allonlinenovel Chapter 258 'Assistance'
Chapter 258 'Assistance'
Chapter 258 'Assistance'
Zheng Luoqi glanced at Boyu and said calmly, "There are quite a few poisons in the storeroom. Select a few to 'send' to the Empress's people. Her Majesty the Empress has sent many people out of the palace recently to inquire about poison masters in the martial arts world. She must need these medicines now."
"As for how to 'send' it, I don't think I need to teach you anymore!"
Bo Yu immediately understood the meaning behind Zheng Luoqi's words and replied, "Understood!"
Zheng Luoqi waved his hand, signaling Boyu to step back. Then he picked up his teacup, took a sip of tea, and a strange smile appeared on his lips.
.........
Inside the palace
A palace maid bent down, put her lips close to Chen Xianlin's ear, and whispered a few words.
Chen Xianlin frowned slightly, revealing obvious displeasure. She stared at the palace maid with wide eyes and asked, "Are you sure this thing really works?"
The palace maid hurriedly nodded, replying with trepidation, "Your Majesty, there's absolutely no mistake. That's exactly what the old man said. This medicine is not only colorless and tasteless, but after taking it, one will gradually feel tired and increasingly drowsy, but it will definitely not be fatal!"
Chen Xianlin's expression softened slightly, but she still had some doubts. She then asked, "Where is the person who gave you the medicine now?"
Upon hearing this, the palace maid quickly turned around and waved towards the outside of the hall.
A short while later, two burly guards escorted an old man in.
The old man was being held by guards on either side, his steps unsteady, as if he were about to lose his footing.
"Greetings, Your Majesty the Empress! This servant greets Your Majesty the Empress!" Upon seeing Chen Xianlin, the old man immediately knelt down and respectfully said, "May Your Majesty the Empress enjoy boundless blessings and live a thousand years!"
"Get up!" Chen Xianlin sized up the old man. She saw that the old man's eyes were gleaming, and he looked timid and hesitant, as if he had never seen anything like the world.
After hearing Chen Xianlin's words, the old man slowly stood up.
Chen Xianlin stared blankly at the old man, her beautiful eyes slightly narrowed: "Where did you get this medicine?"
The old man stammered, "Your Majesty, this...this medicine was...this humble servant made it himself!"
Upon hearing this, Chen Xianlin raised her eyebrows slightly, looking at the old man with a half-smile, a hint of mockery flashing in her eyes: "Oh? Is that so?"
Her tone was full of doubt, and she clearly did not believe the old man's words.
Seeing that Chen Xianlin didn't seem to believe him, the old man grew even more frightened and hurriedly explained, "Your Majesty, I would never dare to utter a single falsehood! This medicine was indeed made by my own hands!"
"Moreover, I am very confident in the efficacy of this medicine, and I am certain that it will achieve the effect that Your Majesty desires!"
Chen Xianlin raised the corners of her mouth slightly, revealing a faint smile. The smile contained both mockery and disdain for the old man: "Very good! If this medicine is really as effective as you say, I will naturally not treat you unfairly."
Having said that, she casually waved her hand. Seeing this, the guard beside her understood and stepped forward, grabbing the old man's arm and dragging him away...
After the old man was dragged away, the palace maid next to him immediately stepped forward, bowed, and asked, "Your Highness, is there anything else you would like me to do?"
Chen Xianlin glanced coldly at the palace maid, "Go find someone to test the effects of this medicine!"
Upon hearing Chen Xianlin's words, the palace maid quickly replied, "Yes, this servant will go and do it right away!" After saying that, she turned and hurriedly left.
Watching the palace maid's departing figure, a hint of ruthlessness flashed in Chen Xianlin's eyes.
..........
Prime Minister's Mansion
"My lord, the matter has been taken care of!" Boyu stood aside and respectfully reported the palace's movements.
“Well done. Where’s my father?” Zheng Luoqi asked.
"Your Excellency, the Prime Minister is in the study discussing important matters with other officials!" Boyu replied respectfully.
Recently, Zheng Yuxiang proposed building a water conservancy project in Qiangzhou during a court session, which has caused great controversy.
Qiangzhou is an area that is arid and receives little rainfall year-round, with extremely scarce water resources.
There is relatively concentrated rainfall only in March and April, and July and September each year. Although the rainfall is relatively large, the water evaporates quickly due to the hot weather at this time, making it difficult to retain the rainwater.
During severe dry seasons, rivers can even dry up completely, with not a single drop of water remaining.
This is why Qiangzhou suffers from severe droughts every year, leading to a large influx of refugees.
If water conservancy projects can be built to effectively store rainwater, the water needs of people's daily lives can be met at other times, thus solving many practical problems.
However, the problem is that the natural environment in Qiangzhou is extremely harsh, with yellow sand covering the sky most of the time.
Under such conditions, constructing water conservancy projects is extremely difficult.
Chen Tongyu thought about it more and more and felt that Zheng Yuxiang's plan was unreliable. He felt that the war with Beirong had just ended and the country was in a stage of rebuilding.
At this time, undertaking such a large-scale water conservancy project would not only consume a lot of manpower, material resources, and financial resources, but would also make the people exhausted, which would be a loss.
In Chen Tongyu's view, instead of spending such a huge amount of money on water conservancy projects, it would be better to send more people to disaster relief every year. This would not only help the affected people get through the difficulties, but also win the hearts of the people. Why not do it?
Thus, the Imperial Censor and the Prime Minister's faction argued fiercely in the court, with both sides using various methods, both overt and covert.
Zheng Yuxiang felt that now that the war had just ended and many people were displaced, simply relying on continuous relief and disaster relief would probably not be enough to fundamentally solve the problem.
Instead, we should change our approach and make use of these displaced people.
Let the imperial court take responsibility for feeding these people, and then organize them to participate in the construction of water conservancy projects.
This would not only solve the livelihood problems of refugees, giving them food and work, but also allow them to fully utilize their abilities.
Moreover, if the water conservancy project can be successfully completed, it will undoubtedly be a win-win situation, solving both the drought problem in Qiangzhou and the refugee problem.
In the study
Inside the Prime Minister's study, a group of people dressed in official robes sat together, discussing the feasibility of the Qiangzhou water conservancy project.
Zheng Luoqi walked to the study door, raised her hand and gently knocked, then said softly, "Father!"
A voice responded from inside: "Come in!"
Zheng Luoqi pushed open the door and slowly walked in. Upon seeing Zheng Luoqi, the officials inside fell silent instantly, their previous clamor instantly silencing.
Zheng Yuxiang sat in the chair behind his desk, looked at Zheng Luoqi, and asked, "What do you want with me?"
Zheng Luoqi glanced around and saw that the other officials were looking at him with curiosity. He smiled and said to Zheng Yuxiang, "Father, I have something I would like to talk to you about alone."
Zheng Yuxiang understood immediately. He waved his hand and said to the other officials, "Please go down first. We will continue our discussion later."
The officials rose, bowed to Zheng Yuxiang and Zheng Luoqi, and then left the study.
In the blink of an eye, only Zheng Luoqi and her daughter Zheng Yuxiang remained in the study.
[Author's note: I've been a bit busy lately, so updates have been slower. Sorry!]