Prince, Do You Still Need a Prisoner

When Ruan Xiaonuan was about to leave, those people sent him off for a long time. When she walked out of the alley and saw the bustling scene in the capital, she could not help but ask, "Mo Yan, was there such a situation in the past?"

Mo Yan shook his head and said to her, "In the past, there would be floods as well, but very quickly, there would be money for disaster relief.

Ruan Xiaonuan nodded silently, and then said with a heavy expression, "Let's return to the Duke's Palace first. There's no need to tell the Duke about today's matters."

When Gu Junxiu came back to eat, he saw that was frowning and couldn't help but ask, "What happened?"

"There was another flood in the northern and southern provinces, and many people were displaced." Gu Junxiu said succinctly.

She thought of the victims she had seen during the day and quickly told him about it, concealing the fact that she had bought them buns. When he finished, his frown deepened.

On the second day, before the sky brightened, Gu Junxiu had already gone to the imperial court. Gu Qingcheng's expression did not look any better, as he asked without a trace of a smile on his face, "Does anyone from the love letter have any effective methods?"

If a disaster were to befall, they would think it was the king's heartlessness. If Gu Qingcheng did not settle this matter well, he, the Emperor, would not have been able to remain calm. But after he asked that question, the entire hall was completely silent. No one dared to step out.

Gu Qingcheng faintly sighed, and said in a powerless voice, "Open the national treasury, and distribute the silver for disaster relief."

But before he could finish, Minister of Revenue, Sir Chen stepped forward. "Your Majesty, the treasury is not full. If we were to use it all for disaster relief, we would have to save money."

Although the Xiyue Kingdom was one of the top great nations, the national treasury was never considered rich, so when it came to natural and man-made disasters, it was especially difficult. However, there was no other way now, so Gu Qingcheng could only say, "From today onwards, all of the palace's expenditures will be reduced, and all the excess silver will be used as relief efforts."

As soon as he finished speaking, the Minister knelt down and shouted loudly, "Your Majesty is wise!"

Ruan Xiaonuan did not stay idle either. She came to the Wang Jiang Restaurant very early on in the morning to check on the number of things they had done. Perhaps it was because the news of yesterday's incident had leaked out, but there were more victims today. She felt that it was better to let Mo Yan return to the Wang Jiang Restaurant and let them do more.

"Miss, didn't we earn a lot of money by having Wang Jiang Restaurant give us these things everyday?" Zi Juan asked in confusion.

Because in her eyes, Ruan Xiaonuan was someone who loved money. Now, she was taking the initiative to take it out to help others out.

"I earned money for my own use. Right now, I'm only using it. Besides, there's only a few steamed buns every day, so it doesn't cost much." Ruan Xiaonuan said as she walked.

After a short while, they arrived at the prince's mansion. Seeing Xiao Qi outside, they curiously asked, "Why aren't you by his side?"

"The prince is alone in the study, he doesn't want anyone to disturb him." Xiao Qi said in distress. He was chased out just like that, and was even seen by someone else.

Ruan Xiaonuan headed straight for the study room. Seeing that Gu Junxiu was continuously flipping through the books, she could not help but ask, "Ah Xiu, are you hungry?"

Gu Junxiu's stern face did not have a trace of a smile on it, he shook his head and said, "I'm not hungry, you go rest."

Ruan Xiaonuan randomly picked up the book on the floor and saw that practically all the books were about how to deal with the flood. Realizing that Gu Junxiu must have no other choice, she turned to these books for help. She could not help but say, "Ah Xiu, tell me about the terrain of those two provinces."

He looked at her doubtfully, but he opened his mouth and said, "The terrain of the Jiangbei Province is rather low, and it borders on a large river. Thus, every year at this time, it's very easy for there to be floods."

Ruan Xiaonuan calculated the time. It was the rainy season right now, and the rivers were flooding in, so it was inevitable for there to be a flood. After some thought, she continued to ask, "If we go through winter or spring, will there be another drought?"

Gu Junxiu nodded in surprise and said, "Because of the drought in winter and spring and the flood in summer and autumn, these two provinces are not rich, and the annual taxes are often not paid, so the population is very small."

Ruan Xiaonuan said in a low voice. It was a pity that their land was initially fertile, but now it was almost barren.

"Have you thought of something?" When Gu Junxiu saw the expression on her face, he asked suddenly.

Ruan Xiaonuan thought for a while, then asked, "Have you heard of the dam?"

Gu Junxiu shook his head and asked, "What is a dam?"

"It's something that can store and release water." Ruan Xiaonuan explained with a simple and easy to understand sentence.

Unexpectedly, Gu Junxiu immediately understood what she meant. Since there were too many rivers in summer and autumn, it was not enough in winter and spring. You can save it and release it when you need it.

Ruan Xiaonuan looked at the figure outside meaningfully, but by the time she finished speaking, she was already gone.

Chu Ying hurriedly returned to her living quarters. Looking at the sky outside, it was almost dark. She sensed that and said, "Yu Er, we will enter the palace immediately."

Yu Er didn't know what was going on with her, but she didn't dare ask and helped her dress up carefully. Not long after, Chu Ying rode on the carriage and left the Duke Palace, rushing straight for Tzu Ning Palace.

When the empress dowager saw her, she asked without much enthusiasm, "Why are you coming to the palace so late at night?"

"Esteemed Empress Dowager, I've heard that you've been worrying about the water calamity lately. This servant has a way, I wonder if the empress dowager would like to hear about it?" Chu Ying said with a smile on his lips.

As long as she offered a reward first, everyone would know that she had done well. This would explain why she would ask His Majesty for a reward. When she thought of this, her attitude became even more solicitous, and she waited for the Empress Dowager to nod.

"Tell me about it." Her Majesty was still very cold, but she was willing to listen to her.

Chu Ying happily told everything she had heard in the study room without saying a word. They fell into a short silence before Gui mama was the first to speak, "Esteemed Empress Dowager, this servant thinks that this plan will work."

The empress dowager had been the empress dowager in power back then, so she could tell at a glance whether these things were good or bad. With regards to Chu Ying's method, her thoughts were the same as the Gui mama's.

"Return to the Duke's Mansion and I will go see my son. If it's really useful, it won't lose out to you." The Empress Dowager's words seemed to give Chu Ying a peace of mind.

She had a smile on her face and quickly left the Tzu Ning Palace. Thinking about how she wouldn't need to look at Ruan Xiaonuan's expression in the future, she quickened her footsteps.