The cold emperor reigns supreme, the arrogant empress begs for a truce.

Chapter 87 Wanting to Go to Disaster Relief

"These mung beans..."

Mo Zhen couldn't recall the name for a moment, and during the pause, he heard Mo Xuan and Leng Yuling answer in unison with slight disdain: "Mung bean and seaweed."

He had originally intended to say that it was quite delicious, but seeing their perfectly coordinated manner only made him more displeased, so he coldly said, "I have finished eating, you may go back."

"You call yourself an emperor? Don't you know that you're beholden to those who eat your bread?" As the name suggests, she wasn't going to leave. She insisted on hearing what they planned to do. As a modern person from the 21st century, perhaps she could offer some advice.

Knowing there was nothing that could be done about Leng Yuling, and knowing that she had her own ways of staying, and that no one could drive her away, Mo Zhen simply stopped asking her to leave.

“This… Yongcheng, right?” Leng Yuling looked very professional and serious. “How serious is the flood? Has the water level risen to your chest?” She said this with a hint of joking, while raising her hand to show her chest.

This action would be absolutely impossible for any other woman, but it was as ordinary as it was for Leng Yuling, which made Mo Zhen frown.

Seeing this, Leng Yuling withdrew her hand, her expression turning serious. She said, "You've only heard others tell you how serious the disaster is. This isn't the internet age; we can't even see a single photo. How can you be sure whether the disaster is really as serious or not as they say?"

Leng Yuling's words made Mo Zhen and Mo Xuan think of something, and undeniably, what she said made sense.

"What if the county magistrate downplayed the severity of the situation when reporting it in order to avoid responsibility or reduce trouble? Or what if the disaster was not actually that serious, but the county magistrate defrauded the imperial court and took more relief funds?"

It must be admitted that Leng Yuling considered all the problems that they had not considered. They only thought that the lower officials would not dare to deceive the court, but they did not think that the emperor was far away and the court could only believe whatever they said.

Mo Xuan was just curious about...

What is relief funding?

Oh my god...

After all that talk, it was all for nothing.

Leng Yuling took a deep breath, adjusted her mindset, and then began to explain.

"It's funds to help people rebuild after the disaster." Seeing Mo Zhen and Mo Xuan's bewildered expressions, Leng Yuling couldn't help but ask, "Don't tell me you didn't have this plan?"

Alright, seeing their expressions, she understood everything. No wonder she locked herself in the Imperial Study all day long; she had no ideas whatsoever, so all she could do was think.

"Well then, let me give you some advice." Seeing them waiting intently for her to speak, she felt a little amused, but she held it in and cleared her throat before speaking, "Get the relief funds into the hands of the people, and supervise their post-disaster reconstruction efforts. Not a single penny should be wasted, and the workers should not be allowed to cut corners."

In fact, this was the most basic disaster relief work that the government should do in her previous life, but she forgot that this was a backward ancient world, not the 21st century.

They had never heard of Leng Yuling's remarks before, but it was undeniably the fastest and best solution, though there was one difficult aspect to address.

"How much relief funding do you think is appropriate? Although the Southern Chu Kingdom is wealthy, it doesn't mean it can squander it on its people."

“Are you stupid? If you want to give the exact amount, of course you need to go to Yongcheng to investigate in person, or send someone you trust.” After pausing, Leng Yuling volunteered, “I think I am a very suitable candidate, after all, I know more about these things than you do.”

Judging from the fact that they couldn't come up with a solution even after thinking about it for several days, Leng Yuling is indeed the most suitable person to carry it out.

However, Mo Zhen was not happy about it.

"Impossible." Mo Zhen said almost as soon as Leng Yuling finished speaking.

Leng Yuling had already guessed that he would disagree, but she had her own way of dealing with it: "Do you know how to do the specific matters of post-disaster reconstruction?" She looked smug.

Mo Xuan was stunned. Leng Yuling was clearly using the people of Yongcheng to threaten Mo Zhen. In the Southern Chu Kingdom, only Leng Yuling dared to do this.

"Leng Yuling, don't test my limits." Ignoring Mo Xuan's presence, Mo Zhen coldly spoke to Leng Yuling.

Since marrying Leng Yuling, he has been threatened by her countless times, but he has always succeeded in escaping her threats. Therefore, he will never agree to this time.

It wasn't about saving face, it was about her life.

He let her go to the Northern Desert before because if she couldn't see Leng Yuling, Jun Ao would never let Bai Xiaozi go. But this time it's different.

“You always say I’m testing your limits. Aren’t the people of Yongcheng enough to make you break the rule that the Empress cannot leave the palace at will? Besides, I’m not going to Yongcheng for fun, I’m going to save your people.”

Leng Yuling would never say that her purpose was really just to have fun. If she did say that, even if she wasn't beaten to death by Mo Zhen, her plan to go to Yongcheng would definitely be ruined.

"Is it absolutely necessary to go?" Mo Zhen asked Leng Yuling.

The latter nodded: "We can't take it any more seriously."

Mo Zhen sighed helplessly. He wasn't unaware of Leng Yuling's purpose, but he couldn't bear to see her unhappy. Besides, she was right; she probably understood many things about post-disaster reconstruction better than they did.

After sighing, Mo Zhen said to Mo Xuan, "Pass down the order that tomorrow the Empress and I will personally go to Yongcheng to inspect the disaster situation."

Yay! Leng Yuling couldn't help but feel secretly happy. No matter who she went with, she was happy as long as she could go.

However, Mo Xuan had something to say.

"Your Majesty, you and your sister-in-law don't need to go in person. I'll go." Actually, the reason why the Emperor cannot leave the palace at will is the same as why the Empress cannot leave the palace at will, since the Emperor's safety is of utmost importance.

However, what Leng Yuling didn't know was that Mo Xuan had another unspeakable reason: Ma Xiaoxiao was also on her way to Yongcheng.

Upon hearing his words, Leng Yuling, who had been happy, instantly changed her expression and angrily retorted to Mo Xuan: "What do you mean, 'You go'? What do you know? You... you don't even know what mung beans and seaweed are. What can you do there?"

In a fit of anger, Leng Yuling started talking nonsense, but Mo Xuan felt very wronged, as everything he was doing was for their own good.

"Believe me, you don't want to go," Mo Xuan said earnestly, completely ignoring Mo Zhen's expression beside him.

However, Leng Yuling really wanted to slap him to death: "I'm going!"