Cheng Yujin knew that Li Chengjing was right. They were at the edge of the cliff now, and it was obviously too late to keep following the original long-term plan. Li Chengjing was going to make a big gamble, and the chips were his own life. Cheng Yujin finally stopped dissuading him. She stood up and said: “I will prepare wormwood and incenses for disease prevention. Your Highness’ sachets and clothes also need to be specially treated.”
Li Chengjing’s expression relaxed. His wife was truly the best. Despite her reluctance, she still understood and supported him wholeheartedly. Li Chengjing stood up, hugged Cheng Yujin’s back, and whispered: “It’s already late, and the preparation can wait until tomorrow. When I thought of this plan, the one I felt most sorry for was you. If I was still unmarried, I would have nothing to worry about and surely will have no hesitation in gambling with my life. But now that I have you, I am actually afraid. I am afraid that I will not be able to come back, afraid that I will not be able to watch the birth of our children or see you again.”
“Your Highness!” Cheng Yujin frowned. She sighed and said, “Why did you say that? You will surely return safely. I’m waiting for you to come back and name our children.”
“Yes.” Li Chengjing buried his face in Cheng Yujin’s neck and murmured in a low voice, “Of course I will return to you. Definitely.”
Because of the plague, the atmosphere in the capital was shrouded in gloominess. When the morning court began the next day, all the attending officials had solemn expressions on their faces.
Not long after the morning court started, the officials began to quarrel again about the disaster relief. The quarrel that was forcibly suspended yesterday because the Emperor left the venue did not dissipate with the passing of day, but was burning bigger after a night of brewing. Just when the argument moved to the topic of sending another team to the disaster area, the Crown Prince took the initiative to ask for a dispatch order, saying that he was willing to go to the front line in Jiangnan as a special envoy to investigate the situation and appease the hearts of common people.
The sparks of fire in the hall immediately halted because of the Crown Prince’s sudden sentence.
Right, there was indeed no candidate who could appease the public’s hearts and bring more assurance than the Crown Prince. With the current mess, whoever ended up being sent would only lead to more battles between factions. Young people wouldn’t be able to control local officials, but older people wouldn’t be able to stand the long journey. Sending a low-ranked official would make it hard to handle the situation, causing the disaster victims to suspect that the court wasn’t serious in the relief effort and arousing the public’s discontent, but high-ranked officials were unwilling to risk their lives.
But Li Chengjing met all the conditions. He was young and capable, and he was a crown prince on top of that. With his imperial status, he was the best candidate to appease the public hearts. At this juncture, the most urgent task was to quickly calm the public discontent and show the world that the imperial grace was mighty and that the court would never give up on their people. Simply by sending the crown prince to the disaster area, the result would be immediate.
As long as the public was appeased, half the problem would be resolved. No matter what kind of entanglements were there in Jiangnan’s officialdom, who would dare to disobey when the Crown Prince made his order? It didn’t matter whether Li Chengjing could find out the truth or not, because the imperial aura he brought with him was the most powerful weapon.
After Li Chengjing made his request, the court quickly became quiet. After a while, everyone began to praise the Crown Prince for his compassion, which was a great blessing for the world. The Emperor took this chance to finalize the candidate for Li Chengjing’s deputy. After a while, the special envoy team was completed.
The disaster relief was urgent, so right on the day Li Chengjing received the dispatch order, he was busy gathering the team to familiarize himself with the situation in Jiangnan. On the third day, he set off from the capital.
After Li Chengjing left, the Ciqing Palace seemed to be half empty. Half-dazedly, Cheng Yujin stared at the green leaves outside the window, thinking about where that person was now and what he was doing today.
She had always been alone before, so why did she suddenly feel that the room was so empty? It was as if she could hear the echo of her own footsteps.
Because of Li Chengjing’s absence, Cheng Yujin became too lazy to go out. Apart from paying respect to Empress and Empress Dowager, she never left Ciqing Palace all day.
Days passed, and the rain in the capital finally stopped, revealing a much-waited bright warm sun. Today, Imperial Physician Zhao came to Ciqing Palace to do the routine examination as usual. After returning to the imperial physician building, he personally went to supervise his apprentice decocting the medicine for the Crown Princess. When Imperial Physician Zhao returned to his office, he found signs of tampering on his medical box.
Imperial Physician Zhao suddenly had an ominous feeling.
