SFL Chapter 8

The Second Prince’s teeth trembled slightly, and his body shook ever so slightly as his voice took on a sharp tone when he questioned Mu Yunfeng, “Third brother, why did you and the Minister hide this? It’s not something to be kept secret.”

If they had been open about it, how could he have pulled this off today?

The thoughts of the Second Prince were known to everyone present. The Minister lowered his head deeply, the Emperor’s expression remained unreadable, and Mu Yunfeng responded, “Father, it’s because this is the first time for both me and the Minister to handle an aircraft capable of carrying people. We don’t know yet if it will be successful. If it succeeds, there’s nothing to hide. But what if it fails? If everyone were to know about it, and it doesn’t succeed, wouldn’t we have fooled everyone for nothing? Today, if it weren’t for Second Brother’s questioning, we couldn’t have deceived you. Originally, I wanted to present the finished product to you.”

The Emperor nodded slightly and said, “Yunfeng, you’ve handled this matter prudently.”

The Second Prince, who wasn’t known for his prudence, felt like an arrow had pierced his heart. He couldn’t fathom how he ended up in this situation. Not only did he fail to bring Mu Yunfeng down, but he also lost favor with the Emperor.

As he contemplated this, he deeply resented Mu Yunfeng for digging a pit for him to fall into.

Sensing the Second Prince’s animosity toward him, Mu Yunfeng cast a slightly mocking smile in his direction from the Emperor’s blind spot.

Since they viewed him as a rival, what was wrong with him retaliating in kind?

With a loud “thud,” the Second Prince abruptly stood up, causing the chair beneath him to make an ear-piercing noise.

The sound drew everyone’s attention, and they saw the Second Prince pointing at Mu Yunfeng. The Emperor furrowed his brow.

“Since you’re feeling unwell, you should leave for now,” the Emperor said to the Second Prince.

“…Yes, Father.” the Second Prince murmured through gritted teeth. Despite his inner anger, he knew that there was no more purpose in staying.

After the Second Prince left, the Emperor, the Minister of Public Works, and Mu Yunfeng continued to discuss the matter for a while. Eventually, Mu Yunfeng also left the palace.

With the prey already in the trap, there was no need to continue concealing the information about the hot air balloon.

The officials in the Ministry of Revenue quickly became aware of Mu Yunfeng’s involvement in creating an aerial tool for better land and territory measurements. The gazes directed at Mu Yunfeng multiplied rapidly, but most of them were far from friendly. Measuring territory was one thing, but when it came to land ownership and concealed land and population issues, they couldn’t easily overlook the matter.

In a world where land was vast and sparsely populated, powerful families and aristocrats often engaged in practices like land consolidation and hiding land and population. These activities were easy to conceal on the ground but would be readily exposed when viewed from above. Just the thought of what they might face in the future left many officials feeling uneasy.

The officials in the Ministry of Revenue were taken off guard, as they hadn’t expected such a significant development from Mu Yunfeng, who had been assigned a seemingly minor task. They were now grappling with this unexpected situation.

If they had known earlier that the Third Prince would invent an airborne vehicle capable of providing a comprehensive aerial view of everything on the ground, they wouldn’t have casually given him this troublesome task. However, it was too late for regrets now.

The aircraft had already received the Emperor’s approval, and once the national machinery was set in motion, the construction of the hot air balloon proceeded rapidly according to the detailed blueprints provided by Mu Yunfeng.

When the finished product emerged, even the Emperor couldn’t help but take a closer look.

The hot air balloon underwent a series of tests, using various objects, animals, and eventually people. Once it was confirmed to be capable of carrying passengers safely into the sky, the Emperor clapped his hands and laughed heartily, “Yunfeng, you have done a good job.”

Even the Emperor spoke in such a manner, which caused the officials to view Mu Yunfeng with great admiration, as though he were a remarkable individual.

With a slight smile on his face, the Minister of Revenue turned to Mu Yunfeng and said, “Your Highness, how do you find your time in the Ministry of Revenue?”

“It’s quite suitable,” Mu Yunfeng replied with a smile. He felt perfectly at ease in the Ministry of Revenue, as the officials there dared not disrespect him openly in front of the Emperor. At most, they would give him icy glances, but he had no reason to feel uncomfortable.

“Because we had some extra manpower recently, we had Your Highness oversee land measurements. However, Your Highness’s talents are wasted on this task alone. Managing matters related to the national treasury is more suitable for you,” the Minister said with a smile, masking his true intention of wanting to transfer Mu Yunfeng away. His words, though, sounded quite pleasant.

Mu Yunfeng’s past achievements in the Ministry of Justice were not forgotten, and the officials there knew he was a ruthless individual. They had no intention of allowing him to continue in his current role. However, they failed to realize that the true master of this land was the Emperor himself, and he wouldn’t permit anyone to leech off him, even without Mu Yunfeng. They could only see the immediate threat that Mu Yunfeng posed.

In terms of status, Mu Yunfeng as a Prince naturally outranked the Minister of Revenue, but in terms of real power, the Minister had the upper hand.

When they heard that the Minister wanted to transfer him to handle other matters, Mu Yunfeng nodded in agreement without any hesitation. The hot air balloon had already been successfully created, and there was no need to continue hiding the truth. He had done everything he was supposed to do, and even if he left, he wouldn’t feel regretful.

On the other hand, the officials responsible for land measurement were very grateful to Mu Yunfeng. With the hot air balloon capable of carrying passengers, their task’s speed increased significantly.

“In such a short time, the Third Prince has changed his duties again,” commented the Second Prince in his residence with incomprehensible expression.

For some reason, he had a foreboding feeling. While his Third brother had not been so outstanding before and hadn’t possessed the power to overshadow them, he now keenly sensed his changes.

Mu Yunfeng was growing stronger, and that wasn’t necessarily a good thing in his eyes.

Furthermore, the Emperor’s attitude had shifted. Before Mu Yunfeng arrived, the Emperor had evenly distributed his favor among his sons, showing no partiality. But with Mu Yunfeng accomplishing more and more, the Emperor had been praising the Third Prince more frequently.

As the mother of Mu Yunfeng, the Empress was delighted by this, but Su Qianluo, who accompanied her to meet the other noble ladies, didn’t share the same happiness.

An increasing number of people were eyeing her husband, and as the legitimate wife of the prince, Su Qianluo found this development rather unsettling.

“Your Highness, there’s a letter from the Su family,” Su Qianluo’s lady-in-waiting brought her the news.

Since Su Qianluo had been married off, her communication with her family hadn’t been frequent. Still, she had kept in touch with them.

Su Qianluo took the letter, broke the seal, and as she read the contents, the smile on her face vanished instantly.

Ever since she replaced the eldest daughter of the Su family and married into the Third Prince’s residence, there had been some friction between the Su family’s eldest son and his second wife. However, due to their blood ties, the relationship between the two couldn’t be severed.

The letter from the Su family stated that the mother of the eldest branch intended to bring Su family daughters to the capital. They were preparing to arrange marriages for them in the capital, and they would visit Su Qianluo, the Third Prince’s Wife, when they arrived. Su Qianluo’s mother, the head of the second branch, advised her to prepare herself mentally.

Su Qianluo wasn’t particularly concerned about the Su family’s efforts to arrange marriages for their daughters in the capital. What truly bothered her was the fact that her cousin, Su Qianhuan, would also be coming to the capital.

Could it be that the Su family intended to marry off Su Qianhuan in the capital as well? If that were the case, where would it lead her? And where would it lead to the Third Prince’s residence?

Considering that the Su family had sent many substitute brides, Su Qianhuan’s presence in the capital was unusual. Even if it were to avoid suspicion, she shouldn’t have come to the capital. Her arrival would undoubtedly reopen old wounds and make everyone uncomfortable, revealing the Su family’s secrets.

The fact that the Imperial Family did not punish the Su Family for not giving face to the Emperor, does not mean that they are not guilty of such acts.

Since learning of the Su family’s intentions to come to the capital, Su Qianluo’s mood had soured. She couldn’t hide her unease.

Sensing her wife’s distress and the fact that she hadn’t eaten much, Mu Yunfeng asked her what was wrong.

Su Qianluo didn’t want her husband to focus on other women and was hesitant to share the truth. However, she knew that continuing to hide it was not a viable option. She leaned into Mu Yunfeng’s embrace, her mood visibly downcast, and revealed the situation regarding the Su family’s plans to come to the capital.

Mu Yunfeng listened calmly, his expression showing no signs of emotion. However, he found it a bit peculiar. If he hadn’t gone to look for the female lead, did the female lead come to the capital to find him instead?

Of course, saying that she had come to find him was not a matter of her conscious intention but rather being unconsciously driven by external circumstances.

Nevertheless, Mu Yunfeng had no intention of getting acquainted with the female lead. He held Su Quanluo and said, “When the time comes, we are the hosts. Just make sure to entertain our guests properly.”

“But, Husband, the ‘real’ Third Prince’s wife is among them. How can I possibly keep my composure?” Su Qianluo couldn’t help but smile bitterly.

For some reason, upon learning that Su Qianhuan would also come to the capital, she suddenly felt very uneasy. It was as if her cousin’s arrival could disrupt her current life.

This feeling was entirely unfounded, but she couldn’t help but feel apprehensive about Su Qianhuan.

“On the Royal Decree, the Third Prince’s official wife is your name, and I only have one wife. Please don’t say such things again in the future,” Mu Yunfeng patted Su Qianluo’s back and said.

Mu Yunfeng had no intention of engaging in a torturous and deep love affair with the female lead. Who knew how many chapters he’d have to endure watching the male and female leads play the ‘you chase me, I evade’ game, with misunderstandings piling up, when their relationship should have naturally progressed.

[Ding! Target Strategy: Su Quanluo.

The current favorability of the target towards the host is 50%.]

[Please continue your efforts, host.]

The progress in capturing the target had increased by 20% compared to the previous favorability level, all thanks to Mu Yunfeng’s words that brought Su Qianluo a sense of security.

Resting in Mu Yunfeng’s embrace, Su Qianluo drifted off to sleep.

Mu Yunfeng contacted the system within his consciousness, [Help me check the current fate between the male and female leads.]

A broken and intermittent red thread appeared in front of Mu Yunfeng.

If Mu Yunfeng were still the original male lead, no matter how sweet he might be to Su Qianluo, his ultimate destiny would always lead him to the female lead.

Unfortunately, Mu Yunfeng was a game-changer, directly replacing the male lead’s role. Essentially, the male lead was swapped out, so naturally, the connection between the male and female lead’s red thread was not as strong as before, fragile as if it could break at any moment.

Oh, you’re wondering where the original male lead went?

Because he and the female lead harmed many innocent people along their path of tormenting love, their ‘sincere’ feelings for each other became tainted with darkness, giving birth to sins that stripped the original male lead of his existence.

In a novel, the male and female leads are the pillars, and without one, the story can’t stand. Mu Yunfeng’s true identity is the replacement for the male lead, walking through his official life for him.

Due to the toxic nature of the novel, Mu Yunfeng, as an official representative, entered the story to guide it. Su Qianluo is the character in this novel that Mu Yunfeng finds tolerable.