rows. Emperor Chengyuan, dressed in regular clothes, came out of the bedchamber, and the eunuchs shouted to start the court.
The sound of swords and belts follows the jade steps. The historians on the left and right stood in front of the incense table, and all officials began to report on their affairs.
Censor Hong held the memorial in his hand and began to read out the latest disaster situation. With every sentence he read, the officials’ hearts tightened.
The massive breach of the Yellow River not only brought disaster to eastern Henan and southern Hebei, but now even large tracts of land in northwestern Shandong have been submerged. If it continues like this, not only will the national finances not be able to bear it, but there will be no hope for a harvest next year.
Censor Hong closed the memorial.
Less than a moment later, the Minister of Personnel and the Left Assistant Minister Wen Zhang took the lead in criticizing the Ministry of Works for inaction.
The Left Prime Minister Xu Bolin and his colleagues retorted, saying something like – don’t just criticize the Ministry of Works, if you have any ability, come and do it yourself.
You do it!
A raging fire burned in the eyes of the group of old foxes.
Soon, Hong Cheng, the imperial censor under the Crown Prince’s command, Zheng Yong[mfn](In an earlier chapter it was mentioned the Minister of war’s name is Sun Mu.)[/mfn], the Minister of War, and the Sixth Prince began to mock and ridicule each other.
On the surface, they were smiling and talking cheerfully, but in fact every word they said pierced each other’s heart.
Anyone with a discerning eye could see that today’s morning court session had once again become a game of chess between the Crown Prince and Prince Wei.
All the irrelevant people shrank their necks, looked down at the ground, and silently calculated the time for the court to end.
Emperor Chengyuan’s face turned pale and he slammed the memorial in his hand onto the table. “The citizens of our Jin Dynasty are suffering outside, and I am deeply worried and have not slept for several nights. You, the loyal ministers and pillars of the country, what else can you do except say these foolish words!”
The emperor was so angry that everyone shivered and the hall fell silent.
At this moment, Li Di stepped forward and said, “I am willing to go to eastern Henan to control the floods.”
Emperor Chengyuan raised his eyebrows, “Oh? What’s Assistant Minister Li’s plan?”
“I think that flood control should focus on building embankments.”
Upon hearing that they were going to repair the dike again, Emperor Cheng Yuan’s expression inevitably turned a little dull.
Everyone told him to build the embankment, but the money allocated by the Ministry of Revenue for the embankment is still insufficient? What about the effectiveness? Repairing the collapse, repairing it again, is it no different from a bottomless pit?
Emperor Chengyuan remained silent and looked at his ministers coldly.
His Royal Highness the Crown Prince stepped forward and said, “I have something I want to give to Your Majesty.”
Emperor Chengyuan asked calmly, “What is it?”
The Crown Prince said, “I went to the Dali Temple prison two days ago and met the guilty minister Shen Wenqi. Shen Wenqi knew that he had committed a grave sin and could not face the emperor, so he asked me to present these two books to Your Majesty, one is “A Comprehensive View on River Defense” and the other is “Views on the Two Rivers.”
Censor Hong chimed in, “A Complete Overview of River Defense… Views on the Two Rivers… I have never heard of these two books.”
The Crown Prince replied, “These two books were compiled by the guilty minister Shen Wenqi in prison, and I have never read them either.”
The Crown Prince emphasized the word “guilty minister” very strongly.
As soon as he finished speaking, the Sixth Prince and Left Prime Minister Xu Bolin’s eyes tightened.
Emperor Chengyuan took it and looked through it.
Looking at those useless people in the hall who only knew how to speak wild and rebellious words, and then when looking at the two books in my hands, it would be a lie to say that he was not moved at all.
It is no exaggeration to say that every word and sentence here is the result of a lifetime of hard work.
The sincerity of the heart was evident on the paper, causing the emperor’s thumb to tremble slightly.
When Lu Yan raised his eyes, he knew that the Crown Prince’s action had touched the emperor’s heart.
