Good Brother

The official who offered advice was dragged away, and the hall quickly returned to calm.

Knowing that His Majesty the Emperor was about to lose his temper, the civil and military officials dared not say another word and all lowered their heads and held their breath.

Even the eldest and third princes lowered their heads and looked down cautiously, afraid of incurring bad luck.

Only Youlu, who was seeing this scene for the first time, was out of sorts, looking around blankly, and finally his eyes met those of Emperor Wulong above.

Meeting his youngest son's bewildered gaze, Emperor Wulong's tyrannical emotions eased slightly. He sat back on the dragon throne and said, "Last night I received an urgent report that torrential rains have been falling in the Xiangyang area of ​​Huguang for days, causing flash floods and other disasters in many places. You have not reported on matters concerning the people's suffering, but you have been meddling in my family affairs and making a ruckus. If you don't want to wear this official hat anymore, I don't mind taking it off for you."

The civil and military officials lowered their heads even further: "Your Majesty, we are filled with trepidation."

"All you do is live in fear and anxiety all day long. What I want is not your fear, but a system that benefits the country and its people!" Emperor Wulong declared emphatically.

You Lu smiled. Although his father was a bit tyrannical, he still cared about the common people.

At the same time, a question arose in his mind: in Xu Zheng's future, his father was extremely tyrannical, the kind of true tyrant who would behead people at the slightest provocation. This was why the Third Prince was able to easily execute the entire Xu family with fabricated evidence. He felt that his father back then had lost his reason and was completely unable to control his emotions. While his current father was also irritable, he would only drag people down without taking their lives. The nature of these two forms of tyranny was completely different.

What made Father Emperor go from being genuinely irritable and pretending to be tyrannical to truly tyrannical?

I have a feeling there's something fishy going on.

A deer frowned.

At this moment, the Minister of Revenue stepped forward and said, "In my opinion, the most urgent task is to send officials to provide disaster relief, appease the people, dredge the waterways, and build dikes."

"Anyone can spout nonsense," Emperor Wulong said irritably. "Who should we send? How much silver should we allocate? How should we repair the dikes?"

The Minister of Revenue was speechless and kept wiping his sweat.

The civil and military officials discussed it amongst themselves, but none of them could come up with a reasonable explanation.

The Third Prince's eyes flickered slightly. He stepped forward, cupped his hands, and said, "Your subject is willing to go and provide disaster relief."

Several officials immediately echoed, "The Third Prince has been attending court for half a year, and he has done a good job in the tasks assigned by His Majesty. He is indeed a good candidate for disaster relief."

Emperor Wulong remained silent, tapping his finger on the armrest of his dragon throne.

Seeing this, the Third Prince said again, "Your subject is willing to do my part and donate 10,000 taels of silver to relieve the disaster victims."

Youlu, who had been listening silently, couldn't help but curl her lip, thinking to herself: [If I didn't know the truth, I would almost have been moved by him. He's really got a good plan; the abacus beads are practically jumping off my face. He'll donate ten thousand taels for disaster relief first, and then get it back with interest once he gets the job. He's going to make money, and he'll also win the Emperor's favor and the people's hearts; he's not going to suffer any loss.]

Upon hearing this, Xu Zheng was startled and hurriedly stepped forward, saying, "I think this is inappropriate. The Third Prince has no experience in dealing with floods and is unfamiliar with the terrain of the disaster area. He is not suitable to go there for disaster relief."

Lu sighed, realizing that Old Xu was at it again, always picking on the Third Prince. Even if he wanted to, couldn't he at least be a little more tactful?

The Third Prince is already holding a grudge against him, and he even openly challenged the Third Prince, so the Third Prince will be even less likely to let him off the hook now.

It's unclear whether Xu Zheng has found out that Bai Qingqing is the Third Prince's person, but even if he does, given his level of dislike and aversion towards the Third Prince, he probably won't back down.

With a quick glance around, Youlu tugged at Xiao Yunli's sleeve and asked casually, "Eldest Brother, how long have you been attending court?"

Xiao Yunli glanced in the direction of the dragon throne and whispered, "More than a year."

"Have you ever messed up any of the tasks assigned by Father?"

"Having lived up to the Emperor's grace, the outcome can be considered satisfactory."

"Oh~~" Youlu deliberately drew out the sound and clapped his hands, saying, "You've been in court for a year and done a wonderful job. Eldest brother is amazing!"

He didn't deliberately lower his voice to make sure everyone present could hear him.

Xiao Yunli was completely bewildered. What was his seventh brother trying to do?

The eldest prince didn't understand, but Xu Zheng did. He quickly said, "What I mean is that there should be a proper order of seniority. According to seniority, the task of disaster relief should be handled by the eldest prince."

Emperor Wulong glanced at Youlu with a smile, inwardly scoffing at the clever little devil. He neither confirmed nor denied Xu Zheng's words, but instead asked, "Where is the Duke of Zhenguo?"

Xiao Yunli cupped his hands and said, "The Duke of Zhenguo is unwell and is taking leave today."

Emperor Wulong scoffed coldly, "My brother-in-law is as strong as an ox, how could he possibly be sick? He's probably just faking illness to avoid seeing me! Mentioning him makes me angry. Court adjourned!"

After saying that, he angrily turned and left.

The ministers looked at each other in bewilderment.

With a smile, Eunuch Kang walked into the hall and said, "Prime Minister Su, Lord Xu, and His Highness the Seventh Prince, His Majesty invites you to the Imperial Study."

Deer, who was about to slip away, covered its ears tightly and shook its head, shouting, "I can't hear you! I can't hear you!"

Having said that, he slipped away and made a hasty retreat.

He was dug up before dawn, and after finally finishing his court session, no one could stop him from going back to sleep!

Let's talk about saving Dayong after he wakes up!

Caught off guard, Eunuch Kang shouted at the top of his lungs, "Stop the Seventh Prince!"

The imperial guards waiting outside the hall rushed forward, only to see a shadow sweep out of the hall like the wind and disappear in the blink of an eye.

"Quickly, after them!" Eunuch Kang shouted hoarsely, his pinky finger waving.

He finally understood why His Majesty had repeatedly instructed him to keep a close eye on the Seventh Prince. This Seventh Prince was truly unpredictable and caused him a great deal of trouble!

A corner of the Imperial Garden.

Amidst the vibrant colors, Cang Shuyue sat gracefully on a stone bench, skillfully brewing and pouring tea. The fragrant aroma of the tea wafted through the air, yet it couldn't soothe his brows and eyes.

Sitting opposite him was a woman dressed in palace attire and wearing a phoenix crown. She was his elder sister, the Empress of the Dayong Dynasty, Cang Shuyan, who was also the first female general of the Dayong Dynasty who was famous throughout the land.

Warm tea was brought to him. Cang Shuyan picked up the teacup, took a sip, and sighed, "You, you're always claiming illness and skipping court. You don't have the demeanor of a Duke at all."

"We wouldn't be able to get anything done even if we went, so it's better not to go." Cang Shuyue placed the food box on the table, took out a few pastries from it, and said, "Didn't my sister say she missed the pastries made by her wet nurse? I brought them for you."

Cang Shuyan smiled and shook her head, saying helplessly, "I was just mentioning it casually."

Cang Shuyue didn't say anything, but stubbornly pushed the snacks in front of her.

"Erlang..." Cang Shuyan hesitated, then finally sighed, picked up a piece of lotus root cake, took a small bite, and smiled, "The wet nurse's skills are as good as ever."

"I'll send it to you another day." Cang Shuyue's lips curled slightly.

He only showed any tenderness to his respected and beloved elder sister.

Unfortunately, their time together was short. The siblings sat facing each other and drank tea for a while before Cang Shuyan got up and hurriedly left, as she still had to return to the palace to receive the homage of the concubines.

Cang Shuyue sat alone for a long time until the tea in his cup had completely lost its temperature before he stood up.

A slight rustling sound came from the grass and trees. His ears twitched, and he was about to turn around to look when a familiar, high-pitched voice came from not far away.

"Oh dear, my little darling, where have you run off to again!"

Cang Shuyue frowned and looked over, and saw Eunuch Kang leading a large group of guards running over, seemingly looking for someone.

Upon seeing him, Eunuch Kang bowed and said, "Greetings, Duke Zhenguo. Did you see anyone passing by just now?"

Cang Shuyue paused for a moment, then shook his head.

With a face full of bitterness and resentment, Eunuch Kang hurriedly bowed and then led the guards to other places to look for people.

Once the person left, Cang Shuyue looked at the artificial hill behind him and said coldly, "Come out."

A figure leaped out from behind the artificial hill. The boy had exquisite features and a radiant smile. He waved his paw with a smile and spoke in a clear, melodious voice like a mountain spring: "Thank you, kind brother."

In an instant, all the spring scenery in the garden lost its color.

Cang Shuyue was slightly taken aback; it was him.

Youlu was also taken aback. He had seen this man before in the past of his father and eldest brother.