Chapter 78 A Covert Showdown: Who Will Win?
"Has Your Majesty grown tired of these?"
Wang Huanhai tentatively asked.
Xiao Xingyuan snorted: "Disgusting!"
this……
Wang Huanhai stood there, helpless like a child, but he quickly recovered and said with a smile, "If Your Majesty is tired of the food from the Imperial Kitchen, then this servant will recruit some new people to the Imperial Study?"
Upon hearing this, Xiao Xingyuan's expression finally softened a bit. He picked up his chopsticks, ate a couple of bites, then slammed them down again and turned to leave.
Looking at Xiao Xingyuan's back, Wang Huanhai felt very confused. It had been like this for a while. Xiao Xingyuan originally didn't care about these things at all, but for some reason, he suddenly became very difficult to please.
He carried these things back to the Imperial Kitchen, summoned the head steward Wang Huan, and said irritably, "What exactly is the Imperial Kitchen doing? The Emperor didn't eat well at noon today, saying it was awful."
"That's impossible! The Emperor's meals are all prepared by your servants!" Wang Huan hurriedly picked up his chopsticks and took a bite: "This tastes no different from usual."
Wang Huanhai really didn't know where the problem lay. He looked at Wang Huan and then said, "Could it be that the Emperor is tired of your cooking? It's time for the Imperial Kitchen to bring in some new people."
"You're right, sir. I'll arrange it right away." Wang Huan immediately agreed, then stared at the large amount of leftover food, feeling puzzled. He simply couldn't understand what was going on.
Xiao Xingyuan used to have no demands regarding clothing, food, housing, or transportation; he used whatever the palace provided. But now…
He frowned, feeling that something was off.
"What is Meng Yanzhi doing?" Xiao Xingyuan looked up from the memorial and frowned at the guard.
The guard understood Xiao Xingyuan's thoughts best, so he spoke directly: "Your Majesty, Miss Meng went fishing and caught wild rabbits this morning. At noon, she made stewed rabbit meat, fried fish pieces, and grass carp soup."
"His Highness the Crown Prince and Zhang Xuanyun are enjoying their meal immensely." The guard, thinking of the taste, was also drooling. "This Miss Meng is truly remarkable; the food is simply irresistible."
Soon, the guards noticed that Xiao Xingyuan's already unpleasant expression had worsened.
He then realized he had said far too much, and looked at Xiao Xingyuan somewhat embarrassedly: "This servant deserves to die!"
"Enough with the nonsense, what did the Crown Prince go there for?"
Xiao Xingyuan frowned and looked at the guards.
"It seems they're going to cooperate with the young lady. They said they're going to find the Jade King's armory tonight." The guard then remembered the important matter.
The rabbit and fish pieces were so delicious that the guards almost forgot about it.
Hearing this, Xiao Xingyuan became interested.
"It seems this little girl is really ambitious."
“Great! Let’s go take a look tonight.”
Xiao Xingyuan was genuinely curious whether Meng Yanzhi truly possessed such great abilities as to be able to locate the Jade King's armory.
He had been secretly searching for a long time, but had not found a single trace.
The guard immediately agreed and then disappeared.
Night fell, and it was pitch black outside. Even the moon seemed to be cooperating with their actions, hiding behind the clouds, so dark that you couldn't see your hand in front of your face.
Meng Yanzhi specially changed into a black night outfit and waited at the entrance of the manor. After seeing Xiao Ce's carriage, she immediately got on.
"Why are you dressed like this?" Xiao Ce looked at Meng Yanzhi in disbelief.
Meng Yanzhi's clothes were all black, and they clung tightly to her body, revealing her curves completely. Xiao Ce's cheeks even flushed slightly.
"We'll be going into the water soon, this will make things easier," Meng Yanzhi said matter-of-factly, but she soon noticed that Xiao Ce's gaze seemed a little strange.
Her eyebrows furrowed, and she spoke up, "What, Your Highness, do you think this appearance is inappropriate?"
"Ahem, that's not what I meant." Xiao Ce realized his mistake at this moment, smiled apologetically, and then turned his face away, not daring to look her in the eye.
Soon, the car left the city and arrived at the moat.
Xiao Ce looked at Meng Yanzhi with confusion: "What are we doing here?"
"Didn't we say before that we wanted someone who was good at swimming?" Meng Yanzhi raised an eyebrow and looked at Xiao Ce.
A man also dressed in a black bodysuit knelt down in front of Meng Yanzhi.
“Very good. Once you’re in the water, follow me.” Meng Yanzhi smiled, then found a general spot and jumped in.
The man didn't stand on ceremony and followed Meng Yanzhi into the water. After entering the water, Meng Yanzhi made a movement, continuously falling, falling, and falling again.
Soon, the two of them sank to the bottom of the river. The moat wasn't particularly deep, and the bottom of the river was a completely different world.
Meng Yanzhi pulled the man aside and quietly hid behind a stake, giving him a wink.
Sure enough, after a short while, three or five people swam out of the room. They must have come to relieve the shift. The moment the door opened, the room was filled with military equipment wrapped in oil paper. It had everything imaginable, enough to equip 30,000 to 50,000 people without any problem.
Having gathered enough information, Meng Yanzhi pointed upwards and prepared to leave.
On the shore, Xiao Ce waited for a long time but the two people didn't come up. He looked at Shui Shan with some anxiety and asked, "What exactly did those two people go down there to do?"
In the shadows, Xiao Xingyuan already knew that there was a hidden world beneath the moat, and his eyes widened in shock, his brows furrowing tightly: "What a cunning scheme!"
"Is Your Majesty referring to Miss Meng or Prince Yu?" The guard leaned forward, looking at Xiao Xingyuan with some curiosity.
Xiao Xingyuan gave him a cold warning, and the guards dared not say anything more, and could only silently retreat.
Just as Xiao Ce was about to go down and investigate, Meng Yanzhi finally came up from underwater, carrying another person in her hand.
Exhausted, she threw him at Xiao Ce's feet and muttered, "I'm almost dead from exhaustion!"
Upon hearing this, Xiao Ce felt embarrassed and grabbed Meng Yanzhi's arm, asking, "Why did you stay down there for so long?"
"We checked the situation and there were five people on guard. They would be relieved every two hours."
"They use reeds for ventilation."
Meng Yanzhi smiled and began to report on the underwater situation.
"Down below?" Xiao Ce pointed to the surface of the moat, looking at Meng Yanzhi in disbelief. "Are you... are you sure?"
Meng Yanzhi kicked the person on the ground: "Say something!"
The man spat out a mouthful of water, then nodded and said, "Yes."
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