The Challenge of a Farmhouse Son-in-Law-Chapter 998 - 993: Memorial to the Emperor

Even though it was her own son, the Empress did not trust him, and immediately sent Mama Li to verify with the Imperial Medical Bureau.

King Jin breathed a sigh of relief because the matter was indeed true, and he was not afraid of having the Empress send someone to inquire.

The Empress watched King Jin and said indifferently, "Xiaoran, remember, you are of noble birth, and those lowly women are not even fit to be your concubines. If you fancy a woman, you can choose any unmarried lady in Beijing, but you mustn’t pick up some lowly woman to bring back, much less a female physician from Gu Youyou’s side."

King Jin bowed his head and said, "Your son will heed Mother’s instructions."

He was very aware of the Empress’s decisiveness; only by complying with her could he calm this situation down.

...

After several serene days spent just with each other, filled with warmth, romance, and sweetness.

She would personally tie up his hair, and he would try his hand at drawing her eyebrows.

In leisure moments, they would sip tea and play a game of chess, discussing strategies as they faced the board.

Gu Youyou was a special woman, and only someone like her could talk about men without falling short.

In the study, Jin Zijin was reading memorials, while Gu Youyou stood before the window painting.

She painted a summer dress with such ethereal grace that it seemed to float enchantingly. After blowing the ink dry, she turned to look at Jin Zijin.

"Why are you reading memorials too?" Are you looking at them at home as well?

Without taking his eyes off the memorial, Jin Zijin replied softly, "Wan Decheng sent them to me, asking me to read them."

Gu Youyou knew that the ’he’ he referred to was the Emperor. It was common for Princes to read memorials, but they were usually called to the Imperial Study, and after reading one, the Emperor would question them on the spot.

But to have a whole basketful delivered to Jin Zijin for him to read at home was quite unusual.

"What does the Emperor mean by this?" Gu Youyou couldn’t help but ask.

Jin Zijin put down one memorial, annotated it, picked up another, and said, "He wants me to clean up his mess."

Upon seeing this particular memorial, his brow furrowed intensely.

Noticing his change in expression, Gu Youyou quickly asked, "What’s the matter?"

After asking, she moved beside him to look together.

The memorial was from Yangguan City, detailing how ongoing heavy rains had caused a flash flood, particularly in Qingshui Town, which had been engulfed by the deluge.

Countless people had died or been injured, and those who survived were displaced...

Recently, Gu Youyou had received the account books from Qin Changlin as well as a secret letter of well-being from Qingshui Town.

"When did this happen?" Gu Youyou asked anxiously.

Jin Zijin said, "It was probably around the time we got married."

That meant it had already been about ten days.

The flood in Yangguan City made communication difficult, so it took ten days for news to reach Beijing, which was no easy feat.

Jin Zijin set the memorial on the table and began to grind the ink.

Gu Youyou took it and read carefully.

She said, "This must be handled as soon as possible, the surviving people must have fled everywhere."

"Yes," Jin Zijin said: "The fastest ones should be nearing Beijing’s borders by now. According to previous practices, they will likely be denied entry to the city; many people will starve to death outside its walls. Fortunately, it is not winter, or they would freeze to death outside the city."

Gu Youyou took a deep breath; she naturally understood how the authorities of this era treated refugees.

It wasn’t that they were heartless; in an era of scarce resources, a country didn’t have the capacity to save large numbers of refugees.

Gu Youyou said, "I have to go out, to save as many as I can; at the very least, I must find the people of the Gu Family."