Chapter 882 (1/2)
Chapter 882
In the Eighth Prince fu, Xuan Li slass tea cup to the ground in one fierce mentsHis entle appearance had absolutely disappeared, replaced by a furious wrath that sank deep into his bones
“How did this happen? Didn’t they say there was nothing wrong with the da then how could it collapse?” He threw the book in his hand at the advisor as standing nearest hih the advisor was terrified he did not even dare to exhaleThis was the first tihth Prince had lost his temper with him; he had always controlled his emotions very skillfullyEven if he had a deep-rooted hatred for someone, he would s a war breeze in a pleasant environment
No one knew the irritation in Xuan Li’s heart at this moment
Why did it have to be at this time!
When he was finally about to achieve all that he desired! He was popular with the people, he had the favour of the Emperor- all that was left was this final contribution to society- and he would shi+ne more clearly in the eyes of the Great Jin dynastyThe ive him their support and, with more people in the pal power in future
Recently, he had poured his heart into thethat it was a surefire endeavourHow could it all fall to pieces at the final stage!
Xuan Li was a person as unwilling to ad like this had happenedIt was as if someone had slapped hih he appeared generous and good-natured, he was actually proud and arrogantHow could he tolerate this failure!
In a towering rage, he ordered, “Get Li An here!” Then, as souard thathim here as well”
His subordinates received their orders and left
Overnight, the winds of fortune had changed directionThe once brilliant, wise, and outstanding Eighth Prince, who had rendered great service in flood control, had suddenly become an incapable, obstinate, and self-opinionated man who cared not one iota about the lives of the common people, and was even disrespectful to a seniorreservoir had completely collapsed, and all the homes in the lower reaches were totally destroyedIf it were not for the actions of the city garrison’s Zhao Yi fro Han who had recently returned froht to evacuate the people, who kne many innocent lives would have been lost due to this disaster
The people praised the Zhao family soldiers and the Guan fa Buddhas who rescued the suffering and the distressedIn less than no time, they had become the objects of the love and admiration of the people in the capital city
Moreover, Great Master Hui Jue, who had prophesied that Bo Chang reservoir would collapse, was being worshi+pped with great reverenceEveryone had witnessed for the down over the past few days, such that it appeared to be stopping soon, so who could have iined that a heavy rainfall would descend upon theIf not for the Zhao and Guan family soldiers, the capital city would now be haunted by thousands of vengeful spirits
Gossip in this vein swept rapidly through the streets and alleys, spreading to the homes of the nobility, to the air above the Great Jin dynasty, and finally to the imperial court
The supporters of Fifth Prince seized this opportunity to justify their ruthless criticishth Prince’s hth Prince flew like snowflakes onto the Emperor’s table
Even then, the situation did not coun in the capital city that the da whoe of the project, and this subordinate had embezzled much of the e portion of the embezzled money had then found its way to the Grand Councillor fuIt was precisely because the Second Young Master of the Grand Councillor fu, Li An, was afraid that this would be discovered that hethe lives of thousands of people in the lower reaches of the reservoirEighth Prince and Li An had always been on close terhth Prince had helped him with the cover up
All the authorities in the world know that fish cannot survive when the water is too clean[1]Thus, if the court officials, no raft on a small scale, that was areservoir had been the largest reservoir in the Great Jin dynastyThe people residing in the capital city had relied on its water for drinking and daily usage, and it was also the source of the water for irrigating thousands of acres of fertile landGraft on a se, then it would be like ter into the heart of the country
[1] Shui zhi qing ze wu yu ( 水至清则无鱼 ) – part of the saying, 水至清则无鱼, 人至察则无徒 litwhen the water is too clean, there are no fish; when one is too critical, one has few friends/ followers
In particular, Li An’sthe situation at this critical juncture was tantaing a secretWhat’s more, he had planned to silence thousands of lives at one fell swoopThe entire kingdom was in shock and the Emperor was furiousWithout hesitation, he issued a decree – the Grand Councillor fu was corrupt and in flagrant abuse of the law, the daivable crime, and the fu’s people were to be escorted to prison to await trial
At this ti to Xuan LiXuan Li said, angrily, “How on earth did this happen? How could what the monk said be true?”
Li An was also somewhat baffled for the first tiht, he said, “This was obviously well planned, and it hness’ iuards all vanished into thin air, and it can be assuineered by the Zhao fa HanHowever, in the end, their soldiers are all from the armyHow is it possible that they did not leave behind even the slightest trace?”
“What’s the use even if they did leave traces behind?” Xuan Li said, “I can’t possibly tell anyone about this situation, so I will just have to suffer all this pent-up grievance aloneBesides, since our opponents have no scruples slaughtering people, they have definitely prepared counter-measures” He clenched his fist and said, “The Zhao family? I’m surprised that they would throw their lot in with Fifth Prince”
“Your Highness, I still think there’s so very fishy about this situation; itof Fifth Prince,” Li An said
Xuan Li looked at him contemptuously and said, “Li An, this prince[2] has already trusted you many times, but this time, you have failed”
[2] Ben dian ( 本殿 ) – as Irisu explained in Ch 71, this literally means this palace hall, but often it refers to a royalty (ns their own palace, which in and of itself signifies i to thehness, please punish iveness, but in his eyes there was a flash of h,” Xuan Li said as he waved his hand“At present, Father Eiveness, otherill be left with no way out”
Just as he said this, an iuard suddenly rushed inWhen he saw Xuan Li, he quickly knelt down and said, “Your Highness, so has happened”
Xuan Li frowned“What is it?”
The iuard eyed Li AnXuan Li said, “Speak”
“His Majesty, the Emperor, has issued an imperial decree that the people of the Grand Councillor fu be imprisoned to await trial”
“What?” Li An abruptly stood up
The iuard swiftly narrated the entire series of eventsXuan Li’s broere tightly knitThis situation looked to be a really great misfortune for the Grand Councillor fu, but his own fu was linked with his in innu at present, Xuan Li was afraid that he had already fallen out of favour
Li An was totally duue premonition unexpectedly arose in his heartIt was not as if the Emperor had no idea what the Grand Councillor fu was up to in the capital all these years, it’s sis because the situation in the imperial court required balanceThere was a need for the Grand Councillor fu, for once this balance was disturbed, the current excellent situation in court would be destroyedThe Emperor knew this, and so did the Grand Councillor fuSince they had a strong backing, as long as the relevant people behaved appropriately within the understood norms there would be no issue
But, now, the Emperor had actually imprisoned the people of the Grand Councillor fuFor a person who had achieved unbounded glory, being iain regain his previous positionThe Emperor was unshakeable in his resolve to punish the Grand Councillor fu, thus what could anyone do about it?
Xuan Li frowned and said, “Father actually believes such a preposterous story?”
“The ruuard said cautiously, “and they are very persuasiveThe men the Emperor sent to seize the Grand Councillor fu really did find countless precious stones and jewels as they searched”
Li An stood rooted to the spot in a daze
Bo Chang reservoir had indeed been built by the person Li Dong had proraft, but it should not have been to the extent that the dam would collapse so easilyAt the very least, the foundations should have been stableThere was a tacit understanding within the imperial court about ould happen to the silver for the construction project, but to have the dam suddenly collapse was absolutely unexpectedHence, the nu of the great aold, silver, and precious stones found in the Grand Councillor fu
Although thewhatsoever to do with the reservoir building project, under present circumstances, people would definitely associate them with the silver that was allocated to the reservoir project