coobybook Chapter 236 It begins
Chapter 236 It begins
With Qi Ji's help, Madam Wu successfully vomited out all the stagnant toxins. Furthermore, without the poison from the hen's pearl, she no longer worried about dying at any moment.
However, Wu's current situation is not optimistic. To put it simply, her body has suffered severe damage and requires a long period of recuperation and care. Furthermore, removing the poison that is still eroding her brain and internal organs is a very urgent matter.
Sang Moyun was deeply saddened after receiving the dowry and property from Madam Wu. However, after being reminded by Qi Ji, she rallied and devoted herself wholeheartedly to the struggle to save Madam Wu.
Finally, when Qi Ji left, there was an extra brocade box in his medicine chest. Inside the brocade box were all the silver notes that Madam Wu had saved up over the years.
That was a very considerable fortune, enough to buy almost half of Xuanwu Street.
That mother and daughter were truly laughable, trusting Qi Ji so much to entrust such a large sum of money to him for safekeeping. But this also gave him a deeper understanding of the Sang family: the eldest master of the Sang family was a scoundrel.
Neither Master Sang nor Madam Wang, who had been waiting in the main hall, expected that the silver they desired most was currently lying in Qi Ji's medicine chest. After politely seeing Qi Ji off with smiles on their faces, they didn't bother to go back to Madam Wu's room to investigate further.
There was a sour, rotten smell of vomit in Wu's room. Also, the room had a sense of decay. Neither of these things pleased them. Moreover, the presence of that thing in the room was unpleasant.
The matter at the Sang family's residence has come to a temporary end, but the battle for Li Xiaonuan's side has only just begun.
After Li Xiaonuan returned to the villa, she had just roughly drawn a diagram of the telescope's structure when Wei Yu arrived. His purpose this time was quite clear: to get the explosives formula from Li Xiaonuan.
Previously, Li Xiaonuan had mentioned the idea of homemade landmines to Prince Jing and the others on the way. However, at that time, Prince Jing was still undecided. Now that he has sent Wei Yu, it's probably because he's anxious.
For nearly a month in the capital, Li Xiaonuan had not seen Prince Jing or the young princess. However, she had vaguely heard about things happening at Prince Jing's residence.
I heard that the day after Prince Jing returned to the capital, he was summoned to the palace by the current emperor. After that, he was never seen coming out again.
On the third day, the young princess went to the palace to request an audience with the Empress, but was refused entry at the Nine Palaces Gate. Helpless, the young princess had no choice but to kneel outside the Nine Palaces Gate with her mother, the Princess Consort of Jing.
After kneeling for a day and a night, the mother and daughter were finally invited into Jiuhua Palace by the Emperor, who had "accidentally" overheard the matter. From then on, the three masters of the Jing Prince's Mansion never left the palace again.
If Wei Yu hadn't repeatedly assured Li Xiaonuan that Prince Jing and the others were alright, Li Xiaonuan would have thought that the whole family had perished in the palace.
At that time, Li Xiaonuan suggested to Wei Yu that Prince Jing use his influence to expose the evil deeds of the Empress's faction to the world. Afterwards, they could exert pressure in the court and successfully eliminate the Empress's family.
However, Wei Yu severely criticized Li Xiaonuan at the time. Among the charges against Prince Jing were maintaining a private army and colluding with foreign powers with the intention of rebellion.
If they actually did as Li Xiaonuan said, wouldn't that confirm those charges?
But now, at the very moment when Wei Yu is announcing that he is severing ties with Li Xiaonuan, he is actually coming to Li Xiaonuan to ask for the explosive formula, which shows that the drama in the court has already begun.
Wei Yu once said that after they officially broke with the Empress's family, what they feared most was the Wang family's army of over 200,000 men in the Northwest.
It's clear that Wei Yu came to ask for the prescription to guard against the more than 200,000 troops of the Northwest Army. Or perhaps he was afraid that the Wang family, if pushed too far, would raise an army in rebellion.
“These are the improved gunpowder formulas. Also, since you can’t manufacture high-quality iron grenades in a short time, I’ve come up with another good idea for you. Take a look at this.” Li Xiaonuan pulled out a few sheets from the stack and showed them to Wei Yu.
"You mean this thing can be used in conjunction with a catapult? How will the soldiers operate it?" Wei Yu asked, somewhat overjoyed, after carefully reading the two pages.
"The last two pages contain detailed instructions. However, using this crudely made, immature grenade carries significant risks. I'm worried that the soldiers might not be able to handle it properly and could accidentally injure themselves," Li Xiaonuan said with some regret.
"You don't need to worry about those things. Our Qi Song soldiers are all tough guys, and there are many talented individuals among them. We can just find some skilled and quick-witted soldiers to operate these catapults," Wei Yu said confidently.
"Okay, that's settled then. As long as those things can be used effectively, miracles like winning with fewer resources can happen at any time." Li Xiaonuan also felt a sense of accomplishment.
“A while ago, our men scraped a lot of gunpowder from the corner of the street. I’ll go back and have them test the power of this formula.” Wei Yu said, carefully putting the papers into his pocket.
Before leaving, Wei Yu gave Li Xiaonuan a serious warning.
“Things might get a bit turbulent in the capital lately. Unless it’s something really important, don’t leave this villa and go wandering around outside. Also, I, Wei Yu, will never give up on you, never!” After saying this, Wei Yu suddenly hugged Li Xiaonuan tightly and left without looking back.
Li Xiaonuan then realized that things had escalated significantly. Judging from the commotion, the success or failure of Prince Jing and Brother Zhao was imminent. She just wondered if they had left themselves a way out.
The situation at court had become so tense, yet Li Xiaonuan dared not tell her father or the Su family at all. She was afraid that they would become too anxious and worried and fall ill.
That evening, Li Xiaonuan nervously welcomed an unexpected guest. No, it should be said, two.
"Li girl, I brought someone to see you. He heard you have a crop atlas and came specifically to ask for your advice." The old Taoist's unusually deep voice penetrated the entire courtyard and reached Li Xiaonuan's ears.
"Grandpa, what brings you here? I was just about to tell my sister I'd come see you tomorrow." Xiao Gang blew past Li Xiaonuan like a gust of wind.
"Hey, Xiao Gang, are you so happy to see this old Taoist?" The old Taoist's voice was also filled with excitement.
When Li Xiaonuan went out, she saw Xiaogang rubbing against Lao Dao's arms like a puppy.
"Xiao Gang, stop fooling around. Old Master, quickly bring the guests inside." Li's father, who came out next, scolded Xiao Gang and invited the old Taoist priest and the other man into the house.
Only then did Li Xiaonuan notice the young man behind the old Taoist priest. The young man appeared to be in his early thirties, and his scholar's robes accentuated his refined and elegant demeanor. However, Li Xiaonuan felt a sense of familiarity about him.
As the man drew closer, Li Xiaonuan realized that the young man was actually older than he appeared at first glance, probably close to forty.