Chapter 158: Zhen Bullies the Regent King
Having handled the day’s work with a bit of joy, Wei Wanlan curled up in the soft fox-fur blanket and took a nap on his own. He slept for a good two hours.
After the military council ended, the Regent King returned to the tent.
Through the translucent gauze curtains, Wei Wanlan saw a tall and straight figure. He pounced over very childishly:
“Wanwan strikes!”
Wei Wanlan actively burrowed into the scent of wood, but his forehead was poked by something unknown. He quickly moved away, rubbing his head and complaining:
“Wuu, Regent King, what hidden weapon did you bring…”
Su Jingzhi was dumbfounded. He shook the object in his hand; he had actually intended to show it to Wei Wanlan, but he hadn’t expected Little Wan to suddenly crash into his arms the moment he approached.
“Look, it’s a model.”
Su Jingzhi held a miniature Red Coat Cannon in his palm. Whether in shape or detail, it was exactly the same as the two ‘Brother Cannons’ Wei Wanlan had brought.
He said to Wei Wanlan, “This King had the military artisans rush this out this afternoon. There are also a few small pellets. I tried lighting gunpowder inside to propel them, but the thrust wasn’t enough.”
Wei Wanlanâs eyes sparkled. He looked at the model in Su Jingzhi’s hand, scrutinizing it as if pondering a toy. Why hadn’t he thought of the method of making a scale model for experiments?
The Regent King is so amazing.
Wei Wanlan nodded involuntarily, wanting to help the Regent King ponder it together. However, his little brain hadn’t spun twice before drowsiness struck again. He found that when he wanted to sleep, a wave of laziness would rise from his bones. He yawned and wanted to curl up to sleep again.
Su Jingzhi tucked the quilt tightly around Wei Wanlan. Seeing Little Wan moving his limbs inside the quilt, he found it adorable. Little Wanâs snow-white skin was flushed pink by the warm charcoal fire; he looked so tender and tempting that Su Jingzhi wanted to take a bite.
Su Jingzhiâs gaze shifted back to the cannon model and the Fire Dragon Manual.
…Actually, he had been a bit excessive some time ago.
He suspected that his unrestrained indulgence during those first two days of intimacy had caused Little Wan to look so tired recently.
So he placed his hand on Wei Wanlanâs dragon head, patting it to satisfy his craving, intending to let the little fool sleep well without continuing anything further.
He pressed a pellet into the cannon barrel.
Little Wan had said that cannons were actuated by gunpowder.
But that afternoon, he had filled it with gunpowder first, then loaded the cannonball. He had installed a fuse at the small hole on top of the barrel, imitating a firework’s wick. After lighting it, the pellet didn’t fly out; it rolled out.
So, the thrust was insufficient.
Gunpowder had never been used for military purposes in Great Wei before, so Su Jingzhi had no experience to reference. As for the reference book Little Wan gave him, it didn’t explain the working principle either. How exactly could the power of gunpowder be increased?
When Su Jingzhi thought about things, he always appeared very focused. Once immersed in a problem, his thoughts weren’t easily swayed. This meant that from the time he returned to the Golden Tent to sleep until late at night, his gaze remained focused on the cannon, figuring out six or seven plans to improve the gunpowder’s kinetic energy.
The training he received from the previous Great General Su included being thrown into the Armory and the Directorate for Armaments… Su Jingzhi wasn’t blindly guessing; he had some foundation after all. He planned to try them one by one tomorrow morning.
He was thinking about military affairs. Wei Wanlan woke up again, opened his eyes, and looked at him. He watched silently; it was hard not to like a serious man.
Bathed in the thin light filtering through the gauze curtains, Su Jingzhi was coated in a layer of golden shadow. Wei Wanlan liked the straight line of his nose, very sharp and decisive, revealing the sharpness unique to a generalâa temperament Wei Wanlan knew since childhood he could never possess.
He was still looking at that model cannon.
Amidst his gratification, a tiny bit of unhappiness suddenly floated up in Wei Wanlan’s heart. The cannon was important, but was it worth being so fascinated by it?
He twitched his ears, wanting to get close to Su Jingzhi. It was late; he wanted to urge him to sleep.
But the Regent King was hard to disturb, especially in the dead of night. He didn’t expect Wei Wanlan to wake up in the middle of the night to bother him.
The Regent King remained immovable as a mountain.
The little Emperor pouted, inexplicably developing hostility toward the cannon he had brought himself. Wei Wanlan quietly arched his back under the covers, his target: the model in Su Jingzhi’s hand.
He sprang up childishly, snatched the cannon away, fell back into the plush rug with his small face facing up, and lay grinning on the Regent Kingâs thigh:
“Strike again!!!”
The cannon was successfully captured by Wei Wanlan. Wei Wanlan could brag about this for half a year; he was surely the first person who could snatch something from the Regent Kingâs hands.
Viewing the ceiling of the Golden Tent from this angle, with its golden gauze curtains and exotic totems, was very interesting.
Viewing the Regent King from this angleâhis expression stunned, looking down at himself with a bit of helplessnessâwas even more interesting. The Regent King was being bullied.
Wei Wanlan lay on the bed amused, arching on Su Jingzhiâs leg, his eyes curving with laughter. As he laughed, he felt a sudden weight on his body. The Regent King leaned down, withdrew his leg, and wedged himself between Wei Wanlan’s legs to change position.
Su Jingzhi supported his body with his arms, saying nothing. He looked down at Wei Wanlan, his gaze wrapping around him, sixty or seventy percent gentle and lingering, revealing just a hint of danger that Wei Wanlan couldn’t detect.
Wei Wanlan felt hot under his gaze and looked away: “I’m telling you to sleep…” But at that moment, an arm squeezed in behind his thin back. Wei Wanlan twisted his body like a small fish caught in a net.
The Regent King scooped him up and weighed him.
The warmth and the woody scent made his head fuzzy, and he hummed incoherently.
His neck and cheeks were pecked with kisses by the other party. Wei Wanlan couldn’t help but soften into a puddle of water, completely melting inside the tent. His skin turned thoroughly pink, like a ripe fruit ready to be picked.
Wei Wanlan smiled at Su Jingzhi, his eyes and brows saying ‘I like you’. He heard Su Jingzhi plant a kiss by his ear, his voice mellow, tickling Wei Wanlan’s scalp until it tingled:
“Wanwan, is the wound on your back better?”
He didn’t know why the Regent King asked this. With no defenses, he answered naively:
“It’s healed…”
And in that instant, he was gently but firmly invaded by Su Jingzhi.
Wei Wanlanâs doe eyes slowly widened. He blinked and blinked, looking at the tent ceiling, realizing it belatedly.
Yes, doing the baby-making thing from the front QAQ.
Wuu.
His belly bulged up, and the tent began to shake too!!!
Su Jingzhi exercised restraint this time, so Wei Wanlan didn’t feel too much discomfort.
In the morning, Wei Wanlan was flipped over again for a back and waist massage. After the cloud and rain, he actually felt quite comfortable now. He was dressed in many layers by Su Jingzhi, looking like a fluffy little fox.
The little fox Wei Wanlan, holding hands with the big grey wolf Su Jingzhi, went to the military council tent without any attendants.
But on the way, Wei Wanlan suddenly craved thin-skinned shaomai. This delicacy was popular in the Turkic borderlands. Before work, the two took a detour out of the Khanâs Golden Tent area.
After the snow stopped, coupled with the relief supplies from the Wei army, and the fact that no war had broken out in the Royal Court, signs of human activity were gradually returning. Smoke curled up from the chimneys atop the felt tents, herdsmen walked outside, and red-cheeked children left laughter in their wake as they chased each other.
Wei Wanlan liked this feeling.
The little peace dove took a deep breath of the snow-scented air; his lungs felt cool.
The Regent King left for a moment; he carried silver needles to test for poison. There was a long queue outside the only felt tent selling shaomai in the Royal Court. Su Jingzhi, in disguise, stepped forward and stood in line with the Turkic men, waiting for the shaomai in the steamer to cook.
He also had to listen to the stall owner humming a song:
“The shaomai I sell is the best in Turkic lands; warriors who eat it can rival lions~”
The dignified Regent King found it unpleasant to listen to but had to endure.
The steaming mutton shaomai was wrapped in oil paper.
The Regent King held the food in his palm, having quietly tested it for poison, ready to feed Little Wan. Not seeing the person, he felt a bit nervous, but then he saw a crowd gathering not far away.
Little Wan loved to join in the fun. He followed and indeed found Wei Wanlan craning his neck to watch:
A herdsman was about to set off a hundred-thousand-cracker string!
Fireworks were rare items in the Turkic borderlands.
Let alone a firecracker string longer than a rug. Wei Wanlan blinked. The effect of the gibberish translator on him hadn’t faded; this item seemed to want to form a permanent plugin in his brain. He found he could still understand the Turkic language.
“Dawuti, can a hundred-thousand-cracker string shake all the prey out of the Chile River valley?”
“Don’t scare your little granddaughter, hahahaha…”
The Turkic people’s voices were deep and resonant; joking didn’t stop them from watching the novelty.
The old herdsman, Dawuti, had white hair and beard, wore a round beast-skin hat, and his rough hands were covered in purple frostbite. His beard curled up when he spoke, his voice aged:
“The Son of Heaven sent charcoal and herbal medicine, saving Mayila’s life.”
“I cannot go to the Golden Tent to offer thanks. I hope this auspicious sound will travel on the wind to the Son of Heaven’s ears.”
Some Turkic acquaintances discussed:
“Dawuti sold his deer to Lord Boluo in exchange for this string of firecrackers, saying he wanted good luck for when Mayila gets married. Mayila almost died in the snowstorm, such a beautiful girl.”
“Dawuti, if you offer Mayila to the Son of Heaven, she is so beautiful, maybe the Son of Heaven would be willing to see you!”
Eh, eh, eh!
How did Zhen get shot while lying down?
It was hard to say what Wei Wanlan’s mindset was right now. Should he say he had won the hearts of the people in the Turkic lands, or reflect on his reputation at the border regarding the offering of an imperial concubine?
He turned his head and bumped into the Regent King. He immediately felt guilty. Wei Wanlanâs nose tingled sourly. Looking up, he saw the Regent King holding the shaomai, watching him with a bad smile. Yes, his smile was a bit bad, as if saying:
“No one can please you better than This King.”
QAQ!
Stop thinking nonsense.
He took the oil paper package and wanted to run, but the crowd behind cheeredâthe firecrackers started.
The crackling sound of firecrackers attracted more Turkic people. Children who had been chasing each other, and women working outside their tents, all swarmed over. The wall of people piled up several layers deep, making it impossible for Wei Wanlan to escape.
So he abandoned his sense of shame, eating shaomai while watching the firecrackers, his ears covered by the Regent King.
The shaomai skin was thin and full of juice; he ate happily.
He seemed to be able to eat more and more lately; Wei Wanlan was reflecting on this a little. But it was common sense to need calories to resist the cold weather, so he didn’t think much of it, just controlling himself not to overeat.
The firecrackers rang out continuously. After listening for a long time, the sound felt like a rainstorm.
When the string was half burnt, a firecracker blasted some gravel from the snow. A sharp small stone shot toward Wei Wanlan like a cannonball, aiming right at his stomach.
Holding the shaomai with both hands, Wei Wanlan didn’t quite see what was attacking him. He lowered his head.
At that moment, his belly was protected by Su Jingzhi.
“…”
In that instant, Wei Wanlanâs heart palpitated. He inexplicably felt that the hand resting on his stomach seemed to form some connection with the inside of his body. He froze, his pupils meeting Dawuti’s apologetic smile.
Maybe because the Regent King’s palm had just been warmed by the shaomai?
Yes. Zhen was scalded by him.
Wei Wanlan turned his head and made a funny face at the Regent King. At this moment, he felt Su Jingzhiâs hand move away from his belly. Amidst the sound of firecrackers, he heard Su Jingzhi whispering, his voice rare and unable to hide his excitement:
“Little Wan, the Red Coat Cannon is about to be born.”
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