The young man in purple was none other than Eldest Prince Zhao Xi.
He left the palace today to ask the head of the Ministry of Revenue, Elder Qi, for help in designing and forging a hidden weapon.
Elder Qi was introduced to him by Song Yuanbao.
Seeing Song Yuanbao’s shalessly content deanor, Zhao Xi withdrew his gaze and looked away.
Soon after, a neatly dressed guard appeared at the alley entrance, approached, and reported to Zhao Xi, "I have inquired thoroughly. Elder Qi is indeed a chanical Master, but he is sowhat eccentric. No matter how much money is offered, he will refuse to design what he doesn’t want to."
Upon hearing the guard’s report, Zhao Xi rembered when he handed over his sketched blueprints to Elder Qi for review, who rely glanced at them briefly before rejecting them, saying Zhao Xi’s request was too simple and he didn’t intend to waste ti.
At first, Zhao Xi was puzzled. He had spent months pondering those blueprints, and even the commander of the Royal Weapon Camp had praised them profusely. How could they beco useless scraps in Elder Qi’s hands?
It wasn’t until Song Yuanbao accidentally touched a chanical beast covered with drapery by Elder Qi that Zhao Xi was stunned and suddenly understood why Elder Qi dismissed his design.
In all his years, Zhao Xi had never seen anything so exquisitely crafted, utilizing chanical principles to combine seemingly ordinary materials, making them move autonomously and even attack people if operated properly.
At that mont, Zhao Xi thought that if such a thing could be magnified tenfold, twentyfold, or even larger, and deployed on the battlefield, the soldiers of Great Chu could reduce casualties and greatly increase the chances of victory.
Before leaving, Elder Qi told him, "Young man, when your n find a more complex chanical beast diagram, you can see this old person again, no need to hurry."
With those words, it was clear that the elder had long known his identity as a Prince.
...
The two boarded the carriage in succession, driven by a guard.
As they were about to leave the alley, Zhao Xi lifted the curtain and glanced in the direction of Elder Qi’s residence, then lowered the curtain and turned to Song Yuanbao, "I didn’t send anyone to look for any diagram. What exactly did Elder Qi an by that?"
Song Yuanbao pondered and asked, "Could it be your father...father?"
Upon hearing this, Zhao Xi fell into contemplation.
Before today, he had never seen a chanical beast, but he had read historical records about a Liu family specializing in designing chanical weapons during the Jin Dynasty, at a ti when their country was invaded by foreign enemies. The Emperor then invited the head of the Liu Family into the palace for design. They ultimately turned the tide with their powerful weapons, achieving victory against overwhelming odds.
Unfortunately, due to the Emperor’s excessive suspicion and fear that the Liu Family might rebel in the future, he killed them off rcilessly.
There was another version of the story—
Having witnessed the prowess of chanical weapons, the Emperor attempted to claim them for himself, forcing the Liu Family to hand over all diagrams. When the family head refused, they were exterminated. Those diagrams might have been shattered with the Liu Family or possibly scattered among the populace.
At this thought, Zhao Xi began to wonder if his father had truly ordered a secret search for the Weapon Diagram.
But it’s been several hundred years since the Jin Dynasty; how could they still be found?
...
Under the seat, Xue Yinhuan was sweating, having never expected to accidentally board Eldest Prince Zhao Xi’s carriage.
Even more unexpected was that the Eldest Prince would leave the palace today.
The hidden compartnt was cramped and uncomfortable, making it difficult for Xue Yinhuan to catch her breath, forcing her to keep her breathing light.
Through the small square hole in the front panel of the hidden compartnt, she vaguely saw the hem of a robe hanging down from the seat above, luxurious purple embroidered with dark silver threads, and from her angle, Xue Yinhuan could see the twinkling glimr.
The carriage continued moving forward.
Xue Yinhuan had been stifled in the hidden compartnt for quite so ti, starting to feel dizzy and lightheaded.
Fortunately, the driver was skillful, preventing her from fainting on the spot. She should manage to hold on until they reach the Imperial City Gate.
Xue Yinhuan was contemplating how to sneak out unnoticed when she suddenly realized the two people speaking inside the carriage had fallen silent. Now, apart from the sound of wheels outside, it was so quiet inside you could hear a pin drop.
She tried to hold her breath to avoid revealing herself but didn’t expect Zhao Xi to suddenly light incense.
The scent imdiately hit her nose, causing slight discomfort.
Having been cramped in the hidden compartnt for so long, Xue Yinhuan naturally couldn’t bear it. She held back, held back again, but ultimately couldn’t help it, letting out a sneeze.
Startled by her own sneeze, she turned pale and listened intently, realizing the carriage interior was still silent.
Monts later, the young Prince’s low voice penetrated the space, "Won’t co out? Do you need to personally invite you?"
Song Yuanbao clicked his tongue, "This assassin has hidden too incompetently."
Without looking at Zhao Xi, Xue Yinhuan could imagine his cool and penetrating gaze.
She bit her lip and whispered, "You two need to make way first, so I can co out."
Yuanbao was even more intrigued, "It’s actually a female assassin?"
Zhao Xi said nothing, stood up, and stepped aside.
The incense lit earlier had a miraculous effect of making one’s entire body weak. Both he and Yuanbao had taken the antidote in advance and had nothing to worry about, but as for the person in the secret compartnt, no matter how good her skills were, she wouldn’t be able to exert any strength once she ca out.
Xue Yinhuan pulled open the sliding door of the secret compartnt and struggled to climb out, only to find herself weak all over.
She tried her best to stand, but halfway up, she fell forward.
No one reached out to catch her.
Zhao Xi was never going to do that; he simply sidestepped to avoid her.
Yuanbao didn’t dare to do so either; he had already seen that the woman hiding in the carriage was none other than Xue Yinhuan. There was no need to wonder, she must have co for His Highness. She had her mind set on His Highness, and if he reached out to catch her, there might inevitably be physical contact, which was not appropriate.
Thus, the two youth, dressed in their elegant attire, just watched as the fair beauty fell flat onto the ground.
Xue Yinhuan’s chin hit the floor, causing her to inhale sharply from the pain, yet she remained conscious. At this mont, she regretted not listening to her aunt’s advice to continue shopping, otherwise she wouldn’t be in such a troubleso situation.
Before she could finish reflecting, Zhao Xi’s emotionless gaze had already swept over her, "Kicking the shuttlecock at the first ti was an accident, eting under the ancient locust tree the second ti was a coincidence, Miss Xue, what is the reason for this third encounter?"
"I..."
Xue Yinhuan felt a sense of powerlessness, unable to argue.
After a while, she spoke with a quiet voice, "If I said this ti was also a coincidence, would Your Highness believe ?"
Zhao Xi commanded the guard driving the carriage outside to stop, instructing Xue Yinhuan, "Get off the carriage!"
Xue Yinhuan had just breathed a sigh of relief intending to leave, when she rembered sothing and had to look back at Zhao Xi, "Earlier, I was being chased and assassinated, and thanks to His Highness’s rescue, I am deeply grateful. However, do you think... that you could continue being a good person and send out of this street? I will certainly get off at the street’s entrance and not trouble Your Highness further."
"Get off the carriage!" Zhao Xi’s voice was colder than before.
Xue Yinhuan had no choice but to cast a pleading glance at Yuanbao.
Yuanbao shrugged, "His Highness only knows interest exchanges, not romantic entanglents. If you want to stay, that’s fine, but you’ll have to pay sothing in return, right?"
This was essentially giving her an opportunity.
Xue Yinhuan imdiately grasped the key point, "You ntioned Elder Qi earlier, I know him."
Zhao Xi’s brows slightly raised.
Xue Yinhuan explained, "He is a friend of my grandfather’s and sotis visits our house for drinks. Once I delivered wine to them and overheard Elder Qi say sothing."
"What did he say?" Zhao Xi asked.
Xue Yinhuan said, "Unless Your Highness agrees to send out of this street, I have no reason to disclose this information."
Zhao Xi chuckled lightly, "I underestimated you."
Seeing her press her lips tightly, refusing to speak further, he finally relented, "Go ahead."
Xue Yinhuan pointed to herself, "Your Highness poisoned ."
Zhao Xi gestured with his eyes for Yuanbao to give her the antidote.
Xue Yinhuan struggled to take it, and after swallowing the antidote and confirming she could move freely, she leaned against the side wall, crouched down, and recounted what she had heard.
"Elder Qi said he has been waiting for the Divine Weapon to appear."
"Divine Weapon?" Yuanbao pursued, "What Divine Weapon?"
Xue Yinhuan recalled carefully, "He was quite drunk, and I couldn’t clearly discern whether he said Liu or Liu family. My grandfather also didn’t understand and just assud he was speaking nonsense."
At this, she nervously looked up at Zhao Xi, "Does this help Your Highness?"
Zhao Xi remained silent.
He again recalled the situation earlier with Elder Qi. Elder Qi had ntioned the existence of a more formidable chanical beast. Could it be that the Liu Family Divine Weapon is actually a massive chanical beast that would shock the world?
Could it be that the diagram wasn’t destroyed when the Liu clan was annihilated, but was preserved intact?
Considering this potential, combined with the secret search for the diagram by so mbers of the Imperial Family, Zhao Xi realized he had so calculations to make.
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