I’m Also Waiting for the Male Protagonist to Usurp the Throne Today

Chapter 48 Chip Chip Chip Chip Chip Chip Chip Chip!

Several Generals of the Great Di were observed chasing after their prey. They withdrew something from their pockets and gestured with their hands, causing the prey to collapse without the need for direct contact.

Before long, they had amassed a substantial number of captured prey at their feet.

The people of the Jiao Kingdom had never witnessed such efficient hunting before, and even many officials of Great Di were unfamiliar with such a technique.

The envoy did not expect his boastful words to be debunked in an instant, and his expression turned sour.

Princess Tama’s surprised expression was evident, and she leaned over to Huo Caiyu and blinked. “Your Highness, your country’s Generals are so powerful, what kind of weapon are they using?”

Huo Caiyu’s face remained unchanged as he turned his head to look at the Emperor. The coldness in his brown eyes transformed into a gentle breeze, as if everything unfolded according to his expectations. “It is merely a small and inconsequential toy.”

Li Jinyu sat on the other side, lifting his head with some pride.

Around a month ago, Li Jinyu had managed to reunite Dong Jixiang and the Ping An Brothers.

True to his word, Dong Jixiang crafted new armor for them at the Iron and Wood Bureau.

Li Jinyu would go to the Iron and Wood Bureau from time to time out of curiosity, wondering what kind of things this future Master of Weaponry would create.

Dong Jixiang disliked having people watching him work, but it was difficult to refuse an Emperor. So he made a request, “If Your Majesty can provide this humble commoner with new ideas for creating something, Your Majesty can stay here.”

Li Jinyu had no idea about the design and optimization of weapons and armor, so he could only stand there dumbfounded.

Just as Dong Jixiang was about to close the door, Li Jinyu blurted out in a panic, “Zhen got one! Guns!”

Dong Jixiang furrowed his brows. “Guns? Does Your Majesty have experience in casting guns?”

Guns were the king of weapons, and guns were more popular on the battlefield than spears.

But of course, Li Jinyu wasn’t talking about those kinds of guns.

He briefly described the appearance and function of modern firearms. Fearing that Dong Jixiang might not understand, he even used fireworks as an analogy, “It’s the same principle as fireworks. Have you seen fireworks before?”

At first, Dong Jixiang had no expectations for this pampered Emperor, but he didn’t expect the Emperor to bring up something he had never thought of before.

Forging armor and weapons was his hobby and also his lifelong pursuit.

Dong Jixiang immediately changed his attitude, welcomed Li Jinyu into his house, and asked him for advice in detail. He even kept pulling him, hoping to squeeze out some new ideas from Li Jinyu.

Li Jinyu went from being curious about Dong Jixiang’s workshop to avoiding him altogether.

It was only after Huo Caiyu learned about this that he had a friendly discussion with Dong Jixiang, and then Dong Jixiang stop going to see the Emperor every day.

Although the firearms Li Jinyu described were still under development, they inspired him during the testing process and improved two weapons.

The new weapons had much greater shooting distance and power, but they were heavier and less convenient for people with insufficient strength to carry.

This time, in case of any mishaps, Huo Caiyu equipped several generals participating in the hunt with one weapon each and instructed them that if the Jiao Kingdom’s people caused any trouble, they should use the new weapons.

The hunt did not prohibit the use of any weapons, but Huo Caiyu did not want the improved weapons to be exposed to the enemy prematurely.

In the end, the generals of the Di Dynasty still caught more game.

The Jiao Kingdom’s warriors were somewhat dissatisfied and spoke in their language.

Huo Caiyu pretended not to understand and looked at the envoy.

The envoy coughed, “Regent, some of our brave warriors believe that your Generals cheated.”

“Oh?” Huo Caiyu raised his eyebrows slightly. “How so?”

“When your Generals made a move with their hands, the prey fell. If this isn’t cheating, what is it?” The envoy glanced at those generals, his expression slightly serious. “In a competition between two countries, how can cheating be allowed?”

Huo Caiyu could see at a glance that the envoy’s purpose was to use this as an opportunity to see the new weapons used by the generals of the Di Dynasty.

“If that’s the case, would you consider the game gravitating towards your country’s warriors as cheating?” Huo Caiyu promptly countered.

Unconvinced, the envoy responded, “Princess Tama has already stated that this is a divine gift bestowed upon our warriors by the Jiao God.”

Huo Caiyu replied sharply, “This is also the special ability bestowed by His Majesty to our Generals.”

Envoy: “…”

Their Jiao God was the totem of the Jiao Kingdom, and the Emperor of Great Di was just an ordinary person!

The envoy instinctively looked at the Emperor of Great Di, but found that the Emperor was circling around those Jiao warriors, gradually changing from curiosity to a slight obsession. In the end, he even reached out and tried to pounce on a Jiao warrior.

Huo Caiyu also noticed this and quickly reached out to hold Li Jinyu, stopping his movements in time, “Your Majesty? Your Majesty?”

Li Jinyu’s eyes were a bit confused, and he kept murmuring a few words, “It smells so good, so good…”

Prime Minister Ye saw this scene and was about to step forward but hesitated for a moment, then slowly retreated and took a step back, keeping a distance from those Jiao warriors.

Huo Caiyu frowned and sniffed but didn’t smell anything.

But His Majesty’s current state was obviously not right.

Huo Caiyu’s eyes sank. “Take them down.”

Although those Jiao warriors couldn’t speak the language of Great Di well, they could still barely understand it. Their faces immediately showed a look of surprise and they instinctively assumed a defensive posture.

“Wait a minute, Your Highness the Regent, why suddenly imprison the warriors of our country?” The envoy waved his hand to stop the attack of those Jiao warriors and frowned.

When those warriors showed an attacking intent just now, Huo Caiyu originally planned to imprison them as soon as they moved, on the grounds of assassinating the Emperor, and interrogate them properly. Unexpectedly, they were blocked by this shrewd envoy.

In his arms, Li Jinyu, unable to resist poking his head out, was tightly held, his brown eyes staring unblinkingly at the envoy, even revealing a hint of killing intent. 

“Envoy, don’t you plan to explain what your warriors did to His Majesty?”

The envoy also secretly cursed in his heart. Their purpose of coming this time was to gather intelligence and strike a blow to the morale of Great Di. They never expected to directly assassinate the Emperor. According to the intelligence they had obtained before, this Emperor was completely useless, and letting him continue to sit on the throne was not harmful to their Jiao Kingdom.

Who would have thought that this Emperor would suddenly go crazy in front of their warriors?

Huo Caiyu lowered his head and heard the words “smells so good” from the Emperor’s mouth, then raised his head and stared at those Jiao warriors, “What scent did you apply on yourselves?”

The envoy’s face changed slightly. “Our warriors are naturally tough, how could they use fragrance like you people of Great Di? If you don’t believe it, the Regent can come and smell it himself.”

“There are indeed some spices that, when mixed together, cannot be smelled.” Huo Caiyu sneered. “The spice shops of our Great Di employed aromascent mice that can accurately identify scents that ordinary people cannot detect. Perhaps our honored guests would like to witness it firsthand?”

Unexpectedly, His Majesty’s sense of smell was unusually sensitive and was also affected.

However, these Jiao people from the neighboring nation even dared to accuse Great Di of not adhering to fair play!

Compared to Great Di’s powerful weapons, wasn’t this behavior of the Jiao Kingdom considered cheating?

Facing the contemptuous gaze of the Great Di officials, the envoy had to brazenly say, “Our warriors went out for the first time and acted on their own due to their eagerness to win. We ask the Regent not to take it into account.”

“Hmm.” Huo Caiyu tightened his grip on Li Jinyu, tilting his head slightly as a signal. “Take these people down.”

The envoy knew that the Great Di’s Emperor had been affected by the scent and would need a few scapegoats. He pursed his lips and said nothing.

“Wait.” Princess Tama approached, furrowing her brow as she looked at Li Jinyu, who had a confused look in his eyes while in Huo Caiyu’s arms. She pulled her bracelet slightly and said, “Tama knows magic. Can Tama take a look?”

When Huo Caiyu embraced Li Jinyu, he had already checked his pulse, which appeared similar to that of someone who had been drugged.

Having no trust for this woman from the neighboring country, he responded coldly, “There’s no need.”

Huo Caiyu scooped up Li Jinyu and headed toward the bedroom in the palace, leaving behind a final instruction. “Take these Jiao people to the dungeon for interrogation, and await His Majesty’s verdict once he regains consciousness!”

………

When Li Jinyu regained consciousness, he was sitting on the dragon throne, leaning against Huo Caiyu’s arms.

Huo Caiyu held a cup of chilled, mint-flavored tea in his right hand, gently patting Li Jinyu’s back with his left arm.

Li Jinyu blinked in confusion and tentatively spoke, “Huo Caiyu?”

“Is Your Majesty awake?” Huo Caiyu set down the cold tea and picked up a fan nearby, using it to fan Li Jinyu. “Are you still feeling unwell?”

Gradually, Li Jinyu’s mind cleared, and he sat up, feeling perplexed. He moved his arms slightly. “Zhen doesn’t think there’s any problem.”

Huo Caiyu, with a concerned expression, checked Li Jinyu’s pulse once again and finally let out a sigh of relief.

“Your Majesty, what happened earlier?”

Li Jinyu scratched his ear and recalled, hesitating, “At that time, I only remembered that those people had a special scent on them that made me want to get close to them, and then my head started spinning.”

Although he knew it was not the Emperor’s intention, the words “want to get close” still momentarily pained Huo Caiyu’s heart.

“The envoy has already provided the perfume used by those individuals. It’s a juice called ‘Beast-Attracting Flower’, a special product of Jiao Kingdom. It has no effect on humans but can attract wild animals.” Huo Caiyu poured a cup of tea for the Emperor and placed it in front of him. “Based on the Jiao Kingdom’s special product, this official and the imperial physician have prepared an antidote.”

When Li Jinyu heard “no effects on humans”, his body suddenly stiffened, thinking that his identity had been discovered, and instinctively touched his head.

No ears popping out.

“This official and the imperial physician have discussed it. It may be because Your Majesty’s physique is different from ordinary people, and Your Majesty are more sensitive to the fragrance of the Beast-Attracting Flower.” Huo Caiyu’s eyes followed Li Jinyu’s hand and stopped at his head. “Does Your Majesty still feel dizzy?”

Relieved that his identity had not been exposed, Li Jinyu coughed and reassured, “It’s alright. Zhen is fine now.”

He stood up from Huo Caiyu’s embrace and walked around for a while.

Huo Caiyu observed that the Emperor had indeed regained his spirits and then brought up another matter, “How does Your Majesty plan to handle those who used the Beast-Attracting Flower?”

If he followed Emperor Jingchang’s temperament, anyone who dared to offend him would generally end up losing their head.

However, he had never killed anyone before, nor had he ever ordered an execution…

Li Jinyu hesitated for a moment, attempting to pass the responsibility onto someone else. “What is the Regent’s opinion on this matter?”

“Those individuals employed distasteful tactics in the competition between our nations and nearly caused harm to Your Majesty. It would not be excessive to execute them according to the law.” Huo Caiyu perceived the Emperor’s reluctance, and his heart softened slightly. “If Your Majesty believes they might have some other value, we can temporarily detain them.”

The main force that the Jiao Kingdom envoy brought to provoke the Di Dynasty must hold some significance in Jiao Kingdom. Perhaps through interrogating them, they could acquire valuable information.

Li Jinyu quickly nodded in agreement, “Yes!”

It would be best to avoid causing any unnecessary harm!

Huo Caiyu’s expression softened slightly, “Your Majesty, please take a moment to rest. This official will handle the matter with the Jiao Kingdom’s envoy.”

Before departing, Huo Caiyu had a sudden realization, turned his head to face Li Jinyu, and spoke earnestly, “Your Majesty, the Jiao Kingdom is deceitful and cunning. The perfume they used has a special effect, so Your Majesty must exercise caution.”

Li Jinyu didn’t fully grasp Huo Caiyu’s meaning. “Zhen agrees with you.”

“This official was contemplating the matter concerning Princess Tama…” Huo Caiyu delicately hinted, “Your Majesty, it would be best to avoid any contact with her.”

Li Jinyu finally understood Huo Caiyu’s intention.

He had planned to assign Princess Tama to work on the farm and had no intentions of engaging in any “intimate” relationship with her. However, seeing how serious Huo Caiyu was about addressing the issue, he suddenly had a thought – ever since the hunting trip, Huo Caiyu had been interfering between him and Princess Tama…

Could it be that Huo Caiyu was interested in Princess Tama?