After the meal, Yun Gui came out of the dining hall with a bulging belly, complaining: "... Second brother, Governor Chang is coming to visit our house. Why did you tell us such an important matter right before we got home? It made my mother and sister-in-law and I eat two dinners. I almost ate too much..."
Before he could finish his words, Yun Hui covered his mouth with his hand: "Keep your voice down!"
Yun Hui lowered his voice and looked in the direction where Chang Suining, his mother, and his sister-in-law had left. She hadn't gone far yet. People who practice martial arts have good hearing. What if she heard them? Yun Hui dragged his brother a little further away before letting him go.
"No wonder my second brother disappeared so early in the morning. It turns out he went to look for Governor Chang secretly!" Yun Gui started to talk as soon as he got his mouth free: "Second brother, I have never seen you care so much about a girl."
"Nonsense, have other girls ever saved your life or mine? Have they ever saved my mother's life? Have they ever saved the lives of the people of Hezhou?" Yun Hui said as a matter of course: "She is different from other girls, so naturally they cannot be compared."
"Then Second Brother must really like Madam Chang, right?"
This question made Yun Hui pause. The only glass of wine he had drunk at the table seemed to have suddenly taken effect, making his face flush.
I tried to speak in a normal tone: "Why are you asking about these things at such a young age?"
"What? I'm already thirteen." Yun Gui didn't feel anything strange: "Besides, what's wrong with liking Madam Chang? She is our benefactor, and I like Madam Chang too!"
Yun Hui: “…”
So this is what my brother is talking about! But his likes are different from his...
This idea appeared in his mind almost without thinking, and the boy's mind was in turmoil and he was in a daze. He didn't know how to deal with it for a while.
Yun Gui didn't notice his brother's strange behavior. He kept talking as he walked: "...Mrs. Chang's arrival is just in time. The Qiqiao Festival is in four days. The city is preparing for a lantern festival. It's just right to invite Mrs. Chang to celebrate the festival with us."
"What are you thinking about?" Yun Hui managed to regain his composure and said, "She is not an idle person like you. She has a lot of important things to do and will leave tomorrow."
"Leaving tomorrow? Why are you in such a hurry?"
"It's very rare that she can take time out of her busy schedule to come to our house to have a meal and stay overnight." Yun Hui's tone was full of cherishment.
He was already very satisfied just to be able to see her, ride a route with her, and have a meal with her.
Unconsciously, Yun Hui said subconsciously: "If it were someone else today, there would be no way they could invite her. It shows that she thinks our Yun family is very important to her."
When the young man said this, the corners of his mouth couldn't help but curl up.
Yun Gui's focus was all on another matter: "But, I didn't even have time to have a good chat with my benefactor just now!"
"Second brother, Madam Chang finally came here, don't you want to talk to her more?"
Yun Hui did not deny it, but said, "She went to talk to her mother, and her sister-in-law is also there. It's late at night, so how can you and I follow her?"
Yun Gui: "Then let's think of a way to call Madam Chang out to talk!"
He volunteered and patted his chest: "Leave it to me!"
Yun Gui’s idea was to set off fireworks in the garden.
In order to celebrate the Qiqiao Festival with the people, the governor's mansion prepared a lot of fireworks. Yun Gui had someone bring some over. He chose an open space near the lotus pond in the garden and invited Chang Suining and Madam Lou to come and watch.
Today's fireworks have only taken shape eight or nine years ago. Most of them are made by filling a paper tube with prepared black gunpowder and igniting it with a fuse.
During these eight or nine years, because fireworks had the meaning of warding off evil spirits and curing diseases in the minds of the people, they gradually became a means of celebration for the court officials. As a result, more and more varieties of fireworks were added and the effects of their display also gradually improved.
New things are always particularly attractive. When Chang Suining first saw the fireworks at Dengtai Tower, he was amazed.
Yun Gui brought a group of servants to set off fireworks, and then took a string of firecrackers in his hands and started to crackle them, which was very lively.
Mrs. Lou, who was sitting in the pavilion, smiled and reminded them to be careful not to get burned. She also said with emotion: "Today is like the New Year..."
Yun Hui subconsciously looked at Chang Suining who was standing beside him.
It’s not the Chinese New Year, it’s the Qiqiao Festival.
She didn't have time to stay for the festival, so she decided to move the Qiqiao Festival to today.
Chang Suining looked up slightly, looking at the fireworks scattered like stars, the bright spots of light reflected in her serious and focused eyes.
Yun Hui suddenly felt a little dazed.
The next moment, a servant's panicked cry was heard.
There was a tube of gunpowder that may have been damp. It made a muffled sound when it was ignited, and then it exploded and rolled on the ground several times with sparks.
Yun Gui reacted quickly and kicked the flying firework tube into the pond.
Huo Xin hurried forward to check the situation and asked if anyone was injured.
Fortunately, the amount of gunpowder filled in these fireworks was not large. Only the two servants' hands were slightly burned by the flying sparks, and a corner of Yun Gui's robe was burned, but other than that, there was no major damage.
"...Be careful!" Mrs. Lou gave the instructions and coughed twice.
Yun Gui responded and continued to set off the remaining fireworks. This very common and insignificant little accident was soon forgotten.
Mrs. Lou's coughing became more and more severe, and Yun Hui hurriedly asked, "Did mother get choked by the smoke?"
Mrs. Lou was seriously injured on the battlefield last year and has been suffering from a weak constitution.
"There's a lot of smoke here, and it's getting late. Madam, you might as well go back and rest." Chang Suining, the guest, began to persuade.
Normally at this time, Mrs. Lou would have gone to bed long ago, but today I was here to accompany her.
Mrs. Lou knew her own body condition, so she didn't try to be stubborn. She smiled and nodded, and then reminded him, "We agreed that we will have breakfast together tomorrow morning before leaving..."
Chang Suining smiled and nodded at her.
Huo Xing accompanied Mrs. Lou and left the place together.
Chang Suining also put his wrist in front of his lips and coughed.
"Today's fireworks seem to be particularly choking—" Seeing her cough, Yun Hui quickly suggested, "If you're not feeling well, then why don't we not set them off?"
"It should be the one that fell into the pond..." As Chang Suining spoke, he walked out of the pavilion and headed towards the pond.
Yun Hui quickly followed.
The closer we got to the pond, the stronger and more pungent the choking smell became. The firework tube that was kicked into the pond had no fire anymore, but there was still billowing smoke.
Chang Suining covered his mouth and nose, looking at the thick smoke produced when it came into contact with water, with a thoughtful look in his eyes.
"But what's wrong?" Yun Hui asked.
"Can you throw another firework into the water?" Chang Suining said, "I want to see it."
Yun Hui: "...light it and throw it into the water?"
Chang Suining nodded.
Although Yun Hui was puzzled, he immediately asked someone to do it.
Anyway, the fireworks are for her to watch, so she can watch them however she wants.
The fuse of a firework tube was lit, and when it was about to explode, Yun Hui seized the opportunity and kicked the firework tube into the pool.
“Bang!”
Fireworks began to explode in mid-air, and silver sparks sprayed and fell into the water like stars.
The gunpowder in the barrel needed time to burn out, and it exploded briefly in the water. As the flames floated sporadically, thick smoke rose up, and the air was filled with the choking smell of gunpowder.
"How about it? Do you want to throw a few more in?" Yun Hui asked.
Chang Suining shook his head: "No need."
If we continue to throw things away like this, I'm afraid this garden will have to be thrown away.
Seeing her staring at the water intently, Yun Hui tried to ask, "Is it beautiful?"
"It looks good." Chang Suining nodded seriously. After a moment, he turned around with a sparkling smile in his eyes: "Yun Hui, thank you."
Yun Hui's cheeks flushed instantly, but fortunately the night and thick smoke hid them: "What's the big deal? It's just some fireworks..."
The next moment, the girl beside him said, "I have been thinking about one thing for the past six months—"
Half a year? He and she hadn’t seen each other for exactly half a year… Yun Hui was thinking about all sorts of things in his mind, holding his breath and listening.
Chang Suining continued, "Since the advent of black gunpowder, it has mostly been used outside of the art of making elixirs... and since my rise, it has only been used in warfare, but it has been almost exclusively used to assist in the combustion of rockets."
Yun Hui: “…Ah?”
He couldn't get his mind back to its original state for a moment, and struggled to absorb the meaning of her words.
"If we only see one use for something, most of the time we will assume that it has only this one use, and therefore limit ourselves to that. The discovery of other uses is always accidental." Chang Suining said, "For example, gunpowder, from Qi Huang's alchemy technique to making fireworks... So I wonder, is its use on the battlefield really limited to boosting rockets?"
"Looking back over the past thousands of years, the changes in this land show that countless new things always emerge in invisible collisions, such as right now..." She raised her hand and pointed to the smoke above the pool, with a look of enlightenment in her eyes: "So, gunpowder can be used for more than just combustion."
Yun Hui looked at the girl beside him in a daze. He felt that the expression between her eyebrows was more dazzling than the fireworks behind her. He couldn't help but ask, "What did you think of this?"
…
The next morning, after Chang Suining had breakfast, he said goodbye to the Yun family, met up with She Cai and Zeng Huan, and then left Hezhou City.
Not far out of the city, the group stopped.
Wu Jue, who was sitting in the carriage, opened the curtain and looked out: "Why did you suddenly stop leaving?"
He had entered the Hezhou Governor's Mansion with Chang Suining yesterday, but he was injured and did not want to show up in public, so he just ate and rested in the guest room. After two meals, his stomach, which had been starving for many days, finally filled up, and he looked more energetic.
But soon, Wu Jue lost his spirit.
Chang Suining and his group stopped because someone had received the news and was waiting here early, ready to set off together.
As soon as the curtain of Wu Jue's carriage was lifted, a figure squeezed into the carriage.
Before Wu Jue could see who it was, he was pushed inside and asked, "Who are you, old man...?"
As soon as he finished speaking, the man had already sat down opposite him, straightened his clothes, and looked up at him.
After seeing the face clearly, Wu Jue's eyes widened in shock: "Old...Old Meng?!"
If it weren't for the fact that his expression hadn't changed at all, he would have believed it if he was Lao Meng's father! "It's been a long time since we last met. You...how come you've aged so much!" Wu Jue was shocked and asked in a low voice, "Could it be that the formation has backfired on you?"
He added: "It shouldn't be like this... You just passed through it, it shouldn't backfire on you. No matter how weird this formation is, it shouldn't be so deceiving..."
Meng Lie glanced at Wu Jue coldly, sneered, and said nothing.
Seeing his attitude, Wu Jue asked with a guilty conscience: "It can't be... because of me, right?"
Meng Lie sneered again and finally said, "Your Highness has already said that it is not your fault. What else can I say?"
"Your Highness..." Wu Jue was stunned for a moment, then lowered his voice and asked closer, "You know everything? Your Highness told you everything?"
"I was wondering why you suddenly came to Huainan Road... This is a great event!" Regardless of whether Meng Lie responded or not, Wu Jue smiled and said happily: "Now our family is reunited, how great!"
Meng Lie was too lazy to pay attention to him and simply closed his eyes to rest.
Wu Jue was not at all embarrassed: "So you came to Hezhou to look for me in person?"
There was a hint of emotion in his tone.
Meng Lie opened his eyes and looked at him, frowning: "I want to ask you, what are you doing for no reason? You know that Her Highness is so busy, but you still let her worry about you so much, how can you feel at ease?"
Wu Jue sighed: "It seems that you only know one side of the story..."
The carriage was shaking and swaying, dispersing the whispers of the two people, making it impossible for others to overhear.
Wu Jue told Meng Lie about all the backlash of the formations on his body, but he skipped the "life-extending method" and the layout of his master decades ago. Firstly, this was a secret of heaven, and if Old Meng knew about it, it would not be a good thing for him.
Secondly, the formation seemed to be found by Lao Meng. As long as he didn't say that it was arranged by his master, Lao Meng would still feel a little guilty towards him... After all, on the surface, he was acting according to Lao Meng's arrangements!
"You mean, your life won't be in danger in the short term?" Meng Lie asked to confirm.
Wu Jue, who was good at playing the victim, coughed twice and sighed, "He should be able to survive for a while...but he is destined to be despised by the world."
Meng Lie: “That’s nothing.”
Just when Wu Jue thought he was going to comfort himself, he heard him frown and say seriously: "After all, you weren't very likable to begin with."
“……” Wu Jue suddenly felt a dull pain in his heart, and he lay down while holding his forehead, groaning.
Meng Lie glanced at him with amusement, and finally softened his tone: "Okay, His Highness is alive and you are not dead, that's good enough."
There is a kind of relief in the softened tone, similar to that of "mother and child are safe".
Wu Jue thought about it. He had been guarding the formation for more than ten years. Wasn't it just like hatching an egg? Fortunately, His Highness was hatched safely.
Wu Jue lay in the carriage, put his hands behind his head, swung his feet slightly smugly, and laughed "Hey".
He is really capable. He hatched such a big prince just by saying so!
The group traveled for more than a day and a half and returned safely to the army.
"Finally I'm back!"
After entering the tent and seeing no one else, Chang Kuo was filled with relief and patted Wu Jue on the shoulder: "...you are just thinner, you need to take good care of yourself!"
As he spoke, he pulled over something that had been prepared and stuffed it at Wu Jue: "Here, I'll give you this..."
Wu Jue held it in his arms, smiled in surprise and asked: "...and you made clothes for me?"
Suddenly so considerate, not like usual! Today is also a day to try to update early, good night (づ￣3￣)づ╭
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