Yun Xi was stunned and tried to break free, but Qi Rong ignored the warning in her eyes and forcefully pulled her into the council hall as if no one else was around.
Before Yun Xi could refuse, Qi Rong had already seated her in the empty seat beside him. Then he said to all the officials in the council hall,
"Alright, since arguing back and forth has led to no results, why not all quiet down and listen to the princess's suggestions?"
"Maybe it will inspire you all."
After Qi Rong finished speaking, he couldn't help but glance at the stunned Yun Xi, a malicious smile curving his lips.
Although these words seemed like simple praise for Yun Xi, the underlying meaning seriously wounded the self - esteem of the officials.
They were all experienced court officials with achievements in their official careers. Being entrusted with such an important task by the emperor was proof of their excellence.
Although Yun Xi was the daughter of the prime minister and a princess conferred by the emperor, and had come up with some good ideas during disaster relief and people - pacifying, she was, after all, just a woman, and even a fifteen - or sixteen - year - old girl.
It was inappropriate, even insulting, for a group of veteran officials who had been successful in the officialdom to listen attentively to the suggestions of a young girl!
"Your Highness, this is the council hall, a place for men. Moreover, this incident is of great significance. It may not be appropriate for the princess to be here," an old official couldn't help but voice his dissatisfaction. However, out of fear of Qi Rong's authority, he put it relatively euphemistically.
It was because Qi Rong had solemnly declared last night in the prefect's mansion that Yun Xi was of unique importance to him.
Even if Qi Rong openly allowed his woman to act willfully, although they were dissatisfied, they didn't dare to offend Qi Rong too much.
Because they simply couldn't afford to!
As soon as the old official spoke, others immediately echoed him. Yun Xi felt embarrassed, her face flushing red, and she gritted her teeth in hatred for Qi Rong.
This scoundrel must have pulled her into the council hall just to see her make a fool of herself in public, right?
Did he foresee from the beginning that she wouldn't have any good ideas and deliberately say those words to let everyone make fun of her?!
Yun Xi was fuming with anger and immediately wanted to get up and leave. But Qi Rong's big hand under the table tightly held her slender white hand. Even worse, he maliciously intertwined their fingers.
She couldn't break free, and yet she didn't want others to see such an intimate gesture, so she could only suppress the anger in her heart.
But someone just kept adding fuel to the fire.
"What? Are you all too scared to even listen? Are you afraid that the suggestions of a mere woman will be better than yours and steal your limelight?!"
It was heart - piercing. Qi Rong's words were like a sharp blade, making everyone's faces turn pale.
However, they dared not express their anger and just fell into a dead silence, all turning their gazes towards the "seemingly easy - to - bully" Yun Xi.
Feeling the resentful and piercing looks from everyone, Yun Xi wished she had a needle and thread in her hand so that she could sew up Qi Rong's venomous mouth right away!
Being forced into this situation, if she couldn't come up with any good ideas, wouldn't she become a laughingstock for everyone from then on?
Wasn't she a woman who deserved to have her pride?
This scoundrel was not only shameless but also malicious! Didn't he think about the situation she would face before pulling her into the council hall?
Oh, right. His intention was probably just to make her lose face. She shouldn't have expected this man to have a conscience!
In that case, she would prove him wrong and show him that she wasn't the useless person he thought she was!
Yun Xi pinched Qi Rong hard under the table to vent her hatred, then broke free from his hand and immediately stood up.
With a smiling face and a humble tone, she said,
"Although Yun Xi is inexperienced and not as knowledgeable as you all in building dams and bridges, before deciding to help the poor people in Lingchuan, I did do some research. I wonder if you all could give me a chance to express my thoughts?"
Yun Xi was neither over - assertive nor over - submissive. She was not as sharp as her father in the court, nor as arrogant and unrestrained as Qi Rong.
Her humble attitude immediately softened the officials' hostility towards her, and they all said they were willing to give the princess a chance.
After all, no one could truly dislike such a beautiful young girl who spoke so gently.
"Thank you, all the lords."
Yun Xi bowed gracefully to show her gratitude, looking every bit the elegant young lady from a noble family, except for being unfortunately liked by Prince Xian Qi Rong.
Yun Xi thought for a moment and briefly summarized her key points:
"I wonder if you all have ever thought about combining the construction of dams and bridges with promoting business to benefit the livelihood of the people in Lingchuan?"
In this way, it would not just be a simple matter of building dams and bridges to complete the task assigned by the emperor, but truly benefit the people!
Everyone was stunned and looked at each other. They were a bit confused for a moment.
The court's decision to allocate funds for building dams and bridges this time was just to control the water of the Ling River, prevent floods from breaking the dikes, and protect the farmland and crops.
To put it simply, it was to save the people's lives, food, and houses, and had nothing to do with economic development!
Facing everyone's doubts, Yun Xi just smiled and explained her thoughts slowly:
"The Ling River Dam was dug and built during the reign of the ancestral emperor. It cost tens of thousands of gold, overcame numerous difficulties, and was finally completed after three years. The project was so huge that it benefited millions of people in the Ling River Basin. Even today, it is still praised by later generations!"
Then Yun Xi changed the topic and continued,
"However, the Ling River Dam has been built for nearly sixty years. In the past twenty years, floods have occurred frequently. Even though the court has repaired the dams and embankments according to the actual situation every few years and continuously raised the piers of the Ling River Bridge, it still couldn't prevent the floods from raging again! The reason is that the previous strategies for building dams and bridges only treated the symptoms, not the root cause. So the top priority is to find a new plan suitable for the Ling River Dam."
Listening to Yun Xi's analysis, the officials nodded. One of them couldn't help but say,
"I think everyone here understands these simple principles. Even if the princess repeats them, it's useless if she can't solve the real problem. Moreover, I don't understand the direct relationship between building dams and bridges and promoting the economy of Lingchuan."
"Besides, the problem of building dams and bridges hasn't been solved yet. Will the emperor give us so much time to consider other things?"
This person thought Yun Xi was just being pretentious, so his words were very harsh, but they were also true and hard to refute.
Everyone agreed in their hearts, but their eyes couldn't help but secretly glance at Qi Rong's expression, not daring to say a word.
Yun Xi just smiled and didn't feel embarrassed because of the other person's words. After all, in such an important occasion, she really didn't have the qualification to speak.
She didn't blame the officials for not trusting her. She only blamed Qi Rong for acting on his own and pushing her into this situation!
"The most fundamental reason for the repeated dike - breakages of the floods in the middle and lower reaches of Lingchuan is not that the dam of the Ling River Dam is too low, but the continuously rising riverbed! On the contrary, after the dam of the Ling River Dam has been continuously raised, its current depth is already the deepest in the world, far beyond that of the Du Ling Canal in the Li State."
As soon as Yun Xi said this, everyone was stunned!
Because they had only been told by Prince Xian yesterday that the plan for building dams and bridges was difficult to implement, and they hadn't had time to conduct an actual investigation. However, Yun Xi had hit the nail on the head and pointed out the root cause of the frequent dike - breakages of the Ling River, which was simply incredible!