On the wedding day, my wife was abnormal

Lin Zhen sneered, "How ridiculous! If you don't reward them, they'll just slack off and neglect their duties. Such officials are better off not having them."

Song Yi asked unwillingly, "Your Highness! If you sincerely did something great for the country and the people, but it was only because of others' obstruction that it could not be displayed, wouldn't you have the slightest bit of dissatisfaction in your heart?"

Lin Zhen replied forcefully, "Of course not! As the crown prince of a royal family, it is my unshirkable duty to protect my country and benefit the people. How can I bury it?"

Song Yi sneered, his tone tinged with sarcasm. "Oh, that's easy to say. You've already reached the highest rank, the highest position among officials. Even if His Majesty wanted to reward you, I'm afraid you wouldn't be able to do so. But what about those officials who hold lower positions and are diligent and dedicated to their work? Don't you consider them?"

"If they truly serve the people diligently and bring benefits to the people, I will not hinder them. On the contrary, I will lend them a helping hand. I can even personally recommend them to Your Majesty so that they can display their talents and serve the country. But what if they deceive Your Majesty and fail to report the truth, causing widespread resentment among the people and starvation?"

Song Yi jumped up and down and shouted: "Impossible!!!"

Murong Yan watched the heated argument between the two with great interest. Suddenly, she saw Lin Zhen turn around slightly, look at her with a determined gaze, and speak slowly.

"Your Majesty, please send the Hundred Cavalry Division to investigate the true situation in Liaodong. If what Lord Song says is true, and the people of Liaodong are truly happy and prosperous, I am willing to accept any punishment."

Murong Yan had never seen Lin Zhen willing to put himself in such danger for an unconfirmed fact.

interesting.

Could it be that the officials below really did not report the truth and deceived the emperor?

Murong Yan had always been baffled by the filthy affairs of the officialdom. In her world, imperial power was supreme, and officials were all in awe of it, never daring to even think of deceiving the emperor. Instead, they were expected to strictly abide by their duties and diligently govern the country.

But once this illusion is shattered, she will lose trust in all officials in the future.

Except Lin Zhen.

Because this matter was pointed out by Lin Zhen.

So, he was not the treacherous and ambitious person the late emperor had described him to be, nor was he the low-minded person Gu Beichen had portrayed him to be. On the contrary, he was a good prince who cared about the country and stood up for the people.

Murong Yan herself didn't know that she was being quietly changed by Lin Zhen. A month later, it was Lin Zhen's integrity and courage that, like a spring in the desert, nourished her almost withered trust in her ministers.

Murong Yan's world, revitalized by Lin Zhen's appearance, has also quietly begun to shift its perspective on officialdom. Amidst the ruins of trust, she is now trying to examine every official with a fresh perspective, seeking those, like Lin Zhen, who are truly dedicated to serving their country and their people.

Does Song Yi know what’s happening in the local area?

Of course he knew.

Even if he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, he knew the rules in officialdom.

This was something that everyone knew, but now Lin Zhen dared to bring it up in public and even instigated Murong Yan to send the Hundred Cavalry Division to investigate.

What is the difference between this and the central investigation team going to the grassroots level?

Four no two straight, until it hit my head!!

No, I must not let His Majesty send the Hundred Cavalry Division to the local areas, otherwise all of us will be doomed!

"His Majesty......"

Lin Zhen has gambled his own future. If Murong Yan still has blind trust in Song Yi, she is a complete fool!

Obviously, Murong Yan wasn't completely foolish. She acted decisively and interrupted Song Yi harshly, saying coldly, "Shut up! I have made my own decision. You can leave first."

"This... Alas. We will take our leave." Song Yi was filled with sadness and let out a heavy sigh. Then he bowed deeply to Murong Yan and hurriedly left with a group of officials from the Ministry of Personnel.

He knew very well that he had to find Gu Yunting quickly, otherwise, once the Baiqi Division brought back the news, everyone would be in an irretrievable situation.

After everyone left, only Lin Zhen Dugu was left in the hall.

But at this moment, Murong Yan felt that his figure was so tall and majestic.

She sighed dejectedly and leaned weakly against the back of the chair.

"Lin Zhen, do you really think that the officials below deceived me?"

Lin Zhen didn't have any special feelings like Murong Yan. He just nodded lightly and said, "Of course."

Murong Yan clenched her fists, her fingertips turning white from exertion. She was overcome with emotion, her voice laced with indescribable resentment: "I have never treated them unfairly, so why are they doing this..."

At this point, she suddenly raised her delicate head. In her bright eyes, two stern murderous intentions flashed like a cold light. Her extremely angry cry echoed throughout the hall: "Someone come!"

"Order the Hundred Cavalry Division to depart immediately and rush to Liaodong overnight to thoroughly investigate the truth about the disaster affecting the people. This journey must be kept secret, and no information should be leaked. Upon return, they must report the truth without concealing anything."

"Yes!" The elites of the Hundred Cavalry Division took the order and left in a hurry. The hall returned to silence again.

Murong Yan's gaze fell back on the memorials on the desk. This time, she picked up the news about the Chu State sending grain.

"Lin Zhen, Chu has already delivered the first ten days' worth of food. It's only two thousand kilograms. The peddlers who delivered the food mocked Daqian for being short-sighted. It's really infuriating. I don't understand why you would take the food when you have such a good opportunity, and why you ask for so little."

Lin Zhen had long guessed that Murong Yan would be puzzled by this, but he didn't expect her to wait until now to ask.

That’s right, it’s not so easy for them to settle this account, including Murong Yan.

The first ten days were indeed small, but what about the subsequent period? If the Chu State truly had the resources to send a month's worth of food, that would be over 10 billion kilograms! Let alone a small flood in Liaodong, even if it were a nationwide flood, the people could survive for a long time with only 100 kilograms of food per person!

But it is obvious that the State of Chu would not be so stupid. They should have reacted by the twentieth day at the latest.

Lin Zhen smiled and said to Murong Yan, "Your Majesty, this is only enough food for the first ten days. Please wait patiently for another ten days and see if the State of Chu will send us any more."

"What do you mean?"

"Look, originally on the tenth day we had about a thousand kilograms of food, but on the eleventh day it was two thousand kilograms, on the twelfth day it was four thousand kilograms, and on the thirteenth day it was eight thousand kilograms. By the second day we had one million kilograms of food, and if you add up the total before that, it's two million kilograms."

As Lin Zhen spoke, Murong Yan's eyes flashed with golden light and she couldn't help but exclaimed.

"Ah? If we keep calculating like this, then by the 30th day, there will be at least tens of millions of kilograms of food! Lin Zhen, is this true?"

"Hahaha." Lin Zhen couldn't help but sneer. "Your Majesty, you're overthinking it. The amount Chu can deliver on the twentieth day is already the limit. They'd rather bear the stigma of being dishonest than make it to the thirtieth day, so forget it."

Murong Yan thought about it and felt that it was true.

"Well, that's true. But getting two million kilograms of grain for free is like timely help to Daqian. Lin Zhen, this is a great achievement for you!"

"I dare not ask for credit."

Murong Yan was just about to ask why you were pretending when she saw Murong Wushe walk in.

"Your Majesty, the Minister of Rites Dong Zhongkang requests an audience."

When Murong Yan heard this, she thought to herself, "Oh no!"

The day of taking a concubine is finally coming!