Over the next ten days, the Xuanwu Emperor was extremely busy, so busy that he was barely seen around the palace.
During this time, Low Level Consort Yu came to visit, saying her father had agreed to confess his crimes and return all the embezzled silver. She asked the Imperial Noble Consort to plead with the Emperor to allow her father to retire to his hometown.
Jiang Xinyue didn't immediately agree. Whether he could leave unscathed would depend on the results of the imperial court's investigation.
If he truly proved to be an unforgivable criminal, Jiang Xinyue wouldn't plead for him.
Why should she waste the Emperor's goodwill towards her just to save Low Level Consort Yu's father from his own misdeeds?
If anyone should plead for him, it should be the eldest princess.
The Emperor remained busy until it was time to return to the palace. With two major cases overlapping - the corruption case of the Guangdong-Guangxi Governor and the Yu Province siege case - once the Emperor finished his work, his officials were left scrambling to keep up.
Imperial edicts dismissing officials had already been issued, and Jiang Xinyue's uncle, Jiang Yanxi, was appointed as the new Guangdong-Guangxi Governor.
Both cases were urgent. The money confiscated from Governor Yu's mansion would be used to help the drought-stricken Yu Province.
The Emperor likely chose her uncle for this very reason, wanting him to take office as soon as possible.
The long procession following the imperial carriage moved with rhythmic, orderly footsteps, but the atmosphere was much heavier than when they had first arrived.
The Emperor's face showed signs of melancholy. As more reports about Yu Province's situation arrived, his anger grew day by day, to the point where he sometimes couldn't even eat.
If not for Jiang Xinyue's persuasion, the Xuanwu Emperor might have wished for wings to fly to Yu Province and personally execute its governor.
While Jiang Xinyue had expected the people of Yu Province to be suffering after months of drought, she never imagined that Zhu Qianyi would describe the scene as "hell on earth" in his letter.
The land was barren for thousands of miles, with corpses scattered everywhere.
Hot winds had cracked the dried-up riverbeds. Dead trees were everywhere, and any remaining green grass had long since been devoured by the desperate people.
Former rivers and lakes had dried up completely. Many people, refusing to give up hope, had dug holes throughout the riverbed, but not a drop of water was found.
Zhu Qianyi wrote that many dried corpses lay in these holes. He couldn't tell if they had died of thirst while digging for water, or if they had deliberately dug their own graves, quietly waiting for death.
After months of siege, with no water or food, the city's residents resorted to killing and looting to survive. Some, driven mad with hunger, began eating human flesh and drinking blood like monsters.
The Governor of Yu Province not only ignored the people's suffering but sent his trusted men to guard the city. Treating lives as worthless, he deliberately set up fighting arenas where desperately thirsty people fought to the death for a tiny amount of water.
More people died in these arenas than from natural disasters.
When Zhu Qianyi arrived, the city was already in uprising. The surviving residents, fighting for their lives, were storming the city gates regardless of age or gender.
When Zhu Qianyi arrived with the imperial edict, the people no longer trusted officials and attacked violently.
He had to both repel the citizens and prevent his guards from harming them, while the former governor's loyal men indiscriminately shot at both citizens and guards from the city walls.
Among the citizens was a young leader who formed an alliance with Zhu Qianyi during the fighting. Only after this leader killed the former governor's trusted men did the people believe Zhu Qianyi had truly come to help.
As Jiang Xinyue read the Emperor's letter, the usually lightweight paper felt as heavy as a thousand pounds, making her fingers tremble slightly.
Seeing her reddened eyes, the Xuanwu Emperor looked up at the sky, forcing back tears that threatened to fall.
"Sometimes I wonder if I should care about my reputation in history, or if they label me as a tyrant. Perhaps executing nine generations of every corrupt official's family is the only way to achieve a clean government?"
"But Your Majesty still values human life and hesitates to use such extensive punishment."
Jiang Xinyue leaned into the Xuanwu Emperor's embrace to comfort him: "I believe that as long as Your Majesty continues to govern diligently and love the people, change will come gradually, like water dropping on stone. One day, these corrupt and evil officials will be replaced by good ones, and the people will live in prosperity and peace."
Would such a day really come?
Seeing Jiang Xinyue's confident gaze, the Xuanwu Emperor held her tightly: "I will strive to achieve such prosperity early for our child."
He hoped their little one wouldn't have to worry and toil as he did in the future.
When Jiang Xinyue returned to Hexi Palace, before she could even settle in her seat, she was informed that Xiao Ronghua had been found hiding in her palace.
"You're saying... this is Xiao Ronghua?"
Jiang Xinyue could hardly believe that this disfigured, timid, seemingly deranged "mad woman" before her was the same person.
In her memory, Xiao Ronghua had been quite beautiful and confident.
What kind of torture could have reduced her to this barely human state?
Jiang Chuan gave a bitter smile: "She crawled in through a dog hole. Your servant didn't dare send her back, in case Consort De... My Lady, we didn't know why they dug that hole, but we've sealed it up now."
"Why seal it?"
Jiang Xinyue calmly said: "Tonight, have Xiaoxiang reopen it when no one's around. Tomorrow, spread rumors throughout the palace that Consort De is shameless, digging dog holes under the walls of my vegetable garden to steal my vegetables while I was away."
"What?"
This explanation seemed rather crude.
It sounded implausible, yet somehow believable.
"As for Xiao Ronghua..."
Jiang Xinyue thought for a moment: "Let her continue hiding. I want to see what game Consort De is playing."
She had been away from the palace too long and needed to investigate thoroughly before making any moves.
The next day, Consort De braced herself for Jiang Xinyue's retaliation, but instead, rumors spread throughout the palace about her... stealing vegetables?
"The Imperial Noble Consort said she planted purple jade grapes in her garden before leaving, but many were missing when she returned. After investigation, she said someone saw Sister Luyin awake late at night, leading several eunuchs to dig a dog hole under the wall outside Hexi Palace..."
Thus, rumors spread that Consort De's people had dug holes under the walls to steal the Imperial Noble Consort's fruits and vegetables, causing her to fly into a rage and have Luyin beaten.
Luyin rubbed her swollen bottom: "My Lady, I was extremely careful that night. No one could have discovered us."
Consort De naturally knew this. She snorted coldly: "Jiang Xinyue didn't necessarily discover anything. Since all other consorts went to the temporary palace and only I remained here, she'll blame anything that happens in her palace on me."
Accusing her of stealing vegetables was just meant to annoy her.
