frightfiction Chapter 569 I'm afraid it's all, wanting to refuse but also wanting to accept
Chapter 569 I'm afraid it's all, wanting to refuse but also wanting to accept
Xiao Yan'an also stretched out his hand and caught a snowflake. "I grew up in Huaiyang and have never seen snow. It was only after I came to the imperial capital that I saw what snow looks like. I heard from them that the snow in the imperial capital came later this year. This is the first snow in the imperial capital this year."
"Prince, when you saw that the dead person was Ji Qingyuan, you didn't seem surprised at all. Could it be that you had already guessed that the dead person was her?"
"I knew it as soon as you entered the imperial capital. I also knew you entered the palace. Later, I also got the news when you took Ji Qingyuan out of the palace." Xiao Yan'an spoke slowly. He looked at Ji Chuhe with pity in his eyes.
"Madam, I know you have something to deal with, so You'er and I will wait for you to come back in the mansion."
Ji Chuhe was very pleased.
She had always known that Xiao Yan'an had been secretly making friends with some people in the imperial capital. This time, he was able to accurately grasp her movements and know her news. This showed that what he said about being able to protect her was not a lie.
After walking a few steps forward, I suddenly heard a noise.
Xiao Yan'an immediately became alert and protected Ji Chuhe behind him.
After the light from the lantern illuminated the situation, they discovered that it was a haystack with a few half-grown children huddled in it. It was winter and they were still wearing thin clothes, huddling together for warmth.
But even so, they were still shivering with cold.
These children looked at Ji Chuhe and Xiao Yanan with their big dark eyes, their eyes showing the immaturity of being ignorant of the world, as well as fragility and helplessness.
"Whose children are you? Why are you here so late at night?" Xiao Yan'an couldn't help but ask.
"We, we have no home." A slightly older child responded.
"Where are your parents?"
"They are all gone." The child's eyes dimmed.
"Do you know where the shop in the Prince's Mansion is?" Ji Chuhe suddenly asked.
"I know." Several children nodded in unison.
Ji Chuhe took off his cloak and handed it to the children.
He also gave them the hot water bottle in his hand.
"Tomorrow morning, you will go to the shop in the Prince's Mansion and tell them that the Prince's wife asked you to do a job within your ability. From now on, you will stay there temporarily."
"Thank you, ma'am!" Several children hurriedly stood up and kowtowed.
"No need to thank me. If you move, this haystack will collapse and we won't be able to keep out the cold." Ji Chuhe hurriedly stopped them.
The children immediately snuggled together obediently.
Xiao Yanan quickly took off his cloak and put it on Ji Chuhe, "Madam, it's too cold, let's go back to the carriage."
"Ah."
After getting on the carriage, Xiao Yan'an immediately pulled open the fire baffle of the charcoal brazier to let the fire start quickly.
Soon the carriage became warm.
"From what happened to those children, we can tell how bad the situation in Da Xia is right now. This is still the imperial capital. I wonder what those county towns that were not rich to begin with are like now." Xiao Yan'an couldn't help but speak.
"The conditions in the warmer county towns in the south are better. They just can't fill their stomachs, but they haven't to endure the cold. The conditions in the north are even worse. Naturally, they don't have enough food to eat and clothes to wear. Even if they freeze to death in this snowy night, so what? It's just a few more nameless corpses." Ji Chuhe had just returned from the north and saw it with his own eyes.
"If it was a better year, these homeless children might be noticed by human traffickers and sold to some mansion. At the very least, they would have food to eat and a place to stay, and wouldn't freeze or starve to death. Now, human traffickers don't even look at these children, and they're afraid that they can't sell them." Xiao Yan'an couldn't help but complain.
"Over the years, the emperor has always emphasized that only by strengthening the army and weakening the people can the country be strong. I just want to ask, with this result, how strong can the country be? The people can't survive, so who will support the army that the emperor has raised?"
"Fortunately, Huaiyang has carried out reforms, and the people's lives have become better. However, the grain that the emperor asked my father to hand over has also put my father under great pressure to breathe."
Ji Chuhe suddenly spoke up, "Sir, speaking of grain, did the Minister of Agriculture go to Huaiyang?"
"Yes, the Minister of Agriculture wants to test a kind of rice seed in Huaiyang. If the test is successful, it can greatly increase the grain yield. The test area is over at Yunze Mountain."
"That's great." Ji Chuhe was very happy to hear the news.
"If Daxia can be like Huaiyang, within three years, the people will no longer have to endure hunger!"
"Prince, as long as you have this idea, I believe that Daxia will become what we expect sooner or later."
Xiao Yan'an understood the deep meaning of Ji Chuhe's words. He didn't say anything, but just nodded solemnly.
"Madam, have you received any information from the Hu bandits during the days you were outside?" Xiao Yan'an suddenly thought of this. Moreover, he found that Ming'er was missing, and guessed that Madam must have made some arrangements.
"Yes, I received the information." Ji Chuhe told Xiao Yan'an the information he had received in detail.
"Although the Emperor and my fourth uncle will take measures, I also want to try my own method. Maybe, sometimes, the methods used by the harem can play a key role."
"Yeah." Xiao Yan'an agreed with this statement.
He didn't believe in any tricks of the harem, he believed in Ji Chuhe's ability.
……
The queen was getting ready to go to bed when her personal maid came to her side.
"My queen, the news has been sent to the eunuch. Shen Chengjing is dead, and Ji Qingyuan is also dead."
Ji Qingyuan’s death could not be hidden from the Queen.
However, Shen Chengjing's death shocked the queen very much!
She secretly cooperated with Shen Chengjing, and wanted to take advantage of the fact that Shen Chengjing was a reborn person to make him work for the third prince!
"How could he die so easily? Who killed him?"
"Your Highness, according to Eunuch Chao, Ji Chuhe killed them all."
"Ji Chuhe?" The Queen couldn't believe it. "She is so bold that she dares to do this in front of the Emperor? Isn't she afraid that the Emperor will punish her?"
After saying that, the queen couldn't help but chuckle, "What is she afraid of? Isn't she just relying on the emperor's favor to be spoiled? She knew the emperor's feelings for her, but she still came to me hypocritically, seemingly not wanting to have anything to do with the emperor, and then she turned around and killed Shen Chengjing to test the emperor's mind."
"Ji Chuhe, Ji Chuhe, don't I know how many schemes and tricks you have? I'm afraid that you are trying to please the emperor by doing this!"
There was a barely perceptible bitterness in the queen's tone.
I have to admit that the emperor was indeed too indulgent towards Ji Chuhe!
However, Ji Chuhe could never have imagined that Chao Sihai was actually her man?
Otherwise, how could she have killed Concubine Cao and still gotten away with it?
Even if the Queen Mother massacred the harem and eliminated all her forces, it would be impossible to find out that she was the one who did it.
Because the person who actually took action was arranged by Chao Sihai.
Thinking of this, the queen showed a smug smile.