Chapter 692: What Should We Do Next

Chief Meng only felt his head buzzing, and he dug his two hands hard into the earth, filling the gaps of his fingernails with mud.

He scooped up a handful of soil and held it before his eyes.

It's gone.

Really gone—where did it go?

The several Ministry of Works officials who came together stared blankly around, mouths agape.

Chief Meng sprang to his feet, his legs went weak, and he staggered two steps, nearly falling.

"Lord Meng?" the officials crowded around, "What... what should we do?"

Chief Meng opened his mouth, his Adam's apple bobbing a few times, but not a single word came out.

He grabbed the arm of a nearby official, hauled him forward, and pointed at the ground: "You! Look! What's under here?"

The official looked down, his face blank: "Just soil."

"Soil?" Chief Meng's voice cracked, "What about the surrounding canal? The one we watch being dug every day?"

The officials looked at each other in confusion.

"It's gone, Lord Meng, really vanished!"

"How could that be? It was clearly there yesterday!"

The officials' faces shifted from puzzlement to shock, then from shock to terror.

"Are we... hitting a ghost wall?" a young official's lips trembled.

"Nonsense!" Chief Meng roared, "What ghost appears in broad daylight!"

But he himself could not figure it out.

So many people, a deep ditch dug for four days—how could it just disappear?

Not even a trace left?

A black mass of people surged out of the city gate.

The civilians arrived one after another.

They looked around in bewilderment.

"Who filled the ditch we dug?"

"Yes, even grass has been planted!"

The few men at the front spotted the Ministry of Works officials and called out: "Gentlemen, didn't you sleep last night? Standing here and watching it get filled again?"

"We toiled for days digging, how can it just be filled like that?"

"Then shall we dig today?"

Chief Meng's face twitched; was I insane? Staring as people filled it?

At that moment, orderly footsteps came from the city gate as Imperial Guard and soldiers approached.

At the lead of the tall man, a command rang: "Stop!"

The soldiers stared around, mouths agape.

The tall man stepped before Chief Meng, saluted and asked: "Sir, what is happening?"

Chief Meng swallowed, speechless.

The soldiers began to chatter:

"Where did the surrounding canal go?"

"Did we go to the wrong place?"

"Impossible! It was here yesterday!"

The tall man stared at Chief Meng, his brows knotted, "Sir, speak! This matter falls under the Ministry of Works chief; you must give an explanation, right?"

The civilians, hearing:

"Exactly!"

"Are we still digging?"

"If we stop, we'll go home! There's a heap of matters waiting at home!"

The crowd stirred, voices overlapping, each wave louder than the last.

Sweat beads the size of beans dotted Chief Meng's forehead, and his official robe was soaked through.

He turned his head to the side, his voice hoarse: "Chief Zhou, hurry to Chen Wang's Mansion! Report this matter to His Majesty!"

Chief Zhou said nothing, turned and ran.

"Everyone stay put, wait! I'll be right back!" Chief Meng shouted at the crowd, then turned and ran.

He ran at a sprint, his official hat askew, nearly tripping on his robe hem several times.

He raced to the gate of Ning Prince's Mansion, leaned on the doorframe to catch his breath, then raised his hand to knock.

"Open the door! Quickly, open it!"

A moment later, a servant opened the door, startled by his frantic appearance.

"Where is His Majesty? I have an urgent matter! A matter of great urgency!" Chief Meng shoved the servant aside and staggered inside.

"Sir, wait!" the servant hurried after, "His Majesty hasn't woken yet!"

Chief Meng could think of nothing else: "Lead the way! Quickly!"

Qing Wang was sound asleep in Yun Niang's room.

A beauty in his arms, utterly content.

He dreamed he sat upon the Dragon Throne, looking down at the kneeling civil and military officials.

"His Majesty, ten thousand years, ten thousand years, ten thousand ten thousand years!"

Chief Meng followed the servant to the doorway, only to be stopped by a Guard.

He shouted anxiously, "Your Highness! Wake up, Your Highness! Something big has happened!"

Qing Wang jolted awake from his pleasant dream, his brows furrowing instantly.

Yunniang stirred and said, "Your Highness, is there official business to attend to?"

Qing Wang hastily patted her: "This prince is feigning illness now, and I don't have to attend morning court—what official business could there be?"

"Your Highness!" Officer Meng's voice didn't cease: "Wake up, wake up! I, your subordinate, have an important matter to report!"

Qing Wang was extremely impatient: "Early in the morning, what important matter requires seeing me?"

"Your Highness!" Officer Meng fell to his knees with a thud, sweat droplets hitting the ground: "It's the city moat, the city moat has disappeared!"

Qing Wang opened his eyes: "What nonsense are you talking? Haven't you woken up yet?"

"Absolutely certain!" Officer Meng was so anxious he almost cried: "I saw it with my own eyes! The city moat is gone! Not a trace can be found!"

Qing Wang sprang up from bed, grabbed his outer robe and threw it on, hurried to the door, and flung it open.

"What did you say?"

Officer Meng lifted his head: "Your Highness! I went early to supervise the work, and I saw with my own eyes that the moat we'd dug for four days has simply—just vanished!"

Qing Wang stared at him for a moment, the corner of his mouth twitching: "Gone? Where did it go?"

"I, I don't know either!" Officer Meng's voice trembled: "The ground is all dirt, all, all filled in!"

Qing Wang fixed his gaze on him for a while, then barked: "Prepare the carriage!"

Moments later, the carriage burst out of Ning Prince's Mansion and headed straight to the outskirts of the city.

"Whoa—"

Two carriages stopped side by side.

Qing Wang and Chen Wang simultaneously lifted the curtains on the carriage windows and glanced at each other.

Chen Wang said: "Come over."

Qing Wang put on his hood, got down, and slipped into Chen Wang's carriage.

Chen Wang ordered: "Avoid the crowds and walk along the city wall."

"Yes."

The two lifted the carriage curtains and looked outward.

The ground was flat and smooth—where was there even a trace of the moat?

Everything was as good as new, as if that deep moat had merely been a dream.

The carriage traveled for a full quarter hour.

Everywhere was the same.

The two looked on, hearts pounding, faces grim as water, not uttering a word.

The carriage returned to its original spot.

Officer Meng led the Ministry of Works officials as they knelt in a row on the ground, while the populace sat or squatted, a dark, noisy crowd packed together.

Voices of doubt and angry shouts filled the air.

"Brother Prince," Qing Wang said with a bitter taste in his mouth, "how can we explain this situation?"

"What explanation? They're all taking the Imperial Court's silver—should I have to explain things to them?"

"But Brother Prince, what are we to do next?"