Love Lock

Chapter 305 Encountering Thugs

At this moment, the air in the lobby seemed to solidify into a giant amber, tightly enveloping the large, fat head.

A bead of sweat trickled down the chubby man's forehead, slowly sliding down his taut cheek, but he was completely unaware of it.

Han Lei had just whispered to him that the messengers were using this item to make things difficult for Zhao Zun, and that he must untangle it.

He's not good at reading, but he'll definitely be able to help Zhao Zun out of this predicament by breaking down this thing.

His world consisted only of the complex mortise and tenon structure made of dark sandalwood before him—nine wooden strips interlocking, connecting, and locking together in an incredible way, forming a seemingly seamless and impeccably solid whole.

His fingertips first gently stroked the surface of each wooden strip, like a pianist familiarizing himself with piano keys, feeling the delicate texture of the wood and every imperceptible undulation.

He pursed his lips tightly, even suppressing his breathing to a very slow and soft pace.

Suddenly, his gaze sharpened.

His short, thick but agile right thumb and forefinger shot out like lightning, precisely pinching a seemingly insignificant short tenon on the side, and suddenly twisting it to the left with force!
"Crack!"

A very faint yet clearly audible crisp sound exploded in the deathly silent hall.

The short tenon was rotated ninety degrees, revealing a tiny, extremely well-hidden notch.

A series of suppressed gasps filled the lobby.

Before the echo could dissipate, his left hand followed suit, and a slender probe appeared between his fingers, precisely inserting into the newly revealed gap and gently flicking it upwards.

A long strip of wood that had been motionless and seemed to be merely decorative suddenly sprang outward by half a point!
The disassembly process accelerated instantly.

His hands transformed into two dazzling afterimages, each strike decisive and swift, without the slightest hesitation.

He gently pulled out the long strip that had popped out, as if pulling the first thread from a tightly woven brocade.

Then, the second, the third... his fingers flew, pressing, squeezing, lifting, and pulling, each movement accompanied by a series of crisp or dull mechanical clicks.

The disassembly process of Luban lock is like performing a delicate dissection, captivating everyone's attention every second.

As the core components gradually came into view, the difficulty increased dramatically. The remaining wooden strips were tightly wedged together at even more complex and tricky angles.

Big Fat Head frowned, his breathing became heavier, but his movements remained perfectly composed.

In a brilliant two-handed operation, he pressed his thumb against one end, skillfully tapped his middle finger inward, and then swiftly spread it to both sides!
"Click!"

The last few stubbornly interlocking wooden strips finally lost all support, as if a hardwood flower had suddenly bloomed, then scattered into nine independent parts, quietly laid out on the velvet tabletop.

The whole process was smooth and quick.

"Ha! It's done!" Han Lei's voice, filled with unbelievable excitement, suddenly tore through the silence of the scene.

Big Fatty then let out a long, silent breath that had been trapped in his chest.

He slowly raised his arms, his hands, which had just performed the miracle, trembling slightly.

A moment of silence fell over the room, followed by thunderous cheers. Several elderly officials were so excited that their beards trembled, while the young guards clapped and celebrated wildly.

Big Fatty grinned foolishly as he held up the unlocked Luban lock, his sweaty face glowing red, as if he were holding not a piece of wood, but the glory of the entire grand scene.

Zhao Zun placed his broad hand on the fat man's shoulder and patted him gently, his eyes full of approval.

Zhao Zun praised him generously: "Fatty, you did a great job. You have brought honor to the diplomatic relations between Dajing and the mainland. If your grandfather knew, he would be very proud of you."

"Really? I just managed to save face for Da Jing? Hehe!" The fat man scratched the back of his head sheepishly and grinned, "This thing is no challenge for me! Daring to use this piece of junk to make things difficult for my friend, don't you know who I am!"

After he finished speaking, he chuckled to himself, a smug look spreading across his round face.

On the opposite side, the envoys from Ara, Gertai and Hasa from Meng Kingdom, looked ashen-faced. With the "Heaven and Earth Nexus Lock" broken, Da Jing had solved two problems in succession.

The officials in the hall cheered, but the envoys from both countries stood frozen in place.

Gertai and Hasa exchanged a glance, and finally stepped forward, forcing a smile as they offered their congratulations: "Congratulations, Your Highness and Your Highness, on solving two problems in a row."

Hassa then spoke, his voice tinged with resentment: "However... Your Highness shouldn't be too happy yet. Don't forget there's still the first line of the couplet that hasn't been completed—'Clouds lock the high mountains, which peak dares to emerge?'"

"Ara and Mengguo dare to utter such a first line? What arrogance!" Zhao Zun said disdainfully, his voice steady. "I'm afraid... even the Turks wouldn't dare."

Hassa didn't answer, but instead asked with a smirk, "Is there no one in Cangzhou who can answer this?"

Upon hearing this, Han Lei remained calm and composed, instead picking her ear in a rather inelegant manner.

She chuckled lazily, "This couplet is too elegant. I'm not exactly an elegant person, so I can't come up with a matching one."

Hassa's eyes lit up, and he laughed loudly: "Does the princess mean... that she is admitting defeat?"

“However—” Han Lei drawled, her eyes sweeping over the assembled Cangzhou officials.

“We have plenty of refined people here.” She smiled and raised her hand, pointing to the officials in the hall. “Just because I can’t answer doesn’t mean they can’t! Everyone, give it a try and let the two envoys hear the elegance of our Great Jing.”

The officials of Cangzhou responded one after another, each of them frowning and stroking their beards, pacing back and forth in deep thought.

"The sun pierces through the dense fog, this path of light comes first." An elderly clerk stepped forward and asked cautiously, "I wonder if this couplet is acceptable?"

Another clerk also recited: "Swords cross the vast desert, now heroes vie to join the fray."

Immediately, the officials present recited their matching lines.

"The ancient temple with its resounding bells, a thousand-year-old transmission of Buddhism"

"The boat sails on the raging sea, and in an instant, all the giant waves are calmed."

……

They came up with all sorts of matching couplets, some neat but lacking in artistic conception, others novel but lacking in stability.

Han Lei listened attentively, nodding frequently. Finally, her gaze fell on Luo Hai, who had been pondering for a long time.

“Uncle Luo,” she said in a clear, encouraging voice, “why don’t you give it a try?”

Luo Hai stroked his beard and hesitated, saying, "I do have a couplet, but I'm afraid it lacks artistic conception and is not worthy of being presented in a refined setting."

"Speak freely!" Zhao Zun said with a smile.

In any case, Han Lei had her reasons for having these officials recite couplets.

Luo Hai paced slowly in the hall, took a deep breath, and slowly recited the second line of the couplet: "Lamplight shines through the long night, the smoke from ten thousand homes glows together."

As soon as Luo Hai finished speaking, Han Lei immediately clapped her hands and cheered, "Great! Well done! With this couplet, our Dajing has won all three questions!"

As she spoke, she looked provocatively at the envoys of both countries, implying that they could come up with a whole host of responses.

Gertai frowned: "Your Highness! Although our country is not very knowledgeable about the culture of the Central Plains, we can still tell that the meaning of this second line is mediocre. How can it be considered good?" Han Lei raised an eyebrow: "You only said that you would win if you could come up with a matching second line. When did you ever say that it had to be exquisite?"

"But...but this is clearly sophistry!" Gertai was so angry he almost fell over. "Even a blind man could tell this couplet is poorly written!"

"So what?" Han Lei stroked her chin and replied slowly, "As the saying goes, there's no first place in literature, but there's a second in martial arts. Since you think your first line is brilliant, I also think my second line is excellent! So tell me, how should we judge who gets first place?"

Hearing her say that, Hassa was so angry that his face turned red, but he was too choked to speak.

Zhao Zun, who had been silent all along, finally couldn't help but smile.

He leaned down and put his arm around Han Lei's shoulder, his voice steady and clear: "I think Lord Luo's couplet is perfectly matched and impeccable."

Having said that, he raised his eyes and scanned the entire room, asking loudly, "What do you all think?"

A chorus of agreement immediately erupted from the surrounding crowd: "Lord Luo's reply is brilliant!"

Gertai and Hasa gritted their teeth and stared blankly at the prince and princess, who were singing in unison before them. They finally understood—

This couple had clearly conspired beforehand, deliberately putting on a show in front of them!
Hassa pondered for a moment, then deliberately dragged out his words, as if bestowing some favor, and said, "In that case, even if you win both the 'Heaven and Earth Pivot Lock' and the couplet, it's still a victory for you. However..."

He changed the subject, pointing to the incense burner that had long since burned out, "When the first question was answered, the incense had already burned out, so according to the rules, I could only be judged as the loser."

These words immediately made the atmosphere in the entire hall heavy.

Upon hearing this, Princess Han Lei of Cangzhou's beautiful eyes immediately ignited with two flames.

She leaned on Zhao Zun's shoulder, lazily glancing at Hassa: "Your Excellency is mistaken. When I entered the hall to give my answer, the incense had clearly not yet burned out. It was because you were all so focused on the crayfish in my box that you forgot to check the timer on the incense..."

She suddenly sat up straight, glaring at him angrily: "Is this my fault?"

Her gaze was sharp as she spoke, looking directly into Hassa's eyes without backing down.

These people from Mengguo clearly saw that the question couldn't stump them, so they started to cheat.

She glanced at Zhao Zun beside her and saw that his expression was normal, but the fingers holding her were tightening slightly, clearly indicating that he was also suppressing his anger.

Just then, the messenger Gertai suddenly let out a low laugh, a dry and grating laugh, like the cry of an owl.

"Heh! Why is the Princess of Cangzhou so angry?" He smiled insincerely, his eyes narrowing into slits. "Right now, the Dongming Empire is attacking Dajing in the east. Surely you don't want war to break out in the north again, do you?"

He paused deliberately, looked around, and enjoyed the tense expressions on everyone's faces.

"If the allied forces of Ala and Meng Kingdom were to attack Ling'an City now, Da Jing would undoubtedly be defeated. At that time, Da Jing would be attacked from two sides, with war raging everywhere and its people displaced..."

Gertai stepped forward, his tone full of condescension, "However, if you are willing to admit defeat and hand over Ling'an City, we can form an alliance and fight against the Dongming Empire together. Otherwise, if word gets out of today's exchange, the other states will probably laugh at the Great Jing for having no grand manners of a great power."

As Gertai spoke, it was as if he could already see the scene of victory—

Their people no longer had to struggle to survive on the barren grasslands, but could now live in warm houses in Ling'an City and enjoy the abundant produce of Dajing.

This thought unconsciously made the corners of his mouth turn up, revealing a greedy smile.

Han Lei almost laughed out of anger. She suppressed the urge to roll her eyes, thinking that these people had truly taken threats and cheating to the extreme.

But it didn't matter, since she and Zhao Zun had long anticipated that these two small grassland countries were there to take advantage of their misfortune. The so-called "cultural exchange" was nothing more than a high-sounding excuse.

See, now the fox's tail is showing!

Since they started cheating, then don't blame her for being a scoundrel.

She gently patted the pistol at Zhao Zun's waist, turned to look at him, raised her eyebrows slightly, and curled her lips into a knowing smile.

Their eyes met, and they understood each other perfectly.

Zhao Zun stroked his chin thoughtfully, then suddenly looked up at Gertai, his tone unsettlingly calm: "Your Excellency just said that if word gets out, the other states will laugh at Great Jing for lacking the demeanor of a great power?"

Gertai stroked his curly beard and nodded smugly: "That's right. The Great Jing has always considered itself a land of etiquette, so I'm sure it wouldn't do anything to damage its reputation."

"Hehe!" Zhao Zun chuckled, released Han Lei and stood up, his aura suddenly changing.

With a sharp "smack," a gleaming pistol was slammed heavily onto the sandalwood table, the metal striking the wood with a chilling sound.

“Then…” Zhao Zun’s voice was as cold as ice, “If you all die here, then no one will be able to spread the word, right?”

In an instant, the entire lobby became so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

The envoys from both countries stared dumbfounded at the pistol that gleamed coldly in the candlelight, completely bewildered as to what Zhao Zun had produced.

Seeing their gazes fixed on the pistol, before they could react,

Han Lei smiled and immediately gave Old Meng, who was standing to the side, a wink.

Han Lei handed the takeout box to Zi Tan and shouted, "Close the door, unleash the dogs!"

The heavy mahogany gate slammed shut, shutting out the last glimpse of the scenery.

Luo Hai ordered his men to turn on the solar-powered lights, and the hall was no longer dark; instead, it became even brighter.

It was only then that the envoys from the neighboring countries truly realized the danger they were in.

Hassa quickly turned his head to glance at the tightly closed gate, his voice trembling slightly with anger: "Prince of Cangzhou. In times of war, envoys are not to be killed! What are you trying to do? Aren't you afraid of being ridiculed by the world?"

Zhao Zun smiled wickedly, slowly walked to the main seat, and glanced at the many Cangzhou officials in the hall.

After a moment, he asked in a clear and cold voice, "Gentlemen, have any of you seen any envoys come to Cangzhou?"

"Never before!"

The officials responded in unison, their voices echoing in the closed hall, making the envoys from both countries tremble. Some officials even covered their mouths and chuckled to themselves.

“You…you all…” Gertai was so angry that he trembled all over, pointing his finger back and forth between Zhao Zun and Han Lei, his lips trembling but unable to utter a complete sentence.

He then realized that he had completely underestimated the couple.

Their "exchanges" with the delegation were nothing more than a cat playing with a mouse. From beginning to end, they didn't care about diplomatic etiquette at all, nor were they threatened or intimidated.

Looking at the mocking smiles on Zhao Zun and Han Lei's faces, he felt a chill run down his spine.

This...this is clearly a pair of devilish couple who fear neither heaven nor earth.

Han Lei casually straightened her sleeves, a faint smile playing on her lips.

She stood up from the beanbag chair, a microphone now in her hand, and a karaoke speaker slung over her shoulder.

I'm eating mushrooms outside today, anyone want some?