The Mute Wife Who Brings Prosperity-Chapter 453 - 421: The Mechanical Beast That Shook the World

Chapter 453: Chapter 421: The Mechanical Beast That Shook the World

The young man in purple was none other than Eldest Prince Zhao Xi.

He left the palace today to ask the head of the Ministry of Revenue, Elder Qi, for help in designing and forging a hidden weapon.

Elder Qi was introduced to him by Song Yuanbao.

Seeing Song Yuanbao’s shamelessly content demeanor, Zhao Xi withdrew his gaze and looked away.

Soon after, a neatly dressed guard appeared at the alley entrance, approached, and reported to Zhao Xi, "I have inquired thoroughly. Elder Qi is indeed a Mechanical Master, but he is somewhat eccentric. No matter how much money is offered, he will refuse to design what he doesn’t want to."

Upon hearing the guard’s report, Zhao Xi remembered when he handed over his sketched blueprints to Elder Qi for review, who merely glanced at them briefly before rejecting them, saying Zhao Xi’s request was too simple and he didn’t intend to waste time.

At first, Zhao Xi was puzzled. He had spent months pondering those blueprints, and even the commander of the Royal Weapon Camp had praised them profusely. How could they become useless scraps in Elder Qi’s hands?

It wasn’t until Song Yuanbao accidentally touched a mechanical beast covered with drapery by Elder Qi that Zhao Xi was stunned and suddenly understood why Elder Qi dismissed his design.

In all his years, Zhao Xi had never seen anything so exquisitely crafted, utilizing mechanical principles to combine seemingly ordinary materials, making them move autonomously and even attack people if operated properly.

At that moment, Zhao Xi thought that if such a thing could be magnified tenfold, twentyfold, or even larger, and deployed on the battlefield, the soldiers of Great Chu could reduce casualties and greatly increase the chances of victory.

Before leaving, Elder Qi told him, "Young man, when your men find a more complex mechanical beast diagram, you can see this old person again, no need to hurry."

With those words, it was clear that the elder had long known his identity as a Prince.

...

The two boarded the carriage in succession, driven by a guard.

As they were about to leave the alley, Zhao Xi lifted the curtain and glanced in the direction of Elder Qi’s residence, then lowered the curtain and turned to Song Yuanbao, "I didn’t send anyone to look for any diagram. What exactly did Elder Qi mean by that?"

Song Yuanbao pondered and asked, "Could it be your father...father?"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Xi fell into contemplation.

Before today, he had never seen a mechanical beast, but he had read historical records about a Liu family specializing in designing mechanical weapons during the Jin Dynasty, at a time when their country was invaded by foreign enemies. The Emperor then invited the head of the Liu Family into the palace for design. They ultimately turned the tide with their powerful weapons, achieving victory against overwhelming odds.

Unfortunately, due to the Emperor’s excessive suspicion and fear that the Liu Family might rebel in the future, he killed them off mercilessly.

There was another version of the story—

Having witnessed the prowess of mechanical weapons, the Emperor attempted to claim them for himself, forcing the Liu Family to hand over all diagrams. When the family head refused, they were exterminated. Those diagrams might have been shattered with the Liu Family or possibly scattered among the populace.

At this thought, Zhao Xi began to wonder if his father had truly ordered a secret search for the Weapon Diagram.

But it’s been several hundred years since the Jin Dynasty; how could they still be found?

...

Under the seat, Xue Yinhuan was sweating, having never expected to accidentally board Eldest Prince Zhao Xi’s carriage.

Even more unexpected was that the Eldest Prince would leave the palace today.

The hidden compartment was cramped and uncomfortable, making it difficult for Xue Yinhuan to catch her breath, forcing her to keep her breathing light.

Through the small square hole in the front panel of the hidden compartment, she vaguely saw the hem of a robe hanging down from the seat above, luxurious purple embroidered with dark silver threads, and from her angle, Xue Yinhuan could see the twinkling glimmer.

The carriage continued moving forward.

Xue Yinhuan had been stifled in the hidden compartment for quite some time, starting to feel dizzy and lightheaded.

Fortunately, the driver was skillful, preventing her from fainting on the spot. She should manage to hold on until they reach the Imperial City Gate.

Xue Yinhuan was contemplating how to sneak out unnoticed when she suddenly realized the two people speaking inside the carriage had fallen silent. Now, apart from the sound of wheels outside, it was so quiet inside you could hear a pin drop.

She tried to hold her breath to avoid revealing herself but didn’t expect Zhao Xi to suddenly light incense.

The scent immediately hit her nose, causing slight discomfort.

Having been cramped in the hidden compartment for so long, Xue Yinhuan naturally couldn’t bear it. She held back, held back again, but ultimately couldn’t help it, letting out a sneeze.

Startled by her own sneeze, she turned pale and listened intently, realizing the carriage interior was still silent.

Moments later, the young Prince’s low voice penetrated the space, "Won’t come out? Do you need me to personally invite you?"

Song Yuanbao clicked his tongue, "This assassin has hidden too incompetently."

Without looking at Zhao Xi, Xue Yinhuan could imagine his cool and penetrating gaze.

She bit her lip and whispered, "You two need to make way first, so I can come out."

Yuanbao was even more intrigued, "It’s actually a female assassin?"

Zhao Xi said nothing, stood up, and stepped aside.

The incense lit earlier had a miraculous effect of making one’s entire body weak. Both he and Yuanbao had taken the antidote in advance and had nothing to worry about, but as for the person in the secret compartment, no matter how good her skills were, she wouldn’t be able to exert any strength once she came out.

Xue Yinhuan pulled open the sliding door of the secret compartment and struggled to climb out, only to find herself weak all over.

She tried her best to stand, but halfway up, she fell forward.

No one reached out to catch her.

Zhao Xi was never going to do that; he simply sidestepped to avoid her.

Yuanbao didn’t dare to do so either; he had already seen that the woman hiding in the carriage was none other than Xue Yinhuan. There was no need to wonder, she must have come for His Highness. She had her mind set on His Highness, and if he reached out to catch her, there might inevitably be physical contact, which was not appropriate.

Thus, the two youth, dressed in their elegant attire, just watched as the fair beauty fell flat onto the ground.

Xue Yinhuan’s chin hit the floor, causing her to inhale sharply from the pain, yet she remained conscious. At this moment, she regretted not listening to her aunt’s advice to continue shopping, otherwise she wouldn’t be in such a troublesome situation.

Before she could finish reflecting, Zhao Xi’s emotionless gaze had already swept over her, "Kicking the shuttlecock at me the first time was an accident, meeting under the ancient locust tree the second time was a coincidence, Miss Xue, what is the reason for this third encounter?"

"I..."

Xue Yinhuan felt a sense of powerlessness, unable to argue.

After a while, she spoke with a quiet voice, "If I said this time was also a coincidence, would Your Highness believe me?"

Zhao Xi commanded the guard driving the carriage outside to stop, instructing Xue Yinhuan, "Get off the carriage!"

Xue Yinhuan had just breathed a sigh of relief intending to leave, when she remembered something and had to look back at Zhao Xi, "Earlier, I was being chased and assassinated, and thanks to His Highness’s rescue, I am deeply grateful. However, do you think... that you could continue being a good person and send me out of this street? I will certainly get off at the street’s entrance and not trouble Your Highness further."

"Get off the carriage!" Zhao Xi’s voice was colder than before.

Xue Yinhuan had no choice but to cast a pleading glance at Yuanbao.

Yuanbao shrugged, "His Highness only knows interest exchanges, not romantic entanglements. If you want to stay, that’s fine, but you’ll have to pay something in return, right?"

This was essentially giving her an opportunity.

Xue Yinhuan immediately grasped the key point, "You mentioned Elder Qi earlier, I know him."

Zhao Xi’s brows slightly raised.

Xue Yinhuan explained, "He is a friend of my grandfather’s and sometimes visits our house for drinks. Once I delivered wine to them and overheard Elder Qi say something."

"What did he say?" Zhao Xi asked.

Xue Yinhuan said, "Unless Your Highness agrees to send me out of this street, I have no reason to disclose this information."

Zhao Xi chuckled lightly, "I underestimated you."

Seeing her press her lips tightly, refusing to speak further, he finally relented, "Go ahead."

Xue Yinhuan pointed to herself, "Your Highness poisoned me."

Zhao Xi gestured with his eyes for Yuanbao to give her the antidote.

Xue Yinhuan struggled to take it, and after swallowing the antidote and confirming she could move freely, she leaned against the side wall, crouched down, and recounted what she had heard.

"Elder Qi said he has been waiting for the Divine Weapon to appear."

"Divine Weapon?" Yuanbao pursued, "What Divine Weapon?"

Xue Yinhuan recalled carefully, "He was quite drunk, and I couldn’t clearly discern whether he said Liu or Liu family. My grandfather also didn’t understand and just assumed he was speaking nonsense."

At this, she nervously looked up at Zhao Xi, "Does this help Your Highness?"

Zhao Xi remained silent.

He again recalled the situation earlier with Elder Qi. Elder Qi had mentioned the existence of a more formidable mechanical beast. Could it be that the Liu Family Divine Weapon is actually a massive mechanical beast that would shock the world?

Could it be that the diagram wasn’t destroyed when the Liu clan was annihilated, but was preserved intact?

Considering this potential, combined with the secret search for the diagram by some members of the Imperial Family, Zhao Xi realized he had some calculations to make.