novelaction Chapter 250 A Heart-to-Heart Talk with Wan'er
Chapter 250 A Heart-to-Heart Talk with Wan'er
"He said he would come to my house to propose marriage." Lin Wan'er's eyes showed a hint of shyness as she said this, but she was mostly smiling.
This epidemic was not in vain; it actually stirred up some feelings in Xiao Qisheng.
"Oh?" Shen Li's eyes lit up: "What else did he say?"
“Those were words of admiration for me.” Lin Wan’er’s cheeks even flushed as she said this, then she seemed a little incredulous: “How did it come to this? I never dared to imagine that those words would come out of his mouth.”
In her previous life, Xiao Qi died young, and the fleeting glimpse of the young general on a white horse was repeatedly etched in her mind. He was so spirited, so handsome and cheerful, and even in middle age, he would still appear in her dreams.
But suddenly, the world changed, and she came back to life. She saw and heard the young man professing his love for her, a scene she had never dreamed of.
Shen Li placed her hand over hers, her voice full of relief: "This is enough to prove that you two are a match made in heaven, and even time and space cannot separate you. We have finally overcome our hardships."
In their previous lives, one of them was unable to be with her lover, while the other missed her deceased lover; they suffered a lifetime of hardship.
“Yes, after hardship comes happiness.” Lin Wan’er sniffed and looked at Shen Li: “Thanks to you, otherwise who would I talk to about these things?”
"What a coincidence, I thought so too."
The two looked at each other and smiled.
Because of each other, they are not lonely here.
"Oh, right, this is for you." Lin Wan'er said, taking a delicate little wooden box from the car and handing it to her.
"What good stuff is it this time?" Shen Li took it and opened it to find a leather wristband-like item with five arrows about the length of a finger attached to it.
There's a small mechanism on the back of the arrow, with a protruding piece of jade that looks like it can be pressed down.
"These are hidden weapons that can be strapped to your hands. Don't underestimate these small arrows; they have a long range. Moreover, I've coated each one with a sleeping potion. Once the arrow hits the skin, the potion will enter the bloodstream, and the person will faint within three breaths," Lin Wan'er explained from the side.
"Oh?" Shen Li's eyes lit up with surprise: "This is truly impossible to guard against, it's incredibly ingenious."
"Of course, I don't make things up easily. If you don't need it, give it to your husband for self-defense." Lin Wan'er spoke of her invention with considerable pride.
She used to think Shen Li needed it, but after seeing Shen Li's strength, she felt that giving it away was reasonable.
“He really needs it; carrying only one musket is a bit too few.” Shen Li closed the box and said sincerely, “Thank you.”
"It's just a gadget. If I had to say what I really want to build, it would be a more powerful cannon and musket."
"How's it going?" Shen Li hugged the box to her chest and drank another cup of tea.
"It went smoothly, but this is only the first batch. In my previous life, I heard that Western cannons were extremely powerful, and I wanted to send someone across the sea to get the blueprints." Lin Wan'er said, looking at Shen Li: "But we will inevitably encounter the Japanese when we go to sea. Do you have any ideas?"
"Yes." Shen Li replied without hesitation, "Beat them until they submit."
“You’ve hit the nail on the head. For years, Japanese pirates have been causing trouble along the coast. When they’re in a good mood, they rob people of their money, and when they’re in a bad mood, they rob people and kill them. It’s simply outrageous.”
“There aren’t many troops stationed along the coast. When they came, there wasn’t enough time to fight them. By the time troops were mobilized to chase them, they had already fled.” Lin Wan’er became more and more angry as she spoke: “It’s been so many years. Our Celestial Empire has been bullied by a small Japanese country. It is truly a great disgrace.”
Shen Li nodded: "The only way to eradicate this problem is to take down that island."
"I think so too. However, our country is difficult to fight at sea. If we want to conquer Japan, we will have to fight for a long time. We will need a large number of warships and soldiers. Even if we succeed, it will take several years. This will consume a huge amount of money and food."
"Moreover, once this front begins, the Liang in the north and the Rongdi in the west will definitely take the opportunity to fight and plunder. If we fight on two or three fronts, how can the court hold on?" Lin Wan'er could only sigh as she said this.
This is also why the imperial court has never sent troops to Japan. Putting aside everything else, the initial construction of warships required a huge expense, which the national treasury simply could not afford.
So if you get robbed, you get robbed; turning a blind eye is the only option.
“The last two years have been somewhat difficult, but you’ve forgotten that the national treasury was full after the tax reform in the last life, and we built ships. Although we couldn’t defeat Japan back then, we have you in this life. I believe you will lead the fleet to success.” Shen Li was quite optimistic about this.
“Alright, then I’ll wait another two years. I’ll focus on building cannons and discuss troop deployment with Brother Xiao.” Lin Wan’er’s expression hardened. “I’ll leave the allocation of provisions and ships to you.”
"Don't worry, my husband and I also have this plan." Shen Li nodded in agreement.
Coastal security is related to her future freedom, so she naturally needs to make plans for it.
After Lin Wan'er reached an agreement with Shen Li on this matter, she became very motivated. She stopped chatting with Shen Li and continued reading books about mechanical manufacturing.
Shen Li shook her head and chuckled. Sometimes she felt it was a pity that Lin Wan'er became a general; she should have become a descendant of the Mo family and passed down her skills for thousands of years.
Two days later, the Emperor returned to the capital. Shen Li also returned to the Shen family to visit her mother and sister. The two women hugged Shen Li as soon as they saw her, and tears streamed down their faces as they talked.
"Mother, Yue'er, I'm fine. How could those people be a match for me?" Shen Li gently patted their backs to comfort them.
Shen Zizai sighed as well. Although he himself upheld the principles of serving the country and the emperor, his selfish desire at that moment was not to let his daughter be at the forefront.
"It's good that you're alright. Are all the Red Lotus Sect assassins really dead?" Xiao Bailing asked.
"Yes." Shen Li replied without hesitation, "Why does Mother ask this?"
"That's letting them off easy. If their mother were still alive, she would have used all her wealth to hunt them down," Xiao Bailing snorted.
Shen Li swallowed hard, feeling a sense of lingering fear for Bai Wuyou in the manor. With the Shen family's wealth, even the Holy Son of the Red Lotus Sect would probably be torn into pieces and used as a reward if they were to hunt him down.
After all, the people of the Red Lotus Sect are also human, and there are many other masters in the martial arts world besides the Red Lotus Sect. Moreover, the common people may not necessarily turn a blind eye to it.
Few people are immune to greed.
"Mother, I haven't been upset at all, so please don't be angry," Shen Li comforted her mother.
Xiao Bailing was still resentful: "Don't let me see any more of these Red Lotus Cult members, or I'll tear them to pieces."
Shen Li touched her nose and continued to offer words of advice.
In the end, both the father and Shen Yue tried to persuade her. It was clear that the mother was truly bothered by the matter.
She returned in the morning, had lunch with her parents, and then went back to the Gu family home. Her reasons were twofold: first, to personally settle Bai Wuyou in, and second, to look for Old Man Zou.