Chapter 267: Please Witness
Nie Rang sent someone to Liaodong Pass to find the second prince to report that Shen Qingbai had cut corners, saying that he did not use glutinous rice ash but only lime when building the Liaodong Pass city wall.
The lime walls may not be noticeable at first glance, but they cannot withstand any blows and will collapse with the slightest impact.
For such an important city as Liaodong, they actually cut corners. If they were convicted of this, they would definitely lose their heads.
Immediately afterwards, the second prince sent someone to send a letter to ask Shen Ning if there was any problem with the city wall built by Shen Qingbai?
This is a chance for Shen Ning to make amends in consideration of her previous life-saving grace.
Shen Ning replied with a short letter, which, apart from polite thanks and greetings, contained only one sentence: There is absolutely no problem with the city gate built by Shen Qingbai.
Soon, Nie Rang and his men were summoned to Liaodong Pass as witnesses of Shen Qingbai's shoddy work.
The Second Prince was known for his good temper and respect for others. Nie Rang and the others were filled with righteous indignation and made impassioned speeches, talking about how important Liaodong Pass was, how many generals had sacrificed their lives to protect it, and how many people would die if something went wrong at Liaodong Pass...
All the preparations were for one thing: to make Shen Qingbai, who cut corners, guilty of a heinous crime and leave him with no chance of survival.
The Second Prince listened quietly, his expression gentle. After those people finished their impassioned speeches, Yan Nu, who was standing beside him, spoke up. "Your Highness, how did you know that Shen Qingbai was cutting corners?"
County Magistrate Zhou immediately said, "All of Shen Qingbai's materials come from Beihai Prefecture. Glutinous rice has been difficult to buy in Beihai Prefecture lately. We, your humble servants, are concerned about the city's defenses. We initially advised him to find another solution, but Shen Qingbai, in order to avoid delaying the project and being convicted, resorted to shoddy materials and used lime without glutinous rice."
Nie Rang sighed deeply, "Your humble servants and others are feared and loathed by Princess Yong'an, and their seals have been taken away. Even if we wanted to stop them, we couldn't. County Magistrate Liu was beheaded in the street by His Royal Highness Prince Ding for disrespecting Princess Yong'an. Your humble servants and others are truly terrified."
He then added, "But when this official learned that Lord Shen Qingbai hadn't purchased any glutinous rice for such a long time and had only used lime, he was horrified... Even if it meant risking the princess's hatred and offending His Royal Highness Prince Ding, he would swear to uncover the truth."
The people around him echoed, "The lives of our subordinates are not worth mentioning, but the Liaodong Pass cannot be taken lightly. This is a matter of great importance. Your Highness, please arrest and interrogate Shen Qingbai immediately. If he is deliberately destroying the Liaodong Pass defense, then who knows what other evil ambitions he may have."
He was determined to kill Shen Qingbai.
Xiao Nanyong took a sip from his teacup. Yan Nu spoke coldly, "Your Highness has confirmed that there is nothing wrong with the wall built by Shen Qingbai. You are spreading alarmist rumors and making false accusations. What is your punishment?"
Nie Rang and the others were stunned by this sentence, and then they said directly: "Impossible!"
Shen Qingbai didn't buy a single grain of glutinous rice in Beihai Prefecture, and Nie Rang also had someone investigate, and it turned out that he had never purchased glutinous rice in Liaodong Pass, so where did he get the glutinous rice ash?
How did he build the city wall without glutinous rice ash?
There is no chance of that happening.
But the second prince said that there was no problem at all with the city wall built by Shen Qingbai, so... was the second prince intentionally covering up for him?
Nie Rang also had some connections in the capital and knew that the second prince seemed to have received favors from Princess Yong'an, so it was possible that he was intentionally protecting him.
But he was determined to kill Shen Qingbai and was irreconcilable with Princess Yong'an, so how could he back down now?
"Your Highness may have been deceived by the people below. Shen Qingbai did not use glutinous rice ash. The wall he built looks the same as other places on the surface, but if you hit it hard, the wall will collapse in an instant."
He knelt down and said in a resounding voice, "A wall like this wouldn't be able to withstand an attack in wartime. This is a matter of grave importance. To avoid implicating Your Highness in any future incidents, please reconsider!"
Xiao Nanrong frowned slightly, and Yan Nu shouted coldly: "How dare you! How dare you doubt His Highness?"
At this moment, Chen Nian, the Liaodong Pass Commander who had been sitting beside Xiao Nanrong, hesitated and spoke, "Your Highness, Lord Nie and his men are making such a fuss, even going so far as to offend Your Highness. I think it's because they're overly worried... After all, this is a matter of great importance. To ensure that everything is foolproof, why don't we go with Your Highness to inspect the section of the city wall that Shen Qingbai has repaired?"
Chen Nian is the Queen's man, so he naturally knows that Princess Yong'an is disliked by the Queen. Moreover, he has benefited a lot from Nie Rang over the years, so he has to speak up when it is time.
He smiled and said, "If everything goes well, that's a good thing, but if something does go wrong, then we'll have a chance to remedy it before it becomes a disaster."
Nie Rang immediately kowtowed and said, "Your Excellency, the Commander-in-Chief is quite right. I beg Your Highness to reconsider your words."
Nie Rang knew that the Second Prince could no longer refuse, otherwise he would be tied to Shen Qingbai.
If anything happens in the future, the second prince will not be able to escape the blame.
Sure enough, the second prince at the top showed some impatience, but finally nodded.
The slave next to him said in a cold voice: "Your Highness said that we would invite all the lords to go and inspect it in person."
Nie Rang shouted, "Your Highness is wise!"
Soon, the group arrived at the city wall of Guancheng... The city gate was heavily guarded, and two miles east of the city gate was the repair construction section supervised by Shen Qingbai.
After several months of hard work, the originally fair and handsome boy has become much darker and looks much more mature and stable. He has become more energetic and full of vigor, and there is no trace of his former frailty.
Seeing the Second Prince and his entourage, Shen Qingbai stepped forward to greet them: "Greetings to the Second Prince, the Commander-in-Chief."
He ignored Nie Rang and the others, and did not hide the fact that he did not take Nie Rang seriously.
Chen Nian laughed and said, "Why, Qingbai doesn't know Lord Nie?"
Nie Rang snorted coldly, "I dare not. I am a humble official and my words do not count. I dare not teach the princess's brother how to greet me."
Shen Qingbai bowed to the Second Prince and apologized, then said, "Master Nie, I beg your pardon. After all, with just one word from Master Nie, no one in the entire Beihai Prefecture or even Liaodong Pass dared to sell glutinous rice to me. If someone with such prestige and reputation still takes offense, then others would be in dire straits."
With these words, Xiao Nanyong suddenly looked at Nie Rang.
Nie Rang was furious: "It's obvious that you were so eager to achieve merit that you cut corners. Now you're afraid of being caught, so you want to put all the blame on me and frame me?"
After saying this, Nie Rang turned and saluted the Second Prince. "Your Highness, you are well-informed. Shen Qingbai even dared to cut corners and use inferior materials when building the fortress. Is there anything else he wouldn't dare do? It doesn't matter if he holds a grudge and falsely accuses me, but the matter of the city defense is of great importance. Your Highness, please order the immediate arrest of this villain to prevent him from making further accusations."
Shen Qingbai snorted and laughed: "Look at the power of Lord Nie. He can even convict people without trial in front of the Second Prince. If anyone dares to say that Lord Nie is of low rank and speaks lightly, I will be the first to disagree."
Nie Rang immediately pleaded guilty to the Second Prince, Xiao Nanyong: "Your Highness, I have absolutely no intention of overstepping my bounds. It's just that Shen Qingbai is very articulate, and I don't want him to distort the truth in front of Your Highness."
Yan Nu disliked Shen Qingbai, but she didn't dare to have any evil thoughts when it came to business. "Shen Qingbai, Nie Rang, the prefect of Beihai Prefecture, reported you for using lime without glutinous rice glue to build the city wall. Do you have any comments?"
Shen Qingbai immediately bowed and raised his voice, "I am wronged. I am reporting the prefect, Nie Rang, for seeking revenge. He first obstructed my purchase of glutinous rice glue and then falsely accused me of attempting to interfere with the construction of the city defenses. I suspect he is colluding with the Yuan Dynasty and deliberately delaying the construction. Your Highness, please investigate."
Nie Rang was furious: "How dare you, a brat, speak so arrogantly!"
Yan Nu shouted coldly: "How dare you!"
Nie Rang quickly confessed his crime.
Yan Nu said, "Your Highness, Nie Rang has accused Shen Qingbai of cutting corners and using inferior materials as substitutes for good ones. Now I will give you a chance to prove yourself."
Nie Rang was shocked. "Yes, I will prove it to Your Highness right now."
After he finished speaking, he raised his hand, and then everyone saw that behind Nie Rang's accompanying guards, several strong men as tall as eight feet iron towers came out carrying thick siege weapons.
Every step those strong men took seemed to cause the ground to shake, and they walked step by step to the city wall they had been standing for a while.
Nie Rang bowed to the Second Prince and said, "Your Highness, this section of the city wall was repaired by Shen Qingbai and his men two months ago. Two months have passed, and it should have solidified. Now, please witness it..."
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