allonlinenovel Chapter 340
Chapter 340
"The Emperor is a merciful emperor," Eunuch Liu quickly said.Zhu Jingchen thought to himself that Xu Heming definitely did not think so, otherwise, he wouldn't have come here in the middle of the night to make his presence known.
Thinking of this, Zhu Jingchen let out a long sigh.
As soon as Zhu Jingchen arrived at the Imperial Study, he saw Xu Heming, whose back was turned to him, holding a stone in his hand.
Zhu Jingchen's eyes widened. Could it be that Xu Heming had been provoked by something and came to cause trouble for him?
Otherwise, why would he bring a stone into the palace?
Could he be planning to assassinate the Emperor?
"Prince An!" Eunuch Liu, unaware of the situation, thought the Emperor was displeased that Prince An hadn't noticed him, so he quickly gave a light cough as a reminder.
"Your subject greets Your Majesty!" Xu Heming quickly bowed to Zhu Jingchen.
"Mm, Prince An, you entered the palace late at night. Is there a matter of importance?" Although Zhu Jingchen felt a bit scared inside, he still coughed lightly and pretended not to notice Xu Heming's strange behavior as he asked.
"Your Majesty, please look at this." Xu Heming didn't beat around the bush; he quickly presented the stone in his hand to Zhu Jingchen.
"You came looking for me late at night just to make me look at this stone?" Zhu Jingchen originally thought Xu Heming wanted to smash him with the stone, but now it seemed he had overthought it.
Xu Heming was crazy.
Otherwise, why make him look at a stone late at night?
Or perhaps he wasn't fully awake and was dreaming right now?
"Your Majesty, take a look," Xu Heming said excitedly.
He believed that as long as the Emperor looked at the stone, he would definitely understand his meaning.
"Isn't this just a stone? Will it grow flowers?" Although Zhu Jingchen was speechless, he still looked down at the stone.
He wanted to see what kind of stone could make Xu Heming come to him in the middle of the night. If he couldn't give a satisfactory answer, he wouldn't let Xu Heming off lightly.
But when Zhu Jingchen looked at the stone, he noticed its uniqueness.
"Is this... iron ore?" Zhu Jingchen asked, somewhat uncertain.
"Your Majesty, your subject believes it is indeed iron ore," Xu Heming said affirmatively.
"Where did you find this?" Now, Zhu Jingchen could no longer remain calm. Iron ore! One must know that what the Lanno Kingdom lacked the most was gold, silver, and iron.
He never expected that there would be an iron mine within the borders of the Lanno Kingdom. The reason no one dared to invade the neighboring Qinling Kingdom was precisely because they had iron mines and forged elite weapons, wasn't it?
"It was on Mount Wangxian in the suburbs. Today, Qingshi and Lord Li appeared on Mount Wangxian for some unknown reason. The two fell into a pit. Qingshi said he wanted to bring these stones back. It was only after your subject returned that I discovered the peculiarity of these stones," Xu Heming quickly explained.
"Haha, Qingshi really has a good eye to have discovered this iron mine," Zhu Jingchen said heartily upon hearing this.
"Lord Li didn't attend the morning court today. So it turns out he went to help you search for someone." Zhu Jingchen felt that this Li Tianyou was not only his cash cow but also his lucky star. He actually discovered an iron mine! Thinking of this, Zhu Jingchen felt joyous. Fortunately, he had kept her around.
"Your Majesty, your subject hasn't had the time to ask why they appeared there. Also, Lord Li didn't go to help your subject search for someone today; he went missing together with my son," Xu Heming explained again.
"That is a minor matter. Later, have people go search the mountain to see how much more of this stone is up there. While you're at it, send people to Heping County to investigate thoroughly. With these two mines, our Lanno Kingdom will remain indestructible," Zhu Jingchen said happily.
"Congratulations, Your Majesty. This is a joyous event for the Lanno Kingdom," Eunuch Liu quickly knelt to the side and said.
"Congratulations, Your Majesty," Xu Heming also cupped his hands and said to Zhu Jingchen.
"Alright, deal with this matter first thing tomorrow morning. For now, hurry back and rest." Seeing Xu Heming's travel-worn appearance, Zhu Jingchen sighed inwardly. Xu Heming must have rushed into the palace to find him the moment he made the discovery.
Thinking of this, Zhu Jingchen felt a bit apologetic; he had just misunderstood him.
"Your Majesty, your subject would like to request a leave of absence on behalf of Lord Li." Thinking of the still-unconscious Li Tianyou, Xu Heming felt that Lord Li probably wouldn't be able to attend the morning court on time tomorrow.
"Lord Li has made a great contribution this time, so let him rest for a few days before attending court. First thing tomorrow morning, you will personally lead men to inspect the mountain; you are excused from the morning court." Although Zhu Jingchen said there was no rush, he was actually quite eager to know what kind of surprises awaited them there.
"Yes, your subject takes his leave!" Xu Heming still wanted to check on the conditions of Li Tianyou and Xu Qingshi, so he didn't dare to stay long.
Besides, he had already said what needed to be said.
At this moment, Xu Heming had no intention of staying any longer.
After Xu Heming left, Zhu Jingchen was extremely excited.
"Your Majesty, it's late. Will you return to Noble Lady Wang's place, or go back to the Palace of Heavenly Purity?" Eunuch Liu, seeing that Zhu Jingchen was not yet sleepy, had to carefully remind him.
"Return to the Palace of Heavenly Purity," Zhu Jingchen said without a second thought.
Now that the Lanno Kingdom had the capital to elevate itself rapidly, why would he still need to cater to those women?
"Yes!" After saying this, Eunuch Liu ordered the servants to prepare the things needed for the Emperor to stay at the Palace of Heavenly Purity.
By the time Xu Heming returned to Prince An's Manor, Qingsong and Liu Ming were still waiting there.
"How are Lord Li and Qingshi?" Xu Heming asked.
"Please rest assured, Your Highness. Lord Li and the Heir are both fine. They were just exhausted, and combined with prolonged tension, they fainted. However, neither of them has eaten properly for the past two days, so tomorrow they will probably only be able to drink some clear porridge." Liu Ming quickly repeated Doctor Zhang's words.
"Mm, are they asleep now?" Hearing that the two were fine, Xu Heming finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"They are both asleep. Doctor Zhang said they are both exhausted. This old servant has already had the kitchen prepare porridge; they can eat it as soon as they wake up," Liu Ming added.
"Mm, Steward Liu, you have done very well. Qingchuan, come to the study; I have matters to instruct." Xu Heming nodded. He still had to arrange tomorrow's inspection of the iron mine on Mount Wangxian.
Qingchuan was still a bit confused, but he quickly followed Xu Heming to the study.
Early the next morning, Li Zhiwei went to Prince An's Manor again.
If it hadn't been too late last night, she would have come to Prince An's Manor then.
At this moment, she just wanted to see Li Tianyou and confirm whether he was safe.
When Li Zhiwei arrived, Li Tianyou was eating porridge.
Liu Ming was personally serving him porridge by his side.
"Steward Liu, I can do it myself, I can do it myself." Li Tianyou felt extremely guilty. After all, he had only fallen into the hands of those with ulterior motives because he accompanied Xu Qingshi to the manor to retrieve his secret stash of money. Now that they had escaped, he had actually returned to Prince An's Manor first.
No matter how Li Tianyou thought about it, he felt a bit awkward.