Reborn as the Crippled King's Beloved-Chapter 463 Avoiding the Tragedy

"Your Majesty, upon observing the night sky, I have discovered that there will indeed be a prolonged period of rain across the territory of Great Yan soon. However, when compared to last year’s heavy rainfall, the difference is quite significant. Your Majesty need not worry," said Lord Li, the official from the Astronomical Observatory, to Jun Yuyan.

Jun Yuyan did not explain why he had suddenly inquired about the weather forecast, nor did he mention the once-in-a-century flood that Chenzhou City would face.

The dykes of Chenzhou City had been reinforced year after year but had been destroyed overnight, which showed that the Governor of Chenzhou was a duplicitous freeloader.

Last year’s heavy rain had already caused many common people to suffer, and although this year’s rains were not as severe, the collapse of the lake’s dykes meant that if the entire Chenzhou City were flooded, one could only imagine the hell on earth that would ensue.

"Lord Li, your tireless efforts are appreciated. Please continue to work hard for a few more days and pinpoint the date of the rain, so that I can have people prepare in advance," Jun Yuyan requested.

Lord Li insisted it was not troublesome and went off to carry out his duties.

In reality, the Astronomical Observatory could not predict such matters with perfect accuracy, as celestial movements were not always regular.

The next day, Lord Li informed Jun Yuyan that within seven or eight days, the rain would come, likely lasting for at least five or six days.

Looking at it that way, it truly was much less severe than the flood disaster of the previous year.

"Ah Jiu, I want to make a personal visit to Chenzhou City. Normally, if I entrusted this matter to Lou Zixi, with his capabilities, he would certainly be able to handle the Governor of Chenzhou and supervise the reconstruction of the dykes personally. But his wife has just had a miscarriage, and it does not seem right to separate them. However, I do not trust any other person with this task, as it concerns the lives of millions of citizens," Jun Yuyan said to Murong Jiu when he returned to the Kunning Palace.

Murong Jiu also knew that although there were plenty of court officials, there were very few whom Jun Yuyan could rely on substantially soon after his accession. Some were trustworthy, but when it came to capability and tactics, they fell short.

Lou Zixi was a rare talent, possessing both intellect and methods, and he was not the type to be lenient or indecisive, excelling at grasping human nature.

But it was also true that it would not be wise to separate the newlyweds, especially since Sikong Wan had lost their first child to miscarriage, something that would certainly weigh heavily on both their hearts.

If this were to distract Lou Zixi, it could cause complications in his work.

Although he was a man who could clearly separate his personal and official life.

Now, only a visit by the Son of Heaven himself could spur the Governor of Chenzhou to muster all his energy and reinforce the river dykes properly.

Moreover, during the flood disaster in his previous life, the Governor of Chenzhou’s family all managed to escape and later defected to the Xiongnu, seemingly fearful of being held accountable by the Imperial Court.

But who could definitively say whether he had been colluding with the Xiongnu in advance, intentionally causing the destruction of the dyke?

After talking with Murong Jiu, preventing such a disaster became paramount in Jun Yuyan’s mind.

"To be forewarned is to be forearmed," he thought, aiming to prevent natural disasters, while man-made calamities were unpredictable.

"Yesterday, I had already sent someone to Chenzhou City along with the decree to reinforce the dykes. Since the Governor of Chenzhou can no longer be trusted, I will travel there in civilian clothes to personally see the crisis averted," Jun Yuyan said.

Murong Jiu nodded, "I understand, I’m just concerned," she replied.

Concerned that the dyke might still collapse and then...

She dared not continue the thought.

She grasped Jun Yuyan’s hand and said, "My lord, let me accompany you."

"Your headache has just subsided; you cannot travel day and night without rest. Stay in the palace and take good care of yourself. Besides, you’ll need to deal with the official documents for me when the time comes," he replied.

In Jun Yuyan’s view, there was no such thing as women being prohibited from engaging in politics.

Moreover, he had considered much and thought far ahead. Should anything unexpected happen to him someday—if he were to pass away before Ah Jiu and their child was still young—the court officials might think of installing another member of the Imperial Family as Emperor.

Therefore, he wanted Ah Jiu involved in politics so she would be aware of all the major matters of the Imperial Court. In the event of his demise, Ah Jiu could then serve as Regent Dowager and ensure their son’s succession to the throne.

In this way, no one would be able to harm the three of them, mother and child.

He didn’t want to part with Ah Jiu this time, but the Governor of Chenzhou might be a Xiongnu spy, and this issue had to be dealt with swiftly and cleanly, without leaving any future troubles.

"Ah Jiu, rest assured, for your sake as well as for Zhijin and Zhiyu’s, I won’t put myself in danger. I will have a way out and return to see you safe and sound," he cooed in a gentle voice.

Jun Yuyan reassured her with tender words.

Despite her worries, after Jun Yuyan left Capital City, Murong Jiu couldn’t afford to be with him any less. Their foundation was shaky; they had to be even more cautious and vigilant. ƒreewebηoveℓ.com

All she could do was remain at Capital City and manage the Imperial affairs on his behalf.

Jun Yuyan was sick for a few days, and although the court officials had some murmuring about a woman handling the nation’s affairs, they were all rebutted by Lou Zixi, General Fu, and the others.

In short, it was like saying, "If the Emperor has no objections, what right do you have to complain?"

Jun Yuyan left Capital City secretly the same day he finished speaking with Murong Jiu, without revealing his whereabouts to anyone outside.

The Governor of Chenzhou would never expect that after the Emperor issued his decree, he would personally go there.

Jun Yuyan could not afford to delay and had to travel day and night at full speed.

It started to rain lightly on the way, the rain wasn’t heavy. After the rain stopped, the sky cleared, no one could anticipate that in a few days, a persistent heavy rain would come.

After handling official business, Murong Jiu emerged from the study and walked under the eaves as the heavy rain began to pour down ceaselessly.

Inside, she was full of concern but dared not show it on her face.

Fortunately, Zhijin and Zhiyu came to find her, and being with the children made it easy to divert her attention.

The heavy rain continued for five days before it finally stopped.

"The sun! The sun!"

Zhijin pointed to the sky outside, articulating the words clearly.

His sister followed suit, calling out "Yangyang" with a cute voice; their chubby little hands were plump and fair, pointing at the big sun outside, and they looked as adorable as can be.

Murong Jiu also revealed a smile.

Since Chenzhou City was not too far away, the rain must have nearly stopped there if it had stopped in Capital City.

And since no bad news had come, that was the best news of all.

After waiting a few more days with clear weather and still no news of a levee collapse, Murong Jiu’s mood also started to brighten.

That day, she received a message from Jun Yuyan.

It turned out the Governor of Chenzhou really was a Xiongnu spy, to be precise, a traitor of Great Yan, bought over by the Xiongnu, who planned to capitalize on the heavy rain and blow up the levee on a chosen night.

His timing of action was excellent and timely. He not only acquired evidence against the enemy but also took control of the whole Governor’s Mansion, preventing a tragic event.

It’s worth noting, if the levee were to be blown up, so many downstream denizens, still in their slumber, would hardly have a chance to escape, and the whole Chenzhou City would be submerged by water.

In such a situation, the death toll would be catastrophic, countless people homeless, which would be a disaster for Great Yan, both natural and man-made.

He was grateful that his Ah Jiu had foreseen all of this, affording him the opportunity to avert the disaster.

He told Ah Jiu to wait for him to return to the palace.

Murong Jiu smiled and her lips curved up.

Fine, both the children and I will be waiting for you.