Early on the morning of the nineteenth day of the eighth month, the Crown Prince’s procession, escorted by three thousand imperial guards, left the capital. Accompanying them, besides the Crown Prince Consort and several other imperial relatives, were also several officials from the gunpowder workshop and mule carts transporting heavy gunpowder.
Given that transporting heavy gunpowder also carried certain dangers, those three mule carts followed at a distance of half a li behind.
Official duties took priority. Zhao Sui ordered the imperial guards to travel at full speed. The Northern Park, which the imperial procession had leisurely taken six days to reach previously, the Crown Prince’s group reached in just two and a half days.
Today there definitely wouldn’t be time to test the heavy gunpowder. Everyone first rested and reorganized at the traveling palace.
The traveling palace belonged to Emperor Yongchang, but Emperor Yongchang was far away in the capital. Since the Crown Prince and Crown Prince Consort had both come, Emperor Yongchang handed over all internal and external affairs of the traveling palace during this period to the Crown Prince couple to manage. Simply put, the Crown Prince could do whatever he wanted without needing to specifically request instructions from him.
However, what the Crown Prince couple needed to be responsible for was just the lodging arrangements and meals for the accompanying officials and imperial relatives, and everything could follow established precedent.
The imperial guards garrisoned the traveling palace, with barracks naturally available at the walls. The officials stayed in the official residences on the outer court side of the traveling palace. Among them, Yao Lin had lodgings in both the barracks and official residences. Li Fuwei, as his wife, stayed in his official residence courtyard. Prince Consort Yu Shen and betrothed prince consort Fan Ruochuan also stayed in this area. The Second Princess hadn’t married yet, so she would definitely stay in the inner court with her second brother and second sister-in-law. As for the Eldest Princess…
Yao Huang smiled and let the Eldest Princess decide for herself—whether to stay in the more comfortable inner court, or follow Yu Shen to the not-so-comfortable but conjugally warm official residence.
The imperial family’s inner court could only be inhabited by the imperial family’s descendants. Men of other surnames had to be kept outside. It wasn’t that the Crown Prince couple were approachable meant they could arbitrarily change this rule.
The Eldest Princess’s face turned completely red. She stood beside the Second Princess and said: “I’ll stay with my younger sister.”
There would be many days ahead to share lodgings with her prince consort—no need to rush these few days.
After arranging the female family members, Yao Huang returned to Yunshan Hall first. Last year when the couple came to the Northern Park, they stayed here. This time they chose this place again. As for those few palace halls in the traveling palace where only the Emperor and Empress could tread, Yao Huang and the Crown Prince wouldn’t even go near them.
The Crown Prince hadn’t returned from the outer court yet. Yao Huang took a thoroughly satisfying bath in the bathing room, completely washing away the dust and fatigue of the journey.
By the time her hair had dried and she had already slept for a while lying in bed, the Crown Prince finally pushed his wheelchair into the inner chamber.
Yao Huang was awakened by the vibration of the Crown Prince moving onto the bed. Opening her eyes, she saw the Crown Prince wearing a set of white silk garments, carrying the faint fresh scent of massage oil.
As soon as the Crown Prince lay down, Yao Huang coiled around him like a water snake. She only wanted to hold the Crown Prince properly and share some simple intimacy because they hadn’t been together these past two nights, but Zhao Sui misunderstood the Crown Prince Consort’s meaning. As soon as she pressed against him, he gathered her into his embrace, kissing her while unbuttoning the Crown Prince Consort’s undergarments.
Yao Huang was both embarrassed and amused: “Doesn’t Your Highness ever get tired?”
Of course Zhao Sui would get tired, but he missed the Crown Prince Consort more. Moreover, she was being so proactive.
The couple rested for nearly a full hour between their false and real afternoon naps. When they woke, it was already dusk.
The Crown Prince hosted a family banquet in the outer court, entertaining the two princesses, two prince consorts, and the couple Yao Lin and Li Fuwei. The other accompanying officials were all from the gunpowder workshop. After the heavy gunpowder testing concluded, if the power proved satisfactory, Zhao Sui would separately host a celebration banquet to commend everyone.
Although it was a family banquet, His Highness the Crown Prince, who rarely smiled or spoke casually, carried too much imposing dignity. Yu Shen and Fan Ruochuan, who weren’t familiar with him, were both quite reserved. Yao Lin also hadn’t yet adapted to his brother-in-law’s new status. Moreover, Li Fuwei had instructed him to regard himself as a subject before the Crown Prince and Crown Prince Consort and not be too casual, so Yao Lin also maintained a thoroughly respectful demeanor.
The Eldest Princess, because she wasn’t familiar with Fan Ruochuan and Yao Lin, maintained the dignified bearing befitting a princess in every word and action.
The Second Princess, originally quite talkative, seeing everyone so silent, looked inquiringly at her second sister-in-law: Did second brother prefer to eat banquets in quiet peace?
Yao Huang smiled at her, then turned to look at Fan Ruochuan, who came from Liaozhou: “I’ve heard that Liaozhou has severe winter cold, with all the large and small rivers freezing solid, making the local people very skilled at ice skating. They’ve even figured out a kind of ice ball game played on the ice?”
Fan Ruochuan instinctively wanted to rise from his seat to bow before answering.
Yao Huang raised her hand to indicate he should remain seated: “Tonight is a family banquet. There are no outsiders present, so everyone needn’t be reserved. This is also His Highness’s wish.”
Everyone looked toward the Crown Prince in unison.
Zhao Sui nodded.
Only then did Fan Ruochuan settle back down, saying respectfully: “This is indeed true.”
Yao Huang: “Then tell us about how ice ball is played?”
Fan Ruochuan began explaining.
Fan Ruochuan ranked in the middle tier among last year’s second-class military examination graduates in both the civil and martial tests, but his physique was exceptionally upright. Standing among the military graduates, he still had the bearing of a crane among chickens. His features weren’t the most handsome, but they were very regular. Like Prince Kang, he appeared steady and reliable at a glance. Combined with his clean family background, Emperor Yongchang had thus selected him as the Second Princess’s prince consort.
The name Fan Ruochuan was weighty and imposing, but soon Yao Huang and the others discovered that Fan Ruochuan was actually quite thin-skinned. Just because the Second Princess listened to him with rapt attention, her beautiful eyes staring fixedly at him, Fan Ruochuan became increasingly stuttering in his speech, his face flushing almost to his neck.
The Eldest Princess, sitting beside the Second Princess, lowered her head and laughed softly, incidentally tugging her younger sister’s sleeve to remind her to eat.
Only then did the Second Princess notice her prince consort’s unusual state. She glared at him in embarrassed annoyance—she was only looking at him because she found ice ball interesting. What was he thinking about?
Having been glared at, Fan Ruochuan instead rapidly recovered his normal composure.
Yao Lin was very interested in ice ball and turned to ask Fan Ruochuan about some rules he wasn’t quite clear on.
With people talking, others followed suit in picking up conversation topics. The banquet finally became lively.
Yao Huang asked the Crown Prince on behalf of the two princesses and Li Fuwei: “Tomorrow when testing the heavy gunpowder, may we come along to watch?”
Zhao Sui: “Yes.”
Yao Huang: “Will there be any danger?”
Zhao Sui: “No.”
Yao Huang: “…”
Under her suggestive gaze, His Highness the Crown Prince added two more sentences: “The fuse for igniting the gunpowder is two hundred paces long. We’ll stand half a li away.”
The Eldest Princess said in surprise: “With such a long fuse, won’t it go out midway?”
Yu Shen, worried that the taciturn Crown Prince would find the Eldest Princess talkative, ventured a guess: “Tung oil could be poured on the fuse to aid combustion.”
The Second Princess seized the opportunity to tease her sister and brother-in-law: “Whatever we say, brother-in-law doesn’t respond, but as soon as sister has a question, brother-in-law immediately speaks up.”
Yu Shen’s face also instantly turned red. The Eldest Princess secretly pinched the Second Princess.
Yao Huang just watched her own brother focus on drinking with Fan Ruochuan, not even sharing a loving glance with Li Fuwei.
The next morning, Yao Huang accompanied the Crown Prince in a horse carriage while everyone else rode horses alongside the procession. The group proceeded in grand fashion toward a cluster of mountain peaks twenty li away.
The gunpowder workshop officials had arrived early. At the observation point, they had dug pit cavities in five surrounding mountain peaks respectively, burying ten catties, twenty catties, thirty catties, forty catties, and fifty catties of heavy gunpowder in them.
Yao Huang had already inquired clearly with the Crown Prince beforehand—one catty of heavy gunpowder could blow up a pig at close range, while twenty catties was enough to demolish a sturdy building and the ten pigs inside that could run around on their own.
Upon reaching the location, the carriage stopped. Yao Huang accompanied the Crown Prince as he descended from the carriage. The Eldest Princess and the others also dismounted.
When blasting the mountains, horses would easily be startled. Zhang Yue and other guards led several horses away, tying them all tightly to nearby trees.
The observation point had relatively high terrain. From this commanding position, they could see that colored flags had been planted in front of the pit cavities on all five selected mountain peaks. Five junior clerks from the gunpowder workshop responsible for lighting fires were each stationed by shelters two hundred paces from the cavities. Because the fuses were long enough, after lighting the fires they would have sufficient time to take cover.
The Crown Prince, along with the gunpowder workshop officials, occupied the central position. Yao Huang brought the two princesses and Li Fuwei to stand farther away.
The Second Princess was somewhat nervous, holding onto Yao Huang’s arm: “Will there be an earthquake?”
Yao Huang teased her in a low voice: “If you’re afraid of earthquakes, you should hold onto your prince consort instead. Then he can carry you and run.”
The Second Princess: “…”
Yao Huang held one princess by each hand, looking helplessly at Li Fuwei, who stood before the three of them in a guard’s posture.
Li Fuwei returned a look telling her to be at ease.
Of course Yao Huang was at ease, because the heavy gunpowder was researched and tested by her Crown Prince husband. This observation position was also determined by the Crown Prince. The Crown Prince made thorough preparations even when going to Lingshan Mountain. For today’s grand occasion, the Crown Prince would never let anyone’s safety protection have any flaws.
The time to ignite the first mountain peak was approaching. Yao Huang looked at the Crown Prince surrounded by several officials in the middle.
Zhao Sui was the one giving orders. Before speaking, he looked in the Crown Prince Consort’s direction, only to see the Crown Prince Consort also looking at him, her eyes containing only trust and anticipation.
Zhao Sui withdrew his gaze, looked down at the mountain below, and said: “Light the fire.”
A junior clerk beside him blew a horn while another waved the yellow flag corresponding to the first mountain peak.
Immediately, a fire snake rapidly pursued along the black fuse extending two hundred paces toward the pit cavity at the mountain’s base where the heavy gunpowder was buried.
With a “boom,” the mountain peak emitted a thunderous muffled sound, exploding in billowing clouds of smoke and dust, with rocks flying in all directions.
After the smoke cleared, the two junior clerks responsible for this mountain peak quickly ran forward to measure the dimensions of the crater after the explosion, as well as the distance the rocks had rolled, and so on.
After they finished their work and withdrew, they continued to blast the second mountain peak.
When it came to the final fifty catties of heavy gunpowder exploding, Yao Huang truly felt distinct trembling of the ground, as if a meteor had fallen from heaven and smashed into the opposite mountain peak.
The Eldest Princess gripped her hand tightly. The Second Princess directly embraced her.
At this moment, Yao Huang heard her own brother’s booming voice: “Divine power! If we attack a city with such heavy gunpowder, we could destroy the enemy’s walls in no more than three strikes!”
Yao Huang was just about to look at her brother when she saw Li Fuwei in front also tilt her head to glance at him—a very brief look, yet it seemed to carry some admiration?
After finishing everything, everyone followed the Crown Prince to personally visit the five mountain craters that had been blasted.
On the road back to the traveling palace, taking advantage of the carriage’s screening, Yao Huang embraced her Crown Prince and thoroughly showered him with praise.
Zhao Sui: “…Creating heavy gunpowder is only the first step. How to apply it to the battlefield still requires continued research and testing.”
Enemy forces wouldn’t just watch the Great Qi bury dozens of catties of gunpowder under their city gates or in their military camps. For long-range deployment, how to contain the heavy gunpowder and how long a fuse would ensure the heavy gunpowder would explode only after falling among enemy forces—these were all difficult problems that needed to be solved step by step.
The Crown Prince Consort looked at him with bright eyes: “Take it slowly. With Your Highness’s intelligence and talent, you’ll definitely be able to test it all out.”
Zhao Sui squeezed the Crown Prince Consort’s hand and changed the subject: “Tomorrow’s testing—are you still coming?”
Yao Huang sighed: “I want to come, but unfortunately I’m still bearing the imperial mandate to teach my two younger sisters archery…”
The Crown Prince released the Crown Prince Consort’s hand and instead pinched the tip of her nose, saying what about wanting to keep him company—she was actually thinking about the scenery of the Northern Park.