Chapter 293
Chapter 293
"Your Majesty, I have a matter for which I seek your assistance," Mu Heng’s voice echoed, causing everyone in the hall to fall silent.
No one expected that, amid the chaos caused by Noble Consort Wei’s injury and the commotion among the Emperor’s beloved concubines, a noble would suddenly ask for help.
Some might think Official Mu was foolish. It was obvious that the Emperor was already very angry. He had stayed behind to investigate to find the truth who was careless or malicious enough to start a fire in the royal palace! Mu Heng bringing up this matter only seemed to add fuel to the fire in the Emperor’s heart. If this wasn’t a way to court disaster, what was?
"What happened that you need to ask for our help?" The Emperor asked in a calm tone. For him, it felt like one problem after another, giving him a severe headache.
"It concerns the refugees, Your Majesty."
"Hmm? Is there a problem with taking care of the refugees? Didn’t I order your Mu family to look after them properly? What happened?!" The Emperor, not waiting for Mu Heng to finish speaking, immediately vented his anger.
His voice was filled with rage, and he slammed the table with a loud "bang." The nobles and concubines around him were all startled. They knew how much the Emperor expected cooperation from the nobles. This was the first year he had followed Noble Consort Wei’s advice, hoping that the nobles would work together well.
This year, the royal treasury had spent a lot on helping the people deal with an epidemic, so the Emperor had asked the nobles to help. In previous years, the government had covered all expenses from the treasury. Unexpectedly, with the arrival of the first group of refugees, problems arose, leading to this plea for help. If the Emperor had to assist in everything, why entrust the officials with these duties?!
"Your Majesty, I think we should let Official Mu finish speaking first," the Wang frowned slightly. He didn’t believe Mu Heng was selfishly asking for help. Additionally, Furen Mu was present too, suggesting this might indeed be a significant issue.
"Of course, I must listen. However, I am very disappointed in you both—Official Mu and Furen Mu. You were both individuals I greatly admired, and yet even the simple task of helping the villagers has led to problems." The superior shook his head in disappointment. Yueqian also allowed a small smile to form.
It wasn’t just the Emperor who was disappointed. Soon, he would realize who was truly disappointing whom!
"Fine, tell me, what kind of help do you need? Money? Or do you want food from the granary?" The Emperor, tired of talking, asked irritably, but Mu Heng shook his head.
"None of those, Your Majesty."
"Then what is it? What kind of help do you seek?" The Emperor seemed to grow angry again. He even thought negatively, assuming Mu Heng was greedy. Hadn’t he already bestowed a title upon his furen? Was he now seeking a title for himself?
"Your Majesty, the duties assigned to nobles like myself in caring for the refugees involved providing food and shelter, correct?"
"Yes, that is what we decreed. We asked for your assistance in this matter! Just this once, we asked you to do your best. Even though those people are mere commoners, they are crucial to the prosperity of our Bai Region. I do not want you to see helping the people as something outside your duty," the Emperor stated, and Mu Heng nodded in agreement.
"Yes, Your Majesty. My wife has managed these tasks very well. Even the tents for accommodation have been completed. They were built simply but effective, protecting from the sun and rain, and they could accommodate the first group of 356 refugees. Clothing and blankets to keep them warm have been prepared. There is plenty of food, enough to meet their needs. Breakfast and lunch for today have been prepared, and dinner is also ready. We have enough food for a month."
The Emperor’s expression changed slightly after Mu Heng finished speaking. It seemed that the royal decree had only asked for these few things, and Mu Heng had fulfilled them well, hadn’t he? So, what exactly did the two of them come here for?
"So, what exactly do you need my help with?"
"This matter is of the utmost importance, but I do not have the authority to handle it directly. Therefore, I need your intervention, Your Majesty."
"Go on,"
"The matter of relocating the people is very important. Everyone prepared to welcome and care for the citizens thoroughly as per Your Majesty’s wishes. However, there is a group that failed to perform their duties properly. This responsibility is crucial, and if this group does not fulfill it, the people will suffer greatly. It could also negatively impact Your Majesty’s image. Therefore, I seek Your Majesty’s help to impose severe punishment on this group."
"Hmm?"
"What are you talking about?" Whether it was the Emperor or the Wang, they were all bewildered. In the end, what Mu Heng was asking for was the punishment of others? In this situation, he dared to bring this up?
"Yes, Your Majesty. I request that these individuals be punished. Otherwise, such negligence will continue to occur, which is highly inappropriate."
"What exactly are you talking about? Explain clearly."
"I am referring to the medical personnel, the royal physicians, Your Majesty!" As Mu Heng finished speaking, the nobles almost choked on their tea.
No one had ever been so bold as to request the punishment of the royal physicians. Everyone sought to befriend them, didn’t they? And what was this? Requesting their punishment?
From the Emperor’s expression, it was clear—every time there was an event, the royal physicians had to work harder than anyone else. Moreover, they were currently busy treating all of his concubines. But suddenly, Mu Heng arrived, requesting the punishment of those very physicians? What was it called when they’re in the middle of giving their all to treat people?!
"Continue. If your reasons are insufficient, you will be the one punished!!" The Emperor slammed his armrest again, his anger now intensifying.
Noble Consort Wei, initially confused, began to understand Mu Heng’s intention. Her eyes showed a flicker of uncertainty. She wasn’t entirely ignorant of the situation, but she didn’t comprehend what they aimed to achieve.
"Yes, Your Majesty. As I mentioned earlier, the relocation of the refugees was known in advance for many days and months. Food was prepared, clothing was provided, yet the care from the royal physicians was entirely absent."
"The first group that arrived consisted of the elderly, mothers, and children. They are physically weaker than the general population. Whether or not the royal physicians were aware of this, I do not know. However, this group requires special care, with many injured and ill. In total, over 300 people need medical attention."
"Yet, the royal physicians did not respond immediately. The refugees arrived at dawn, and by meal time, my furen had already arranged food as quickly as possible to ensure that nearly 400 people were fed. However, no royal physician appeared at any time. Time passed from Si period until Wu period. My wife waited for the royal physician to arrive, and by then, over 300 people had been waiting for that one physician to provide treatment."
"No matter how many royal physicians there are, the villagers still waited for treatment. Meanwhile, my wife, upon the physician’s arrival, had to rush back to prepare lunch. Shortly afterward, news of the incident in the palace reached us."
"The reason I seek your assistance, Your Majesty, is because... now, the one royal physician responsible for the lives of these 300 injured and ill people abandoned them to save face by attending to the concubines in the palace!"
"Indeed, the situation in the palace is severe, with over 20 injured. But there are already more than 20 royal physicians in the palace, along with hundreds of assistants. Meanwhile, the one royal physician responsible for over 300 villagers left them behind. Is the royal physician trying to show the villagers that some lives are worth less than others?!!"
"How do you think people will perceive this? Especially when they hear that the incident occurred during a tea party, injuring over 20 people. What do you think the villagers will think? I do not want such thoughts to spread, which is why I boldly request that Your Majesty punish that royal physician!"
"Furthermore, I believe such incidents should not happen again in the future. Early this morning, everyone knew that nothing had yet occurred. Why did the royal physicians not come out to treat the villagers then? How far do they intend to tarnish the reputation of the capital’s people?!"
Mu Heng spoke each word clearly and distinctly! Noble Consort Wei’s expression changed immediately. In truth, this plan had been her own, designed specifically to target Furen Mu.
Since she didn’t want the royal physicians to care for the refugees, she even orchestrated the fire incident. This was because she knew the physicians were under pressure to send someone to tend to the villagers, so she retaliated by creating a situation that forced the royal physician to return to the palace. Her ultimate goal was to pressure Yueqian into personally assisting the villagers.
Unexpectedly, her own plan backfired!
The Emperor, seated at the highest position, twitched his mustache. He understood clearly as he considered every word Mu Heng said. The Emperor had previously declared that the royal physicians would be responsible for the medical care. He knew it was impossible for the officials to handle everything, as the royal palace collected taxes from them. Since they were already paying taxes, why should the officials be burdened with helping the people who pay taxes to the government?
Therefore, the solution was to ask everyone to cooperate, handling food and shelter, which were not major issues. Everyone could certainly help. This would save the royal treasury money and not overly burden the officials. Otherwise, the Emperor himself would be criticized.
However, he did not expect such an incident to occur! It turned out that the royal physicians under his care had no genuine intention of helping the villagers.
As Mu Heng had pointed out, they should have known in advance which group was arriving. This was the case every year, and they should have rushed to complete their medical duties. At the very least, they should have provided medicine. All the royal physicians should have gone to help, but instead, only one physician was sent near noon.
If this wasn’t disrespecting the villagers, then what was? And before they could even treat anyone, the physician rushed back to the palace to attend to 20 injured people. If he were a villager, he would be angry too!
"Soldiers! Drag that despicable royal physician here! I want to question how he could do such a despicable thing!"
The Emperor roared, louder than before. It was clear he intended to take severe action, which caused Noble Consort Wei’s expression to change.
Although the conspiracy among the royal physicians might not trace back to her, Noble Consort Wei realized that the sympathy she had just received would vanish immediately. It would be clear that the royal physician rushed back to help them during a banquet!
Damn it! If she had known it would turn out like this, she wouldn’t have incited the banquet. It would have been better to pretend the fire happened in the Empress’s quarters. Who would have thought that in trying to garner sympathy, she would end up facing this situation!
While she was thinking irritably, her eyes met Yueqian’s gaze. The corners of Yueqian’s mouth twitched slightly, showing a mocking expression that no one else noticed, as if to say,"Bring it on. Isn’t this fun?!!"