Yes, let nature take its course.

If Ye Li had been reborn into a dynasty from history rather than this completely unfamiliar era, she would have unhesitatingly brought out these items. Even if it meant rashly advancing the course of history, how could it be worse than the original timeline?

Now, Ye Li hadn’t agonized over it for long. She wasn’t one to dwell on things. Neither the previous dynasty’s Founding Emperor nor she had much expertise in military technology. She didn’t know the Founding Emperor’s original background, but even though she understood the performance and structure of all the world’s most advanced weapons, it didn’t mean she could recreate identical weapons. Just the materials alone posed an unsolvable problem. So Ye Li hadn’t treated this place as somewhere to mass-produce battlefield weapons. Instead, she had given the skilled craftsmen of this era a completely different concept, based on the most fundamental knowledge they could understand.

Ye Li didn’t need them to immediately create an AK-47 or long-range missiles. They just needed to move in that direction, whether it took a hundred years or several hundred years. Ye Li believed that with these seeds planted, this land would never suffer what her homeland had endured in these matters.

“Princess Consort…” A middle-aged man approached, his eyes lighting up when he saw Ye Li as he rushed over excitedly.

Mo Xiu Yao, holding Mo Xiao Bao, coldly watched the approaching man. His eyes narrowed in displeasure as he stepped in front of Ye Li. The rushing man barely managed to stop, and seeing Mo Xiu Yao’s gloomy expression, he realized his previous behavior had been somewhat discourteous. He could only stand there awkwardly, at a loss.

Ye Li stepped out from behind Mo Xiu Yao and smiled faintly, “Master Li, what’s the matter?”

The middle-aged man quickly said, “We’ve made what Princess Consort requested, but there are some issues we’d like to consult you about.”

Ye Li nodded, “Then let’s go take a look together.”

What lay before Ye Li and Mo Xiu Yao was a handgun. While Mo Xiu Yao was completely unfamiliar with the object, Ye Li’s eyes flashed with nostalgia and joy. Stepping forward to pick up the gun from the table, truthfully, for Ye Li who had seen various advanced weapons in her previous life, the gun before her was crude and primitive to the point of being almost unbearable to look at. It was far more rudimentary than the Mauser C96, the world’s first semi-automatic pistol from her previous life.

But to have traversed hundreds of years of firearms evolution in just five years to create such an item, Ye Li believed these craftsmen had already done their best. Weighing the gun in her hand, Ye Li turned back to smile at Mo Xiao Bao, “Xiao Bao, cover your ears.” Mo Xiao Bao curiously looked at what his mother held but obediently covered his ears with his small hands.

The handgun spun in Ye Li’s hand as her expression changed. She raised the gun and fired three shots at a target not far ahead. After three loud bangs, Ye Li frowned slightly at the target. The first shot hit the bullseye, the second only scored about four rings, and the third bullet flew wide. This certainly wasn’t due to Ye Li’s marksmanship; clearly, it was an issue with the gun itself.

Master Li, following behind, still had that passionate look in his eyes, though this time he was focused on the gun in her hand rather than on her. What Ye Li found somewhat distasteful appeared as precious as a peerless beauty in his eyes.

Scratching his beard somewhat troubledly, Master Li said, “We made two of these things, and one exploded right away. This one works fine, but it keeps shooting more inaccurately. No one else has managed to hit the bullseye on their first shot like Princess Consort.” Though the second and third shots were clearly off, making him wonder if that first bullseye had been mere luck.

“It seems to be a materials issue. I’ll organize improvement suggestions for you later. As for materials, that’s something you’ll have to figure out yourselves. I’ll have people send all the necessary minerals, but beyond that, I’m helpless.” She wasn’t a military technology expert, nor a military materials specialist. All she could provide was the general content she knew and some theoretical concepts; everything else they would have to explore step by step. Though Master Li was somewhat disappointed, he knew this couldn’t be forced and could only nod in agreement.

The preoccupied Master Li left but left the gun behind. Although this was their first truly completed product, because the results weren’t satisfactory, Master Li left it without hesitation, internally determined to return and make something better. Ye Li removed the remaining bullets before tossing it to Mo Xiao Bao, who had been eyeing it eagerly. Getting a new toy, Mo Xiao Bao immediately became completely absorbed in studying the object in his hands, no longer minding that his father wouldn’t let him down from his arms to play.

“Is this what the previous dynasty’s Founding Emperor left behind?” Mo Xiu Yao asked, surveying their surroundings. Ye Li nodded and looked at Mo Xiu Yao, asking, “What does Xiu Yao think of this gun?”

Mo Xiu Yao shook his head, glancing at the thing in Mo Xiao Bao’s hands, “It has no practical value.” The range was shorter than an expert archer’s arrow, and although the first shot had interested him briefly, the following two shots had immediately disappointed him. “For now, it has no practical value.”

Ye Li nodded in agreement, pulling Mo Xiu Yao to continue forward. What the previous dynasty’s Founding Emperor had prepared wasn’t just these things. Even among what Ye Li herself knew, there were more than just these few items, and there were indeed things of practical value.

Entering a spacious room, they were immediately met with the smell of sulfur. In one corner of the room, wooden boxes were neatly arranged. Ye Li walked over and opened the top one, revealing some black spherical objects inside. Mo Xiu Yao pondered for a moment before asking, “Is this… gunpowder?” This era wasn’t without gunpowder, and it had long been used in warfare. But gunpowder needed an open flame to ignite, and its killing power wasn’t very high, so even the Mo family army didn’t use it often. However, this didn’t mean Mo Xiu Yao was completely ignorant about it.

Ye Li nodded, “Correct, it is gunpowder. However… I prefer to call them bombs.”

Mo Xiu Yao raised an eyebrow and asked, “How powerful are they?” Since Aili specifically showed this to him, it naturally wouldn’t have ordinary effects. Ye Li picked one up casually and smiled, “Let’s go somewhere else to try it out.” She might not be confident about other weapons, but she was very confident about the bombs’ power. Because these bombs weren’t made according to methods left by the previous dynasty’s Founding Emperor, but rather from what Ye Li herself had provided. Sure enough, after throwing a bomb in an empty room in the underground palace, the effect after one huge explosion made even Mo Xiu Yao show a surprised look.

Leaving the place where the bombs were stored, Ye Li led Mo Xiu Yao into a secret chamber at the very back of the underground palace. The chamber was very simply arranged, filled only with various books, scrolls, and weapon designs. Mo Xiu Yao noticed several items that matched what he had seen outside earlier.

Ye Li took out a thick book from a hidden compartment and handed it to Mo Xiu Yao with a smile, “This is the treasure left by the previous dynasty’s emperor.” Mo Xiu Yao took it and flipped through it, finding page after page of various firearm designs with text annotations. However, many of the annotations were in foreign script that Mo Xiu Yao couldn’t fully understand. But this didn’t prevent him from understanding that this was a book of various weapon designs, and what they could make now were just the most basic ones. Because many of them clearly looked far superior to the toy that Mo Xiao Bao couldn’t bear to put down.

Looking at the manual, Ye Li sighed softly, “If we could really make all these things as he intended and mass produce them, any army that obtained them would truly be invincible.”

Mo Xiu Yao slightly furrowed his brow and asked Ye Li, “Does Aili really like these things?”

Ye Li paused slightly, and after a long while nodded, “Yes, I like them very much.” How could she not like them? In her previous life, out of just over twenty years, she had spent twenty years in the company of these things. She was familiar with and fond of them as if they were her own family and comrades.

Mo Xiu Yao said, “Then have people make them all.” Ye Li smiled gently, “Make them all… we probably won’t see that in our lifetime. To truly make all these things… how could it be done in less than one or two hundred years?” This involved far more than just military technology; every aspect of technology would need to develop simultaneously to achieve such advanced weapons designs.

Mo Xiu Yao frowned, “In that case, this previous dynasty’s Founding Emperor was truly a heaven-sent genius. It’s just a pity he didn’t actually manufacture these things then, or perhaps he wanted to but didn’t have the chance?” The previous dynasty’s Founding Emperor hadn’t ruled for very long after unifying the realm. Given the scale of this underground palace, it’s very possible he passed away before it was even completed.

Ye Li smiled faintly, “A heaven-sent genius? Perhaps…” These blueprints certainly didn’t qualify as genius-level work. In fact, from Ye Li’s perspective, these blueprints weren’t even professional – at most, they were at the level of an amateur military equipment enthusiast. But being a transmigrator who managed to unify the realm in chaotic times was indeed no small feat. After all, even the Great Chu’s founding emperor couldn’t be said to have truly unified the realm, since Xi Ling and Great Chu were originally one.

As someone who had also transmigrated or rather been reborn, Ye Li naturally understood that people like them couldn’t really be said to be heaven’s favorites. Although they had been given another chance at life, it wasn’t as easy as many novels depicted to become dominant, surrounded by followers and beauties. Her situation was already quite good, yet she had gone through so much. One could imagine how many hardships and how much effort that predecessor must have experienced to establish a dynasty.

“Is Aili very familiar with him?” Mo Xiu Yao asked, placing Mo Xiao Bao on a nearby table and turning to look at Ye Li. Sensing his parents were discussing something important, Mo Xiao Bao sat quietly on the table, fiddling with his new toy. Ye Li had removed the bullets so quickly earlier that the child hadn’t noticed what was missing from the gun. So he was completely puzzled about why he couldn’t shoot impressive things from it like his mother had.

Ye Li smiled faintly, nostalgically stroking the flowing dragon calligraphy on the manual. The person who drew the manual had rather flamboyantly left an English signature in cursive. People of this era would probably only see it as a decorative pattern.

After pondering for a moment, Ye Li said, “I am indeed somewhat familiar with this previous dynasty’s Founding Emperor. Perhaps no one in this world knows him better than I do.” Mo Xiu Yao remained silent, and Ye Li smiled at him, asking, “Aren’t you suspicious about my relationship with him?” Mo Xiu Yao said, “Aili is the Xu family’s granddaughter.” The Xu family’s descendants couldn’t possibly have any connection to the previous dynasty’s emperor. Ye Li blinked and asked, “Then don’t you have anything you want to ask?” Mo Xiu Yao was silent for a while before asking, “Aili… comes from the same place as him, doesn’t she?”

Ye Li was stunned. She truly hadn’t expected Mo Xiu Yao to make such a guess. So close… no, this was the actual answer.

Mo Xiu Yao looked at her tenderly and said with a faint smile, “Aili has never hidden anything from me, has she? Despite coming from a scholarly family and never having contact with outsiders, you possess such incredible martial skills. Then there’s your familiarity with battlefields… and occasionally those strange yet innovative ideas. And the writing on that treasure map – even the previous dynasty’s royal family couldn’t recognize it, yet you seemed very familiar with it. Moreover, I feel… that previous dynasty’s Founding Emperor is actually quite similar to Aili in some ways.”

Ye Li smiled helplessly, “So it seems I’ve shown so many flaws.” Mo Xiu Yao raised his hand to gently caress Ye Li’s cheek and smiled, “Aili has never tried to hide anything.”

Ye Li admitted that except for the very beginning, she had never seriously tried to hide anything from Mo Xiu Yao. Not just because he was too perceptive and deliberate concealment would backfire, but more importantly, because Mo Xiu Yao was the most important person in her current life. If she had to hide things from him, she might as well have just been a proper lady from the start – it would have been too exhausting…

Looking at Mo Xiu Yao curiously, Ye Li asked, “What do you think of me?”

Mo Xiu Yao said, “Both Buddhism and Taoism speak of past and present lives. Was Aili born with memories of her previous life?” Aili’s personality hadn’t really changed much from childhood, and she had no problems with memories. She could clearly remember things from when she was very young, and her deep feelings for the Xu family were natural. It couldn’t be the body possession written about in those supernatural novels. So only the concept of past and present lives could explain it.

Ye Li nodded, smiling at Mo Xiu Yao, “Counting that way, I’m actually over fifty years old. I’m much older than you.” Mo Xiu Yao’s eyes narrowed in displeasure, warning her as he stared at her slightly smug smile. If Mo Xiao Bao hadn’t been sitting on the table watching them wide-eyed, Mo Xiu Yao might not have been so polite. He cast a disapproving glance at the chubby baby on the table: children really were the most troublesome. Seeing Mo Xiu Yao’s silence, Ye Li’s eyes twinkled as she said, “Actually… I was a man in my previous life. Are you really not bothered by that?”

“A man?” Mo Xiu Yao said in a deep voice. Ye Li nodded, speaking seriously, “That’s right, I was a soldier in my previous life, you could say I died for my country. Why else do you think I’m so good at disguising myself as a man?” In this era’s understanding, soldiers were naturally men. Looking curiously at Mo Xiu Yao, she asked, “Xiu Yao, are you really not bothered?” Suddenly feeling playful, Ye Li smiled with curved eyes at the stern-faced man before her. Mo Xiu Yao looked down at Ye Li for a long while, then suddenly grabbed her and kissed her crimson lips fiercely.

Mmph… Ye Li froze and widened her eyes, but accidentally glimpsed their chubby child behind Mo Xiu Yao, staring at them with eyes full of curiosity.

Her face immediately flushed hot, and Ye Li hurriedly pushed Mo Xiu Yao away. Seeing Mo Xiu Yao still staring at her lips as if wanting more, Ye Li could only glare at him fiercely. She deeply regretted teasing Mo Xiu Yao so casually. In front of their five-year-old son… Ye Li felt she had never been so embarrassed in both her lives combined. She could only hope their little treasure was still young enough to forget this quickly. Otherwise… she really wouldn’t be able to face her son.

“Now do you know whether I’m bothered or not?” Mo Xiu Yao asked softly, smiling at her annoyed, blushing face.

Ye Li gritted her teeth, “Your Highness certainly has impressive psychological adaptability.” Mo Xiu Yao smiled without answering, watching Ye Li continue to fume. What a silly girl – how could the usually elegant and graceful Aili, whose every movement was full of charm in his eyes, have been a man in her previous life?

“Father, Mother…” Mo Xiao Bao blinked his innocent big eyes at his parents and asked curiously, “Were Father and Mother playing kissing? Xiao Bao wants to play too. Mother, kiss…” To show his eagerness, Mo Xiao Bao specifically pointed at his own little pink lips with his chubby hand. Ye Li was horrified, “Chen’er, who told you Mother and… were playing kissing?” Her son was only five years old – how could he be so precocious? She remembered they had never shown too much affection in front of Xiao Bao. Could it be because she often kissed Xiao Bao playfully?

Mo Xiao Bao thought seriously and said, “It was Father! Last time I saw Father secretly kissing Mother while she was sleeping. Father said only people who love each other can play kissing. Xiao Bao loves Mother too, Xiao Bao wants kisses…”

“Mo Xiu Yao!” Ye Li was furious, glaring fiercely at Mo Xiu Yao, “You can sleep in the study this month!” Without waiting for Mo Xiu Yao’s explanation, she turned and stormed off.

Mo Xiu Yao glared darkly at Mo Xiao Bao on the table. Mo Xiao Bao stared back at his father with innocent big eyes, “Father, why is Mother angry? Why won’t you kiss Xiao Bao? Does Mother not love Xiao Bao anymore?”

“Don’t think acting innocent will save you! When did I ever secretly kiss your mother?” Even if he had stolen a kiss, how could a five-year-old brat have seen it? He, Mo Xiu Yao, who had dominated his whole life, had actually been tricked by his own son.

Seeing Mo Xiu Yao about to reach out his demon hands, Mo Xiao Bao quickly scrambled up and turned his bottom toward his father, crying pitifully, “Wuwu… Mother doesn’t love Xiao Bao anymore, Xiao Bao is the child Mother doesn’t love…” Looking at his son sticking out his little bottom and crying so obviously fake, Mo Xiu Yao finally felt both amused and exasperated. This kid would definitely be trouble when he grew up!