Chapter 1 Going south to control floods (1)

"Really! What on earth is going on?"

"Yes, why did Prince Xiang ask himself to go to Anzhou to supervise the flood control? It doesn't make sense that he just left the great court without doing anything!"

After the court dispersed in the morning, the courtiers filed out, seemingly going their own way, but they were all talking about it, and for a while there was some noise outside the Xuanzheng Palace.

"I didn't mean this..."

"Otherwise which one?"

"I mean, the method of controlling water... is really amazing. I didn't expect that King Xiang was so talented that he could come up with a way to open a flood diversion channel and set up multiple gates along the way. First, it weakens the water potential. Second, it can irrigate shipping. Third, it can improve the soil and increase crop yields. Key points.Yes, this plan only costs one year to build the embankment, but it can last for hundreds of years. This is a blessing for our Dongxu Dynasty!Although it cannot solve the fundamental problem, the sediment in the Rong River will eventually change its course, but that will be hundreds of years later."

"The method is wonderful, but water control cannot be accomplished in a day. Prince Xiang has chosen to stay away from the court at this moment. Isn't this... this... the same as cutting off his limbs? It was not easy to defeat Prince Ping..."

"Ahem. Sir, be careful what you say."

"Yes..." The speaker looked around carefully, "It is said that Zuo Cheng Gao Zhan was forced to resign and return to his hometown. You are still so cautious..."

"As long as Prince Ping is still around, the Gao family may make a comeback at any time. What's more, Gao Zhan resigned by himself, not by being stripped of his official position. Although Prince Ping is far away in the northeast, he is still a prince."

"According to what your Excellency said, the position of the East Palace is still vacant. We finally invited King Ping away, but now King Xiang invites himself to Anzhou... What's the reason?"

"Maybe to take credit? Maybe to avoid suspicion?"

"Tsk, even if this method of controlling water is really wonderful, it is not easy to see the results immediately. If you want to ask for this credit, it is time-consuming and may not be worth the gain."

"Well...that's just to avoid suspicion."

"Why avoid suspicion?" The person who asked the question looked confused.

The man glanced at this man and said, "Do you know how Ping Wang's faction was defeated in one pot?"

"Didn't Prince Ping's mother, Concubine Shu, and Imperial Counselor Zhao Quan join forces to seek the throne? So Zuo Cheng resigned on his own initiative in order to clear himself. Prince Ping was angrily and caused trouble for Princess Xiang, so he was expelled to the northeast..."

"Don't understand yet?"

"I don't understand."

"Who sued Zhao Quan?"

"She is the current Princess Xiang...so she wants to avoid suspicion? Why?"

"I don't know that either."

Huh?Still can't explain clearly?

"When Princess Xiang made the imperial complaint, she told His Majesty in person behind closed doors. Who knows what she actually said to His Majesty? We only saw the result. Maybe there was some hidden secret in it, which is why Prince Xiang had to invite himself to Anzhou to stay away from the court..." The man's voice became lower and lower as he spoke, and in the end he simply stopped talking and waved to the man, "Let's go, I still have an appointment today."

Mentioning the case of the execution of the Imperial Preceptor Zhao Quan always makes people feel chilly. Why was the Imperial Preceptor convicted of deceiving the emperor and disrupting the imperial court?Those who are aware of it are cryptic, while those who are not aware of it can't help but speculate. In the final analysis, the case of the Imperial Master is a mystery that no one can figure out.

I couldn't figure it out, so I just touched it, lest I don't know how I died one day...

The person who spoke hurriedly left, and the person who asked the question also rubbed his nose and walked away quickly. This scene can be said to have been played out again and again outside the Xuanzheng Palace today.

On a June day, the garden is filled with the fragrance of lotus flowers.

Compared to the hustle and bustle outside the Xuanzheng Hall in the early morning, the two people in the Lotus Pavilion seemed to be in a relaxed mood.

However, it was just an appearance. Compared with the ministers in the DPRK who didn't know the reason, these two people who knew everything well had a little more uneasiness, impatience, and even anxiety in their eyes, which they couldn't hide no matter how hard they tried.

"I heard the news from the cold palace. Concubine Shu always yells that Princess Xiang is a witch. Everyone says she is crazy. What does father think?"

The elder snorted softly, glanced at his daughter, and said deliberately: "How can a daughter of a small county magistrate in Luozhou Lingcheng become such a big deal? It just so happened that the emperor wanted to take the opportunity to oust the Gao clan, so he had better luck for a while."

When the woman heard this, she shook her head and said matter-of-factly: "My daughter doesn't think it's just luck. This Princess Xiang is smart and astute, and she can be said to be careful at every step, and she knows all the tricks."

The elder coughed a few more times, picked up the tea on the stone table and took a sip, "No matter how hard we try, her fate of being born with a phoenix life will always be a fatal flaw. Others don't know it, but we know it clearly. The emperor is jealous of her now, and he will only be more jealous in the future. This is very detrimental to Prince Xiang."

"No matter how unfavorable it is, looking at the court, besides him, who else has the qualifications and ability to take over the East Palace?"

"You will think so, the emperor will think so, and everyone in the world will think so. Tell me, how could Prince Xiang not invite himself to Anzhou for refuge?"

"But no matter how much we avoid it, it's only for a while. The position of the prince cannot remain vacant forever. Now that the overall situation has been decided, we should make plans, father."

The elder raised his eyebrows, "Are you sure the overall situation has been decided?"

"My daughter doesn't want to wait any longer. My daughter has waited long enough."

"Silly boy, Princess Xiang is born with a very precious destiny. Before Prince Xiang takes over the East Palace, the Qin family will not take the risk of losing her easily..." Even if she wants to give up, she has to wait until the day when she can secure the position of crown prince or the throne.

"My daughter is willing to be a concubine."

"Are you willing to always be second to her?"

"...Yes."

"Do you believe this? I don't."

"Father..."

"I don't believe it, the Qin family and Prince Xiang don't believe it, and it's even impossible for Princess Xiang to believe it. So, do you think you can marry Prince Xiang easily?"

"What does father think?"

"I'm going to figure it out slowly and be cautious. Don't forget that she is a witch. Concubine Shu is not crazy. You know this and I know..."

As the saying goes, there is no wind without fire, and the reason why the witch is called a witch is naturally not to be taken lightly...

In short, be careful when sailing.

Le Zhengchen had just come out of the Imperial Study Room when he saw Ru Lan, the maid in charge of the concubine's side, not far away. It must have been spread to his mother's concubine's ears about the water control mentioned in the court earlier, so she specially asked him to come over and give her advice.

Sure enough, as soon as the palace maid saw him, she walked towards him quickly——?

"See His Royal Highness Prince Xiang, Concubine Min has invited you."

Le Zhengchen glanced at her. In the past, he might have used an excuse to ignore her, but he had already decided to go to Anzhou to control the water, so a trip would be considered a farewell. Thinking about it, he had no intention of refusing.

At the same time, in Lehua Palace, Concubine Min was already waiting impatiently. She couldn't even take a nap for a while, and all she could think about was what happened at court today.

You Cheng Zhongshu ordered Qin Shilian, her brother, to come to the palace to find her after the court today, because of the water control issue that caused all the officials to quarrel.

Speaking of which, it was not unusual. There were always noisy things in the court, but flood control was a major undertaking, which not only cost people and money, but also spent a lot of money over the years with no results. That silly Chen'er of her family actually wanted to send it to the knife's mouth. How could she not be worried?

"Mother concubine."

Le Zhengchen's greeting made Concubine Min, who was standing by the window, turn around. When she saw her son, she hurriedly stepped forward and held his hand tightly, "What's going on? Why did you suddenly ask yourself to go to Anzhou to control the water? You just returned to the capital from Luozhou with great difficulty, and you asked yourself to be released on your first day in court. What are you thinking in your head?"

Prince Ping's faction has been entangled with them for many years. Now they finally managed to expel the Gao family from the court through the case of Zhao Quan, the national counselor. Prince Ping was exiled to the Northeast. Prince Ping's mother Shu Guifei was relegated to the cold palace. Prince Ping's grandfather Zuo Cheng Gao Zhan also resigned and returned to his hometown. Isn't this the time for his son to show off his talents in the court?But he was going to the south to do the thankless flood control work that Lao Shizi did.

If it were easy to control water and build canals, that would be fine, but it was a laborious task that cost people and money and was difficult to achieve results. Not to mention getting no credit, if a natural disaster really happened and made the emperor angry, he would get angry.

"Mother, please don't forget one thing."

"What's the matter?"

"The Gao family got into trouble because they joined forces with the Imperial Preceptor Zhao Quan to seek the throne, and the culprit was because of the Preceptor's prophecy that he would be born with a phoenix." If not for this prophecy, King Ping would not have tried every means to marry Zhu Yanwu, and there would not have been the subsequent fight between the two kings for a daughter.