Chapter 45#

Wen Zhuo and Shen Zheng groped their way along the secret passage. Since no lamps were lit, Shen Zheng led the way ahead, his palm clasping Wen Zhuo’s hand, walking at a deliberate pace.#

Around them, only the faint rustle of robes brushing against stone walls and their even breathing could be heard.

“Feeling unwell?” Shen Zheng’s voice was pitched extremely low, drifting over with the damp air.

Wen Zhuo’s lips tightened. “…Barely tolerable.”

Shen Zheng’s thumb rubbed against his palm, a low chuckle escaping him. “Teacher’s nervous—you’re sweating.”

Wen Zhuo thought to himself, It’s not because of nervousness.

The dry, rough heat of Shen Zheng’s hand burned from his sensitive palm all the way to his chest.

His other hand pressed against the stone wall, touching another patch soaked with moisture, chilling his fingertips.

Caught in this strange alternation of cold and heat, he stumbled along for about a quarter of an hour. Suddenly, the space opened up before him, and the scent of pine oil wafted over.

Guided by a pine oil lamp, they climbed up a flight of steps. Shen Zheng knocked against the stone wall in a rhythm of three short, one long, and two more short. With a creak, the stone wall swung open, revealing the study of the Yongning Marquis’s mansion.

Mo Shu, Jun Dingyuan, and the Yongning Marquis himself had already been waiting for some time.

The bruise on Mo Shu’s ankle had healed. Upon seeing Wen Zhuo, he quickly stood up, bowed deeply, and said solemnly, “Thank you, Headmaster Wen, for saving my life.”

Wen Zhuo recalled the anguish of watching Mo Shu seek death in his previous life, and the regret and guilt that had haunted him finally dissipated.

“You’re welcome,” he said, helping Mo Shu up. Then he addressed Jun Dingyuan, who stood not far away. “There is another person you should thank as well.”

Jun Dingyuan was taken aback. “Who?”

Wen Zhuo said, “Eunuch Liu Quan.”

Jun Dingyuan and Mo Shu exchanged bewildered glances, clearly not understanding what gratitude Wen Zhuo was referring to.

Wen Zhuo explained, “Everyone in this entire plan was crucial, but the one who had the greatest influence on His Majesty and was most trusted by him was Eunuch Liu Quan.”

“When you confessed your guilt to His Majesty, it was Eunuch Liu who voluntarily mentioned the Divine Wood Factory. That was his gesture of goodwill. Because of his hint, we were able to play along and make this act even more perfect, allowing His Majesty to believe that Mo Shu’s trip to the Divine Wood Factory was a guided accident.”

Jun Dingyuan was stunned. “Are you saying Eunuch Liu did that intentionally? But why would he help me?”

“To form a favorable bond with Your Highness.” Wen Zhuo glanced sidelong at Shen Zheng. “The Emperor’s health is not good, but Eunuch Liu seems to be in decent shape. Once… that happens, his position will become very awkward. By extending goodwill in advance, if Your Highness ascends the throne in the future, he will have a good place to go.”

Shen Zheng raised an eyebrow slightly. “How does Eunuch Liu know I’ll ascend the throne?”

Wen Zhuo shook his head. “Perhaps His Majesty secretly hinted at some intention, or perhaps he offers goodwill to every prince equally—after all, everyone must remember his kindness.”

So Wen Zhuo advised Shen Zheng, “Regardless, we must not let Eunuch Liu’s goodwill go to waste. When you return to the palace, tell the Noble Consort to send someone to give Eunuch Liu something brought back from the northern desert or the southern frontier. It doesn’t have to be valuable—just rare—and he will understand that we accept his favor.”

Jun Guangping, who had remained silent until now, said, “Stop standing around. Let’s sit down and talk.”

Wen Zhuo was about to find a seat when he noticed Mo Shu’s gaze drop slightly, fixed on one point, as if he wanted to say something but held back.

Puzzled, Wen Zhuo followed his gaze and looked down. To his shock, he saw that his hand was still linked with Shen Zheng’s.

This is highly improper!

Wen Zhuo yanked his hand out of Shen Zheng’s grasp. His expression unchanged, he quickly found a seat far away and sat down.

Fortunately, in Great Qian, implying that a man was fond of men was tantamount to an insult, so Mo Shu didn’t suspect anything. The other two battle-hardened generals hadn’t even noticed.

Shen Zheng’s palm felt empty, and he sighed inwardly. It seemed holding hands was only permitted in the secret passage.

After drinking tea at the marquis’s mansion and chatting a while longer, Shen Zheng led Wen Zhuo back through the secret passage.

As they descended the steps, Shen Zheng instinctively reached out to take Wen Zhuo’s hand again. But Wen Zhuo pressed both palms against the stone wall, turning his back to the dim light, and said, “No need, Your Highness. I am already familiar with the way.”

Shen Zheng could only slowly lower his hand.

Back in the palace, Shen Zheng relayed Wen Zhuo’s words to Jun Mulan. Then he sat cross-legged on a cushion, propped his chin on his hand, and gazed at the setting sun, lost in thought.

Jun Mulan was perceptive and sensitive to his mood. She sat down with a grand sweep of her sleeves and asked, “Something on your mind?”

Shen Zheng thought to himself, Apart from Jun Mulan, there really is no one else he can talk to about this. The prince’s quarters are full of eunuchs and maidservants who have as little romantic experience as he does.

“Mother, let me ask you something. If I like someone, but he has a lot of… uh… female admirers, what should I do?”

Jun Mulan’s eyes lit up. “Oh? Which lady in the capital is so open-minded?”

Since ancient times, a woman’s reputation had been heavier than a thousand pounds, even surpassing family status, learning, and beauty. This shackle, though not made of metal or iron, could crush a person more than black iron. If a woman was known to have many male admirers, even if she were talented and beautiful, she could not escape the world’s gossip. The noble and illustrious families would never accept her.

But such a woman would live her life freely and to the fullest, which was something Jun Mulan had longed for but never achieved.

“I can’t say who it is.”

“Can’t my son—a prince—win her favor?” Jun Mulan was surprised.

“It doesn’t seem likely. He sees me as a friend.” Shen Zheng was as sorrowful as the setting sun.

Unfortunately, Jun Mulan was also a novice when it came to love—she had marital experience but no romantic experience. After thinking for a while, she sighed and said, “Then you can only give up. Mother doesn’t want you to be like your father, forcing a woman to become your consort.”

Shen Zheng thought to himself, My situation is far more complicated than Father’s. That’s a little tomcat!

But he wasn’t one to give up easily—not on being the top scholar of the province, not on being in the top 1% of the grade point average, and not on this promising little tomcat.

Shen Zheng leaped to his feet, determined. “I will redouble my efforts! First, I’ll take the throne in three years. Then I’ll spend five years liberating the people’s minds. Then another five years to pursue him wholeheartedly. I aim for a breakthrough that will leap forward!”

Jun Mulan: “…”

So he has to wait until he’s thirty-one to get married?

Shen Zheng said it, and he meant it.

Now, compared to those “female admirers,” his gender was at an absolute disadvantage. But he had modern knowledge as a cheat code, and he was sure he could offer his traditional little cat an unparalleled sense of novelty.

Fortunately, there was no major business at court recently. Shen Zheng frequently visited the Yongning Marquis’s mansion—ostensibly to pay respects to his grandfather, but in reality, the old man was pushed aside as Shen Zheng slipped through the secret passage to Wen’s residence.

At first, Liu Qiying remembered to cover the wooden plank and sprinkle a layer of loose soil to disguise it as ordinary ground.

But Shen Zheng came so often that the plank was simply left open, only to be closed when outsiders visited.

Jiang Mannü relied on her brute strength to mash pears into juice. As she worked, she said, “His Highness really likes coming to our mansion. Anyone would think he’s fond of the Master, haha.”

She let out a simple, honest laugh.

Liu Qiying chided her, “Don’t say that outside. It would cause big trouble.”

Jiang Mannü quickly said, “Of course I know.”

Liu Qiying sighed. “These days, it seems the Master has also fallen out with Vice Minister Xie. It’s been a long time since Xie came. In our Great Qian, finding someone who likes men and comes from a good family is far too difficult.”

Something so trivial violated the law. Everyone feared setting themselves on fire, so even if they had such thoughts, they dared not show them.

Jiang Mannü said, “If only the Master could like women. Then he wouldn’t have to suffer and be wronged, watching the one he loves marry someone else.”

Liu Qiying frowned and hesitated. “Actually, the Master is—”

“Come quickly, I’ve finally finished it!” Shen Zheng’s voice suddenly came from the backyard, interrupting Liu Qiying and Jiang Mannü.

The two immediately dropped their work, trampled through the fallen leaves on the ground, and rushed excitedly to the backyard.

A few days earlier, Shen Zheng had said he wanted to build a water-powered wind fan to cool Wen Zhuo during the summer. He had been busy for over half a month. Now it was early autumn, the heat had faded, and he had finally finished it.

In the backyard, a huge waterwheel stood in what used to be the white camellia field. The wooden frame towered high, and the solid wooden axle made a slight sound as it turned.

A wooden beam wrapped with wooden gears led straight into Wen Zhuo’s bedroom. Inside, bamboo fan blades were spinning continuously, making the bed curtains billow loudly.

Shen Zheng was holding Wen Zhuo’s wrist, enthusiastically explaining.

“Look, Teacher. I dug a channel in front of your bedroom and built a small waterwheel with a wooden frame and axle. The waterwheel turns as the water flows, which drives the fan blades in the room. This is called power conversion—you get a breeze without any human effort.”

After saying this, Shen Zheng pulled Wen Zhuo back into the room and pointed at a bronze cylinder next to the fan blades. “If it were just a water-powered fan, that would be nothing special. But I added this bronze cylinder at the fan blades. The mouth of the cylinder is narrow, so the wind generated by the fan blades accelerates as it passes through the cylinder, making it feel cooler.”

This was a simple mini air conditioner based on the adiabatic expansion effect and the Joule-Thomson effect. Apparently, when the graduate-student dormitories at his old school didn’t have air conditioning, the seniors had built something like this to cool off.

Shen Zheng lifted Wen Zhuo’s hand and placed it in front of the cylinder opening. “Touch it, Teacher. Isn’t it much cooler?”

The room was small to begin with, and the waterwheel and cylinder took up most of the space. Shen Zheng pulled Wen Zhuo so hard that he stumbled and nearly fell onto the bed.

He quickly grabbed the back of Shen Zheng’s robe to steady himself. His fingertips touched the cool air from the cylinder opening—it was indeed much more refreshing than elsewhere.

Shen Zheng had also forgotten how precarious their stance was. He turned around, his eyes full of anticipation. “What do you think?”

Wen Zhuo, already off balance, was pushed by Shen Zheng’s movement and fell backward onto the bed.

Shen Zheng reacted extremely fast. Instinctively, he tried to grab something to steady himself, but the only thing nearby was his precious water-powered wind fan.

He couldn’t bear to damage it, so he let go. Uncontrolled, he was pulled down by Wen Zhuo.

“Mmph!”

The soft mattress cushioned them both. Shen Zheng wasn’t actually very heavy, but as he fell, his lips happened to brush against Wen Zhuo’s earlobe.

Shen Zheng’s lips were a little dry, carrying a rough friction, like a spark landing on dry grass, instantly igniting Wen Zhuo’s earlobe.

Now he felt as if he were being roasted over a flame, so hot that his body trembled involuntarily.

Wen Zhuo snapped his face to the side, his eyes squeezed tightly shut.

So he didn’t see Shen Zheng take a deep breath, his Adam’s apple bobbing with difficulty.

That pale, delicate earlobe, smooth as cool jade… and he’d accidentally kissed it?

The scent of Wen Zhuo’s hair lingered around Shen Zheng’s nose. His mind churned, filled with profane thoughts, unable to stay pure for even a moment.

But seeing Wen Zhuo let out a pained gasp and tremble slightly under him, guilt surged up.

If he accidentally squashed the cat, would the cat get angry?

Just then, Liu Qiying and Jiang Mannü arrived. “Here we come, here we come! What is it?”

As Liu Qiying stepped into the room, she was stunned speechless by the sight. Then she turned and rushed out, colliding with Jiang Mannü. The two nearly fell over each other.

Shen Zheng snapped back to reality. He hurriedly swept away his impure thoughts and got up to help Wen Zhuo.

“Did I crush you, Teacher?”

Wen Zhuo waited until he had stood up to finally catch his breath. Pressing his lips together, he said, “I am not hurt, but Your Highness’s wind machine is really a bit too large.”

Shen Zheng felt embarrassed sitting on his bed, so he crouched down and said, “I can only make it this big for now.” Because there’s no electricity.

“Your Highness, a palm-leaf fan would suffice. I am not afraid of the heat,” Wen Zhuo said, but he still slowly shuffled over to the cylinder opening and leaned against the wind to cool his flushed face.

“That would be too tiring. Didn’t A-Liu say you wake up from the heat at night?” Shen Zheng suffered from the heat himself, but he couldn’t build such a large thing in the palace, so he simply slept on the floor.

“It’s already early autumn, Your Highness.” Wen Zhuo’s hair flew wildly in the breeze, and the redness on his ears slowly faded.

“I know. Use this for now, Teacher. Let me think more. Maybe I can make magnetic induction coils before next summer and give you something better. How about that?” Shen Zheng coaxed.

“…Very well.”

What the hell is a magnetic induction coil?

It was getting late. Shen Zheng had to return to the palace.

Wen Zhuo wrapped himself in a brocade quilt, sat in front of the cylinder opening, and held a book to read.

The cool wind made the pages flutter and also chilled his cheek slightly, but being covered by the quilt was quite comfortable.

Liu Qiying and Jiang Mannü circled the contraption, examining it with great curiosity. “Where does His Highness get all these interesting ideas?”

Jiang Mannü said, “But I still think it’s easier for me to fan the Master.”

Liu Qiying retorted, “You can’t fan him all night, but this air vent can blow continuously. Apart from being a bit big, it’s very useful, isn’t it, Master?”

Wen Zhuo turned a page of his book and said nonchalantly, “Barely acceptable.”

Liu Qiying twisted the cylinder slightly. “I’ll aim it at the quilt so you don’t catch cold, Master. It’s about to get cooler—you shouldn’t blow on it too long.”

After giving her instructions, she pulled Jiang Mannü out of the room.

The room fell silent. Wen Zhuo’s sage-like book flopped face-down onto the quilt. He sat up, raised a hand, and blocked the air vent, listening to the wind whining as it was compressed. Then he loosened his hand a little, letting it blow across his palm.

Turning his head, he saw the small waist-level viewfinder still hidden beside his pillow.

Wen Zhuo pulled the quilt tighter around himself, thinking, His Highness likes to make things that aren’t very practical but are very interesting.

That was fine, too.