Traveling through ancient times, the empress insisted on having a child with me

"It hurts."

Amid a series of screams, Lu Xi loosened his hand and pushed Ling Chuan forward.

Ling Chuan staggered a few steps, turned back to look at Lu Xi, who was frowning and looking cold, and said while holding up his dislocated arm: "I told you that this is etiquette, just like bowing."

"Humph, I have never heard of such etiquette. I think you just want to take this opportunity to do something improper."

Ling Chuan wanted to cry but had no tears. He never thought that this seemingly delicate woman actually knew kung fu.

From this perspective, all those tricks like pushing against the wall and forcefully kissing are useless. They are useless.

Ling Chuan sighed, turned around and prepared to leave, when suddenly a sharp shout came from behind him.

"stop!"

Ling Chuan shuddered, turned around and took a half step back: "What are you going to do now?"

Lu Xi was stunned for a moment, then the expression on his face gradually eased, and he changed his tone to a gentle one: "Sit down first, I'll take a look at your arm."

Ling Chuan sat down carefully: "Can you set bones?"

Lu Xi didn't say anything. He grabbed Ling Chuan's arm and shook it. Then Ling Chuan let out a scream.

"Don't shout, it's fine now."

Ling Chuan twisted his arm and it was fine. Just as he was about to stand up, Lu Xi held him down again: "I have something to ask you."

Lu Xi didn't come here for sugar today, but because there was trouble with the disaster relief.

"The method you mentioned last time of raising funds by erecting a monument has been implemented in Jiangzhou Prefecture, but the amount of grain collected is only over 10,000 stones, which is still not enough. As a result, the resettlement of disaster victims cannot be carried out. I wonder if Master Ling has any countermeasures?"

Ling Chuan was stunned for a moment and thought to himself that if she didn't ask me for something, she probably wouldn't let me take her arm. This woman is good in every way, but she is too fierce and hard to subdue.

Seeing Ling Chuan in a daze, Lu Xi pushed him and said, "I'm asking you a question."

Ling Chuan replied unhappily: "I'm just thinking about it."

Lu Xi's eyes widened, but then he calmed down. After all, he was asking for help, and all the civil and military officials in the court were helpless. No matter how powerful this nerd was, it was impossible for him to come up with a solution in a short time.

So she had to sit back in her seat.

She was no longer angry, but Ling Chuan was still angry. He said angrily, "Jiangzhou Prefecture is such a wealthy place, but they only raised more than 10,000 dan of grain with such a cruel method. There must be someone behind the scenes, maybe the news leaked out, and those noble families colluded with each other."

"The news leaked?"

Lu Xi frowned and her face darkened. She recalled that she had been hesitant to speak for several times during the court meeting between the left and right prime ministers. Now it seemed that she must have guessed this possibility, but was unable to speak out due to the presence of the elders in the cabinet.

"Your guess is somewhat reasonable, but do you have any countermeasures at the moment?"

"There is a way, but..." Ling Chuan pondered.

"Just what?"

Ling Chuan thought for a moment and said, "I'll tell you in advance that this method may be a little taboo. Don't get angry when I tell you about it later, or you'll break my arm again."

Lu Xi raised his eyebrows: "Just speak frankly, I promise not to do anything."

Ling Chuan felt relieved, but he still moved the chair to the side: "Ms. Lu, do you know what bran is?"

Lu Xi was stunned, and had a vague guess in his mind, but he didn't dare to believe it: "You mean..."

"I mean to exchange the grain for the bran."

"Bran is used to feed livestock, how can it be eaten by humans?"

Lu Xi's face was already slightly angry, if Ling Chuan hadn't warned her in advance, she would have lost her temper by now.

"Don't get excited." Ling Chuan stood up and took two steps back. "We can do some calculations. One stone of coarse grain can be exchanged for three catties of bran. The more than 10,000 stone of grain collected can be exchanged for more than 4 million catties of bran. If a small amount of coarse grain is boiled into porridge, and each person is supplied with half a catty per day, it will be enough for at least 300,000 people to eat for a month. What do you think, Miss Lu?"

This calculation made Lu Xi's heart tremble. The food that was originally enough for ten days became thirty days. This was calculated based on half a catty of food per person per day. Half a catty of food boiled into porridge would be at least one catty. If the amount was reduced a little, it could last another ten days or half a month, and the previous plan would be completely fine.

The flood in Jiangzhou Prefecture can be regarded as the biggest crisis since Lu Xi ascended the throne. More than 300,000 people were displaced. If it cannot be handled properly, someone with ulterior motives only needs to incite the situation a little to cause a catastrophe.

During the rebellion three years ago, there were still many people who had not yet jumped out. After all, many people were unwilling to accept that he had ascended the throne as a woman.

Not to mention the distant past, just look at the representatives of the aristocratic families in the cabinet, aren't they pretending to obey me but actually disobeying me all day long.

If you use the bran used to feed livestock to help disaster victims, wouldn’t you be called a tyrant?

"Your calculation is quite good, but it is just chaff after all..."

"What's wrong with bran?" Ling Chuan snorted and said, "If people are extremely hungry, they will stuff their stomachs with tree bark and Guanyin soil, and eventually die of bloating. Some people will even eat their own children. Can you imagine that kind of misery? At least bran can fill the stomach and won't kill people. In comparison, bran is a thing of immeasurable merit."

Lu Xi nodded slightly. What Ling Chuan said made sense. Although the food was not good, at least it would not kill people. "It is a good idea, but the officials in the court are all from the holy school. If we really do this, I am afraid that we will be criticized by the whole court. I am afraid..."

"This is why I hate theology. It's not that theology is bad, but most people only know how to read books. They talk a lot about morality but don't do anything practical. You should know that when the granaries are full, you will know etiquette. The common people are almost starving to death, so what's the point of talking about morality? If these people are starved for seventy or eighty days, do you think they will eat bran?"

Ling Chuan spoke passionately and enthusiastically, and Lu Xi's mouth dropped open slightly. If he had said these words in the court...

"In fact, if your people can stand it, it's best to quietly bear the blame, and then find an opportunity to explain the pros and cons to the emperor. As long as the emperor is not a tyrant, he will definitely find another excuse to compensate your people, and maybe even get promoted because of it."

Hearing this, Lu Xi narrowed his eyes: "Did you learn this from a miscellaneous book?"

"Uh……"

Ling Chuan was suddenly speechless, wondering if he had gone too far.

But no one would believe a time travel story even if you told them: "Of course, there are all kinds of books in this book, including those that describe intrigues. Haven't you read them?"

Lu Xi grew up in the palace, so he had never read any miscellaneous books. Seeing that he hadn't tricked anyone out, he turned and asked, "Mr. Ling is so resourceful, have you ever thought about entering the government?"

She felt incredible when she said this. The original plan was to silence the witness, so how could such an idea come up?

However, both the left and right prime ministers recognized that he was a talented person. Lu Xi suddenly felt that if he was allowed to serve as an official in the court and make some contributions, he might be included in the harem openly.

Compared to those aristocratic families, isn't Ling Chuan, who has no identity or background, easier to control?

Besides, the two of them are already husband and wife. Do they really want to silence him after the deed is done and let him live out the rest of his life alone?