A Time-Traveling Mishap: I Became an Ancient Nobleman

Chapter 293 Offending the Gods

Chapter 293 Offending the Gods

Zhang Gonggong and everyone present were utterly shocked by what they saw. "What...what exactly happened? Why did it suddenly explode?"

Even in his dazed state, he understood that Zhou Hanzhang had truly saved his life. If Zhou Hanzhang hadn't discovered this in time, he probably would have lived to the end.

Eunuch Zhang immediately bowed deeply to Zhou Hanzhang, saying, "Thank you, young prince."

Zhou Hanzhang waved his hand, his expression indifferent. "Eunuch Zhang should investigate this candle matter thoroughly. If I hadn't carefully examined the details of the banquet today, we might all be the ones trapped in that box."

Once the banquet began, Eunuch Zhang was to stay close to the emperor. He couldn't even imagine the unimaginable consequences if the explosion had occurred at the banquet.

There was no need for Zhou Hanzhang to remind him about tracing the source; Eunuch Zhang was already adept at handling such matters and would do it himself.

However, he still had doubts. Seeing that Zhou Hanzhang was also present, he asked directly, "Could you please tell me, Young Prince, what exactly happened? We inspected this batch of candles before and never encountered this phenomenon before. Could it have happened en route...?"

Zhou Hanzhang shook his head, his tone certain, "These candles must have been tampered with before they came in. The space was spacious when you tested them, and the burning time wasn't long, so this didn't happen."

She picked up a candle and handed it to Eunuch Zhang, saying, "Eunuch Zhang, please smell it."

Zhang Gonggong was usually busy with his affairs, so he naturally wouldn't have paid much attention to a candle. If Zhou Hanzhang hadn't directly brought the candle to his nose for him to smell, he probably wouldn't have noticed anything unusual.

He served the emperor for decades, and in terms of insight, probably no one could surpass him.

He took the candle, brought it closer, and smelled it. "This is... the smell of sulfur?"

Zhou Hanzhang nodded, and Eunuch Zhang's expression changed drastically. "We really have to thank the young prince this time. These candles mixed with sulfur were clearly meant to kill people!"

Candles mixed with sulfur are highly likely to explode in a confined space if there is insufficient air.

The thought that these candles were originally intended for a banquet filled Zhang Gonggong with lingering fear.

"Eunuch Zhang, you must investigate this matter thoroughly; it is of utmost importance," Zhou Hanzhang said solemnly.

"This old servant knows."

At this moment, he changed his self-reference from "a jack-of-all-trades" to "an old servant," which shows how grateful he was to Zhou Hanzhang.

He quickly arranged for another group of people to go out and buy the candles needed for the night, while also sending another group to secretly investigate the matter.

Seeing that Eunuch Zhang was so organized, Zhou Hanzhang felt much more at ease and turned to go to other places to continue checking for danger.

Since resolving the candle issue, her heart palpitations have subsided considerably.

It seems the problem really lies here. Now that the potential hidden danger has been identified, she feels much more relaxed.

However, the necessary checks still need to be done again.

She felt a little regretful at this moment. Some time ago, when Zhou Tong asked Xiao Ba to come and keep her company, she couldn't see anyone for the time being because of what she had done, so she sent Xiao Ba back to Zhou Tong's side.

If Xiao Ba were here with her right now, she would definitely feel more confident.

After thinking for a moment, she decided to send someone to find Zhou Tong and bring Xiao Ba over to help.

Anyway, she doesn't need to go to the brothel these days, so there's no major problem, and she's not afraid of being discovered to be a woman.

Xiao Ba arrived just in time for welcoming guests. Zhou Hanzhang arranged for Xiao Ba to sit in an inconspicuous spot and instructed him to keep an eye on Jiang Mingyun that night, lest she be tricked by Zhou Haochen.

Upon hearing that there was good food, Xiao Ba readily agreed, saying, "Leave it to me, don't worry."

Zhou Hanzhang had considerable confidence in Xiao Ba's abilities.

Soon, the King of the United States arrived with the Queen and the rumored little prince with a tail.

The family of three seemed to be having a great time, completely unconcerned about the little prince's unusual behavior, and didn't think there was anything wrong with the child.

The queen held him the whole time and greeted everyone around her.

The officials of the Great Zhou looked at the strange child and exchanged bewildered glances, but dared not say anything in front of the King of the United States.

However, since the women were further away, they spoke much more freely.

"Did you see that? That child has grown a tail; he must be cursed."

"Yes, I'm afraid we've offended the gods."

"They even brought this child to our Great Zhou. Could they be bringing bad luck with them?"

"Probably not?"

"Hey, stop talking, they're looking over here."

A palace maid led the Queen of the United States, who was carrying a child, to the group of women. They immediately fell silent, though their eyes still held a strong sense of curiosity.

When the Queen of the United States greeted them with a smile, they also put on what they thought were their most appropriate smiles. "Queen Martha, seeing is believing. I've long heard of your stunning beauty, and seeing you today confirms it's true."

Masha's Zhou dialect wasn't fluent; although she could understand it, speaking it was always a bit difficult.

She simply said, "Thank you, thank you, you are all very beautiful."

The palace maid led her to sit down.

Because she is not good at speaking, she only gives a few simple replies when asked questions.

If the topic were to delve any deeper, she would be unable to continue the conversation.

The ladies noticed this as well, and seeing that saying more wouldn't change anything, they all returned to their seats. If there was anything delicious, they would politely mention it at the appropriate time, so it didn't seem too awkward.

But the little prince started rummaging through things as soon as he sat down.

At first, he was only focused on the things on his own desk, but in no time, he had made a mess of the table in front of Queen Martha.

At first, the ladies smiled and praised the little prince for being lively and adorable, but then he crawled up to them on all fours and started grabbing at the food on their table. They were all terrified.

Queen Martha hurriedly went back and brought the little prince back, apologizing to the ladies, "I'm so sorry, the little prince is quite active, he wants to grab and look at anything new he sees..."

He paused here, seemingly searching for the right word, and said, "He's not trying to scare you, he just gets angry if he can't get what he wants."

Martha tried her best to describe the Little Prince's situation using her limited vocabulary.

Some of the shrewd ladies present had already noticed that Martha was calling her son "Little Prince," and just as they were wondering about it, the Little Prince reached out and scratched Martha's face.

Martha was caught off guard and her face was scratched.

"what!"

Martha screamed and covered her face with her hands.