Chapter 108: Zi An Must Already Have a Solution

Sigh— if Zi An is right, what should we do?

Du Ruhui let out a long sigh, his heart full of worry for the Court and the common people.

This time, Xiao Shi said nothing.

Anyway, as Chen Yan said, even if a massive flood comes, it should be in the period after spring and into summer.

By that time, Du Ruhui's body will surely have recovered.

He can worry as he likes; as long as his body has no issues, he is too lazy to bother.

"Preventive measures, what else can we do?" Chen Yan said, "When it's going to rain, it's like a daughter getting married—we cannot stop it."

"The best method is to act preemptively—construct drainage canals and flood‑control works, ready grain to ship to the regions on both banks of the Yangtze, thereby resisting the coming flood."

"Sometimes, we'd rather make a mistake than do nothing at all."

At that, Du Ruhui nodded repeatedly, saying, "Exactly—when facing a flood disaster, we'd rather err than do nothing."

"Zi An's words are reasonable!"

"But…" Du Ruhui said in a low tone, "With successive natural disasters, the Court has no funds for disaster relief; on top of that we still need to wage war, the consumption of silver and grain is huge, and the Ministry of Revenue's finances are probably only enough for the Court's normal operations. Where would the money for preemptive measures come from?"

Chen Yan and the others took his words, chuckling, "These have little to do with a single ailment of Cai Duke; they should be matters for His Majesty to worry about."

"I think His Majesty, being wise, would certainly not watch the people become displaced."

Hearing that, Du Ruhui's first reaction was that it made sense.

After all, he now finds it difficult to get out of bed, and must have Xiao Shi attend to his meals each day; worrying about these trivialities is essentially useless.

Informing His Majesty is the correct course.

But Du Ruhui pondered carefully and suddenly felt something was off.

According to Li Shimin, shouldn't Chen Yan be a man of great righteousness?

Why can he speak so casually about the flood approaching, and seem eager to deliver the news to His Majesty?

Du Ruhui looked at Chen Yan with puzzlement, recalling every sentence Chen Yan had spoken since entering the door.

He noticed that Chen Yan's shift of topic was somewhat abrupt.

Just a moment earlier, he was talking about when he would recover, and about Fang Xuanling temporarily assuming his duties.

In the blink of an eye, he was talking about the natural disaster flood.

On the surface this shift sounds harmless, but the more one ponders, the more the inconsistency becomes apparent.

At this point Chen Yan said, "Cai Duke, have you heard about Empress Changsun's birthday banquet from a couple of days ago?"

Du Ruhui thought for a moment, then shook his head, "I only know that this year's Empress Her Majesty's birthday banquet was held modestly, with guests almost all royal relatives, so I don't know much about it."

He didn't understand why Chen Yan suddenly brought up Empress Changsun's banquet, but he chose to continue the conversation.

Xiao Shi interjected, "Indeed, I've heard about it; at first I thought the banquet's scale was the same as last year, and I even prepared congratulatory gifts in advance."

"But I never expected that we weren't invited later."

"Did anything happen at Empress Changsun's birthday banquet?"

"Actually nothing major," Chen Yan lifted his teacup, took a sip, then said, "It was just that halfway through the banquet, the Retired Emperor came by once and said that His Majesty had done well."

Huh?

Du Ruhui was bewildered.

Li Yuan… saying Li Shimin did well?

Is that right?

Having once disguised himself to rebel against Li Shimin, Du Ruhui knows very well how Li Yuan was forced to abdicate the throne.

Moreover, that reckless Yuchi Gong, during the Xuanwu Gate Incident, even presented the heads of Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji before Li Yuan, forcing him to acknowledge the coup's outcome and establishing Li Shimin as Crown Prince.

In the end, he even placed Li Yuan under house arrest.

From Du Ruhui's view, Li Yuan not seeking to retake the throne was sufficient; how could he possibly acknowledge that Li Shimin did well?

Du Ruhui twitched his mouth corner, momentarily speechless.

Could it be… that during his illness, several years have already passed outside?

Li Yuan and Li Shimin reconciled?

While Du Ruhui was lost in confusion, Chen Yan spoke again, "For the specifics, I suggest Cai Duke investigate himself; perhaps then Cai Duke will understand my meaning."

"At the banquet, quite a few interesting things happened,"

Du Ruhui blinked, noticing Chen Yan's meaning‑laden gaze, and silently nodded.

The topic suddenly halted, and thereafter they never mentioned the flood or the banquet again.

Soon, Du Gou arrived with a group of servants, bringing a pot of stewed beef.

Under Xiao Shi and Du Gou's warm hospitality, Chen Yan and Du Gou had a few drinks.

During that time, Du Ruhui would occasionally glance at him, then ponder something alone.

He always felt that Chen Yan's purpose today wasn't that simple, yet he couldn't grasp what his goal truly was.

After the food and drink were finished, Xiao Shi and Du Gou escorted Chen Yan out of Cai Duke's residence, and the mother and son returned to the room, where Du Ruhui suddenly said:

"Madam, I recall you have a good relationship with the Princess of Hejian Commandery, correct?"

Xiao Shi hesitated for a moment, then nodded, "My relationship with her is indeed decent; we often chat together when we have time."

"Very well, take a generous gift to visit the Princess of Hejian Commandery and inquire about what happened at Empress Her Majesty's birthday banquet."

Du Ruhui thought for a moment, then continued, "The focus is to investigate Zi An's situation at the banquet; ask whether anything unusual occurred."

Xiao Shi was startled, "Go now?"

"Go now!" Du Ruhui said earnestly.

Du Ruhui's serious attitude made Xiao Shi not dare to delay; she hurriedly took the generous gift to seek out the Princess of Hejian Commandery.

It wasn't until dusk that Madam Xiao hurried back.

Du Ruhui had been with her for so long without any surprise; after all, women, when gathered together, can't help but chat about other things.

As long as Madam Xiao hasn't forgotten the main business, that's fine.

"How is it, madam?"

"Did you manage to investigate?"

Madam Xiao didn't know how to answer, so she sat at the edge of the bed, thought for a moment, and said, "The investigation did succeed."

"Indeed, as Zi An said, the Retired Emperor visited halfway through the banquet and publicly praised His Majesty's performance."

"As for Zi An…"

"What's wrong with Zi An?" Du Ruhui asked hurriedly.

Madam Xiao's expression turned odd as she said, "The Retired Emperor seemed very concerned about Princess Changle's marriage; at the banquet he bluntly remarked that Zi An and Princess Changle were a perfect match, both talented and beautiful."

"Crown Prince Li Chengqian even openly stood out to support this marriage."

"Most importantly, the Prince of Hejian said that Princess Changle seemed quite happy at that time."

"…Huh?" Du Ruhui was slightly stunned, his mind a bit confused.

But quickly, he understood some matters and was pleased.

"I get it, no wonder Zi An isn't worried about the flood, so that's it, so that's it!"

Madam Xiao asked in confusion, "Sir, what does this have to do with the flood?"

"Of course it does! If I'm not mistaken, Zi An must already have a solution!"

"......"