Chapter 142
On the frozen Hun River, the men of Qianjin Stronghold had all brought tools to clear the snow. They piled it into a huge wooden box that could be dismantled and packed it down into a large, solid block. These blocks would be stacked to form the rough shapes of the snow sculptures, then carved by craftsmen into finished pieces according to the drawings.
Another group of workers, made up of prefectural troops recruited from the bandits and ordinary civilians, cut the river ice exposed beneath the cleared snow into enormous square blocks. Other craftsmen would bond them together with water, then shape and smooth them with small iron shovels and other tools to make ice sculptures.
These craftsmen were all skilled woodcarvers. Although carving ice felt a little different from carving wood, a few small practice sculptures gave them a sense of how much force to use, and they began working on slightly larger pieces.
Their quick progress also owed much to their handy new tools.
In his own world, Xie Chengze had been left to amuse himself outside when his parents weren’t around during the holidays. When an ice sculpture festival in a northern city became popular, he had flown there and witnessed a magnificent spectacle of ice and snow.
The city’s tough, generous spirit had captivated him. He spent his entire winter break there, experiencing local life and learning a great deal about northern culture. He had watched heated brick beds being built, seen magnificent but haughty Siberian tigers, and even watched an ice sculptor turn a block of ice into a delicate rabbit to give him…
Those memories were so vivid and striking that he still clearly remembered which tools the craftsmen had used to carve the ice.
He had drawn every one of them and had blacksmiths make them overnight, helping the craftsmen here adapt more quickly to carving ice.
It was working well.
Watching the ice sculptures take shape as planned filled Xie Chengze with an indescribable sense of accomplishment. Except for…
He looked at Hu Lai, who kept milling around in front of him. “What are you wriggling around here for?” he couldn’t help asking.
Hu Lai stopped, looking as though the answer should be obvious. “To keep watch on you, of course! You took a share of the money too, Your Highness. You ought to cooperate.”
Xie Chengze: …
“Aren’t they pressing you for a reply? Have you sent it?” Xie Chengze asked. He hadn’t kept track of what Hu Lai had written since then. There was simply too much of it, and he had real work to do. He had no time to read it all.
“No rush, no rush. Roads blocked by snow make an excellent excuse for missing a manuscript deadline – I mean, for a delay.” Hu Lai lowered his head and muttered, “Besides, I can get another two days’ worth of material. Mm, I’ve just had a brilliant idea to give Your Highness’s character more depth…”
Xie Chengze’s ears pricked up.
Manuscript deadlines, brilliant ideas, character development…
“Hu Lai, don’t tell me you have another identity? The author of some wildly popular story, for instance…”
Xie Chengze narrowed his eyes. He remembered buying all the capital’s most popular storybooks when he first arrived. One author was famous for unofficial tales of the palace, all about illicit affairs between the men and women within its walls. The prose, the atmosphere, certain scenes… Thinking back, they were almost as vivid as actually witnessing them in the palace…
“How could that be?!” Hu Lai exclaimed, hastily waving his hands in denial. “Would I ever exploit my position to write palace scandals into stories for extra money?!”
Xie Chengze: …
But I never said that author wrote about palace scandals.
Apparently realizing he had exposed his secret identity, Hu Lai silently lowered his head and changed the subject even faster than his master could. “Your Highness, come see the new character I’ve written for you!”
He pulled out his little notebook. Yes, his Travels of the Second Prince had grown so thick that it had been bound into a book. He dabbed his brush with saliva to soften the bristles, then wrote:
[The Second Prince has lately been furtive in his movements, giving much cause for suspicion. I followed him in secret, only to discover his uncanny genius for making devices!
Upon closer observation, I was appalled to find that he had already made several bizarre implements. One was a deadly weapon, its blade lined with sharp teeth like the fangs of a tiger or other savage beast, capable of tearing flesh to shreds!]
Xie Chengze rubbed his chin. Oh, that would be the handsaw for cutting ice blocks.
[Another sinister implement had a curved, curling blade that gleamed coldly. Thrust into a human body and drawn out again, it could tear the innards into bloody strips. How terrifying!]
Xie Chengze scratched his forehead. Oh, that would be the rounded gouge for carving hollows in the ice.
[Yet another diabolical implement had teeth as fine as hairs clustered on an iron plate. It could torture a person as cruelly as death by a thousand cuts, or pierce the body with countless holes in an instant. How terrifying its cruelty!]
Xie Chengze struck his palm with his fist. Aha! The ice shovel with the densely packed teeth!
Old Hu, these ice-carving tools were so cute. How did you manage to make them all sound so terrifying?!
Then Hu Lai continued: [The Second Prince was greatly pleased. In the dark underground chamber, only his hideous laughter echoed without cease. By the feeble candlelight, his black shadow on the wall resembled a tiger pouncing on its prey, sending chills down the spine and making one’s hair stand on end!
Afraid, I wished to leave, but then heard him utter an insane boast: Across all this vast world, I alone reign supreme!
I privately believe the Second Prince intends to rebel!]
Finished, Hu Lai licked the tip of his brush again in satisfaction and sought praise. “What a brutal, mad, demon-faced king! Your Highness, is this character imposing enough?”
Xie Chengze: …
Imposing. Very imposing. Couldn’t be more imposing.
No wonder he wrote stories. It left the reader reeling from one absurdity to the next. Xie Chengze could practically picture the indescribable expression on that person’s face when this deranged story, stuffed with nonsense, reached him.
But speaking of that person…
Xie Chengze considered the matter. He and Shen Yuan had discussed in private how to bring down the man’s faction. But the man had spent eight years embedded in the court, with many matters passed through trusted confidants to subordinates. Finding evidence against him would not be easy.
What’s more, his martial arts were even better than Shen Yuan’s. Clearly, the method they had used against Yang Qinghui would not work on him.
Fortunately, he had yet to gain military power. Without command of troops, a rebellion could only fail. Xie Chengze and Shen Yuan therefore still had enough time to work out how to make him reveal himself and bring him down with as little damage as possible, without severing a vital artery.
But an idea had just struck him. Why not ask Hu Lai, the most vicious and scheming corrupt minister at the original villain’s side in the novel, whether he had a solution?
To deal with a villain, one ought to use a villain’s underhanded methods… Yes!
Xie Chengze rubbed his hands together, then draped an arm around Hu Lai’s shoulders with distinctly ill intent. “Old Hu, I have a difficult problem. I don’t know how to solve it.”
“Oh?” Hu Lai’s eyes lit up. His chance to be of service had come. “Please tell me, Your Highness!”