The Mute Wife Who Brings Prosperity-Chapter 466 - 434: Don’t You Think the Way You Talk Makes Me Lose Face?
Chu Xu couldn’t speak, he just pointed inside the hall, as if shocked by something in there.
Emperor Guangxi frowned, wanting to go in and take a look.
Old Marquis Lu stopped him, "Your Majesty, just in case, let this old minister go in first."
Emperor Guangxi did not agree, and turned his gaze to Song Wei, "You go."
Song Wei discreetly nodded at his master and stepped into the main hall.
Four paintings were spread open on the large writing desk, completely different from the upper layer. These four paintings depicted the exterior and internal structure of the statues on the back mountain of Fahua Temple.
The most ingenious part was that Abbot Cunxin’s figure was not a stone carving, but a clay shell overlaid with color, with distance and lighting making it appear as stone to Song Wei, who hadn’t seen it clearly before.
In fact, inside was a mechanical beast about the same size as Abbot Cunxin. The blueprint was located in its belly, but the mechanism was so intricate that forcibly smashing the shell without following the instructions in the drawing could unintentionally activate it, causing the mechanical beast to "awaken" and attack.
As to how to drive the mechanism to retrieve the blueprint, detailed instructions were provided in the drawings.
Outside, Chu Xu was already "mad," repeatedly exclaiming, "I’ve lived most of my life and never seen such an ingenious mechanism; it’s too amazing! Absolutely amazing! Who designed it? I must meet them!"
Emperor Guangxi ignored him automatically, instructing Mr. Cui to take care of the man to prevent him from doing anything truly outrageous in his excitement. He strode into the main hall.
Seeing Song Wei focused on the painting, Emperor Guangxi asked, "What is depicted in the painting?"
Song Wei lifted his head, his brow relaxed, "Congratulations to Your Majesty, the location of the blueprint and the method to retrieve it have been found."
Upon hearing this, Emperor Guangxi restrained the urge to rush over and quickened his pace towards the writing desk, where his eyes fixated on the scrolls and wouldn’t move away.
Especially the complete exterior diagram of the third mechanical beast made his emotions difficult to disguise, "Someone indeed designed such a divine weapon, truly a genius! A heaven-sent talent! Unfortunately, the Jin Dynasty’s monarch failed to recognize its value, leading to the Liu Family’s demise."
Song Wei said, "Without the Liu Family’s fall, there wouldn’t be today’s Great Chu."
Emperor Guangxi glanced at Song Wei, "What are you trying to say this time?"
With the blueprint found, Song Wei wasn’t afraid of Emperor Guangxi turning hostile, "Your Majesty, forgive my frankness; the Lu Family is valuable to our dynasty, immensely valuable."
"In your opinion, should I bestow more titles on Old Marquis Lu, or should I bring Lu Xingzhou back to continue being the War God?"
Hearing the sarcasm in his words, Song Wei was silent for a moment before speaking again, "In my humble opinion, the mechanical beast is now of utmost importance. Your Majesty should establish a new department to give Old Marquis Lu a legitimate reason to lead his people in creating divine weapons."
Seeing Emperor Guangxi hesitate, Song Wei continued, "Of course, if Your Majesty doesn’t trust Old Marquis Lu or the Lu Family, you can recruit a new group of talents to build the mechanical beasts."
Emperor Guangxi’s eyes stayed on the painting; this was just one mechanical beast. Its complex mechanism and wonderful use were awe-inspiring. If the full set in the blueprint were built, Great Chu’s unification of the world would be a matter of time.
Any emperor dreams of conquering the world; Emperor Guangxi was no exception. After a moment of deep thought, he reconciled with the Lu Family and the mechanical beast, "Alright, as you say, the Divine Soldier Bureau will be established from today. Lu Feng will be the Chief of the Divine Soldier Order, and you’ll be the Minister. Supervise the crafting of the mechanical beasts strictly; no mistakes are allowed!"
Song Wei kneeled to thank him, "I won’t disappoint Your Majesty’s high expectations."
——
With the emperor’s decree, Great Chu had a new bureau—the Divine Soldier Bureau.
All internal personnel signed confidentiality agreements, vowing not to disclose anything about the mechanical beasts. They only told outsiders it was for the emperor’s research into new weapons.
The common people wouldn’t concern themselves with what kind of weapons were being made; they just knew the Hanlin Official was once again in favor.
Not only the commoners, but Song Wei’s colleagues at the Hanlin Academy also discussed it.
As soon as the emperor established the Divine Soldier Bureau, Song Wei was promoted to Minister.
Those with good mindsets were happy for him, thinking they now had a big shot to cling to.
Those with bad mindsets were displeased, incredibly displeased!
Especially those who entered the Hanlin Academy before Song Wei and were still enduring a hard wait, their eyes turned red like fierce rabbits, and jealousy bubbled in their stomachs when they saw Song Wei, greeting him with sarcastic remarks.
Song Wei didn’t mind anyone. He wrapped up his work at the Hanlin Academy, bid farewell to a few good colleagues, and moved to the Divine Soldier Bureau.
The blueprint had been retrieved and was temporarily in his custody.
The late Emperor left Old Marquis Lu with twelve secret people, and they were all brought in, currently preparing materials for building the mechanical beasts.
After seeing the mechanical beast, Chu Xu became extremely mad, and Emperor Guangxi originally wanted to deal with him, but Song Wei stopped him.
Emperor Guangxi said, "This madman, if he lets slip the secret of the mechanical beast, it will surely spell disaster for the Divine Soldier Bureau."
Song Wei was indeed worried about Chu Xu talking randomly, but he didn’t agree to simply dispose of him, "Chu Xu is skilled in Deinking, as skillful as the Illusion Technique. Such a talented and different sort of individual, why not keep him nearby for future needs?"
Emperor Guangxi didn’t speak, obviously hearing somewhat of what he said.
Song Wei continued to advise, "I believe there are more talented individuals in the world than just him. If Your Majesty can gather these people, they could be of great use in the future."
Emperor Guangxi thought it over and found some rationale, nodding in agreement, "You really have the knack for clever ideas; alright, let’s do that. Keep Chu Xu, but how will you ensure he doesn’t spill the truth when drunk?"
"We won’t let him drink."
"Are you kidding? Telling a chronic drunkard not to drink?"
"Chu Xu drinks because he’s troubled. Solve his case, and he’ll become a normal person."
Emperor Guangxi rubbed his temples, "The case will first be handed to the Ministry of Justice. If they can’t find anything, I’ll have the Jinyi Guard investigate."
Once the Jinyi Guard takes action, they won’t return without bloodshed.
It showed the emperor’s anger towards the case of two Chiefs of Staff embezzling public funds.
Song Wei was about to leave when something came to mind, "About the assassination attempt on the Eldest Prince, I heard Shuntian Prefecture hasn’t caught the culprit. Should this case be transferred to the Ministry of Justice too?"
The emperor who had been smiling before immediately changed his expression, his brows heavy, "The Eldest Prince’s case doesn’t fall under your jurisdiction as Minister, you don’t need to meddle."
Song Wei suspected Emperor Guangxi might be using Balancing Skill, not wanting Zhao Xi’s family to grow too powerful, so even though he knew it was related to Princess Consort Duan, he planned to go easy on this case, turning a blind eye.
——
When Song Wei was leaving the palace, he ran into Zhao Xi and Song Yuanbao, who were just returning from the training ground.
"Father." Song Yuanbao called out from a distance.
Song Wei walked over, seeing the two soaked in sweat, "Did you go to the training ground?"
"Yes." Song Yuanbao nodded, then gazed intently at Song Wei, "I’ve heard the Divine Soldier Bureau is very mysterious. Now that you’re the Minister, can you take me in to have a look?"
"That place is very strict." Song Wei said, "Only internal personnel and the emperor are allowed in; if you truly are interested in the Divine Soldier Bureau, work hard to replace your old man and become the Minister yourself; then you can see whatever you want."
"I’m just a scholar! How could I possibly replace you?" Song Yuanbao scratched his head in frustration, "I guess I’ll look for another job. It’s unethical to fight with you for a job."
Song Wei eyed him, "What unethical things have you not done?"
Thinking of Zhao Xi standing beside him, Song Yuanbao kept giving his father looks, asking him to spare his face and not expose his dirty secrets in front of the Eldest Prince.
Song Wei understood his son’s hints, silently laughed, and was about to let it go when Zhao Xi suddenly spoke, "I’m curious, besides your misconduct in the palace, what other immoral things has Song Hao done outside it? Can Minister Song explain?"
Hearing this, Song Yuanbao felt like he wanted to vomit blood, his handsome face turning bitter, "Your Highness, don’t you think saying that makes me lose face?"
Zhao Xi curved his lips slightly, "When have you had face in front of me?"
After speaking, he looked at Song Wei again.
Song Wei found it amusing to see Song Yuanbao defeated, and replied to Zhao Xi, "Nothing much; I just want him to dismiss his future father and mother-in-law properly when he goes home next time."
Song Yuanbao: "..."
Zhao Xi: "..."
