Chapter 42: Hey! Do I have to save this nephew? (2 / 2)
Echoes of My Heart Throughout the Court
ãSob sob sobâ¦ã
ãThe commoners are so pitiful.ã
ãThankfully, the Young Princeâs uncle is a good person, even if the Young Princeâs character is lacking.ã
The officials: ââ¦â
Apologies, they tried to maintain a serious expression, but Xu Yanmiaoâs inner monologue was too out of place.
Ji Sui took a deep breath again.
Forget it, letâs focus on pleading for his nephew first.
He tried to bring the atmosphere back on track: âYour Majesty, before my departure this time, the Young Prince took money from his private treasury and entrusted me to purchase grain along the way to distribute to the disaster areas. The disaster victims were deeply moved by Your Majestyâs and the Young Princeâs benevolenceâ¦â
ãHuh? Thatâs not true, is it? The people mostly thanked the local officials for promptly reporting the disaster, opening granaries to provide relief, and for Ji Sui persuading wealthy landowners to donate grain. That little contribution from the Young Prince was nothing. His mother told him to donate 3,000 taels, and he secretly withheld 500 taels himself.ã
Ji Sui: â???â
He truly didnât know about this. He genuinely thought his eldest nephew had scraped together 2,500 taels!
What does the royal family lack? Food or clothing? And yet you still pocketed those 500 taels!
The officials: âAh, wellâ¦â
Initially, they were ready to chime inâafter all, it was clear the Emperor was inclined to release the Young Prince from prison, so they wanted to tactfully praise the Young Prince and collectively request the Emperor to forgive his youthful recklessness.
But nowâ¦
They glanced at the Emperorâs expression, torn.
Do we still build the steps for this to work?
Only Ji Sui remained struggling for his nephewâs sake.
ââIf pleading credit for his nephew was off the table, could he at least use his own achievements to ask for the Emperorâs mercy?
âOn this trip to supervise disaster relief, I was merely fulfilling my duty. To have the good fortune of being acknowledged by Your Majesty and receiving the love of the commonersâ¦â
ãTskâã@@novelbin@@
Xu Yanmiao picked up the reins of his mental âpolitical power analysis,â his imagination running wild.
ââThis is just my guess, but let me speculate boldly!
ãTruly worthy of the male lead archetype! I knew it! How could a high-ranking and powerful protagonist not seek further advancementâlike being granted immunity from bowing in court, personal visits from the Emperor, or being allowed to carry a sword into the palace?ã
ãThis is his subtle way of saying, âThe people are behind me! If you recognize my achievements, great; if not, I still have the support of the people!âã
Stop spouting nonsense!
Ji Suiâs fingers trembled slightly.
âOf course, the people know that their survival this time is entirely due to Your Majestyâs wisdom. Without Your Majestyâs care for the realm, ordering the Ministry of Revenue to dispatch relief grain at the fastest speed and exempting taxes in the affected areas, the lands of Guixi, Yongfeng, and Xingâan would have been strewn with corpses before my arrivalâ¦â
Xu Yanmiao nodded solemnly.
ãScared now? If you donât grant me the treatment I deserve, your Imperial Envoy for Disaster Relief might let your lands rot in famine! Old man! You wouldnât want that to happen, would you?ã
The Emperorâs mouth twitched. He wanted to tell Xu Yanmiao: stop it. If you keep going, Ji Sui will kneel and beg for punishment.
Ji Sui is just trying to save his wayward nephew!
Ji Sui doesnât deserve this!
ââOf course, the Emperor didnât believe Xu Yanmiaoâs ramblings. This guy was clearly amusing himself, drawing inspiration from too many novels.
Ji Sui pressed on: âAlthough the Young Prince donated 3,000 taels and kept 500 for himself, he is still youngâa mere childâ¦â
The officials looked at him with sympathy.
This was the mighty Ji Gong? Beaten down by Xu Yanmiaoâs nonsense to the point of losing his eloquence and resorting to ridiculous lines like âHeâs still a childâ?
Xu Yanmiao mentally recited: ãHeâs still a child! So thereâs absolutely no reason to let him off!ã
YouâSHUTâUP!
Ji Sui clenched his fists tightly.
âYour Majesty! I humbly believe that the Young Prince, despite his youth, has shown a willingness to share the burden of the realm. While his actions may sometimes be reckless, his intentions are good. Itâs simply that heâs young and lacks understanding of the gravity of certain matters. At this moment, he needs a strict mentor to guide him onto the right path! I plead with Your Majesty to assign a great teacher to rigorously educate him rather than resorting solely to punishmentâ¦â
Enoughâ¦
Ji Sui closed his eyes in despair.
What on earth was he even saying anymore?
At this moment, Ji Sui felt like a student writing an essay, wildly digressing mid-way and desperately trying to tie it back together at the endâa hapless victim of his own making.
Quan Yizhang, watching his quick-witted opponent, who had argued with him for three days straight, now looking utterly defeated by Xu Yanmiaoâs antics, couldnât help but recall Prime Minister Douâs wordsâ¦
âWelcome, sir, to this hall.â
ââWelcome to the new world.
Is this new world truly inescapable?
At the same time, Ji Sui thoughtâ¦
Is saving this nephew truly unavoidable?