Su Yuntian said, "Your subject believes that the most urgent matter now is that the infected people are about to reach the capital. Although I have been blessed by my father and have never encountered a plague, I have read in history books that the Great Holy Kingdom of the previous dynasty had several plagues that affected the capital. Because they were not controlled, half of the royal family died, and the entire dynasty eventually declined. Therefore, your subject believes that the city gates should be closed immediately to prevent the plague from entering the capital."
Su Mu retorted irritably, "Can the gates of the capital be closed forever?"
Su Yuntian said, "Then the capital gates certainly cannot remain closed indefinitely. We should recruit more doctors who can develop effective medicines to curb the plague, and reward them with a large sum of money or by asking my father for a favor."
Su Mu nodded and said, "Then where is the silver that various regions are demanding? The national treasury is currently empty, so where can we find the silver?"
"Your subject believes that although the King has bestowed great favors and distributed relief supplies to the disaster-stricken areas of Rilong, the disaster has not been brought under control and has instead triggered a new wave of plague. This is not only a natural disaster, but may also be a man-made one."
"Man-made disaster?" Su Mu frowned and murmured.
"Yes, the supplies issued by the imperial court have not been properly provided for the disaster and the people. On the contrary, the situation is getting worse. It is possible that some people are intercepting them and using them to make a profit from the national crisis."
Su Mu nodded. What Su Yuntian said made sense. Indeed, the disaster relief supplies distributed went through layers of allocation, and this process involved countless people and procedures. How much of it actually reached the disaster victims?
Su Mu said, "Then what do you think we should do?"
Seeing that Su Mu's complexion had improved considerably, Su Yuntian continued.
"Your Majesty believes that most of these officials are colluding with local unscrupulous merchants, and the Emperor's grace does not reach the people. Currently, the people are blaming the court because they have not been properly resettled. The court should confiscate the property of these officials and unscrupulous merchants who are colluding with the government, and the confiscated property should be turned over to the national treasury. The confiscated silver should then be used to give back to the people. Most importantly, this will alleviate the people's misunderstanding of the court and shift the people's conflicts onto those incompetent officials."
"Hmm!" Su Mu nodded, seemingly agreeing with Su Yuntian's statement and also considering its feasibility.
"What do you think of your father-in-law's memorial to the throne?"
Su Mu's words made Su Yuntian's heart, which had just settled down, jump again.
Su Yuntian knew that Su Mu had always been wary of his marriage alliance with the Mu family, and even more so of the Mu family's military prestige among the people. Su Mu would not increase the grain and manpower for Marquis Mu Wei; asking this question was merely a way to get someone else to say it for him.
Speaking of Marquis Mu Wei, Su Yuntian couldn't help but think of Mu Jin. Was that woman so confident in talking about divorce because she had the Mu family army backing her up?
Thinking of this, Su Yuntian said, "Your subject believes that since our Dongyue Kingdom has just signed a treaty of friendship and mutual assistance with the Beiqi Kingdom, the Beiqi Kingdom would not break the treaty so quickly. It seems that General Mu is worrying unnecessarily."
Su Mu was very satisfied with Su Yuntian's answer. He nodded and let Su Yuntian continue.
"Your subject believes that everything is stable at the border. Why waste resources and trouble the people by worrying unnecessarily about General Mu's problems?"
After Su Yuntian finished speaking, Su Mu finally showed a satisfied smile.
"Hmm, I am very pleased that you thought of this. Since you came up with the solutions, you can handle these matters."
Hearing Su Mu say this, Su Yuntian's heart trembled. His idea was correct, but carrying it out would offend people.
The officialdom is interconnected, and sometimes even minor officials can be targeted at higher levels. As one of the two kings of Dongyue, he needs the support of such people the most.
"Your Majesty, I believe that my fifth brother is old enough to gain experience and share your burdens. Perhaps we should assign him this task..."
"Yi'er, no, you don't need to say anything more about this. I'll have the Ministry of Personnel assist you in investigating this matter by starting with the performance evaluation of officials at all levels, and thoroughly investigating it from beginning to end!"
Su Yuntian was interrupted by Su Mu before he could finish speaking. Su Yuntian lowered his head, concealing the fleeting resentment in his eyes, and said, "Your subject obeys."
When Su Yuntian returned to the gate of the Yunwang Mansion, the guards came forward and took his riding whip from him.
As Su Yuntian walked into the Prince's mansion, he asked the guards beside him.
"Did the imperial physician change the Princess's dressing today? I hope the scars won't be left behind," Su Yuntian said, but he didn't expect the guard to tell him that Su Muxue had personally come to invite Mu Jin out for a social engagement today.
Upon hearing this, Su Yuntian stopped in his tracks, his face filled with displeasure.
Suddenly, a sweet, delicate voice rang out.
"Your Highness."
Su Yuntian turned his head and saw that Shen Qianqian was being supported by Cuixiang with her eyes red and swollen, looking at him with affection.
Su Yuntian felt inexplicably annoyed looking at Shen Qianqian like this.
Seeing that Su Yuntian was standing there and did not walk towards her as before, Shen Qianqian felt a little uneasy, so she took the initiative to walk towards Su Yuntian.
"Didn't Your Highness say yesterday that you would come to Qiushui Garden to accompany Qianqian last night? Did you believe that old woman and now you dislike Qianqian?"
Cui Xiang also spoke up for Shen Qianqian, saying that Shen Qianqian had waited for Su Yuntian all night without sleeping, and this morning, she hadn't even had breakfast before standing by the gate of the mansion, waiting for Su Yuntian until now.
Seeing Shen Qianqian's weak and helpless appearance, Su Yuntian's heart softened a little.
"Don't overthink it. My father has been assigning me many tasks lately, so I'm very busy. I'll visit you in your courtyard when I have some free time." Su Yuntian said, then turned to leave.
Shen Qianqian grabbed Su Yuntian's arm, tears streaming down her face, looking utterly pitiful.
"What Your Highness said to Qianqian yesterday, that you would trust her, love her, and never abandon her for the rest of your life, doesn't count anymore?"
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