Chapter 55
Chapter 55
Shen Yuan’s fevered mind, muddled and corroded by desire, felt as though a bucket of cold water had been poured over it. He jolted awake and saw Xie Chengze staring at him with icy disgust, as if Shen Yuan had committed some unforgivable sin and disappointed him beyond measure.
In truth, Shen Yuan had committed an unforgivable sin. He had harbored such filthy, treasonous thoughts about Xie Chengze. He could clearly feel both his terror and his greed: terror at Xie Chengze’s disgust and estrangement and at his own confused, corrupted emotions, but greed for Xie Chengze’s seductive beauty and closeness, which drew him into helpless surrender.
“I harbor no filthy thoughts toward Your Highness…”
He offered the pale explanation, afraid Xie Chengze would distance himself. But Xie Chengze pointed mockingly below Shen Yuan’s waist and asked coldly, “Then what is that?”
Xie Chengze’s face blurred before him, and his body gradually turned transparent. Shen Yuan reached out in panic, desperate to grasp him, but caught nothing. Darkness suddenly swallowed his vision, and he plunged back into that warm tide. Seawater flooded madly into his mouth, drowning every word of explanation and every plea for Xie Chengze to stay…
…
…
…
“Hah…!” Shen Yuan’s eyes flew open. He gasped for breath, his heart nearly leaping from his chest.
Hot sweat ran from his brow into his hairline and nearly soaked the soft pillow. He stared blankly upward. When he realized it had only been a dream, he released a heavy breath of relief.
Thank goodness it was only a dream. He had almost thought…
He rose, intending to bathe away the heat and dampness, only to freeze at an abrupt patch of warm moisture elsewhere. Once realization came, a vast blush instantly swept over his peerlessly handsome face.
Damn it!
With the roots of his ears burning, Shen Yuan swiftly removed his underrobe. Frowning, he hastily cleaned the mess from his body, then disposed of every piece of “evidence” before dawn.
For several days afterward, Shen Yuan did not dare look at Xie Chengze.
Every glimpse of that face summoned the dream image of Xie Chengze seducing and toying with him. Worse, the persistent redness at the corners of Xie Chengze’s eyes overlapped with the flush they had worn in the dream while he was aroused. The resulting confusion between dream and reality left Shen Yuan anxious and uncertain, afraid to cross the slightest boundary.
He feared mistaking the nature of his emotions, and he feared losing control of them.
Across two lifetimes, Shen Yuan had never felt desire for anyone, nor had he ever experienced such a dream. This sudden erotic fantasy plunged him into chaos. His many emotions toward Xie Chengze tangled together until he could no longer separate the true feeling beneath them.
Shen Yuan did not dare see Xie Chengze, and Xie Chengze had no wish to see Shen Yuan.
Xie Chengze could even faintly sense that Shen Yuan was deliberately avoiding him. Otherwise, how could two people staying in the same place fail to encounter each other for days on end?
Whatever. Shen Yuan could do as he pleased, so long as he stopped interfering with the gunpowder.
Thus, twenty days slipped quietly past. One morning, Xie Chengze, sporting two enormous dark circles beneath his eyes, kicked open his door and threw back his head in laughter. “Hahahahaha – I finally succeeded!”
The inferior ingredients available in ancient times had weakened the gunpowder, so he added white sugar and several other materials. At last, he produced blasting powder capable of shattering mountain rock!
He had even made two strings of firecrackers while he was at it. Unfortunately, he lacked one ingredient; otherwise, he could have made fireworks too!
“Xiaobiao! Zimiao! Get up! Your big brother is taking you two out to play with something fun!” Xie Chengze shouted at the top of his lungs. In the neighboring room, the sleeping Zhu Xiaobiao’s eyes flew open in terror. He hurriedly answered, “Coming, coming!”
Xie Zimiao woke as well and emerged rubbing his eyes, looking rather poorly. “Second Brother, what is it?”
Yizhou was both humid and hot, and Xie Zimiao was less resistant to the sun than Xie Chengze. After accompanying him outdoors for two days, the skin on his face and body began peeling, so he had hidden indoors ever since and refused to leave.
Only the promise of something fun coaxed him out now.
“You’ll find out when we get there.” Xie Chengze crooked a finger, and Xie Zimiao obediently came over.
Noticing the red oil-paper umbrella beside Second Brother’s door, Xie Zimiao picked it up and opened it, blocking the fierce sunlight overhead. “Then let’s go~”
The three reached Mount Yuji. Xie Chengze found the foreman overseeing the excavation and said he wanted to test the blasting powder’s power.
Several nearby stonecutters crowded over curiously and stared at the black object in Xie Chengze’s hand. “That thing doesn’t look very large. Can it truly blast apart a mountain?”
“Why not find out?” Xie Chengze entered the tunnel. After he and the foreman cleared every stonecutter from the area, he stuffed the explosive into the deep groove reserved for firewood.
He extended the fuse, which had been treated with flammable material, all the way to the tunnel entrance. Only after everyone retreated to safety did he take out a fire striker and ignite it.
The fuse began to crackle and burn. Xie Chengze ran into the distance. Everyone held their breath and stared fixedly at the tunnel, afraid to miss a single moment.
They waited so long that even Xie Chengze began to wonder whether it had failed. Then a deafening explosion erupted inside the tunnel. The entire ground shuddered twice, sending every heart pounding as eyes flew wide.
Heavens! What terrifying power this blasting powder possessed!
Thick smoke drifted from the tunnel. Once the workers carried buckets of water inside and extinguished the embers, they discovered that the small groove holding the explosive had become an enormous hole in the rock. Shattered stones lay strewn across the ground, an astonishing and magnificent sight!
“That tiny piece of blasting powder did as much work as ten stonecutters laboring for nearly three days?!”
“And look how large the opening is! The rock’s surface is still hot. We can pour water over it now, start cutting, and create an even larger breach – ”
“With this, we could cut through Mount Yuji in less than three years and divert the Min River into our village fields! Then we’ll never fear drought again!”
Zhu Xiaobiao and Xie Zimiao stared dumbfounded. The excavation foreman gazed at Xie Chengze with burning excitement. “Young master, did you create this blasting powder?”
“More or less.” Xie Chengze waved a hand and changed the subject. “Since it works so well, I’ll return and discuss matters with Prefect Liang so we can put it into use on the excavation as soon as possible.”
The foreman was quick-witted. Seeing that Xie Chengze did not wish to reveal more, he merely expressed his gratitude. “That would be wonderful! Thank you, young master, for all your trouble!”
After leaving Mount Yuji, Xie Zimiao gazed at Xie Chengze with open worship. “Second Brother, you’re incredible! You actually made something this powerful!”
“This is nothing.” Xie Chengze shook his head and sighed. “Whether it proves a blessing or a curse remains unknown. When we return to the county yamen, write a letter to Father for me.”
Xie Zimiao nodded obediently. “All right.”
After returning to the county yamen, Xie Chengze first had Xie Zimiao write a letter to Liang Wanda, who had already returned to Jiangdu County. Then he picked up several sheets of paper and began considering how to tell Emperor Jian that he had created gunpowder.
The tone could not be too solemn, or Emperor Jian might become suspicious and wary.
Xie Zimiao stole a glance at him. After hesitating for a long while, he quietly said, “Second Brother, remember to ask Father for a reward. Don’t act as though you seek nothing…”
Mother Consort had said that anyone who did not seek a reward must be plotting something greater.
Mother Consort had also said that a prince had to remain inconspicuous and mediocre to live a stable life.
Xie Chengze paused. Then he lowered his brows with a smile and gently rubbed Xie Zimiao’s head. “All right. Second Brother understands.”
After stroking his chin for a while, Xie Chengze put brush to paper. In his hideously ugly handwriting, he began:
“To my heroic, radiant, universally adored Father, whose mere presence makes every consort bear twins: Have you governed diligently of late? Cultivated your virtue? Slacked off or shirked your work?
“Your son has been dispatched to Yizhou and observed that fathers and sons here support one another. Fathers carry heavy burdens to save silver for their sons’ books, while sons study by lamplight to earn official rank and repay their fathers’ devotion. If the son meets expectations and passes the examination, his father must redouble his efforts and continue laboring himself to exhaustion so his son can enjoy the three great joys of life. If he refuses, every neighboring household will despise him, and his own son will compare him with other fathers and condemn him as an inferior parent.
“Your son was deeply moved. Recalling that Father’s every past action arose from boundless affection, I felt profoundly ashamed and resolved to accomplish something great in return for your painstaking care.
“Unexpectedly, I developed an object of limitless power, capable of sweeping aside vast armies, pacifying chaos on the frontiers, and protecting the Jian’an Dynasty for a thousand years!
“Your son’s ability now stands unmatched beneath Heaven, and his diligence surpasses even Father’s devotion to governance! Father must not neglect affairs of state in the capital. Apply yourself, labor tirelessly, and continue securing every rare delicacy and beauty under Heaven for your son. Otherwise, your son will be ashamed of you, envy other fathers’ hard work, and lament his own father’s indolence!
“A second letter is enclosed, along with the formula. Handle it carefully and do not allow it to leak.
“May Jian’an prosper, may Father enjoy health and long life, and may your son grow ever more beautiful and enchanting~”
The appallingly ugly handwriting sprawled across nearly thirty pages. From beginning to end, the letter was an exercise in emotionally manipulating Emperor Jian into working harder and creating a rich, wonderful life for his son. Otherwise, Xie Chengze would compare him with other fathers and show him exactly how badly he had failed as a parent.