Because of the Jia Jing's errand,
The entire Ningguo Province was somewhat bleak. After all, this errand was really too unpleasant.
Looking at the frowning Jia Zhen, Xia Lu seemed to be deep in thought.
"Is this disaster relief very difficult?" Xia Lu asked.
The Jia Zhen nodded, sighed, and said, "The worst thing in winter is this kind of heavy snow,
Although a timely snow indicates a good year, it is also the most difficult to endure. There is no place to live,
In winter, the ground is frozen, and there is no way to build houses for these disaster victims to live in,
There is also not enough quilts, and because of winter,
There is also no food,
Every time there is a disaster,
Even if there is a disaster relief from the imperial court,
Half of these disaster victims will survive,
This is already the effort of the disaster relief minister. "
Xia Lu did not expect the situation to be so serious after the disaster in ancient times,
His eyes turned and he said, "I have an idea."
"Hmm? What idea? "the Jia Zhen asked.
"There is no way to build houses,
We can build igloos,
Ordinary houses,
If it snows again,
It might even collapse, but igloos are different. We can build them thicker, so we don't have to worry about collapsing, "Xia Lu said.
"Igloos?" The Jia Zhen frowned.
"Yes, the weather is so cold now. A house built of ice will definitely not melt," Xia Lu said.
"Can people live in it?" The Jia Zhen felt that it did not sound too reliable.
"What is the reason for building a house? It is to shelter from the wind and rain, not to sleep with ice cubes. If you sleep with ice cubes, no matter how many clothes you wear, you will feel cold. Naturally, you will use a bed to sleep," Xia Lu explained.
The Jia Zhen nodded and felt that it made sense. "I can let the servants try this first. Even if the problem of the house is solved, there is still the problem of food and quilts to deal with." The Jia Zhen sighed.
"Actually, this is not difficult. It will depend on the old master's face," Xia Lu said.
"What do you mean?" The Jia Zhen was interested.
Xia Lu leaned close to Jia Zhen and whispered his solution. In the end, Jia Zhen's eyes lit up. "I'll go find Master now. Madam, you're too smart."
"Come back soon. I'm waiting for you to have dinner," Xia Lu said.
"Okay." Jia Zhen quickly ran to Lanxiang Courtyard. Ever since Jia Zhen inherited his title, Jia Jing had moved out of Ningxi Hall. After Xia Lu gave birth to her child, Jia Zhen and Xia Lu would move to Ningxi Hall. Therefore, he vacated the courtyard in advance.
"Master, Master, I thought of a wonderful idea." Jia Zhen came to Lanxiang Courtyard and saw Jia Jing writing in the study. He quickly said.
Jia Jing put down his pen and looked at the word "Jing" written on the chopping board. He sighed and walked out from the study table. He sat on a chair beside him and asked Jia Zhen to sit as well. Then he asked, "What's the matter? Why are you in such a hurry?"
"Hehe, Master, I know how to provide disaster relief." Jia Zhen's eyes lit up.
"You?" Jia Jing smiled and thought to himself, These days, he had put in a lot of effort because of the disaster relief. However, the results were still barely satisfactory. The porridge stall outside the city had been set up and cotton-padded clothes had been distributed. However, these were just a drop in the bucket. The food provided by the Emperor was simply not enough. He knew that the rich families in the capital definitely had food in reserve. However, it was easier said than done to get these people to lend a hand, especially when he was the one who got this job. It would be strange if they would lend a hand.
"Tell me about it." After all, it was his son who felt sorry for him. The idea he came up with might be naive, but he was still willing to listen.
"Father, do you have a lot of face in front of the Emperor?" Jia Zhen asked.
"What do you mean? Why do you suddenly ask this? " Jia family might not have a lot of face in front of the Emperor, but in front of the Retired Emperor, they had a lot of face. The Emperor was filial. No matter how busy he was in the court, he would go to pay respects to the Retired Emperor. As long as the Emperor cared about the Retired Emperor, then the Jia family would have a lot of face in front of the Emperor.
"Master, aren't you worried about the disaster relief? In this way, you can ask the Emperor to cooperate with you and favor a favorite concubine. As for why the Emperor favors this concubine, it is because the family of this concubine cares about the disaster victims outside the city, so they sent food and quilts. The Emperor's harem doesn't have many children yet. If this concubine takes advantage of this opportunity to get pregnant, what do you think the women in the harem will do? "Jia Zhen smiled like a little fox.
"Heh, you're quite quick-witted. Regardless of whether this pregnancy is real or not, it's enough as long as the women in the harem feel that it's real." Jia Jing narrowed his eyes and looked at Jia Zhen. "Was this your wife's idea?"
"I can't hide anything from you, Master." Jia Zhen touched his head and felt a little embarrassed.
"To marry a wife, one must be virtuous. Okay, you can go back. You don't have to worry about the rest." Jia Jing's face softened. As long as he figured out the key, he would do the rest more thoroughly than Jia Zhen said.
"Okay." Jia Zhen nodded.
Jia Jing was very fast. Because of the disaster victims, Jia Jing could still enter the palace even when it was almost dinnertime.
The Emperor and Jia Jing knew, and even all the ministers in the imperial court knew, that the imperial court had no food. However, these nobles and ministers definitely had surplus food. It was not easy to get food from these families.
"Minister Jia, how did you come up with this idea?" Tu Chen was very curious.
"To be honest, Your Majesty, it was not me who came up with this idea. It was my daughter-in-law. Although she is a woman in the inner chamber, she has her own way of doing things. Women understand women better." Jia Zhen said.
"So that's how it is. Since ancient times, there have indeed been many heroines. Jia Qing's daughter-in-law can be considered one of them. She was able to easily solve a problem that had stumped all of us. She is truly extraordinary. I heard that after marrying her, Jia Qing's son also became more motivated. This year, he passed the county level exam. She is truly a blessing to her husband," Tu Chen praised.
"Oh, you should marry a virtuous wife. She is the daughter of a family friend in Ningguo Province. She is indeed virtuous and takes good care of everything in the mansion." Jia Jing was really satisfied with Xia Lu. Although he sometimes felt that his son was being controlled, he saw that Jia Zhen had changed from a playboy who did not like to study to a scholar and became a responsible person. He felt that it was better to let the young couple go.
Tu Chen nodded. He knew about Xia Lu's background. She was the daughter of Ning Guogong's bodyguard. Originally, the bodyguard had made great contributions and could have been a fourth-rank official in the capital. He also had the support of Ningguo Province. However, he went to the northwest and became a small military officer. Later, because of his daughter's marriage, he wanted to marry his daughter into a scholar's family. Coincidentally, his wife, who was the Heir of Ningguo Province at that time, passed away. Therefore, the Jia Zhen married his daughter. Although the status of the Jia Zhen's daughter-in-law at that time was not good enough for the Jia Zhen, it seemed that she had married him well.
After all, there were not many women in the world who could help her Husband turn over a new leaf. "When will the Empress meet Minister Jia's daughter-in-law? I heard that she is pregnant now. Let's wait until after she gives birth."
"Then this old official will thank the Empress on behalf of Zheng'er's daughter-in-law." Jia Jingdao thanked the Empress. The Emperor said that he wanted the Empress to meet Zheng'er's daughter-in-law. In fact, he wanted to use the Empress to bestow some things. After all, this idea was really amazing. It was killing many birds with one stone. As for the person who came up with this idea, he naturally had to reward them. However, Zheng'er's daughter-in-law was a woman, so naturally, he could not make a big fuss about it. Therefore, the Empress wanted to meet Zheng'er's daughter-in-law.
"Well, you can leave." Tu Chen narrowed his eyes. He also had to prepare. The food allocated by the imperial court could last for half a month. Half a month, there was enough time.
The next day, there was a beauty in the palace. Because her family donated some food and some winter quilts and clothes to the disaster victims outside the palace, she was praised by the Emperor and was rewarded with many things. She was promoted and became Jieyu. Moreover, she stayed with Zeng Jieyu for several days in a row. For a moment, she was very popular. Even the Empress had to slightly avoid her.
For a time, the harem was ready to move. Many letters from the harem were sent to the families of these women through certain people.
In the past, when the Emperor was still a prince, there were not many people in the harem. In any case, he had been the Emperor for several years. During this period, there was a selection. Therefore, the number of people in the harem could not be considered many, but it was not few either. If these concubines worked hard, they still had a chance to make the Emperor stay. Now, because of Zeng Jieyu's mother's family, the Emperor only favored Zeng Jieyu. Except for the Empress, Gui Fei who gave birth to the Emperor's only son, and Shu Fei who gave birth to the Emperor's only daughter, the other concubines basically could not see the Emperor. How could the concubines in the harem not be anxious?
When the mothers of these concubines in the harem received the letters from their daughters, they constantly cursed in their hearts. This operation really made them afraid of taking action for fear of breaking the vases. They could neither advance nor retreat. After all, this matter was calculated by them. If they returned, it would affect the whole situation. For a moment, they did not know what to do. They could only let their daughters in the palace stabilize. That Zeng Jieyu would only be in the limelight for a while.
However, even if it was stabilized now, other people understood, especially those who had daughters in the palace, understood that their hearts could not be as calm as before.
Tu Chen looked at the ministers who had not yet taken action and sneered. After half a month, he did not believe that these people could still sit still.
Outside the city, the disaster victims had already lived in houses made of ice. There was no need for so many people to live together and look for a place to shelter from the wind. Although they still lacked warm clothes, they lived in ice houses. The imperial court's porridge stall had always been there, which made them feel a little relieved. They knew that they had not been abandoned.
During this period, Jia Zhen had also been following Jia Jing to provide relief. When he saw the plight of the disaster victims, he would come back and tell Xia Lu.
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