Chapter 26 The Prince's Failed Rebellion
He Fei didn't care about the speed of paving the road, but the third prince was thinking that he had already been flattering his second brother, so he didn't mind flattering him again. He also had to pave the road from the imperial mausoleum to the capital before the emperor's birthday.
He Fei only has a hundred men in total.
The Third Prince asked expectantly, "Sixth brother, can you ask the Imperial Guards to come and do the work?"
He Fei firmly disagreed. "Third brother, no, the Imperial Guards are all a bunch of playboys in the barracks now, they won't do it."
Then there is no one left?
At current market prices, the government paid one hundred copper coins per day for a laborer, plus two liters of rice. This translated to a daily cost of approximately one hundred and twenty-five coins per worker. Of course, recruiting workers from the public was much cheaper, costing only forty to fifty coins, but rice was usually not included.
However, as they were princes and royal family members with noble status, they naturally could not bring themselves to employ private individuals, so they finally decided to hire workers through the government.
The Third Prince personally supervised the construction work at the site, while He Fei focused on improving the construction tools. After some hard work, he successfully created a human-powered cement mixer and a bucket truck for convenient material transportation.
When He Fei asked Jia Jia to pay, the amount was not much, only eight hundred taels, less than two silver taels, but why did he ask her to pay the silver?
They worked at full speed and finally completed the road the day before the Emperor's birthday.
The Wude Envoy reported, "Your Majesty, Prince Jing and the Third Prince have completed the road. The Ministry of Works has sent a total of one hundred laborers to this project. To celebrate your birthday, they are working overtime to speed up the process and have hired an additional two hundred laborers to work on it."
The emperor frowned slightly, a look of surprise on his face, and asked, "Who pays these workers? And how are they paid? Is it according to the official employment standards, or is it determined through private recruitment?"
The Wude Envoy standing nearby hurriedly stepped forward and bowed, replying, "Your Majesty, as far as I know, the wages for this road construction project are being paid for by Prince Jing. The specific payment method is based on the official employment regulations. As for the silver, it is the Lin'an County Lady who is responsible for the expenditure."
Hearing this, the emperor couldn't help but sneer and said with a hint of sarcasm: "Humph! How could my unfortunate brother be so obedient? There's no doubt that this was not his doing."
The Emperor was all too familiar with his only sibling. Knowing him well, he knew he would never rush to build a road just for his birthday. In the Emperor's mind, the only person truly capable of such a move was his third brother. It was a helpless situation, a situation in which he blamed himself and his mother for their excessive pampering, allowing him to become this arrogant and vain person. He had been punished to guard the imperial mausoleum for his previous misdeeds, and after finally recovering from his illness, he had returned to wandering the streets, showing no signs of restraint.
After a brief pause, the emperor immediately asked, "So, regarding this road that's under construction, have you personally gone to inspect it?"
The Martial Virtue Envoy quickly nodded and replied, "Your Majesty, I did visit the construction site for a quick look, but I'm not entirely sure what's going on. The Prince mentioned that this is a project that will benefit both the nation and the people. If the road can be successfully completed, not only will the cost be relatively low, but the quality will also be exceptional. I witnessed with my own eyes that the materials used in the construction are a mixture of mud, sand, stone, and a mysterious powder developed by Prince Jing called 'cement.' It's said that this mixture makes the road exceptionally solid and strong."
When the emperor heard this, he wanted to go check it out immediately, but he had promised his brother that he would go check it out tomorrow, so he waited another day.
The Wude Envoy continued, "Prince Jing and the Third Prince are currently outside the city walls and haven't come in. They've asked me to ask Your Majesty if they can stay in the capital for one night and celebrate the Emperor's birthday tomorrow before returning to the Imperial Mausoleum."
The emperor asked, "Is Lin'an also waiting outside the city?"
The Wudesi Envoy nodded.
"Tell them to return to their own houses and not to wander around, lest the censor report them."
"yes"
As soon as He Fei heard the emperor's oral order from the Wude Secretary, he directly pulled Jia Jia into the city.
He took Jiajia to see the lantern festival first, and then returned home.
The best time to watch the lanterns is at night. It’s not night yet, so let’s go to the restaurant first.
He Fei chose a restaurant that provided accommodation and meals.
He Fei had been paving the cement road and was covered in dirt. After taking a bath and washing up, he saw Jia Jia had also finished washing up. When He Fei saw Jia Jia, his eyes widened.
A single smile makes her look charming, and all the beauties in the palace pale in comparison.
He Fei looked at her and whispered in her ear: "Jia Jia, I really want to lock you up so that others can't see your beauty."
Zhang Xiaojia rolled her eyes at him and said, "Your Highness, can you take me to see the lanterns?"
The whole street is decorated with bright lights, and the stalls on both sides are closely connected. Various kinds of aromas are intertwined and filled with intoxicating fragrance. The noisy and lively scene is overwhelming.
Zhang Xiaojia was here for fun. Not only did she take He Fei for a stroll, she also pulled him in to join in the fun of guessing lantern riddles, explaining to He Fei seriously:
"These riddles were created by renowned scholars and candidates from the capital. Without a certain level of knowledge, it would be difficult to guess them. You might as well give it a try."
He Fei shook his head like a rattle.
Zhang Xiaojia said enthusiastically: "Since we are here, how can we not give it a try?"
He Fei was determined not to try. He thought to himself, Jia Jia had just paid the money. If he couldn't guess, Jia Jia would definitely make him sleep on the floor. Moreover, he knew that apart from invention, he could master everything else without a teacher, especially ancient literature, which he had no mastery of at all.
"Really not trying?"
“Don’t try!”
Seeing He Fei's firm attitude, Zhang Xiaojia had to put the sign back with a hint of regret.
The soft light spread out, reflecting Jia Jia's beautiful face like a lotus. In an instant, He Fei felt that even the light of the lantern had become softer and warmer.
"Brother He, I want that King of Lanterns, please give it to me," Zhang Xiaojia said coquettishly.
He Fei immediately said, "Jia Jia, let me try."
Guessing lantern riddles also has its own unique rules.
Participants who receive a lantern riddle and successfully solve it must write their answer on the back, and the riddle becomes theirs. The person who solves the most lantern riddles within half an hour has a chance to win the largest lantern, the King of Lanterns. This highly anticipated prize is highly coveted.
However, there is only one Lantern King, so every contestant must do their best to win. Guessing lantern riddles not only tests one's cultural background, but also involves a certain amount of luck.
In fact, throughout the entire process, He Fei just followed Zhang Xiaojia obediently. Most of the time, it was Zhang Xiaojia who guessed the riddles, and He Fei only occasionally rushed to answer when he knew the answer, in order to show off his intelligence.
Zhang Xiaojia noticed that there was a lantern hanging next to it, and under the lantern was a sign, which was obviously a riddle that had not yet been guessed.
She stepped forward and gently took it off.
He Fei also came over and read: "The moon is above the treetops, we meet after dusk, guess the zodiac sign?"
Guess a zodiac sign... He Fei quickly thought about the twelve zodiac signs one by one, and finally reluctantly gave an answer:
"Is it a monkey?"
"Whether it's right or not, what does it matter?" Zhang Xiaojia asked back.
He Fei pointed at the sign and said, "If it's not right, then you got it for nothing, right?"
"I didn't take this sign so you can win the King of Lights."
He Fei didn't understand this. They had been guessing all this time just for the ultimate victory, so why didn't they want to win now?
Zhang Xiaojia saw that he was frowning and looked confused, and smiled slightly, but she didn't put the sign back, but just held it tightly in her palm.
“I just think this sentence is beautiful.”
"How is it beautiful?"
Zhang Xiaojia held the note gently in the palm of her hand, afraid that she would accidentally damage it.
She softly recited the beautiful handwriting above again: "The moon is above the treetops, and we make appointments after dusk. You silly boy, I want to spend my whole life with you, making appointments after dusk, don't you?" Every word seemed to carry endless tenderness and love, like a warm spring breeze gently blowing through her heart.
After finishing the reading, Zhang Xiaojia slowly raised her head and looked straight at He Fei. Her black and white eyes clearly reflected He Fei's tall and straight figure. He just stood there quietly, the light falling on him.
He Fei pursed his lips, suppressing the joy in his heart, and finally did nothing. He just held Jia Jia's hand tightly, afraid that he would be frivolous to Jia Jia in the crowd, afraid that he would make the world look down on her.
Afterwards, they met the emperor, and Zhang Xiaojia knew that the King of Lanterns was pregnant. After all, his cousin was very talented, and an hour passed quickly.
Zhang Xiaojia and He Fei ate and drank along the way. In the middle, Zhang Xiaojia's sudden emotional confession made He Fei keep thinking of various postures in his mind, which delayed them for a lot of time. In fact, they didn't solve many puzzles.
However, the emperor is different. He and his subordinates have many mysteries to solve.
Adding all things together, naturally, this King of Lanterns is hers.
Zhang Xiaojia was particularly proud after getting the King of Lanterns. It took many people's efforts to finally lift such a big King of Lanterns. Zhang Xiaojia held it in his hand easily. The emperor twitched his mouth and was speechless. It was quite strange that a woman who was so beautiful but looked so fragile was holding a King of Lanterns that required several men to lift.
He Fei was actually feeling uncomfortable, so he said directly, "Jia Jia, I can also make lanterns, and I can make a better lantern king than this one. Just wait, after the Emperor's birthday, I'll make you ten or a hundred."
Jiajia and the emperor looked over, and He Fei said unconvincedly: "Jiajia, this lantern king is not as good as mine. Give me a few days, and I will definitely make you a better-looking lantern king."
Zhang Xiaojia nodded, suppressing his smile, "Of course, my prince, of course he can do it. My prince is the best."
He Fei's ears turned red.
The emperor's skin crawled. Is there something wrong with these two? They've been married for four or five years. Could they please stop being so corny? He'd just been out for a stroll today, as per his customary schedule, when these two unfortunate siblings were forced to solve lantern riddles. At first, the emperor found it amusing and stopped to watch. As time went on, the sweet talk between the young couple became more frequent, their actions more intimate, and the emperor felt uneasy. Now, they were so annoying that he didn't even want to eat his midnight snack.
The emperor was too lazy to pay attention to these two idiots. He didn't even bother to say hello and went back to the palace directly. Next time he left the palace, he would stay away from these two idiots.
Zhang Xiaojia turned around and looked: "Where's my cousin?"
He Fei knew that the emperor had left, and he curled his lips and said, "He's back to the palace. I guess there are some things he didn't finish?"
"My cousin is so hard-working, he has to work overtime so late!"
"That's right! If you know you haven't finished your work, then don't come out and play and be a light bulb."
Zhou Panni sat leisurely on the second floor of the restaurant, casually scanning the bustling crowd below. Suddenly, her sight was drawn to a familiar figure—it was none other than the Princess of Lin'an! She was dressed in a gorgeous dress, smiling broadly as she conversed with Prince Jing.
Zhou Panni was delighted and was about to call the county lady upstairs to join them for a drink and fun. However, at this moment, a sharp, hawk-like gaze suddenly shot towards her. Her heart trembled, and she followed that gaze and found that it was He Fei! At this moment, He Fei's eyes were extremely sharp, as if they could penetrate a person's soul.
Zhou Panni was instantly hushed, the cry on the tip of her tongue swallowed back. She knew He Fei's intentions tonight; he would never allow anyone to stand between him and Jia Jia and act as a third wheel. Anyone else who didn't matter should just get the hell out of here!
Thinking of this, Zhou Panni shook her head helplessly and could only watch He Fei and Jia Jia walk away. He Fei first led Jia Jia to a small ice cream shop and carefully selected the most delicious flavor for her. They then walked hand in hand into a wine shop and tasted the sweet and mellow wine.
The two of them happily arrived at an open space, ready to watch a spectacular iron flower show. He Fei generously offered a thousand taels of silver, allowing the owner of the trading house to set off dazzling fireworks over the entire capital. For a moment, the night sky was ablaze with vibrant fireworks, adorning the bustling capital with a dreamlike atmosphere. He Fei and Jia Jia bathed in this dazzling light, their smiles growing ever sweeter...
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