Chapter 17

Chapter 17

"…Prime Minister?"

The old man's body shook violently, startling the eunuch who was supporting him.

"It's alright," the Prime Minister tightened his grip on the tablet, took a deep breath, and said with a slightly hoarse voice, smiling, "Let's proceed to the court."

"Yes, my lord."

Inside Xianyou Palace, the lotus-patterned square tiles were still neatly laid.

But his steps were now somewhat faltering.

The sound of the bell faded, and the court officials gradually entered the palace.

Only Lu Jingyuan remained rooted to the spot like a wooden stake.

Only when the last bell rang did he finally move laboriously into the palace.

-

At the third quarter of the hour of Mao, inside the Liuyun Hall.

The attendant bowed and slowly retracted the screen inside the hall.

Accompanied by the sound of drums, the Emperor, dressed in dark ceremonial robes, finally appeared before everyone.

Traditionally, one should not look directly at the Emperor during court sessions.

But today, everyone couldn't help but raise their eyes and secretly observe him.

Through the gently swaying crown tassels, they could still see his eyes, smiling yet not smiling.

...The Emperor was actually unharmed!

It's over.

The officials who had followed Lu Jingyuan into the palace felt their hearts turn cold in an instant.

The atmosphere in today’s court session was heavier than ever before.

After a long while, not a single person dared to present their report.

Instead, it was Ying Changchuan who leisurely said, "Didn’t my ministers say outside the palace that there were urgent matters to report? Why are you all silent now?"

A deathly silence fell over the Liuyun Hall.

Everyone's mouths seemed as if sewn shut with thread.

The Emperor’s gaze swept across the hall, finally resting on the Prime Minister, who was closest to him.

The Prime Minister instinctively held his breath.

Unsure if he had exposed himself, his hands hidden beneath the wide sleeves, trembled uncontrollably.

After a long pause, just when he thought Ying Changchuan was about to call his name, he heard the Emperor laugh, “Minister Jiang, do you have any reports to present?”

“Your Majesty, there is indeed one matter.”

The youth's clear voice echoed in the grand hall.

It was Jiang Yuxun who was called upon, not himself.

Yet, both the Prime Minister and Lu Jingyuan tensed up as well.

“Speak freely, my minister.”

The “Minister of the Imperial Presence,” though often by the Emperor's side and of special status, was considered a minor official in the Great Zhou.

Upon arriving at the Liuyun Hall, Jiang Yuxun did not step forward.

Instead, he remained in a corner of the grand hall.

But this did not prevent everyone from focusing their attention on him.

Jiang Yuxun lifted his tablet, reading and speaking simultaneously, “The dredging of the Yi River banks is nearing completion, and most of the emergency crop planting has been done. I believe it's time to discuss the reconstruction of the riverbanks and rebuilding of the civilian houses.”

His tone was utterly natural, not a trace of nervousness.

Leaving the lower-ranking officials in the hall dumbfounded.

Jiang Yuxun truly is as fearless of the Emperor as the rumors say!

Ying Changchuan slowly nodded.

The youth sitting in a corner of the Liuyun Hall set down his tablet at this moment.

He hadn't finished speaking.

Jiang Yuxun looked directly at the Emperor, stating earnestly, "Moreover, the breach of the Yi River dam must be thoroughly investigated."

The torrential rain that night was indeed a 'once in a century' event, making the breach of the Yi River dam seem inevitable.

But regardless, the duration the dam withstood was much shorter than everyone had anticipated... it almost instantly collapsed as soon as the flood peak arrived.

Clearly, there were concerns about its quality.

Ying Changchuan, as if reminded by Jiang Yuxun, softly added, "The court allocates funds for river management every year; in theory, this should not have happened."

Hearing this, beads of sweat the size of soybeans appeared on the Prime Minister’s forehead.

He realized that the Emperor and Jiang Yuxun were deliberately playing off each other!

All to settle scores later.

As expected, the next second, Ying Changchuan raised his voice, "Summon the Mayor of the Capital to the hall."

The attendant immediately complied, "Yes, Your Majesty!"

The Prime Minister clenched his teeth, closing his eyes in difficulty.

……

The Mayor of the Capital was dragged into the hall.

He, who had been secretly rejoicing over the Emperor's severe injury days before, could not muster a smile now.

He hadn’t yet been tortured by the Xuan Yin Monitors, but his spirit had already collapsed.

After being summoned to the hall, the Mayor of the Capital kept kowtowing non-stop, mumbling, "Your Majesty, the dam was repaired, I truly repaired it! You can go upstream of the Yi River to see, near a ferry called 'Jiayang Crossing', there's a section of the dam that didn't collapse. There, you can see the marks of my repairs from last year!"

His voice echoed repeatedly in the front hall, sounding particularly noisy.

The Emperor frowned involuntarily.

An officer from the Xuan Yin Monitors immediately stepped forward to silence the Mayor of the Capital.

"Mmm..."

The Mayor widened his eyes, struggling as if he still wanted to continue explaining.

But Ying Changchuan clearly had no interest in listening further.

His gaze drifted past the window, looking outside the hall.

After a pause, he spoke slowly, "If that is so, would my ministers be willing to visit the Yi River banks after the court session?"

With the Emperor suggesting it, who would dare to refuse?

The previously silent Liuyun Hall suddenly became lively, "Your servant is willing to go—"

-

Xianyou Palace is located in the upstream area of the Yi River.

Conveniently, it's not far from the "Jiayang Crossing" mentioned by the Mayor.

After the court session, the action-oriented Ying Changchuan led the court officials towards Jiayang Crossing.

On the way, Zhuang Yue couldn't help but slow down his horse, drawing level with Jiang Yuxun who was at the end of the procession.

Seeing him, Jiang Yuxun instantly remembered his own "downfall," and became uneasy.

"...Uncle."

Zhuang Yue didn't respond, but instead scrutinized the youth with a serious expression.

This look, combined with the scar on his face, appeared particularly intimidating...

"Have you learned to deceive?"

Jiang Yuxun: !!!

Let me explain, it was all Ying Changchuan's idea!

The awkwardness and guilt of being caught doing something wrong by an elder surged up in an instant.

Jiang Yuxun gritted his teeth and nodded, "…Yes."

While speaking, Zhuang Yue suddenly raised his hand high.

Jiang Yuxun instinctively closed his eyes.

Just when he thought Zhuang Yue was about to reprimand him.

He heard the other party lower his voice, saying excitedly, “I am so relieved!”

Huh?

After saying this, Zhuang Yue lightly patted Jiang Yuxun's shoulder, “I thought you were really just single-minded.”

Jiang Yuxun: “…”

Wait a minute, is he complimenting me or scolding me?

……

With the Emperor nearby, Zhuang Yue didn’t dare to say much.

He whispered a few words of advice to Jiang Yuxun and then sped up to rejoin the front of the procession.

Not long after Zhuang Yue left, the group arrived at Jiayang Crossing.

Although the riverbank here hadn't collapsed, the surrounding area was still severely affected by the disaster.

At this moment, in a small village near the ferry, half of the villagers were rebuilding collapsed houses, while the other half were cleaning wells, just as Jiang Yuxun had instructed.

Seeing people approaching, the villagers stopped their work.

"…Look, those are the court's officials!"

"It seems so... But what are the court's people doing here?"

"Never mind that, let's go and see!"

Saying so, they left the village and gathered towards the riverbank.

The imperial guards did not drive the villagers away, allowing them to come forward and watch.

At the riverbank, the Mayor of the Capital, under the watch of the Xuan Yin Monitors, finally spoke, "Your Majesty, look, this part of the dam really has been repaired! If you don't believe me, you can ask the nearby villagers. Last year, I indeed sent people to repair the dam!"

The Yi River's disaster-affected area was mainly concentrated in the middle and lower reaches.

This section of the riverbank was relatively intact, without the signs of rot and snake holes that Jiang Yuxun had seen during his inspection; it appeared to have been mended.

While speaking, Jiang Yuxun suddenly dismounted and climbed onto the riverbank.

Zhuang Yue tried to stop him but couldn't.

The river breeze carried a faint fishy smell to his nose.

It also gently lifted the youth's long hair.

Jiang Yuxun slowly bent down and pinched a handful of soil in his hand.

After a pause, he brought the soil down the embankment and walked up to the gathered crowd.

He slowly lowered his gaze to look at the Mayor of the Capital, held there by the Xuan Yin Monitors.

"You indeed repaired this section of the riverbank."

The Mayor, grasping at straws, frantically nodded, "Yes, yes!! Minister Jiang, I truly did repair it!"

But at this moment, Jiang Yuxun’s eyes were devoid of any warmth.

He gradually opened his palm, revealing the soil in his hand.

Finally, he said in a deep voice, "But you used mature soil for the repair."

As soon as he finished speaking, the soil in the youth's hand was scattered by a gust of river wind.

Anyone familiar with archaeology or gardening knows the difference between "raw soil" and "mature soil."

Raw soil, buried deep underground, lacks nutrients but is firm and compact, suitable for building embankments.

Mature soil, on the other hand, is loose, soft, and fertile, good for cultivation but absolutely unsuitable for construction.

The youth clapped his hands, expressionless, and said, "These soils were dug up from nearby farmlands by the official, seeking to save time and effort, weren't they? I wonder if the fields from which you took the soil can still be cultivated this year?"

Jiang Yuxun felt both a sense of relief and absurdity.

He paused for a moment, then added softly, "If Jiayang Crossing wasn't located upstream of the Yi River, less affected by the disaster, this section of the riverbank would have also collapsed under the flood."

Not to mention the matter of repairing the embankment.

In the Great Zhou, destroying arable land is a crime grave enough to warrant beheading.

The face of the Mayor of the Capital turned deathly pale.

...Jiang Yuxun could actually discern all of this with just one look!

“This…” The Mayor tried to stammer an explanation, but couldn't form a complete sentence.

With these words, it became clear to all the courtiers:

The Mayor's riverbank repair was most likely just for show.

He had only sporadically chosen a few places to repair, and even for these, he used soil conveniently dug up from nearby fields!

Jiang Yuxun slowly stood up, "How many sections of the embankment did you actually repair?"

At that moment, an officer from the Xuan Yin Monitors placed a blade against the Mayor’s neck.

Knowing that his guilt was fully exposed, the Mayor finally said with a trembling voice, “Seven... seven sections, totaling about ten-odd miles...”

Only ten-odd miles... that's it...

Not far away, the villagers could no longer restrain their anger and began to curse, some even wishing to step forward and execute him on the spot.

"The Yi River stretches for thousands of miles, and he only repaired a mere ten-odd miles of the embankment!"

"This man truly has no conscience!"

"The earth for the Jiayang Crossing dam was even dug from my family's field—"

All these voices reached the Emperor's ears.

Mounted on a dark black warhorse, Ying Changchuan slowly smiled, "Is the Mayor of the Capital trying to save money for me? But where, exactly, did this saved money go?"

Indeed, where did the Mayor of the Capital divert the funds?

Everyone’s gaze turned towards him in unison.

Yet the Mayor, who had just been confessing, suddenly clammed up.

Ying Changchuan had anticipated this reaction.

He slowly raised his hand, signaling the Xuan Yin Monitors to take the man away.

Without a doubt, he was being taken away for punishment.

-

After returning to the temporary palace and resting, Jiang Yuxun finally managed to pull himself out of the emotions from earlier.

He carefully took off the long sword hanging at his waist, examined it for a long while, and couldn’t help but touch it again.

Finally, he quietly curled his lips into a smile.

Today, not only did I touch it, but I even took it out in front of all the officials... It was totally worth it!

Anticipating that he might be surrounded by the officials yesterday evening, Jiang Yuxun had gone to Ying Changchuan to ask for "something to save his life."

He had only expected something like a token, but to his surprise, he was given this sword.

How generous indeed!

Thinking of this, Jiang Yuxun couldn't help but touch the sword again.

Ying Changchuan hadn't specified when to return the sword, but after pondering for a moment, the youth decided to leave the duty room with the Zhou Sword and head to the Liuyun Hall.

Now that the Emperor was no longer pretending to be ill, there were more people in the hall.

However, upon entering, Jiang Yuxun looked around and saw everyone except Ying Changchuan.

Just as he was about to leave, he was stopped by Eunuch Sang, guarding the hall, "Minister Jiang, are you looking for His Majesty?"

"...Yes," the youth hesitated before approaching and asking, "Is His Majesty not here?"

Since returning from the Yi River, Eunuch Sang had changed his attitude towards the "differently positioned" youth.

Seeing Jiang Yuxun asking to see the Emperor, Eunuch Sang, eager to curry favor, immediately offered to guide him, "His Majesty is in the inner hall. Let me take you there."

？！

The inner hall was Ying Changchuan's sleeping quarters, and in all his time at Xianyou Palace, Jiang Yuxun had never been there.

...And had never even thought of going!

"Wait, maybe I should—"

Jiang Yuxun hadn't realized that he was standing at the side entrance.

Before he could utter "Let it be," he was already being led by Eunuch Sang through the corridor.

Unlike the front hall, this place was empty.

Even the sound of footsteps seemed clearer here.

Jiang Yuxun instantly swallowed the words he hadn't finished.

By the time he realized it, he had already been brought to the door of the inner hall, adorned with lotus-patterned window grilles.

Eunuch Sang lowered his voice, "Minister Jiang, please go in. I won't disturb you."

After saying this, he disappeared without a trace.

...Wait, why have you left me here alone!