Miaoyu: You shameless wretch!

For the next few days, Lin Rui did nothing else and went straight to the estate to manufacture heavy matchlocks.

Although he already had Niu Ben's "tacit approval," he remained extremely cautious. All manufacturing and assembly processes were kept strictly confidential and uniformly arranged within a small courtyard inside the estate. All participants—whether master craftsmen or apprentices—were strictly forbidden from leaving.

They would remain restricted until he officially took office and reported to Niu Jizong to deliver the results.

Otherwise, under the charge of "illegally manufacturing firearms," a prompt execution would be considered an act of "imperial grace."

What? Niu Ben agreed?

When? Has the man even met you?

However, he exercised caution during the manufacturing process, changing the paper-cartridge percussion ignition back to the matchlock mechanism.

Twenty miles outside the capital, the Lin family estate.

Amidst an endless expanse of sorghum fields, a clearing about one hundred and fifty paces long and twenty paces wide had been specially designated. It looked completely unremarkable within the thousands of acres of farmland. The only pity was that the crops were only about a month away from harvest, making clearing them now somewhat wasteful.

With a dull thud, a flock of foraging birds, already startled, once again fluttered wildly across the sky.

"Not bad!" Lin Rui put away the heavy matchlock, handed it to his personal guard, and nodded in satisfaction.

"Eldest Master, you call this not bad?" Lin Zhao, who was temporarily acting as assistant shooter, said with great dissatisfaction, "It's half slower than our own. Although the power is comparable, when it really comes to use, the difference is like heaven and earth."

"Idiot!" Before Lin Rui could speak, Lin Yu had already raised his foot and kicked Lin Zhao in the rear. "What we use ourselves naturally has to be the best. If the ones given to others are the same, how can we highlight the lord's merit in the future?"

"Get lost!" Lin Rui waved his hand impatiently. "Pack these eight pieces and store them properly. Whenever I want them, have someone bring them along and accompany me to the Ministry of War to report. Also, not a single whisper of this matter is allowed to leak out. Understood?"

"Don't worry, Eldest Master!" The two subordinates hurriedly dropped to their knees.

Not only the two of them, but the accompanying guards and a dozen craftsmen also knelt down to pledge their loyalty.

"Ten taels of silver for each master craftsman, three taels for each apprentice. Go back and collect your silver." Lin Rui knew that benevolence and severity must be applied simultaneously, and naturally concluded with silver. As expected, all the craftsmen broke into smiles. "You guys don't have to worry about money. Once I take office, there will be no shortage of benefits."

The two subordinates hurriedly left with a group of rejoicing guards.

"Brother Rui, was that what you used just now—a firearm?" As soon as all the figures disappeared, the four young maidships who had been hiding in the sorghum field walked out. The one speaking was naturally Lin Daiyu. "Little sister saw the wooden target shatter directly. Truly, the power is astonishing."

As she spoke, her expression already revealed shock.

Not only her, but Xueyan, Miaoyu, and Xing岫烟, who came with them, reacted the same way.

"What is this considered? It's not even a cannon. When I finally get artillery built, you'll understand what 'astonishing power' truly means." Lin Rui smiled, stepped forward, and hugged her. His hand felt noticeably slippery, as her clothes were already soaked through with sweat. "You four little fools, you insisted on coming. You suffered for nothing, didn't you?"

It was currently mid-summer, and the weather was fiercely dry. The open fields were already hot enough, and to top it off, they had to hide in the sorghum patch; it would have been a wonder if they hadn't been soaked through. Fortunately, Madam couldn't see them. In order to bring them to the estate to relax, he had made a whole bunch of promises. What would happen if she found out about this?

"To gain such insight, suffering a small hardship is only right." Miaoyu's expression remained indifferent.

This young lady only showed some expression in front of him; at all other times, she was basically "cold to the core," often interspersing her speech with plenty of biting sarcasm that ordinary people certainly couldn't withstand. Fortunately, Sister Lin was naturally "temperamental," and the two of them somehow gave off the impression of "formidable opponents meeting a worthy match."

"A small hardship?" Lin Rui glared at her in annoyance. "It sounds alright when you say it now, but if you showed up outside looking like this and were seen by outsiders, I'd be in big trouble!"

With that, he pulled Sister Lin firmly into his arms and reached out to pluck at her already "clingy" garments.

Nowadays, the four young ladies were no longer just "offering benefits," but rather "openly supplying" them. Because at least seventy or eighty percent of their clothes were soaked through and completely "tight-fitting," they were exposed almost to the point of nothingness, giving him a thorough and feast-for-the-eyes opportunity.

Er... actually, it wasn't quite that dramatic, because he had already seen everything that was there to be seen.

Except for the young lady in his arms.

The faces of the four girls instantly flushed crimson, and Sister Lin was so embarrassed that she buried her face in his chest, not daring to look up.

"Brother Rui!" Seeing that he was still deliberately looking around mischievously, the young lady beat him in embarrassment and discontent.

"Go back and clean up." Just now, it was merely some light flirting. Lin Rui smiled, scooped Sister Lin up horizontally in his arms, and strode outward. "Even though the weather is very hot, you still have to be careful about drying sweat. Catching a cold is no joke. You need to go back, take a hot bath, and change out of those wet clothes."

Before test-firing the heavy matchlock, he had already ordered the surrounding area to be cleared, and just now even the guards and craftsmen had been driven away, so he didn't have to worry about the young ladies being taken advantage of by others. The five of them chatted and laughed all the way back to the estate, and after dismissing the estate servants in advance, he finally entered the inner courtyard.

After nearly half an hour, the two pairs of mistresses and maids finally restored themselves to a fragrant state.

Lin Rui found this incomprehensible; if it were up to him, a quarter of an hour would have been more than enough to finish.

What he hadn't expected even more was that after Sister Lin came out, she handed him a booklet.

"Brother Rui, this is the memorial of thanks you wanted. Take a look and see if it's acceptable?" Fortunately, she didn't forget to explain.

"A memorial of thanks?" He was stunned for a moment before realizing what it was. He had been staying at the estate for the past few days, solely occupied with the heavy matchlocks, and had almost completely forgotten about it. Seeing the finished product handed into his hands, he could only casually scan the parallel prose spanning the entire document. "It's about right, isn't it? Much better than I could do."

"Brother Rui, you will also have to submit memorials and report on matters in the future; it's hardly proper to have others ghostwrite all of them, is it?" Miaoyu snatched it away with mild annoyance. "The Sage said, 'Ask when you do not understand, learn when you are unable.' What kind of state would you be in if you remained muddle-headed?"

"What's wrong with that?" Lin Rui asked righteously. "Didn't the ancients speak of a 'virtuous inner helper'?"

Lin Daiyu's cheeks turned bright red, and she struck him a few times in shamed annoyance.

"You are truly shameless!" Miaoyu could only roll her eyes at him, and while flipping through the memorial with admiration, she said, "Sister Lin truly possesses the talent of chanting catkins. Once I finished reading it, I knew I was far inferior."

"Sister is being too polite. There were originally several flaws in this piece, and thanks to your timely suggestions, we were able to revise it in time without making fools of ourselves," Lin Daiyu hurriedly deferred. "Little sister hadn't even thought of those taboos."

"Mere flaws are only minor details; how could they compare to the exquisite beauty of the whole piece?" Miaoyu smiled and shook her head.

"You two stop blowing your own trumpets. What are you going to do with a semi-literate person like me?" Lin Rui pulled Sister Lin directly into his arms, easily suppressing her reluctant, petty resistance. "Anyway, I've already given up on being cured, so I'll just have to trouble you two from now on."

Xing Xiuyan looked at the shy, blushing little prideful girl, smiled, and pulled Xueyan out of the room to give them privacy.

"Brother Rui!" Sister Lin hadn't expected their meaningful glances to drive her nearly to tears. "You always disregard little sister's face like this. Could it be that the days ahead are meant for you to bully and tease me?"

"Isn't it?" Lin Rui wore a matter-of-fact expression. "How regrettable that would be! Anyway, I don't care what anyone else thinks; you, Lin Daiyu, are destined to be bullied by me for the rest of your life. No matter what you do, you can never escape!"

With that, he quickly lowered his head, lightly pecked her two petal-like lips, and looked up at her with a smile.

Sister Lin's face instantly felt as though it were on fire. Glancing at Miaoyu, who was watching the show nearby, she was so embarrassed she had no idea what to do, so she simply lowered her delicate head and buried it deep in his chest while her slender hands beat against him vigorously.

"You!" Miaoyu rolled her eyes at him, yet still obediently allowed him to summon her to his side, wrapping her arms around her. "It seems our sisters are truly destined to be bullied to death by you in this lifetime. I wonder what wicked karma we accumulated in our past lives to meet a demon star like you."

"I don't care why, as long as I enjoy it." Lin Rui directly pulled her close and tasted her lips.

Having said that, he embraced the young ladies on either side of him, letting them rest their heads against his chest to enjoy the peace and quiet.

"Brother Rui, now that you've prepared the 'greeting gift' before taking office, does that mean everything will be smooth sailing from now on?" After a long silence, Lin Daiyu asked softly. "Little sister has heard that affairs in the imperial court are numerous. Won't you end up endlessly busy?"

"I don't even know which question to answer first, the first half or the second half?" Lin Rui was amused by her. "Rest assured, being an official in the imperial court mainly depends on two things: ability and status. Since I barely have both, naturally it won't be too difficult."

If one lacks ability, one can use status to find reliable helpers, and things can still be done well.

If one lacks status—never mind, let's talk about what to eat instead.

"Brother Rui, just focus your mind on the big matters; there's no need to worry about anything at home," Miaoyu sighed softly. "To tell you the truth, little sister actually has lingering misgivings about the imperial court and the yamen... I remember when my father was still alive, everything was fine.

It was as if overnight, everything changed. Wolf-like military men suddenly broke into our house and conducted a thorough search. I heard they were imperial guards of the Brocade-Clad Guard, specially dispatched to investigate corrupt officials. How could that be? Father had always been upright and honest; when was he ever corrupt?"

Her tone was calm as she spoke, as if she were narrating someone else's story, clearly having moved past it.

However, Lin Rui did not take up her words.

Just like Lin Ruhai, if placed in a court filled with dancing demons, he could indeed be considered a breath of fresh air. But if he were truly investigated according to imperial laws, not to mention anything else, how did a family fortune of several million taels come about?

Or to put it directly, looking across the entire Great Zhou court, were there any truly honest officials?

In modern history, the Ming Dynasty only produced one Hai Rui with a pristine reputation; what about the rest?

"Brother Rui, have all the preparations for your new post been completed?" Lin Daiyu asked softly.

"Don't worry, the remaining matters can only be addressed after I officially take office," Lin Rui said very calmly. "With these heavy matchlocks as a foundation, I can guarantee that I will secure my position. After that, it's merely a matter of capability. Perhaps I'm not as good as them when it comes to infighting and dirty tricks, but when it comes to getting actual work done, they can't hold a candle to me."

"In this imperial court, when has anyone ever cared about getting actual work done?" Miaoyu's expression was complicated.

"Others may be like that, but it doesn't matter to me," Lin Rui was well-prepared. "The imperial court ultimately has to govern the world, so it needs people who actually do the work. Generally speaking, people of this type never get the opportunity to rise to the top. Fortunately, I am not a minnow without any foundation."

For instance, Jia Min.

Or even... the Empress!