The Challenge of a Farmhouse Son-in-Law-Chapter 1002 - 997: Questioning Imperial Authority

"I’ve also heard that the Emperor isn’t the legitimate heir to the throne at all. It’s said that when the rebellion happened years ago, the Third Prince wasn’t actually rebelling; he had the Sacred Edict of Succession from the late Emperor and should have been the rightful successor. But he was executed as a traitor by the current Emperor. Heaven has eyes, retribution will come, not immediately, but in time. It’s just the common people like us who suffer."

Such talk was extremely detrimental to imperial power, and Gu Youyou looked worriedly at Jin Zijin.

A shadow of unease passed over Jin Zijin’s calm expression. If he guessed correctly, these rumors weren’t just randomly spreading; there must be someone intentionally behind it.

Who would do this? Who wanted to, and if the imperial authority were put into question, who would benefit the most?

"Heh..." Jin Zijin let out a cold laugh, it seems he’s still not giving up.

Back then, even with the Sacred Edict and a large base of supporters, they couldn’t bring down Jin Moning, let alone now without the Sacred Edict, and dealing with the current Jin Moning.

If a few rumors paired with a natural disaster could topple Jin Moning, the world would likely be in chaos by now.

"That’s his problem, no need to worry," Jin Zijin said.

Two more days passed, and they rarely encountered any refugees on the road now, only occasionally seeing the elderly, women, children, or the sick.

They had asked around and learned that these were people from a few villages around Qingshui Town.

Gu Youyou’s heart sank further. These people made it this far, yet there was still no sign of the Gu Family.

Jin Zijin stood behind her and said in a low voice, "They might be trapped somewhere, it doesn’t necessarily mean they’ve encountered disaster."

The rain had stopped, and the floodwaters were gradually receding.

After being trapped for more than ten days, there probably weren’t many who had survived.

"I want to go to Lotus Village to have a look," Gu Youyou said.

They were nearly at Qingshui Town. Now that the rain had stopped and the flood was receding quickly, even if all the houses in Lotus Village had been destroyed, she still wanted to see for herself.

"Alright, I’ll come with you," Jin Zijin brought two horses over.

"Mm," Gu Youyou nodded at him, then turned to Searcy and the others, "You all head back first, maybe find a place to wait for us. The road ahead might be tough for the carriage."

They were all exhausted from the past few days’ journey. Many fell ill on the way, and Searcy always complained that saving people was more troublesome than poisoning them.

She was the most tired after Gu Youyou and was already reluctant to continue. She simply nodded and agreed.

"Then you be careful too, if you really can’t find them, let it be. Each has their own fate. This is a natural disaster, nothing can be done."

"Alright, I know," said Gu Youyou. She was a doctor and faced life and death more candidly than most; there was no sense in demanding the impossible.

...

Below the mountain was a relentless flood, while above were villagers from Lotus Village who had managed to evacuate in time.

When the flash flood struck that day, they couldn’t escape in time. Qin Changlin suggested climbing higher, so they ended up trapped on top of that mountain.

The provisions they’d escaped with were nearly gone, and Gu Wen, who had been severely ill, was close to his last breath.

The Gu Family, taking care of Gu Wen, had to separate from the other villagers, with Qin Changlin staying by their side.

Huang Xiangwen’s face was streaked with tears, as by now, Gu Wen had nearly lost consciousness, breathing heavily, with more breaths out than in, occasionally raving about how the Gu Family’s house was his, the Silver was his, and all the fields were his.

He also berated Huang Xiangwen as a spendthrift, accusing her of squandering their Silver Coin and property on outsiders.