Chapter 117: The Skill of Lighting Up the Island Map...
It was already the fourth day since Huang Dong set sail.
The day before, the weather was fine, but by the evening of the second day, it turned into a storm with strong winds and heavy rain. The three large ships, lacking experience, relied entirely on Huang Dong's mediocre skills to maneuver them. The group narrowly avoided the storm but also lost their way, enduring the darkest day and night.
At this point, Huang Dong's knowledge was no longer sufficient to handle the current situation. On the morning of the fourth day, he had to carefully "turn on" the small cube again, issuing commands according to the real-time nautical chart, raising the sails and steering the ship.
While frowning and rapidly absorbing that unfamiliar knowledge, he used that knowledge to judge every gust of wind and current their ships were passing through.
Huang Dong: New experiences are constantly being gained.
Once they were finally back on the original chart route, Huang Dong squinted, vaguely gazing at the distant, hazy horizon where a small shadow seemed to appear. His heart skipped a beat: "...?"
Is it land?
"Raise the mast, hoist the foresail! Mainsail! Full speed ahead in that direction!" Huang Dong's spirits lifted, and with his loud shout, a man laboriously climbed the swaying rope ladder to the top, looking up at the distant horizon, his face also beaming with joy as he shouted.
"Mr. Huang, it's an island! It looks like an island!"
"Don't let your guard down," Huang Dong calmly instructed. He had absolutely no idea how the large ship would land, or whether it would encounter reefs or strong currents. The ship couldn't be destroyed in such a place, or they would never be able to return.
Especially...
Huang Dong returned to his private cabin and looked at the small, square artifact. The secret letter from His Highness said that this thing wouldn't last long; once the number in the upper right corner dropped to zero, it would stop reacting, so it needed to be dealt with.
Huang Dong kept it "off" on the road, only taking it out to glance at it in such critical moments, and then having to shut it off again afterwards. But even with all that, the number in the upper right corner... a simplified symbol that His Highness liked to write, showed that only a pitiful 28 remained.
...It was at this moment that he noticed the "memo" page had been changed from blank to have writing on it.
[Mr. Huang, where are you?]
The signature is that of His Highness the Second Prince. The date, according to estimation, should be today?
Huang Dong: "...?!?"
The Master did not speak of strange phenomena, physical prowess, disorder, or spirits. A chill ran down Huang Dong's spine. He was quite certain of his memory; before he last opened this object, there was definitely no such phrase here.
That is... His Highness actually has a way to communicate remotely with this divine artifact he brought out?
Like, like an immortal?
Huang Dong was in turmoil. He remained frozen in his seat, staring at the screen, and didn't move for a long time. His mind seemed to be rusty, and he couldn't think of anything.
Something seemed to shatter inside him with a deafening roar.
After a while, more cheers came from outside: "We've really succeeded! We've found the island!" "It really is an island! Look, it's green..." "Let me see!" "There seems to be a fire... Are there locals there?"
Huang Dong then suddenly came to his senses.
"Huff...huff." He took two deep breaths, then sternly shouted outside, "Keep an eye on things. Once we're almost there, lower the sails and we'll land on the island under cover of darkness!"
Turning his head, Huang Dong's emotions were in turmoil: "Your Highness, Second Prince..."
He studied the secret message for a while, clumsily scribbling away, and finally sent a confirmation message. Within moments, he received a notification that the memo had been remotely updated. New text appeared on the blank page.
It was a ghostly scene:
[Were you startled? This is also a secret.]
Huang Dong hesitated, then wrote faster and faster: "[Your subject will absolutely not leak this!!!]"
Regardless of the Second Prince's extraordinary identity—whether he is a dragon prince or a celestial being incarnate—given his ability to accomplish these things and know so many things that ordinary people cannot, Huang Dong was determined to keep this secret and would rather die than reveal it.
Huang Dong took another deep breath, shook his head, and wrote down the most important thing at the moment:
[Your Highness, we have spotted the outline of a continent in the distance. According to the nautical chart, this should be the place you are looking for.]
Honestly... he was so caught up in these horrifying events that he almost forgot about his business.
Qi Chengming on the other side: "!!!"
Qi Chengming, full of energy, began to give a long speech of precautions: "[Be careful of whether there are other people on the island. Also, do you remember what I taught you?]"
[First, establish His Highness's right to the ownership of the new fiefdom. I have kept the private order with me safely and intact.] Huang Dong calmly wrote these terrifying words.
If Huang Dong had some doubts and worries about how to save His Highness if things went wrong, he was now quite confident.
—It's simply that Your Highness is dissatisfied with being exiled to a desolate land and wants to expand your own territory and influence. The court doesn't value Your Highness, so isn't it reasonable for Your Highness to find another way?
His Highness the Second Prince possesses an aura of imperial power, unlike any ordinary ruler.
It's normal for him to do whatever he wants.
Huang Dong is a typical minister raised in a feudal dynasty and a family of civil officials. He cannot shake off the idea that "the emperor is ordained by heaven" from his bones. He is now frighteningly frank and fearless.
[Your Highness, this object is nearing the end of its power; I must allow it to remain dormant.] Huang Dong wrote this again.
He was a little worried that this stuff wouldn't last until he acquired the silver mine.
Liuzhou.
Qi Chengming reacted quickly and agreed to let Mr. Huang turn off the phone. He was also eagerly waiting to hear the good news.
If he has to endure this for several more months, or even until next year, before he can see Mr. Huang return and report whether the silver mine has been found...
Even though Qi Chengming wasn't an impatient person, he felt he would be worn out and die, the kind of death with his eyes wide open!
Song Gu couldn't even drink his tea anymore, a layer of worry creeping onto his brow: "Your Highness..."
He hesitated, watching the young prince, who was much more excited than usual, yet just pacing back and forth without saying a word. Song Gu changed the words he was about to say: "...Your Highness, would you like to go see the cornfield harvest? It's a bumper harvest."
"Go." Qi Chengming came back to his senses, the smile on his lips still lingering.
He wants the silver mine, and he wants the bountiful harvest too!
With double good news, if he has initially secured both "grain" and "wealth," then the territory he has expanded this year can be considered secure.
The people in the Prince's Mansion immediately sprang into action.
The weather in July was too hot and humid. The stuffy feeling made people feel uncomfortable. Before you could walk outside for a short while, your clothes would be soaked. It was so hot that you could hardly breathe.
Qi Chengming, a modern man who had traveled all over the country in his previous life, could barely bear it. The rest of them, whether it was Chief Steward Song, Xiao Chengzi who came along, the imperial guards leading the horses, or Bai Xuan who came to join in the fun, all looked pale and very uncomfortable.
"...This awful weather." Even someone as mild-mannered as Bai Xuan couldn't help but curse a couple of times.
"We've already done pretty well." Although he thought about how inhuman the torment of climbing a mountain in this weather must be, Qi Chengming's expression remained unchanged; he was just panting.
His gaze swept over the vast green vegetable fields on the outskirts of Liuzhou, where countless people were always busy, sweating profusely. Especially during the harvest season, how many farmers would rush to harvest their grain before it rained, regardless of whether they felt physically uncomfortable?
—This is all the land under my rule!
Qi Chengming genuinely felt sorry for their hardship and toil. The people of Liuzhou were only able to make ends meet this year, and they couldn't ask for much more.
Xiao Chengzi handed over two prepared sun hats with concern: "Your Highness, Lord Bai."
"Farmers have it tough," Bai Xuan couldn't help but sigh. The scene he had grown up taking for granted now seemed to hold a deeper meaning for him. He even became cautious in putting on his hat to shield himself from the sun, keeping his eyes constantly on His Highness, not daring to put it on first.
"Your Highness, we've arrived—" the guide announced.
This area is entirely planted with cornfields.
Amidst the yellow and green fields, several conspicuous, refined figures could be seen working alongside the farmers.
"Prefect Mu?" Qi Chengming's eyes widened slightly in surprise.
He knew that this young Master Mu was a good official, and that he usually kept a low profile, focusing solely on cooperating with him. Unexpectedly… this man quietly went to work in the fields with the common people. This wasn't the day the initial corn yield was being measured; it wasn't a show.
A strange person.
A good official who is down-to-earth and cares about the people.
"Master," the servant boy was the first to react, whispering a reminder to him.
Mu Maoshi, his back aching, lifted his face, beads of sweat sliding down his chin, his clothes already soaked through. He panted and blinked for a long time before finally wiping away the blurry sweat from his eyes and recognizing the person who had approached: "...Phew, Your Highness?"
The young prince had already jumped into the field, eager to help, completely ignoring the bitter looks on the faces of the people behind him, as if doing farm work was a joyful thing.
A strange person...
A kind-hearted but strange prince.
But having a lot of people helping is a good thing.
Mu Maoshi gladly accepted their help and asked the farmers he knew to find a few more carts: "This corn is so heavy, it's too difficult to harvest! Your Highness, over here!"
It has been proven that strenuous physical labor is indeed an effective way to curb anxiety.
Qi Chengming and Bai Xuan were exhausted and were finally helped back to the city by Song Gu and Xiao Chengzi, who were also unsteady on their feet. After a quick wash and a quick bite, Qi Chengming fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.
"How is it?" Granny Liu asked with concern at the entrance of the main courtyard. She held a bottle of medicinal wine in her hand, hesitated for a long time, and then handed it to Xiao Dezi.
"He's already asleep." Xiao Dezi glanced back at the main room where the last lamp was lit and said softly, "Gantang is pricking His Highness's sore. She's burning the lamp twice with a needle, and then pricking it open at night to squeeze out the pus. After applying medicine and bandaging it, he'll recover quickly. His Highness is sleeping too soundly; he's not making a sound at all."
"Why are you so tired all of a sudden?" Recently, Nanny Liu had been getting along very well with the Hu family. The two old women got along well, and she was feeling more and more relaxed. Now, when she suddenly heard that His Highness had returned in such a tired state, she rushed back to visit him, feeling worried and puzzled.
"Your Highness seems to be under a lot of pressure lately," Xiao Dezi said quietly, glancing around.
People are behaving abnormally.
Although he didn't understand what his prince was worried about, the harvest was plentiful, the militia returned with their spoils, and Mr. Qin was always running to the palace with a radiant face to discuss how to send people to Yulin Prefecture without leaving a trace. Wasn't this all good news?
But in any case, His Highness seemed much more relaxed after today's commotion.
The wet nurse listened attentively and nodded.
She calculated the time and realized it was almost time for the Hu family's vacation... It was time to let His Highness relax like a child again; it might work.
...
That night, Qi Chengming slept soundly without a dream. Meanwhile, hundreds of miles away, Huang Dong, with about a hundred men, cautiously and quietly jumped into the water under the cover of darkness, swam ashore from the nearshore, and took control of a seemingly poor local village, preparing to question them.
"Mr. Huang, what should we do? They don't seem to understand us." A sailor hesitated, noticing that the local natives, their faces filled with terror, were speaking in broken English, and he couldn't understand a single word.
Huang Dong had already anticipated this: "First, go and scout out the surrounding area. Don't worry if you don't understand. Once we've confirmed it's safe, we'll set up camp and issue the order as His Highness instructed."
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Author's Note: In his sleep, Qi Chengming's infrastructure map silently lit up...
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