Song Tiancheng’s eyes were ready to split.
“Ning Chen, you vile, shameless, scheming little cur. Iā I won’t let you go even as a ghost.”
He had meant to take five thousand men and finish Ning Chen off.
He had given himself three days.
If he had not caught up in three days he would turn back, because after three days he would be too close to the Great Xuan frontier.
What he had not counted on was that Ning Chen had laid an ambush long before.
He was the Prince Regent of Wu. His power stood no lower than the woman emperor’s.
To die like this ā he could not accept it.
Ning Chen stood up and smiled. “Then go be a ghost!”
The words ended, and the blade rose and fell.
From that day on, Wu had no Prince Regent.
Ning Chen had the army make camp where it stood.
They waited seven full days.
On that day Yuan Long came to report that a small body of Wu troops was moving toward them.
Ning Chen’s face lit up. He stood. “At last!”
“My lord marquis knew someone was coming?”
Ning Chen smiled. “Come. Ride out with me to receive the woman emperor of Wu.”
The one who came was indeed the woman emperor.
She had brought a hundred-odd men in all.
Ning Chen welcomed her into the great tent.
Once they were seated Ning Chen poured her a cup of tea and could not stop himself from saying, “You’re carrying a child. Ride as little as you can from now on.”
“This emperor’s affairs are none of your business!”
Ning Chen: “…”
“Just because I got rid of the Prince Regent for you, you think you’re something again?”
“I’m telling you now ā if anything goes wrong with my son, I’ll string you up and beat you.”
The woman emperor’s face darkened with anger.
“Song Tiancheng is dead?”
Ning Chen nodded. “You’re ruthless enough, I’ll give you that ā killing off every last one of Song Tiancheng’s family.”
The woman emperor looked at him. “And if it had been you?”
“Me? I’m a soft-hearted man… I’d probably have taken his family to the ninth degree of kin.”
The woman emperor shot him a glare.
Ning Chen grinned. “Is the situation steady now?”
The woman emperor gave a slight nod.
She had taken seven days over it: killing whoever had to be killed, punishing whoever had to be punished, closing an iron and bloody hand around every part of Song Tiancheng’s power.
Now all of Wu was in her grasp.
Song Tiancheng was not merely dead; he had died with his name blackened.
The woman emperor had listed eighteen great crimes against him and proclaimed them to the realm, and every one of them was punishable to the ninth degree of kin.
One of them was that Song Tiancheng had murdered an envoy, wrecked the peace talks, and given no thought at all to the lives of the common people.
That one did more than steady the hearts of the people. It also made certain the talks could go on.
The woman emperor said quietly, “Wu has fought year after year. The treasury is empty and the people have no way to live… At last we can rest and recover for a few years.”
Ning Chen smiled faintly. “Want to make some money?”
The woman emperor looked at him, hiding nothing, and gave a slight nod. “Wu is desperately short of silver right now!”
Ning Chen laughed. “If there are going to be peace talks, there will have to be trade… We’re husband and wife of one mind. How about we go into partnership and make our money off Great Xuan?”
“Great Xuan is rich. They say the cords that string the copper coin in the treasury have rotted through… When the Xuan Emperor rewards a minister, he hands out hundreds or thousands of gold with a flick of the wrist.”
The woman emperor frowned. “Who is husband and wife with you?”
The corner of Ning Chen’s mouth twitched. “Isn’t your attention wandering off the point? We were talking about money… Besides, it’s my child you’re carrying. If we’re not husband and wife, what are we? Am I just the man you sleep with?”
The woman emperor’s face fell. “Youā”
Ning Chen smiled. “This is my camp, you know. Not long ago somebody suggested I take the chance to seize you, force Wu to surrender, and swallow Wu up while I was at it.”
“You dared come to see me alone. That shows you do trust me.”
Ning Chen got up, went over, sat down beside the woman emperor, and put an arm around her waist.
The woman emperor’s body went stiff, and on instinct she was about to drive an elbow into him.
“Don’t squirm. You’ll disturb the pregnancy… And if you want to make money, behave yourself.”
The woman emperor lowered her arm and glared at him viciously.
“I want muskets.”
Ning Chen shook his head. “No. If muskets show up in Wu, suspicion falls on me… You’d be murdering your own husband.”
The woman emperor’s willow brows drew together. “We may have stopped fighting Great Xuan, but the war with the Tuoluo Kingdom still has to be fought… Tuoluo’s cavalry move very fast, and Wu’s soldiers are at a disadvantage there. With muskets it would be a different matter!”
Ning Chen laughed. “A musket is powerful, but it loads too slowly… I have something else ready for you. Powerful, and fast!”
“You don’t need to worry too much about Tuoluo. Once my hands are free I’ll wipe the Tuoluo Kingdom out… They dare bully my wife? If I don’t beat the shit out of him, it’ll only mean he’d already shat himself empty.”
The woman emperor shot him a glare.
“What is this fast, powerful thing you just mentioned?”
Ning Chen leaned his face in. “Give me a kiss and I’ll tell you!”
The woman emperor said angrily, “Don’t push it too far!”
“We’ve already been to bed. Is one kiss going too far?”
“Youā”
The woman emperor was so angry she was grinding her teeth. She glanced behind her, made sure there was nobody there, and only then kissed Ning Chen quickly on the face.
Ning Chen’s heart broke into flower. What was more satisfying than taming the ruler of a kingdom, a little at a time?
Then he took out a drawing and handed it to the woman emperor.
The woman emperor opened it and looked. “What is this?”
“A compound bow. It shoots fast, it hits hard, and it takes almost no strength to draw.”
“I’ve written down how to make it and how to put it together. It’s easy to build.”
The woman emperor tucked the drawing away inside her clothes and warned him, “If you dare deceive me, you’ll answer for it.”
Ning Chen gave a wicked grin. “How could I deceive my own wife?”
The woman emperor kept her face straight and said nothing. She was used to Ning Chen’s nonsense by now.
“You said something about making money. How?”
Ning Chen took out three more drawings and handed them to the woman emperor.
The woman emperor picked them up. “Glass, fine salt, toothpaste… What does this mean?”
Ning Chen smiled. “Glass is a clear substance, like a fine glaze. It can be set into a window ā it keeps the wind out without shutting out the light ā and it can be made into vases, tableware, that kind of thing… It’s simple to make, and I’ve written the method on there.”
“Wu produces salt, but your salt all comes in big lumps and it’s far too coarse… With my method you can make salt as fine and white as sand.”
“As for toothpaste, it’s for brushing your teeth, and there’s a toothbrush to go with it. I’ve written down how to make both.”
“Once these are being made, they can be sold to Great Xuan. I guarantee that the moment they exist there will be no trouble selling them, and the money will come rolling in.”
The woman emperor’s eyes lit up. She put the drawings away and asked curiously, “How do you know so many strange, outlandish things?”
Ning Chen laughed. “I’m not from your world. I come from another one.”
The woman emperor: “???”
Ning Chen asked, “You don’t believe me?”
The woman emperor said sourly, “Believe you… believe my foot. Are you taking this emperor for a fool?”
Ning Chen’s face was all resignation. These days you told the truth and nobody believed you.
“Marquis Ning. That’s enough, isn’t it?”
“What is?”
“Your hand… Do you think this emperor won’t chop it off?”
Ning Chen said, “Oh,” and moved his hand… only from the left side to the right.
The woman emperor flew into a rage. “You really think this emperor doesn’t dare cut off your hand?”
“Then cut my tongue out while you’re at it.”
Ning Chen grinned, tipped up the woman emperor’s sharp, pretty chin, and kissed her.
(End of Chapter 361)