Chapter 105

Chapter 105

"What's in this box, a gift for me?" Shen Lian sat down at the table, admiring the brass-wrapped rosewood box with its subtle grain pattern while playing it humble: "The Water Mill was originally meant to be a gift for Prince Qi. Since we ran into trouble, of course I had to step up—why send me a gift? You didn't have to!"

Xie Yuan raised an eyebrow, a mischievous smile playing at his lips as he replied softly: "You deserve it."

"This latch is tricky—how do you open it?" Shen Lian fumbled with the hidden pull ring, finally pried it out, and with a soft "click," the lid sprang open.

Five strangely shaped pieces of creamy white jade lay side by side on the velvet lining.

Even Shen Lian could tell the jade was priceless, but the shapes were odd—elongated rods with smoothly polished, rounded tips.

The five pieces varied in thickness, getting thicker from left to right.

To the right of the box, two delicate white porcelain bottles stood upright.

What kind of gift was this? It's not jewelry—no pendant's that chunky. An art piece?

Shen Lian picked up the thickest piece of white jade, hefting it in his hand: "Huh? It's pretty light! For such a big piece of jade, I thought it'd be heavier."

The young concubine standing beside him was silent for a moment, then said gently, patiently: "It's hollow inside—you can fill it with warm water."

"Oh? Hollow?" Shen Lian found the threaded cap, carefully unscrewed it, and peered inside: "So... it's like... a little water bottle?"

"Yeah, something like that." Xie Yuan's tone was unusually bright and sunny, like when he was the young concubine: "Mainly to quench my thirst."

Shen Lian turned his head, looking up at him, confused: "Then why're you giving it to me? If you're thirsty, do you need me to tote your water bottle around?"

He tilted his head, pursed his lips, and gave him a sweet, obedient smile: "Will you? Do this for your husband."

Shen Lian was instantly dazzled by his good looks, and stammered in response: "I can't carry this thing around all the time—it looks weird. But once in a while, I guess I could..."

"Then I'll leave it in your hands, Lord Shen." The young concubine's satisfied smile carried a hint of dark mischief: "You're not always such a terrible wife, are you? Thank you, Shen Lian. Let's start now—your husband is thirsty."

"Now?" Shen Lian blinked: "But there's no water in it yet."

"You only need warm water in winter. It's warm enough in early autumn—you can use it as is, just rub on the ointment from these two bottles first." Xie Yuan passed on what he'd learned from the eunuchs.

"Ointment?" Shen Lian put down the biggest "jade flask," took out the little porcelain bottle, uncorked it, dipped his finger in, rubbed it, and sniffed.

The rose scent covered up most of the other smells, so Shen Lian couldn't tell what it was right away.

So he set down that bottle, picked up the second one, uncorked it, dipped his finger in again, and sniffed carefully.

The cistanche smell was much stronger and sweeter than the rose scent.

But this time, the herbal smell wasn't hidden by flowers—it had cnidium in it, and also...

The finger that touched the ointment started to tingle with a spreading warmth and numbness.

Shen Lian, who had been sniffing intently, went from innocent delight to suspicious alarm.

This was kind of like a numbing powder with mandrake in it, but why add toad venom, an old-school aphrodisiac?

Why relax the user's muscles while making them more sensitive...

In the quiet room, all you could hear was Shen Lian's racing heart.

He shoved the porcelain jar back in the box, slammed the lid shut with a thwack, and his stool scraped back half a foot as he turned to run!

Escape the demon's lair—the darkening dragon's den!

As he passed, his wrist was caught, he was yanked back, and he tumbled into the demon's arms.

The man behind him wrapped an arm around his waist, leaned in, and breathed against his ear: "You already thanked your husband. Would a good wife break her word to him?"

Shen Lian's ears burned as he whispered, pleading: "This thing is too much—if I'm totally relaxed... I won't even feel it when it's too much..."

Xie Yuan turned him around, looking down with fake sadness: "Don't you trust your husband?"

Shen Lian squirmed in his arms, whimpering: "I just think we don't need it—if we go slow, I can handle it..."

"I'll go slow even with it on." Xie Yuan said: "You tell me to stop, and I'll stop. Not one extra second."

Shen Lian was flustered, but his body leaned into the villain's shoulder out of habit, and he whispered: "But you already... last night... you need to take care of yourself."

"Last night doesn't count."

"But..." Shen Lian complained in a small, aggrieved voice: "You were too rough last night—I'm still a little sore today."

The man holding him fell silent.

He certainly wouldn't wait patiently for him to accept like before, wouldn't stand outside the door waiting just because of one word from him.

"Then how long do you want to rest before trying again?"

Shen Lian was startled, looking up at Xie Yuan: "The day after tomorrow, okay? Tomorrow I have a banquet to attend—I want to show off that our Water Mill has already laid its foundation!"

The young concubine's expression soured.

After a moment of silence, he finally released him and brought up the Water Mill: "This mill can't be entirely credited to me. If we build another one elsewhere in the future, then I'll have full say."

Shen Lian asked worriedly: "Will the Ministry of Works reject our two-percent rate?"

"If I demand it, they can only accept." Xie Yuan turned and paced, speaking in a low voice: "The problem is, if the return on investment is too slow, Father might not be eager to promote it across the regions."

Shen Lian's eyes lit up, and he happily circled around to face him, explaining: "How could it be slow? The big mill owners on the market usually take fifteen percent, because they have to feed mules and donkeys—and the donkeys that turn the millstones eat very finely! They also have to hire laborers to chop fodder, feed the animals, clean up, and supervise—that overhead alone is huge. Their actual profit is only about five percent.

But the Nine-Turn Water Mill's daily grain output is three to four hundred times that of a mill owner's, and the maintenance and menial worker costs are almost negligible. With a two-percent profit rate, theoretically, in just three or four years, we'd recoup the construction costs. From the fifth year on, it's pure profit—that's even faster than a mill owner recouping his investment in mules and donkeys!"

Xie Yuan was astonished: "That fast?"

Shen Lian proudly planted his hands on his hips: "Of course! How long did you think it would take?"

Xie Yuan admitted: "I never even thought about recouping the investment. I'd have built it even at a total loss."

Shen Lian was stunned: "Why? Do you have money to burn?"

Xie Yuan explained: "This isn't for me to make money—it's to lower the cost of grain production for the people and reverse the price disadvantage in trade between Chu and Wei. If we can restore our export strength, the Maritime Trade Bureau's annual tax revenue alone could build a hundred Water Mills. Why worry about recouping costs? I'd long wanted to poach craftsmen from Chu State at high prices to introduce this kind of mill, but I was worried Father would grow suspicious, so I kept putting it off. Fortunately, you drew it out for me—of course I had to build it immediately."

Shen Lian stared at the young concubine in amazement.

He'd never imagined that the ruling class of this era could possess such strategic vision—this was National Development and Reform Commission level.

And indeed, it was true. It was like building high-speed rail: although the overall numbers looked like a loss, it actually drove indirect economic benefits in logistics, trade, tourism, and other industries, boosting the overall economy.

And the Water Mill could even turn a profit while lowering the people's grain production costs, freeing up bottom-tier labor for other industries—benefiting the country and the people, a guaranteed win.

When he'd designed the Water Mill, Shen Lian had carefully calculated all of this.

He had imagined himself as the chief engineer of the water conservancy project, reporting cost calculations to the project's state investor, proposing a "suggested retail price," and worrying whether the investor would accept such a low profit margin.

But at the time, Shen Lian didn't know that Prince Qi was his young consort.

If the imperial Ministry of Works were to draw up the quote, they'd inevitably maximize profits, competing only for the domestic market, undercutting the mill owners by one to three percent.

At that price, they couldn't compete abroad, and it wouldn't unlock the people's productive potential—a terrible waste of the ancient ingenuity behind the Nine-Turn Water Mill.

Fortunately, the young consort was in charge of the water mill project, so Shen Lian didn't have to worry about explaining things to feudal bureaucrats. Through coaxing, wheedling, and a few little tantrums, he got the young consort to agree on the spot to a low-profit quote of just two percent.

Unexpectedly, the young consort had already done the math on this, even down to the exact export profit figures.

It was truly startling.

No wonder the system said that if this man didn't become emperor, the people of Great Wei would suffer for centuries.

Xie Yuan tilted his head in puzzlement. "What are you grinning at?"

Shen Lian shook himself back to reality, wiped that admiring look off his face, and stepped back in a huff. "Who's grinning? I'm heading home."

Xie Yuan frowned and grabbed his arm to stop him from running off. "Whether you get to go home is up to me."

Shen Lian had expected to exchange a knowing smile with the young consort, but the young consort wasn't about to discuss the economic benefits of the water mill with him.

And he called Shen Lian's helpless, adoring stare a silly grin...

"You're impossible, Dian Xia!" Shen Lian looked up angrily. "You told me Prince Qi wanted to bring in talent from the Chu State and build the Nine-Turn Water Mill. I put in so much effort, revised countless versions, and got calluses on my hands, all to help Prince Qi build this model. Now that construction's started, can't I even go to the banquet for the artificers who helped refine the mill and share the good news? Even if you won't thank me, just count it as a debt I owe you! They deserve some credit too!"

Xie Yuan was taken aback.

After a long moment, he let go of the young imperial physician's arm.

"Fine," he said. "When does the banquet let out? I'll come pick you up."

Shen Lian's eyes reddened as he stared at him in disbelief. "Won't you even tell a joke to cheer me up? What happened to the way you treated me when you were wooing me?"

Xie Yuan: "What's the point of cheering you up? It's just spoiled you into this attitude. Do you even treat me like a person? Don't I still have to become Crown Prince before I'm even worthy of you?"

Shen Lian shoved the door open and ran out.

"I don't need you to come get me!!!"

The fury echoing through the main courtyard made even the eunuch sweeping the yard stop and crane his neck.

-

He had thought that catching up with Han Wangchuan's circle of like-minded friends to discuss the project's progress would lift his spirits.

But it turned out this banquet was a big annual event, and the invited guests included not only the artificers Shen Lian knew, but also a number of nobles and officials from the capital.

Han Wangchuan barely had time to welcome Shen Lian before being pulled away to mingle. He didn't even get a chance to ask where Shen Lian had been for the past three months.

Shen Lian sat alone at the low table, the fine food and drink before him doing nothing for him.

He was even pondering how to make the young consort believe that if he hadn't written that humiliating letter, Shen Lian would have vanished from this world altogether.

Given the young consort's current level of trust in him, such a fantastical excuse would probably only make him take his anger out on Shen Lian even harder.

"I don't recall seeing you before—first time at the Heavenly Crafts Banquet?"

Shen Lian shook himself out of his thoughts and turned to see a lavishly dressed man standing nearby, wine cup in hand.

"Yes," Shen Lian nodded. "I only just met the Young Marquis this year."

"Ah..."

The man nodded, his gaze sliding from Shen Lian's face down to his legs, which made Shen Lian inexplicably uneasy.

But the man was quite forward, grabbing a cushion and plopping down beside him, pouring him wine. "May I ask your name and where you're from?"

-

The banquet didn't break up until around 9 PM.

Drunken guests stumbled out of the tavern, leaning on each other, too drunk to recognize their own carriages, so their attendants had to come forward, identify their masters, and carefully haul them into the carriages.

Xie Yuan sat in silence, watching every face that came out of the tavern.

The willow branches by the carriage kept swaying in the night breeze.

A little while later.

The lanterns on the west side of the tavern went dark.

Xie Yuan jumped down from the carriage, slipped quietly around the side and into the tavern, and seeing the main hall, now a mess and empty of guests, quickly headed up to the second-floor hallway, checking each private room one by one.

As he reached the largest room in the middle, Han Wangchuan, who was seeing off the last guest, just stepped out the door. He stopped abruptly, but couldn't stop his momentum, stumbled, and lurched right into the arm of the man passing by.

Fortunately, the other man reacted quickly, stepping back and putting out a hand to steady him.

A slightly tipsy guest beside him slurred, coming to his buddy's defense: "Watch where you're going... the guests haven't even left yet, you—"

Before he could finish, the bleary-eyed Han Wangchuan suddenly let out a startled cry, sobering up in an instant. He stepped back and bowed low: "This humble general greets the Crown—mmph!"

He was cut off as the Crown Prince of Great Wei—who had suddenly appeared in this common tavern—clamped a hand over his mouth and slammed him against the sliding door with a thud.

"At ease. Shen Lian from the Imperial Medical Academy was at your banquet—where is he?"

Pinned to the wall and unable to bow properly, Han Wangchuan immediately answered: "Mmph! Mmph mmph mmph! Mmph!"