Volume One, Chapter 16: A Dutiful Son Crafts Guns, Cannons, and Rebels
Not quite...
This “dutiful son” act?
Li Jize, struck by a sudden episode in the dead of night, went out to pay respects to Li Jin? He actually ran out?
Not only was Li Jin, displeased with his son after that “sage’s dream,” stunned, but even Huang Suqiu, his own mother, was dumbfounded and deeply surprised.
“Hmph! That unfilial son would have such thoughts?” Li Jin snorted coldly, turning his body slightly to cast a sidelong glance at Wang Yuanya.
One must admit, this new daughter-in-law was truly skilled at acting!
At this moment, seeing Li Jin’s suspicion, Wang Yuanya wept all the more bitterly.
“Wuwu... Jize said he knows his mind is sometimes clear, sometimes not! Since he could remember this matter in the middle of the night, he had to hurry and pay respects to his father!”
As she spoke, she lowered her head, unable to resist wiping tears from her face with her sleeve.
Li Jin was momentarily stunned, barely daring to believe it!
Last night, in the middle of the night? That unfilial son was actually outside his door?
“That’s not right. Although I drank some with Jihuan last night, I wasn’t drunk! If that son really came to pay respects to me, why didn’t anyone knock?”
As soon as Li Jin’s words fell, the concubine Chen Anran sneered outright, staring disdainfully at Wang Yuanya.
“If you say Li Jize came to pay respects while half-mad, maybe we’d believe it! But if he was sober, would he really go to greet Brother Jin? Not in a million years!”
Indeed…
Upon reflection, Li Jize was a man who would rather break than bend. He probably hated the Empress for conspiring to betray his own father.
How could he possibly go and pay respects to Li Jin?
For a moment, all suspicious gazes turned toward Wang Yuanya.
Under so many eyes, Wang Yuanya’s heart skipped a beat; her gaze wavered.
But if she couldn’t even handle such a minor matter, how could she serve as an “undercover agent”?
“Oh! My husband said that when he was young and hot-headed, he made many mistakes! After going through so much, he no longer desires fame, fortune, or wealth. His greatest wish now is for the family to live together peacefully and harmoniously.”
When Wang Yuanya finished speaking, everyone in the Li household was dumbfounded, frozen in place.
Huang Suqiu felt a sting in her nose and her eyes reddened. She turned away, tears welling as she joyfully shouted, “Brother Jin, did you hear that? Our Jize has not only matured but also learned to cherish and love his parents and family!”
Li Jin: “...”
He, too, was struck by that line: “Not seeking fame, wealth, or glory, but only that the family be safe and harmonious.”
Chen Anran frowned and stood up, her voice cold.
“You’ve talked a lot, but you haven’t explained why, if your husband went out at midnight to pay respects to the old master, no one saw him?”
“Well… I already said, he went to pay respects in the middle of the night! I suppose he remembered grandfather had drunk quite a bit and didn’t want to disturb him while he was drunk! So… he waited outside the door! And now, he should be at the market buying breakfast for everyone!”
Wang Yuanya’s skill in fabricating lies was truly first-rate!
Hearing Li Jin mention he drank with Jihuan last night, she immediately spun a tale.
Huang Suqiu had calculated everything except this—the daughter-in-law could weave such an enormous lie!
Her words moved Huang Suqiu to tears; she covered her mouth, sobbing uncontrollably.
“Last night… it was so cold, and the child… actually stood watch all night and didn’t even knock to come in! And early this morning, he went to the market to buy breakfast. Brother Jin…”
Turning back to Li Jin, Huang Suqiu tearfully said, “Jize has really changed! He truly understands his mistakes!”
The commanding aura of Li Jin as head of the Li family evaporated under Wang Yuanya’s “lies.”
He stared at the teacup on the table, sighed deeply, and said with some emotion, “In truth, for the whole family to be safe and harmonious—that has always been my hope as well! This boy too—there are so many servants and household staff here; why should he have to buy breakfast himself?”
Finally, Li Jin looked at Wang Yuanya and said, “You! Having married into the Li family, you are a Li daughter-in-law! How can you let your husband do such chores as preparing breakfast?”
“Ah!”
Wang Yuanya was frustrated.
It seemed she had overacted and brought this trouble upon herself.
“Go! It’s cold outside—quickly grab a coat and find him!”
“This…”
Wang Yuanya was embarrassed. Go look for that scoundrel Li Jize? Where should she even look?
But then her mother-in-law Huang Suqiu caught on. She hurriedly smiled and said, “Brother Jin, the daughter-in-law just came to our home! How would she know the nearby market? I’ll go with her!”
Li Jin thought for a moment and finally nodded.
The two women left together, rushing to find Li Jize, fearing he might lose his mind halfway and cause trouble.
Watching their retreating figures…
Chen Anran was displeased, glancing at Li Jin with a sour expression.
“Really? Brother Jin, do you truly believe that unfilial son would come to pay respects at midnight?”
“Yes! Father, if he really went to buy breakfast now, what time would it be? He’d have been back ten times over by now!”
The youngest son, Li Jihuan, also didn’t believe Wang Yuanya’s nonsense. That ugly woman was clearly a skilled actress.
Li Jin shot them a glare and sighed helplessly.
“Your eldest brother is troubled! He’s been out so long without returning—shouldn’t you be worried? Jihuan, since you command the Northern Liang Wolf Cavalry and patrol the capital, help look for him!”
Li Jihuan: “...”
Chen Anran: “...”
Well then! This ugly woman’s acting had instantly changed Li Jin’s mind.
Once calling him an “unfilial son,” now playing the “loving father and filial son” act, huh?
So…
While the Li family searched desperately for Li Jize, what was he doing?
...
In a dimly lit blacksmith’s workshop, a group of burly refugees were either pumping the bellows or adding charcoal.
Everyone was dumbfounded as they watched the young man before them repeatedly hammer a glowing iron bar onto a “U”-shaped iron mold.
They couldn’t figure out what the Prince of Qin was forging.
Judging by the shape, could it be horseshoes?
No! That was too small—how could it be horseshoes?
Soon, after many strikes, they grew both more certain and more puzzled.
Certain because they saw clearly: it was a tubular hollow iron pipe.
Puzzled because they had no idea what such an object was for.
Of course, they didn’t understand that in Li Jize’s era, forging this piece might get him sent to operate a sewing machine!
What was it?
Future generations would recognize it immediately: a gun barrel!
Now, with Li Jize’s other parts nearly completed, once the barrel appeared, assembly could begin...
Great Qi! A leap forward across the ages was about to dawn!
So, while the Li family shed tears over their dutiful son, he was busy forging guns and cannons—and plotting rebellion!