Subei was the name of several cities in the northern part of the Great Huan Dynasty. In the early years, Shang Junlin had left some men there to fight. Later, when he returned to the capital and shifted his focus, he did not completely let go. Officials like Xun Zhao were all arranged by him to stay in Subei.
"What's going on?" Shang Junlin did not receive any news of the drought in Subei. Otherwise, he would not have stayed in the temporary imperial residence as if nothing had happened.
"Mu Xi, first serve Official Xun a pot of tea." Shen Yu saw that Xun Zhao was travel-worn. It was obvious that he had rushed back.
Xun Zhao was indeed thirsty. When Mu Xi brought the tea over, he did not refuse and directly drank it in one gulp. Only then did he slowly explain the situation in Subei.
"Three months ago, it rarely rained in Subei, but at that time, it would occasionally rain a little. Subei has always been like this, so this subject did not take it to heart. Until a month ago, Subei began to have continuous sunny days. For a month, there was not a single drop of rain. The crops could not withstand the drought and died one after another. The people in Subei were short of food. This subject had no other choice but to take out a portion of the army's rations to help the people and send a memorial to the imperial court in hopes of receiving some assistance."
Subei was an important pass in the northern part of the Great Huan Dynasty. If the Subei Army was not stationed there all year round, it would be easy for the nomads to invade the Great Huan Dynasty.
However, the living conditions in Subei were very bad. There was little rain and drought all year round. If the Subei Army was not stationed there and the imperial court sent a batch of supplies there every year, it would be very difficult for ordinary people to survive.
"We did not receive your memorial." Shang Junlin's voice was cold.
No one knew where the memorial requesting for disaster relief was now.
"This subject also guessed that the memorial might not have been delivered, so I rushed back. This subject returned to the capital without being summoned and is willing to accept punishment!" Xun Zhao had been by Shang Junlin's side since before he ascended the throne. He naturally knew that Shang Junlin could not ignore Subei. There was only one possibility for him not to receive a reply from the imperial court after waiting for so many days.
— — His memorial did not reach Shang Junlin's hands.
Shang Junlin knocked on the stone table. "This is an urgent matter. We will arrange for someone to go to Subei. You can go and rest first."
This was his action when he was thinking.
Before Xun Zhao came here, he was prepared to be condemned. His confidants had repeatedly advised him not to take the risk. If his memorial reached His Majesty's hands and nothing happened here, he would only end up not being able to return.
Of course, Xun Zhao knew that he could afford to wait, but Subei couldn't. Neither the army nor the people of Subei could afford to wait.
He took out the booklet that he had been keeping in his bosom. "This subject has written down the disaster situation in Subei."
Eunuch Meng took the booklet and presented it to Shang Junlin.
"We understand. Meng Chang, bring Lord Xun to the West Courtyard. Don't spread what happened today."
"Your servant obeys."
"What do you think, Your Majesty?" Shen Yu was not in the capital at this time in his previous life. He also fell seriously ill, so he did not know much about what happened this summer. As for the book he read after his death, it was written from Shen Qingran's perspective. The only description of this period of time was that he was bullied in the palace.
"Xun Zhao would not lie about this kind of thing. Not only Xun Zhao, but we also did not receive any memorials from any other officials in Subei. It seems that there is a big problem in Subei."
"If there is a problem with the officials in Subei, this matter is not as simple as just disaster relief."
"We will send the Hidden Dragon Guards to investigate. As for the specifics, we will decide when the Hidden Dragon Guards return."
Shang Junlin flipped open the booklet. The more he read, the tighter his frown became.
The disaster in Subei was more serious than expected.
Starving people were everywhere, and people were swapping their children for food … Every scene was shocking.
Shang Junlin was holding Shen Yu when he read the booklet. Shen Yu also happened to read the description on the booklet. When Xun Zhao wrote the booklet, he did not put too much personal emotion into it. He tried to write it as calmly and directly as possible. He only revealed a trace of emotion when he could not control it.
It was precisely this kind of emotion that was revealed when he was suppressed to the extreme that could touch people's hearts.
"Your Majesty, let's arrange the disaster relief first." Otherwise, Subei would collapse on its own before the enemy attacked.
Shang Junlin had already made a decision in his heart.
He rested his head on Shen Yu's shoulder and rubbed his face against Shen Yu. "We originally wanted to have fun here for a few days …"
After such a thing happened, they must return to the palace immediately. After all, there were many inconveniences in the temporary imperial residence.
"As long as I'm with Your Majesty, it's the same everywhere." Shen Yu rubbed against him back.
That night, Shang Junlin ordered them to return to the capital ahead of time. The ministers also knew about the incident in Subei and packed up their belongings as quickly as possible.
Early the next morning, the mighty group sped up and returned to the capital.
Shen Yu sat in the carriage and lifted the curtain to look outside. They had only stayed in the temporary imperial residence for 20 days. If they returned now, the capital would still be very hot.
After going down the mountain, the temperature gradually increased. Shen Yu changed into thin clothes and put a small basin of ice in the carriage, but she still felt very hot.
The first half of August was one of the hottest periods in the capital.
Originally, they would stay in the temporary imperial residence until the end of August and return when the capital was not so hot. However, their plan could not keep up with the changes. After such a big incident in Subei, they could only return to the capital ahead of time.
The ministers did not dare to complain. They all knew the importance of Subei. Compared to temporary enjoyment, they certainly wanted long-term stability.
They did not want to experience the turbulent situation when the previous emperor was on the throne again.
The capital received the news early. The Ministry of Revenue prepared disaster relief materials according to Shang Junlin's decree. When the large group returned to the capital, the Ministry of Revenue had already taken care of everything.
Although the Minister of Revenue was very stingy when the Minister of Works asked for money, when it came to disaster relief, he would not hesitate to spend more money.
Shang Junlin summoned the ministers for a meeting, so Shen Yu returned to Yuzhang Palace.
Even if the master was not there, everything in Yuzhang Palace was the same as before. Shen Yu looked at the pots of flowers that were growing well and sat by the window.
Did something like this happen in his previous life? How was it resolved in the end? In that book, Shen Qingran's incident in the imperial palace was only briefly mentioned. Shen Yu could only recall the memories of his previous life over and over again.
It was already nine months later when he recovered from the serious illness. It was said that the tyrant killed many ministers and his reputation among the people fell a step. What about before that? His memories seemed to be covered by a layer of fog. He could not see clearly.
"Gongzi, do you want to try the new snacks made by the kitchen?"
Mu Xi's words pulled Shen Yu's thoughts back. Shen Yu looked at the colorful glass bowl that Mu Xi was holding. "What is it?"
"I heard that it was inspired by Miss Shen Yue. It was made with fresh fruits and small ice cubes. Knowing that gongzi likes sweet things, they also added honey in it."
Shen Yu was curious about the snacks made of ice cubes. "Let me see."
The bowl was only the size of a palm. When it was close, Shen Yu found that the bowl was transparent. It was just that the color was darker and could not be seen from a distance.
"This bowl …" Shen Yu took the bowl in his hand. His fingertips touched a piece of ice cold.
In the bowl, there were fine ice cubes and small pieces of various fruits. Under the droplets of water that had not yet fallen, they were bright and juicy. They looked very appetizing.
"This glass bowl is a newly made product. It is said that it was made according to Shen Yue's recipe. I heard that Miss Shen Yue has a whole set of transparent and colorless bowls. It is just that the shape is very strange."
It must be the glass that Shen Yue mentioned before.
Shen Yu took a spoonful of fruit and put it into his mouth. It was cold when it entered his mouth. The freshness of the fruit did not decrease because of the coldness. Instead, it had a different taste.
Moreover, it was cold and very comfortable to eat.
"It is indeed a pleasure to eat such snacks in summer. Go and ask the kitchen to make more. I will send some to His Majesty later." Unconsciously, Shen Yu had finished a whole bowl of snacks. He was somewhat unsatisfied, but he also knew that his body did not allow him to eat more.
"Yes."
After eating some iced drinks, Shen Yu was not as agitated as before. He simply took a pen and paper and painted aimlessly.
Shen Yu was proficient in zither, chess, calligraphy, and painting. In his previous life, in order to better help the King of Yue, he learned everything that he could.
No matter how much Count Zhenbei did not care about him, the son of the first wife, he still found a teacher to teach him the things that the children of aristocratic families should learn because it involved the face of the Count Zhenbei's family. No matter how unwilling Concubine Ru was, she could not disobey Count Zhenbei's decision.
Later, in order to win over the reclusive great scholars, Shen Yu put in a lot of effort and learned these things to the extreme. Although he was reborn, the things that he learned in his previous life were still deeply imprinted in his mind.
Outside the window, birds were chirping. Inside the room, the young man in blue was sitting by the window and concentrating on painting.
The painting paper covered the table. Shang Junlin approached with light footsteps. He did not want to disturb this scene.
On the rice paper, there were a large number of scattered peach blossoms. It seemed to be without any order, but if one looked carefully, one could see the abundant spring in it.
"When did Your Majesty come?" Shen Yu put down the pen and saw Shang Junlin standing by the table. "Why didn't you call me?"
"Look at how serious you are painting. A Yu's peach blossoms are very beautiful." The ink was not dry, so Shang Junlin could only look at it in a flat position.
"I just painted a little." Shen Yu rubbed his wrist and stood up. He looked at the sky. He had been painting for almost two hours.
Shang Junlin consciously walked over and rubbed Shen Yu's wrist. He was very good at doing this.
"Today, the small kitchen made some new snacks. They taste very good. Your Majesty, do you want to try some?" Shen Yu asked Mu Xi to go to the small kitchen and get some snacks.
Shang Junlin did not have a strong appetite. After Shen Yu entered the palace, he tasted a lot of new foods with Shen Yu. He knew how good Shen Yu's tongue was. Anything that could be praised by him must be delicious.
Mu Xi brought over two glazed bowls, one big and one small. Shen Yu looked at the big bowl in front of Shang Junlin and the small bowl in front of him. He raised his eyebrows and said, "Mu Xi, it's not good to side with Her Majesty so openly, right?"
"Young Master, don't make fun of this servant. Imperial Physician Gu said that you should eat less food that is too cold." A small bowl was the limit.
Although Shang Junlin spoiled him, when it came to Shen Yu's health, he insisted on his principles more than anyone else.
Shen Yu saw that it was hopeless to change the small bowl to the big one, so he focused on eating in his bowl.
Shang Junlin found it funny.
"Your Majesty, why do you keep looking at me?" Shen Yu looked up and saw that Shang Junlin kept looking at him. The fruit in his bowl did not decrease much. He sighed in his heart. If he did not eat, he could give it to him.
Shang Junlin slowly fed him a mouthful of fresh fruit. His eyes did not leave Shen Yu throughout the whole process.
The man's eyes were burning, as if he was not eating fruit, but something delicious.
The man's eyes lingered on his face and lingered on his lips for a long time. Shen Yu was restless under his gaze. The coldness in his mouth could not alleviate the heat that kept surging up.
Shen Yu's bowl was empty. He felt uneasy under the increasingly hot gaze, so he got up and wanted to leave.
The sudden force from his wrist dragged him back. Before he could react, the man in his arms had already kissed him.
Something cold was passed into his mouth.
"A Yu, is it delicious?"
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