Chapter Fifty-Six: The Secret of the Telescope
The second day after leaving the border, at dawn, snowflakes were still falling, and not a glimmer of daylight could be seen. A long, drawn-out bugle call sounded, and the soldiers of the Da Yuan army awoke from their sleep, grumbling as they left their beloved beds. What immense willpower it takes to leave a warm, cozy bed on a cold winter morning!
Liu Renguang leaped down from the hoisting bucket with agile movements, though his gait was somewhat strange. He had been exposed to the cold wind all night, and his face was flushed red, whether from the north wind or from the soot from the charcoal fire inside the bucket, it was unclear.
The cooks had already simmered the bone broth until it was piping hot, giving each person a large bowl, which they then soaked in naan bread—a decent breakfast. The captain even had a bowl of fragrant offal soup. As for the senior officers, they naturally had their own stoves to make beef soup and the like. Although they were all soups, the class distinctions were clearly evident.
Qin Mo had considered emulating the egalitarianism of a successful regime, but found it utterly impractical in this world. Firstly, he lacked the grassroots cadres with corresponding policy ideas; instead, the ideology of imperial supremacy and master-servant supremacy prevailed. Every servant regarded him as king.
Since he was a beneficiary of the system, he should make the most of it. Qin Mo improved the original promotion system to make it fairer, more reasonable, and better suited to his future overseas expansion strategy.
As the army gradually broke camp and set off, the once bustling snow lake became deathly silent again. Only the old horse-drawn carriages remained forlornly on the earthen mound.
"My lord, why don't we go ahead of them?" Qing Ning had already packed up her tent. She originally planned to set off early to cross the Da Yuan army, but Dan Fengyan stopped her.
"The campsites along the way are all fixed. Even if we go ahead, we'll inevitably run into them again. It's better to follow behind and save our horses." Danfengyan was very rational. The snow was compacted where the army had passed, and the wheels would save a lot of energy. If they were to forge a path through the vast snowfield, even the best horse wouldn't be able to travel very far.
Qing Ning pouted, a rare sight, a sign of anger. She wasn't angry at Danfengyan, but at the head of the personal guards, whom she'd seen when Liu Renguang jumped down from the hoisting bucket. The man's face was flushed, a lewd grin on his face; it was clear he harbored ill intentions. She really didn't want to camp with them anymore.
Danfengyan understood that in this kind of weather, it was easy to get lost if you didn't follow the campsite. No matter which way you went, you would eventually meet at the campsite. Qingning had no choice but to urge the carriage on, heading north along the road cleared by the army.
For several days in a row, as if by prior agreement, the Da Yuan army would always reserve a good spot for them at their campsite on the snowy plains, and then set up their camp next to theirs. Dan Fengyan slept very comfortably for several nights in a row. But every night, Qing Ning would find that lewd head of the personal guards climbing up to the nearby hanging basket, looking around haphazardly with a long tube.
On one occasion, Qing Ning clearly heard Liu Doushang let out a lewd laugh, "Hehehe..." Her anger flared up, and she got up to fight the guy, but the "clattering" sound coming from the carriage immediately extinguished her anger. She could only silently curse the head of the guards and force herself to fall asleep by covering her ears.
Liu Renguang jumped down from the hoist again, happily heading towards Qin Mo's tent. He absolutely had to return the telescope. Then he could go back to his own sled and sleep soundly. Last night, he had finally seen Zhi Zi bathe. The eyesight of a Yellow Realm cultivator was incredibly sharp, and with a telescope like this, Liu Renguang was completely aroused and dizzy.
"Old Liu! Have you been using the telescope to your liking these past few days?" Waiting for him at the entrance of the main tent today was not only Kaihime, but also Crown Prince Qin Mo. Qin Mo had a smile on his face and spoke very gently, but Liu Renguang's heart was pounding with apprehension.
"This is a divine artifact. Young Master is indeed a genius. Our lord should prosper greatly." Liu Renguang respectfully returned the telescope to Kaihime, offering clumsy flattery.
"Hmm! Is that Tomoko pretty? Do you like her?"
“Naturally beautiful, I like it…” Liu Renguang was nervous and answered Qin Mo’s question without thinking. He started sweating profusely halfway through his sentence.
"Oh no, oh no, this is in the army! Spying on women bathing, what kind of crime is that? ... It can't be a capital offense, can it?" Liu Renguang thought to himself, and without saying anything, he simply lowered his head and knelt down, pretending to be a coward.
"What do you mean by this?...Hmm?" Qin Mo asked, but Liu Renguang did not answer.
"Well... you're a high-level cultivator, so where did you go wrong this time?" Qin Mo asked, but Liu Renguang didn't answer.
"It's quite common for a man to have three wives and four concubines. You prepare a dowry, and I'll ask Kaihime to act as your matchmaker. How about you take her as your concubine?" Qin Mo was amused by this guy's words. Liu Renguang was one of the elders left by his father, Qin Lan. He was over thirty and only had one wife... A poor official like him... Since things were like this, she might as well grant his wish.
"Thank you, young master. Thank you, young master. You are wise and extraordinary, and you will surely achieve great things...blah blah blah."
"Get lost. You can't learn anything else, but you're quick at flattery." Qin Mo lightly kicked him far away to prevent him from embarrassing himself in front of Kaihime.
Liu Renguang came to Kaihime's place to get a telescope several times in a row. Kaihime was wary and secretly hid near Liu Renguang in advance. She discovered Liu Renguang's secret: he always sticks the telescope out through the slit and looks in the same direction... How could he not be noticed?
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