Chapter 342： The emperor arrives

Chapter 342 The Emperor Arrives

Chai Wentao was also startled and said quickly: "Sir, we must go and pick him up immediately."

In Dongli Villa.

The emperor took a large group of people to stay at Youran Inn.

After receiving the news, Mr. Jiang Ning and Mr. Rui hurriedly welcomed them into the mansion.

The emperor's face didn't look very good, but it wasn't particularly bad.

Jiang Ning and Prince Rui exchanged glances and lowered their eyes respectfully.

The emperor laughed when he saw the two of them being so angry, "That's enough! Stop pretending to be clever in front of me, tell me what's going on in Quzhou Prefecture now!"

Dekang served the emperor and took a big sip of tea, and said distressedly: "Your Majesty, you don't know. As soon as the emperor received the news, he asked the Ministry of Household Affairs to allocate disaster relief funds. Three days later, Tong, which borders Quzhou Prefecture, Changfu also came to report urgently. Although the Earth Dragon's transformation occurred in Quzhou Prefecture, Tongchang Prefecture was also greatly affected, with heavy casualties. The emperor couldn't sit still anymore. Dare to delay."

Jiang Ning and Prince Gong were both stunned, but they quickly recovered.

She stood up calmly, gave blessings, and said: "Your Majesty, Mr. Ji should have already told you in detail about the specific casualties and losses in the letter. The discrepancy is not big. Fortunately, Mr. Ji can turn the tide and appease the people as quickly as possible. , resettling refugees and rebuilding the city. Now the refugees in Quzhou Prefecture have their own houses and fields.

Master Ji also read the geographical annals of Quzhou, analyzed the harm caused by the earth dragon's turning over, and tried to minimize the losses through artificial means. Now a city wall is even built on the east coast of the city. "

The emperor's tense expression gradually relaxed as Jiang Ning spoke, "Oh? Does Guang Enhou mean that the disaster in Quzhou Prefecture has been resolved?"

"Well, that's not entirely true. There is still insufficient food, but other things are fine." Jiang Ning told everything he knew about the situation.

The emperor snorted coldly, "Guang Enhou, you don't want to plead for Ji Wuya, are you trying to fool me?"

"What an injustice!" Jiang Ning immediately knelt down, "Your Majesty, I have absolutely no lies. You can also ask His Highness Prince Rui. He is in Quzhou Mansion and he knows about it."

The emperor thought of the plea letter written by Prince Rui to him, and pursed his lips tighter, "Unless I see it with my own eyes, it's useless for anyone to say it!"

 Wei Guangxian, the commander of the Royal Forest Army, came in and reported: "Your Majesty, Ji Wuya, the prefect of Quzhou, has come to pay his respects."

The emperor angrily shouted, "Let him kneel before me!"

Jiang Ning was so frightened that he didn't dare to take a breath.

After settling the emperor, she secretly breathed a sigh of relief and took the people to Xiyuan. As soon as she left the house, she saw Ji Wuya kneeling outside the door, and she sighed in her heart.

In Xiyuan.

Everyone in the Jiang family, Xu Nuoyan and others were anxiously waiting for the news. When they saw her coming back, they all stepped forward and asked: "Why is the emperor here at this time? Are you here to raise an army to prosecute? Will you be punished by the emperor?"

Tao asked a bunch of questions in one go.

Jiang Ning held her hand and sat down, giving her a calming look, "Don't worry, mom. The emperor is a wise king and will not deal with courtiers without asking. However, the emperor is in a bad mood after such a big thing happened. If he is in a bad mood these days, If nothing happens, just stay in Xiyuan and don’t go out. Also, Mr. Ji is kneeling in Zhuangzi now, so don’t discuss this matter.”

Xu Nuoyan frowned worriedly, "Aniang, will the emperor punish Master Ji severely?"

Jiang Ning smiled bitterly and shook his head, "How can I know this? It's just that the emperor's anger will make rivers of blood flow, and the Holy Heart is unpredictable. You must pretend to be deaf and dumb these days."

Zhou was so frightened that she hugged her son and hid in the room.

At dawn the next day, everyone in the big house woke up.

Jiang Ning did not dare to delay, so she packed up early and went over to say hello with Grandma Yu at her service. Ji Wuya knelt all night. Except for his face being a little pale, he was otherwise fine. The emperor only asked him to kneel, but he was not harsh on him and gave him a futon.

Jiang Ning had just arrived when the emperor had already led Wei Guangxian and Dekang out, and she hurried to follow.

Ji Wuya immediately kowtowed when he saw the emperor.

The emperor coldly ordered: "Get up and lead the way."

Ji Wuya breathed a sigh of relief, was helped up by Chai Wentao, and staggered ahead of them.

Before the carriage left Zhuangzi, the emperor heard the sound of banging and banging coming from the nearby workshops, and several chimneys were all emitting thick white smoke.

"What is this doing?"

The emperor asked curiously.

Jiang Ning took a look and replied respectfully: "Your Majesty, that is the brick kiln of Yang Changlin, the second son of the minister. He was responsible for firing all the bricks and tiles for the reconstruction of the city."

Afraid that the emperor would misunderstand, Jiang Ning carefully explained the reason.

The emperor's expression ranged from frown to surprise, "Are you saying that the bricks made by Yang Changlin are cheaper than ordinary blue bricks, and even ordinary people can afford them?"

Jiang Ning nodded, "It's about 60 to 70% cheaper. Ordinary people can still afford it if they grit their teeth. If you are too poor, it won't work. Because those families survived this earth dragon's overturn, the government office built Guanliang Your Excellency specially brought someone to inspect it and thought that the structure of the house was stable and stronger than ordinary houses.

Mr. Ji was also frightened, so he immediately came to the door. There were only a few brick kilns in the villa, but now there are more than ten times as many. They are firing day and night, just to build the wall on the east side of the city. "

Dekangfu was sincere and asked: "Master Marquis, I have to ask, how do you sell these bricks and tiles in your house?"

Jiang Ning looked magnanimous. He did not participate in the specific negotiation. He only knew that the initial cost of rebuilding four thousand residential houses in the north of the city was 100,000 taels.

Dekang was not sure whether the price was expensive or not, but everyone was thinking about it.

After the carriage entered the city, the emperor abandoned the carriage and drove away. He saw that the people hawking along the way looked good, their clothes were patched normally, and there were no beggars on both sides of the street. His face finally looked better.

The emperor found a wonton stall and sat down.

Seeing so many people, the vendor smiled so hard that his face almost broke. He warmly greeted us: "What do you guys want to eat?"

The emperor sat down gracefully and said slowly: "You can have anything you want."

“Okay! I’ll cook a few bowls of our signature seafood wontons for you guys.” The vendor moved quickly.

Soon after the wontons came, the emperor took the opportunity to ask: "Brother, are you a local?"

“Yes!” said the vendor.

The emperor continued to ask, "Did you also encounter the Earth Dragon's transformation not long ago?"

The vendor's joyful expression gradually faded, and his face became a bit sad, "The guest saw that he was from out of town. We have just suffered a disaster here. Every household has died. There are very few survivors in the area where we live. , my father and mother were killed in the earth dragon’s rollover, and my mother-in-law’s legs were crushed and disabled while trying to protect the child. Now the whole family is living at my wonton stand.”

The emperor glared at Ji Wuya angrily, and when he looked at the street vendor again, he regained his gentle look, "Then where do you and your family live now? Can you survive?"