Forced to be a concubine? I turned around and married the scumbag's father.

Prince Cheng suggested, "Why not have the Third Prince, Zhao Yuwen, assist the Crown Prince in disaster relief?"

The Empress frowned: "I only have two sons, and they've both left the capital. What if something happens in the capital?"

“I’m still here in the capital. Have you forgotten that Yuwen and Mu Junyan have always been on good terms? If Mu Junyan tries to do something to the Crown Prince, Yuwen can step in and mediate.”

The Empress sighed and said, "Let it be as Father wishes."

Then another thought came to mind: "Fourth Brother Zhao Yufeng has been missing for so long, could he really be dead?"

King Cheng sneered: "Even if he's not dead, he'll still die. Don't worry, I've already given strict orders to the city's commander to kill him the moment he's spotted."

The Empress's eyes suddenly lit up: "Father, Mu Junyan's son is already two and a half years old. Why don't I issue an imperial decree to summon Gu Hua and her son back to Bianjing under the pretext of bestowing the title of young heir? With her and her son in our hands, we will naturally not be afraid of Prince Yong's rebellion."

Prince Cheng shook his head: "Gu Hua may not be willing to come to the capital. She's not stupid; she must know that you want to take her and her son hostage."

The Empress raised her eyebrows: "If she refuses to come to the capital, then she is disobeying the imperial decree and should be punished directly for treason. We will then have even more reason to capture Prince Yong."

Prince Cheng shook his head again: "Prince Yong is not so easy to capture. It would be best to lure him to the capital. The war in the north has not stopped, and the Yuan family has been fighting all along. The forces they can mobilize are limited. I only have one or two thousand elite soldiers, and I'm afraid they can't defeat the Black Armor Guards. It would be unwise to alert them."

The Empress frowned: "If this won't work and that won't work, then why not just let the Emperor die and make him come to the capital for the funeral? He wouldn't dare disobey."

King Cheng glared at her: "You're usually so composed, why are you in such a hurry now? Do you want the whole world to point fingers at your son and say that he murdered his father to ascend to the throne?"

"Wouldn't it be better to just let him die of illness?"

"Do you think those imperial physicians are pushovers? They surround us like an iron barrel all day long."

The Empress choked with anger.

"Alright, let's focus on building the Crown Prince's reputation first."

King Cheng immediately summoned his cabinet ministers, and after a discussion, they decided that the Crown Prince would take 500,000 taels of silver in disaster relief funds to several prefectures to provide relief to the people.

……

Furthermore, when Mu Junyan and his group arrived in Gongzhou, the flooding there was already quite severe.

The river embankment breached, flooding tens of thousands of acres of fertile land and destroying more than a thousand houses.

The farmers along the river in Gongzhou were the hardest hit by the disaster; they had no food or clothing and many fell ill.

Upon arrival, Mu's army immediately began flood relief efforts, rescuing more than 10,000 people trapped along the riverbanks.

However, Prefect Jiang Qifu himself lived in the highest-lying government office, and instead of providing disaster relief and protecting the people, he ordered the city gates to be strictly guarded, keeping the surrounding disaster-stricken people out of the city.

To enter or leave the city, one had to pay a fee of ten taels of silver per person, which meant that only wealthy families could enter and leave.

Upon hearing that Prince Yong had returned with Lord Du to assist in disaster relief, some officials in Gongzhou tried to gather as many resources as possible to go and help.

With Du Ming, a hundred Black Armor Guards, two thousand Mu Family Army soldiers, and many civilians who joined spontaneously, Mu Junyan finally plugged the breach in the dam after eight days of hard work.

The Mu family army set up many tents on the mountain and properly settled all the homeless farmers.

Du Yun brought several newly trained female guards from the Prince's Palace to help the injured and sick civilians in the camp.

The news quickly spread to Gongzhou City that some of the affected farmers had relatives living there. The conscientious soldiers guarding the city couldn't stand it anymore and started rioting with the people, demanding that the prefect open the city gates and let the affected people into the city.

The situation in Gongzhou was also bad. Due to the flood and the closure of the city gates, businesses and the trading of vegetables and grains were basically cut off.

Jiang Qifu was originally the chief minister of Gongzhou. He completely disregarded the lives of the people and the soldiers guarding the city. His family had enough grain to feed them for two months.

But the people in the city were living in dire straits.

Even the 10,000 soldiers defending the city had nothing to eat.

Officials who had left the city to assist in disaster relief surrounded Lord Du at the city gates, demanding that they open the gates and release the people.

Jiang Qifu couldn't sit still any longer. "You mean the guy surnamed Du is back?"

The advisor nodded: "Yes, I heard that Prince Yong brought him back personally. Right now, a group of officials who betrayed you are accompanying the Black Armor Guards, knocking on the city gate."

Jiang Qifu was stunned for a moment: "The Prince of Yong is not at the city gate?"

The advisors were speechless. If Prince Yong himself knocked on the door, would they dare not open it?

"I didn't see Prince Yong; he probably returned to Juzhou."

The staff members were somewhat exasperated to see Jiang Qifu looking sleepy. Gongzhou had been hit by disaster for more than half a month, but he was still indulging in revelry day and night as usual.

Last night, two of the most popular dancers from the Jiaofangsi were kept there, and they played around until dawn.

"I received news from you the other day that Prince Yong was doing disaster relief in Yongzhou and took the opportunity to rescue several officials who had been framed and wronged by the Jiang family. But I didn't expect that the man surnamed Du would also be rescued."

Jiang Qifu frowned: "That's impossible. Wasn't he exiled? I didn't hear Prince Cheng say he was pardoned. Could it be that Prince Yong released him on his own? Even if he is a prince, he has no right to release a criminal official of the court."

Jiang Qifu jumped up: "We can't let him into the city! He's a criminal, a fugitive!"

The aide said with a bitter face, "I just received news that the Empress sent two concubines to Prince Yong, one of whom is a daughter surnamed Du, named Du Yun."

Jiang Qifu exclaimed, "What? It's that little bitch Du Yun? No wonder I couldn't find her anywhere! Turns out she slept with Mu Junyan! But how is that possible? Isn't Mu Junyan averse to women?"

"Yes, Prince Yong didn't like them at first, but who knew that the two of them would suddenly be promoted to concubines one after the other. And Du Yun was even restored to her free status and became Prince Yong's concubine. Your Excellency, you should think twice, they have Prince Yong as their backer."

Jiang Qifu really couldn't sit still this time.

"A concubine? Do you think that little slut might send Prince Yong to settle scores with me on her behalf?"

The staff were also panicking.

"Isn't that a bit much? Although Prince Yong has a large army and is quite powerful, when it comes to women... he has always only favored his wife."

"Pah! Only favor one? Who would believe that? Men, huh!"

Jiang Qifu cursed and swore as he called in a maid to help him dress and put on his shoes.

"Once a man has tasted the sweetness of the flesh and knows the wonderful pleasure of being on top of the world, how could he still dote on one woman? Look at those hypocritical men who claim to have only one wife, don't they all end up with many concubines? Anyway, sleeping with one is the same as sleeping with two, so gradually they end up with three or four wives and concubines, right?"

The staff member thought to himself, "That makes perfect sense."

"Du Yun has just gained favor and is still riding high on his newfound popularity. It's not uncommon for a man to get angry for a woman."

Jiang Qifu was taken aback: "Then what do you suggest we do?"

"Why don't we go to the city gate first and see what's going on? If it's not working out, we can welcome them in and treat them well. Once the storm has passed, we can get rid of the father and daughter to prevent future troubles."

Jiang Qifu had no other choice but to nod and say, "Then... let them in."

The staff member agreed to take care of it.

Jiang Qifu stopped him again, "You said the Black Armor Guards were with him? And a few Gongzhou officials too?"

"Yes. There seem to be more than a dozen Black Armor Guards."

Jiang Qifu thought for a moment: "A dozen or so are not a problem. We have about ten thousand city guards. However, we cannot give that Du guy a chance to turn things around. Otherwise, something terrible will happen."

The aide stiffened at his gloomy gaze.

That's natural.

Jiang Qifu wasn't just after the girl; he was after the power held by the prefect. As the richest man in Gongzhou, he wasn't satisfied and wanted to earn even more, such as public funds, grain, and salt.

If the Du family were to turn the tables and investigate the accounts from the past few years, wouldn't everything be over?

"I'll go myself."

After he personally opened the city gates and welcomed the people in, wasn't it up to him to decide whether to kill or torture them?