Chapter 65

Chapter 65

The red-tasseled spear gleamed, swiftly darting through the lotus pond like a swimming dragon, hooking a half-blooming lotus.

Xiao Xun retracted the spear, sending the lotus, glistening with evening dew, flying into the beauty's embrace. It landed against his chest, the soft, white petals brushing against his chin, damp and with a slight force, carrying a hint of fragrance.

Pei Zhuo raised his hand to hold the lotus, pressing it against his chest, as if catching a floral ball from a marriage-seeking tower. His eyes, clear and fluid like gentle waves, sparkled, like bright stars from heaven and earth gazing upon the emperor.

Was today's Xiao Xun different because he had been too restrained these past five days, and now he was too vibrant?

He lowered his gaze to look at the pure white lotus, the evening breeze blowing by, causing both the petals and his robe to tremble lightly.

"So cool! Dad, I want one too!" Pei Fufu, who had been sitting on the steps watching, stood up excitedly.

It should fly over just like it flew into Dad's arms!

The romantic atmosphere suddenly vanished.

Pei Zhuo pursed his lips. Your Majesty, didn't you think to put the only child to sleep before sending the lotus?

Great, now it's turned into a family affair.

Pei Zhuo twirled the lotus stem and tossed it into Pei Fufu's arms: "Just this one, for you. Take care of the plants, okay?"

Pei Fufu was thrilled to receive the flower thrown by his dad. The half-blooming lotus was even larger than his face. He held the flower, his eyes bright and spirited: "Dad, can you do it again?"

Xiao Xun: "..."

Kid, you didn't say you wanted to watch too.

Watching a performance, huh?

Xiao Xun had to perform again, but this time... it was like a father teaching his son martial arts, radiating an aura of firmness and integrity.

Pei Zhuo looked at the emperor, then at the kid. So, was the previous act a peacock spreading its tail to woo?

And now, teaching the child survival skills?

Unable to suppress a smile, Pei Zhuo pressed his lips. The emperor, learning from birds to woo, really has no imperial dignity.

The great beauty slowly lay down. The plot development is quite fitting too. After courtship comes raising the child, a condensed version of an animal documentary.

Xiao Xun, looking at the overly excited child, picked him up and covered his eyes: "Sleep."

He always plans things carefully, but this time, because the courtship suggestion came from Pei Fufu, he got careless and forgot to put the crucial little one to sleep first.

Such mistakes are rare in Xiao Xun's life.

Children fall asleep more easily in dark environments. Xiao Xun, ignoring the lounging beauty outside, carried Pei Fufu to the inner room, sitting by the window, patiently patting his back to lull him to sleep.

The cool night breeze softly blew in, brushing against Pei Fufu's rosy little face.

Xiao Xun said softly, "Let's count the stars."

Pei Fufu: "Okay."

The little one counted seriously, while Xiao Xun gently rocked his arm. Lying in his father's embrace was like lying on a small boat swaying on the water.

As they rocked, the stars became too numerous to count.

Pei Fufu shut his eyes and fell asleep.

Xiao Xun gently laid Pei Fufu in the child's bed, which wasn’t used much since Pei Fufu usually slept in their bed.

After settling the child, Xiao Xun didn't leave immediately. He patted Pei Fufu a bit longer, ensuring he wouldn't wake up, before finally getting up to leave.

He wondered if the other one was asleep yet.

Probably.

Xiao Xun frowned. Given how quickly Pei Zhuo usually fell asleep, he was probably already deep in a dream, much faster than his son's.

Waking the beauty after he’d fallen asleep was usually something that could be overlooked, but Xiao Xun was still in a penitent state, feeling somewhat restrained.

Tomorrow, he’d finally be able to return to court and end his confinement.

He walked over to the rocking chair, where Pei Zhuo was indeed asleep with his eyes closed.

It took forever to get FuFu to sleep.

Xiao Xun bent down, scooped up Pei Zhuo, and carried him inside.

Pei Zhuo wasn't completely asleep; he still remembered the purpose of the Emperor's efforts tonight.

He could firmly reject Xiao Xun’s pleas to end the ban, but when it came to actions... he berated himself for being too soft, unable to bear seeing Xiao Xun's efforts go unrewarded, even if it meant offering himself as compensation.

He was head over heels in love.

Pei Zhuo licked his lips and whispered into Xiao Xun's ear, "How’d the sword dance go, Your Majesty?"

Xiao Xun tensed up. In that moment, the past five days felt like five years, more urgent than when he first met Pei Zhuo in Yangzhou.

In Yangzhou, there were always many things to deal with—the two goals of the southern tour, the love-hate feelings for the overworked Pei Zhuo, discovering he had a son, the fear that FuFu wouldn’t bond with him, and balancing time between court matters, Pei Zhuo, and FuFu.

But now, his son, who called him 'Dad,' was asleep, court matters... he hadn’t dealt with them in five days, and he couldn't even recall the last time he attended court.

The beauty was back to his old self.

Xiao Xun said bluntly, "I want to hit the sheets."

Pei Zhuo: "...Could you be any less subtle?"

Xiao Xun: "Back to the rocking chair?"

Pei Zhuo: "Couldn't you be a bit more normal?"

Why was it always about this and that?

Xiao Xun said, "FuFu is sleeping inside. Can you keep it down?"

Pei Zhuo's face turned red: "..."

He thought the rocking chair was too flimsy for two grown men.

Half an hour later.

It felt right.

Seeing Xiao Xun, who had rolled onto the ground and still wouldn't stop, Pei Zhuo regretted his soft-heartedness, as if taking a minute to move to a different spot would cost him his life.

What a complete disgrace!

...

Thunderstorms are common in summer, and it just so happened to be a weekend without the need to adjust the schedule. When Pei Zhuo woke up, dark clouds rolled in, half the sky tinged green.

Pei Zhuo wondered if the corner of his mouth was green too—why else would it hurt to drink water?

The sky stayed gloomy all morning, without any lightning or thunder. Based on experience, the rain would only come in the afternoon, so it didn’t delay Xiao Xun’s court meeting.

Seeing the Emperor after so long, the ministers were nearly in tears, as if they’d found their anchor.

Ministers who ran private businesses, after family talks, decided to follow the Lu family’s example and sell their businesses to the royal merchants, taking the money themselves, while family members who ran businesses would now work for the royal merchants.

Traditionally, the best scholars became officials, and the less scholarly family members took over the businesses. Now, they’re practically the same as court officials. Don’t they all see the Emperor and work for him?

Xiao Xun reorganized the acquired businesses, setting up several large groups, which Pei Zhuo called "state-owned enterprises."

In the afternoon, thunder rumbled loudly. Xiao Xun rushed back to be with his wife and kid, but Pei Zhuo said, "Your Majesty, stay inside the house, don’t go out. FuFu and I will check it out."

He had curved iron pieces wrapped in enameled wire prepared, placed high to attract lightning, letting nature turn the iron into magnets.

With magnets and copper wire, they could make a generator.

With a generator, electric lights wouldn’t be far off.

Xiao Xun: "No."

Pei Zhuo: "I have 4523 to protect me."

Xiao Xun: "Then I’m even more worried."

Pei Zhuo paused, then agreed not to go with FuFu to watch the lightning strike the iron.

A loud crack of thunder echoed, and the rain poured down.

Pei Zhuo and Pei Fufu knew 4523 would call lightning to protect them, so they were not afraid of thunderstorms, especially Pei Fufu, who covered his ears with his chubby hands, eagerly watching the lightning through the door.

With all this thunder, it had to hit the iron rod he and his dad made, right?

Only Xiao Xun, wary of the teleportation mechanism, frowned at Pei Zhuo, disliking the thunder.

Afraid that the father and son would run out in the heavy rain, relying on the system’s protection to be reckless, but forgetting that the protection’s limit was teleportation.

Pei Zhuo: "I definitely won’t run out."

Xiao Xun: "Was the mysterious thunder at Taoli River that day bigger than this one?"

Pei Zhuo: "About the same, about the same."

He leaned on Xiao Xun’s back, covering the Emperor’s ears with his hands: "Alright, you can’t hear it now."

Is he acting pitiful today to make me forget about last night?

Xiao Xun: "Let go." He wasn’t afraid of thunder.

Pei Zhuo refused to let go, forcefully covering Xiao Xun’s ears tightly, and kissed him on the side of his neck.

Pei Fufu turned to look at his two fathers, oh oh, he could cover his own ears.

The afternoon thunderstorm lasted for two hours before clearing up, with over a hundred thunderclaps.

The sky cleared up again, and Pei Zhuo went to collect the iron rods he had placed. It was impressive—eight or nine out of ten had turned into magnets.

Pei Zhuo passed them to his students: "Wrap the copper wire into the shape I drew, then pair it with the magnet. Keep the copper coil stationary, and let the water power rotate the magnet."

The glass factory could produce a light bulb prototype, but they still needed vacuum technology, the separation of inert gases to fill the bulb, and the creation of tungsten filaments... Pei Zhuo grouped students by specialty, provided methods, and assigned each group a project to research.

He and Xiao Xun had known each other for three years, and Xiao Xun had spent two New Year’s Eves alone. Pei Zhuo hoped that this time, they could celebrate the New Year together, and the light bulb would shine.

Li Ruyi said that Xiao Xun stayed up alone every New Year's Eve, not even lighting a lamp, and even gave Li Ruyi a holiday, making it quite lonely.

Pei Zhuo was once again touched by the sad tale.

He was determined to invent the electric light, so they could have a bright New Year's Eve together, no longer in darkness or loneliness.

With this in mind, Pei Zhuo carried his child like a walking encyclopedia and hurried to the laboratory group at the school to answer questions on the spot.

Whenever they hit a snag, he’d have the little one consult 4523 for historical solutions from scientists.

Pei Zhuo didn’t reveal Pei Fufu’s superpower outright but instead collected the questions openly, then secretly learned with his son in a small dark room.

Every time he emerged from the dark room with a solution, the students’ eyes lit up brighter than the bulbs they were crafting.

Pei Zhuo promptly rewarded Pei Fufu with a cartoon episode.

"Good job, kiddo."

Pei Fufu: "Dad, it’s not hard."

It’s just cartoons.

The difference is, one has to learn and explain to Dad, and the other doesn’t.

"It’s dark—let’s head home for roast chicken. I’ll save you a wing."

Pei Fufu loved nibbling on the tip of the chicken wing for fun. "Dad’s the best."

As the father and son entered the palace, Pei Zhuo noticed an official also submitting a request, likely to rope Xiao Xun into overtime.

...

In the Xuanzheng Hall.

Xiao Xun tackled political affairs nonstop. After five days of court, much like Master Pei swarmed by students, the ministers lined up to present their reports.

Xiao Xun corralled them, and just as things were falling into place, another official walked in.

It was already half an hour past the Empress’s designated quitting time, and Xiao Xun finally finished everything, "Anything else, everyone?"

One official, noticing it was still early—far from the Emperor’s usual bedtime—figured he could, as usual, bring up non-urgent matters for the Emperor to decide, until the Emperor deemed the ministers too exhausted and sent them off to bed.

He was on the verge of speaking.

Xiao Xun set down his brush and glanced up: "We’re done."

The official was speechless.