After exchanging pleasantries with the other monarchs, Huangfu Yuchen let his guests be escorted back to their lodgings. He returned to the Tenglong Palace with Yan Ge.
Rarely seeing his beloved with a stern face, Huangfu Yuchen felt both curious and guilty. Regardless of being right or wrong, he knew he should apologize first.
“Baby, I was wrong. Please don’t be angry.”
Yan Ge was indeed very angry. Methane was extremely dangerous, especially for those unfamiliar with it. Huangfu Yuchen was intelligent to think of using this gas in military applications, but it frightened him when he heard that Huangfu Yuchen had been experimenting with it.
“My love,” Huangfu Yuchen embraced him from behind, planting a kiss on his cheek.
Fortunately, nothing happened to Huangfu Yuchen due to the methane, and after a while, Yan Ge’s anger subsided.
Huangfu Yuchen had been observing his expression and saw that he calmed down. Relieved, he quickly pulled him close and explained the situation in detail.
“Baby, do you know what this ‘gas’ is?”
Yan Ge explained in simple language the nature, dangers, and uses of methane, as well as inquired about the military department’s process of making the explosive bottles. He then made some modifications based on his chemical knowledge and wrote it down on paper to hand it to Huangfu Yuchen.
“I’ll have someone inform the military department right away.”
Huangfu Yuchen passed on the instructions and returned to sit beside Yan Ge.
Yan Ge had already planned to produce gunpowder, but due to many other matters, he had not yet gotten to it. He never imagined that Huangfu Yuchen would discover methane before him and even make rudimentary gas bombs. This person’s mind was truly unfathomable. Yan Ge looked at him, and took the opportunity to ruffle his hair playfully.
As long as his beloved wasn’t angry, everything was fine. Huangfu Yuchen allowed him to mess with his head, and Yan Ge lowered his head to kiss his lips.
Yan Ge then stood up and said, “I’m tired after today. For the next ten days, I’ll live at Luoxue Palace.”
Huangfu Yuchen sighed helplessly. Alright, he would climb through the window at night.
The next day, all the monarchs came to bid farewell to Huangfu Yuchen, as expected. With Yan Ge still punishing him, he wasn’t in the mood to engage in political maneuverings. After exchanging a few polite words, he had his attendants see them off. He believed that for at least the next year, no kingdom would dare to provoke them easily.
—“Ding. Side Mission – Develop the capital into a famous city, is complete. Reward: 2 million taels of silver and one gold chest. Would you like to open the gold chest now?”
‘2 million taels of silver!’
Yan Ge who was in Luoxue Palace laughed and immediately opened the gold chest. The gold chest was special, so the rewards inside must be better than those from the silver chest. What could it be?
–“Congratulations, you’ve obtained the ‘Heavenly Demon Annihilation Technique.’”
“Heavenly Demon Annihilation Technique?” Yan Ge looked at it. “So it’s a cultivation technique! Although it’s far inferior to the ‘Fengyun Immortal Records,’ it’s still an excellent cultivation technique. Great stuff!”
However, he needed to figure out how to make the best use of this technique. He decided he’ll take time to carefully study it, so he put it away in his backpack for now.
—“Ding. Side Mission – Develop Great Han into a world-renowned powerful nation. Mission time: five years. Mission Rewards upon success: Tem thousand taels of gold, one gold chest. Punishment upon failure: deduction of 100,000 taels of gold. Do you accept the mission? Yes or no?”
Yan Ge was thrilled. This time, the mission reward was gold! Of course, he accepted it!
It had been a busy day, and his mood fluctuated a lot. After the excitement, Yan Ge felt a little tired.
Huangfu Yuchen had been trying to communicating with him using his spiritual sense, but he pretended not to notice and fell asleep with his head covered. In his sleep, his lips involuntarily curled up. After an unknown amount of time, a familiar presence enveloped him…
One year later, on the cement road leading to the capital.
Dozens of specially-made large carriage boxes were pulled by several horses, clattering along the official road. The carriages had open tops, and their contents were piled high and covered with black cloth, concealing what was inside.
At the head of the caravan were two young men riding tall horses. They bore a striking resemblance, their skin slightly tanned.
These two men were none other than Gao Feng and Gao Yun, who had left the capital over a year ago. One had gone to the southwest, and the other to the south, but they unexpectedly met in Youcheng, so they had traveled together.
The two brothers chatted and laughed.
“We’re almost in the capital. After leaving Boss’s side for a year, I really missed him,” Gao Yun said.
“Yeah,” Gao Feng also smiled, “It feels more interesting to be with the boss.”
“True, but this year away has been rewarding. We can now report to the boss and His Majesty successfully,” Gao Yun said.
“Our kingdom has changed a lot in this year. I heard that sixty percent of cities and counties in the entire kingdom now have cement roads,” Gao Feng said, “If not for these cement roads, we wouldn’t have been able to return to the capital so quickly.”
A carriage driver couldn’t help but interject, “That’s right, it’s all thanks to our benevolent emperor and our considerate Yan Guiqing!”
That’s right, Yan Ge had now advanced to Guiqing.
“Yes, as citizens of Great Han, we are happy. I heard that these cement roads are unique to our kingdom!” Gao Feng, Gao Yun, and the other imperial guards traveling with them all exchanged knowing smiles.
In the capital, Yan Ge and Huangfu Yuchen were both on vacation, keeping watch on children in the garden of the First Company. Lady Wen had gone back to her family to visit her sick mother, and Madam Yan had to go pray, so she entrusted the one-year-and three-month-old Yan Xiangtian, to Yan Ge.
Although Yang Zhuo still hadn’t regained his memories, he fell in love with Deng Mama again, and they remarried last year. Now they had a six-month-old daughter, a precious little girl who was chubby and adorable, bringing endless joy to everyone.
With Yan Jin and the Little Crown Prince, there were now four children in the courtyard, and Yan Xiangtian looked longingly at Yan Jin and the Little Crown Prince, wanting to play with them. However, Yan Jin and the Little Crown Prince were much older, and they couldn’t communicate well with Yan Xiangtian. After playing for a while, the three of them would end up fighting. Additionally, Little Miss Yang would occasionally cry, making the garden incredibly… lively and noisy.
Yan Ge’s head ached from the noise, so he handed Yan Xiangtian over to Huangfu Yuchen and leisurely laid back on a nearby recliner, eating a peach.
Even though Yan Xiangtian felt upset about being teased and rejected by Yan Jin and the Little Crown Prince, he didn’t cry. He stood there silently, a pitiful and funny sight to behold.
“This kid is quite interesting,” Huangfu Yuchen said with a smile.
Yan Ge was satisfied, “He takes a lot from me.”
Huangfu Yuchen effortlessly lifted Yan Xiangtian by his collar with one hand, “Baby, guess if he’ll cry.”
Yan Ge warned, “Don’t make him cry, if he does, you’ll have to comfort him.”
“Kid, are you scared?” Huangfu Yuchen raised his arm and tossed Yan Xiangtian a little higher.
Yan Ge looked at Huangfu Yuchen’s playful behavior helplessly. He recalled a video he had seen before called “Never Let Men Take Care of Children.”
Huangfu Yuchen put one palm under Yan Xiangtian’s back, held him with the other hand, and tossed him up again.
Yan Xiangtian turned 360 degrees in the air and landed back in Huangfu Yuchen’s palm, but this time with his back facing the ground and his face down. The little one seemed startled, tightly clutching Huangfu Yuchen’s hand. After seeing the scene below, he blinked his eyes and wailed in fear.
Yan Ge glared at Huangfu Yuchen.
Huangfu Yuchen was startled by Yan Xiangtian’s loud cry. He held the little one gently by the armpits and placed him on Yan Ge’s chest, saying innocently, “Maybe he’s hungry.”
Yan Jin and the Little Crown Prince both looked at him in accusation.
“Hmm?” Huangfu Yuchen’s expression turned solemn, and he raised an eyebrow.
Yan Jin and the Little Crown Prince quickly looked away.
“Alright, Tiantian, a man should not shed tears,” Yan Ge held Yan Xiangtian in his arms, walked up to Huangfu Yuchen, and used the little fist to hit Huangfu Yuchen’s shoulder. “Watch our Shadowless Fist!”
Yan Xiangtian smiled with tears still hanging from his eyelashes. He glanced at Huangfu Yuchen and stretched out his little arms toward him. “Again.”
Yan Ge and Huangfu Yuchen: “…”
“Was he scared and cried because he wasn’t prepared earlier?” Yan Jin burst into laughter.
The maids and servants on the side also chuckled softly.
At this moment, Deng Mande ran over with a joyous expression. “Your Majesty, Yan Guiqing, Guard Feng and Guard Yun have returned!”
“Good!” Huangfu Yuchen smiled, “They were in Youcheng a few days ago, didn’t expect them to arrive so quickly.”
Thinking about the miraculous Maifan stone, Yan Ge became excited. “Finally! Where are they now?”
“They’ve arrived at the west city gate, Yan Guiqing,” Deng Mande said, “There are more than a dozen carriages in total.”
Huangfu Yuchen said, “Send someone to meet them and have them deliver the goods directly to the palace.”
“Yes.” Deng Mande responded, “Your Majesty, there’s more good news. General Jun and General Lu have also sent messages. They have successfully found the goods. General Jun will probably arrive in another three or four days, and General Lu will likely arrive in ten days.”
Huangfu Yuchen was overjoyed, “Excellent! All those who went on the mission will be heavily rewarded!”
“Come on, let’s go back.” Yan Ge couldn’t wait and handed Yan Xiangtian to Yan Jin.
“Eh? I don’t know how to take care of children.” Yan Jing handed Yan Xiangtian to Qiu Xiang, then pulled the Little Crown Prince and quickly ran away.
Yan Xiangtian’s gaze followed Yan Ge and the others as he was held in Qiu Xiang’s arms. He blinked, blinked again, probably wondering: why didn’t anyone take me along?
Back at the Tenglong Palace, Yan Ge couldn’t stay still. At times, he was excited about the Maifan stone that would greatly increase food production, and at other times, he worried about what to do if the stones found by Gao Feng and the others weren’t the Maifan stone. He scratched his head in frustration.
Huangfu Yuchen simply pulled him into his arms, kissed him deeply, while his hands roamed around…
After a while, when their intimacy subsided, Yan Ge calmed down and thought things through. Even if they didn’t find Maifan stone this time, it didn’t matter. They could send another group to search.
Huangfu Yuchen caressed Yan Ge’s face and said to the people outside the door, “Come in.”
Yan Jin and the Little Crown Prince walked in.
“Greetings, Father Emperor.”
“Hmm.” Huangfu Yuchen, as a father, still maintained his dignity.
“Second Master, is the Maifan stone really as miraculous as you said?” The Little Crown Prince sat beside Yan Ge, asking curiously.
Yan Ge nodded, “You’ll find out soon. When the time comes, we’ll choose some suitable stones and have them made into mechanism cups. Drinking water from cups made of the Maifan stone is beneficial to one’s health.”
After exchanging pleasantries with the other monarchs, Huangfu Yuchen let his guests be escorted back to their lodgings. He returned to the Tenglong Palace with Yan Ge.
Rarely seeing his beloved with a stern face, Huangfu Yuchen felt both curious and guilty. Regardless of being right or wrong, he knew he should apologize first.
“Baby, I was wrong. Please don’t be angry.”
Yan Ge was indeed very angry. Methane was extremely dangerous, especially for those unfamiliar with it. Huangfu Yuchen was intelligent to think of using this gas in military applications, but it frightened him when he heard that Huangfu Yuchen had been experimenting with it.
“My love,” Huangfu Yuchen embraced him from behind, planting a kiss on his cheek.
Fortunately, nothing happened to Huangfu Yuchen due to the methane, and after a while, Yan Ge’s anger subsided.
Huangfu Yuchen had been observing his expression and saw that he calmed down. Relieved, he quickly pulled him close and explained the situation in detail.
“Baby, do you know what this ‘gas’ is?”
Yan Ge explained in simple language the nature, dangers, and uses of methane, as well as inquired about the military department’s process of making the explosive bottles. He then made some modifications based on his chemical knowledge and wrote it down on paper to hand it to Huangfu Yuchen.
“I’ll have someone inform the military department right away.”
Huangfu Yuchen passed on the instructions and returned to sit beside Yan Ge.
Yan Ge had already planned to produce gunpowder, but due to many other matters, he had not yet gotten to it. He never imagined that Huangfu Yuchen would discover methane before him and even make rudimentary gas bombs. This person’s mind was truly unfathomable. Yan Ge looked at him, and took the opportunity to ruffle his hair playfully.
As long as his beloved wasn’t angry, everything was fine. Huangfu Yuchen allowed him to mess with his head, and Yan Ge lowered his head to kiss his lips.
Yan Ge then stood up and said, “I’m tired after today. For the next ten days, I’ll live at Luoxue Palace.”
Huangfu Yuchen sighed helplessly. Alright, he would climb through the window at night.
The next day, all the monarchs came to bid farewell to Huangfu Yuchen, as expected. With Yan Ge still punishing him, he wasn’t in the mood to engage in political maneuverings. After exchanging a few polite words, he had his attendants see them off. He believed that for at least the next year, no kingdom would dare to provoke them easily.
—“Ding. Side Mission – Develop the capital into a famous city, is complete. Reward: 2 million taels of silver and one gold chest. Would you like to open the gold chest now?”
‘2 million taels of silver!’
Yan Ge who was in Luoxue Palace laughed and immediately opened the gold chest. The gold chest was special, so the rewards inside must be better than those from the silver chest. What could it be?
–“Congratulations, you’ve obtained the ‘Heavenly Demon Annihilation Technique.’”
“Heavenly Demon Annihilation Technique?” Yan Ge looked at it. “So it’s a cultivation technique! Although it’s far inferior to the ‘Fengyun Immortal Records,’ it’s still an excellent cultivation technique. Great stuff!”
However, he needed to figure out how to make the best use of this technique. He decided he’ll take time to carefully study it, so he put it away in his backpack for now.
—“Ding. Side Mission – Develop Great Han into a world-renowned powerful nation. Mission time: five years. Mission Rewards upon success: Tem thousand taels of gold, one gold chest. Punishment upon failure: deduction of 100,000 taels of gold. Do you accept the mission? Yes or no?”
Yan Ge was thrilled. This time, the mission reward was gold! Of course, he accepted it!
It had been a busy day, and his mood fluctuated a lot. After the excitement, Yan Ge felt a little tired.
Huangfu Yuchen had been trying to communicating with him using his spiritual sense, but he pretended not to notice and fell asleep with his head covered. In his sleep, his lips involuntarily curled up. After an unknown amount of time, a familiar presence enveloped him…
One year later, on the cement road leading to the capital.
Dozens of specially-made large carriage boxes were pulled by several horses, clattering along the official road. The carriages had open tops, and their contents were piled high and covered with black cloth, concealing what was inside.
At the head of the caravan were two young men riding tall horses. They bore a striking resemblance, their skin slightly tanned.
These two men were none other than Gao Feng and Gao Yun, who had left the capital over a year ago. One had gone to the southwest, and the other to the south, but they unexpectedly met in Youcheng, so they had traveled together.
The two brothers chatted and laughed.
“We’re almost in the capital. After leaving Boss’s side for a year, I really missed him,” Gao Yun said.
“Yeah,” Gao Feng also smiled, “It feels more interesting to be with the boss.”
“True, but this year away has been rewarding. We can now report to the boss and His Majesty successfully,” Gao Yun said.
“Our kingdom has changed a lot in this year. I heard that sixty percent of cities and counties in the entire kingdom now have cement roads,” Gao Feng said, “If not for these cement roads, we wouldn’t have been able to return to the capital so quickly.”
A carriage driver couldn’t help but interject, “That’s right, it’s all thanks to our benevolent emperor and our considerate Yan Guiqing!”
That’s right, Yan Ge had now advanced to Guiqing.
“Yes, as citizens of Great Han, we are happy. I heard that these cement roads are unique to our kingdom!” Gao Feng, Gao Yun, and the other imperial guards traveling with them all exchanged knowing smiles.
In the capital, Yan Ge and Huangfu Yuchen were both on vacation, keeping watch on children in the garden of the First Company. Lady Wen had gone back to her family to visit her sick mother, and Madam Yan had to go pray, so she entrusted the one-year-and three-month-old Yan Xiangtian, to Yan Ge.
Although Yang Zhuo still hadn’t regained his memories, he fell in love with Deng Mama again, and they remarried last year. Now they had a six-month-old daughter, a precious little girl who was chubby and adorable, bringing endless joy to everyone.
With Yan Jin and the Little Crown Prince, there were now four children in the courtyard, and Yan Xiangtian looked longingly at Yan Jin and the Little Crown Prince, wanting to play with them. However, Yan Jin and the Little Crown Prince were much older, and they couldn’t communicate well with Yan Xiangtian. After playing for a while, the three of them would end up fighting. Additionally, Little Miss Yang would occasionally cry, making the garden incredibly… lively and noisy.
Yan Ge’s head ached from the noise, so he handed Yan Xiangtian over to Huangfu Yuchen and leisurely laid back on a nearby recliner, eating a peach.
Even though Yan Xiangtian felt upset about being teased and rejected by Yan Jin and the Little Crown Prince, he didn’t cry. He stood there silently, a pitiful and funny sight to behold.
“This kid is quite interesting,” Huangfu Yuchen said with a smile.
Yan Ge was satisfied, “He takes a lot from me.”
Huangfu Yuchen effortlessly lifted Yan Xiangtian by his collar with one hand, “Baby, guess if he’ll cry.”
Yan Ge warned, “Don’t make him cry, if he does, you’ll have to comfort him.”
“Kid, are you scared?” Huangfu Yuchen raised his arm and tossed Yan Xiangtian a little higher.
Yan Ge looked at Huangfu Yuchen’s playful behavior helplessly. He recalled a video he had seen before called “Never Let Men Take Care of Children.”
Huangfu Yuchen put one palm under Yan Xiangtian’s back, held him with the other hand, and tossed him up again.
Yan Xiangtian turned 360 degrees in the air and landed back in Huangfu Yuchen’s palm, but this time with his back facing the ground and his face down. The little one seemed startled, tightly clutching Huangfu Yuchen’s hand. After seeing the scene below, he blinked his eyes and wailed in fear.
Yan Ge glared at Huangfu Yuchen.
Huangfu Yuchen was startled by Yan Xiangtian’s loud cry. He held the little one gently by the armpits and placed him on Yan Ge’s chest, saying innocently, “Maybe he’s hungry.”
Yan Jin and the Little Crown Prince both looked at him in accusation.
“Hmm?” Huangfu Yuchen’s expression turned solemn, and he raised an eyebrow.
Yan Jin and the Little Crown Prince quickly looked away.
“Alright, Tiantian, a man should not shed tears,” Yan Ge held Yan Xiangtian in his arms, walked up to Huangfu Yuchen, and used the little fist to hit Huangfu Yuchen’s shoulder. “Watch our Shadowless Fist!”
Yan Xiangtian smiled with tears still hanging from his eyelashes. He glanced at Huangfu Yuchen and stretched out his little arms toward him. “Again.”
Yan Ge and Huangfu Yuchen: “…”
“Was he scared and cried because he wasn’t prepared earlier?” Yan Jin burst into laughter.
The maids and servants on the side also chuckled softly.
At this moment, Deng Mande ran over with a joyous expression. “Your Majesty, Yan Guiqing, Guard Feng and Guard Yun have returned!”
“Good!” Huangfu Yuchen smiled, “They were in Youcheng a few days ago, didn’t expect them to arrive so quickly.”
Thinking about the miraculous Maifan stone, Yan Ge became excited. “Finally! Where are they now?”
“They’ve arrived at the west city gate, Yan Guiqing,” Deng Mande said, “There are more than a dozen carriages in total.”
Huangfu Yuchen said, “Send someone to meet them and have them deliver the goods directly to the palace.”
“Yes.” Deng Mande responded, “Your Majesty, there’s more good news. General Jun and General Lu have also sent messages. They have successfully found the goods. General Jun will probably arrive in another three or four days, and General Lu will likely arrive in ten days.”
Huangfu Yuchen was overjoyed, “Excellent! All those who went on the mission will be heavily rewarded!”
“Come on, let’s go back.” Yan Ge couldn’t wait and handed Yan Xiangtian to Yan Jin.
“Eh? I don’t know how to take care of children.” Yan Jing handed Yan Xiangtian to Qiu Xiang, then pulled the Little Crown Prince and quickly ran away.
Yan Xiangtian’s gaze followed Yan Ge and the others as he was held in Qiu Xiang’s arms. He blinked, blinked again, probably wondering: why didn’t anyone take me along?
Back at the Tenglong Palace, Yan Ge couldn’t stay still. At times, he was excited about the Maifan stone that would greatly increase food production, and at other times, he worried about what to do if the stones found by Gao Feng and the others weren’t the Maifan stone. He scratched his head in frustration.
Huangfu Yuchen simply pulled him into his arms, kissed him deeply, while his hands roamed around…
After a while, when their intimacy subsided, Yan Ge calmed down and thought things through. Even if they didn’t find Maifan stone this time, it didn’t matter. They could send another group to search.
Huangfu Yuchen caressed Yan Ge’s face and said to the people outside the door, “Come in.”
Yan Jin and the Little Crown Prince walked in.
“Greetings, Father Emperor.”
“Hmm.” Huangfu Yuchen, as a father, still maintained his dignity.
“Second Master, is the Maifan stone really as miraculous as you said?” The Little Crown Prince sat beside Yan Ge, asking curiously.
Yan Ge nodded, “You’ll find out soon. When the time comes, we’ll choose some suitable stones and have them made into mechanism cups. Drinking water from cups made of the Maifan stone is beneficial to one’s health.”
