The crowd looked at Lin Xiuyan with a mixture of scrutiny and disdain.
She's just a merchant's daughter, what extraordinary qualities could she possibly have?
Lin Xiuyan simply smiled at their questions and made no attempt to explain.
She called out, and He Shen, who was waiting outside, quickly returned to the room with a box.
She opened the box, and everyone glanced at it. The box contained a bunch of odds and ends.
Someone asked, "What is this?"
Lin Xiuyan replied, "A good thing that can take a person's life."
Everyone: "..."
Something that can kill people is probably not a good thing.
Lin Xiuyan didn't intend to explain. She took the contents out of the box, but Ye Junfei's hand pressed down on hers.
She looked at him, his gaze deep and unfathomable: "You don't need to prove anything."
Lin Xiuyan's lips curled slightly: "You're even willing to give up being the crown prince for me."
"What's wrong with me proving I'm good enough for you?"
Ye Junfei's gaze deepened, and Lin Xiuyan added, "Don't worry, I know what I'm doing."
Ye Junfei's gaze remained unchanged as he looked at her, but Lin Xiuyan pulled his hand away.
The Prince of Pingnan had seen something like this in Ye Junfei's room.
He had no idea what this thing was for before, and when he saw Lin Xiuyan take it out, he had a bad feeling.
The Prince of Pingnan said in a deep voice, "You wouldn't be trying to prove yourself with these old, worn-out things, would you?"
"If that's the case, then you're absolutely ridiculous!"
Lin Xiuyan said unhurriedly, "Isn't it ridiculous? You'll find out soon enough."
She finished speaking and quickly grabbed those things in her hand, her hand moving so fast it left a blur.
In just a few breaths, the scattered parts in the box disappeared, replaced by a large crossbow.
When the Prince of Pingnan saw the large crossbow, his face darkened. The person who had sneaked into his study and stolen the military tally and royal seal had used this crossbow before!
He stared coldly at Lin Xiuyan, but she completely ignored the anger welling up in his eyes.
She loaded ten arrows into the crossbow quiver, then pulled the bowstring and cocked the crossbow.
She looked at everyone and said, "Aren't you all particularly curious about how the young master and I defeated the Xuan-class soldiers with just a few people last time?"
Everyone in the Ye clan remembers this incident vividly and is very interested in it.
They had asked Ye Junfei about it before, but he had always avoided the topic.
Therefore, that matter was shrouded in mystery in everyone's mind.
Someone asked, "You're not trying to tell us that you're relying on just this one crossbow, are you?"
Lin Xiuyan nodded: "That's right."
Of course, she didn't win that day solely because of that crossbow, but she certainly wouldn't tell the truth to these scheming members of the Ye clan.
The people looked at her with disbelief.
She didn't explain; she simply raised the crossbow in her hand and pointed it at the Prince of Pingnan.
The veins on the Prince of Pingnan's forehead throbbed: "What are you trying to do?"
Lin Xiuyan smiled, but at that moment she pulled the trigger on the crossbow.
Then an arrow flew out of the crossbow and grazed the Prince of Pingnan's left ear.
Prince Pingnan: "..."
He wanted to swear!
Lin Xiuyan said, "Father, stand still and don't move!"
"It would be bad if I hurt you, after all, I'm such a filial son."
Prince Pingnan: "..."
She's filial? Ha!
Before he could speak, Lin Xiuyan pulled the trigger on the crossbow again.
Prince Pingnan: "!!!!!!!"
Could her crossbow fire in rapid succession?
Lin Xiuyan smiled slightly, and after that one was fired, she pulled the trigger of the crossbow.
The Prince of Pingnan felt completely numb when he heard the voice beside him!
It turns out her crossbow really can fire in rapid succession!
The Prince of Pingnan looked grim, but his mood was quite complicated.
He knew all too well what such a crossbow meant.
The members of the Ye clan stared wide-eyed, for they not only saw Lin Xiuyan firing a crossbow in rapid succession.
They also saw that all the crossbow bolts were embedded in the wall behind the Prince of Pingnan.
Not only did it get inside the wall, but even its feathers were trapped inside.
All of this proves just how powerful this crossbow is!
If they had enough of these crossbows, they could basically roam freely in the army.
Ordinary archers would be utterly helpless against such a crossbow.
As long as you load the crossbow with arrows and shoot at this speed, you've basically won the battle.
They counted, and when Lin Xiuyan fired the tenth arrow, the crossbow ran out of arrows, and the crossbow stopped firing.
The Imperial Clan Head looked somewhat shocked and hurriedly asked, "Where did this crossbow come from?"
Lin Xiuyan replied, "I made it myself."
Everyone: "!!!!"
The Prince of Pingnan almost blurted out, "How did you do that?"
Lin Xiuyan smiled slightly: "Isn't this something anyone with hands can do?"
Prince Pingnan: "..."
He felt his intelligence had been insulted.
Lin Xiuyan didn't look at him and said loudly, "I can make this kind of crossbow and defeat more than a thousand soldiers of the Xuanzi Battalion with the strength of a dozen men."
"This is enough to prove that this crossbow is extremely practical. With such a crossbow, no one can bully Liefeng Prefecture!"
At this point, Zongzheng fully understood why the Prince of Pingnan wanted Ye Junfei to divorce Lin Xiuyan; it was to cut off Ye Junfei's arm.
Lin Xiuyan asked Zongzheng, "Grand Uncle, what do you think of this crossbow?"
The Imperial Clan asked her several questions about crossbows, and she answered them truthfully.
Zongzheng beamed and said, "This crossbow is excellent!"
His words thus set the tone for the matter.
At this point, no one tried to persuade Ye Junfei to divorce Lin Xiuyan anymore, because everyone could see the power of her crossbow.
If this crossbow were mass-produced, they would have nothing to fear.
Marrying women from their wives' clans to Ye Junfei would certainly benefit them, but compared to the benefits brought by this crossbow, it's not worth it at all.
Ye Junfei could easily have these crossbows mass-produced and then used to solidify his position.
They could also use this crossbow to attack other prefectures, and even against the imperial army, where they would have a great chance of victory.
They were very glad that they hadn't pressured Ye Junfei too much to divorce Lin Xiuyan and hadn't offended the couple.
They immediately changed their tune and praised Lin Xiuyan: "The Crown Princess is so skillful that she has created such a powerful weapon. It is truly a blessing for our Liefeng Prefecture!"
"The Crown Prince has excellent taste; he has been able to recognize the Crown Princess's strengths."
The Prince of Pingnan heard the Ye clan members praising Lin Xiuyan to the skies, and such praise was a slap in their face!
He pointed at Lin Xiuyan and said, "Were you the one who sneaked into the Prince's mansion to steal things that night?"
Lin Xiuyan looked completely bewildered and said, "That night? Which night? Please explain clearly, Father, and provide evidence."
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