Jin Mulan couldn't help smiling. "You really are impossible." She said.Then together they entered the wedding hall.
The celebration had entered the stage where the newlyweds personally greeted each guest.
Servants carried trays overflowing with gifts while attendants carefully recorded every contribution from each noble family. Jin Mulan watched the growing mountain of presents.
Then a thought struck her. She tugged lightly on Luo He's sleeve. "Husband."
"Yes honey?" He asked. "Did we prepare a wedding gift?" Luo He answered without the slightest hesitation. "Of course we did."
"What did you give?" His lips slowly curled upward. "I invented a new explosive." Jin Mulan blinked. "You what?" She looked confused.
"Yes and also a very powerful one." He said. "Then, I placed it neatly among the gift boxes dressed as our gift, wrapped and disguised." She stared at him."You are joking." She said.
"I'm not." He reassured her confidently.
"You actually put a explosion inside their wedding gift?" She asked. "I prefer the term 'delayed tribute.'" He said lightly, and he looked genuinely pleased with himself.
"It has an exceptionally elegant fuse." He said. She rubbed her forehead.
"Elegant." She asked.
"It burns very slowly." He said.
"That does not make this better." She said.
"I disagree. It's approximately three hours. That makes sure we don't die from the same explosion. Won't that make it a lot better?" He struck back confidently.
"You measured it?" She asked.
"Several times." He reassured.
She closed her eyes. "Of course you did." She said.
Luo He continued explaining as though discussing a new tea recipe. "When the celebration reaches its end," He casually made a small gesture with his fingers.
"Boom."
Jin Mulan stared at him in disbelief. "You are smiling." She squeezed his hand. "I know." He chuckled. "You think this is funny." She shot back. "Indeed it is." He said. She let out a long sigh.
"You are completely hopeless." He shrugged. "They tried to assassinate an emperor." He said.
"So this is revenge?" She asked.
"No." He smiled pleasantly.
"It's tribute from heaven. If someone attempts to kill an emperor," His smile somehow became even kinder. "The heavens themselves might object."
Jin Mulan immediately understood.
"You're planning to make it look like divine punishment." She finally understood. He nodded approvingly.
"Exactly."
"The people of Wu will believe heaven struck down those who offended imperial authority. They'll panic. They'll fear the omen. And every rumor after tonight will become larger than the truth."
He sounded almost impressed by the idea himself. "The best lies are the ones people believe them selves." Jin Mulan looked at him for several silent seconds.
Then she sighed again. "I really shouldn't encourage you." She said softly. "But... It is a frighteningly clever plan."
Luo He grinned. "I knew you'd appreciate good craftsmanship." He smiled. She rolled her eyes. "Calling an explosive 'craftsmanship' is exactly the sort of thing only you would do."
"It took weeks to perfect, honey. Not as easy as it looks." He sighed. "I'm sure it did." She said indifferently.
"And if everything goes according to plan..." He looked toward the towering pile of wedding gifts. "...people will spend generations arguing whether Heaven truly intervened."
Jin Mulan followed his gaze before shaking her head with a helpless smile.
"You really laugh about the strangest things." Luo He chuckled. "What can I say?"
He patted the sleeve of his old robe. "My wife still loves me." He glanced toward the gift pile one last time. "And deeply somewhere over there, my finest work is waiting very patiently." He said.
The wedding proceeded smoothly after the excitement in the arena. Following the battle, the way people treated Jin Mulan had changed completely.
High-ranking officials, influential nobles, and respected scholars all approached her with polite smiles, clasping their hands in greeting before speaking.
Even those who had once looked down on her now addressed her with obvious respect. Strength commanded respect more effectively than titles ever could.
Throughout the entire reception, Jin Mulan never once let go of Luo He's hand. She held him close as they greeted the guests together.
Several curious nobles asked where the couple had disappeared to after the tournament. Jin Mulan answered calmly.
"I became rather sweaty in the arena. I simply went to bathe and change into fresh clothes before returning."
The explanation was perfectly reasonable, and no one questioned it further. The wedding festivities gradually drew to an end.
After witnessing her strength earlier that day, people also became noticeably more respectful of her personal space, no longer daring to crowd around her.
Just as the atmosphere began settling down, a young scholar stepped forward carrying an unusual object. It was a perfectly carved jade cube mounted within a finely crafted wooden frame.
Each face bore a different pattern of carvings, divided into smaller rotating sections that could be twisted rather independently.
The scholar demonstrated the mechanism, scrambling every face before presenting it to the guests.
"This is a puzzle I created my self. The objective is to restore every face to its original pattern." Several ministers eagerly accepted the challenge.
Yet none succeeded.
The more they twisted the cube, the more chaotic it became. Proud scholars, seasoned strategists, and renowned officials all frowned as they eventually admitted defeat.
Luo He recognized it the moment he saw it. A Rubik's Cube. Three sided and is a very common toy in the remains of the ancient civilization knowledge according to the identification of his AI.
The ancient civilization's database had contained extensive records about these puzzles. They had been designed to train pattern recognition, spatial reasoning.
He had studied them purely out of personal interest. A normal three by three cube posed little challenge to him now.
With enough patience, he could even solve far more complicated variations. If necessary, his AI could analyze every permutation and solve it effortlessly.
Watching the increasingly frustrated nobles, Luo He quietly smiled. Jin Mulan noticed immediately.
"You're planning something." She said.
Luo He merely took another sip of water.
"I think this wedding is about to become much more entertaining." He said.
His smile widened slightly as another proud official confidently accepted the cube, only to make it even more hopelessly scrambled.
One after another, the cube passed through the hands of the distinguished guests. But non succeeded. An elderly duke of Wu, a minister who had governed three provinces throughout his lifetime.
He confidently declared that no mere toy could challenge decades of experience.
Nearly ten minutes later, he quietly returned it. Then a renowned military strategist accepted the cube.
"I have always excelled at recognizing patterns." He declared confidently. Within only a few minutes, he restored one complete face. A murmur of admiration spread through the hall.
Soon after, he completed a second face.
Many guests leaned forward. "He might actually solve it." The strategist carefully rotated another layer.
The first completed face immediately collapsed. Another turn. The second followed. Several more twists later, the cube appeared even more chaotic than when he had first received it.
His expression stiffened before he silently handed it back. After him came scholar after scholar. Some managed a single face.
Two or three exceptionally gifted rearly talented individuals restored two faces simultaneously. Yet none could complete a third. The more they struggled, the further victory slipped away.
"It cannot be solved."
"What an extraordinary creation."
"Nonsense. There is no solution at all."
Several guests turned toward the scholar who had presented the puzzle. He clasped his hands proudly behind his back. "The inspiration came from an ancient manuscript I once studied." He said proudly taking back the cube.
"As for the mechanism itself... I designed it personally." Someone immediately challenged him. "Then solve it your self, If even its creator cannot solve it, perhaps there was never a solution to begin with." The man declared.
The scholar snorted. "I have studied it for half a year. I have yet to solve it myself. But I am certain a solution exists." His confidence only fueled the crowd further.
"It has no solution!"
"You are trying to deceive us!"
"It is impossible!"
The wedding hall erupted into argument.
Luo He watched the spectacle quietly from his seat. Pride. Frustration. Curiosity. Competitive spirit.
A simple toy had transformed the elegant wedding hall into a silent battlefield of intellect. He found it rather entertaining.
The scholar eventually raised both hands, calming the room before bowing politely.
"Is there anyone else who wishes to attempt my creation?" For a brief moment, no one moved. The previous failures had thoroughly discouraged even the proudest nobles.