Chapter 647: Throwing Bricks to Attract Jade

Translator: Atlas Studios    Editor: Atlas Studios

The emperor was just throwing bricks to attract jade. His cousin was this “brick”, and the Xie Residence was the “jade’! behind it.

Yu Youyao had been conferred the title of county lord, and the Xie family was the first to bear the brunt. On the other hand, the Xie family had a rich foundation and was very prestigious in the business world. If the Xie family generously contributed, would the other businesses dare to cover up?

The rankings from highest to lowest included scholars, farmers, businessmen, and merchants. Once they angered the Imperial Court, they could casually pick on a mistake in tax evasion and smuggling. It would be easy to confiscate their houses and exterminate their families.

Even if they had money, they had to live to enjoy it.

Old Madam Yu glanced at the bright yellow imperial decree with a mocking expression. “Every imperial decree issued by the emperor has to go through a complicated process. There are dozens or even hundreds of steps. In each step, there will be relevant people who will carry out the craftsmanship, supervision, and inspection. After confirming that there are no mistakes, they will be secretly sent to the next step. Every imperial decree will take at least three to five days, and at most more than ten days to complete.” At this point, even her voice was filled with sarcasm. “It’s only been a few days since the Flower Festival at Duke Rongs Residence, but the imperial decree has already arrived at our house.’

In order to prevent anyone from falsely passing down an imperial edict, there was a complicated craftsmanship segment. The segments were multiplied, refined, and differentiated, preventing the possibility of exploiting loopholes.

If someone wanted to forge something, it was impossible for them to forge dozens or hundreds at the same time. If they wanted to bribe people, it was impossible for them to buy over hundreds at the same time.

The first word of the imperial edict had to be investigated for its auspiciousness a day in advance before it was confirmed.

As there were so many segments, an imperial edict would take a lot of time.

Therefore, the emperor’s imperial decree was issued after careful consideration. If there was an emergency, it would be oral first and the imperial decree would definitely not be prepared in advance.

It was obvious that the emperor had been coveting Yao Yao’s money for a long time. The imperial edict had been prepared long ago and would be issued when the time was right. The Flower Festival at Duke Rongs Residence was a good reason.

Yu Youyao had also thought of this, so she said, “County Lord Shaoyi. The word ‘yi’ was derived from a similar word that means exemplary. According to Zhou Shu’s posthumous law, ‘softness is exemplary, gentleness and kindness is exemplary. Being an exemplar means to follow the virtues for a long time. If you’re dedicated to it, you can last for a long time. If you’re dedicated to it, you can be beautiful after a long time. Therefore, the person who is an exemplar is pure and virtuous. Regardless of whether you are poor or rich, you’ll definitely be able to reach it. It means virtue, kindness, and beauty.”

However, being called an exemplar carried too much weight. She shouldn’t be given a name with that meaning, so it should be changed to “yi” which means being gracious. Although the words were different, the meaning was similar. Not only was she rich in good karma, but she also had a good etiquette!

It was beautiful!

Even if the dog emperor was scheming against someone, he would still do his best.

The atmosphere was a little heavy…

Zhou Linghuai glanced at Yu Youyao. “According to the Five Grains, the winter wheat that has suffered a drought would not become food. At this time, there’s no harvest. The commoners can still fill their stomachs with wild vegetables.”

As soon as he spoke, Yu Youyao and Old Madam Yu’s expressions turned very solemn.

Zhou Linghuai continued, “The rice and millet are all planted in March and April. The heavens have never rained. In two days, it will be the summer solstice. When the rice reaches the summer solstice, even if it’s forced to be planted, it won’t grow. Now, we’ve already missed the planting season. Although the commoners have changed to plant drought-resistant beans, they also need rain to ensure their harvest. The commoners are all counting on the food harvest in the second half of the year to survive, but in the second half, the food production will decrease on a large scale. There will definitely be a famine all over the country.”

Every time there was a famine, there would be starved people everywhere and sorrow everywhere. Nine out of ten storage rooms would be empty.

The tragedy of eating one’s son would also happen.

Just thinking about that scene made Yu Youyao’s heart skip a beat. “It’s already so serious?”

Being in the capital, she couldn’t help but be bewitched by the illusion of peace and prosperity. She didn’t expect that there were already many places so seriously affected that there was going to be a famine.

Zhou Linghuai nodded. “The Imperial Court doesn’t release monetary relief and doesn’t show that it values the drought. It’s already normal for officials everywhere to report falsely, hide, lie, or not report. Even if there are some people who report serious disasters, they’re only from individual areas and can’t attract the attention of the Imperial Court. You have to know that a small scale disaster is all settled by the refugees in the state and county offices. After that, they report to the Imperial Court and the court officials will reward them. Only serious disasters require the Imperial Court to provide relief. In fact, last autumn and winter, many people had already starved to death all over the country. It’s April and May now, and winter wheat is harvested, but winter wheat has suffered a disaster…

Yu Youyao’s heart turned cold. “The winter wheat harvest was gone, and the disaster was uncontrollable. It even expanded further. The officials everywhere couldn’t hide it and had no choice but to report it to the Imperial Court. That’s why the Empress Dowager is raising money for disaster relief.” The Great Zhou Dynasty was really rotten to the core.

As officials, they were greedy for superiority and did not seek benefits for the As a ruler, he played with power and did not want to govern the court. He only wanted to live forever.

As officials, they fought internally and externally. They only cared about fighting for power and did not care about the lives of the commoners.

They did not do their part for the citizens.

This drought was a natural disaster and a man-made disaster. It was even more infuriating.

Old Madam Yu also felt sad. “Amitabha. The Imperial Court’s expenses are inexhaustible. The officials are greedy and domineering, causing natural and man-made disasters and the people to live in misery.” At this point, she couldn’t help but feel angry at the scheme against her granddaughter. “Those who are rulers are heartless. They harm the world and the commoners. They incur the wrath of the heavens and the resentment of the people!’

Yu Youyao’s heart was heavy. “The emperor and the Empress Dowager have accused me of good karma so that I would righteously raise donations for disaster relief. Not only do I have to donate, but I have to donate more. It’s just that…

Would this money really be used to help the refugees?

Zhou Linghuai understood what she meant. “The Empress Dowager pays respects to Buddha all year round. Whether she’s really charitable or not is still up for debate. However, this isn’t important. What’s important is that everyone in the world knows that the Empress Dowager pays respects to Buddha and is benevolent. The donation is in the name of providing relief to the refugees. Since this matter is led by the Empress Dowager, it won’t be fake.”

However, how much of it was used on the refugees was still debatable.

However, no matter how much would be deployed to help the refugees, it was good to save as many as possible.

Yu Youyao understood immediately. “Therefore, for the sake of the thousands of refugees in the Great Zhou Dynasty, I have to donate this money.”

On the way back to the backyard, Yu Jianjia felt stifled when she thought about how Yu Youyao had been conferred the title of County Head of Shaoyi. For a moment, she felt suffocated.

Her gentle eyes subconsciously darkened, and tears welled in her eyes.

Yu Jianjia could not help but cough.

Bai Ye quickly went forward to help her up. “Are you feeling unwell?”

“Don’t worry.” Yu Jianjia shook her head. Seeing that there was no one around, she couldn’t help but look behind her. Yu Qingning, who had fallen behind her, said gently, “Big Sister has been conferred the title of County Head of Shaoyi. This is the first time I’ve experienced such a big announcement. I’m probably too nervous and a little weak..”

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