Back when he first chose to remain in the capital of Tian Sheng, he had yet to cast off the image of a powerless, ridiculed, and utterly dispensable prince.
Among the ministers of Tian Sheng, not a single one deemed him worthy of a second glance. Who, then, had he supposedly "persuaded through sheer force of will"?
Huyan Mingchuan understood all too well what Emperor Xuanwu truly meant by those words, as if seeing straight through a polished mirror.
Yet he did not mind.
After all, he had no interest in marrying Yun Shu in the first place.
If he absolutely had to marry, then let his bride be mathematics.
"Your Majesty," he said, "there is still one more matter I must request of you."
"Oh?"
He had only just made it clear that his Xiao Wu had no intentions of marrying this lad, and now the lad himself stepped forward with a request?
Could it be that he really did intend to use his merits from securing Bei Xiang as leverage to demand marriage with Xiao Wu?
Emperor Xuanwu narrowed his eyes, quietly observing the calm and composed young man standing below the dais. He did not voice his suspicions, nor did he reject the request outright. Instead, he nodded mildly and said,
"You brought Bei Xiang into submission and delivered it to Tian Sheng. That is indeed a great merit. Whatever request you may have, speak freely. So long as it is not excessive, We shall grant it."
The unspoken emphasis: Do not be excessive.
Huyan Mingchuan understood. His expression remained flat as he raised his eyes and met the Emperor's gaze.
"Your Majesty, I only ask that Her Highness the Crown Princess grant me the remaining volumes of the mathematics texts, all at once."
Emperor Xuanwu blinked. "What?"
What did he mean by that?
His own daughter was apparently less appealing to this youth than a few books on mathematics?
Like many fathers who held their daughters as precious jewels, Emperor Xuanwu had already taken a disliking to Huyan Mingchuan the moment he suspected him of harboring intentions toward his Xiao Wu.
But now, upon realizing that his cherished Xiao Wu could not even compete with a stack of dry math scrolls in this lad's eyes, Emperor Xuanwu's dislike only deepened.
Still, he had not forgotten his place. He was, after all, the Emperor. Now that Huyan Mingchuan had rendered meritorious service, and with so many officials present in the hall, even the bitterest feelings of a father could not be allowed to show.
He forced himself to smile and nodded slightly.
"That is not an unreasonable request.
However, as for the mathematics books you seek, they are in the Crown Princess's possession. Even We are uncertain whether she is willing to release all the volumes at once."
"In that case…"
Huyan Mingchuan inclined his head, then turned directly to Yun Shu.
"Perhaps Your Highness can answer that question?"
"Oh, you mean the mathematics books?"
Yun Shu had originally dangled those books in front of him precisely to keep him steady — to keep him from running amok and stirring up trouble.
Now that the matter of Bei Xiang was resolved, and Huyan Mingchuan had clearly fallen headlong into the world of numbers, hopelessly enthralled…
Why not give him the books?
The mathematical knowledge developed over centuries in later generations would be more than enough to occupy him for the rest of his life.
Yun Shu readily agreed.
"In that case, This Princess will have them organized and delivered to you before New Year's Eve."
"My thanks, Your Highness."
…
That night's Wanshou Festival banquet reached two peaks — first with the offerings presented by the "Heaven's Chosen Daughter" Yun Shu, and then with Huyan Mingchuan's astonishing gift of surrendering an entire kingdom.
After such climactic events, everything that followed inevitably felt a little lackluster by comparison.
Emperor Xuanwu, for his part, remained preoccupied with thoughts of the light that had illuminated the Hall of Linde — the sky that had been made to shine just for him.
Even after a night of revelry, the moment he stepped into the imperial study the next morning after court, he could no longer restrain himself.
"You may speak now. How did you make the Linde Hall light up like that?"
"Physics. A generator. And lightbulbs," Yun Shu replied without missing a beat.
Clearly, she had anticipated the question. When she attended court that morning, she had even tucked the schematics into her sleeve pouch in advance.
Now she laid the blueprint across the Emperor's desk without explanation, resting her chin lightly in her palm and smiling.
"If Father Emperor wishes, Your Daughter would be happy to explain from the very beginning. Though, it may take quite some time."
"That won't be necessary."
Emperor Xuanwu, a man of the literary tradition through and through, found the tightly packed diagrams and tangled lines utterly overwhelming.
He only cared about one thing.
"So… this was not accomplished by divine power? It is like the steam carriages — something mortals can construct?"
"Of course!"
Yun Shu gave her Imperial Father a look that seemed to ask, 'What strange ideas are you entertaining, Father Emperor?'
"You didn't actually believe Your Daughter was an immortal, did you?"
Emperor Xuanwu: "."
She certainly acted like one.
Yun Shu: "?"
Never mind that. It was not important.
Sweeping the generator blueprints to the side, Yun Shu took out another set of drawings. This time, her expression turned serious.
"Father Emperor, Your Daughter intends to construct a military factory on the outskirts of the capital."
"A military factory?"
Emperor Xuanwu was taken aback.
"You intend to…"
"I intend to produce more gunpowder," Yun Shu said plainly.
"Previously, the Kingdom of Nia had never sent an envoy to participate in our Wanshou Festival or New Year's banquet. And yet this year, they came, carrying a so-called 'papal endorsement' in hand. Their motives are clear — they came to test our strength.
Who knows when another event like the previous coalition of seven nations may erupt once more?
That is why I believe it best we prepare ahead of time."
"You speak wisely."
Emperor Xuanwu drew in a slow breath as he studied the blueprints before him. His brow furrowed.
"However, you yourself once said that making gunpowder is not particularly difficult. If we wish to keep the formula from leaking, every person within that military factory must be someone absolutely loyal and trustworthy.
But to run a factory, we shall need no small number of hands…"
"That is only one part of the issue."
While Emperor Xuanwu was still contemplating the problem of personnel, Yun Shu had already taken out a third item. This time, not a blueprint, but a folded memorial.
"Father Emperor knows well that Your Daughter has always believed in being prepared for the worst.
Even if we manage to keep the factory a secret for a while, over time, no one can guarantee absolute security.
If the formula for gunpowder were ever to fall into enemy hands, then our best response would be to create something even more powerful."
"Something more powerful?"
Emperor Xuanwu's pupils contracted.
"What is it?"
"...That part Your Daughter was only speaking in theory. It has not been made. Yet."
Yun Shu blinked innocently.
"What I meant is, we can have others make it."
"Others?"
Realizing that no such weapon existed just yet, Emperor Xuanwu relaxed.
"Whom do you mean? Zheng Qiaozhang, Jiang Yuanbao, Ye Qing'an? Or someone else from the Ministry of Works?"