Chapter 301: Action
In the disaster area camp, inside Prince Yi’s tent.
Unlike the dead silence in the capital, a visible storm is brewing here.
Xiao Minglan stood in front of the sand table with his hands behind his back, his fingertips gently running across the engraved line that represented the river embankment.
There was a calmness on his face that was almost cruel.
"Mo Ying."
He called out without turning around.
The curtain moved, and a man in black appeared like a ghost, kneeling on one knee.
"I'm here."
"How's the 'ballad' going outside?"
Xiao Minglan's voice was soft, but it carried a chilling chill.
Mo Ying bowed his head and replied respectfully, "Your Majesty, the news has spread."
"'The prince is kind and compassionate, but the relief grain is nowhere to be found.'"
"'The Shen family's daughter is as beautiful as a flower, but the rice soup she makes is so clear that it can be used to feed fish.'"
"'The silver went into the East Palace treasury, and we can only eat gruel!'"
"very good."
Xiao Minglan turned around slowly, a cold arc appearing at the corner of his mouth.
"Public sentiment is the easiest thing to incite."
"They don't need the truth, they just need an outlet to vent their anger."
He looked at the endless rows of refugee shelters outside the tent.
"And this king will give them this exit right now."
***
The next day, in front of the soup kitchen.
The queue was long and lifeless.
The victims were all pale and thin, staring blankly at the large pots of porridge.
At this moment, a burly, fleshy-faced "disaster victim" in the crowd suddenly threw the broken bowl in his hand to the ground!
"Bang!"
A crisp sound broke the oppressive silence.
"Is this for people to drink?!"
He roared, his voice hoarse but very penetrating.
"It's just a clear soup, not even a speck of rice can be seen!"
"Where's the grain allocated by the imperial court? Did you bunch of corrupt officials embezzle it all?!"
Immediately, several "victims" around him joined in the commotion.
"That's right! Where's His Royal Highness the Crown Prince? Let him come out and give us an explanation!"
"And that Chen He! She relied on her beauty to seduce the Crown Prince and withhold our food!"
"We want to eat! We don't want to drink water!"
Emotions are instantly ignited!
The officers and soldiers maintaining order had a drastic change of expression and shouted, "How dare you, the unruly people, spread rumors and cause trouble here!"
The burly man leading the group sneered and pushed the old man in front of him hard.
"Ouch!"
The old man fell to the ground and the crowd was in chaos!
"They're beating people! The soldiers are beating people!"
"This is outrageous! Not only do they not give us food, they also kill us to silence us!"
There were cries, shouts, and shoving sounds everywhere.
Someone took advantage of the chaos to rush to the porridge pot and overturned it.
“Crash—”
The boiling rice soup spilled all over the ground, scalding several people and completely extinguishing the victims' last hope.
The riots spread like a plague.
***
High up, inside Xiao Minglan's tent.
He quietly watched the farce below that he had directed himself, his eyes without any emotion.
Mo Ying stood behind him.
"Your Majesty, everything is as you expected."
Xiao Minglan snorted coldly.
"Chaos alone is not enough."
His gaze once again turned to the dam in the distance that was faintly visible in the flood.
"This king will make them despair."
He turned around, his eyes gleaming with a poisonous coldness.
"Mo Ying, bring the most trustworthy person with you."
"Tonight at midnight, go dig a hole in the newly repaired embankment for me..."
Mo Ying's heart trembled, and he instantly understood his master's intention.
This is to...kill them all!
"yes!"
Xiao Minglan looked at Mo Ying's departing back, and the smile on his lips became increasingly cold.
"Crown Prince, brother, Chen He..."
"Do you like this great gift that the king has prepared for you?"
"This raging flood will completely trap you and your ridiculous kindness here!"
***
The night is dark and a rainstorm is approaching.
A local clerk hurried towards the post station with a written memorial in his pocket.
"stop."
The ink shadow was like the god of death walking out of the darkness, blocking his way.
The clerk was startled: "You... who are you?"
Mo Ying didn't answer, but just stretched out his hand.
"Bring the memorial here."
The clerk's face turned pale and he held the thing tightly in his arms.
"This is a report to the capital about safety! The disaster situation has been stabilized and will be resolved soon..."
"Safety?"
Mo Ying sneered, snatched the memorial away without even looking at it, and threw it into the brazier behind him.
The flames shot up and burned the word "peace" to ashes.
"If our prince says there is no peace, then the sky will fall and the earth will collapse!"
The clerk collapsed to the ground, his face ashen.
Half an hour later, a fast horse rushed out of Prince Yi's camp and galloped towards the capital.
The messenger on horseback carried a completely different memorial in his arms.
That was written by Xiao Minglan himself.
"The disaster has worsened, the levees have collapsed again, and the Crown Prince's inability to provide relief has led to widespread public outrage. I... implore Your Majesty to make a swift decision and send another prince to take charge!"
A memorial cut off all possibilities for the prince to return to the capital.
The other memorial became the sharpest knife stabbing the Eastern Palace and the Emperor!
***
Xiao Minglan stood in front of the tent, letting the cold night wind blow his robe.
He looked into the distance in the direction of the capital, as if he could penetrate thousands of miles and see the magnificent golden cage.
"It's time to take action on the Queen Mother's side."
He muttered to himself.
A father whose body has been hollowed out by the "hundred-day drought" and is about to become seriously ill and demented.
A prince who was trapped and died in the disaster area by floods and mobs, and whose reputation was ruined.
This world, this throne...
It's time to change the owner.
In his mind, Chen He's cold and stubborn face emerged.
When he thought of her struggling in the quagmire with Xiao Jingchi at this moment, a morbid pleasure surged in his heart.
"Chen He..."
He laughed, a paranoid and crazy laugh.
"When I take that seat, you and that fool..."
"No one can escape."
***
The day after the riots subsided, the sky was gloomy, just like the feelings of everyone in the disaster area.
The atmosphere in Crown Prince Xiao Jingheng's tent was as heavy as iron.
The curtain was suddenly thrown open.
Xiao Minglan, dressed in military uniform and accompanied by his personal soldiers, strode in.
The soldiers behind him all held their sword hilts with their hands, looking murderous.
Crown Prince Xiao Jingheng slammed the table and stood up, furious.
"Xiao Minglan! Do you want to rebel?!"
Xiao Minglan bowed slightly with false concern on his face.
"Brother Crown Prince, calm down."
"Yesterday, the mob rioted and nearly harmed the royal family's nobles. I am concerned about the safety of my royal brother and everyone else."
He glanced around, his eyes sweeping across the faces of Shen He and Xiao Jingchi, who was quietly munching on snacks beside him.
"From now on, in order to unify dispatch and improve efficiency, this king will take full control of all defense and disaster relief matters here."
Xiao Jingheng was so angry that his face turned blue.
"You are seizing power!"
"My royal brother is joking."
Xiao Minglan's smile did not reach his eyes.
“It’s protection.”
He turned sideways, and the personal soldiers he brought with him quickly dispersed, surrounding the entire camp.
"From now on, no one is allowed to enter or leave the headquarters without my order."
He looked at the prince's flushed face, and there was a hint of pity in his voice.
"After all, those troublemakers outside are still clamoring for an explanation from the Eastern Palace. If there is another riot and my brother is hurt, I cannot bear the consequences."
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