Suffering 1 Suffering Surname

Chapter 105 Let the Common People Suffer

Upon hearing this, Liu Feng's expression stiffened, and his eyes visibly lingered for a moment.

Jia Jing then asked, "Are the people at the Prince's estate yours?"

Liu Feng's heart tightened, and his hand instinctively pressed on the hilt of the knife.

Jia Jing's eyelids twitched violently. Why did this man suddenly draw his sword? He quickly explained, "The head of the estate, his father knew me from my younger days, and he's been sending me seasonal fruits and vegetables for years. The other day, he came to offer incense and casually mentioned something: someone was subtly inquiring about people who had worked at the Prince's mansion around the thirty-third year of the Longxing era..."

19

As they were talking, Liu Feng had already drawn part of his knife.

A bead of sweat appeared on Jia Jing's forehead. He finally understood what it meant to be "a scholar encountering a soldier," and quickly asked, "Do you still remember those giant bronze cannons outside Datong City?"

Liu Feng's eyes sharpened: "You're in cahoots with them? A traitor too?"

The knife was pulled out a few more inches.

Jia Jing nearly vomited blood, but fearing the other party might actually kill him, he quickly revealed the truth.

Upon hearing his words, Liu Feng's mind went blank.

The deposed crown prince... actually had a son? And he even escaped back then?

Those old traitors were henchmen of the deposed crown prince who were exiled years ago, and they suspected that he was that child.

"What does this have to do with anything?" Liu Feng shook his head, then suddenly realized that Shui Rong was that child!

Jia Jing: "I've already instructed the head of the estate to keep this from getting out. Even if it does, it won't implicate you."

Seeing that Liu Feng remained silent, he had no choice but to continue, "The reason I thought of you is because they came to me a few days ago, asking me to investigate your true background and real age. Also..."

"Where are they?"

Jia Jing's lips twitched. Liu Feng's eyes held nothing but the desire for a severed head.

Although he was furious that his old friend had defected to the enemy, he couldn't bear to see him lose his head, so he changed the subject: "How old are you?"

"nineteen."

Ancestral home...

""

"Fangcun Village, Xuzhou. Father: Liu Dazhu; Mother: Xu; Elder Brother: Liu Shan," Liu Feng called out.

Jia Jing stared into his eyes, his gaze clear and calm, without a trace of panic or flinching.

Could it be that there's really a mistake?

Liu Feng chuckled inwardly: I was never the son of a deposed crown prince, so saying that isn't exactly a lie. What is there to be ashamed of?

Jia Jing hesitated for a moment, coughed lightly, and tentatively asked, "Um... can I touch the back of your head?"

"What did you say?" Liu Feng glared and was about to draw his sword.

Liu Feng is a time traveler who doesn't care about the saying "our bodies and hair are given to us by our parents," but he didn't read the books for nothing.

In this day and age, you can't even let strangers touch your hair, let alone let them touch the back of your head.

Jia Jing's words, at best, were impolite, and at worst, were an act of deliberate humiliation.

Liu Feng didn't care, but he still had to show his attitude and make a gesture.

"That...it's a misunderstanding, all a misunderstanding..." Jia Jing hurriedly explained, "I was acting on someone's behalf..."

"7

"Those old traitors?"

Jia Jing nodded.

Liu Feng's eyes narrowed slightly: "That deposed crown prince's son, does he have a rebellious streak?"

"How did you know?" Jia Jing was taken aback at first, then blurted out, "You have it too?"

"Bullshit!" Liu Feng's face darkened. "I'm a member of the Emperor's personal guard, loyal to the Emperor and serving the country! No one has a rebellious streak like mine!"

Suddenly realizing he had lost his composure, he quickly changed the subject: "I'm not afraid to tell you, I'm investigating this matter on imperial orders."

"By imperial decree?" Jia Jing was taken aback. "What does the Emperor suspect?"

Liu Feng snorted. "Being too curious can kill you, Grandpa."

Jia Jing suddenly smiled.

"What are you laughing at?"

"Your ruthless and heartless behavior is just like that of the Liu family."

"My surname is Liu," Liu Feng retorted irritably.

Jia Jing smiled and said, "Alright, let's go back. It's not good for you if I stay here any longer."

Liu Feng had wanted to leave for a while, so he crossed his arms, turned around, and strode out.

Jia Jing stared at the back of his head until the man had completely disappeared outside the door before slowly closing his eyes.

In the living room, Jia Zhen stood timidly at the door, glancing towards the side room every now and then, which made Liu Feng shake his head.

Liu Feng coughed lightly, startling Jia Zhen, who glared at him irritably, then glanced at the bedroom before asking in a low, curious voice, "What's going on? Why have you been talking for so long?"

"Want to know?" Liu Feng grinned mischievously.

Jia Zhen, however, didn't fall for it and shook his head.

Just then, the cotton curtain of the side room was lifted, and Dai Quan and Zhang the Taoist priest came out one after the other.

Dai Quan still had a smile on his face, but Liu Feng could tell at a glance that he had something on his mind.

Jia Jing was seriously ill, so Jia Zhen, the "filial son," had to stay and serve him medicine and soup.

Taoist Zhang returned to his Qingxu Temple, while Liu Feng escorted Dai Quan back to the palace.

Inside the Imperial Study, Emperor Yankang paced back and forth with his hands behind his back.

Dai Quan stood with his head down on one side of the imperial desk, waiting quietly for the emperor to speak.

After circling the Imperial Study, Emperor Yankang returned to his desk and looked at Dai Quan: "Is everything he said true?"

Dai Quan: "No mistake. He had no idea that this old servant was going, let alone what this old servant would ask."

Emperor Yankang remained silent for a long time, his brows furrowing deeper and deeper. Suddenly, he muttered to himself, "Could it be that I'm overthinking things?" Then he suddenly laughed, "Indeed. Back then, those who served Shui Rong were all old-timers in the household. Let alone replacing them, it was impossible for them to even get close to him."

Just as a thought flashed through Dai Quan's mind, before he could even utter a word, hurried footsteps echoed from the outer hall.

A senior eunuch in red robes from the Directorate of Ceremonial knelt outside the door and reported, "Your Majesty, an urgent report from the Northern Garrison Command reveals traces of remnants of the deposed crown prince's faction!"

Emperor Yankang turned his head sharply: "Where is he?"

"Wanping".

"Dai Quan".

"This old servant is here."

"Go to the capital garrison immediately and convey my oral decree to Marquis Zhongjing. Deploy a battalion of troops to completely surround Wanping and ensure that not a single person escapes."

Shui Rong was completely unaware that he had just narrowly escaped death. At this moment, he was wholeheartedly arranging for the emperor to gather grain and fodder in order to deal with the possible locust plague in the spring.

The Imperial Observatory still cannot accurately predict when the first snow will fall, forcing the court to prepare for the worst.

Everyone knows that if there is no snow in winter, locusts will surely swarm everywhere and starve people will fill the roads when spring comes.

The capital city is under the emperor's nose, the most important place, and such a tragedy must not be allowed to occur. After repeated discussions with the cabinet, Shui Rong finally decided to draw grain from neighboring provinces for emergency relief.

..

As for those provinces that might also suffer from disasters, then the people will have to endure the hardship first.

The clattering of abacuses in the main hall of the Ministry of Revenue finally subsided.

Once all the receipts were compiled, they were delivered to the Minister of Revenue. He glanced at them briefly, then stepped forward and gently placed them on the large table in front of Shui Rong, stroking his beard and smiling, "It's only the beginning of the twelfth lunar month now, there's no snow yet. Around the Lantern Festival, all this grain should be able to be delivered to the capital."

Upon hearing this, the officials all nodded in agreement.

Shui Rong flipped through the documents, then his eyes suddenly lit up: "Transfer another 200,000 shi of grain from Shandong to the capital."

"Your Highness," the Minister of Revenue said, his face full of confusion, "this amount of grain is enough to sustain the capital until the grain tribute from Jiangnan arrives. Why then..."

""

Shui Rong remained silent for a moment before slowly saying, "Shandong is a major grain-producing province. Requisitioning an extra 200,000 shi of grain won't cause any major trouble..."

'

Before he could finish speaking, an official couldn't help but interject: "Shandong is indeed a major grain-producing province, but most of the land is not in the hands of the common people. What will happen to the tenant farmers if there is a disaster next year and the government granaries cannot provide enough grain for relief?"

As soon as these words were spoken, a buzz of discussion arose in the hall, with officials whispering among themselves.

Shui Rong's face darkened slightly, and he said calmly, "This was decided by the Cabinet. The Ministry of War received a military report from the front lines at Dalinghe yesterday, indicating that war might break out. This batch of grain is intended for the troops at the front."

After these words were spoken, no one dared to refute them.

Shui Rong caught a glimpse of his personal servant making a gesture outside the door, then waved his hand and said, "Go on with your work."

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