Chapter 47

Chapter 47

Lu Yunqi pinched his cheeks, pouted, and asked, "Murong Jie, do you think I've gained weight? Look at my waist, it's gotten so much thicker. My old clothes are getting a little snug."

Murong Jie glanced at his still-flat belly and narrow waist, saying, "Your old clothes were just too fitted. Tomorrow I'll have the palace's head seamstress come and take your measurements for new ones."

Lu Yunqi chuckled, wrapped his arms around his waist, and said, "You've been making moves in the palace lately! Even the head seamstress is at your beck and call now?"

Murong Jie replied in a calm tone, "She's just a seamstress. I was just keeping a low profile—did you really think I was a nobody in the palace?"

Lu Yunqi responded, "Alright, alright, my hubby's the best! I heard the emperor's been having you help with state affairs lately?"

Murong Jie hummed in acknowledgment: "Just some minor stuff, and only because I did a good job with the refugee situation."

Lu Yunqi said, "That's not enough. There's one big thing—if you nail it, the emperor will definitely see you differently."

Murong Jie paused, then asked, "The Prince of Shanqiu?"

Lu Yunqi snapped his fingers: "Bingo, you got it."

The Prince of Shanqiu was a feudal lord under Lu Tong who had his own troops and real power, but unlike Lu Tong, whose forces were meant to serve the court.

The Prince of Shanqiu was different—he was based on Great Xia's southwestern border, right next to the Jin State, yet he never lifted a finger to deploy a single soldier.

It was because his ancestors had done great deeds in founding Great Xia that the founding emperor gave him land, made him Prince of Shanqiu, and made the title hereditary forever.

Though he was called a prince, Shanqiu Commandery was basically a country within a country.

This little kingdom inside Great Xia had been a thorn in the emperors' sides for ages.

But even though Shanqiu only had fifty thousand troops, its terrain lived up to its name—hills everywhere, easy to defend, hard to attack. Rooting them out would be a nightmare.

But Lu Yunqi knew that Murong Jie could take it down.

Because when he invaded Great Xia, the first place he took was Shanqiu Commandery, absorbing the Prince of Shanqiu's fifty thousand elite troops.

With those fifty thousand elite soldiers, he fought his way through, taking over several more commanderies along the way.

Only when his forces passed two hundred thousand did he dare to go head-to-head with the Lu Family Army, but even after finally beating them, his own forces were down to just twenty or thirty percent—a brutal loss.

So he'd always believed: if he could become emperor without shedding a drop of blood, why sacrifice so many soldiers?

Murong Jie had the ability, but if he could avoid it, he would.

Murong Jie was lost in thought for a moment, then said, "I do have a secret tunnel in Shanqiu, but taking the commandery won't be easy."

Lu Yunqi nuzzled into his chest and said, "What if I help you? Do you remember that sleeve crossbow I gave you once?"

Murong Jie pulled the sleeve crossbow out of his sleeve, hummed, and said, "I've kept it with me."

Lu Yunqi raised an eyebrow: "Wow, you've kept something I gave you on you all this time? Hubby, you really do love me!"

Murong Jie frowned slightly: "Cut to the chase."

Lu Yunqi chuckled: "The crossbow's just a simple little toy—I'm sure you've already made a bigger, better version, right? How is it? How does it perform?"

Murong Jie gave a faint snort: "Nothing gets by you, does it? It works great, whether for single attacks or sieges. I even used the same principle to build a catapult—it's unstoppable in sieges!"

Lu Yunqi was genuinely surprised. He never expected Murong Jie to come up with spin-offs from just a crossbow.

No wonder he was the chosen one of this era—truly impressive.

Lu Yunqi said, "Nice, hubby! But I've got something else you might like even more. Wait here—I'll go get it."

With that, he went behind the curtain and came back a moment later with an iron cylinder.

Murong Jie looked at the iron cylinder and asked, "What is this?"

Lu Yunqi handed it to him and said, "Smell it."

Murong Jie sniffed it and frowned: "It smells like... saltpeter and sulfur."

Lu Yunqi nodded: "Yep—it's got saltpeter, sulfur, and charcoal."

Murong Jie asked, "A fire striker?"

Lu Yunqi shook his head: "Come on, let me show you its power."

With that, he led Murong Jie to a quiet, open spot in the back mountains, pointed at a tree in the distance, and said, "If I told you to chop down that tree, how long would it take?"

Murong Jie thought for a moment: "If it were three days from now, one breath would do it. But right now..."

Right now he had no inner energy, so it'd have to be a sword or an axe.

Lu Yunqi smiled mysteriously, hurled something at the tree, and a thunderous boom rang out. The next second, the crooked tree toppled to the ground.

Murong Jie stood there frozen, and only after a long moment did he look at the smug Lu Yunqi: "You... what exactly did you make?"

Lu Yunqi grinned: "An upgraded catapult ammo! Swap your stones for these and see if the power's even bigger!"

Murong Jie murmured: "Bigger's an understatement—this is just... just..."

Murong Jie was smart. The moment he saw this thing, he knew that with it, no one in this world could stand against him.

But he looked at Lu Yunqi with great confusion: "With a weapon like this, why would you even need me? You've got three hundred thousand elite Lu Family troops. Forget me—I doubt anyone in this world could match you."

Lu Yunqi looked at him with deep affection in his peach-blossom eyes: "Don't you get it? I've said it so many times, but you just won't believe me. Because I love you! If I didn't love you, why would I do so much for you? The Lu Family's three hundred thousand troops are already yours—what would I even need this thing for?"

Murong Jie, however, gently grabbed his neck and asked, "Aren't you afraid that... after I get the throne, I'll kick you to the curb and pay you back for humiliating me back then?"

"Afraid." Lu Yunqi answered without hesitation: "But what can I do? Love doesn't make sense. Even if you did that, I've already thought about it, and I still want to take the gamble. Who knows—maybe my love can win you over."

The truth was, if it weren't used on him, this so-called equipment would be useless scrap, because it couldn't even work in this era!

Only by using it on him, only by letting him rewrite this era, could its existence make sense!

Otherwise, do you think I'd bother sucking up to you, you moody tyrant?

They stared at each other for a few minutes. Finally, Murong Jie let go of Lu Yunqi's neck, grabbed his chin instead, and kissed him.