Shen Qing felt a shiver run down her spine under his gaze, but she still gritted her teeth and said,
"If Jinming Lake really bursts its banks, the people living around it will surely be in great danger. The displaced people will seek shelter in the capital. With so many disaster - stricken people pouring into the capital all at once, it will be difficult to maintain order, and there is no guarantee that some ill - intentioned people won't sneak in."
"Moreover, if Jinming Lake suddenly bursts its banks without any reasonable explanation, it may be exploited by those with ulterior motives. Then some rumors might spread..."
"What rumors?"
"That the king is immoral and thus has incurred divine punishment..."
Shen Qing's voice grew softer and softer. She was afraid that she would be beheaded the next moment.
The hostility in Ji Junye's eyes instantly flared up. There had already been many doubts about how he got the throne. Over the years, he had strictly prohibited rumors, and only then had he finally had some peace.
No one dared to mention the words "the king is immoral" anymore.
"Humph! You really have the guts to say that!"
"But do you think I care about such things?"
Shen Qing was shocked all over, and a look of confusion suddenly welled up in her eyes.
Yes, Ji Junye had never had a good reputation. Some even said that he had obtained the throne by murdering his father and elder brother. But how did he deal with them?
Those people were directly thrown into prison for the crime of despising the imperial authority. For those who shouted the loudest, death had become a luxury.
Would such a person really care about what others said about him?
Shen Qing couldn't help but think of his ending in her previous life.
In her previous life, her soul wandered in the capital. She saw the King of Jin rebel and fight his way into the capital. She also saw that when the city was breached, Ji Junye set fire to the tallest building in the palace. When he saw the King of Jin coming back as a victor, he smiled faintly and walked into the fire without looking back...
That kind of loneliness and sadness even affected her as a ghost.
She thought that at that moment, there must have been a bit of despair in Ji Junye's heart. He had no more attachment to this world, so he faced death so calmly.
So actually, there was still a little bit of concern in his heart?
"I don't have dreams easily. Maybe this is a warning. Moreover, there's no need to make a big fuss. Your Majesty just needs to send two trusted officials to secretly investigate. Your Majesty is the true dragon emperor. All evil spirits will surely show their true forms in front of Your Majesty!"
Ji Junye looked at her for a while and suddenly sneered.
"You really do worry about a lot of things. Not only do you have to worry about the life and death of your husband's family, but you also have to help your husband take concubines. Now you're even worrying about the people outside the city. Why don't you worry about yourself?"
Shen Qing was stunned. How did he know about Xu Yanchi taking a concubine?
Did the emperor of a country pay so much attention to his officials that he even knew about such a thing as taking a concubine?
Moreover, what did he mean? Was he mocking her?
If it weren't for the innocent people, she wouldn't even bother to talk to him!
Ji Junye suddenly pulled the still - dazed Shen Qing into his arms. His big hand wrapped around her slender waist and rubbed it a couple of times as if he wasn't satisfied.
"Alright, I'll make my own judgment on this matter. You'd better worry about your current situation!"
Inspecting the dam was no small matter. Even though his reputation was not good, he couldn't act willfully without any basis.
Shen Qing's body stiffened for a moment. Her arms subconsciously blocked, and her eyes widened in surprise. "Didn't you say you'd let me off tonight?"
"Yeah." Ji Junye circled her in his arms and closed his eyes. "Go to sleep."
After a while, seeing that he didn't seem to break his promise, Shen Qing gradually relaxed.
Feeling the change in the person in his arms, Ji Junye couldn't help but find it a bit funny.
With such a timid heart, she dared to say the words "the king is immoral" in front of him. She wasn't afraid of death, but was she so afraid of him?
He didn't know that her fear of him had been deeply rooted since her previous life.
...
For some reason, that night, Ji Junye dreamed about his childhood again.
His biological mother was just the most insignificant little maid in the vast harem. She was so insignificant that no one noticed that she was pregnant with the emperor's child, nor did anyone notice that she gave birth on the same day as the Virtuous Concubine.
The Virtuous Concubine gave birth to a stillborn baby. To preserve her status, she had the maid poisoned and took the maid's child as her own.
So his entire childhood was spent in the Xianfu Palace of the Virtuous Concubine.
The Virtuous Concubine didn't like him, but she wanted to use him to gain favor. So she deliberately made him sick to attract his father's attention.
After his father left, she would have people feed him sleeping pills so that he wouldn't cry too much and attract others' attention.
Later, when he got a bit older and went to the study, his eldest brother was the eldest son, his second brother was the legitimate son, and his third brother was the son of his father's favorite woman. He had received all of his father's attention since he was born.
The Virtuous Concubine's family was not very powerful, and she didn't have much favor. So she began to make him strive for success.
He would study hard in the early morning to complete his lessons. He would also secretly practice horse - riding and archery when his brothers were resting, just to gain his father's attention.
As long as he was a bit worse than others, the Virtuous Concubine would scold and beat him. She would scold him as the bastard of a low - class woman. Although they were all his father's sons, he couldn't even do such a small thing well. She would also lock him alone in a drafty palace and not allow the maids and eunuchs to give him food and water.
Once, he was so hungry and thirsty that no one responded no matter how much he called. So he had to drink the rainwater accumulated in the puddle.
He would never forget that little girl with twin buns who crawled out of the dog - hole. Without caring about her dirty clothes and hair, she stood in front of him, asked him who he was and why he was drinking the rainwater on the ground, and even took out the rice - dumpling candies from her purse and gave them to him.
At that time, he thought that the rice - dumpling candies were the most delicious things in the world.
Later, the little girl's family came to look for her. Only then did he know that this little girl was actually the daughter of the Duke of Protecting the Country.
The old Duke of Protecting the Country was upright. He immediately reported the abuse he suffered to his father. Although his father didn't like his fourth son, he couldn't tolerate his son being abused.
The Virtuous Concubine was scolded. From then on, his life got much better, but his father never remembered him again.
Later, he seized the throne and dealt with all those who had bullied him before. But he didn't expect that when he met the little girl again, it was when she knelt in front of the palace gate with the imperial exemption certificate of the Duke of Protecting the Country, begging him to pardon her husband's family.
The dream shattered when Shen Qing firmly used the imperial exemption certificate to exchange for a future for the Xu family.
Ji Junye woke up from the dream with his eyes unusually blood - red.
Damn it!
Sensing the movement, Shen Qing also woke up.
She felt that Ji Junye seemed a bit abnormal.
"Your Majesty, what's wrong with you?"
It would have been better if she hadn't spoken. As soon as she did, Ji Junye suddenly looked at her. His sharp eyes seemed to pierce her through.
"Do you regret it?"
He asked.
"What?"
Shen Qing was a bit confused.
But Ji Junye stared at her intently. "Three years ago, you knelt in front of the palace gate with the imperial exemption certificate, begging me to pardon the Xu family. Now, do you regret it?"
"Not only do I regret it..."
Although Shen Qing didn't know why he suddenly brought this up or why he asked this question, she nodded firmly without hesitation for this question.
"It would have been better to save a dog than Xu Yanchi. If I could do it all over again, I wouldn't only not save him, but I'd also go to the prison myself to make things worse for him."
"Yeah."
Seeing that there was no reluctance in her expression, Ji Junye, who had got the answer he wanted, was satisfied. He put on his clothes and got up.
The sun outside was very bright and a bit dazzling. Shen Qing couldn't see Ji Junye's back clearly, but she clearly heard his words.
"I've thought over what you said yesterday. I'll send Zhuifeng to investigate later."