Chapter 290: A Secret Visit and a Trap

As the carriage stopped, the guards surrounding the carriage quickly dispersed and quickly occupied advantageous positions. The eunuch with a white face and no beard, dressed in casual clothes, hurriedly got off the carriage, personally put up the stool, and leaned forward to say respectfully.

"Your Majesty, I will help you get out of the carriage."

The emperor, who was sitting in the center of the room, coughed and said angrily, "How could the attendant forget again? I am on a secret visit."

The chief eunuch understood and quickly changed his words: "Haha, look at me, I deserve a beating! Master, Prime Minister, Master Qin, we have arrived."

The emperor was very satisfied with his attendant's cleverness. He hummed lightly, nodded to Prime Minister Qin, lifted his clothes, and was the first to be helped out of the car by his attendant.

Walking on the yellow official road and glancing at the bustling farmland around him which was a scene of bumper harvest, the emperor smiled and turned around to smile at Prime Minister Qin who had just gotten off the car.

"No wonder the Prime Minister asked me to go out more often to relax and understand the people's sentiments. In my opinion, my people are all living well."

Qin Xiangguo, who had just got off the car, smiled coldly in his heart when he heard this, but he hurriedly came up to the emperor and bowed to him and flattered him: "Your Majesty is right, but all this is inseparable from your Majesty's wisdom and bravery, and your good governance. Your Majesty has worked hard and your contributions will be remembered for thousands of years."

Obviously, the emperor liked to hear this. "Hahaha, Master Qin, have you forgotten again that today I am Master Huang and you are Master Qin? Master Qin, please don't forget again. Just now when I was observing the people's sentiments in the downtown area, Master Qin almost exposed me."

Prime Minister Qin hurriedly bowed and said, "Yes, yes, look at me, I am old and my memory is not good. Please forgive me, Master Huang."

"Hmm." The emperor was very satisfied with Prime Minister Qin's attitude and waved his hand. "Master Qin, there is no need to be polite. Today, we are not distinguishing between the monarch and the minister. What is important now is to understand the people's sentiments. Master Qin said that if you look at the fields outside the city, you can sympathize with the suffering of the people better than those in the city. Come on, accompany me, ahem, accompany me to take a look."

"Yes, Mr. Huang, please come this way."

"Well, let's go."

As the two of them moved, the escort personnel followed suit. It was a 360-degree protection with no blind spots, but the guards were far away, so it was a bit like trying to cover up one's own faults.

No wonder Prime Minister Qin sneered behind his back. With such a big show, he still went on a secret visit? And he still cared about the people?
Fortunately, there was another purpose for luring him out this time, and fortunately, he had been prepared early. Prime Minister Qin, who had been following silently, was secretly dissatisfied.

In the distance, people who were pretending to be busy in the fields saw a group of people with carriages and horses stopped at the intersection. Looking at their clothes and appearance, the old man in the lead thought that the target people might be this group of people. The old man silently gestured to the people around him, and everyone worked harder to cut rice. Men, women, old and young began their performances one after another.

The emperor took the lead, walking neither fast nor slow. As he was getting closer, an old man who was busy working in the field with his back to the emperor suddenly straightened up, holding a sickle in one hand and pounding his back with the other.

At the other end of the ridge, an old woman who sang the clown role in the opera troupe led a few little actors, carrying baskets and backs, and came over after receiving the gesture. The old man immediately shouted to the people in the fields.

"Big brother, second brother, third brother, fourth brother, everyone stop for a moment. The sun is scorching hot right now. Your mother is here to bring you food and water. Everyone, take a break first and take your wives and children to the tree to drink some water and eat something to fill your stomach."

As soon as the voice fell, the emperor saw the people in the fields straighten up one after another. The martial artist who played the eldest son beside the old man hurriedly supported the old man and reached out to take the sickle in the old man's hand, "Dad, I told you to have a good rest but you refused to listen. Can your waist still bear it?"

The old man glared at his son and then scolded him loudly. "What nonsense are you talking about, little brat! This year is a rare good year for our area. The rice harvest is good. If we don't store the grains quickly while the weather is good, it will all be over if it rains! What's the big deal about back pain!
Humph, it's just that you young people don't know how powerful you are. You were born in a good time. If it weren't for General Shen's great achievements in turning the tide and killing the Hu Di people, you wouldn't have the good life you have now. You're still complaining when you're collecting food. It's outrageous! Don't you think about how miserable those refugees from the north were in the past? You should be content and grateful. Do you understand?"

The martial actor was so depressed after being scolded that he drooped his head. The old woman who came near him interrupted him, as if she couldn't bear to see her son being scolded.

"Hey, old man, don't be angry, don't scold the elder brother and his family, they are just stupid. When I get home, I will burn incense to the general's longevity monument. When the new rice comes, I will make a pot of steamed cakes for the general with my own hands and pray to God to bless him to be safe and sound, to defeat the Hu dogs, to recover the north, and to return Dajing to us for thousands of years. Don't scold the children, come and eat quickly."

The old man seemed to be persuaded. He snorted coldly at his son, led the way up the field ridge, sat down on the cool grass under the tree next to the old woman, looked at the people in the field and said angrily, "Why, you still don't move? Do you want me to treat you?"

All the men and women in the fields then followed and walked up in unison. With their backs to the emperor and his entourage, the old man could not help but raise his voice and speak again.

"Okay, hurry up and eat, then work hard and try to finish harvesting the rice in the next two days. Then, when the rice is dried, we can send it to the brave General Shen. It's okay for us to eat less, so that the general and his men won't have to go hungry at the front line."

"Yes, yes, don't worry, Dad. Your sons will do it after they finish eating."

"Don't worry, Dad. Your sons know everything and will definitely work hard for the general."

The emperor watched silently and listened quietly. The more he watched and listened, the darker his face became. However, he did not feel that anything was fake in front of him.

After all, he was on a secret visit, and he chose the places he wanted to go. How could it be false? So what he saw and heard from the people were the same as those in the Qinlou Teahouse on the street. They all admired Shen Yue, that young boy, and did not take him, the emperor, seriously at all.

It’s a pity that as an emperor, he himself didn’t have any people erecting a monument to immortality for him. How could a young boy and a mere general have one?

The emperor was furious, but Prime Minister Qin beside him secretly watched the emperor's expression and felt proud.

In order to accomplish his goal, he had spared no expense in making arrangements in the past two days, both inside and outside the city and at all city gates. And with the cooperation of his secret agents from all parties, no matter where the emperor went, the results he encountered and the so-called facts he saw were the same.

Prime Minister Qin was pleased with his work, and pretended to be concerned about the king. "Master Huang, the common people are stupid, and what they said is absurd and not worth mentioning. The weather is hot right now, why don't you turn back now?"

"Hmph!" He refused.

The emperor was also angry at this, and inexplicably wanted to compete with them, to see what truth these dirt guys could tell. Without even looking at Prime Minister Qin, he strode towards the shade of the tree, and when he got closer, he went straight to the old man who was in the lead.

"Hey, old man."

The old man, who was drinking water from a large coarse porcelain bowl, was feeling nervous, not knowing whether he had behaved well or not. When he heard the voice, he turned around and saw the person coming. He pretended to be surprised and looked at him carefully, with a nervous and flattering tone.

"Is this noble man calling me?"