Chapter 652: Chapter 424: Excitement
The lenses inside the wooden box were of varying sizes and thicknesses.
But that wasn’t important; what mattered was that they were smooth, round, and transparent!
To Master Liu, who had only ever seen colored glass, they were like rare treasures.
Especially since the lenses had a slight curvature to them.
If it were anyone else, they might not recognize them, but as luck would have it, he did!
Coincidentally, earlier this year, he had the chance to examine a telescope in the hands of a prince and studied its structure!
So, upon seeing these lenses, Master Liu immediately thought of the two lenses on that telescope.
They were also one large and one small!
"Old Liu, what did you call us over here for in such a hurry?"
Just then, others arrived as well.
Wei Ziang said smoothly, "My junior has something for you master craftsmen to help with. My younger sister gave me an item and wants me to find someone to create several telescopes for ease of border patrol."
Wei Ziang spoke lightly, not realizing his words had shocked the newcomers.
"What? Make several telescopes?"
"Young Wei, you must be joking. As a general, you should know telescopes aren’t something easily made."
"Exactly, you should know that... Wait, what’s this! Old Liu, let me see!"
Earlier they were advising Wei Ziang not to be rash, but the next moment, upon seeing what was in Master Liu’s wooden box, they were stunned.
Ignoring the decorum of a master craftsman, one of them snatched the wooden box from Master Liu.
Of course, while taking it, he was careful to protect it, afraid the contents might spill out.
The others were surprised by his actions and quickly craned their necks to look.
Immediately, exclamations arose one after another, as if they had seen some kind of rare spectacle.
And indeed, it was a rare spectacle.
Wei Ziang watched with amusement as everyone leaned closer to take a look, but no one dared to snatch the wooden box.
Everyone understood how precious it was. If it broke, let alone compensating for it, they’d personally feel heartbroken.
Once the group of master craftsmen finally calmed down, they noticed Wei Ziang was already gone.
They hurriedly protected the lenses and returned to their camp in the stone forest, urgently sending someone to find Wei Ziang and General Song Xie.
This matter wasn’t just about making a few telescopes.
When Wei Ziang returned, he found the master craftsmen still gathered around examining the lenses.
And there were two additional people.
"Lord Xie, General Song, masters."
Wei Ziang had just greeted them, and before he could salute, General Song grabbed him.
"Young Wei, when did you start hiding such treasures? There are only two telescopes in the entire Capital, and now you can make eight of them!"
General Song was overly excited, his face flushed, and his cheeks trembled.
The telescope! Other than the prince in the Capital having one, only the marshal guarding the West Origin Pass had another.
Now that Wei Ziang had so many, if they were all successfully made, wouldn’t he be entitled to keep at least one?
The more he thought about it, the more excited General Song became.
As for keeping them all for himself, General Song didn’t even dare to imagine such a thing.
Wei Ziang’s arm was hurting from General Song’s grip, but he understood his excitement.
After all, he was shocked by Xiao Mi every day, and each time he thought he was numb to it, she would bring out something new, leaving him feeling his knowledge was too limited.
However, explanations were still necessary.
"General, you’ve misunderstood. These aren’t mine; they’re Xiao Mi’s."
General Song was taken aback: "Miss Jiang?"
Master Liu quickly nodded: "Yes, yes, just now, young Wei said it was Miss Jiang who asked him to pass them to us, but you all were too excited for me to have a chance to say it."
Perhaps Miss Jiang had given them so many surprises that upon hearing it was Xiao Mi who had tasked Wei Ziang with this, everyone felt it strangely reasonable.
Perhaps one day, if Miss Jiang said she could fly, no one would doubt it?
Ignoring them, Wei Ziang continued explaining.
"However, masters, Xiao Mi’s idea is that if these could be made into telescopes, it would facilitate border surveillance, preventing barbarian raids, and allow for the reuse of borderlands."
"As you know, my father, as the Marquess of Agriculture, had us siblings involved with land matters since childhood, so we place great importance on it."
"From the start, Xiao Mi felt sad for the abandoned lands around Lishi City. After spending half a month traveling through the neighboring towns, she felt it was even more wasteful."
"As for this, to be honest, I don’t know what it is either, but Xiao Mi said it’s possible to make telescopes. Being inexperienced, I’ve never seen a telescope."
Wei Ziang blatantly lied, conveniently forgetting he was stargazing from the rooftop just last night.
"However, since Xiao Mi had an adventure in her youth, and those in the village say she’s a reincarnated blessed star, almost everything she claims becomes reality, so I think this can indeed make telescopes."
When Jiang Hu was appointed the Viscount of Agriculture, those above had already thoroughly investigated their eight generations of ancestors.
Previously, when catching up with my elder brother, I learned someone had located Xiao Mi’s grandparents, but after deeper investigation, they hadn’t been reunited.
In fact, it seemed indicated that they’d handle the matter discreetly to prevent trouble for the Viscount of Agriculture.
Wei Ziang wasn’t clear on the earlier matters, but since this information was checked by those above, the tales of being a reincarnated blessed star couldn’t be concealed.
However, while the higher-ups were aware, others were not entirely in the loop.
As for those present, even if they don’t know now, they soon will. So, Wei Ziang simply attributed it to her early life’s adventure.
Whether they believed it or not didn’t matter.
Just having a plausible explanation was enough.
Upon reflecting on this, Wei Ziang couldn’t help but sigh internally.
It’s uncontainable.
Xiao Mi causing such commotion daily; if anyone above had ill-intentions, which of his parents or brothers couldn’t be used to threaten her?
Originally, he had deliberately come to the border with the intention of making some merit, so he could protect Xiao Mi.
Now, he realized his merits couldn’t keep up with Xiao Mi’s pace; she’d effortlessly elevated their father’s title from viscount to marquess.
However, Wei Ziang thought Xiao Mi genuinely was a blessed star, as to date, none with malicious intent had appeared.
Whether it was the County Magistrate Liu’s family before or now Lord Xie and the Emperor, all had been fair-minded.