Chapter 289 Showing Off Muscles
Prince Rui frowned as he looked at his dark circles in the mirror and asked the maid what he should do. When he received no answer, he turned his head and saw that the maid was stunned. His face turned cold.
The maidservant quickly bowed and admitted her mistake, then said, "Rolling it with a hard-boiled egg can relieve the pain."
"How long will it take?" Prince Rui asked.
Maid: "About a quarter of an hour."
Prince Rui looked at himself in the mirror again and said, "Never mind, let's leave it at that and hurry up."
If he were to spend more than fifteen minutes fixing these dark circles, Jiang Yu would definitely have to wait for him, so he decided against it.
The maid quickly styled his hair, and Prince Rui got up and walked out. The attendant waiting outside saw him and said, "Your Highness, please have your meal first."
"No, thank you." He strode towards the study, and when he arrived, he saw Jiang Yu sitting at the tea table in his study. A smile involuntarily appeared on his face, and he said, "I've kept the Duke of Chu waiting."
"No, I just arrived too." Jiang Yu noticed the dark circles under his eyes and suddenly realized she had come at the wrong time. Prince Rui had been working almost all night, and her arrival now would likely have disturbed his rest.
"I apologize for this sudden visit, Your Highness, for disturbing your rest."
"No, no," Prince Rui quickly denied, pleased that Jiang Yu had come to see him. But just then, his stomach growled twice, quite clearly. His face flushed red, and Jiang Yu couldn't help but smile.
She said, "Your Highness hasn't had breakfast yet, has he?"
Prince Rui nodded awkwardly, but said, "I...I'm actually not hungry."
Jiang Yu wanted to laugh but held it back. "Your Highness, we can chat while we eat."
Prince Rui wanted to refuse, feeling that this was not the proper way to treat a guest. But then he thought that if he didn't stand on ceremony with Jiang Yu, their relationship might become closer, so he nodded and agreed.
He had someone bring the meal to his study, then picked up the tea set and began to brew tea himself, asking Jiang Yu, "Have things gone smoothly these past few days?"
Jiang Yu's gaze lingered on his long, slender, and fair hands. She sighed inwardly at how beautiful a man's hands could be, and said aloud, "Things have gone fairly smoothly, but I still have a vague sense of unease."
These words brought a look of worry to Prince Rui's face, and he asked, "What's wrong?"
Jiang Yu recounted her concerns and then said, "I'm afraid the King of Lingnan will rebel at this time."
Prince Rui frowned upon hearing this, and was about to say something when his attendant's voice came from outside, "Greetings, Your Highness Prince An."
Looking towards the entrance of Prince Rui's palace, he saw Prince An walk in. The two had grown up together since childhood, and Prince An could enter his study without announcing himself, just as he did when he went to see Prince An.
“Uncle, Duke of Chu.” Prince An greeted the two, and Prince Rui gave a casual hum and gestured for him to sit. Jiang Yu stood up and bowed to him. Prince An’s gaze lingered on her and Prince Rui for a moment before he said, “Duke of Chu, there’s no need for such formalities.”
Jiang Yu sat down, and at that moment two maids brought over Prince Rui's breakfast. The tea table was quite large, and Prince Rui's breakfast was not complicated, so there was no need to move to another place.
After the maid set out the meal, she left. Prince An glanced at the breakfast on the tea table, then at the dark circles under Prince Rui's eyes, and said with concern, "Uncle, you must take care of your health."
Prince Rui gave a casual "hmm," then turned his gaze to Jiang Yu, "Would you like some more?"
Jiang Yu shook his head in refusal. To avoid embarrassing Prince Rui, he turned to Prince An and asked, "What business does Your Highness have with me?"
Prince An snapped out of his thoughts and shared his analysis with her. Jiang Yu was taken aback; she hadn't considered the possibility that the Prince of Lingnan would be colluding with an enemy state. Even Prince Rui frowned deeply.
Jiang Yu pondered for a moment and said, "Perhaps he doesn't even need to contact the Southern Barbarian royal family to cause a crisis between Daqian and the Southern Barbarians."
These words drew the attention of both Prince An and Prince Rui to her. Jiang Yu glanced at the two men and continued, "He can get a large number of counterfeit banknotes circulating in the Southern Barbarians."
Both Prince An and Prince Rui wore grave expressions. In truth, compared to Da Gan, the Southern Barbarians were merely a tiny territory. If Da Gan wanted to launch an attack on the Southern Barbarians, it would certainly be able to win. However, this did not mean that Da Gan could send troops to attack the Southern Barbarians at any time.
War always results in casualties and losses. What good would defeating the Southern Barbarians do? Would it mean subjugating them? Clearly, the court is not prepared to subjugate the Southern Barbarians. At the very least, the King of Lingnan must be eliminated before any subjugation can be achieved.
"Actually, it mainly depends on the Emperor's will," said Prince An.
His words seemed cryptic, but both Jiang Yu and Prince Rui understood his meaning. He wanted to use this opportunity to eliminate the King of Lingnan.
Jiang Yu and Prince Rui exchanged a glance. Neither of them wanted to fight now, and they felt they weren't ready. If they launched an attack on Lingnan at this time, the Southern Barbarians would surely take advantage of the situation. They feared the court would become bogged down in a quagmire of war.
“I don’t think now is a good time to fight,” Prince Rui said.
Jiang Yu nodded and said, "I think so too."
Prince An clasped his hands together and looked at Jiang Yu, asking, "Then how do you suggest we deal with this?"
Jiang Yu: "Showing off my muscles."
These words stunned Prince An and Prince Rui, who didn't immediately understand what "flexing their muscles" meant. Seeing their expressions, Jiang Yu immediately explained, "It means to show the Southern Barbarians and the King of Lingnan our formidable military strength, so that they won't dare to act rashly at this time."
"How should we display it?" Prince An asked.
Jiang Yu looked at Prince Rui and said, "This is the purpose of my visit today. We will use the firearms developed by Your Highness to suppress bandits or conduct drills on the border. Even if the firearms have not yet been successfully developed, it doesn't matter. Our purpose is to create momentum and deter others."
These words earned her the admiration of Prince An and Prince Rui once again; neither of them had expected such a thing. However, it was a brilliant idea.
Prince An looked at Prince Rui and asked, "Can we create momentum?"
Prince Rui nodded with a smile, "The rockets have been very successful, and the troops in the camps outside the capital are already secretly training them to use them. I am currently researching artillery, but I haven't succeeded yet. However, I think Yan Fengju's idea of small fireballs is excellent."
"What small fireball?" Jiang Yu asked.
Prince Rui put down his chopsticks. "It's bigger than a firecracker. Light it and throw it out to explode."
Jiang Yu was shocked. Wasn't this a hand grenade?
"Can we call Yan Fengju over?" Jiang Yu asked Prince Rui.
After discussing the research on "hand grenades" with Yan Fengju and Prince Rui, perhaps hand grenades can be made soon. Once hand grenades are made, landmines won't be far behind, and so will explosive charges.
Jiang Yu was unfamiliar with the firearms of her previous life, but China was able to produce them on its own during the War of Resistance against Japan, so they were probably not particularly advanced. With the current production capacity, they should be able to manufacture them.
Jiang Yu's heart was burning with excitement.
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