Chapter 2650

Her next words left He Chunhua unable to bear it:

"The people of Shen have only just had a few days of full meals, and as the ruler, you dare to be so extravagant?"

"Fine, fine, the Empress truly is frugal."

Seeing Lady Ying's rare relaxation, she said: "The battlefield has been going smoothly lately, hasn't it? I see your laugh lines have multiplied."

He Chunhua quickly touched his face: "Yue'er has won two major battles again, and the front lines have already been pushed back into Balin Kingdom's territory."

Lady Ying rejoiced: "Your mouth is truly strict—bad deeds can be overlooked, but even this good news you wanted to hide from me!"

"That's just the victory report that came this afternoon."

After her joy, Lady Ying immediately worried: "Speaking of which, is Yue'er about to reach Heishuicheng by now? That whole route has been unstable from start to finish—you shouldn't have agreed to let him go in the first place."

"Since he's determined, trying to stop him would only make things worse." He Chunhua disagreed: "Being prepared against danger in tranquility—Yue'er's thinking is also correct, far better than those other brats."

Lady Ying snorted: "My grandson is naturally the best."

But she understood in her heart: He Changju's voluntary escort of supplies to the front lines this time wasn't just to broaden his experience and knowledge—he also hoped to strive hard to perform well before He Chunhua.

He is He Chunhua's eldest legitimate grandson, his status beyond compare. Yet the Shen King still has three other sons and eight grandsons, born of the consorts he took upon ascending the throne and becoming king-consort—these are all potential rivals to He Changju.

He Changju's words and deeds must not falter. Thinking of this, Lady Ying felt heartache.

Being a descendant of the imperial household is no easy thing either.

He Chunhua saw her reluctance and couldn't help but say: "What's there to worry about in such a short escort mission? Yue'er has the guards I sent with him, the magical artifacts I bestowed upon him, and besides, Heishuicheng is no longer a warfront—it's not that dangerous!"

"But he's our grandson—isn't that enough?"

He Chunhua rolled his eyes toward heaven: "When I was his age, I had already infiltrated enemy rear to prepare an uprising; when Yue'er was his age, he had also begun campaigning south and north with me; Chuan'er..."

The last two words slipped out, but He Chunhua caught himself in time and stopped speaking further.

Lady Ying pretended not to hear: "You two have tough fates, but now the density of heavenly and earthly spiritual energy has increased, all kinds of strange phenomena keep emerging, and battlefield dangers are far greater than before. You let him finish his task and hurry back."

He Chunhua wondered: "Yue'er is fighting to the death on the front lines, yet you're not this worried about him—he's your only son."

Since the grandson's birth, He Yue's status in his mother's heart seems to have plummeted in a straight line—the phrase "my precious son" has long been forgotten somewhere. He Chunhua thought: This grandparental affection is too strong.

Lady Ying stared sternly: "Stop your crow-mouth nonsense! Yue'er and Chuan'er have always been fine—there's no need for me to worry at all."

At this moment, the bracelet on He Chunhua's wrist twitched a few times.

He glanced at his wrist—finally, there was a response?

At the same time, a servant bowed and entered to report:

"Your Majesty, the Crown Prince's 'Thousand Li Ear' is transmitting."

He Yue rarely sends back messages from the front lines when he has free time. He Chunhua looked at his old wife, still unspoken, when Lady Ying generously waved her hand: "Hurry, hurry—I'm still waiting for my lamb."

After He Chunhua rose from the borders, she knew her greatest rival wasn't other women, but imperial hegemony.

She simply couldn't compete.

He Chunhua nodded and rose, hurrying back to his imperial study.

Having just passed through the imperial garden, he suddenly smelled a refreshing fragrance. This wasn't floral scent, but the very familiar breath of worldly living beings.

Not long after, scattered spiritual rain fell from the sky, instantly turning into a torrential downpour.

Emperor's Elixir has arrived.

Since Emperor's Elixir is already a common visitor to the mortal realm, living beings no longer go mad in the rain as they did thirty years ago. It's like a traveler parched for three days and three nights in the desert, who, upon finding an oasis, would immediately roll and crawl to drink his fill—while residents living by sweet wells and the Dahe River might not even bother to draw water.

He Chunhua stood in the garden, fully enjoying the pleasant sensation of spiritual rain on his face, while also clearing his mind, before entering the imperial study.

He didn't forget to casually activate the barrier and close the door.

On the table in the imperial study lay a palm-sized seashell, its texture as fine and smooth as Bai Yu, but with faint red brocade spots on top.

This is a gift sent by the Nine Abysses Great Emperor to the Shen King, called the "Thousand Li Ear"—a set of very practical magical artifacts.

Normally, a treasure capable of transmitting sound over a thousand li either requires the user to have very high cultivation, or it is itself a massive energy consumer—meaning it needs to consume large amounts of Xuanjing. Though Xuanjing is no longer as rare as it was twenty years ago, it remains one of the most important strategic resources.

The national gift from the Nine Abysses Great Emperor took a clever shortcut. This set of "Thousand Li Ear" consists of nine shells, with an effective communication range of two hundred li between each. Most importantly, it enables "communication relay":

If each shell lies within the effective communication range of another, it can become a "relay station," passing a message layer by layer outward. Theoretically, linear transmission can reach nearly two thousand li; and if evenly distributed across Shen's territory, it can form an instant communication network where each node can accommodate outsiders joining the discussion.

In Cangyan, He Lingchuan used this system to hold remote meetings with officials thousands of li away.

But the "Thousand Li Ear" also has a flaw: once placed incorrectly, if transmission exceeds two hundred li, communication breaks down, and transmission at each node is not confidential—easily intercepted by outsiders.

Unlike true thousand-li sound transmission, which is direct and secure, its advantage lies in being energy-efficient and allowing multi-person discussion.

He Yue leads troops on campaign and remains within the effective communication range of the "Thousand Li Ear," so father and son can use this method to converse about non-sensitive topics.

However, He Chunhua has not yet activated the seashell; instead, he first inserted three incense sticks into the divine shrine and meditated in prayer.

The solitary smoke soon transformed into a human face.

He Chunhua exhaled in relief: "You've finally responded to me."

Over the past half month, due to the Shen-Balin War, he has tried several times to contact Naluotian, all to no avail.

This was unprecedented before—He Chunhua felt uneasy inside. Recently, the heavenly realm has been turbulent and unstable, with gods often falling without reason. Although Naluotian is a powerful true god, many true gods have fallen in recent years, right?

Moreover, he is one of the leaders of the Sharili Heaven, and the Lingxu Zhong have already wanted to eliminate him quickly.

He Chunhua worries not about his safety, but about what Shen should do if Naluotian falls—and what he himself should do.

Without Sharili Heaven as a backing, Shen's position against Balin, and even against Bekka, will weaken.

"Busy." Naluotian's voice rarely revealed two parts of fatigue: "The heavenly realm is too chaotic."

(End of Chapter)