Chapter 253 - Fortification

Chapter 253: Fortification
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
In the western study of the Eastern Palace:
An oppressive atmosphere circulated around the officials.
The officials looked at His Highness the Crown Prince, who sat behind the desk and had his head lowered as he read through the memorials, and then at each other. They were all unwilling to be the first one to speak.
“I heard everyone has been quite lively recently! Quite a number of memorials berating this crown prince were sent to the Queen Dowager!” The crown prince swept his eyes over the people before him while flipping through the memorials.
The Marquis of Stability, Zhao Sheng, stood outside of the crowd with his head haughtily facing the sky, his face taut and his mouth silent.
Without any surprise, the people standing behind the Marquis of Stability were from the crown prince’s party led by the marquis, and they were all aiming murderous looks at their fellow officials.
Humph! Who told you to be cocky and jump around?!
The Marquis of Jiajing, Xu Pingyong, stood to the side of Zhao Sheng and subconsciously used his sleeves to wipe the sweat on his forehead.
“Censor Zhao, Censor Huang, We heard you two sent 18 impeachment memorials to the Queen Dowager in the last few days! The censors who consider you their leader have truly worked hard and done well.” The crown prince tossed his pen onto the desk and coldly asked, “How should We thank you?”
“Please calm down, Your Highness.” The officials knelt down in salutation, trembling with fear.
Censor Zhao was nearly 70 years old, the hair on his temples gray. When he knelt in front of the desk and saluted, his back was straight and his head was high. “Your Highness the Crown Prince abandoned a pile of state affairs and left the capital for so many days without a word. This old official did initiate a petition and rally many censors to remonstrate Your Highness. If Your Highness wants to blame someone, this old official is willing to shoulder all of the responsibility and accept any punishment.
Even if Your Highness wants this old official to immediately retire from his position and leave the capital, this old official must say that Your Highness’ actions were truly improper! The king went to Mt. Hong to pray for the people and entrusted the state affairs to Your Highness, so how can Your Highness do as you please and ignore the state affairs?”
The crown prince stared at the old man for a moment before snorting.
The elderly officials who were friendly with Censor Zhao all fretted for him.
This crown prince might appear gentle and kind on the surface, but he handled matters very recalcitrantly in reality. There was a high possibility that he would secretly deal with the elderly Censor Zhao.
His Highness even dared to punish the king’s favored consort, let alone an old geezer.
“Let them take a look.” To their surprise, the crown prince did not grow angry and coldly uttered these words instead.
Xiao’xi’zi immediately went forward and distributed a sheet of paper that resembled an inventory, as well as an architectural plan.
The officials passed it around after reading it, astonishment promptly surfacing on every official’s face.
“It turned out His Highness received news that a large quantity of supplies would appear in Qinghe Town, so His Highness immediately led people there!”
“The soldiers from the South Battalion sent by His Highness the Crown Prince will escort the supply of food back the day after tomorrow.” Everyone had joy but also bewilderedness on their faces. After they meticulously examined the plan, increasing guilt crept onto their faces.
“We saw the fortification plan of Xijiu City and plan to use this as the basis to construct the fortification of all the major cities, using the royal capital as the center and expanding outwards. This process will take several years, but it will definitely be advantageous to both the people and the country once it’s constructed…” When the crown prince finished speaking, everyone circled around the architectural plan, scrambling to see it.
A moment later, all the officials knelt down to beg for pardon in panic, and the elderly officials who remonstrated the crown prince a countless number of times were especially guilty.
It turned out the crown prince left the capital for official business. Without any words, he had transported the grains back to the capital and inspected the defensive structure of Xijiu City. He even had a plan for the Mo Kingdom’s defense in the following years.
“These officials are ashamed.”
The crown prince raised his eyebrows and coldly surveyed the officials. “Stand up. We hope that you will carefully think before you do anything in the future. Don’t be hot-headed and act rashly, allowing people to use you in vain.”
“This official was muddle-headed…” Censor Zhao wanted to kneel down and beg for pardon again, but the crown prince waved his hand at the censor.
Censor Zhao was about to say something with a guilt-ridden expression when a loud explosion abruptly reverberated throughout Guanlan City.
The corner of Mo Lian’s lips minutely turned up.