All the civil and military officials and nobles of the city gathered at the hunting grounds in the northern suburbs, watching with great interest as the soldiers of the firearms battalion demonstrated the power of their muskets.
The eldest prince lived up to Emperor Deqing's high expectations, arranging the "performance" to be both entertaining and awe-inspiring.
At his command, the fifty soldiers quietly and quickly formed ranks and fired their muskets in unison.
Their target was a large furnace, as tall as a person, located ten zhang away.
After a deafening burst of gunfire, four tall, burly soldiers stepped forward, carried a bronze furnace around the field, and everyone present, whether royalty or officials and their families, could clearly see that the furnace was riddled with bullet holes. Not only the side facing the firing soldiers, but even the side facing away from them was pierced.
Good heavens! The bronze vessel is riddled with holes. Would a human body survive that?
The power of firearms is indeed incomparable to that of bows and arrows. Fifty muskets have such an effect. If they are developed vigorously and hundreds, thousands, or even tens of thousands are produced, the Qi army will be invincible and will have no rivals.
The audience erupted in cheers and applause, their voices ringing out in applause.
Having achieved his objective, Emperor Deqing announced the end of the demonstration, and everyone was free to move about in the hunting grounds. They could enjoy the flowers and drink tea, or go hunting in the forest. They were free to do as they pleased and not to feel constrained.
The wives of officials were divided according to gender. The women preferred quiet and often went to enjoy flowers and lakes, while the men would go hunting on horseback.
Officials rushed to follow the emperor, hoping to seize the opportunity to show their abilities while the emperor was in a good mood, and perhaps gain his favor and start a new career.
Just as everything was in a state of joy and peace, a guard suddenly rushed over.
"Your Majesty, the ship belonging to the First Princess's residence has sunk, and the First Princess, Princess Yun Jing, and the Seventh Miss Yu have all fallen into the water..."
After all, she was his own daughter. Before the guard could finish speaking, Emperor Deqing spurred his horse toward the lake.
A group of officials hurriedly gave chase.
People jostled and horses kicked each other as a massive, surging mass of people rushed to the shore.
Upon seeing the Emperor's arrival, one of the quick-witted guards on the shore immediately stepped forward to report: "Your Majesty, the First Princess and the County Princess have been rescued by the Minister's boat. Please do not worry."
As he spoke, hundreds of eyes witnessed Fifth Prince Chu Yun carrying Yu Xiangxiang to the shore. He first helped the soaking wet Yu Xiangxiang ashore, then followed closely behind. Upon noticing someone ahead, he quickly took off his already soaked outer garment and draped it over Yu Xiangxiang.
Yu Xiangxiang appeared to be unconscious, remaining motionless as he manipulated her.
Chu Yun didn't even bother to bow to Emperor Deqing. He picked her up and hurriedly got into a covered boat that was moored at the shore.
Chapter Index 117 | 7.115.116
Chapter 116:
After a girl falls into the water, being seen with her clothes soaked and her body fully exposed is considered a loss of virginity. [txt full collection download wW] Even if Yu Xiangxiang comes from a prominent family, it's hard to say she'll have a good marriage in the future.
Moreover, she was rescued by Chu Yun, and during the rescue, they inevitably had physical contact. If she had been touched and caressed by other men, who would still want to marry her? According to custom, being carried into Chu Yun's mansion as a concubine in a small sedan chair would be the best possible outcome.
However, Yu Xiangxiang's father and brothers were influential figures in Emperor Deqing's court, and her aunt, Consort Yu, was the mother of the powerful eldest prince. Emperor Deqing still had to think twice about this.
Just as he was undecided, Chu Yun came to see the emperor and took the initiative to ask Yu Xiangxiang to marry him.
"So many people saw her today, aren't you afraid of being laughed at in the future?" After all, he was his own son, and Emperor Deqing didn't want him to suffer any grievances in his marriage, hence this question.
“You cannot blame my cousin Xiangxiang for what happened today; it was all due to my lack of foresight. At the time, I was only thinking about saving her life, but I forgot to consider her reputation. A woman's reputation is more important than her life. I ruined her life in a moment of impulse, so I must take responsibility. If I abandon her because of other people's gossip, it would be irresponsible and not the behavior of a man.”
Chu Yun had rehearsed his speech a thousand times, and when he spoke, it was incredibly fluent. His tone and expression were perfectly matched, and Emperor Deqing believed him. He immediately issued an edict to grant the marriage.
This matter was quickly brought to a close, but there was still no hope of a solution to Wushuang's problem.
Seeing his beloved wife looking worried day after day, and Chu Yao not showing up in public, Chu Ye rode alone to the Prince of Ying's mansion on the second day after the firearms battalion displayed its might, intending to have a serious talk with his cousin.
Unfortunately, he had exceptionally bad luck. When he went to the person's house to wait for them, the person he was waiting for was not at home at all. Only his little cousin, Chu Wanjiao, timidly came to greet him.
“My brother said he had important business to attend to and left at the end of last month.” Chu Wan’s worried expression mirrored that of her cousin-in-law, Wu Xia. “He also said that he and Uncle Jun had managed to suppress Shuangshuang’s matter in time, preventing it from reaching the palace. So, I didn’t dare to see my aunt, uncle, and grandmother during the holidays, afraid that they would see me unhappy and interrogate me about it…”
It goes without saying that Chu Ye understood that Chu Wan, being so young and simple-minded, could not possibly withstand the repeated interrogations from Consort Jing, the Emperor, and the Empress Dowager. Even if she refused to say anything, they would sense something was amiss and send people to investigate, making it impossible to keep quiet until the truth leaked out.
"Don't worry too much," Chu Ye reassured him. "I came here today specifically for this matter. After your brother gets home, please pass on a message to him. As the saying goes, two heads are better than one. We'll definitely be able to come up with a solution to help Shuangshuang."
Upon hearing his words, Chu Wan's lifeless eyes immediately lit up, and she hurriedly nodded in agreement, repeatedly promising that her brother would arrange for her to meet Chu Ye as soon as he returned.
Two days later, Chu Yao finally returned home.
It was just before dawn, and the gates of the Prince of Ying's mansion were still locked. The gatekeeper, startled awake, reluctantly came out and entered. Upon seeing that the visitor was his own prince, he dared not show any complaints and greeted him with a forced smile.
Chu Yao seemed preoccupied with his own thoughts, ignoring everything else, and hurried away, disappearing from sight in the blink of an eye.
As soon as I stepped into the study, I heard a series of light footsteps outside.
Chu Yao turned around and saw Chu Wan running in, disregarding her image, lifting her skirt and shouting, "Brother, you're finally back! I've been waiting for you so anxiously!"
Chu Wan, who was always pampered, was unusually well-behaved and considerate today. Seeing Chu Yao looking travel-worn, she even went to the bathroom to wring out a towel. While Chu Yao was wiping his face, she quickly recounted Chu Ye's visit.
"Okay, I understand. I'll ask him out once I'm done with this busy period." Chu Yao replied calmly, his face expressionless.
Chu Wan couldn't wait any longer. She was so anxious that she jumped up and down: "Brother, when will you be done? It's been a month, and Shuangshuang has been suffering. How can you not care?"
Chu Yao's expression remained blank, her face stretching even longer: "Who said I don't care? Anyway, don't worry about it. This isn't something a girl like you should be concerned with."
This really stirred up a hornet's nest.
"If you don't care, and I don't care either, then what about Shuangshuang? I know you just despise Shuangshuang! She was bullied and wronged, and you didn't even stand up for her. You even despise her. You're a bad person!"
In Chu Wan's simple world, everything and everyone is black and white, and she pushed Chu Yao in anger.
She wasn't actually very strong, but Chu Yao was caught off guard and was pushed back two steps, almost bumping into the screen.
However, Chu Wan didn't give him a chance to explain. After living in fear for more than twenty days, she vented all her grievances on her brother: "I don't care what you do, Shuangshuang is my good friend. I'm going to help her. I'll find a way. Humph! I'm never talking to you again, you bad brother!"