Love Lock

Chapter 166 Whose house is so lively?

This reply, barely audible, silenced the entire hall. Everyone looked at each other, unable to believe what they had just heard.

A moment later, the champion's wife realized what was happening and clapped her hands excitedly.

"Hey! That's more like it."

"Good! Good!" The Marquis of Champion slammed his hand on the table and stood up, the sandalwood table making a crisp sound.

He stroked his beard, his eyes crinkling with a smile. "I'll send someone to the Wei residence to deliver a message right away."

The wife of the Marquis of Champion hurriedly grabbed her husband's sleeve: "My lord, wait a moment, for such an important matter, we must first ask for a matchmaker..."

With so many people discussing her marriage, Princess Chang Le felt a little embarrassed, her cheeks burning. As she stood up, her skirt brushed against the embroidered stool, carrying a fragrant breeze.

She was about to flee when the Marquis of Champion called her back.

"Wait a minute." The Marquis of Champion's voice carried a hint of mischief. "That brat from the Wei family specially sent over a few bottles of rare and fine wine."

He pointed to the two gilded brocade boxes on the table. "They say it's called... a soy sauce flavor. Why don't you try some?"

Upon hearing that the wine was brought by that chubby boy, Princess Chang Le's cheeks burned even hotter.

She paused, her eyes sparkling as she turned back: "I don't want to drink. If you want to drink... you guys drink!"

After saying that, Tai turned around and started to walk out again.

"Hey! Stop right there."

The champion called out to her impatiently, then turned and walked toward the antique shelf.

The shelf was filled with all sorts of precious objects. The Marquis of Champions took down a small silk box, opened it, and carefully took out the jade ruyi inside.

Then, she took out two small hand grenades from the brocade box given to her by Han Lei, carefully placed them side by side into the small brocade box, and handed them to Lord Chang Le.

"This is..." The princess took the brocade box with a puzzled look.

The Marquis of Champion solemnly instructed, "It's fine if you don't drink, but His Majesty and the Empress must taste it. Your aunt is the pillar of the Su family. If we have something good, even if it's just two bottles of wine, we must think of your aunt and uncle first."

Princess Chang Le nodded in deep agreement, but her gaze was drawn to the small, delicate hand.

She reached out to touch the pin on the grenade, but the Marquis gently patted the back of her hand, causing Princess Chang Le to pull her hand back.

"Don't touch it." The Marquis of Champion glared at her. "That's the lid of the wine pot. Once you open it, you have to drink from it. You have to open it immediately after drinking. Once you open it, it's easy to... wait, what did that kid say was easy to do?"

The Marquis of Champion couldn't recall the word for a moment, so he turned to look at his wife beside him.

"It evaporates easily and turns into water," Lady Marquis of Champion added.

Upon hearing this, Champion Marquis nodded vigorously. "Yes, yes, that's why this wine is so precious. That kid from the Wei family only gave us these few bottles."

"Oh, I know."

Princess Chang Le blushed again at the mention of that Wei family brat.

Lady of the Marquis of Champion instructed again: "Changle, you go and deliver it yourself. Tell His Majesty and the Empress not to think it's too little. This wine hasn't been released yet, so we can only let them try it first. Once it's available on the market, we'll send more to the palace."

Princess Chang Le nodded, blushed as she carried the brocade box into the palace. As she turned, the hair ornament in her hair swayed gently, drawing a streak of light in the candlelight.

Watching Princess Chang Le's departing figure, the Lady of the Marquis of Champion teased, "Oh, this child, still shy!"

The Marquis of Champion also laughed and said, "Never mind her, she's a girl. Since Chang Le has already agreed, it seems she has some feelings for that chubby boy. We should start discussing the preparations for Chang Le's wedding."

Lady Marquis of Champion nodded: "Yes, yes, sir, you should first send someone to the Prime Minister's residence and ask them to send a matchmaker to deliver the betrothal gifts as soon as possible, and then send someone to propose marriage."

The Marquis of Champion sent his steward to Prime Minister Wei's house to deliver a message. After discussing it for a while, the group opened the two brocade boxes on the table.

"This is the sauce-flavored liquor that the Wei family lad gave us. Everyone, have a taste."

As he spoke, Champion Hou took out neatly arranged hand grenades from the luxurious brocade box and distributed them to everyone.

The Marquis of Champion has other brothers and sisters in the capital, but the Wei family only sent twenty bottles of fine wine.

During the daytime banquet, that young man from the Wei family had already opened three bottles, and now he has given two more bottles to the Emperor and Empress, leaving a total of fifteen bottles.

His own extended family, numbering twelve or thirteen, was present when they gathered. Therefore, he did not invite any other siblings to join the meal.

After distributing the prizes once, there were still two left to distribute, but Champion Hou couldn't bear to distribute them anymore.

He closed the brocade box and placed it back in front of him.

He planned to keep these two bottles of fine wine for himself, savoring them slowly before they completely turned to water.

"Chang Le has agreed to the marriage; today is truly a joyous occasion for our Marquis's mansion."

Champion Hou, his face flushed, raised the exquisite "bottle" in his hand; the military green bottle seemed to gleam alluringly in the candlelight.

"Come, come, let's enjoy this rare and delicious Maotai-flavor liquor. Pull the ring on top and you can drink."

As he spoke, Champion Hou gripped the pull ring and made a pulling motion. "Look, like this."

His voice was loud and clear, echoing throughout the ornately decorated hall.

With a sharp pull on the ring with his index finger, the metal ring fell off with a soft "pop," and the safety lever snapped open.

The people at the table all followed suit, and the intermittent metallic clanging sound was like some kind of eerie melody.

Those "bottles" were exquisitely designed, and no one would have guessed that these delicate and small "bottles" were actually MK3ATWO grenades that Han Lei had bought from the system.

Of the twenty hand grenades in the brocade box, only the three bottles that Han Lei personally opened contained genuine Maotai-flavor liquor.

That was the alien-shaped packaging she had searched for a long time on the system panel, which was indistinguishable from the real MK3ATWO grenade.

The MK3ATWO grenade is an offensive grenade. Once the pull ring is pulled, the grip snaps open, and it explodes in just three to four seconds.

So, just as Champion Hou brought the "bottle" to his lips, before he could even discern whether it smelled of wine or gunpowder, the grenade suddenly exploded.

"boom!"

The smile on the champion's face was still frozen, but his head exploded like a ripe watermelon, and red and white matter splattered all over the priceless landscape screen behind him.

Almost simultaneously, the entire hall seemed to be struck by Thor's hammer, with a series of deafening explosions ringing out one after another.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

The carved nanmu pillars snapped in half during the shockwave, and the heavy beams crashed down.

The roof and walls were shattered by the shockwave, and the fragments flew outwards in a radial pattern.

The flying debris, like the scythe of death, reaped the lives of the masters of the Marquis's mansion.

The servants who were cleaning and tidying up in the courtyard were affected by the violent shockwave. Those who were closer were thrown into the air and fainted upon landing.

Those further away were so shocked by the sound that their eardrums ached and they stood there stunned.

They were all stunned by this sudden disaster.

A young maidservant holding a fruit platter stood still. The platter slipped from her hands, and fresh fruit rolled all over the ground.

She opened her mouth wide, but no sound came out. Another servant slumped to the ground, his wide eyes reflecting the raging firelight, muttering the words "divine punishment."

In the blink of an eye, the magnificent main hall of the Marquis of Champion's mansion was reduced to ruins.

Amidst the billowing smoke, scattered limbs and dismembered bodies could be vaguely seen. The sandalwood round table, once laden with delicacies, now consisted of only a small, charred leg, adorned with a golden tassel—an ornament from the hairpin of the Marquis of Champion.

Tengyun Tower, located two streets away from the Marquis's residence, is the tallest building in the capital.

Han Lei and Da Si, who were chatting idly on the roof of Tengyun Building, heard a deafening bang and immediately stood up, taking out their binoculars and pointing them in the direction from which the sound came.

The night wind blew their wide robes, and the flames of the Champion Marquis's mansion soared into the sky, reflected in their glasses.

"It's done."

Han Lei said softly, a cold smile curving her lips.

The senior next to him stared wide-eyed at the expanding fireball in the distance, his eyes wide with disbelief.

Even from this distance, he could still feel a slight vibration coming from under his feet.

This was the first time I, a senior student who had been busy in Qingshui County, had witnessed the power of modern weapons.

He only heard Han Lei say that the gift she sent was very impressive, but he never expected it to be so devastating.

"My God... my God!" The senior student stared wide-eyed and stammered, "Girl, what... what is that thing?"

"The power of science."

Han Lei turned to look at the senior, a dangerous glint in her bright eyes. "What are you all standing there for? Fire the signal flare."

"Oh, right, right." The senior student suddenly realized what was happening and hurriedly pulled a pull-type parachute signal flare from his waist.

Following the method Han Lei had taught him, he unscrewed the top cap and then pulled the ring at the end sharply towards the night sky.

"boom!"

A blinding red light shot into the sky, trailing a long plume of smoke, and exploded into a magnificent firework in the dark night sky.

The light was so dazzling that it even surpassed the flames of the Marquis of Champion's mansion at one point.

Then, the fireworks slowly fell, leaving a long red trail, like a bloodstain cut through the sky.

Meanwhile, the Big Character Team members and guards stationed throughout the capital saw the signal flare in the sky and quickly began to carry out their missions.

Moments later, seven or eight places in the capital were simultaneously engulfed in flames. According to the guards' investigation, these places all belonged to the Marquis of Champion or the Su family.

These industries include gambling dens, tea shops, workshops, money exchanges, grain shops, and so on.

In this explosion and fire, apart from Princess Chang Le narrowly escaping death, the entire master of the Marquis of Champion's mansion was wiped out, and the entire Su family's property suffered heavy losses.

Han Lei watched with satisfaction as thick smoke rose from various parts of Beijing, then put away her binoculars.

She smiled and said, "Let's go! We need to meet them up immediately and then leave the city."

"okay!"

The senior nodded excitedly and followed Han Lei's chubby figure with eager enthusiasm.

The explosion carried far into the quiet night, alarming everyone in the capital.

Everyone rushed out of their homes to see what was happening outside.

Han Lei and the senior students quickly evacuated along the pre-surveyed route.

The shadow of Tengyun Tower and the people pouring out of their homes to check the situation engulfed their figures. Behind them, the entire capital was descending into unprecedented panic and chaos.

Just moments ago, the sound of an explosion shattered the tranquility of the night sky, and Princess Chang Le's gilded carriage happened to stop in front of the vermilion palace gates at that very moment.

"what!"

The carriage curtain was suddenly lifted, revealing Princess Chang Le's still-shaken, exquisitely made-up face.

She lifted her skirt and quickly got out of the car, the gold-embroidered skirt swaying gently in the night breeze.

"what happened?"

Princess Chang Le looked in the direction from which the thick smoke was rising, her slender fingers unconsciously clenching her handkerchief.

The personal maid, Mingyue, quickly supported her mistress: "Princess, watch your step. Judging from the commotion, could something have happened at some noble household?"

A guard squinted and peered into the distance: "Judging from the location, it seems to be in the city, but this smoke..."

Before the words were even finished, a beautiful firework burst open in the night sky, and then flames suddenly rose up all over the capital, dyeing the night sky a terrifying orange-red.

"Ah!" Mingyue exclaimed in surprise, "Why is everything on fire?"

Princess Chang Le, however, showed some curiosity and stood on tiptoe to look around.

"How strange, could it be that fireworks are being set off early for the Ghost Festival?"

“No way, Princess.” Mingyue immediately denied it. “It’s not even June yet, the Ghost Festival is still a long way off.”

At this moment, the guards stationed at the palace gates approached with torches and cautiously asked, "Is the princess alright? Were you frightened?"

"No."

Princess Chang Le, unaware that her own home had been bombed, glanced at the two guards before standing on tiptoe to continue watching the spectacle.

A moment later, she suddenly remembered something, patted her forehead, and said, "Oh dear, I almost forgot about the important matter."

She almost forgot that her parents still wanted her to go to the palace to deliver fine wine to His Majesty and the Empress!

Princess Chang Le straightened her clothes and was about to enter the palace when she couldn't help but look back at the night view with flames soaring into the sky before reluctantly turning away.

Inside Weiyang Palace, a crane-beak incense burner emitted wisps of blue smoke.

The Empress had just sent someone outside to investigate the source of the deafening noise when a palace maid came in to announce that Princess Chang Le had arrived.

The Empress frowned slightly: "Why is Chang Le here so late?"

Princess Chang Le entered with a gossipy expression on her face.

"Greetings to Aunt." Princess Chang Le finished her greeting, her eyes still sparkling. "Did you hear that loud noise just now, Aunt? I saw several fires outside the palace gates."

The Empress paused, her hand holding the teacup still. "I heard it too. His Majesty has sent people to investigate. Tell me about the situation outside."

Just as Chang Le was about to explain in detail, she suddenly remembered the brocade box in her bosom and quickly presented it to him.

"Aunt, Father has acquired a new wine, which he says is a rare delicacy meant to be drunk immediately after opening. He specially sent Chang Le to deliver it to His Majesty and the Empress for them to try."

The Empress took the brocade box and ran her fingertips over the exquisite patterns on it, patterns she had never seen before.

"It's kind of your father to think of this. We'll enjoy it together when your uncle comes to Weiyang Palace."

“Yes!” Princess Chang Le responded. “Father said that there are only these two small pots this time. Once they are available in the market, more will be sent to the palace.”

The Empress nodded in satisfaction, then looked out the window at the night sky, which was half red.

"The palace gates are probably locked at this hour. Why don't you stay at Zhilan Pavilion tonight?"

Princess Chang Le's eyes lit up: "Then Chang Le must go to the terrace of Lin Hua Pavilion to see the fire outside!"

"Nonsense," the Empress scolded lightly, but her eyes were filled with a smile. "Have the Imperial Kitchen prepare some snacks for you. Stay put and have a good chat with your aunt."

"Oh!" Chang Le obediently agreed, but couldn't resist her gossipy nature and muttered under her breath, "I wonder whose house is making such a fuss..."