Chapter 0050: No Talking During Baths. Isn’t It No Talking During Sleep?
“Shen Yuan…”
Xie Chengze shrank his neck slightly. The man’s low, heavy sniffing near his ear felt oppressive, and the large hands around his waist tightened their grip as if trying to crush his spine, making it almost difficult to breathe.
Realizing Shen Yuan was angry, Xie Chengze swallowed nervously, his voice trembling slightly, “Um, I can explain…”
Shen Yuan’s eyes darkened, but he remained silent. After a long pause, he let out a light, mocking snort, his tone dangerous and sarcastic, “It seems the Second Prince hasn’t taken my words to heart.”
The smell of sulfur was too strong to ignore.
“I bought the sulfur powder for bathing, really!” Xie Chengze tried to bluff his way through. “You should know that adding sulfur powder to bathwater can refresh the body!”
“Hah.” Shen Yuan released him and took a step back, clearly not believing a word of his nonsense. “Of course I believe you. Coincidentally, I’ve brought you a new set of clothes, and the kitchen is heating water right now. Why doesn’t the Second Prince take that sulfur powder and go bathe and change now?”
“What?” Seeing Xie Chengze dawdling in place, Shen Yuan raised an eyebrow and sneered, “Or are you admitting that you actually wanted to make gunpowder?”
Xie Chengze: …
Xie Chengze couldn’t stand his mocking, provoking attitude the most. His stubborn temper flared up immediately, and he shouted, “Fine, I’ll bathe! Who’s afraid of you!”
He angrily ordered servants to prepare a wooden tub. Watching them pour bucket after bucket of hot water into the bath, he finally began to hesitate when it was nearly full, sneaking a glance at the man who had been coldly observing the entire time.
Noticing his gaze, Shen Yuan turned his head and smirked, “What, has the Second Prince changed his mind?”
Xie Chengze gripped the edge of the tub, frowning, “Shouldn’t you all leave while this prince bathes?”
Shen Yuan chuckled lightly, crossed his arms, and tapped his fingers leisurely, “How could the prince bathe without attendants? I’ll stay here, ready to respond to your summons at any time.”
He deliberately reminded him, “Don’t soak for too long, Your Highness, lest you forget to add the sulfur powder while getting dizzy.”
Xie Chengze: “…I don’t need your reminder!”
Shen Yuan shrugged and turned away without another word. Seeing that he stubbornly refused to leave, Xie Chengze gritted his teeth, took off his old clothes, and slipped into the tub.
Still fuming, he threw the discarded robes onto Shen Yuan’s head like an act of vengeance, “You dog official!”
Shen Yuan: …
With the robes draped over his head, Shen Yuan felt both annoyed and amused. He pulled off the worn, gritty dark red robes and rolled them up around his arm, “Your Highness, I’ve returned the clothes I owed you.”
Xie Chengze didn’t understand at first, but then he remembered—Shen Yuan was referring to how he had ruined his red court robes on the way to Yi Province.
Xie Chengze snorted twice, “One set isn’t enough.”
He splashed the water a few times, his eyes darting toward where the sulfur powder was hidden. Clearing his throat slightly, he said, “Um, Shen Lang~”
The moment Shen Yuan heard him call him “Shen Lang,” he knew he was up to no good again, “Your Highness, no talking during baths.”
Xie Chengze: ? “Isn’t it no talking during meals and no talking during sleep?”
Shen Yuan let out a derisive laugh, as if finding him somewhat unreasonable. “When two people are intimate, emotions are hard to control—why wouldn’t they speak of it? Even if Your Highness has never tasted forbidden fruit, surely you’ve heard of it?”
Xie Chengze: ???
Did a carriage just run over his face?
Xie Chengze touched his cheek in disbelief, opened his mouth, then leaned against the wooden tub in despair. “…Indeed, this is my first time hearing of it.”
Shen Yuan offered no comment.
After soaking for a while, perhaps due to too much water, Xie Chengze felt some discomfort in his chest. He slightly lifted his hips to relieve the water pressure on his heart.
Hearing the movement, Shen Yuan casually asked, “Is Your Highness going to add sulfur powder now?”
Xie Chengze: …Sulfur powder, sulfur powder—is that all you know? Is your brain entirely stuffed with sulfur powder?!
“Not yet! That stuff isn’t good for the body if soaked for too long. I’ll add it to the sandalwood soap when I’m almost done bathing!” After saying this, Xie Chengze suddenly had an idea. He coughed lightly and said mischievously, “Since Lord Shen has said you’re at my disposal anytime, why not help me chop up the sandalwood soap on the shelf first?”
Shen Yuan raised an eyebrow. “Your Highness, I don’t have a suitable blade at hand.”
Xie Chengze’s gaze fell to his waist, implying something. “I think your sword would work quite well…”
Shen Yuan looked down: …
“Ah! So much for being at my beck and call—it seems it was all flattering lies. I knew Lord Shen never truly cared for me…” Xie Chengze sighed dramatically, clutching his chest as if heartbroken.
Shen Yuan: …
Taking a deep breath, the man shook his head in resignation. He picked up the sandalwood soap from the shelf, drew the Azure Sword from his waist, and began slicing the soap for this hard-to-please Second Prince.
In the original story, Shen Yuan’s Azure Sword only beheaded traitors and foolish rulers, clearing all remnants for the Crown Prince and the court. Readers jokingly called it the “Jian’an Sword.”
Yet now, this renowned Jian’an Sword was being humiliatingly used in a shabby little hut to scrape sandalwood soap with its tip. While Xie Chengze found it amusing, he also felt that Shen Yuan seemed… somewhat different toward him.
He couldn’t pinpoint exactly how, but perhaps it was because when Shen Yuan discovered he was making gunpowder, his first concern was for Xie Chengze not to risk his life, rather than worrying about the common people.
Xie Chengze couldn’t tell if Shen Yuan had been sincere at that moment, but at the very least, he liked hearing it.
If he were an emperor, he’d surely be a foolish ruler—one who loved listening to the flattery of treacherous officials.
“Shen Yuan.” Xie Chengze rested his arms on the tub, fingertips unconsciously tapping the wooden surface. “If I told you I can make gunpowder without any danger at all, would you believe me?”
Thump! The sword slipped, slicing through the center of the soap. In the next moment, it swiftly veered off and slammed into the ground with a sharp clang. Half of the chopped soap fell to the floor, dust clinging to it, looking pitiful and helpless.
Shen Yuan turned his head, smiling darkly. “What did Your Highness just say? I was too focused on slicing the soap and didn’t catch it.”
Xie Chengze: …
Xie Chengze silently covered his mouth and sank deeper into the tub water.
Threat! This was a threat! A blatant threat!
“Your Highness, you should be about done soaking, right?” Shen Yuan picked up the soap dish containing sandalwood soap shavings, turned and walked to the wooden tub, calling out to Xie Chengze who was hiding inside. “If you soak any longer, Your Highness will become all pruney.”
“I think I can hold out a bit longer,” Chengze said stubbornly. “If we don’t quickly blast through the river channel with gunpowder, I’m afraid digging through Yu Ji Mountain will take seven or eight years, not to mention we still have to dig several tributary channels afterwards. But we can’t stay here that long. Once you and I leave, Liang Wan Da will certainly be disposed of by those behind the scenes. By then, the Tianfu Plan will likely become indefinitely delayed.”
“No matter who is sent to Yi Province to replace Liang Wan Da in the future, as long as those behind the scenes remain undefeated, the Yizhou Zhifu will inevitably be assimilated – and those who can’t be assimilated will end up dead. The people of Yi Province have already built their confidence around Liang Wan Da as their spiritual core. If Liang Wan Da dies, the psychological blow to the local people cannot be underestimated.”
Therefore, if they wanted to complete the Tianfu Plan quickly, gunpowder was absolutely essential.
Shen Yuan lowered his gaze and remained silent. He naturally understood these reasoning – how could he not know?
But while Chengze was considering all this, had he ever thought about what fate would await him once the gunpowder was successfully made?