After being thoroughly violated, he ran away with the enemy emperor's child.

"Greetings, Your Majesty! Long live Your Majesty!"

The Vice Minister of Works bowed and, upon hearing a "rise," began to speak of official business: "The blueprints for the crossbows that His Majesty had the Prince send some time ago have been produced by the Ministry of Works yesterday."

"really?"

He moved faster than Chu Junci had anticipated. With his red lips slightly parted, he looked at him and said, "My dear minister, may you present the actual item so that I may have a look at it?"

"Your Majesty, rest assured, I have made preparations."

The Vice Minister of Works chuckled, then bowed slightly: "Your Majesty, please come and take a look."

"allow."

Following the Vice Minister of Works, we arrived at an open area. Not far away stood several soldiers holding crossbows, and opposite them were some targets and scarecrows.

Upon seeing His Majesty appear, the soldiers straightened their backs, determined to complete the mission perfectly.

The Vice Minister bowed slightly: "Your Majesty, please take a look."

As soon as he finished speaking, the soldiers pressed the mechanism, and a barrage of arrows pierced the target and then pierced a large hole in the scarecrow.

"it is good."

The King of Chu praised, "Minister of Works, a reward is due."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

The minister smiled and continued, "Your Majesty, this is a crossbow made according to the blueprints. In addition, we have also made improvements based on the blueprints and made a second version of the crossbow."

"Oh?"

This move was unexpected by Chu Junci. He looked at the target not far away and said, "Then let's take a look at this second version."

"Yes."

The vice minister clapped his hands, and immediately a second group of soldiers appeared with new crossbows. This time, the targets and scarecrows were placed even further away.

The Vice Minister explained from the side, "The improved crossbow has a longer range and is more powerful. Your Majesty, please take a look."

"Release the arrows!"

At a command, the soldiers activated the mechanism, and hundreds upon hundreds of arrows were launched at once, accurately hitting the wooden target in the distance.

With a loud bang, the target suddenly shattered into pieces!

After a while, the straw was completely broken into pieces, and some of it even caught fire.

Seeing this, Chu Junci's expression became impassioned: "Who is the person who improved the blueprints?"

"Your Majesty, it is Yu Cheng, a descendant of the Lu family who has recently taken up his post in the Ministry of Works."

"Lu Yucheng?" Chu Junci had some recollection of this name.

"Yes."

"Send him to see me."

A moment later, a young man appeared before Chu Junci, with handsome features and a solemn expression: "Greetings, Your Majesty."

No need for formalities.

Chu Junci slightly raised his chin: "Did you modify the crossbow blueprints?"

"Yes, Your Majesty."

How did you come up with the idea for improving the blueprints?

After receiving the drawings, most people will not easily make changes, firstly because it is easy to put in effort for no reward, and secondly because it is easy to be held accountable for acting on one's own initiative.

But Chu Junci's subordinates were exactly lacking such "self-reliant" people.

"Your Majesty, I come from the Lu family and have studied mechanical arts since childhood. The moment I saw this blueprint, I had a plan to improve it."

Through their question-and-answer session, Chu Junci gained a preliminary understanding of the person before him, and finally asked, "You joined the Ministry of Works ten days ago?"

Ten days ago, the first batch of "skilled craftsmen" he had searched among the people entered the Ministry of Works, and the name "Lu Yucheng" was on the membership list.

"Yes, Your Majesty."

His Majesty is both a man of great talent and a man of great military prowess. Lu Yucheng has long harbored a desire to serve him, but unfortunately, he has missed several opportunities to do so before.

Half a month ago, he heard that His Majesty was recruiting talented people, so he took the initiative to sign up and came into the sight of the relevant officials.

Thinking of this, he slightly raised his eyes: "Your Majesty, I am willing to serve you with utmost loyalty and help my Great Yong Dynasty prosper."

"it is good."

Chu Junci nodded in satisfaction: "The Ministry of Works has done a good job this time. Lu Yucheng, you've done very well."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

Despite receiving praise, Lu Yucheng remained humble and composed, which Chu Junci observed and secretly approved of.

"My dear minister, you have also rendered meritorious service."

He glanced at the Vice Minister beside him, "The imperial edict will be sent to the Ministry of Works later. I will see and remember all those who serve my Great Yong."

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Compared to Lu Yucheng, the Vice Minister seemed less composed. Chu Junci didn't mind, and after giving a few instructions, he returned to the Hall of Diligent Governance.

Sitting at his desk, he suddenly thought of the "archery and horsemanship competition" that A-Li had mentioned.

In previous years, the equestrian archery competition was organized by the sons of officials in the capital who loved equestrian archery. Most of them were descendants of military officers, and a small number were descendants of civil officials.

Many people participated in the competition; almost all the famous young men in Kyoto participated. They competed against each other, and a champion was selected after the competition.

Chu Junci still remembers that after the champion joined the army last year, he started as an ordinary soldier and quickly made a name for himself in just half a year. Now he is a general of the fourth rank.

In other words, the equestrian archery competition was also a reference standard for him in selecting talent.

Earlier, A-Li mentioned that the archery competition was about to begin, and coincidentally, the Ministry of Works had developed a new type of crossbow... Chu Junci pondered for a moment and soon came up with a plan.

"Someone come here."

"His Majesty."

The young eunuch who had previously summoned the head of the Imperial Medical Academy appeared, his eyelashes slightly lowered: "What are your orders, Your Majesty?"

The young eunuch, named "Baiyang," had been serving at the Qin Zheng Hall for half a year.

"Baiyang, summon Yuan Jin to the palace."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

After Bai Yang left, Chu Junci withdrew his gaze, and when he sensed something, his hand holding the vermilion brush suddenly paused.

"...You."

A helpless voice rang out, and Chu Junci put down his vermilion brush, stood up, and paced around a few times.

Suppressing the strange feeling, Chu Junci looked out the window, not thinking about anything.

He looked at the ancient tree outside the courtyard, where a new swing had been set up, but he hadn't sat on it yet.

After hesitating for a moment, he left the courtyard and slowly sat down on the swing.

The swing swayed gently as he gripped the rope, his robes billowing in a shallow arc.

Under deliberate control, he emptied his mind; in that instant, he was simply Chu Junci, simply himself.

Unbeknownst to him, in a city not far from the capital, Mo Yan had changed to a new horse.

He traveled tirelessly for a whole day, and his horse inevitably protested, so Mo Yan had to buy a new one before setting off on his journey again.

Sitting on horseback, Mo Yan showed no signs of fatigue; his mind was filled only with the joy of his impending reunion with A Ci.

Ah Ci, his Ah Ci, he'll see him soon.

At that time, he would stay by Aci's side no matter what, but he hesitated about whether to show his true face.

After all, Aci hated him, and hated his face even more.

Thinking of this, the excitement on his face faded a bit. He continued riding his horse, his lips pressed tightly together in a dilemma, unable to come up with an answer for a long time.

Alright, alright, I'll meet him in this guise for now. If Aci's dislike for him isn't as deep as I imagine, then I'll appear as "Mo Yan."

At that time, Aci will not be too angry.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

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My scorecard has been stuck at 8.something for ages, sob sob.