A Time-Traveling Mishap: I Became an Ancient Nobleman

Chapter 292 The Candle Problem

Chapter 292 The Candle Problem

The emperor saw that his request wasn't too unreasonable, and since Zhou Haochen had behaved quite well during this period, he agreed.

However, considering that Jiang Mingyun would also be attending, Zhou Hanzhang was really afraid that the man would cause some trouble at the banquet.

After all, people from the United States are present. If something embarrassing happens, it might be too late to cover it up. It's best to take precautions in advance.

Zhou Haochen is far too treacherous and cunning.

Zhou Hanzhang returned to the palace with Minister Jiang and watched them prepare for the banquet. At this moment, Jiang Mingyun approached her.

"Brother Hanzhang, I'm so glad to finally see you! What have you been up to lately? I've been trying to find you but couldn't."

Her tone carried a hint of grievance.

When Zhou Hanzhang saw that Jiang Mingyun had indeed arrived, his worries intensified. He said to Minister Jiang, "Uncle Jiang, I have some things to tell Mingyun. I'll trouble you to look after things here for now."

"No problem."

Minister Jiang knew that the two had grown closer since entering the academy, and he could understand it, after all, they were both young.

He didn't pay much attention to the two young men, focusing only on the details of the banquet preparations, and offering pointers if anything was inappropriate.

Zhou Hanzhang pulled Jiang Mingyun aside and whispered, "Mingyun, the King of the United States came today. He specifically told our Emperor that he hoped Zhou Haochen would attend the banquet, saying that he had always been the one to receive them and had done his best, and he wanted to express his gratitude to him personally."

"What's there to thank Zhou Haochen for? Everyone knows they're all in cahoots; nothing good ever comes of them together!"

Jiang Mingyun was furious when she recalled Zhou Haochen's usual behavior. "Maybe I should go back. I don't want to participate if he comes."

Zhou Hanzhang quickly stopped her, "No. The emperor has invited all the female relatives of officials, he must have a reason for this. If you want to go back without a reason, wouldn't that be disrespecting the emperor?"

Jiang Mingyun seemed to have realized what was going on, and frowned, saying, "But Zhou Haochen has finally come out, what if he causes some trouble? I can't stand seeing him now."

"It's really hard to say. Anyway, everything else is fine, but I'm afraid he'll come after you again. When I went to pick up the King of the United States today, my eyes kept twitching, they didn't stop at all," Zhou Hanzhang said worriedly.

Upon hearing this, Jiang Mingyun also became serious. "Brother Hanzhang, I will be careful. You don't need to worry about me."

"Just be careful. Ignore anything, whether it's tea, food, or if someone spills something on your clothes and asks you to change," Zhou Hanzhang repeatedly warned.

"Okay, Brother Hanzhang, you go ahead and get busy."

Although Jiang Mingyun made a promise, Zhou Hanzhang's eyes kept twitching, and her heart was pounding.

She was really unsure about this situation and had to be even more cautious.

She first found a doctor and took him directly to the kitchen to have him inspect all the food. She also arranged for several trusted people to be there to ensure the safety of the food.

We must not allow the King of the United States to find fault with this, otherwise, if he uses it to demand that the Emperor do something excessive, we will be in a very passive position.

Next came the seating arrangement. She meticulously checked every detail to ensure everything was perfect.

She didn't even spare the place where she changed clothes or the outhouse.

When she reached the banquet hall, she suddenly smelled a faint sulfurous odor. The smell seemed familiar, as if she had smelled it when she soaked in a hot spring before.

At first, she didn't realize what was happening, but as the person delivering the candles passed by, the smell of sulfur became more and more obvious.

"Just a moment."

Those people were puzzled, but they all stopped. "Young Prince."

She stepped forward and opened the box containing the candles, a strong smell of sulfur wafting out.

She frowned and asked, "Where did you get these candles?"

"Replying to Your Highness, these candles were all brought over from the Imperial Treasury by our servants," the man replied respectfully.

"The inner treasury?"

Zhou Hanzhang recalled that the Great Zhou's inner treasury seemed to be the emperor's private property, and now it seemed to be managed by Zhang Gonggong, the emperor's chief eunuch.

"Did you let anyone else touch these candles along the way?" she pressed.

Those people all shook their heads: "We moved them directly from the inner treasury without stopping along the way. Eunuch Zhang is still inside directing things."

"You guys take these candles back first," Zhou Hanzhang decided immediately.

"Move back?" The man looked astonished.

“Yes, all the candles, move them back.” Zhou Hanzhang said firmly.

Although those people were puzzled, since Zhou Hanzhang had now taken over the hospitality, they listened to her and moved all the candles back intact.

The emperor's chief eunuch was busy directing them to move the banquet supplies out of the room, and was in a state of frantic activity when Zhou Hanzhang led a group of people to bring back all the candles that had just been moved out.

He hurried forward, "Young Prince, is there a problem with this batch of candles?"

Instead of answering him directly, Zhou Hanzhang asked, "Eunuch Zhang, do you know where these candles were purchased from?"

While Zhang Gonggong might not know much about other things, he had a very deep impression of this batch of candles.

He had inspected the candles when they were first delivered and found that there were some problems, which were then reported to him. He was quite angry at the time.

To appease his anger, those people even sent him a batch of candles as an apology, without charging him anything.

He had even inspected the batch of candles and found that they were better than ordinary candles, with a stronger flame and less smoke, making them perfect for the dinner party during the visit of the United States.

But judging from Zhou Hanzhang's expression, something seemed seriously wrong. He quickly explained to Zhou Hanzhang where the candles came from, then cautiously asked, "What's wrong with these candles?"

Instead of answering his question directly, Zhou Hanzhang took a candle, had someone bring her a small box and placed it in an open area, lit the candle and put it in the box, and then told everyone to stay away.

No one knew what she meant. Eunuch Zhang had a lot of things to do and was getting anxious. "Young Prince, this..."

"Don't be in a hurry, Eunuch Zhang. You'll find out soon enough," Zhou Hanzhang said calmly.

Seeing the pile of things still unmoved, Eunuch Zhang's anxiety grew even more pronounced. However, given Zhou Hanzhang's words and the Emperor and Empress Dowager's usual attitude towards her, he dared not say anything more and could only quietly stay by her side.

He had no idea what this pampered young prince had discovered that made him choose this particular time to seek him out.

However, his inexplicable anxiety did not last long, and then the box that Zhou Hanzhang had just put the candle in suddenly made a "bang".

exploded.