Dad, don't be greedy! My brother climbed into the emperor's bed, and I became famous overn

A shadow guard gripped the hilt of his sword, assuming a starting stance.

Yi Shi held the steel bar horizontally in front of him, his wrist slightly lowered.

The hall was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

The other shadow guards took a half step back, their eyes fixed on the two people in the arena.

The next second, the shadow guard on the other side moved.

The blade sliced ​​through the air with a sharp whistling sound, and a bright arc of light slashed down.

That was a full-force attack from the Shadow Guard, powerful enough to cleave through three layers of armor.

Yi Shi dodged the blade to the side, his feet remaining perfectly still.

He flicked the steel bar upwards without dodging or avoiding, meeting the blade squarely in the center.

"clang--!"

A sharp crack resounded, causing dust to fall from the pillars of the palace.

Then came the sound of metal breaking.

The official's sword, powerful enough to cut through iron like mud, was cleanly broken in two right in the middle.

The cut is clean and mirror-like.

The broken blade flipped and fell, hitting the blue brick floor with a "clink" and bouncing twice.

The hall was deathly silent.

The shadow guard holding the knife stood frozen in place.

Looking down at the half-broken hilt of the knife in his hand, his thumb and forefinger felt slightly numb.

The other shadow guards gasped in shock.

They each carried identical knives at their waists.

The steel bar in Yi Shi's hand hummed, but there wasn't even a notch.

Yi Shi turned around and beckoned to the other shadow guards.

"Again!"

The shadow guards exchanged glances, drew their swords, and charged forward...

Within a few breaths, the ground was littered with broken knives.

Xiao Ye's pupils contracted slightly.

Yi Shi handed the steel bar back to Gu Mingli and stepped aside.

Gu Mingli took the steel bar and walked up to Xiao Ye.

He remained outwardly calm, but inwardly he was frantically applauding himself.

Look at me! Aren't I awesome?

"Your Majesty, this is the steel."

"Its hardness and toughness far exceed those of ordinary iron. If made into weapons, its advantage on the battlefield would be..."

Xiao Ye reached out and took the piece of steel.

His gaze was intense and piercing.

Gu Mingli is right.

If this material were made into weapons, the fighting power of the Dayong army would be greatly enhanced.

Xiao Ye seemed to already see steel longswords adorning the waists of the Imperial Guards, and the image of ten thousand elite soldiers breaking through the beacon fires of the border.

"reasonable."

"Your subject is here."

"I will issue an edict regarding the Steel and Metallurgical Bureau tomorrow."

"You don't need to worry about the Ministry of Works; report directly to me. I will provide you with all the necessary craftsmen and iron ore."

"The steelmaking workshop was located next to the logistics park, and King Qi personally led the patrol battalion to guard it."

"We produced steel in batches, half of which was supplied to the logistics park, and the other half was used by the Imperial Guards to make weapons."

Gu Mingli nodded.

"clear."

[Ding! Xiao Ye's favorability towards you +2, current favorability: -438]

Gu Mingli: Hmph, easy peasy. o(´^｀)o

The next two weeks.

The steel plant and shipyard in the logistics park started operating simultaneously.

One by one, the canal boats were moored in the shipyard and fitted with anti-collision steel plates.

Qian Dajiang looked at the modified boat, huddled together with Pei Yu, and couldn't stop smiling.

"Damn it, let's drive it out and ram it!"

Pei Yu nodded repeatedly.

"Yes, yes, yes! Hurry up and crash it. The employer is asking why the insurance business hasn't started yet!"

He patted Qian Dajiang on the shoulder.

"Brother Qian, we need to get the brothers to receive their compensation as soon as possible!"

"Okay, okay! I got it!"

Qian Dajiang patted his chest.

"We promise we won't let our employer down!"

……

Dusk, in the Imperial Study.

After Gu Mingli straightened out the steel plant, he was summoned back to serve in the imperial court by the emperor.

Bored, he decided to start copying warship engineering drawings.

As he wrote and drew, he turned to look outside the hall.

The sunset had already turned half the sky orange-red.

It's time to finish my shift and head home.

Gu Mingli stood up and stretched.

"Your Majesty, if there's nothing else to do today, I will..."

[Ding! New palace intrigue mission detected: Consort Cui is on the move!]

[Tonight, Consort Cui will invite the Emperor to listen to a newly acquired, rare zither piece. She will take the opportunity to use the aphrodisiac incense, hoping to conceive a royal heir in one night.]

Consort Cui is a daughter of the powerful Cui family. Once she becomes pregnant with the emperor's child, the Cui family plans to eliminate Xiao Ye.

【Host, please use your Daji charm to keep Xiao Ye in the bedchamber tonight.】

[Once midnight today, the acacia incense in Consort Cui's possession will be discovered by the spies of the Censorate. At that time, she will be caught red-handed, and the Emperor will be out of danger.]

[Task deadline: Tonight, from 7 PM to midnight.]

[Please prepare yourself, host.]

Gu Mingli: "..."

You're the one who's like Daji!

Your whole family are like Daji!

That Consort Cui, why does she have to cause trouble for no reason?!

Why not just enjoy a perfectly good life instead of causing trouble with mimosa incense?!

Did he have to "use his charm" to hold off the emperor?

What kind of charm does a grown man like him possess?!

Is it the charm of thick skin?!

Xiao Ye raised an eyebrow slightly when he saw him suddenly stop talking.

"What? Aren't you leaving?"

Gu Mingli swallowed back what he had just said.

You get used to being shameless after doing it a lot.

He suddenly stumbled.

Raise your hand to support your forehead.

"Ouch, I feel dizzy and weak. I'm low on sugar. I didn't eat enough noodles for lunch today..."

Xiao Ye's vermilion brush hung in mid-air.

He looked up and gazed at Gu Mingli's face for two seconds.

Are you hungry?

"Mmm-hmm-hmm."

Gu Mingli nodded repeatedly, his attitude very sincere.

"If they don't eat something, they probably won't even be able to leave the palace."

Liu An: "..."

Geng Zhi: "..."

Is there anyone in the world more shameless than Gu Dadan?!

Xiao Ye twitched the corner of his mouth and put the vermilion brush back on the inkstone.

"Then stay for a meal."

Gu Mingli breathed a sigh of relief.

The first step was to successfully stay put.

The imperial kitchen acted swiftly.

In less than half an hour, the long table in the side hall was covered with food.

Six main dishes, four small side dishes, and two bowls of soup.

As usual, Liu An directed the young eunuchs to taste the dishes.

After testing with a silver needle and finding everything to be fine, His Majesty was invited to take a seat.

Gu Mingli sat opposite Xiao Ye and picked up his chopsticks.

The imperial meal wasn't bad, but compared to the braised pork rib noodles I had on the street a few days ago, it felt like something was missing.

Gu Mingli picked up a piece of steamed mandarin fish and chewed it twice.

It didn't taste like much.

He picked up another piece of Eight Treasure Duck.

It's not as good as the free-range duck at his sister Pujitang.

Xiao Ye glanced at him.

"Not to your liking?"

Gu Mingli shook his head, stuffed the duck meat into his mouth, and mumbled:

"Yes, yes, yes, I have no objections."

Xiao Ye didn't say anything more.

The two ate quietly for a while.

The sky outside the side hall had completely darkened, and the palace lanterns under the corridor lit up one by one.

The chirping of insects came from the flowerbed, accompanied by the warm summer evening breeze and the dampness of the grass and trees.

Gu Mingli ate his meal absentmindedly.

He was thinking to himself, how could he trick the emperor away?

It's almost 7 PM.

Consort Cui should act quickly.

as predicted.

He had just put down his chopsticks when a system notification popped up in his head.

[Consort Cui has sent her personal maid to the Emperor to convey a message: Your Majesty is requested to move to the Phoenix Palace to listen to a zither performance.]

[Please take Xiao Ye away as soon as possible to prevent him from accepting the invitation.]

[Warning! Warning! The enemy will arrive on the battlefield in 5 minutes!]

Gu Mingli's palms were sweaty.

He picked up the soup bowl and gulped it down in one go.

His gaze swept around the outside of the hall.

Then he looked at Xiao Ye, who was still slowly wiping his mouth.

"Your Majesty! Have you ever played hide-and-seek?"

Xiao Ye slowly blew away a wisp of steam from the surface of the tea.

She lifted her eyelids and glanced at Gu Mingli.

"hide and seek?"

Gu Mingli nodded.

"It's... a game we played when we were kids. It's very simple, but exciting."

Men need excitement to stay interested.

"Your Majesty spends all day reviewing memorials; your eyes must be strained. Stretching your muscles and bones will be good for your health."

Xiao Ye didn't reply immediately, but instead lowered his head and took another sip of tea.

He gave a light sneer.

"Children's tricks..."

Hmph! He's never played it before.