《The Cruel Tyrant》32
Advertisement
Sun Ziyun and the young woman in green were sitting behind the beaded curtain. Seeing Su Mu's manners and eloquence, as well as the perpetual gentle smile on his face, no matter how they looked at him, he appeared to be an elegant and handsome Gongzi. The more one looked at Su Mu, the more one liked him, and the more one's heartbeat sped up.
Sun Biyun pulled Sun Ziyun's sleeve and saw that she was completed captivated with the person outside. She didn't even react at all, giving others an image of a dazed and lovestruck girl. None of that mischievous nature she exhibited everyday could be seen anymore from her countenance. Instantly, Sun Biyun didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
Poking at Sun Ziyun's head she smiled: "Finally someone can calm you crazy girl."
Sun Ziyun slapped her hand away, her eyes still stuck to Su Mu.
Sun Biyun shook her head and was a little worried. This Su Gongzi did not seem to be an easily controlled person, and Ziyun's wish might not be easy to achieve.
Seeing that Sun Hongyu talked with Su Mu for a long time without asking anything, Sun Haoran became a little anxious. After all, Sun Ziyin was his little sister. He asked Su Mu: "May I ask, is Su Gongzi married? Do you have a wife?"
Su Mu said: "I am already married."
Sun Haoran breathed a sigh of relief. He was really afraid that his sister would marry someone of unknown origins.
Behind the curtain, Sun Ziyun's originally anxious mood instantly fell into the pits, her bright and big eyes misted over with moisture. Sun Biyun patted her shoulder and gently comforted her.
With Su Mu's martial arts skill, the conversation between the two women was naturally overheard by Su Mu so he also understood the reason why he was asked to board this boat.
Sun Hongyu saw that Su Mu was neither arrogant nor impatient, not at all in a rush to ask why he was invited over, nor did he ask him about his identity. This kind of demeanor was not something ordinary people could achieve, so he instantly formed intentions to further develop a friendly relationship.
"How long is Su Gongzi going to stay here? If I want to find Gongzi for a cup of tea next time, how can I find you?" Sun Hongyu asked.
Su Mu smiled and said: "About half a month, I will be staying in Overlooking River Tower, so if Sun Gongzi wants to find me I will be there."
Suddenly, a cold light flashed in Su Mu's eyes and he turned his head instantly.
A bright cold light flew straight towards Sun Hongyu's temple like lightning. The two fingers on Su Mu's right hand flashed by in a blur, and like steel they clamped the hidden weapon in between. With a rotate of the wrist, the weapon was sent flying back to where it came. Then he rushed behind the beaded curtain and grabbed the two women before breaking through the top of the boat, landing on the riverbanks in the blink of an eye.
Immediately afterwards, Sun Hongyu and Sun Haoran also landed beside Su Mu, though they looked a little disheveled and rushed.
Advertisement
Su Mu let go of the two women who did not know what happened and looked at the river.
The originally delicately crafted and elegantly furnished boat was now broken in two, and most of it had sunk down into the water.
A large luxurious ship with sharp iron installed on its prow appeared in front of Su Mu.
Sun Hongyu stared at the ship with a dark expression, and said to Sun Haoran, "Send the two of them back."
Sun Haoran didn't say a word, and with Sun Biyun they dragged Sun Ziyun, who refused to leave, away.
Sun Hongyu turned around and said to Su Mu: "Apologies, I have involved you in something troublesome, and thank you for just now."
To be able to catch the hidden weapon in an instant, and then escape from the cabin with Ziyun and Biyun, and even arriving to the shore before him. What Su Mu revealed of his martial prowess really shocked Sun Hongyu.
But now he had no time to get to know more of Su Mu.
On the deck of the big ship, a young boy with a malicious aura and a resemblance to Sun Hongyu appeared. He may have similar facial features to Sun Hongyu but his demeanor was completely different.
With a wicked smile on his face and a paper fan in his hand despite the cold autumn weather, he said insincerely to Sun Hongyu: "I was wondering who was so daring to block this prince's boat? It turned out to be royal brother."
"Hongyi, what nonsense are you up to now?" Sun Hongyu scolded with a stern face.
Sun Hongyi took the fan and knocked it on the palm of his hand, walking back and forth on the deck, saying: "How can royal brother say that? It's not like I did it on purpose. How can you blame me for a problem with your boat? If you really insist then I'll send someone to fish out the boat and return it to you."
Sun Hongyu snorted coldly and turned away with a cold face.
Su Mu raised an eyebrow and secretly thought: "What big luck, this guy is actually the Crown Prince of Wu."
Su Mu also turned around, and was about to leave, but suddenly heard the sound of something whistling through the air, and dozens of silver hidden weapons flew towards them, enveloping Su Mu and Sun Hongyu in their trajectory.
Su Mu let out a cold snort, and with a casual wave of a sleeve, they all switched trajectory and shot back instantly.
Sun Hongyi's eyes widened. Before he could react, all the hidden weapons were deeply inserted into the wooden board in front of him, and the nearest was only a few inches from his toes.
Sun Hongyi only reacted after the hidden weapons had all penetrated deeply into the wooden boards, taking a few steps back in shock. The eyes looking at Su Mu were both shocked and angered. Pointing at Su Mu he said: "Audacious, you dare to harm this prince. Arrest him!"
Sun Hongyu quickly stood in front of Su Mu and stared at Sun Hongyi: "Hongyi, don't go too far."
"This prince is just arresting the assassin who conspire to murder me. Why, royal brother wants to shield him? Then I have to ask what is royal brother's intentions?" Sun Hongyi sneered.
Advertisement
Sun Hongyu looked at him coldly, and then turned around and said to Su Mu: "Let's go."
"Hmmph!" Sun Hongyi sneered and looked at the direction the two were leaving, and squeezed violently at the paper fan in his hand.
Upstairs in Overlooking River Tower, Sun Hongyu ordered a large table of dishes and said it was to make up for giving Su Mu a fright.
With a charming smile on his handsome face, Su Mu said, "Unexpectedly, Sun Gongzi is actually the Crown Prince of Wu. I have been rude." It looked like there was no need to deal with the old and cunning Prince of Rong, but this Crown Prince did not seem to be a character easily dealt with either, Su Mu thought secretly.
Sun Hongyu drank from the wine cup in his hand, and phoenix eyes looked at Su Mu with a smile: "The identity of Su Gongzi may not be simple either."
As the Crown Prince of a kingdom, Sun Hongyu's ability to judge people was naturally not mediocre. He had guessed earlier whether Su Mu was a nobleman from a small kingdom, but the skills that Su Mu showed later, as well as the brilliance that flashed in his eyes after learning his identity, all stated that Su Mu's identity was not only not simple, but his purpose for coming to Wu kingdom was not for leisure.
Su Mu picked up the wine cup and took a sip. After the "bloody" lesson last time, Su Mu didn't dare to drink too much alcohol. He put down the wine cup and said, "Naturally, it is not as impressive as Sun Gongzi."
After a pause Su Mu said, "In fact, this time I came to Wu kingdom in order to close on a big business deal."
Since mention of this big business deal was raised in front of him, it was something to do with him in all likelihood. What kind of business asked for his cooperation? Sun Hongyu raised his eyebrows and became interested.
Su Mu smiled and said, "I want to sell a few things to His Highness."
"What is it? Why sell it to me?" Sun Hongyu asked.
"Because these things can only show their greatest value in the hands of His Highness." Su Mu saw that Sun Hongyu still had a smile on his face, and knew that he didn't take his words to heart.
Su Mu looked at him and said, "Moreover, the payment I want can only be paid by His Highness."
Sun Hongyu narrowed his eyes slightly: "What do you want?"
"An army of two hundred thousand." As soon as the words fell, Su Mu added: "Elites."
Sun Hongyu was stunned for a while, and then laughed: "Are you telling a joke? An army of 200,000 elite troops. What do you think is worth 200,000 elites."
Su Mu smiled calmly and said: "Something that would allow Wu kingdom to increase grain output by at least 30% and increase efficiency by five times."
The calm smile gradually solidified on his mouth, and his smiling eyes suddenly became sharp. Staring at Su Mu, Sun Hongyu appeared calm on the surface, but he could feel his heart begin to beat quickly.
He was not the only prince in the kingdom of Wu, and his position as the Crown Prince was not so stable. Besides, who didn't want to be admired by thousands of people and become a ruler venerated in the annals of history.
Sun Hongyu slowly clenched his fists, held back the excitement in his heart, and said calmly to Su Mu: "Let's not mention whether what you say is true, do you think this can be worth Wu kingdom's 200,000 army?"
Su Mu smiled and said to Sun Hongyu: "Your Highness, this is a great merit for generations to come. It is not something that would become useless in three or five years."
Leaning back in the chair, Su Mu looked at Sun Hongyu's shining eyes, affirming that he was indeed captivated by his proposal, so he fanned the fire a bit more.
"I heard that a princess in Wu kingdom was disfigured because of smallpox, and the people of Wu kingdom were also deeply harmed and many people died."
Sun Hongyu felt that his heart was beating violently and uncontrollably. The princess who was disfigured by smallpox just so happened to be his little sister by the same mother.
The princess was lucky, at least she had survived in the end, but unfortunately his little brother by the same mother died.
"I have a way to prevent smallpox." Su Mu said, looking into his eyes.
He stared at Su Mu, who stopped speaking, in fear that he had guessed wrong.
"If what you said is true......"
"To show my sincerity, I can provide irrigation technology first, and wait until the army arrives in the Qing kingdom......" Su Mu picked up the wine cup and took a gentle sip: "You can choose between farming technology and smallpox treatment technology. The remaining will be handed to you when the 200,000 army returns to Wu kimgdom."
"Afraid that I will swallow up Qing kingdom? What if you break your promise after the 200,000 army returns to Wu kingdom? And I still don't know your true identity and the purpose of your borrowing of our troops." Sun Hongyu asked. Su Mu still had cards up his sleeve, but he was not stupid either.
Su Mu turned the small wine cup in his hand and said, "I am Su Mochi, the Crown Prince of Qing kingdom. I borrow troops to destroy the rebel thieves. The current situation of Qing kingdom can be verified by His Highness. Even in a few decades, it won't be an opponent for Wu kingdom. I have this kind of self awareness, so how can I break my promise."
Sun Hongyu nodded and said: "This matter is kept secret for the time being, we still need to discuss it as I do not have the final say in Wu kingdom. Also I need to have a look on the concrete object you offer."
Su Mu nodded, well aware that the Emperor of Wu was not the incapable Emperor of Qing who threw everything to his son.
Advertisement
Crimson Crow: Thief of Fortune
Breaking News: The multiverse's supply of luck has been stolen! A crack team of detectives are attempting to track down the culprit. But this is not their story. This is the story of the Crimson Crow, who, after committing the audacious heist, fled to begin a new life on a distant world, Llyr. Beyond the reach of her pursuers, or so she hopes. Far from the comforts of civilization, she must rely on her quick wits and magic to survive and prosper. But she soon discovers that Llyr’s past is as dark and storied as her own. And that the past is inescapable. Currently Updates Semi-Monthly ~Every 14 days. Diamond Vector by Vecteezy This fiction is LGBT+ friendly.
8 146Daffodil amongst Thorns
Based on a true story.Bullying has always been there and has caused so much pain and suffering.This is a story about a teenage boy that goes to a boarding school. He is not like other boys and is bullied and teased constantly. What will happen to his self-esteem and will he have courage?Will he survive?(NB there are references to abuse in his life before boarding school)
8 299Absolved.
Lonely protagonist in an equally lonely metal world. Lets follow the story of their steps. Hello, This piece is “Blame!” inspired, as you can decipher through the antonym title. The synopsis will be changed in time to come, as will the tags, to keep up the mystery of the world as I try to emulate the dread of "Blame!" into a written form.
8 221Siren and Cobalt Volume 1: King's Corner
The debut pulp novel from Absurdist Press chronicles the fifth year of Pittsburgh superheroes Siren and Cobalt as they navigate crime, murder, and violence throughout the city. Written by Jude Profit with cover art by 13
8 185There's method to this madness
A collection of a few pieces of poetry I've written that I don't mind if you see.A mix of different types of poetryThe base image is credited to Tema66 from pixabay. I did add all the lazy effects though
8 487Just Realize
Naya has been loving her best friend, Heather for years now and hates seeing Heather with Taylor, but still can't find the confidence in her to declare her love to her. Will an unexpected kiss shared between them make Naya realize that Heather has also been loving her secretly.
8 119