Chapter 57
The capital city is like a pot of boiling, scalding oil.
That imperial edict from the palace, concerning the final ownership of the "Heroes' Bureau," was like a spoonful of scalding hot, red-hot salt.
With a "smack," it was poured hard into the pot of oil.
Then, it exploded.
The entire capital city was in an uproar.
"Have you heard? Prince An! Prince An won!"
"My God! Dragon Tooth Island in the East China Sea! That's the 'Black Shark's' lair! I heard there were tens of thousands of pirates there, and Western cannons too! And just like that... it was taken down by Prince An?"
"What do you mean by 'completely wiped out'? That's called 'crushing'! My great-uncle's third nephew, who works in the navy, said that Prince An only brought one ship! A strange black ship, as big as a mountain! When it charged at that island, the cannonballs hitting it were like tickling it!"
"A ship? You're kidding!"
"Bragging? This is called a 'Divine Machine Ship'! The blueprints were drawn by the wealthy grandmother of the Cui family herself! This is a powerful alliance! Do you understand? This is a match made in heaven—the God of War and the God of Wealth!"
In the teahouse, the storyteller, spitting as he spoke, slammed his gavel down with a resounding clang.
"On that day, on the East China Sea, black waves surged to the sky! The fleet of the Duke of England's mansion, trapped in the 'Devil's Fog Zone' by the 'Black Shark's' trickery, was on the verge of total annihilation! Just at this critical moment! A dragon's roar and a tiger's howl were heard, and a black divine ship broke through the thick fog, like a god descending to earth! At the bow stood a man, clad in black armor, holding a long sword, with a face as handsome as jade and eyes as bright as stars! It was none other than... Prince An, Tang Pu!!"
The hall erupted in applause.
Those who bet on Tang Pu to win at the gambling den, with odds of 1 to 10, became rich overnight. They were now shirtless in the street, hugging wine jars, laughing and crying, and shouting "Long live Prince An!"
Those who bet on the Duke of England's mansion lost everything, even their pants. They were sitting at their own doorsteps, holding their heads, wailing and cursing Zhou Ye, that good-for-nothing.
"Chasing the waves of the East China Sea, vying for a beauty, he was enraged for the sake of a maiden."
"The God of War kneels once, and the whole world knows, all for the sake of the God of Wealth's smile."
Various versions of anecdotes and stories, some fantastical and some downright cheesy, were distributed throughout the streets and alleys of Beijing like free flyers.
Tang Pu, from a reckless "brute prince," overnight became the only, invincible war god in the hearts of all the young men and women of the Great Qin.
And Cui Yunshu, the woman he forcibly "snatched" back from another imperial edict, became the most enviable and unique female protagonist in this legendary story.
The capital city was celebrating for them.
...
The Cui residence was also quite "lively".
The carriages and horses lined up from one end of the street to the other. People came and went in an endless stream, bringing gifts, offering congratulations, and trying to establish connections.
Cui Wen, dressed in his brand-new official robes, stood at the door, his old face smiling like a stiff chrysanthemum that had been struck by frost.
Madam Song also sat in the main hall, forcing herself to be energetic as she dealt with the noble ladies who came to offer their congratulations, their faces filled with envy, jealousy, and hatred.
"Oh, Mrs. Cui, you are truly blessed!"
"Yes, yes, Prince An is a young hero with a limitless future! If my good-for-nothing son had even half of the prince's abilities, I'd be laughing in my sleep!"
Song smiled ingratiatingly, but inside, she felt as if she had stuffed a ball of cold cotton soaked in bitter herbs.
hero?
That's a madman.
He was a reckless madman who dared to beat the drum for petitions and challenge the emperor in the Taiji Hall.
Is it a blessing to marry your daughter to such a madman?
Or... another, even deeper, unfathomable pit of fire?
Cui Yunshu sat behind the screen, listening to the hypocritical and insincere flattery outside.
She felt like a ghost.
A cold, ghost, invisible to everyone, dressed in a bright red wedding gown.
She looked at her mother, at the deep weariness and worry that couldn't be hidden beneath her forced smile.
She looked at her father, at his spine that had stood tall all his life, and at the subtle, uncontrollable collapse that crumbled with every turn and every bow in return.
She suddenly felt nauseous.
I'm too lazy to listen.
Just then.
A chorus of gongs and drums, louder and more exaggerated than all the previous gift-giving processions combined, came from the street corner.
"The Prince of An's residence is sending betrothal gifts—!!"
A long, shrill, shrill voice, like a knife, pierced the false, bustling atmosphere of the Cui residence.
They've arrived.
Cui Yunshu's heart sank suddenly.
She watched as everyone in the mansion, as if they had been injected with adrenaline, excitedly surged towards the entrance.
She looked at her father and mother, and with a forced smile, stood up. Her face wore a complex expression, like someone about to open a blind box, a mixture of anticipation, unease, and a hint of fear.
Cui Yunshu did not move.
She simply sat there quietly.
...
The betrothal gifts were carried in.
This is no ordinary burden.
It's a box.
Huge, heavy, and dark boxes, made of fine ironwood and with iron-plated corners.
Each box required eight burly guards from the Prince's mansion, chanting in unison, to barely lift it.
A total of one hundred and eight boxes.
The spacious main hall of the Cui residence was piled up to the brim, like a small mountain.
Everyone gasped in shock.
My God.
How much gold and silver jewelry must be inside?
Prince An, indeed... a grand gesture!
Finally, a genuine smile, a mixture of heartache and relief, appeared on Cui Wen's face. He felt that although this son-in-law was a bit impulsive, his intentions were sincere.
He cleared his throat and, smiling at the head steward of the Prince An's residence, said, "Your Highness, you're too kind, too kind..."
The steward grinned from ear to ear and bowed, saying, "My dear in-laws, what are you saying! Our Prince said that the betrothal gifts for the Princess must not be sloppy! And these are just the first batch!"
As he spoke, he stepped forward and opened the first box at the very front.
Everyone craned their necks.
Cui Yunshu also peeked half her head out from behind the screen.
She wanted to see how her great "ally" would express his "revolutionary friendship" to his "chief strategist."
The lid of the box creaked open.
The glittering, jewel-encrusted scene that I had envisioned did not appear.
There were no jewels, no antiques, and no fine silks or satins in the box.
only……
iron.
A box, cold, shiny and chilly, black, iron[81].
One after another, brand new, gleaming, and sharpened ring-pommel swords.
A series of long spears, gleaming coldly and adorned with red tassels.
There were also bundles of sharp, three-edged armor-piercing arrows that could easily slice through the air.
The entire main hall fell into a deathly silence in an instant.
Everyone's smiles froze on their faces.
The muscles in Cui Wen's face were twitching violently.
"This...this is..."
"Oh! This!" The steward, seemingly oblivious to the astonished expressions on everyone's faces, proudly presented the latest batch of weapons, "These are the very first batch of weapons that our Prince specially ordered the master craftsmen of the Armory to work through the night to produce! The Prince said that the Cui residence is heavily guarded, but there are bound to be some scoundrels. With these, Your Highness, you will be safe in the residence!"
Safety……
Cui Wen felt his back molars were chattering.
Before he could even recover...
The butler opened the second box.
Inside, it still wasn't gold or silver.
Instead, they were rolls of parchment, carefully wrapped in oilcloth, exuding a musty, aged smell.
"This!" The steward picked up a scroll and carefully unfolded it. "This is the most detailed map of the nine border garrisons that our Prince copied from the Northern Army! There are also maps of the situation between Great Qin and the surrounding countries! The Prince said, 'Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated!' Your Highness is so intelligent; with these, in the future... in the future, strategizing will be much easier!"
"Thump—"
An elder of the Cui family clan rolled his eyes and fainted on the spot.
A privately owned map showing the deployment of military towns!
This...this is treason! This is a capital offense punishable by confiscation of property and extermination of the entire clan!
You call this a betrothal gift?!
Cui Wen's face had turned from a liverish color to a bluish-purple.
He felt like he was about to suffocate.
Meanwhile, the butler was still enthusiastically opening the third, fourth, and fifth boxes...
A box of rare, jet-black minerals, obtained at a high price from the Western Regions, said to be able to forge divine weapons.
One box contained core mechanism parts for various models of crossbows.
One box contained hundreds of brand-new, yet incredibly sturdy, sets of cowhide armor.
...
In the end.
Cui Wen has stopped watching.
He just stood there, blankly.
Like a pitiful wooden figure struck by lightning seven or eight times.
He looked at the room full of swords, spears, halberds, armor, and military paintings.
Only one thought remained in his mind.
It's over.
This is not a daughter's wedding.
This is……
This is like inviting a wolf into the house, recognizing a thief as one's father, walking into a trap, or trying to get something from a tiger!
All eyes finally fell on the slender figure that slowly emerged from behind the screen.
It landed on Cui Yunshu's face, which was calm and without a ripple.
They need an explanation.
An explanation that would convince them they weren't about to be dragged out and beheaded.
Cui Yunshu looked at the room full of "betrothal gifts".
Looking at this pile of "ironclad evidence" that could wipe out the entire Cui family ten times over.
She looked into her father's and brother's desperate, pleading eyes.
She slowly walked forward.
He reached out and picked up a ring-pommel sword from the box of cold weapons.
The blade is very heavy.
The blade was cold.
She looked at her reflection in the blade, her face blurred, bearing a faint scar.
Suddenly, she smiled.
His laughter was more painful than his tears.
"Yuanzhi, he..."
She heard herself speak softly in a voice that even she found unfamiliar, ethereal, as if it might shatter at any moment.
"...He was thoughtful."
"My daughter... likes it very much."
She knew.
In Tang Pu's damned mind, which was filled with "great cause" and "rebellion".
This is not a betrothal gift.
This is in...
The arsenal was used to expand their "revolutionary base."
She didn't marry a man.
The marriage she entered into was a grand, never-ending rebellion—a rebellion she had always dreamed of escaping from.
She looked at the room full of cold iron.
For the first time, I felt a deep, utter despair about my impending married life.
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