AUBTN -Chapter 347 The Secrets Within

This small Eastern island nation clearly saw that the Northern Barbarians had been beaten in terms of brute force, and so now they wanted to regain face through literary contests and intelligence challenges instead!

Xiang Du paid no attention to the unfriendly gazes around him. He slightly turned his body and solemnly received an exquisitely crafted purple sandalwood box from the attendant behind him.

The wooden box was about the size of a watermelon and entirely deep purple-black in color.

Its surface was carved with extremely intricate and eerie patterns of ocean waves and cherry blossoms.

What was most astonishing was that the box was perfectly sealed as one whole piece—there was not even the slightest trace of a lock or seam where it could be opened.

Holding the box with both hands, Xiang Du walked slowly to the center of the great hall and declared loudly:

“Your Majesty, this is the national treasure of our Eastern island nation, called the Thousand Mechanism Box. It was crafted by the finest master craftsman of our country, who devoted his entire life to its creation. It contains eighty-one interlocking mechanisms—each one connected to the others so that moving one affects the entire system. If it is forced open by brute strength, the internal mechanisms will instantly activate and grind the treasures inside into dust!”

He paused, the corners of his mouth curling into a provocative smile.

“If Your Majesty can find a wise person among the court of Great Wei and solve this box within the time of one stick of incense, then our Eastern nation will not only submit wholeheartedly, but will also offer three additional treasure ships loaded with silver and spices on top of the original tribute. I wonder—does Your Majesty dare to try?”

Three treasure ships!

That was an enormous fortune that could even make the imperial treasury envious.

The young emperor remained calm.

He raised his hand, his wide golden dragon sleeve sweeping up a gust of wind.

“What is there to fear? Minister of Works, step forward!”

“I am here!” replied Li Zhonghai, wiping the cold sweat from his forehead as he shakily stepped forward.

He was the most skilled craftsman in mechanisms and construction in Great Wei, but now he had been forced into action and could only brace himself as he approached the Thousand Mechanism Box.

The hall once again fell into dead silence.

Beside them, the chief eunuch Wang Gonggong had already lit a stick of specially prepared incense.

Its curling smoke rose like a deathly curse.

Li Zhonghai circled the Thousand Mechanism Box three times, running his hands over its surface in search of clues.

However, half an incense stick of time passed.

Sweat already drenched his forehead—he had not even found where the first mechanism was, let alone the eighty others!

The ministers exchanged looks. The morale that had just been lifted by Lü Yan’s earlier victory now felt as if it had been crushed beneath this small wooden box.

The atmosphere grew heavy again.

“So this is it? I thought it was something serious!”

From the female seating area, Yu Qing lowered her voice, leaning almost against the shoulder of Su Hewan.

“Damn! They made such a big deal out of a rotten wooden box? These Eastern guys really haven’t seen the world, huh!” Yu Qing complained inwardly, rolling her eyes hard.

“This thing is basically a mutated ancient version of a Luban lock mixed with a Nine-Linked Rings puzzle. Eighty-one mechanisms? What, is there a Russian nesting doll inside too? Open one layer and there’s another—are they exploiting bugs here?”

“Wanwan, look!” Yu Qing quietly pointed toward the center of the hall while everyone’s attention was on the Minister of Works. “That old man is touching the wrong spot. See the lower part of the right side of the box? Doesn’t that seam look slightly different in color? It looks like natural wood grain, but the reflection is clearly darker than the surrounding material!”

As a performing arts student, Yu Qing was extremely observant—she never missed even the smallest prop flaw on stage.

Hearing this, Su Hewan paused slightly while holding her teacup.

She immediately followed the direction Yu Qing indicated.

“Indeed,” Su Hewan said softly, narrowing her eyes.

“They’ve used the natural grain of purple sandalwood to create a visual disguise. That’s called grain-concealed eyework.”

Su Hewan immediately began analyzing it further.

Gears, mortise-and-tenon joints, sliding tracks…

She took the flaw pointed out by Yu Qing and magnified it infinitely, then began wildly deducing the internal mechanical structure.

On the left side of the main hall, in the first seat.

Shen Jue’s slender fingers were idly playing with a peeled ginkgo nut.

His cold gaze swept across everything in the hall.

Shen Jue slightly turned his head and, across half the banquet hall, exchanged an unspoken glance with Su Hewan.

Su Hewan immediately understood.

She knew that with Shen Jue’s identity, it was impossible for him to personally step forward and solve some foreign object from a tributary state. It would only cheapen the dignity of the Regent Prince.

But this moment of glory—Great Wei must seize it.

She subtly shifted her posture, using the motion of adjusting her sleeve to signal a young eunuch behind her.

This young eunuch was an undercover agent Shen Jue had arranged in advance to serve on the female side of the banquet—clever and quick-witted.

Su Hewan quickly whispered a few words into his ear.

The young eunuch immediately understood. He lifted a pot of freshly warmed Huadiao wine and, keeping his eyes lowered, walked along the edge of the hall to Shen Jue’s table.

While pouring wine for Shen Jue, he leaned slightly forward and quickly reported in a voice as faint as a mosquito’s buzz:

“The Princess Consort says: start from the Mao position, rotate toward Zi-Wu, then strike the side panel…”

After hearing this, Shen Jue’s smile deepened.

He downed the warm wine in his cup in one gulp and casually set the white jade wine cup on the table.

The sound rang out sharply in the otherwise silent hall, drawing everyone’s attention.

Shen Jue slowly stood up and walked behind Minister of Works Li Zhonghai, who was already drenched in sweat and on the verge of collapse.

“Minister Li, already sweating?” Shen Jue’s voice was languid and soft, yet carried an oppressive weight.

Li Zhonghai’s legs went weak and he nearly knelt down. “P-Prince… this Thousand Mechanism Box is truly bizarre. This old minister—”

“Fool.”

Shen Jue leaned slightly forward and said in a voice only Li Zhonghai could hear:

“Don’t worry about the front. Press the false wood-grain at the Mao position on the right side and push inward. At the same time, lock the upper and lower Zi-Wu positions with your left hand and twist counter-directionally by three degrees. Finally, strike the left panel twice with your knuckles.”

Li Zhonghai trembled violently, not even having time to question why this ruthless and blood-soaked East Depot supervisor knew anything about mechanisms.

His hands immediately followed Shen Jue’s instructions.

A crisp sound echoed through the hall.

The previously flawless Thousand Mechanism Box actually caved in on the right side.

Immediately after, Li Zhonghai twisted the upper and lower parts forcefully!

A dense series of mechanical clicks rang out from inside the box.

The sound was crisp and melodious—almost like heavenly music to the ministers of Great Wei.

Li Zhonghai’s eyes lit up as if he had just awakened from a dream. He quickly curled his fingers and knocked twice on the left panel.

The originally impenetrable purple sandalwood box transformed like a black lotus blooming open—layers of wooden panels unfolding and sliding outward.

Mechanisms triggered more mechanisms; within just a few breaths, the eighty-one locks that once seemed unbreakable completely collapsed under Li Zhonghai’s sequence of actions.

The final wooden panel fell away.

The box opened—just within half the time of an incense stick.

At the center of the exquisitely crafted Thousand Mechanism Box lay a warm jade pendant engraved with the totem of the Eight-Forked Serpent.

The entire hall once again fell into dead silence.