Jiu Zhang Ji: The Daily Life of the Reborn Daughter

Chapter 143 The Great Court Meeting

Qiao Peng's return seemed to have not caused any waves in the peaceful capital. The Duke Dingguo's Mansion was unusually low-key, with no banquets or visits. Qiao Peng was at ease accompanying his grandmother, Qiao Lili was managing her own property, and Qiao Zhen went to the academy on time.

The shops along the Imperial City Street were open as usual, the hawkers' calls remained the same day, and the common people who came into the city to buy things, carrying baskets and bringing their children with them, still looked around with confused eyes.

Everything is normal at the Bai family in Saozhu Lane and the steamed bun shop at the entrance of the lane.

The third princess and Suxi are still as loving as ever.

It was just in a private room in Baiwei Tower that the eldest prince and the second prince met.

*

The grand court meeting was held every five days, and the entire hall was filled with civil officials and military generals. There was one more person on the military generals' side than usual.

Recently, the Emperor and Concubine Yun have been living in harmony, and his attitude towards courtiers has improved a lot. Some courtiers who know the inside story would burn a stick of incense to Concubine Yun before going to court every day, and ask the Concubine to have mercy on them, so that their dear Emperor can live long and stay in Yunxiao Palace every night.

Why do we need to light a stick of incense?

Over the years, the Imperial Concubine has done a lot of good deeds. Whenever the people suffered from disasters, she donated money for relief, provided porridge and built shelters. Whenever the ministers had any grievances, they could always get redress by appealing to her. The impression she left on the court officials was the same as that on the people.

That is, the Imperial Concubine is a fairy from heaven who came down to the mortal world to save people from suffering. Didn’t you see that the Emperor had to humble himself in front of her?

There were no deliberate arrangements for today's grand court meeting, and it was mostly all good news.

First of all, the Sixth Prince achieved remarkable results in water control. Not only did he prevent floods in the east, but he also alleviated the drought in the west.

Then, the pest control measures proposed by Concubine Yun and Qiao Lili have prevented a large-scale insect plague from occurring in the south this year. Now, there are thousands of miles of fertile fields and a good harvest is in sight.

At this time, the eldest prince stepped out and said, "Father, autumn is approaching and the fertile fields in the northwest are also entering the maturity period. According to the temperature in previous years and the Imperial Astronomical Observatory, we may encounter frost disasters this year. We need to take preventive measures as soon as possible."

In today's Great Yan State, the southern part is certainly a land of fish and rice, but the northern part is also a granary. Compared with the low-lying terrain in the northeast, the hilly areas in the northwest are more susceptible to frost disasters.

"Father, since Duke Dingguo and his son are guarding the western border, they obviously know the climate of the west better. Why don't we give this task to them?" The second prince stepped out and echoed.

Emperor Yong'an leaned on the dragon throne, looking down upon his two sons, thinking coldly in his heart: I'm just watching you two idiots perform here, act as hard as you can, but your acting is really unbearable.

The Emperor did not speak. The eldest and second princes hunched their bodies, not daring to stand up straight or raise their heads. All the civil and military officials in the hall did not dare to make a sound. The usually noisy court meeting became eerily quiet, so quiet that you could hear a pin drop.

What's the logic here? Whoever is there should do the job. Customers go to the restaurant to eat. You can't just say, "Since you are here, please clean the toilet in our restaurant." You are here anyway.

The emperor stared at them for half an incense stick of time, then sat up straight, let out a long sigh, and asked the courtiers in the hall below: "Who among you has the same opinion as them? Come on, come on, speak up."

Among the civil and military officials, there are quite a few who support the eldest prince and the second prince. After all, the eldest prince is the eldest and the legitimate son, while the second prince has a powerful family outside the family and is also a dark horse in the eyes of some officials. Everyone wants to gain the merit of following the dragon and hold the golden thigh as early as possible, just in case they bet on the right thing.

But now, no one wants to stand out. Whether it is for the merit of following the emperor or betting on the right horse, one must have a chance to survive. In this situation, even a blind person can see that the emperor disdains and despises the eldest prince and the second prince.

Yes, with the Sixth Prince as a shining example, the others are all dead fish eyes. The eldest son or the relatives from outside the family are not worth mentioning.

How stupid it is to be able to dig such an unreliable pit, and it was the result of discussion between the two princes.

It turned out that they had their eyes on the eldest and second princes because the sixth prince had been on Yunmeng Island since the empress dowager passed away and seldom came back. All the court officials thought that he had no interest in that position, so they could only pick the tallest of the short ones. Now, the sixth prince had just taken over a flood control mission, and he had completed it so brilliantly. It had to be said that this team might have to stand on its feet again.

The original task of water control was to prevent the Ganjiang River from overflowing and the eastern region from being flooded. However, when the Sixth Prince took action, not only did the east prevent being flooded, but the drought in the west was also alleviated. He truly doubled the task. Even the members of the First Prince's Party and the Second Prince's Party secretly admired him in their hearts.

The hall was packed with people, but no one responded. The emperor picked up the Baihao tea brought by Eunuch Li, took a sip, and found it was just the right temperature. He drank it in one breath to calm his anger. He didn't know when it started, but he got so angry whenever he saw these two prodigal sons.

Sometimes he really had to doubt whether these two things were really his children.

Fortunately, Eunuch Li's Baihao tea arrived just in time.

Putting down the cup, Emperor Yong'an glanced at the two people who were still hunched over, and said slowly: "You can also come and sit on this dragon throne. Anyway, you are here, right?"

When the eldest and second princes heard this, they knelt down hurriedly and said, "Father, I dare not do that."

"I dare not. I will die a thousand times."

The emperor glanced at the two men and said, "It would be too much trouble to die a thousand times. It would be enough to die once."

As soon as the emperor uttered this, the eldest prince and the second prince knelt down, and all the court officials also knelt down. Qiao Peng, who was among the generals, didn't know what was going on. It seemed that he had just been named. He was about to say something in defense when the Prince of Zhenbei beside him pulled him and he knelt down quickly.

Even though he was the eldest son of the Duke Dingguo's mansion and the Grand Marshal personally appointed by the Emperor, this was still the first time for him to attend a court formally. He hadn't figured out what was going on yet, so why was he kneeling down in fear and trepidation?

Never mind, it’s always right to follow the crowd. It wasn’t the emperor who called his name, so he knelt down as well, kneeling beside the Prince of Zhenbei. He looked at the Prince’s expression, but couldn’t tell anything. Well, just kneel down.

It seems that this cup of white tea was wasted after all.

"Minister of Revenue, please stand up. Tell me, can we let the generals guarding the border handle the frost disaster?" Emperor Yong'an named the Minister of Revenue Feng Jing.

Feng Jing stood up and bowed his body to report: "Your Majesty, there is a saying that everyone should perform their duties, and there is a saying that one should not interfere in matters that are not within one's power. Doing something that one is not good at is like showing off one's skills before an expert, which will result in half the effort and twice the effort. What's worse, it will delay the opportunity and cause irreparable losses."

"Duke Dingguo and his son have made great contributions in guarding the border. They have driven Simon back to his hometown and defeated the Western Turks. The two countries will definitely make peace in the short term. By then, ceding land and paying compensation will be enough for them to be busy with. Don't assign them other tasks. Just concentrate on doing their own work."

"As for how to prevent and control frost disasters, we have people in the Ministry of Revenue. I will go back and compile a list immediately and submit a memorial to you at the court tomorrow morning."