A crown princess who doesn't do infrastructure construction isn't a good doctor.

"The Emperor sent people to provide disaster relief, but when they arrived at the scene, the relief funds and supplies were reduced by more than half. The situation in the cities affected by the floods is very bad, and the death toll is rising."

Someone in the imperial court was reporting this matter, and in the Prince An's residence, Shuo Han was also talking about it.

Shuo Han would occasionally come to Wutong Courtyard to briefly recount the current events they first learned about. In the past, Beitang Yan would listen, but now there were some things he couldn't fully grasp, so Qin Suiyou would do it on his behalf.

"Which political party did the officials sent belong to?"

Shuo Han replied, "He is a subordinate of Prince Jing's confidant. On the surface, they don't interact much, but they have a very close personal relationship."

Qin Suiyou looked at the map on the table and asked, "How is this kind of situation usually handled in the imperial court?"

“The relationship with the officials who directly handled the matter was severed, and then the matter was handled normally according to procedure. However, the real people behind the scenes remained uninvolved, and even those sent to handle the matter later were still their people, just more restrained.”

"What utter corruption!"

After saying that, Qin Suiyou looked at Beitang Yan and said, "What do you think? What if we robbed them of the money and grain they had embezzled, and then gave it directly to the disaster victims as wealthy people?"

Beitang Yan nodded and said, "Very good."

Then, he grinned and gave a slightly silly smile.

……

The literary gathering among students of Yejing was a rather grand event, held every three years and jointly organized by several of the largest and most famous academies.

In addition to the traditional Six Arts of a Gentleman, the gathering of scholars also included appreciating scenery, tea ceremonies, burning incense, playing the zither, composing poems and songs, and even holding several healthy competitions.

In addition to renowned scholars and officials, those who are interested in this field will also attend and watch. Those who stand out in the competition will not only become famous among scholars, but may also be noticed by influential people, thus achieving great success.

Therefore, many people were eager to showcase their talents at this literary gathering and began preparations well in advance.

In the morning, Prince An got up early. He was very enthusiastic about such activities, but unlike the other participating princes and officials, he did not select advisors or juniors from them. He simply watched.

Inside the Wutong Courtyard, several people emerged from their respective rooms, looked at each other's unfamiliar faces, and nodded.

They will also be going to the literary gathering today, but they are all dressed up to keep a low profile.

Afterwards, the group first went to the bookstore, and then some of them went to Zhiyuan Academy.

After taking his medicine for a few days, Dean Zhou was able to get up and walk around a bit. However, he still couldn't be exposed to the wind, so Gu Huaiyuan and a few other older and more mature individuals went with him on this trip.

After Gu Huaiyuan went to the bookstore to discuss things with Jinwen, he also went back and discussed it with several people in the academy. The result was that they were all very willing to help Qin Suiyou with this favor.

Qin Suiyou and his group came here this time as students of Zhiyuan Academy to blend into their group and make it easier to act according to circumstances.

The literary gathering was held at Hongde Academy, which is located in Cixi Mountain outside the city. Therefore, early in the morning, several groups of people could be seen walking out of the city and heading to Cixi Mountain on many streets with academies.

"The Kong family really knows how to choose a place. Studying and learning here is such a great environment, which is very helpful for keeping a clear mind."

Lu Xi stood with his hands on his hips by the stone steps, looking around and breathing in the fresh air as he spoke.

The academy is located halfway up the mountain, and everyone who goes there has to climb a stone-paved mountain path for a while. It may be tiring, but few people complain. After all, scholars value integrity and are not afraid of difficulties. If they complain about even a few stone steps, they will be laughed at by others. Therefore, apart from the occasional conversations of some physically fit people, the only sound along the way is the controlled breathing of the students.

When the people at the front arrived at the academy gate, the three Kong brothers had already opened the gate and were standing at the bottom of the steps waiting. Their father, Kong Qi, the most renowned Confucian scholar in Beiqian, was standing in front of the three brothers.

Upon seeing Kong Qi, everyone respectfully greeted him with a scholar's bow. Even some older people who were quite proud did not skip this step. Kong Qi's reputation was extremely high, and there were so many people present who greatly admired him. Even several princes and ministers treated him with great respect, so they naturally dared not make any exceptions.

Kong Qi returned the greetings with his three sons, and then led the group of people outside into the academy in an orderly manner.

After passing through several gates, the view gradually opens up, leading to a small square that can accommodate at least five hundred people.

The small square was mostly covered with several dark-colored carpets, on which desks and cushions were arranged in a staggered manner.

Today, as intellectuals gather, their backgrounds are not considered and their positions are not fixed. However, most of them are observant and will consciously give the best and front seats to the host and those with high positions and great reputations.

The people from Zhiyuan Academy were seated in a corner, quite far back, but because the people in front of them were seated at different angles, their view was still fairly good.

The preliminary part of the literary gathering went smoothly. After a few words from the headmasters, some of them casually boasted about their own good achievements, and then Kong Qi announced the start of the meeting.

The preceding parts were all fairly standard, like casual conversation as tea was served. However, during the process of serving, preparing, and drinking tea, almost everyone was observing those around them. Then, someone would casually point out that someone's etiquette seemed inadequate. After being embarrassed and blushing by what appeared to be encouragement but was actually a veiled criticism, the best among them would be singled out and regarded as a model.

Looking at the four members of the Kong family at the head of the table, they all seemed to have appropriate, gentle, and refined smiles, but they inexplicably carried a sense of detachment from the scene at hand.

"Why do they seem a bit distracted to me?"

Lu Xi peered around under the illusion, muttering to himself.

In fact, the Kong family father and sons were watching what was happening on the field, and they were not as distracted as Lu Xi said. However, they were indeed not paying much attention to what was happening around them, and the students of Hongde Academy felt the same way.

Ke Zuo shook his head and said, "What they're holding now is like a show-off event. There's only a little bit of real meaningful content. The Kong family members seem to be principled people, so they don't participate much."

After that introduction, what followed was a real series of matches.

The first event was the violin playing in the atmosphere group. Each group nominated their own players, and several respected elders served as judges. The selected players would then provide accompaniment in the later rounds of the competition.

Learning the zither requires some family background, so not many people participate; some small academies have no participants at all.

The top three were chosen from three different academies, with Gongshu Yu from Hongde Academy taking first place.