Chapter 6
Two flowers bloom, each showing its own beauty. At the other end of Chang'an, the princess's mansion.
Liu Ling slammed the silk cloth on the table, seething with rage. "Liu Qian, that idiot! He's the one who caused the trouble himself and wants me to clean up the mess. He even has the nerve to boss me around and blame me for my incompetence!"
The maid next to her glanced at the silk cloth and saw that it was covered with densely written words. Although she couldn't make out the specific words due to the distance, she could guess a little.
She thought for a moment, then stood up and poured Liu Ling a glass of water. She said, "The Crown Prince may have been speaking without thinking because he was too anxious, and he wasn't really blaming the Princess."
"Impatient? He's impatient now. Why doesn't he think about the consequences before he does something stupid? Lei Bei is famous for his swordsmanship and is known as the best swordsman in Huainan. How dare he challenge him?"
Having said that, Liu Ling snorted coldly.
As the crown prince of Huainan, Liu Qian was a powerful figure in Huainan, and was respected and flattered by everyone he met.
He learned a few sword moves, received a few compliments, and started looking for people to challenge him to. Most people would give him as much as possible, but after he won a few times, he lost his way, thinking he was so capable that he arrogantly challenged Lei Bei.
After being refused many times, Lei had no choice but to go ahead. However, due to the huge gap in strength between the two, Liu Qian was quickly defeated.
If he had just stopped there, it would have been a minor matter. But he became angry and refused to give in, pressing forward step by step. Lei was restrained and had to retreat again and again, but he still accidentally hurt him.
Liu Ling scoffed, "Swords and knives are blind, so minor damage is inevitable during combat. It's just a scratch, no broken bones, so what's the big deal? He just feels embarrassed, so he holds a grudge and targets Lei Bei. He's truly narrow-minded and has no sense of proportion."
Bang!
Another palm slammed on the table.
"If he had been smarter and more ruthless, he could have killed Lei Bei directly, but he let Lei Bei discover him and escape from Huainan. If Lei Bei had reached Chang'an and met His Majesty's men..."
Liu Ling's face was solemn. Huainan's secret would surely be revealed.
The maid comforted him, "Although we didn't catch Lei Bei, we did knock him off the cliff. The cliff is high, he..."
Liu Ling raised his hand to interrupt her: "Although the cliff is high, there are many trees on the cliffside and water flows at the bottom of the cliff. We did not find Lei Bei's body below, nor among the trees on the cliff."
The maid was also a little hesitant: "The water is flowing fast, and he was seriously injured. He may not survive. He may have already died."
Liu Ling's expression was cold: "Maybe? Can you guarantee it?"
The maid was speechless.
Liu Ling's eyes were determined: "If he's alive, I want to see him. If he's dead, I want to see his body!"
It was precisely because the body was not brought back that Liu Qian felt uneasy and could not sleep, so he wrote a letter in a hurry to blame and urge them.
But why didn't Liu Qian think about it? He had sent people to hunt down Lei Bei all the way but failed, and he didn't even see Lei Bei. How could he have the face to blame her?
If she hadn't dealt a heavy blow to Lei Bei, Lei Bei would have entered Chang'an to meet the emperor long ago. Would they still have a chance?
"If Lei Bei is truly still alive..." the maid's heart tightened. "As long as he's not eliminated, he'll be a sharp sword hanging over our heads. My lady, we're having a lot of trouble in the capital. This matter is of great importance. Should we ask the king and the crown prince to send reinforcements?"
"No need. With such serious injuries, even if he's still alive, he won't be able to move for a while. The manpower my father gave me is sufficient for now.
"Huainan mobilizing too many people at once will inevitably attract attention from above. This matter must be carried out in secret, as low-key as possible, and absolutely no one should notice it. As for the Crown Prince's reinforcements?"
Liu Ling rolled his eyes and continued, "He's more likely to cause trouble than to help. If we let him get involved, are you sure he won't cause us even more trouble before we've already solved the problem?
"It's not easy for me to run my business in Chang'an. You know how much effort I've put into it over the years. And what's the result? In the end, it's all ruined by this idiot!"
It was almost there, just barely. Fortunately, Lei was seriously injured, and even if he survived, he would need a long time to recover. This gave them enough time to breathe and plan carefully. But the crisis still existed, and there was no room for complacency.
Gritting his teeth, Liu Ling raised his hand, placed the silk cloth on the fire, and lit it. He threw it on the ground, watching it burn to ashes, and muttered, "If he weren't a man, if he weren't the eldest son, would he be worthy of being the crown prince? If I were a man..."
The rest of the words were not spoken, and there was a darkness in his eyes.
The maid stood aside, her eyes watching her nose, her nose watching her heart. It was not easy for her to participate in such a topic, so she could only pretend not to hear.
After a while, Liu Ling asked again, "What's the current situation in the palace? Has there been any news?"
Maid: "Yes. There are two pieces of news. First, the previous claim that the Highness has lost his memory and cannot remember the incident has been confirmed to be true. Second, Ah Qing has been executed, and Zhang Tang's case has been closed. The turmoil in the palace has been basically settled."
Liu Ling breathed a sigh of relief, nodded to indicate he understood, and ordered, "Prepare two gifts for me, and I will pick a day to visit the palace."
The maid replied, "Yes."
********
Flying Palace.
The anxiety in the palace gradually subsided with the conclusion of the case. The peaceful days always passed quickly, and April arrived in a blink of an eye. During this period, Liu Ju made a small fortune.
Just as he had previously thought that he had caused Lady Wang to apologize, after learning that the culprit was Ah Yu and that the cause lay with him, Lady Wang compensated him with an even richer gift list than he had originally given, and then there were gifts from various royal relatives and dignitaries.
There were many rare treasures inside, but Liu Ju had never lacked good things since he was born, so he was happy for a while but then he didn't care anymore because he had something more important to him.
When Liu Che arrived, there were still a lot of leftover light silk and thin bamboo strips on the ground in the courtyard, and a little lamp oil and beeswax on the table. Liu Ju was busy, and he had recruited all the remaining ears of grain from the abundant crops to help him.
On the other side of the courtyard, there were several finished products on the left side, which looked like lanterns but were not exactly the same as lanterns; there were also a few piled up on the right side, which seemed to be defective products, each of which was damaged and had traces of burning on it.
Liu Che was puzzled. "If you're interested in lanterns, just ask your servants to find some nice ones. Why do you need to make them yourself? Even if you want to make them yourself, just let them make them and you can just add a few strokes of the brush."
"That's not a lantern!" Liu Ju retorted, shaking his head and blinking. "This is called a Kongming lantern, also known as a prayer lantern or a sky lantern. It can fly into the sky!"
Liu Che: ???
Can your lantern fly into the sky? Haha.
Liu Che did not believe it and thought it was just the talk of an ignorant child. He opened his mouth to make a joke, but he saw Liu Ju light the bottom of the "lantern" and ordered Yu Sui Shenggu, who was holding the "lantern", to let go. The lantern immediately rose slowly and floated into the air.
Liu Che:!!!
Seeing the "lantern" flying higher and higher, Liu Ju clapped his hands and jumped up: "I told you it would succeed this time!"
Liu Che was very surprised: "Can it really go to heaven?"
"Of course!" Liu Ju patted his chest and raised his head proudly.
Seeing his smug look, Liu Che laughed: "Why did you think of doing this?"
"I want to pray for Uncle Wei Qing and Cousin Qu Bing, and I hope my wish can fly to the sky so that the gods in heaven can see it and grant my wish.
"I know that the Emperor has always been concerned about the situation at the border. He wants Uncle Wei Qing and Cousin Qu Bing to defeat the Xiongnu and return home safely. I want that too."
The Xiongnu were a major threat to the Han Dynasty and a lifelong ambition for Emperor Liu Che. In February of this year, he dispatched Wei Qing and a number of generals to Dingxiang to attack the Xiongnu. While he had received a report of victory the previous month, the results were respectable, but for Emperor Liu Che, it wasn't enough.
Liu Ju took Liu Che's hand and came to the left. He pointed at several neatly arranged sky lanterns and introduced them one by one: "In addition to uncle Wei Qing and cousin Qu Bing, there are also those for my eldest sister, third sister, and fourth sister. I hope they are healthy, beautiful, safe and happy.
"The two larger ones in front are for Queen Mother, wishing her a long and healthy life; the larger one is for Father, wishing him a long life and all his wishes come true."
Liu Che followed his hand and saw different prayers written on the lantern. His eyes fell on the words "May your wishes come true." It seemed simple, but if your wishes could truly come true, it would be the best wish in the world.
Liu Che touched his head and said, "You are thoughtful. Father is very happy."
Liu Ju was even happier when his parents recognized what he did. His father was happy.
He hurriedly summoned the maids, lit up the wishing lanterns one by one, and released them into the sky. He clasped his hands together devoutly, closed his eyes, and made a wish. It seemed that as long as he was sincere enough and just prayed for the lanterns to fly into the sky, his wish would come true.
Liu Che observed it carefully. Although he didn't quite understand the principle, he roughly guessed that it was because the burning light at the bottom caused the inside of the lantern to fill and expand, driving it into the air.
“It looks simple, but it requires some ingenuity.”
Liu Ju nodded, "Yes. Father, don't underestimate the difficulty of making it. Actually, how to make it fly higher and higher without falling down is a real art.
"And we have to pay attention to safety. For example, if the fuel runs out and it falls, it's fine. But if it catches fire mid-flight and falls from the sky, especially in the mountains, it could cause a forest fire, which would be a serious problem.
"So how to control the placement and amount of fuel is also very important. We tried it many times."
Liu Che immediately understood where the burnt and damaged lamp on the other side came from, but he still had many questions: "Did you come up with this idea yourself, or did you learn it from someone else?"
"Same..." Just as he uttered a word, Liu Ju seemed to be stuck in his throat and could not make any sound. He almost changed his tone in time, "I thought of it myself."
He held his head high and chest puffed out, and the more guilty he felt, the louder he shouted, "I'm smart, right?"
Liu Che's mind was already drawn to the sky, and he didn't notice his abnormality. He nodded lightly and didn't ask any further questions. Liu Ju breathed a sigh of relief, but felt very sorry. It wasn't that he didn't want to tell the truth, but he couldn't.
It all started with that accident. He and Mrs. Wang both fell, hit their heads, and immediately fainted and fell into a coma, having an absurd and bizarre dream.
In the dream, a large white ball of light kept drilling into his body, causing him to have difficulty breathing and pain all over his body. It was as if his soul was being torn apart, and he felt extremely uncomfortable.
He instinctively wrestled with the ball of light. After fighting for three hundred rounds, he finally subdued the ball of light and viciously bit off a large piece of "meat" from it.
In an instant, the ball of light disappeared and turned into countless stars, a small part of which scattered on him, and most of them floated into the air.
At the same time, a strange sound was heard.
——The system database has been damaged and information has been leaked, and is now being forcibly recovered.
——Recycle 50%, recycle 70%, recycle 90%, recycle…
Ding, failed to retrieve everything. Detection system hissing... severely damaged, core hissing... damaged... barrage hissing... disordered... hissing...
After a long, piercing electric sound, the sound faded, never to be heard again. When he woke from his coma, he discovered he had gained a new "skill" and some memory issues. He couldn't remember some things that had happened, but his mind also inexplicably had some new things in it.
Combining what the "system" said at the time, the "skill" is the barrage, and the extra things are the "information data" that were not fully recovered and flowed to the outside world and absorbed into his body.
Everything was so strange, far beyond Liu Ju's understanding.
He was terrified and immediately wanted to seek help from his family, shouting for his father, the emperor, and his mother. However, he could say everything else, but he couldn't utter a single word about the system and the dream. Just like before.
Liu Ju was astonished, wondering what kind of magic this was, and whether it was a deity or a demon behind it. With his father and mother unable to help him, he had no choice but to save himself. After days of struggle, he finally accepted reality and began to observe secretly.
He found the information materials to be a mess, divided into video materials and text materials. He had some free time these days and looked through them, finding many surprising things. One of them was the Kongming lantern.
"You said it has several names. Wishing Lantern and Sky Lantern are easy to understand, but what's the origin of the Kongming Lantern?"
Liu Ju paused, tilted his head and looked at Liu Che with a confused look on his face.
The reason? Is there another reason? The video doesn't mention it. Could it be that the information he received was incomplete, which caused the video to freeze for two minutes?
Liu Ju thought for a moment, then pointed to the hole under the lantern where the fire was burning and said, "There's a hole, can it provide light?"
Liu Che: ...If that was your idea and the name you called, why was your tone so uncertain?
Liu Ju looked up: "What does Father want to call you?"
"Um?"
"Father is the greatest, and Father has the final say. He can call me whatever he wants, and whatever reason he says is the reason!"
The corners of Liu Che's mouth twitched, but when he looked down and saw Liu Ju's face full of an expression that said "My father is the most powerful" and "No matter who or what, they must stand aside for my father", the corners of his mouth curled up slightly again.
As the father and son were talking, the Kongming lantern flew higher and higher and drifted farther and farther.
Liu Che looked at the lamp in front and paused. "Is that the direction of Changling Town?"
"Yes. It goes wherever the wind blows. But my lamp is small and the fuel is low. It's probably running out soon and won't reach the border of Changling."
Liu Ju answered nonchalantly, but Liu Che frowned, his eyes flickering as he murmured, "Which way the wind blows, that's where it goes." Then he took a deep breath and said, "It has already drifted out of Chang'an City."
"Yes, yes. Not only did it float out of Chang'an City, it also flew very high. It will soon reach the sky. God will be able to see my wish soon."
Liu Ju waved his hand. "Abundant crops, abundant ears of wheat, abundant grain. Let's make some more. No, I'll go get my eldest sister and the others. Finish making the silk and bamboo strips here. Save a few hundred and set them off at night. It's the most beautiful when they're set off at night, a sky full of Kongming lanterns, the flames and the starlight intertwined and shining. Absolutely beautiful."
He had seen such a scene in a video, it was really beautiful. He wanted it too!
Liu Ju was full of ambition and eager to make a move, but was stopped by Liu Che: "No more. I will take away the remaining lanterns that have not yet been inscribed with congratulatory messages. Do not mention the matter of Kongming lanterns to others without my approval."
He turned to look at Feng He and the other two with a sharp look in his eyes: "Did you hear everything clearly?"
The three of them replied respectfully: "Yes."
Liu Ju: ???
Wait a minute. I prayed for you out of kindness, and you actually stole my Kongming lantern?
It's fine if you just snatched it away, but you don't even need me to do it again? How overbearing! Are you still my most beloved father? Humph!
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