Chapter 58

Sitting in the carriage of the Prince of An's mansion, Cui Yunshu felt like a carefully dressed corpse being transported to its grave.

The carriage was very ornate.

The exterior was made of Phoebe zhennan wood, while the interior was lined with a thick, soft Persian carpet that you could sink into. In the corner, a small incense burner was burning the most expensive calming incense she had personally blended.

But she couldn't calm down at all.

She felt that the carriage was like a moving, luxurious coffin.

And she was being taken to visit her own grave.

Tang Pu, her nominal fiancé, her "ally" who had completely lost control, her... the man who gave her a headache just looking at him, sent someone to invite her.

They said they were inviting her, the future princess, to visit their future home.

It was specifically emphasized that it was "the highest level, an internal inspection".

Upon hearing those words, Cui Yunshu knew she was doomed.

As she watched the street scene rushing past the window, all that remained in her heart was numbness.

Since we're already here...

What else can we do?

When the carriage stopped in front of the Prince An's mansion, Cui Yunshu felt that the whole world went silent for a moment.

There was no red carpet or flowers as I had imagined.

Only... dust.

And the deafening "heave-ho, heave-ho" chants.

The once magnificent gate of the Prince's mansion was half demolished, and a group of burly men dressed in short, tight-fitting clothes were busily carrying huge, dark blue stone slabs into the mansion. These were no ordinary servants; their physiques, their eyes, and the murderous aura emanating from their very bones clearly indicated that they were veterans who had retired from the battlefield.

As Cui Yunshu stepped off the carriage, a stench of mud, sweat, and lime assaulted her senses.

Looking at the construction site before her, which resembled not a royal palace but rather a massive military fortress in preparation for war, her long-numbed heart began to ache again.

"You've come!"

A voice, full of sunshine and excitement, burst forth like a small cannonball from the dust.

It was Tang Pu.

He was dressed in the neatest black outfit, his hair tied up high with a simple strip of cloth, and his face was still speckled with dirt. In his eyes, which always shone like stars, a blazing flame called "Great Cause" was burning.

He ran up to her, like a child eager to show his teacher his perfect test score, his cheeks flushed with excitement.

"Quick! Come on! Let me show you our...new home!"

Cui Yunshu was half-pulled and half-draggled by him into this huge, chaotic construction site, filled with male hormones and the atmosphere of war.

She felt that she didn't want to get married.

She's... going to serve time in a military prison.

"Look here!" Tang Pu pointed to the huge main courtyard, which had been razed to the ground and only had its rammed earth foundation left, and introduced it with great pride, "I demolished all those annoying pavilions and towers! This will be our main training ground from now on! Every day at dawn, I will lead three hundred personal guards to train here! I guarantee that in less than half a year, we will be an Iron Guard that can take on ten men each!"

Looking at the vast, empty muddy ground where horses could run, Cui Yunshu seemed to hear the deafening, pig-like screams that woke her from her sleep every day before dawn.

She was expressionless.

Inner monologue: Okay, I've got the military prison's training ground.

"And here too!" Tang Pu pulled her along, leading her to a half-excavated artificial hill. Pointing to the dark, bottomless pit below, his eyes gleamed, "I've already had three layers dug down here! The first layer is an armory, filled with swords, spears, halberds, armor, and crossbows! The second layer is a network of secret passages, interconnected in every corner of the palace! The third layer is an emergency shelter and granary! Even if we're besieged by an army for three months, we can rest easy!"

Looking at the dark, gaping hole that seemed to swallow all light, Cui Yunshu felt a chill run from the soles of her feet straight to the top of her head.

The disheveled little voice inside her had already started to cry.

"Help! I don't want to live in a basement! I don't want to sleep with a pile of swords and spears under my pillow every day!"

"And that artificial hill!" Tang Pu's interest grew even higher. Pointing to the platform atop the artificial hill, which was already under construction, he said excitedly, "Once it's finished, that will be our beacon tower! If anything happens in the capital, we can light a signal fire in the Prince's mansion, and the troops outside the city will immediately see the signal! With inside and outside cooperation, our great cause can be accomplished!"

Looking at the so-called "beacon tower," only two words remained in Cui Yunshu's mind.

It's over.

Now, even the evidence is ready.

She looked at Tang Pu's face, which was flushed with excitement and filled with thoughts of "I'm so amazing" and "Praise me!"

She knew she could no longer remain silent.

If he continues like this, she won't be able to marry into the Prince An's mansion.

She went straight into the Dali Temple's prison.

She took a deep breath, suppressing the overwhelming urge to slap him unconscious, and put on the enigmatic, approving smile that she had practiced countless times—the smile of a "chief strategist."

“Yuanzhi,” her voice was very soft and gentle, like a feather gently landing on Tang Pu’s burning heart, “you… are truly thoughtful and as solid as a rock.”

Tang Pu's eyes lit up instantly.

"I knew it! I knew you would understand me!"

“I understand.” Cui Yunshu nodded, then changed the subject, a sharp glint of a “strategist” flashing in her dark eyes, “But… you’ve considered everything very thoroughly, but… it’s not discreet enough.”

"Hidden?" Tang Pu was taken aback.

“Yes.” Cui Yunshu slowly walked forward, stretched out her slender fingers, and gently brushed away a bit of dirt from his face. Her movements were intimate, but her eyes were as cold as if she were looking at a design drawing.

“Yuanzhi, you’ve transformed the Prince’s Mansion into an impregnable fortress. But it looks far too much like a fortress.” Her voice was low, as if she were sharing a shocking secret. “This will arouse suspicion. A true fortress is invisible. It should be hidden in the most prosperous, the most vulnerable, and the most improbable place.”

Tang Pu's breathing suddenly stopped.

He looked at her, at her deep eyes that seemed to see through everything.

He suddenly realized how crude, simplistic, and naive his designs were.

"Then... in the mastermind's opinion?" He subconsciously used that most respectful form of address again.

“First, the secret passages.” Cui Yunshu drew an invisible net in the air with her hand. “Your secret passages all lead into the mansion, which is a dead end. True secret passages are for escape, for relocation. They must have an exit.”

"I suggest digging at least five secret passages leading out of the city. One, disguised as a dry well, leads to the mass grave in the west of the city. Another, infiltrating the city's sewer system, with its exit located beside the moat. And the last one, which is the most important..."

Her voice paused, and each word was like a nail, driven into Tang Pu's heart.

"...It must be a canal wharf that leads directly to the outside of the city."

"The canal wharf?"

"The art of war says, 'Strike by surprise.' The land routes are already under the court's surveillance. Only the waterways are our true lifeline. If... if we are forced to the brink of disaster and need to quickly move important 'supplies' or 'personnel' out of the capital, then the waterways are our lifeline."

Suddenly, Tang Pu's eyes burst forth with a dazzling light!

He understood!

He understood completely!

Important "supplies" and "personnel"! Aren't those their troops and provisions?!

The strategist's intentions were truly profound!

“Second, the treasury.” Cui Yunshu didn’t give him time to be shocked and continued, “An armory, very good. But having weapons without money is like a tree without roots. An army cannot move without provisions. And these ‘provisions’ ultimately come down to money.”

"Your design lacks a vault. That's the biggest oversight."

“I suggest we dig a secret vault three times the size of the armory right next to it. To the outside world, we’ll claim it’s the Prince’s wine cellar. The top will be filled with wine jars, and the bottom will be our true foundation.”

"Gather all our gold and silver there. Keep the money and weapons together. That will make it truly impregnable."

"Brilliant! Absolutely brilliant!" Tang Pu exclaimed excitedly, his face flushed. He realized that his own perspective was still too narrow.

"Finally, there's this training ground." Cui Yunshu's gaze fell on the empty dirt ground, and she frowned slightly.

“You’re making too much noise every day. You’re telling the whole world that you’re training your personal guard. That’s a sure way to get yourself killed.”

"Then... what should we do?" Tang Pu was somewhat troubled.

“Turn it into a lake,” Cui Yunshu said calmly.

"lake?"

“A huge, flowing lake connected to the outer moat.” Cui Yunshu’s lips curled into a barely perceptible smile. “To the outside world, just say that I like the scenery of Jiangnan, and you built it specially to make me smile. That’s perfectly reasonable.”

"But what about in reality?" Her voice lowered even further.

"The navy is our future. Your personal guards cannot only know land warfare, but also naval warfare. This lake is the best place for them to train their swimming skills."

"In case the Prince's Palace is besieged in the future, this lake will be our water source and our fishpond, providing us with the most basic guarantee of survival."

“Build another octagonal pavilion in the center of the lake. It will offer a wide view and be easily accessible from all directions. It will be not only a scenic spot, but also... our true command center.”

As she spoke the last sentence, Cui Yunshu pictured herself lying on the balustrade of the pavilion, sipping chilled plum juice and reading a storybook – a beautiful scene.

However.

To Tang Pu, these words transformed into a magnificent and sweeping picture.

He seemed to see himself standing in that octagonal pavilion, commanding his invincible warriors who were skilled in swimming, with mountains of gold, silver and weapons behind him, and coordinating with the navy outside the city through a network of secret passages, ultimately seizing the glorious future of the world!

"Perfect……"

He muttered to himself, his gaze towards Cui Yunshu shifting from admiration to... fervent worship.

"This...this is the real, perfectly balanced, divine move, both offensively and defensively!"

He suddenly grabbed Cui Yunshu's hand with such force that he almost crushed her wrist.

"Okay! That's how it'll be done! Everything will be done the way you say!"

"From this day forward, you are the chief architect of this palace!"

He looked at her, and in those eyes that always shone like stars, besides the flame of his "great cause," there was a trace of something else—a burning, tender, and overwhelming affection—that he himself hadn't even noticed.

"Everything I have is yours," he said.

Cui Yunshu looked at him, at his handsome, fanatical, foolish, and hopeless face.

She slowly withdrew her hand.

Silently, I breathed a sigh of relief.

very good.

She thought.

On this damned, hopelessly treacherous ship, she finally created for herself the most comfortable, safest, and most luxurious...

Golden birdcage.