As the new year arrived and spring descended, the weather was exceptionally pleasant, with clear skies day after day. Many nobles in Luoyang invited each other to go out and enjoy the beautiful spring scenery.

However, while some were joyful, others were worried.

The officials in charge of agriculture in the court looked at the daily sunshine and were nearly going white-haired with worry. Last winter had little snow, and now there was still no rain. If this continued, this year's crops would be difficult to plant. The farmers were even more anxious, everyone looking to the sky with distressed expressions.

Finally, it rained once, but it stopped in less than half a day. The sun came out and the moisture quickly evaporated, leaving the earth dry once again.

"This year... I'm afraid it will be a year of disaster..."

Signs of drought were beginning to appear in various places, and the court finally started to take notice. However, there were few effective countermeasures. Every few years, there would be such a disastrous year, with continuous calamities and hardships, ultimately tormenting the common people.

Liao Tingyan was at the highest center of power in this era, surrounded by flowers and brocades, a world of peace and prosperity. The suffering of the people was very far from her. If she were an ordinary person unaware of everything like the others, she would be able to laugh and chat with the beauties in this palace, and even if she had worries, they would only be worries that could fit within this palace city. But she wasn't.

She knew that a drought was coming, and she also knew that if this drought was not handled well, many people would die, and epidemics would definitely continue to break out in the later period, just like in the original story.

So Sima Jiao discovered that in the bright spring sunshine, his beloved consort was inexplicably worried again.

By early summer, the weight she had previously gained had slimmed down again - only her breasts had not slimmed.

Sima Jiao couldn't stand it anymore. He angrily vented at the court one day, then went back and pinched Liao Tingyan's chin, asking, "What exactly are you worrying about?"

Liao Tingyan honestly said, "Worrying about the drought." And also worrying about the downfall of the country.

Sima Jiao: "So I'm asking you why you're worrying about the drought?"

That was clearly something that had nothing to do with her. Sima Jiao could not understand this kind of worry, because for him, this world was his, and it was only the same as those useless treasures stored in the inner treasury.

From a young age, he had never cared about how the common people fared, or rather, he had never cared about how others fared. What did that have to do with him?

He liked Liao Tingyan and wanted to see her living lazily and carefree by his side, preferably like before. But now, for the sake of a mere drought, she was so worried that it made him think of the previous flood incident.

Was she worried about the country and people? Sima Jiao keenly felt that this was not the case. She was usually very lazy, and only became so tense about specific matters, as if concealing something. This was what truly made Sima Jiao unhappy.

He wanted to interrogate her, but Liao Tingyan was not like those people who would say anything when he scared them a little. Sima Jiao wanted to get angry with her, but she came over to act coquettishly, hugging and kissing him, and Sima Jiao just... couldn't get angry anymore.

As a result, he became more and more angry.

"You're not allowed to lose any more weight," Sima Jiao ordered.

Liao Tingyan: "..." This wasn't something she could control. She would naturally gain weight in the fall and winter and lose weight in the spring and summer.

She had already said that she would slim down when summer arrived. It wasn't just because she was worried about the drought, but also because of the weather.

With little rainfall, several prefectures were experiencing drought this year, and urgent reports kept coming in one after another. Because Liao Tingyan was so worried that she had slimmed down, Sima Jiao unconsciously started to pay attention.

He at least took the time to read the reports and instructed local officials to construct water conservancy projects. Seeing the emperor suddenly taking this matter to heart, the officials below looked at each other and also started to care about this matter, following his example.

Compared to the original story, the situation was much better now. However, as the weather got hotter and the drought lasted longer, the crops that had been planted in the fields with great difficulty died in large swaths due to insufficient irrigation.

Even if a family spent the whole day carrying water to irrigate and carefully tended to the crops from dawn to dusk, they could not withstand the scorching sun in the sky.

The areas near Luoyang were still alright, but in the most severely affected areas, by early summer, there were already thousands of miles of barren land, with large tracts of fields cracking and not even wild grass able to grow.

"Your Majesty, the disaster in Tuzhou is severe and needs to be addressed as soon as possible. This official requests Your Majesty to open the relief granaries and distribute grain to aid the disaster victims!" Minister Li solemnly bowed.

Before Sima Jiao could speak, the Prime Minister frowned and resolutely refused, "No! The relief granaries are prepared for war. How can they be easily used for such matters? If foreign tribes take the opportunity to invade, where will our army's provisions come from!"

Minister Li said indignantly, "Surely the lives of the people in one prefecture are more important than that invisible war! Now there is insufficient food in Tuzhou, and the official granaries can no longer support it. In some areas, there are even incidents of people exchanging their children for food..."

The Prime Minister sneered, "It's just a few people dying. Minister Li, why are you so tense? I think the drought won't last long, and there's no need to use the relief granaries."

After he finished speaking, he bowed to Sima Jiao at the head seat and said loudly, "What does Your Majesty think?"

Sima Jiao had always relied on him for everything and rarely refuted his words. The ministers were already used to it.

Now, seeing the Prime Minister's face full of certainty, Minister Li and a few other ministers who were anxious about the people of Tuzhou couldn't help but feel their hearts sink. Minister Li even called out to His Majesty in despair.

Sima Jiao's face was solemn. After a moment of silence, he said, "Open the relief granaries. In areas with severe disasters, relocate the people. When the disaster is over, order them to return to their original places of residence."

Unexpectedly, he would make such a decision. Minister Li's eyes immediately lit up, and he immediately knelt down and said, "Your Majesty is wise!"

The Prime Minister's expression stiffened. He stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, please reconsider. The relief granaries are for..."

"Prime Minister," Sima Jiao interrupted him, his face expressionless, his eyes cold and aloof. "I said to open the granaries."

The Prime Minister's cheek twitched. He stood back with a dark face and said nothing more.

Sima Jiao then pointed to the Grand Tutor. Since his second son's death last year, he had been even more low-key in the court and hardly managed anything. Now Sima Jiao had pointed him out, and said, "Grand Tutor, you will assist in the disaster relief matters."

The noble families are numerous, with branch families in several states. If one wants to stabilize the situation, there's nothing more convenient than those families who have been rooted in the local area for a long time. Sima Jiao's intention is to have Grand Tutor Duan take the lead in controlling the disaster situation in various places, and also to indicate that the major families should provide relief.

Grand Tutor Duan raised his eyelids and glanced at His Majesty, then answered yes. At this time, like the Prime Minister, he felt very strange about Sima Jiao's unusual behavior.

In the previous flood, almost everything was handled by Grand Protector Gao. All the ministers thought that Shen Shi, who was granted the fourth-rank title of Imperial Water Commissioner, had sought Grand Protector Gao's favor and was released by His Majesty to handle the flood and make amends.

No one knew it was Sima Jiao's order. Therefore, this time, all the ministers couldn't help but think more about Sima Jiao's sudden behavior.

His Majesty, who hasn't been involved in political affairs for many years, why did he suddenly change his attitude? Is it really because of the disaster, or... recalling that His Majesty publicly vetoed the Prime Minister, everyone felt that this matter probably wasn't simple.

When did His Majesty ever care about the suffering of the people? This time, it's probably fake to deal with the drought, and the real reason is that he can't tolerate the Prime Minister anymore.

Even the Prime Minister himself thought so.

After the court session, the Prime Minister returned to his mansion and summoned his confidants and advisors to discuss the matter.

"He's getting older now, probably can't tolerate me anymore." The Prime Minister's expression was complex, with some resentment and a sense of loss. Back then, the previous emperor entrusted the young emperor to him, and he had also wholeheartedly supported the young emperor.

But people are not rocks, how can they remain unchanged forever? Although he had no intention of rebelling, he ultimately developed some other thoughts and did some self-serving things because he held great power for many years.

Over the years, despite Sima Jiao's tyrannical nature, he had never opposed any of the Prime Minister's decisions. As time passed, the Prime Minister felt it was a matter of course. Being suddenly refuted today, he was shocked and angry, with an inexplicable hint of fear in his heart.

Could it be that His Majesty is really preparing to deal with him? He clearly showed no abnormality before, so how did he develop this idea?

Hearing his doubts, an advisor's eyes turned and said, "His Majesty's actions have indeed changed. Prime Minister, why don't you think carefully, has His Majesty been a little different since Concubine Liao entered the palace?"

Prime Minister: "You mean, His Majesty has been bewitched by a woman?"

"Since ancient times, beautiful women have been the root of trouble. His Majesty has probably been provoked by someone with ill intentions to turn against the Prime Minister."

The Prime Minister's expression was gloomy and uncertain. He snorted, then thought of another matter. "Sima Jiao insists on opening the relief granaries. The situation there is likely to be discovered. The current plan is to find a few scapegoats to resolve this matter first."

"Rest assured, Prime Minister, this matter will definitely be handled properly!"

...

At the Duan residence, Grand Tutor Duan and his eldest son were sitting together drinking tea when a subordinate came to the door seeking an audience.

"So, do you know why His Majesty is behaving so abnormally?" Grand Tutor Duan asked.

The person kneeling below spoke in a flat voice, without raising his head, "According to the report from the spies in the palace, the reason why His Majesty is concerned about the drought is because of Concubine Liao. It is said that after Concubine Liao learned about the disaster, she became depressed. His Majesty couldn't bear to see her like this, so he intervened in this matter to comfort the concubine."

Grand Tutor Duan: "..."

He took a sip of tea and put it down, saying, "I thought he was just keeping an amusing plaything, but I never thought he would become so infatuated, all for a beauty? I really can't believe it. Songxue, what do you think?"

Grand Tutor Duan's eldest son was named Duan Songxue. Hearing his father's question, he replied calmly, "The Sima clan has produced many madmen, but also quite a few infatuated fools. Regardless of whether this matter is true or not, we should just observe. Right now, the ones who should be worried and anxious are not us."

"However, that Concubine Liao in the palace is indeed quite skilled. To be able to force our emperor to patiently do such things, she cannot be underestimated."

The Concubine Liao, who was said to be not underestimated, had no idea what Sima Jiao had done again. She was currently hugging a quilt, feeling dizzy and lightheaded.

Because it was summer, she was afraid of the heat, so ice was used early in the palace. As a concubine who could have whatever she wanted, there was of course plenty of ice. Liao Tingyan put a lot of ice basins in the palace without any scruples. The result of this unrestrained behavior was that she caught a cold and fell ill.

In the middle of summer, she actually caught another cold, even more severe than the one she had last winter.

While Liao Tingyan was painfully drinking the bitter medicine, she couldn't help but think, why was it that she and Sima Jiao slept together, but only she got sick while Sima Jiao was still fine? Theoretically, her body should be much better than Sima Jiao's, right? This shouldn't be the case.

After finishing the medicine and sucking on a candied fruit, Liao Tingyan fell back onto the couch and wrapped herself in a brocade quilt.

Next time, she couldn't use so much ice just because she craved the coolness. In all matters, being too greedy never ends well.

Half asleep, Liao Tingyan felt someone sit beside her, and a cool hand touched her forehead. After a while, the person withdrew their hand and walked out.

Liao Tingyan was startled awake and heard people talking in the outer room.

"Now everyone is speculating about the reason why His Majesty is dealing with the drought. I was also puzzled before, but now I know it's because of the concubine." Grand Protector Gao's voice carried a smile.

Sima Jiao's voice, on the other hand, sounded displeased, "She got sick like this over such a small matter... Tsk, how troublesome."

Liao Tingyan: "..." No, she really didn't get sick from worrying about the drought, but from using too much ice.