CHAPTER 32

 

As expected, just like Lu Shaoyou predicted, despite how much Xuanyuan Yu tried to spread rumors in secret, none of the other princes harbored any ill feelings toward Lu Shaoyou.

 

Everyone was smart enough to realize that, even if they couldn’t win over Lu Shaoyou, they certainly didn’t want to offend someone as capable as him. With the throne still undecided, who would be foolish enough to deliberately make such an enemy? Wouldn’t that be asking for trouble?

 

Prince Hao and the others felt rather amused watching Prince Wu desperately try to get close to Lu Shaoyou. They thought to themselves: None of us are in a hurry, so why are you, the emperor’s most favored son, acting so anxious?

 

Why jump out so quickly? Was he trying to show everyone how impatient he could be?

 

For the longest time, the princes had all considered Prince Wu their main rival. But now, seeing his tactics, they started to feel like he was insulting their intelligence. His methods were far from clever.

 

However, Prince Hao and the others glanced subtly at Prince Ning, curious to see his reaction. After all, Prince Ning had a relatively good relationship with Lu Shaoyou. Would Prince Wu’s blatant scheme drive a wedge between them?

 

It seemed Prince Wu wasn’t satisfied with just spreading rumors—he was now openly praising Lu Shaoyou in front of Prince Ning. “My cousin speaks so highly of Marquis Lu,” he said, “claiming that a few words from you are worth more than ten years of studying.”

 

Prince Ning, still smiling, nodded and agreed, “When it comes to martial arts, there is no one in our generation who surpasses Ah-ji.”

 

Lu Shaoyou, however, was more direct. Lazily lifting his gaze, he glanced at Prince Wu and calmly reminded him, “I hope you don’t mind me speaking out of turn, but according to etiquette, I am actually your cousin.”

 

Prince Hao and the others, who were standing by and watching the situation unfold, were taken aback. They almost wanted to applaud Lu Shaoyou. This man was truly bold! After so many years, someone had finally dared to slap Prince Wu in the face like this.

 

Look at what Lu Shaoyou had said: by reminding Prince Wu that he was his legitimate cousin by law, he was indirectly insulting Xuanyuan Guifei. After all, no matter how high her status, she was still a concubine, and the Marquis of Nan’an’s family wasn’t Prince Wu’s legitimate maternal family.

 

Although Lu Shaoyou’s comment could be taken as a veiled insult to all the princes, it was clear that his words were aimed squarely at Prince Wu. The others had no desire to get involved—they just wanted to enjoy watching Prince Wu get humiliated.

 

Prince Wu, clearly eager to win over Lu Shaoyou, didn’t even get angry after being slapped in the face like that. His expression only changed for a moment before returning to normal. He smiled calmly and said, “You are both my cousins, and soon we will be related by marriage. Naturally, we should be closer than others.”

 

Meanwhile, Xuanyuan Guifei wasn’t idle either. She would frequently send gifts to the Zhenbei Marquis Mansion, using all sorts of excuses: thanking Lu Shaoyou for looking after Xuanyuan Yu or saying that since Song Yuanzhi was so beautiful, she surely deserved to wear the finest jewelry…etc etc.

 

Xuanyuan Guifei always had a reason ready, no matter how strange or outlandish.

 

Madam Qin, however, was experienced in dealing with such situations. She would accept the gifts and keep a detailed account of them, only to later have Lu Shaoyou present the list to Emperor Yongkang, saying the gifts should be put into the national treasury for the benefit of the people.

 

Lu Shaoyou played along mischievously. He kept this arrangement strictly confidential, so to outsiders, it appeared as if Xuanyuan Guifei and Xuanyuan Yu were constantly sending gifts to the Zhenbei Marquis Mansion and that the Mansion was happily accepting them.

 

With this setup, even those who trusted Lu Shaoyou as a loyal minister started to wonder if he might indeed be getting too close to Prince Wu. After all, why would he accept so many gifts? They say, “It’s hard to refuse when you’re in someone’s debt.”

 

Even Prince Wu himself started to believe his own scheme. He began looking at Prince Ning with a sense of superiority: So what if you and Lu Shaoyou are close? I gave him a few small favors, and now his attitude toward me is already ambiguous.

 

Prince Ning had to suppress his urge to burst out laughing. His expression grew strange as he held it in, but to Prince Wu, it seemed like Prince Ning was furious that Lu Shaoyou was favoring him instead, which only made Prince Wu feel even more smug. He felt immense satisfaction, thinking that if Lu Shaoyou continued to be so sensible, he would grant him some favor when he eventually ascended the throne.

 

Meanwhile, Madam Qin was venting her frustrations to Song Yuanzhi about Xuanyuan Guifei and her son. “Do they really think that sending us a few random things will get us to join their side? We’re not some poor family that’s never seen the world. Xuanyuan Guifei has been in a high position for so long that she’s forgotten how to win people over.”

 

Song Yuanzhi was still worried, though. “There are so many rumors flying around in the capital right now. It doesn’t matter if others believe them, but if His Majesty starts to believe these rumors…”

 

The thought of a general with a powerful army allying with a prince—it was such a familiar plotline for someone who gets cast aside as cannon fodder!

 

Madam Qin just smiled and said, “Don’t worry. Our emperor may not be the smartest, but he’s no fool either. This little ploy won’t fool him. Right now, the ones who should be worried are Xuanyuan Guifei and Prince Wu.”

 

A prince acting this recklessly—what is he thinking? The emperor is still alive!

 

Besides, Emperor Yongkang’s health hasn’t been great lately. At such a sensitive time, Prince Wu is still causing trouble. If Emperor Yongkang doesn’t put him in his place, it would go against every emperor’s nature to be suspicious.

 

Sure enough, when Emperor Yongkang received the list of gifts that Lu Shaoyou had submitted, his already gloomy expression grew even darker. Lu Shaoyou had not only included the gifts from Prince Wu but from everyone who had sent anything to the Zhenbei Marquis Mansion recently.

 

The look on Emperor Yongkang’s face was so grim that Lu Shaoyou didn’t dare look at him for too long.

 

Shortly after that, Emperor Yongkang’s health began to improve. His first visit to the palace was to Xuanyuan Guifei’s quarters. Xuanyuan Guifei, who had held the top position in the harem for so long, remained secure.

 

However, the good times didn’t last long. After staying at Xuanyuan Guifei’s quarters for three consecutive days, something happened that night. Emperor Yongkang left in the middle of the night with a blackened expression. He didn’t punish her, but his attitude toward her became cold, and he stopped seeing her altogether.

 

Xuanyuan Guifei was at a loss, unable to figure out what had happened, and didn’t dare to appear in front of Emperor Yongkang. After all, the reason for his anger was so humiliating that she feared the mere sight of her would remind him of that disgrace.

 

With Xuanyuan Guifei out of favor, the gifts to the Zhenbei Marquis Mansion stopped coming. Prince Wu also quieted down, and both Song Yuanzhi and Lu Shaoyou found themselves enjoying some rare peace, leisurely wandering around the marquis’s residence, admiring the blooming chrysanthemums.

 

It was the peak of chrysanthemum season, and the garden was filled with a variety of colors: yellow, red, purple—everything you could imagine. However, neither Song Yuanzhi nor Lu Shaoyou were particularly poetic types. After a brief compliment about the flowers, they quickly moved on to other topics.

 

Lu Shaoyou casually mentioned the dangers he’d faced on the battlefield while fiddling with a telescope he had seized from the enemy.

 

After some hesitation, Song Yuanzhi finally couldn’t help but ask, “If I told you I could make these two devices, would you believe me?”

 

Lu Shaoyou’s gaze sharpened. He looked seriously at Song Yuanzhi and asked in a low voice, “This is no joke. Can you really make them?”

 

“Why would I joke about something like this?” Song Yuanzhi replied quietly. “I already have some ideas and should be able to make them. If you’re unsure, you can let me try. I can start making one right away to see if it works.”

 

Since the enemy already had these weapons, Song Yuanzhi didn’t care about any “hometown loyalty” nonsense. From the way Lu Shaoyou spoke, it seemed like another war with the Northern Rong was inevitable. And when it came, it was certain that Lu Shaoyou would lead the troops.

 

Song Yuanzhi had married Lu Shaoyou by this point, so naturally, she had to consider his safety. Even if she hadn’t, she wouldn’t have kept her knowledge hidden. With the enemy’s weapons advancing, she couldn’t sit back while soldiers from their own country were at risk.

 

If both sides had access to these powerful weapons, only then could they fight on equal footing.

 

Without delay, Lu Shaoyou took Song Yuanzhi to the barracks outside the capital. Before returning to the capital, Lu Shaoyou had already informed Emperor Yongkang about the telescope and the explosives and had requested manpower and funds to research them. Naturally, as long as Emperor Yongkang had any common sense, he wouldn’t refuse such a proposal.

 

After all, being outgunned by the enemy was a dire situation! No matter what, they had to catch up quickly.

 

The camp Lu Shaoyou took Song Yuanzhi to was originally responsible for defending the capital, and the soldiers stationed there were loyal to the emperor. It was no surprise that the critical task of developing these weapons fell to them.

 

When Lu Shaoyou and Song Yuanzhi arrived, the craftsmen had already polished several lenses, and although they had made a telescope similar in appearance to the one Lu Shaoyou had brought back, it didn’t have the same functionality.

 

As for the explosives, they were even more stumped. While they had an actual telescope to reference, the description of the explosives came purely from Lu Shaoyou’s accounts of the enemy’s weapon, and the craftsmen couldn’t figure out how to replicate it from mere imagination.

 

However, Song Yuanzhi quickly realized the problem was with how they had polished the lenses and assembled the convex and concave lenses incorrectly, which was why the telescope didn’t work properly.

 

As for the explosives… Song Yuanzhi still remembered the gunpowder formula. Back when time-travel novels were all the rage, she and her friends, being the nerdy teenagers they were, collected all sorts of information, joking that if they ever time-traveled, it might come in handy.

 

Song Yuanzhi had a great memory, and even after so many years, she still remembered the formula. She couldn’t help but feel a little sentimental—who would have thought that their joking around back then would actually become useful? Time travel was real after all!

 

With Song Yuanzhi’s help, the research on the telescope and explosives progressed rapidly, and they were on the verge of success.

 

Relieved, Lu Shaoyou gave a quick kiss on Song Yuanzhi’s cheek, smiling as he praised her. “My wife is truly remarkable! You’ve accomplished a great feat! Thanks to you, our soldiers won’t have to helplessly dodge their thunderous weapons without being able to strike back!”

 

The emotion in his voice made it clear that Lu Shaoyou still hadn’t gotten over the bitterness of that previous battle.

 

With the newly developed explosives and telescopes in hand, Lu Shaoyou couldn’t wait to enter the palace and share the good news with Emperor Yongkang, only to receive a devastating blow: Prince Wu had introduced a Taoist priest to Emperor Yongkang, a man called Changqing Daoist, and the emperor had given him permission to set up an alchemy chamber inside the palace.

 

_{(Taoist priest: Traditionally, they were thought to be able to manipulate fate on their or their followers’ behalf, nor could they grant miracles or inflict divine punishment on people in the afterlife or the mortal world.)}

_{(Alchemy (丹道 dāndào) (外丹 wàidān):- the refining of plants, minerals, and other substances into medicinal pills & elixirs. In these novels, Alchemists (丹师) are essentially pharmacists who work with magical materials and make miracle drugs.)}

 

Translator’s Note :- Hello guys, you will get 2 chapters each on Mon , Wed , Fri each week on fixed time. Look forward to the next parts.