Retired Villainess Transmigrates into a Cannon Fodder

The Strongest Fox-Demon (68)

“What flood? What plague? Cough…” The Emperor became anxious when he heard this. He covered his mouth and coughed a few times, and stared at King Qi sharply. “What happened?”

King Qi displayed concern as well as embarrassment, and then explained, “Imperial Father, your health is the most important, and the imperial doctor has advised you to rest and recuperate. I will discuss these matters with all the officials…”

“Oh?” Li Yufeng interrupted him. He scanned all the important officials in the court with great interest, and asked bluntly, “Has SecondBrother already discussed with you? What do you think about these? Why has the relief funds vanished without a trace and no new measures have been taken? It seems that you are not doing your best to share Imperial Father’s worries.”

“We dare not.” The six key ministers immediately folded their hands and bent their backs. Those hearts of those who privately supported King Qi were already pounding. Others also gauged that Li Yufeng could not be simply dismissed and were astonished.

Before King Qi could form a response, Li Yufeng turned to the Emperor and said, “Imperial Father, this son and servant grew up in my maternal grandfather’s house from childhood and rarely returned to the capital. I have been blaming myself for not being filial to you for years, so now that you are unwell, I should not report such troubles to you. However, I am really worried. The flood in the south is getting worse. With no relief money or surplus food, there is bound to be countless deaths and injuries. Chu, my wife, is kind-hearted and can’t bear the suffering of the people, so she asked her sister who is proficient at medicine and a friend to bring funds and supplies to the disaster area. Unexpectedly, I was told that a plague broke out in a town on the outskirts of the capital as well. When I took the exam, my wife had already entered the town to treat the sick and persuaded the villagers to seal off all entries and exits. However, when I came out of the examination hall, I found that the capital was peaceful and no one was in charge of that town at all. I’m worried about the people, I beg you to allow me to take charge of this matter.”

The ministers knew something about the devastating flood in the south, but with the plague on the outskirts of the capital, those people were trapped in the town, so how could any of them have caught wind of it? Even King Qi knew nothing about it. When he heard that it was right in the outskirts of the capital, his eyelids couldn’t help twitching. The Emperor’s face turned overcast once more!

The old prime minister asked solemnly, “Prince Xiao Yao, is the plague true?”

“It’s absolutely true.” Li Yufeng glanced at their surprised and worried expressions and glanced at Prince Qi. “Second Brother sent a lot of people to that town yesterday. Why? Haven’t you informed the ministers of such a major event?”

The few ministers knew that the Emperor’s health was not good and that Prince Qi had concealed the matter of the great flood. When they heard Li Yufeng’s words, their first reaction was that he had concealed even the plague. How could he have known about it? But if he didn’t, why did he send people to that town?

Prince Qi quickly bowed his head and admitted his mistake, “Imperial Father, I have not known about the plague yet. I just sent people to arrest a suspicious person yesterday, but I don’t know where they followed the person. I will ask someone to investigate. If the epidemic is true, I will make arrangements to deal with it as soon as possible.”

He raised his head and smiled in delight. “Fortunately, Royal Brother is well-informed, and he found out about it just after leaving the examination hall. I presume the epidemic will not spread. I wonder if Brother can lend me the person who reported the news to you, so I can ask him and understand the situation. By the way, is Brother already married? How could royal sister-in-law put herself in danger? Why didn’t the people around her stop her? They are so confused! I’ll arrange for someone to go fetch royal sister-in-law.”

The two princes went at each other tit for tat, their blade-like words stabbing each other. The ministers kept silent and aimed at them out of the corner of their eye. Prince Qi’s counterattack was impressive. Many of them didn’t catch wind of it, but how did Prince Xiao Yao know clearly about it just after he left the examination hall? His wife, whom he married at some point, was still in that town, so unless this was a self-directed drama, how did the news get out? Who sent the news? Has the messenger brought the plague into the capital? These were all vital questions.

Li Yufeng smiled slightly. His rebuttal was indeed wonderful, but the problem was… the Emperor didn’t doubt him, and no amount of counterattacks were worthwhile. He didn’t even need to explain.

He walked closer to the Emperor, brought a cup of tea for him and asked for orders once more, “Imperial Father, this humble son has never done anything by your side. Now that you are not in good health, I can no longer enjoy myself freely. How about leaving the floods and the plague to me? I will not let Imperial Father down.”

The Emperor nodded without hesitation. “Okay, you will be solely responsible for this matter.”

“Imperial Father! This son…” Prince Qi raised his voice in disbelief.

The Emperor raised his hand to signal him to be quiet and said in displeasure, “We are neither terminally ill nor yet deaf, dumb and confused. We can’t bear your filial piety. Today, we called all the ministers into the palace originally to hold a banquet to welcome Yufeng on his arrival, but the disaster demands immediate action. You will assist Yufeng to deal with the disaster post-haste, and we want to know all details before the haishi(9 pm – 11 pm) today.”

“As you wish, Imperial Father!”

“This minister will obey!”

Li Yufeng and the ministers responded at the same time, so Prince Qi could only obey. Afterwards, the Emperor gave Li Yufeng his most powerful Chief Director of Palace Affairs and a team of imperial guards, in fear that he had no competent people at his command after having been away for years on end. When Prince Qi left the palace, he was blue in the face, and he was almost gritting his teeth with hatred. This was the reason why he wanted to kill Li Yufeng. This son whom they had never met several times was infinitely more important than them, the sons who grew up in front of their Imperial Father’s eyes. If anyone could alter his ascension to the throne, it was undoubtedly none other than Li Yufeng!