The two stepped into the inner hall, where the bath was now full of water, with beautiful rose petals floating in it. The wine tray, having evolved with the advancements in craftsmanship during the Western Jin Dynasty, had been carved into a small boat, its gears constantly turning as it steered towards the edge, turning sharply upon hitting the wall.
Xie Lanzhi was amazed, but the woman in her arms wouldn't allow her to be distracted at this moment. She stretched out a slender, jade-like finger and touched her cheek.
Xie Lanzhi understood and helped her change her clothes, but to her surprise, Si Xitong didn't even want the white, close-fitting bathrobe anymore.
She leaned gracefully against the jade pillow and whispered to her, "Hurry up and come in."
Xie Lanzhi took off her outer robe and jumped into the pool. She leaned against the other side, wanting to play with the boat. Suddenly, someone snuggled into her arms.
Xie Lanzhi raised an arm and said, "Little Phoenix is being a bit clingy today."
"What? You don't like it?" Although Si Xitong's tone was still affectionate, the authoritative look in his eyes left no room for refusal, indicating that he intended to possess her.
Xie Lanzhi was both amused and exasperated. She spread her arms around her from behind, massaging her hands as she said, "It's been so long since we've been this relaxed."
Si Xitong was somewhat dissatisfied: "It's because you don't care."
So much has happened between them; the last two years have been filled with either conflict or family drama. They're exhausted from dealing with it all, yet they still have to keep up the pace of things.
The court has now largely cleared things up, but there are still some minor preparations to be made.
The Ministry of Industry has already started development, so there's no need to worry for now.
The Imperial Guards are distributed throughout the north and south of the Yangtze River, so there's no need to worry.
Now is the time to deal with the Northern Hu and Xiongnu. However, neither of them wanted to discuss politics today; they just wanted to enjoy their time alone together.
Xie Lanzhi sensed her thoughts and didn't bring up politics again. Now, most things were basically settled, only the final touches remained.
She suddenly brought up what Little Phoenix had said about overseas: "There is a country called Anluo in the West, which will be the country with the greatest potential in the future."
"Would you like to visit that place when we go out to sea in the future?"
Si Xitong said, "I think so. In the future, we should not only understand them, but also learn from their strengths, and then intimidate them to subdue them."
Xie Lanzhi: ?
"If the other side hadn't provoked us, the war could have been avoided."
"Who said that? Lanzhi, you've fought so many battles, how could you be so naive?"
Xie Lanzhi retracted her words: "Besides going abroad to broaden our horizons, we can also pay attention to the cuisine and scenic spots of different countries."
Soon, her pragmatic wife, a beauty, frowned and said, "The four countries of Southeast Asia eat living creatures, and their scenic spots are places where people are sacrificed. Anluo is like a gladiatorial arena where slaves fight against ferocious beasts, which is extremely bloody."
"There are many pirates in the Imperial City, and some even collude with them, which shows that the outside world is not a safe place. Even if there are, they are just some mountains, rivers, deep-sea fish and seafood."
Xie Lanzhi broke out in a cold sweat. Oh right, she almost forgot that the West of today is not the developed West of modern times.
The West is still a primitive society, where many old customs haven't been eliminated and have even reached their peak. That's why Little Phoenix said he wanted to subdue them.
Realizing that the two had unknowingly returned to discussing politics, Xie Lanzhi couldn't help but chuckle: "Since there's nothing interesting to see on the open sea, what would you like to see when you go out to sea in the future?"
Si Xitong kissed her on the lips before saying, "As long as I'm with you, what's wrong with taking risks?"
"Lanzhi will protect me, won't she?"
"Of course." Xie Lanzhi immediately wrapped her arms around her waist, her face suddenly turning serious: "I will never let anyone hurt you."
The night in Tianjing was pale, the moonlight obscured by dark clouds due to the introduction of coal. Candles began to become cheap and could be frequently found in ordinary people's homes.
Some residents even have the means to place two red lanterns at their doorways for illumination, to light the way for the patrol team.
Suddenly a dark figure leaped onto the roof and then onto a tall building near the palace.
Soon, the spies hid in the corners, some already wearing flintlock pistols, ready to kill the enemy with a single shot when they appeared.
However, before they could see anyone, there was a loud bang on the roof of the tall building, and a figure fell off the roof.
The incident alarmed many secret agents and patrols. When they investigated the roof of the high-rise building, they found a pool of blood and a venomous snake with its head blown off.
The spies all turned to themselves for confirmation: "What's going on?"
"Does anyone in Xiwei know how to handle snakes?"
"I don't know how. Xiwei shouldn't have anyone who knows how to handle snakes, nor have they recruited Miao people."
"This venomous snake is no ordinary one; it's a silver-white ringed snake. Logically speaking, with winter approaching, snakes should be looking for places to hibernate."
"Ask the poison master of the Imperial Medical Academy."
The agents split into three groups. One of them handed the venomous snake to the poison master, who examined it and found a poisoned rat inside its abdomen. This proved that the snake was likely farmed and used for medicinal purposes. It was probably a clinic that had taken a risk to create an antidote by raising such a snake. The poison master even knew the clinic and vouched for it.
Upon hearing that the snake was an accident, a secret agent abandoned the investigation.
The dark figure that was attacked was Makino. He had cut his right arm to drain the poisoned blood, taken some medicine, and was resting in the ruined hut.
He never expected to be so unlucky as to encounter a venomous snake.
It seems he'll need to rest for a few days. Makino's operation has temporarily come to an end, when suddenly the roof collapses, attracting the attention of those nearby. Makino didn't have time to escape and was trapped on the ground. If it weren't for a kind old man who came to check on him, he probably wouldn't have survived until tomorrow.
The old man called his neighbors to help carry Muye out.
"Where did this young man come from? Why is he living in such a deserted house?"
"The house has been in disrepair for years and is scheduled for demolition tomorrow. Unfortunately, someone is here tonight. I just hope they're alright, otherwise the land will be hard to sell."
"Get him out of here quickly."
"Wait, what he's wearing looks like something a thief would wear."
"What? He's a thief?"
The men immediately released Makino and threw him to the ground. Makino struggled for a moment, but due to the blood loss he had just suffered, he immediately fainted.
The old man dared not punish Mu Ye privately, so he took him to the yamen (government office). The yamen runners dared not accept him, and instead directed the old man to take him to Shuntian Prefecture. Lord Hai is still working there now.
At this moment, Haiyun stood under the plaque of Mingjingxuan Hall, looking at the Shuntian Prefecture he had served for so many years. He sighed, "Tomorrow I'm going to the Ministry of Revenue. Old friend, we're parting ways."
As soon as he finished speaking, a commotion arose at the door.
Haiyun went out to take a look and found an old man and two young men carrying a man in black.
Haiyun heard from the old man that the man in black had been knocked unconscious in an abandoned house.
He immediately summoned a doctor, who discovered that the man in black had also been poisoned. Haiyun found the man's identity suspicious, but out of humanitarian concern, he allowed the doctor to treat him.
He was responsible for providing the money.
Finally, the doctor prescribed some medicine and left.
Makino had just woken up and grabbed Haiyun. The constables thought he was going to attack Haiyun, and one of them overreacted and hit Makino on the back of the head with a stick, knocking him unconscious.
Haiyun took a few steps back and realized that the other person was very strong.
"Find a room to lock him up, and assign someone to watch over him."
"Sir, you are so kind-hearted. He treated you like this, yet you are still so polite to him."
Hai Yun said, "Before he is convicted, I will treat him as a human being."
"Once convicted, I will not spare him!"
No one expected that Mu Ye would sneak into Tianjing with the intention of assassinating Si Xitong, but before he could even see her, he was either bitten by a poisonous snake that had mistakenly climbed onto the roof or hit by a dilapidated house.
The spies are searching everywhere for him, but they haven't found him. They all feel as if Makino has vanished into thin air.
The very next day, when Haiyun came to see Muye again, he found Muye staring at him blankly, drooling, and then grabbing his sleeve and shouting, "Dad, where is Second Senior Brother?"
Haiyun's eyelids twitched: "What?!"
The constable next to him said somewhat guiltily, "The brothers went too far last night; that's probably when they beat him senseless."
A note from the author:
Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants with nutrient solution between 2022-02-26 20:57:46 and 2022-02-27 20:28:29!
Thank you to the little angel who threw the landmine: Jiu Yan (1);
Thank you to the little angels who watered with nutrient solution: Xiao Tai (23 bottles); QAQ (13 bottles); Bababalu (10 bottles); EVA (8 bottles); Xinxin and Ye (2 bottles each);
Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!
Chapter 228 Taking Over the Small Kingdom of Guizhou Prefecture
Although the man in black in front of her had become mentally impaired, Haiyun still handed Muye over to Xiwei in order to ensure his identity.
The Western Guard immediately captured Mu Ye, much to everyone's relief. Now that the culprit was caught, they no longer needed to worry about His Majesty being assassinated.
But their joy was short-lived, as a keen-eyed spy discovered something: Where was Makino's sniper rifle?
The spies immediately reported the matter and promptly sent Makino to a doctor for treatment. The doctor said that Makino's condition was not optimistic and that he might be in critical condition for the rest of his life.
Nevertheless, the spies dared not let their guard down and sent Makino to the dungeon of the Imperial Prison. Whenever he showed any signs of consciousness, the spies would interrogate him, forcing him to reveal the whereabouts of the sniper rifle.
Makino's problem has been temporarily resolved.
When Xie Lanzhi heard that Mu Ye's sniper rifle was missing, she began to suspect that Mu Ye had accomplices. She then learned that Mu Ye had been bitten by a poisonous snake while scouting the city, and then was hit by a falling object while hiding in an abandoned house, which exposed his whereabouts.
Xie Lanzhi roughly guessed what had happened. She offered a reward, claiming that the imperial court's secret weapons had been stolen by thieves. Anyone who provided information leading to their whereabouts and found them could receive a reward of one thousand taels of silver.
This notice was posted in various districts of Tianjing.
She wanted to use the public to find the sniper rifle.
Makino's sniper rifle quickly became a target for bounty hunters from all over the country.
But no one knew that the sniper rifle was picked up by a boy named Gou Dan. The boy found a rat snake on the beam when he went to the outhouse. He was craving snake meat, so he climbed up to catch the snake but unexpectedly found a strange thing.
The child had no idea what it was. He simply took the sniper rifle down and then removed the scope to play with it.
Just then, his parents called him for dinner. He found the scope more interesting than the long, hard thing, so he casually threw the gun into the cowshed.
The next day, Dog Egg's father went inside and found the cow lying down and refusing to come out. Dog Egg's father went in to check and found that the cow's hoof was standing on a strangely shaped iron object.
Dog Egg's dad had never seen a gun before; he figured a piece of iron could fetch some money. Anyway, pork prices had recently dropped, so maybe he could buy a pound of pork and have some drinks.
So he took it to the blacksmith. The blacksmith was terrified when he saw the iron contraption. He exclaimed that it was a gun and immediately contacted the authorities to arrest him.
Dog Egg's father was arrested by the authorities in a daze, which terrified the whole family.
The local officials, unaware of the situation, assumed that Gou Dan's father had betrayed the Ministry of Works and gave him a severe beating. Gou Dan's father cried and screamed in despair.
Finally, the county magistrate discovered he might not be lying, because Gou Dan's father was a local acquaintance. Given Gou Dan's father's circumstances, it was impossible for him to have the money to leave town, let alone go to the capital city of Tianjing to steal from the Ministry of Works.