Since the Son of Heaven had such doubts, the eunuch attending him sized up the situation and quickly stepped forward to mention the close friendship between Su Buchi and Li Ying.
The Son of Heaven then immediately recalled that on the day when Su Buchi was ordered to hold a "burning - tail feast" in the capital, it seemed that this Miss Li was indeed in full charge.
At that time, he didn't take this matter to heart. But now, thinking it over carefully, this Sir Su, whom he relied on, turned out to be an infatuated man, willingly recommending her to a reclusive and mysterious master like Yan Lianzhi.
Thinking of this, the Son of Heaven couldn't help but feel a bit curious. With a meaningful look on his face, he sized up Li Ying from head to toe.
This woman was indeed fair - featured and pretty. However, compared with the peerless beauties in his harem, at best, she could only be considered an ordinary - looking woman.
There was nothing outstanding about her. Usually, she just kept a low profile, standing humbly in an unnoticeable corner. How could such an unremarkable woman catch the eyes of Sir Lu and Sir Su one after another?
He had heard that even Lord Pei, the national uncle who led troops to defend the border, seemed to be willing to spend all his wealth just to have her accompany him.
He wondered what kind of bewitching tricks this woman had. If she really had ill intentions, he would never spare her!
Just as the Son of Heaven was deep in thought, Princess Yongning stepped forward with a smiling face and spoke.
"Father, I've long heard of the great reputation of the venerable Master Yan and have always admired him, but I've never had the chance to pay my respects. I've heard that this venerable old man dotes on Miss Li the most. Even Sir Su has to yield to her. I wonder if I'll have the chance to meet this great Confucian of our time during this southern inspection?"
Although she was joking, she was clearly defending Li Ying without a trace - she was by no means a parasite who relied on Su Buchi's influence and flattered the powerful.
Li Ying cast a grateful glance at her. Presumably, this was the Princess Yongning's way of repaying her for exonerating her before.
After Princess Yongning finished speaking, a look of confusion appeared on her face.
"Speaking of which, there's something I don't understand."
"The goose - neck barnacles, although delicious, look so hideous and there's not much meat on them. Why do the people of Jiangcheng risk their lives to collect them instead of eating fish and rice?"
Her words indeed made the Son of Heaven frown.
He looked imposingly at the trembling commoners kneeling beside him and said in a deep voice, "That's right. It's already past the Autumnal Equinox, the busy season for autumn harvest. Instead of working in the fields, you all gather here to collect these goose - neck barnacles for fun. You're really neglecting your proper duties."
The dozen or so fishermen immediately showed bitter smiles on their faces and pleaded carefully, "Your Majesty, please make a clear investigation! We're all hard - working farmers and by no means lazy and slippery people. If it weren't for the hardship of making a living and having no rice to cook at home, who would be willing to take this risk!"
No matter how delicious the goose - neck barnacles were, for these farmers who toiled in the fields, they were by no means as comforting as a bowl of steaming rice.
An older man at the head, presumably having some prestige among the fishermen, summoned up his courage and crawled forward a few steps on his knees. He said heart - brokenly, "Your Majesty, in recent years, there has been a lot of rain. The water levels of the rivers and lakes in Jiangcheng have risen sharply. Like a raging flood, the water has rushed out of the river channels, submerging and destroying countless fertile fields."
The farmers' hard work for half a year was destroyed in an instant. Fortunately, the water and heat conditions in Jiangcheng were still suitable, and the rice ears could be harvested twice a year. So the commoners still had some surplus grain at home. Combined with the various seafood caught from the sea, they could at least avoid starving.
In such a situation, if it were in other places, there would probably already be a famine in the city and corpses would be lying everywhere.
Under such circumstances, it was reasonable for the fishermen to be so desperate that they were willing to take risks to collect goose - neck barnacles on the slippery reef beaches.
The Son of Heaven was furious when he heard this. His face turned ashen, and he slapped the table and stood up.
"What a governor of Jiangcheng who only reports good news and hides bad news! The people of Jiangcheng are starving and suffering so much, but in his memorial of greeting, it seems that everything is peaceful and the people are living and working in peace and contentment! Such deception of the superiors and concealment from the inferiors. If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes today, I don't know how long I would have been deceived by this corrupt official!"
He was so angry that he wished he could tear the dismissed governor of Jiangcheng into pieces immediately.
Empress Pei saw that the situation was not good and quickly advised in a soft voice, "Your Majesty, please calm down. Excessive anger will harm your body."
Princess Yongning also put on a docile and obedient look and said softly, "Father, the people of Jiangcheng are now living in great hardship. I also want to share your worries. I know I'm weak and it's not convenient for me to interfere in state affairs. I'm willing to donate my annual salary to these people of Jiangcheng to buy some grain to fill their stomachs."
The fishermen of Jiangcheng present were naturally deeply moved and shed tears. Their eyes looking at Princess Yongning were like looking at a goddess descending from the sky. They kept kowtowing and shouting, "Long live our Emperor! Long live the Princess!"
With Princess Yongning taking the lead, the accompanying officials naturally didn't dare to lag behind. They rushed to donate their monthly salaries or personal savings generously.
The so - called help for the people of Jiangcheng was just a guise. The real fear was losing the favor of the Son of Heaven.
However, Jiangcheng was a strategic thoroughfare and was now suffering from the flood. The neighboring counties were probably also in great distress.
Even though there was now some money, it would still be extremely difficult to transport the grain and grass to the various counties in Jiangcheng in a short time.
Li Ying secretly glanced at Lu Xunguang. Sure enough, she saw him step forward gracefully and bow deeply to the Son of Heaven.
"Your Majesty, how about leaving the matter of transporting the grain from the granaries along the waterways to me?"
"My maternal family is originally from Lingnan. There are several of my granaries in the cities near Jiangcheng, which store a lot of surplus grain. Right now, it's urgent to save the situation. As long as Your Majesty gives the order, I'll immediately transfer all that grain to relieve the immediate need!"
He looked completely sincere, as if he was really dedicated and only concerned about the country and the people.
The officials couldn't help but be secretly shocked.
This Sir Lu was a bit too hasty. Didn't he know the principle that too much is as bad as too little and the first bird gets shot?
Publicly confessing in front of the Son of Heaven that he had a lot of money and grain, if it aroused the Son of Heaven's suspicion, it would be terrible!
But Li Ying understood.
The Son of Heaven was suspicious. Lu Xunguang, this newly - promoted and extremely wealthy merchant - official, was already at the peak of his power. Moreover, the Lu family had already taken over the four major industries of salt, tea, wine, and silk. It was hard not to arouse the Son of Heaven's suspicion.
When the people were living in hardship and the country was in trouble, he stepped forward without hesitation and made generous donations. Although he lost some money, it could just reduce the Son of Heaven's scruples about the Lu family's wealth.
Firstly, it would dispel the Son of Heaven's misgivings. Secondly, it could also earn him a good reputation among the people as a savior.
The Son of Heaven valued his reputation both in life and after death. In order to avoid being criticized by the people in the future and being called a fatuous king who persecuted the loyal and good, he would surely not easily touch the Lu family.
Just losing some silver and money in exchange for a talisman for immunity from death. This deal was worth it.