The reborn girl always wants to escape, but the abstinent marquis hugs her and coaxes her!

Chapter 57: Flood in Jiangnan

The heavy rain poured down all night long. Looking out from the tent, it was clearly daytime, but it was as dark as night.

All you can see are water columns emitting a bright white light standing between heaven and earth.

I don’t know whether this pouring rain is falling from the sky or rising from the ground.

The hunting palace was flooded everywhere in Jinshan.

The chaotic scene made the emperor very upset.

Even with Consort Shu comforting him, the emperor still had the urge to shut down the Imperial Observatory. He really didn't know what they were observing and judging day and night, observing the celestial phenomena and evaluating the fortunes of the stars. What were they observing and judging?

This year's hunt had been plagued by setbacks from the very first day they entered the hunting palace. Not only had there been two torrential downpours, but Rong Ge'er had also nearly been killed by a scoundrel.

We should have broken camp and returned to the palace, but now we are trapped here again.

"Don't worry, Your Majesty. People say that it's a good opportunity to take a break from your busy life. You can have a day off now." Concubine Shu smiled and consoled him, handing over a peeled grape.

The emperor opened his mouth to take it and patted the back of her hand: "It's just that this rain is annoying."

"I think it's quite interesting." Concubine Shu smiled lightly.

As the two men were chatting and laughing, a galloping horse rushed into the hunting palace, neighing.

"Six hundred miles, urgent, the Jiangnan Road is requesting your majesty."

The emperor sat up and said, "Jiangnan? What happened to Jiangnan? Xuan!"

The visitor, dripping with rain, entered the emperor's tent and knelt on the red carpet, which quickly soaked through. "A sudden flood has occurred in Jiangnan Road, affecting the four prefectures south of the Yangtze River. However, because the roads leading to the capital are blocked, news of the disaster has been unable to reach the capital, and the details of the damage are unknown."

"What?" The emperor was shocked!

The four states south of the Yangtze River are the granaries of the Great Zhou Dynasty, and they are well protected.

Furthermore, Jiangnan is known for its heavy rainfall, so water management has always been a top priority. How could such a severe flood suddenly occur, even destroying roads?

The man pulled out a document from his pocket and said, "This is a letter of apology sent by Lord Chang Jing, the Jiangnan Circuit Commissioner, over a distance of six hundred miles. Your Majesty, I beg for your review."

Eunuch Yao did not dare to delay and hurried forward to take it. After wiping off the water stains on it, he held it to the emperor with both hands.

The emperor flipped through it hastily, his face growing darker. "Go! Call the crown prince over to me."

The harem is not allowed to interfere in political affairs, so Concubine Shu cannot see the memorials.

But she was not a fool. Who didn't know the relationship between Chang Jing and the prince? Such a big thing happened in Jiangnan, and the prince would definitely be implicated.

This was naturally something she was happy to see happen.

She glanced outside the tent and pretended to advise, "The rain is so heavy right now that it might be inconvenient for the Crown Prince. Your Majesty, why don't you wait until the rain stops?"

The emperor slammed the memorial on the table and said, "Wait! If you wait any longer, all my people will die! If he can't even govern the country, how can he have the face to be my son!" "Yes... I know I was wrong." The concubine said she knew her mistake, but she was secretly proud in her heart.

Eunuch Yao glanced at her and quietly left the tent.

He looked up at the heavy rain and asked his men to put on a rain hat for him while calling his trusted eunuch, "Go and get the queen."

After saying this, he headed towards the prince's tent in the heavy rain.

Although the current crown prince is the empress's legitimate son and the emperor's eldest son, the empress was born into a commoner family, so his mother's family does not provide much help.

In the court, the Crown Prince's power can only rely on the Crown Princess. However... the Chang family has not produced any capable people in decades. Only the current clan leader, Chang Jing, has some talent.

In addition, he was the second uncle of the Crown Princess, so the Emperor promoted him to serve as the Crown Prince's assistant.

Jiangnan Dao was in charge of the entire Zhou Dynasty's water transport and granaries. The emperor put him in the position of promotion and demotion, which showed that he had high expectations for him.

But now such a big thing has happened.

The emperor was naturally annoyed.

But Eunuch Yao knew that the emperor was soft-hearted and would not impose excessive punishment even if he was angry, so he might as well take this opportunity to curry favor with the empress and the prince.

The Eastern Palace had special ceremonial guards, and the tents were set up on high ground, so the heavy rain in the hunting palace did not have much impact on the prince.

He was taking a nap and only opened his eyes lazily when Eunuch Yao came in.

Upon hearing that it was his father who summoned him, and after hearing Eunuch Yao's brief account of the situation, the Crown Prince's expression changed instantly. The Crown Princess beside him was even more panicked.

She had just been fooling around with the Crown Prince, and her clothes were still untied. She could only kneel on the couch, holding her clothes together. "Your Highness, the flood is a natural disaster, and has nothing to do with my uncle."

The prince was in a state of confusion and ignored the beauty's crying and pleading. He hurriedly put on a rain hat and went to the emperor's tent with an eunuch holding an umbrella for him.

As soon as he entered, he was hit in the face by a piece of paper.

"Chang Jing just submitted a memorial this spring, saying that he had reinforced the dikes in the south of the Yangtze River and inspected the waterways! I also praised him highly and praised him for making preparations for a rainy day. But it hasn't been long since the disaster happened. Is this how he does things?" The emperor was furious.

The prince was so panicked that he knelt down immediately: "Father, please calm down."

The folded paper was unfolded and spread all over the ground.

"You are the crown prince and are related to the Chang family. Is this how you control the Chang family on a daily basis?" The emperor pointed at the prince, "I put Chang Jing in that position, and is this how they repay me?!" The prince lowered his head at this time, unable to utter a word.

Now Chang Jing is still trapped in Jiangnan Road, and no one knows what the situation is like there.

His father was furious at the moment, and he was afraid that if he spoke too much he would make more mistakes, but he was also afraid that if he said nothing he would anger the other party again.

While he was hesitating secretly, the eunuch outside the tent reported: "Your Majesty, the Empress has arrived."

"What is she doing here in such heavy rain?" the emperor frowned.

The tent was opened and the queen walked in, covered in steam.

She looked around and saw that the emperor was furious, the prince was kneeling on the ground, memorials were scattered on the ground, and... Concubine Shu was sitting firmly.

Concubine Shu stood up and saluted: "Sister, you came so quickly."

The Queen looked at her coldly: "This is a matter concerning the Crown Prince. How dare I neglect it?"

The emperor didn't say a word about her sudden intrusion. He just pointed at the prince and said angrily, "Your son has been fooled by the Chang family."

"Your Majesty, please calm down. Things have their priorities. Let's first see how to deal with the current situation." The queen said calmly.

The emperor nodded and glared at the prince: "The only solution now is, what do you think?"

Because the incident happened suddenly, the prince was a little confused.

Now his mother was standing behind him, giving him an inexplicable sense of security. He raised his head and reported, "In reply to your Majesty, Chang Jing is still trapped in Jiangnan. The true situation is still unknown, so this matter can be postponed for investigation. The most urgent task right now is to control the disaster and rescue the victims! I believe that we should immediately send people to clear the roads in the four Jiangnan prefectures, investigate the people affected by the disaster, and provide comfort and relief if necessary."

"At least you are sensible! Let's deal with it as you say." The emperor felt a little relieved.

The Queen smiled faintly: "Your Majesty is wise."

When she raised her head, she glanced at Concubine Shu, her eyes as deep as an ancient well, without any ripples.