After entering the book, I took the heroine's space and lived in the end of the world

In the capital, the former prosperity has long disappeared. The sun is high in the sky, and the streets are filled with a hot and desperate atmosphere.

As the temperature keeps rising, water and food are becoming less and less available, and all shops and restaurants are no longer open.

There were even many people walking on the streets who were sunburned and fainted and never woke up again. When the people found out, they were so scared that they dared not go out during the day.

If they don't go out, they will have no job and no income, and their already poor life will become even more difficult. So the desperate people will find ways to buy things. If they can't buy or have no money to buy, they will rely on robbing or stealing.

The wealthy families were the first to be robbed, and their tightly closed doors were shaken by the mob.

Although the servants fought hard, they were powerless in the face of the surging crowd. They could deal with the first batch but not the second or third batch.

At this time, in the minds of the desperate people, having money was a sin. Some wealthy businessmen even knelt down and begged in person, saying that they really had no surplus food at home.

However, the common people thought that they should make trouble even if there was no surplus food. Since they were not having a good life, no one else could have an easy life.

For a time, cries and shouts filled the entire neighborhood. The wealthy families were terrified and could only pray that the government would come forward as soon as possible to maintain order.

The government was also in a state of panic at this time, and the yamen runners were also facing the dilemma of water shortage and food shortage. They simply did not have enough energy to deal with the looting that broke out everywhere.

The Lord of Jingzhao Prefecture sat in the government office, listening to the noise coming from outside, feeling helpless. If these problems were not solved as soon as possible, the capital would fall into complete chaos, but he was powerless!

Although those dignitaries hid in their mansions, they could not withstand the double torture of the scorching heat and water shortage.

The well in the courtyard was drying up, the ice supply had melted away, and the servants were fighting over the scraps.

Inside the palace, the flowers, plants and trees in the imperial garden were all dried and yellowed by the sun, and only a shallow layer of water remained in the pond, emitting a foul smell.

As for the exquisite koi that they had raised in the past, they had already turned upside down and were fished away by the palace servants.

The emperor sat on the dragon throne with a frown on his face. The memorials in front of him were all disaster reports from various places. Each one was filled with shocking tragic scenes. Especially in order to fill their stomachs, people would do anything.

"Now the whole country is in such a desperate situation. Do you have any good ideas to solve the urgent problem?" The emperor's voice sounded a little tired, but still majestic.

The court was in complete silence, and the ministers looked at each other, not knowing how to answer. Not to mention saving the people, they themselves were in a state of drought. No, it was the clay Buddha who could not save himself.

After a long while, an old minister stepped out tremblingly and said, "Your Majesty, I think the most urgent task is to solve the water and food problems. You can send soldiers to escort grain transport teams to bring grain from the surrounding areas that were not severely affected to the capital. As for the water source, you can order craftsmen to dig wells to find water."

The emperor nodded slightly: "Although this plan is feasible, the surrounding areas are also affected by the high temperature, and it may be difficult to collect food. In addition, digging wells takes a long time, and distant water cannot quench nearby thirst.

Moreover, the memorial stated that in order to obtain water, some people began to dig the dry riverbed, hoping to find an underground river.

However, most people returned empty-handed, and only a few lucky ones dug up some muddy water.

But it also triggered more people to scramble for it. In the fight, many people were injured or even killed. "

As soon as the emperor finished speaking, the entire court fell silent...

The emperor sighed helplessly, and glanced at the ministers in the court one by one, "I know this is not an easy task, but if there is no good plan, my people will probably die in this heat and famine.

It won’t be long before this country is destroyed. Do you want to be the ministers of a country that has lost its people?”

The emperor's words hit the ministers' hearts like a heavy hammer, and the atmosphere in the court became increasingly depressing.

All the ministers knelt down and shouted, "We are incompetent! Please calm down, Your Majesty."

The emperor was so angry that he wanted to smash the teacup on the table to the ground, but thinking of the scarcity of water, he was reluctant to put down the teacup. Instead, he took the memorial and smashed it to the ground.

"You all usually call yourselves the gods of literature, but why are you all so helpless when faced with national affairs?"

All the ministers prostrated themselves on the ground, silent as a mouse, and the entire court was filled with an atmosphere of tension and despair.

Suddenly, a young imperial censor raised his head with a look of determination in his eyes, "Your Majesty, I have a plan. Although it is a bit risky, it may be able to solve the urgent problem."

The emperor's eyes lit up, and he said anxiously, "My dear Wen, please tell me quickly!"

Censor Wen took a deep breath and said, "There are many wealthy families in the capital, and although many families claim that they have no food at home, I believe that there are many who are hoarding food.

Your Majesty can order the wealthy to open their granaries and donate a certain amount of grain to help the people. If anyone disobeys, all their property will be confiscated."

As soon as this statement was made, there was an uproar in the court. Those high-ranking officials and wealthy families had complicated connections in the court, and this move would undoubtedly affect their fundamental interests.

Duke Li hurriedly stepped out to protest: "Your Majesty, this is absolutely unacceptable. The wealthy are also our people. Forcibly collecting grain like this will probably cause even greater unrest."

Censor Wen calmly retorted, "Duke Li is wrong. The capital is now in dire straits. Common people are robbing and stealing to survive, and the lives and property of the rich are also threatened.

If the wealthy families can donate food on their own initiative, they can not only help the people and calm the public anger, but also save themselves. This is a win-win situation. Besides, if the capital falls, how can their wealth be saved? "

Su Yuanwang thought that Censor Wen was a fool because of reading too much. He stood up, walked out of the line and said respectfully, "Your Majesty, although Censor Wen's method is feasible, he forgot something very important, which is water. But no matter how much food there is, it cannot be cooked without water, so we still have to solve the water problem first."

The emperor listened to Su Yuanwang's words and nodded slightly. "Your Excellency Su is right. Water and food are both of the utmost importance. Neither is indispensable. In your opinion, how should the water problem be solved?"

Su Yuanwang choked. He was so anxious to stop Censor Wen's proposal that he forgot that the emperor might ask him this question.

He didn't have any good solution. If he had one, half of the water in the lake in his backyard wouldn't have disappeared.

But there is no other way now and we have to think of a solution, otherwise the emperor might just remove me from my post.

"Your Majesty, I think we can try to pray for rain."

Upon hearing this, the hopeful look on the emperor's face immediately faded.

"Pray for rain?" The emperor's voice was filled with a barely perceptible disappointment. "Lord Su, have you forgotten that during my father's reign, there was a year of severe drought and prayers for rain were ineffective. The people had already lost confidence in this."

Su Yuanwang's heart sank. He knew that this proposal would disappoint the emperor, but it was a solution no matter what. As long as he could answer the emperor's questions, it would be fine.

As the No. 1 relative, Duke Li quickly said, "Your Majesty, praying for rain is not a perfect solution, but it may inspire the people's hearts and make them unite to overcome the difficulties. Moreover, many people have faith, and perhaps this can inspire the mercy of heaven and send down the rain."

Duke Lin, the second in-law, also agreed, "I second the motion!"

As soon as Duke Lin came out, the other civil officials who were on the same side as him all spoke up and said, "I second the motion!"

The emperor was silent for a moment, and then he looked around the court again, and finally sighed, "Forget it, I will follow Lord Su's advice and pray for rain first to calm the people. As for food, I will follow Lord Wen's suggestion."

This matter will be handled by Lord Lin. Lord Lin, this matter is of great importance, please do not let me down."

Duke Lin had a lot of grievances in his heart, but no matter how difficult the matter was, he had no choice but to take on this hot potato.

"I will obey your orders and do my best to live up to your majesty's high expectations."

The emperor nodded slightly, a complicated look flashed in his eyes. He looked around the court again and said in a slightly tired voice:

"My dear ministers, the country is in danger now. We need the concerted efforts of the monarch, the subjects and the people to overcome the difficulties. I hope you can put the country first and do not forget the suffering of the people."

Upon hearing this, all the ministers kowtowed and pledged to serve the country to the best of their ability.

"Okay, except Lin Kai, the rest of you can report if you have something to say, otherwise you can leave the court." said the emperor.

The ministers looked at each other, and seeing that no one had anything important to say, they shouted in unison: "Long live the emperor." Then they left the court one by one.

After all the ministers had left, the emperor looked at Lin Kai and asked, "Lin Kai, have the whereabouts of those cannons not been found yet?"

Lin Kai's heart tightened, and he quickly replied respectfully: "Your Majesty, I am ashamed. The post station was burned very thoroughly, and there is really no clue at all. We have not been able to find the whereabouts of the cannon so far."

The emperor frowned, his expression becoming more solemn: "The cannon is a national treasure, and now its whereabouts are unknown. If it falls into the hands of thieves, the consequences will be disastrous.

Moreover, with the current disaster, I am afraid that other countries will be able to divert their attention to start a war. Without this cannon, our country will also be in danger! So Lin Kai, I order you to intensify the search and find the cannon as soon as possible. "

Lin Kai knelt down and kowtowed: "Your Majesty, rest assured, I will do my best. I will immediately gather people to conduct a detailed investigation around the burned post station and not miss any clues."

The emperor sighed slightly and said, "It's a pity that some of your men who made the cannons died of heat stroke, otherwise you could have continued making cannons."

"Your Majesty, I will do my best to find the whereabouts of the cannon. At the same time, I will also find ways to recruit skilled craftsmen to see if the production of cannons can be restored. Even if there are many difficulties, I will never back down." Lin Kai said in a firm tone.

The emperor nodded slightly, with a hint of hope in his eyes: "Okay, Lin Kai, I'm counting on you. If this can be accomplished, I will reward you handsomely."

As soon as the emperor finished speaking, he saw the queen's personal eunuch rushing in in a hurry.

The eunuch fell to the ground in panic, and said in a trembling voice: "Your Majesty, something terrible has happened! The Queen... The Queen..."

The emperor's heart tightened, and he asked anxiously: "What happened to the queen? Tell me quickly!"

The eunuch choked up and replied, "The Empress said that the Emperor was too tired and wanted to personally cook bird's nest for him. But not long after the bird's nest was cooked, the Empress suddenly fainted and her face flushed. Even the imperial doctors were helpless."

Lin Kai was shocked when he heard this. Aren't these symptoms exactly the same as those of the people who died of sunburn on the streets? It seems that the queen will not live long.

The emperor's expression suddenly changed, his eyes full of panic and worry, "Let's go to Fengxiang Palace."

The emperor hurried to Fengxiang Palace, feeling extremely anxious. As soon as he entered the palace, he saw the queen lying weakly on the bed, her face flushed like a ripe apple, her breathing rapid and weak.

The emperor walked quickly to the bedside and held the queen's hand tightly, his eyes full of pity and anxiety. "Queen, you must hold on. I have ordered the imperial physician to treat you with all his strength. You will be fine."

The imperial doctors gathered around the bed, all with solemn expressions. The leading imperial doctor knelt down and reported, "Your Majesty, the Empress is indeed suffering from sunstroke. This disease is caused by heatstroke and leads to a more serious condition.

Although we have tried our best, this disease is extremely dangerous. We...we really cannot guarantee that the Queen will be safe and sound."

The emperor's heart ached when he heard this. His eyes widened with anger. "I don't care what method you use, you must cure the queen! If anything happens to the queen, you will all be beheaded!"

The imperial doctors were trembling with fear and quickly responded, "We will do our best."

Although the imperial doctors agreed verbally, they knew in their hearts that no one could save the queen unless a great immortal came.

An hour later, the emperor's angry roar of pain was heard from Fengxiang Palace, and the eunuchs and palace maids in the palace also began to sob... The queen died!

Soon, the whole capital knew that the queen had passed away. When the ministers received the news, they all had expressions of deep sorrow on their faces.

As soon as the eunuch who delivered the message left, he secretly cursed the Queen for dying at an untimely time.

Because the wives and daughters of the ministers all had to attend the Queen's funeral, and the weather was so hot, it was a very serious matter, but they could not shirk it.

Shangshu Mansion...

Madam Su, who looked listless, rubbed her temples and said, "I'm old now. I'm afraid I won't be able to return in such hot weather. I won't go. The eldest wife, the second wife, you go."

Zhou Ruoxue and Wang Qiaoya looked at each other, with a hint of bitterness on their lips. The old lady could still choose to escape, but as the ladies of the Shangshu Mansion, how could they escape?

But the floor outside was so hot from the sun that it was smoking, and they didn't know if they could come back safely if they went there.

At this time, the Lin Guogong Mansion was also in turmoil...

The reason was that Su Yao refused to go when she learned that Lady Lin wanted her to represent Duke Lin's Mansion to attend the Queen's funeral.

Lady Lin, the Duke's wife, had long been dissatisfied with this daughter-in-law who had lost her reputation and was not pregnant. When she heard that Su Yao dared to resist her arrangement, her face became as dark as ink.

The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law quarreled fiercely in the lobby in front of the servants.