A guard, sent to deliver the news, had barely finished speaking when soldiers knocked on the door from outside, shouting that an imperial envoy had arrived from the capital.
Xiao Wangye tidied the items in his hands, his brow furrowed slightly, and he got up and went out.
After Luo Qinquan was arrested, all the treasures in the Luo mansion were confiscated, and this large mansion was also renovated by Xiao Wangye and temporarily served as his royal residence.
Now, both he and his wife were residing in the newly built royal mansion, and the soldiers had come directly to the royal mansion to deliver the news.
As soon as Xiao Wangye stepped out, he was met by a messenger guard in official attire.
Calling it an imperial envoy was actually just a messenger. Fengdu City was located in a remote area, and it was impossible for the young emperor to send people from the inner palace to travel thousands of miles to issue decrees.
However, even though the messenger before him held a low status, he held an imperial decree, as if the emperor himself had arrived.
Xiao Wangye had to kneel and perform the rites before the imperial decree, while Ye Qingcheng, who had rushed over after hearing the news, followed closely, filled with doubt.
The matters in Fengdu City had not been fully concluded, and neither of them had reported back yet. How could another imperial decree suddenly arrive?
The messenger did not give the two of them time to ponder. Seeing the main party, he ignored his dusty appearance and directly unfolded the imperial decree in his hands to read:
"By the grace of Heaven, the Emperor decrees: The Regent King has achieved great efficacy in the matter of governing the strange disease and should be rewarded. However, recently Ningcheng has been in unrest, and it has been investigated that Japanese merchants deliberately inflated grain prices. It is now ordered that the Regent King immediately proceed to investigate this matter. Upon its completion and return, you shall be jointly rewarded! Respect this!"
After reading the content of the imperial decree, the messenger handed it to Xiao Wangye.
As for himself, he had to rush back to report.
Xiao Wangye's expression darkened, but he did not make things difficult for the minor official, ordering his guards to see him off.
The two walked back into the room without a word, their expressions not looking very good.
This matter had come too suddenly; they had not received any wind of it, and it was likely that the young emperor did not wish to give Xiao Wangye time to prepare.
He heavily threw the imperial decree onto the table. Xiao Wangye walked to the window, looking at the lush, leafy large tree, silent.
In contrast, Ye Qingcheng stood with her hands on her hips, her lips pouting, displaying an expression of dissatisfaction.
"This is clearly a trap, isn't it? The matter of the Japanese merchant fleet maliciously raising grain prices is not simple in itself! Our affairs here haven't been resolved yet, and they've sent us another thorny problem?"
She had heard Xiao Wangye mention before that Luo Qinquan had stolen Fengdu City's granaries to make money, and that it was also due to the complicity of Japanese merchant fleets.
Now that a similar situation had occurred in Ningcheng, if one thought about it carefully, it was definitely not a coincidence!
If one prefect could collude with Japanese merchant fleets to sell grain maliciously, then there would be two, three, or even more!
The world was not lacking in corrupt officials, so why wouldn't they fall into this trap?
The young emperor, on the surface, was asking Xiao Wangye to investigate the matter of the Japanese merchant fleet selling grain at inflated prices. In reality, this matter involved a wide range of people. A single mistake could offend many officials. This was forcing him to incur the wrath of the masses!
Thinking of this, Ye Qingcheng became even more indignant. Even someone like her, who didn't pay much attention to court affairs, could see that something was wrong.
She refused to believe that the young emperor himself couldn't think of this, so this matter was clearly a trap deliberately set for Xiao Wangye.
In Fengdu City, Luo Qinquan had absolute power and controlled the economy, so other officials had not interacted with the Japanese merchant fleet.
However, other cities were different; the officials involved were hard to say.
To cut off someone's financial path was like killing their parents. If they went to investigate thoroughly, they would surely offend many officials in Ningcheng.
As the saying goes, touching one part affects the whole. If they were ostracized by the officials of Ningcheng, let alone whether this task could be completed,
It would be absolutely impossible for them to borrow grain later.
Currently, Fengdu City appeared to be prosperous, and the people were returning to their normal lives, but the grain still relied on the disaster relief provided by Xiao Wangye.
With years of reduced harvests, coupled with the sudden outbreak of the strange disease this year that led to crop failure, it was the period of scarcity.
Fengdu City needed outside help to get through this difficult time.
Having handled the city's affairs, Ye Qingcheng naturally understood that the current internal and external troubles could not be easily dismissed.
Moreover, this matter also involved merchant fleets from another country. If not handled well, it could even trigger a war between two countries.
At that time, all blame would fall upon Xiao Wangye, and all responsibilities would be pushed onto him, the person in charge.
However, if they did not accept this troublesome task, the young emperor would have an excuse to target the two of them.
This matter was truly a dilemma. Ye Qingcheng sighed and sat by the table with a face full of worry.
After enduring the difficult times, they thought a pleasant new life had begun, but reality had presented them with another challenge.
They had no choice but to accept this direct attack from the young emperor.
Just as Ye Qingcheng was lost in thought and her heart was troubled, a warm, large hand patted her back in comfort.
"I'm not even worried, why are you in such a hurry?"
It turned out that Xiao Wangye had walked over from the window at some point and was now standing beside her, a gentle smile on his face.
Seeing his nonchalant attitude, Ye Qingcheng patted the table with some frustration, pouted, and said:
"Why aren't you worried? They've already bullied you to your doorstep."
Anyone with eyes could see that the young emperor was deliberately causing trouble for Xiao Wangye, making him take on this difficult task.
Among the many ministers in the capital, not one dared to step forward to voice an opinion, for fear of getting into trouble themselves.
After all, this matter involved a wide range of people and was connected to the Japanese merchant fleet. It was indeed difficult to handle it with complete freedom.
Even the highly influential Prime Minister Ye could not take on this matter for the time being, and even if he wanted to intercede for Xiao Wangye, there was no way to do so.
Ye Qingcheng was furious at Xiao Wangye's calm demeanor, feeling like the emperor wasn't worried but the eunuch was.
As she became increasingly anxious, Xiao Wangye spoke again to comfort her:
"Don't worry, there will always be a way."
Xiao Wangye's composed demeanor made Ye Qingcheng suspicious. Facing such a thorny issue, had he already anticipated it?
However, she did not ask. Since he was confident and did not volunteer the reason, she decided not to inquire further.
After all, if Xiao Wangye himself, the principal party, wasn't worried, what was the use of her being anxious and agitated here?
Thus, the two, who should have been accepting the urgent mission, returned to their previous lives.
And that imperial decree, after being put away by Xiao Wangye, remained there with no further action.
Everyone knew that the Regent King had received an imperial decree that day, but no one knew its contents. The royal mansion's guards were tight-lipped, and such confidential matters would not be divulged.
Seeing that Xiao Wangye was still as usual, eating and drinking as he pleased, people gradually forgot about the matter.
As for those in the capital, Xiao Wangye had excuses to dismiss them, claiming he was still injured and had not yet recovered.