In the Imperial Study

Emperor Jing held a brush in his hand, staring at the memorial before him, hesitating to move.

Various thoughts churned in his mind.

According to the reports from the internal guards and Nie Zheng, the Crown Prince should have returned long ago.

But until now, there had been no news of the Crown Prince.

Emperor Jing already knew that Li Yuanzhao was hiding in Jianjiang City, most likely hanging around with Fang Zheng.

And with Nie Zheng guarding him, there should be no need to worry.

But as time passed, Emperor Jing began to have doubts.

The feeling of unease grew stronger.

The Crown Prince had been gone for too long this time.

For some reason, the image of Li Yuanzhao’s face kept flashing through Emperor Jing’s mind.

Guo Tianyang watched Emperor Jing staring blankly and sighed inwardly, already guessing most of the situation.

Seeing that the tea by Emperor Jing’s side had been left for a long time, he immediately replaced it with a fresh cup of hot tea.

After a long while, Emperor Jing put down his brush and sighed.

“I will go south.”

“Huh?”

Guo Tianyang was dumbfounded!

Go south! It’s such a long journey, taking over ten days. What’s there to go south for?

The Crown Prince had been led astray, and now His Majesty was going astray too?

Emperor Jing glared at Guo Tianyang: “What do you mean ‘huh’? I said I will go south!”

Guo Tianyang’s throat tightened as he asked: “Your Majesty, why? If you leave, how will the court function without its leader?”

Emperor Jing was silent for a moment: “The country is not at war. Other matters can be handled by the Cabinet.”

“Of the three prefectures, I trust Fang Zheng with Jianjiang, but the other two places cannot be neglected.”

“Yang Yingcai has a point. If local mismanagement leads to civil unrest, it would be my fault.”

“The Crown Prince’s false edict is a matter of the royal family’s face. If the new method of disaster relief fails, how can I face our ancestors?”

“This trip must be made by me personally. Go make preparations in advance.”

Good reasons.

Since you’ve said all that, what more can I say?

Guo Tianyang really didn’t want to go through the trouble.

He was old, and even sitting in a carriage was uncomfortable. A trip like this felt like it could shake his bones apart.

The Emperor missed his son, what could be done?

Guo Tianyang bowed and said: “Does Your Majesty need this servant to inform the Cabinet?”

Having made the decision, his thoughts became clearer.

Emperor Jing picked up his brush and continued reviewing memorials, not looking up as he said: “Go ahead.”

…

After Guo Tianyang informed the Cabinet, surprisingly, the ministers didn’t argue.

They all nodded in agreement with tacit understanding.

Li Yansong sighed and asked: “How is… His Majesty’s mood?”

Guo Tianyang smacked his lips, thought for a moment, and said: “Average.”

Li Yansong immediately asked another question: “The Crown Prince hasn’t been seen for a long time. Where is he?”

Guo Tianyang smiled slightly: “His Highness is not in the capital.”

The ministers sighed and shook their heads.

No doubt about it, he must be fooling around with Fang Zheng, and couldn’t be brought back.

So His Majesty was either going to personally supervise the disaster relief situation or to find the Crown Prince.

Li Yansong carefully asked: “Is he with Fang Zheng?”

Seeing that the matter was out in the open, Guo Tianyang didn’t hold back anymore.

“I don’t know, but where else could he be besides with your nephew? In the capital, His Highness was with him every day.”

Then he leaned close to Li Yansong’s ear: “Minister Li, your nephew is too bold. Please keep a closer eye on him in the future.”

“Don’t let this lawless nature corrupt the Crown Prince.”

“I……”

Li Yansong’s mouth gaped open as he stared at Guo Tianyang in shock, then angrily said: “What! Are we still not over this? How many times do I have to say it, I’m not his uncle!”

Unexpectedly, Guo Tianyang had already walked away before Li Yansong finished speaking. As he left, he turned back with a wink and a sly smile: “I understand!”

Thud! Li Yansong’s head hit the table hard.

“What a curse!!!”

“Hey! Minister Li, don’t do anything rash! Whatever it is, we can talk it out.” Zheng Qiao quickly jumped up from his seat to hold Li Yansong back.

Li Yansong raised his head, looked at Zhang Dongxiang and Zheng Qiao with a blank expression, and said: “You two are his second and third uncles. Why mention only me?”

“Ah, this… Minister Li, you’re confused! You should rest for a while.”

Li Yansong rubbed his forehead and sighed: “I’m not confused! Let’s talk about the important matters. With His Majesty gone, it’ll be at least a month before he returns. We need someone to accompany him!”

“I won’t go. I feel sick just seeing Fang Zheng! Tui!”

Zheng Qiao said worriedly: “His Majesty will be gone for a month. Will that be alright?”

Li Yansong waved his hand: “It’s fine. There’s nothing major happening now. Even the biggest issue can’t be bigger than the royal family’s face.”

“If the work-relief program really fails, what will His Majesty do? How will he face the court officials?”

Zheng Qiao thought for a moment: “Then I’ll accompany His Majesty on this trip.”

“Alright, second uncle!”

Zheng Qiao’s face immediately fell. He glanced sideways to see Zhang Dongxiang chuckling beside him.

Zheng Qiao glared at him hatefully: “Stop fooling around!”

…

The Emperor’s southern tour was no small matter.

Fortunately, many people were of the same mind, and this trip was extremely smooth.

After just a few days of preparation, they set off in grand fashion.

Besides the accompanying ministers, countless imperial guards went ahead to scout the route.

The preparations were very thorough, but the large group undoubtedly slowed down the speed.

After a full twenty days, the Emperor arrived at Yunlu Prefecture.

Yunlu Prefecture bordered Jianjiang. When Emperor Jing’s entourage was still some distance from the city, the Prefect of Yunlu led a group of people out of the city to welcome them.

Clearly, the situation was urgent. The Prefect and Deputy Prefect of Yunlu knelt on the ground, panting.

“Your subject, Du Shun, Prefect of Yunlu Prefecture, pays respects to Your Majesty!”

Emperor Jing’s face was expressionless as he said flatly: “Rise.”

The scenes of disaster victims along the way had been heart-wrenching, and Emperor Jing had been carrying a sense of anger.

Emperor Jing stepped down from the carriage and slowly said: “We’re not far from the city now, are we?”

Du Shun was sweating coldly.

He complained inwardly: There was no notice! How could His Majesty suddenly make a private visit! If the subordinates hadn’t spotted him, who knows what trouble we might have gotten into today!

He said softly: “In response to Your Majesty, it’s not far. Just about two cups of tea’s worth of walking.”

“Mm, good. Then I’ll walk for a bit.”

“All of you, keep the disturbance to a minimum and spread out! Don’t disturb the common people!”

Emperor Jing walked in front of Du Shun, heading towards Yunlu City.

He constantly observed the surrounding environment along the way.

At the same time, he asked: “How is the disaster situation being handled in Yunlu Prefecture?”

Du Shun replied: “In response to Your Majesty, everything is going well now. We are carrying out orderly disaster relief.”

“The influx of disaster victims to Yunlu City has already stopped and is no longer increasing.”

“There are forty-eight disaster relief soup kitchens set up in the city, serving two meals a day, which can fill the people’s stomachs.”

“Uh… the granaries… I have already ordered heavy guards for the granaries! Anyone who dares to embezzle grain will be beheaded. There will absolutely be no problems!”

“For the work-relief program, we have already allocated some silver to start renovating the government offices.”

“Roads, dams… are also being planned and constructed.”

Emperor Jing didn’t speak, his expression revealing nothing, which made Du Shun increasingly nervous.

Without realizing it, the group had already walked to the soup kitchens outside the city…