The daughter of the first wife grew up in the countryside and was extremely powerful

In the capital, heavy rain continued for more than 20 days.

This rare and long-lasting rainfall immersed the entire capital city in a wet atmosphere.

However, in contrast to the capital, the far south is facing a completely different predicament.

Officials in various parts of the south could no longer tolerate such a difficult situation and submitted memorials to the court.

However, the words in these memorials were extremely implicit and obscure, so the court did not pay enough attention to them at first.

It was at this time that Gu Fanchu went to visit her grandfather in person.

He was accompanied by his brother Gu Xunzhou. The three of them gathered in the study, closed the door, and began a crucial conversation.

Gu Fanchu took out a letter from Xuanyuetang from his arms with a serious expression and carefully handed it to General Gu who was sitting behind the desk.

Her face was filled with deep worry, and she said softly:

"Grandfather, in my opinion, things in the South may not be as simple as they seem."

General Gu took the letter and slowly began to read it.

As the words in the letter came into view one by one, his originally calm face gradually became serious.

Seeing this, Gu Fanchu took a deep breath and continued:

"As early as this spring, my granddaughter sent people to the south to check on the local food situation. What was worrying was that we found that the area had been experiencing drought for a long time.

Furthermore, the so-called newly built canals are of subpar quality and have been perfunctorily constructed, failing to effectively address the people's need for water for irrigation. Consequently, many crops are failing to thrive, and the harvest outlook is truly worrying.

"I asked people to be more vigilant and sent people to secretly collect a lot of stored grain. A few days ago, news came from there that there was no way to remedy the situation. This year's grain harvest is less than 30% of previous years."

General Gu stared at the letter, his eyes becoming more serious as the words moved. His brows were furrowed tightly, as if he could pinch a fly to death.

Gu Fanchu on the side explained the relevant situation to him in detail. With every additional sentence he heard, General Gu's face became more gloomy.

According to Gu Fanchu, the problems in the south had already begun to emerge as early as this spring.

However, what is shocking is that the local officials did not say a word about such an important matter, and not a single piece of information was passed up.

Now, with the harvest season approaching, those officials probably felt that they could no longer conceal the matter, so they had no choice but to make it public.

But at this time, there was very little time left for everyone to respond, and the situation became extremely critical.

If the South really suffers from famine, the consequences will be unimaginable.

Thinking of this, Old Master Gu was so angry that he was shaking all over. He suddenly raised his hand and slammed the letter in his hand on the table.

There was a loud "bang" and the teacups on the table jumped up, colliding with each other and making crisp tinkling sounds, like a rapid alarm bell ringing.

Then, Old Master Gu shouted angrily:

"These local officials are simply acting recklessly and wantonly! The people have worked hard for a year, and if they end up with nothing, it will surely lead to a serious disaster!

If they had reported the truth earlier, the court would have been able to make adequate preparations to deal with the crisis. But now, they have been hastily informed at the last minute. Even if we immediately began to prepare supplies and solutions, how could it be in time?

Although corrupt officials are common in official circles, they are only a very small minority after all.

As long as the imperial court can strengthen supervision, crack down on corruption, and allocate resources rationally, the fundamental interests of the people can be effectively protected.

Once such a thing happens, its scope of impact is likely to far exceed people's imagination, and the people involved may be far more than just one or two people.

Gu Xunzhou walked up quickly, picked up the letter from the table and looked at it carefully. His face gradually became solemn, and finally filled with helplessness.

"Grandfather, please calm down for a moment. The most urgent task right now is to report this matter to the court as soon as possible!" Gu Xunzhou said worriedly.

Gu Fanchu, who was standing by, nodded slightly in agreement when he heard this.

However, she knew very well in her heart that since those officials were able to conceal the matter so deeply, it would not be easy to shake them easily.

"These letters in my hands are obviously far from enough.

If we want the imperial court to take this matter seriously and investigate it thoroughly, we must gather more powerful and conclusive evidence."

Old Master Gu's brows, which had been relaxed, were now tightly furrowed, as if they were being pinched by an invisible hand, unable to be released for a long time.

His eyes were slightly narrowed, and his gaze was as deep as a pool of stagnant water, making it difficult to peek into his thoughts.

Just like that, Old Master Gu sat there quietly, motionless, immersed in his own world of thought like a sculpture.

After a while, he asked:

“How did you notice what was wrong with the South?”

This little girl had just returned from home not long ago, but her eyes were very sharp.

He knew very well that this little girl had acquired a lot of properties outside and was running them successfully.

But he couldn't help but have some doubts. If he just wanted to purchase grain, why would he choose the area in the south that was about to suffer a disaster?

Gu Fanchu's expression remained calm, as calm as a pool of still water.

"My second uncle once taught me that the climates of the north and south are actually interconnected. That's why I, your granddaughter, was more cautious and sent people to investigate."

Having said this, she paused for a moment, as if to organize her thoughts, and then continued:

"Ever since I noticed something was amiss in the early spring of this year, Chu'er has begun stockpiling food. As of now, a considerable amount of food has been stored in the granaries both inside and outside the city. I plan to have people disguised as merchants transport some of the food to my uncle's location at the beginning of next month to serve as military rations."

As soon as she uttered these words, the two men of the Gu family immediately turned their gazes to her, with confused expressions on their faces. It was obvious that they were unable to fully grasp the deep meaning of her words for a moment.

However, after all, Old Master Gu was more experienced, and after a little thought, he quickly came to his senses.

"You're actually worried that the imperial court will divert military rations to other uses, such as disaster relief, due to a famine? This is sheer nonsense! It's absolutely impossible. How could Your Majesty act in such a way?"