However, just as he picked up his pen and walked out, Lu Peng pushed the door open and came back in.
"Your Highness, a message has come from the Imperial Study. The Emperor requests your presence in the palace to discuss important matters."
Chu Yao had no choice but to put down his pen and go to the palace to meet the emperor.
Emperor Deqing sought him out to discuss the establishment of a firearms battalion.
At the beginning of the year, Ningxia Guard fought against the Western Rong and captured a batch of firearms that had been smuggled into the Western Rong from the West. Junheng was ordered to escort these firearms back to the capital. Emperor Deqing, with considerable foresight, having witnessed the power of firearms, immediately decided that Qi Kingdom also needed an army capable of using them. Therefore, relying solely on the captured firearms was insufficient, and personnel were assigned to research and replicate them.
The reason Junheng stayed in Shangjing instead of returning to the Northwest was because he was assigned by Emperor Deqing to participate in the task of manufacturing firearms.
Chu Yao was also assigned to temporarily oversee various related matters.
During the research and development phase, as long as secrecy was maintained, he didn't need to be too distracted. However, now that the newly manufactured muskets were taking shape, Emperor Deqing planned to select a group of young and intelligent soldiers to be specially trained in the combat methods of using firearms.
This requires at least one general to be stationed at the military camp to supervise the training day and night.
In this case, Chu Yao, who is already the commander of Lingguang Guard, is obviously not very suitable.
Emperor Deqing intended to choose one of his sons, and his first choice was the eldest prince, who had experience in leading troops. However, after the crown prince was deposed, Emperor Deqing was unwilling to make a decision on the heir apparent too quickly. Therefore, he planned to cultivate his several adult princes, let them all demonstrate their abilities, balance their power, and check and balance each other, so that he could choose the most suitable candidate to inherit the throne.
For example, this time, Emperor Deqing also favored the third prince, Chu Ye, but after much deliberation, he couldn't make up his mind, so he summoned Chu Yao to discuss it.
After listening to Emperor Deqing's various thoughts, Chu Yao said frankly, "Uncle, we can train those who lack military experience, but the matter of building a firearms battalion is more urgent. The Third Prince is still in Henan. Even if we summon him back to the capital now, it will take almost a month to get there. Unlike the First Prince, who is in the city and can enter the camp as soon as the order is given."
Emperor Deqing thought about it carefully and realized that this was indeed the case. Since he intended to use firearms in the army, he decided to do so sooner rather than later. So he ordered Liang Sansheng to bring the eldest prince into the palace.
It was dusk when Chu Yao left the palace. Gazing at the setting sun sinking below the horizon, he changed his mind about writing a letter to Wushuang. Exchanging intelligence, like establishing an artillery battalion, was best done sooner rather than later. Now that the sun was setting, by the time he finished writing and delivered the letter, it would be dark, and he wouldn't receive a reply until tomorrow at the earliest. A whole night, more than four hours, could hold too much.
He decided to go home and rest first, and then go see Wushuang in person that night.
Chapter Index 113 | 12
Chapter 112:
There are no secrets that stay hidden forever. If Chu Yao could detect the Grand Prince Consort's unusual behavior, the Grand Princess would naturally have found out as well. (txt download 80)
"...Afterwards, the guards followed the woman and watched her enter the back gate of the Marquis of Runan's residence. After inquiring, they learned that she was a chef hired by the Marquis of Runan's residence for the young ladies, named Lu Zhenniang." The head maidservant beside the eldest princess reported without looking to the side. "The guards watching the驸马爷 (the驸马爷) also noticed. After the驸马爷 parted ways with that Mr. Lu, he stayed outside the Lingguang Guard's office. Later, he made an excuse to talk to one of the Lingguang Guards, and even invited him to banquets at Babaozhai several times. His intention to befriend him was obvious. According to the guards, he had met that Lingguang Guard several times during the northern tour and knew that his name was Lu An, the son of that Mr. Lu from the Marquis of Runan's residence."
The eldest princess suddenly overturned the kang table, and bowls, plates, cups, and pots shattered with a crash.
"I thought he had changed his ways and started to care about us, mother and daughter. Turns out he just had his eye on the cook in that family! All that talk about thinking about Ayao's future was just a pretense!"
The eldest princess was furious and cursed repeatedly, completely losing her usual dignified and elegant demeanor.
In her youth, she met He Wenyan, who was known as "the most handsome man in the capital," and ever since then, she has been obsessed with him and has never been interested in any other man.
Later, after being granted marriage by Emperor Deqing, I felt exceptionally fortunate. Looking back now, I realize how naive I was. No matter how handsome a man is, he's just an empty shell. Without the heart to love and care for his wife and children, he's even less than a pretty face.
Outside the cubicle, He Yao quietly lowered the beaded curtain that was half-lifted.
Why did Father have an affair with the cook of the Jun family?
She frowned in thought. The two people, who were completely unrelated, would never have had the chance to meet if someone hadn't acted as a matchmaker.
The thought flashed through her mind, and she quickly grasped it, thus concluding that it must be Jun Wushuang. Wu Hui must have told Jun Wushuang about her plan long ago. In order to take revenge, she specially sent someone to seduce her father, causing her mother and herself to lose all face.
What a cunning Jun Wushuang! Not only did she instigate Chu Yao to ruin her life, but she also dared to target the Princess's residence.
He Yao clenched her fists angrily, determined to retaliate and ruin Jun Wushuang's reputation so that he could never recover.
At midnight, the entire Marquis of Runan's mansion was asleep.
The last lantern in the Furongli courtyard went out, and the maid on night duty yawned as she walked into the side hall, spread out the bedding, and scrambled inside, instantly falling into a deep sleep.
The east side room was dark, as no lamps were lit.
No, if you look closely, you can see a faint light shining through the edges of the low-hanging bed curtains.
Inside the sky-blue bed curtains embroidered with vines, Wushuang, dressed in a cherry-pink undergarment, lay prone on the spread-out brocade quilt, flipping through a book. (80)
Her face flushed slightly, and she stared wide-eyed, sometimes in surprise, sometimes with great interest, and sometimes covering her eyes with her hands, as if she were extremely shy.
In the corner by the bed curtains, there was a ram's horn lantern, from which the faint light seen outside the curtains came from.
Wushuang turned the page and repeated her previous surprise, curiosity, and shyness, her two fair little feet occasionally lifting up and swaying rhythmically.
Early this morning, Wuyou sent a message back, asking Wushuang to go to her room to find a gold hairpin that she had forgotten to take with her.
As a result, they not only found the hairpin, but also a scroll of fire-avoidance diagrams behind the bed.
She initially thought it was a book explaining how to prevent home fires, so she brought it back to Furong Lane to read it.
Who knew that what I saw would be so shocking? The men and women in the book...
It was impossible to simply discard Wushuang, nor was it an option to keep her. So, like a thief, he hid her under the bedding, only daring to take her out to look at her when all was quiet at night... No, he was planning how to secretly return her to her original place without the knowledge of the maids, wet nurses, and his mother, Madam Yang.
"Eh..." Wushuang turned another page, covering her eyes with her small hands and making a disdainful sound.
A few breaths later, she moved her fingers slightly, revealing a gap between them, glanced at the pages, and then hurriedly closed her eyes again.
Huh?
Something seemed off just now...
Wushuang opened her eyes a crack and quickly scanned the pages of the book.
She knew something was wrong.