Chapter 259
"Your Majesty, some components on the radio are neither gold nor silver, neither stone nor wood. Frankly speaking, in my humble opinion, they are simply not items from our world."
Things of the immortals—you want to build them? You must be dreaming!
Emperor Mingxi held the Morse code that Yu Chongshan had copied for him, and then looked at Lu Qi's expression, which practically screamed that he couldn't replicate it even if his life depended on it.
Unwillingly, he waved his hand, dismissing him for now.
He then turned to the Crown Prince, who was standing to the side watching, and said, "Crown Prince, what do you think if I take the second young lady of the Yu family as your side consort?
Fuguang has quite a good relationship with the Yu sisters, and this time she even chose her two older sisters to be those so-called telegraph operators.
With this exclusive technology..."
Hearing his imperial father suggest he take Yu Ningxuan as a side consort, Xie Zhiyan felt his head was about to explode. He didn't hear a single word of what was said next.
With an incredibly strong desire to survive, he blurted out, "Imperial Father, your son does not wish to."
If he didn't know his current imperial father reasonably well, Xie Zhiyan wouldn't be able to help but form a conspiracy theory: was his father trying to use the Junior Preceptor's hands to get him killed?!
Taking Yu Ningxuan as a side consort—even if he were to ascend the throne and become the emperor right now, without the Junior Preceptor giving the word, he wouldn't dare entertain the thought.
A Crown Prince's side consort, an Emperor's noble consort—aren't they still concubines in the end?
Making the Junior Preceptor, the Little Immortal Lord's sister a concubine... where did his imperial father get the audacity? If he wanted to recklessly court death, he didn't need to drag his own son down with him!
He was still young; he hadn't lived enough!
Could his imperial father's recent reckless, death-courting behavior be because the national treasury was full, making him overly arrogant?
Setting aside whether it would even succeed, once this idea reached the ears of the Junior Preceptor...
Xie Zhiyan felt even worse right now than Lu Qi, who had just left. He constantly felt that he might lose some vital body parts because of his father's bold idea.
He couldn't help but step closer, lowering his voice. "Imperial Father, once this idea of yours is known by the Junior Preceptor, your son..."
He looked at Emperor Mingxi with a bitter expression: I won't say it aloud, but you can imagine it yourself!
After Emperor Mingxi "imagined" it, a layer of cold sweat broke out over his body. Knowing he had misspoken, he let out a light cough.
Forcefully trying to save face, he said, "Where is the Crown Prince's mind wandering to? What your father meant is, as long as you can make the Yu family's young lady develop feelings for you.
No matter who she is, I can make the decision to take her as your side consort."
He patted the Crown Prince's shoulder and added, "My imperial son is as elegant as an orchid and a jade tree, handsome and dashing—exactly the type of appearance young ladies adore.
If you put your mind to charming a few young girls, it shouldn't be difficult."
Xie Zhiyan: You dare to say it, but your son dares not listen.
Asking me to seduce the Yu family's young lady... once the Junior Preceptor finds out, not only will my legs be broken, but it's hard to say if I'll even remain a man.
He hadn't forgotten the signature skills of those two ancestors. Their craftsmanship was much swifter and cleaner than Eunuch Qian's!
At this moment, Xie Zhiyan felt it was absolutely necessary to inform his imperial grandmother, so she could knock some sense into his imperial father's head and remind him who was truly in charge.
No one knows exactly what Xie Zhiyan told the Empress Dowager, but regardless, the emperor was summoned to her palace. When he emerged, even if he wasn't completely humiliated, his expression was utterly dejected.
The Crown Prince knew that by tattling, he had definitely earned his imperial father's grudge, so he simply avoided going anywhere near him.
He had had enough of reviewing memorials lately anyway, so he took the opportunity to slack off, bringing along The Eighth Sister, who had no classes, to visit the Yu mansion.
The siblings were both incredibly curious about what this radio, which could transmit messages over thousands of miles in real-time, actually looked like.
After the three Yu siblings secluded themselves for three days, they were already able to demonstrate simple messaging to the crowd, such as basic phrases like "Have you eaten?"
Witnessing firsthand that two people separated by dozens of miles could communicate flawlessly in real-time, the crowd was once again shocked speechless.
After all, hearing about something and seeing it with one's own eyes were two completely different things.
As they watched the seemingly random ticking sounds quickly convey clear meanings between the operators, they were astounded.
They didn't understand the underlying principles, but that didn't stop them from bestowing it with the title of "Little Divine Artifact."
Following these demonstrations, the radio became the hottest topic among the upper echelons of the Great Yan at the start of the year.
Hearing the radio being crowned with the title of "Little Divine Artifact," the true "Divine Artifact," System 07, was extremely displeased.
[Master, a piece of trash like the radio is only something these ignorant mortals would value.
To actually dare call it a 'Little Divine Artifact'—where does that leave the dignity of a true divine artifact like me?
Isn't it just capable of transmitting messages over thousands of miles?
Can it, like this Realm-Breaking Pearl, cross world barriers to travel to any major or minor thousand worlds? Can it move mountains and drain seas, or summon wind and rain? Can it know everything in the world and remain indestructible for thousands and tens of thousands of years?
It's just the most ordinary mortal item in Little Zhu's natal space; it doesn't even qualify as a spirit artifact or a treasure artifact.
For these people to actually dare call it a 'Little Divine Artifact' is truly turning the world upside down. It's simply outrageous!]
The officials still attending the court session were so terrified by the wrath of the Lord Divine Artifact that they didn't dare lift their heads.
Emperor Mingxi and Eunuch Qian, the master and servant closest to Yue Fuguang, were even more extreme: one sat rigidly upright, while the other lowered his head, intensely focused on counting the floor tiles beneath his feet.
They desperately wanted to clear their names. They had never referred to the radio as a little divine artifact, so this little ancestor absolutely must not take its anger out on them.
Seeing that the system was furiously angry, Yue Fuguang quickly comforted it: "Little Zhu, don't be angry. Isn't that just because mortals have shallow knowledge and haven't seen truly good things before!"
"If they knew we had walkie-talkies that allow instant communication within a hundred miles, or mobile phones that even mortals can use to see and talk to each other from ten thousand miles away, they naturally wouldn't call a mere radio a divine artifact. If they had seen Little Zhu, a true divine artifact, they would naturally understand that the difference between immortals and mortals is like an uncrossable chasm."
What walkie-talkies? Mobile phones? What were those? Being able to talk instantly was far more convenient than a radio.
After their initial shock, the crowd began exchanging meaningful glances with their Emperor. Their eyes clearly conveyed their thoughts: Want it! on one side, and Dare not! on the other.
[Hmph! These people really haven't seen anything good. This divine artifact despises them!]
The crowd was so frightened by that cold scoff that their minds instantly cleared. The entire imperial court plunged into an eerie silence. The time spent waiting for someone to step forward and present a memorial was actually no more than a dozen seconds.
But to everyone's senses, it felt as long as several hours.
The heavy breathing of the colleagues standing next to them could be heard with crystal clarity. If they hadn't gone through this, none of them would have known their hearing could be so sharp!
Some who couldn't bear the pressure exchanged glances with one another. 'I never called the radio a little divine artifact.'
'Me neither, at most I called it a big treasure.'
Even more people shrank their necks back; they had indeed been too presumptuous this time!
Seeing the heavy and oppressive atmosphere, Wei Ping closed his eyes, gritted his teeth, and stepped forward. "Your Majesty, your subject Wei Ping has a memorial to present."
"Beloved Subject Wei, please speak quickly!" That plea to speak quickly was filled with the joy of immense relief.
To Emperor Mingxi, who was sitting on the dragon throne wanting to shift his posture but not quite daring to, Wei Ping's words were no different from the music of heaven.
It had to be his Beloved Subject Wei; his rescue was incredibly timely!
The crowd also secretly breathed a sigh of relief. The atmosphere just now was much more terrifying than when their Emperor lost his temper.
Even listening to royal scandals hadn't scared them this much.
"Reporting to Your Majesty, as His Highness the Crown Prince's wedding approaches, thefts and murders have been occurring frequently in the capital. Last night, the City Patrol Department in charge of night patrols even captured three assassins near the Yu Manor."
Emperor Mingxi frowned and asked again uncertainly, "Beloved Subject Wei, where did you just say the assassins were caught?"