Seeing that the Imperial Grandson had agreed, the emperor was satisfied and was about to offer a few conciliatory words. Just then, an itch rose in his throat. He tried hard to suppress it, but failed and began coughing.
"Your Majesty..."
The eunuch Hu Huai'an instinctively moved to act, but a glance from the emperor rooted him to the spot.
The emperor soon stopped coughing, but his mood had changed considerably. After a moment's thought, he continued speaking to Su Ziji. "The matter of the granaries is of grave importance. I hope you will go to Yulin Prefecture swiftly to investigate and give me and the court an accounting."
"Yes!"
Su Ziji gave a simple acknowledgment, but doubts immediately clouded his mind. Why was the emperor in such a hurry?
He had already suspected something was amiss. Hearing the emperor urge him on now only made the arrangements seem all the more rushed, tinged with an uncharacteristic impatience.
Wasn't the emperor afraid I would uncover something wrong by doing this?
Or was this an openly laid scheme?
But even if the emperor did not fear his discovering something fishy, such haste still did not fit the emperor's usual temperament and bearing.
The Son of Heaven possessed an innate composure; governing a great nation was like cooking a small fish.
That was the emperor's guiding maxim. Yet his urgency seemed to have shown itself as early as the banquet, and this time he was even more impatient than before.
At this thought, Su Ziji grew wary and could not help glancing at the emperor.
The emperor's complexion was pale and ashen, with faint bruiselike shadows beneath his eyes, though they were not obvious without a close look.
Still, considering the emperor's age, this wasn't out of the ordinary.
*And his expression