As the first month passed, everything began to recover.
There was one more person in the house, but there was no change. Rong Mo seemed invisible and stayed in his room every day except for meals. He was really a little gloomy.
But for Rong Xi, it was worry-free.
A few days later, when he and Qin Ke returned home from the workshop, Liu Zishi stepped forward and approached Rong Xi, and whispered: “Report to young master, I heard from Xi Yan that the third young master left the house after noon today.”
This is strange.
Rong Xi asked curiously: “What did he do when he left the house?”
“I stood outside the school for two full hours!” Liu Zishi was quite impressed.
Rong Xi paused and raised his eyebrows, “If I remember correctly, the afternoon class is arithmetic.”
“Yea, it is indeed the arithmetic class.”
Rong Xi chuckled and stopped talking about Rong Mo.
During dinner, Rong Mo still lowered his head to eat, showing no sense of presence. After the meal, he was about to turn around and leave, but Rong Xi stopped him.
“Third brother, I have a book for you.”
Rong Mo didn’t respond and just stood there quietly.
“Come with me.”
Rong Xi led him to the study, he obeyed and followed.
After Rong Mo suddenly arrived at Rong’s house, Qin Ke asked people to investigate Rong Mo’s life.
He wouldn’t go into details about being bullied and other things for now. What surprised Rong Xi was that it was Rong Mo’s decision to go here, not his father Rong Weiheng.
In addition to not being fond of words, there was another special thing about Rong Mo that was not well known to others.
He was extremely sensitive to arithmetic.
Rong Weiheng was engaged in a small business with a small shop, although it was small, the business account books were recorded in quite detail.
When Rong Mo was a child, Rong Weiheng often held him and looked through his account books. Sometimes Rong Weiheng had to use the abacus to calculate for a long time, but Rong Mo had already finished the calculation in his mind.
After discovering Rong Mo’s talent, Rong Weiheng tried to train him to do business, but Rong Mo was not interested at all.
After Rong Xi was praised by the Holy Emperor, the people in Shengjing no longer talked about him with the contempt they used to have.
Among the Rong family, there were many jealous and envious people.
Although Rong Mo didn’t talk to others, he heard some stories. But no matter what kind of new things, they couldn’t impress him, except for one thing.
There were many merchants in Shengjing, and there were not many who come from Mengshan.
Rong Weiheng had some contacts with the merchants. He heard about the new algorithm and found it novel. After returning home, he thought about it carefully and took it to Rong Mo.
When Rong Mo learned about it, he immediately fell into obsession.
The father knew the nature of the son, so Rong Weiheng hurriedly found the merchant and asked about the origin of it. Because Hu Yulin made Rong Xi famous, they knew that the algorithm was compiled by Rong Xi, so they told Rong Weiheng frankly.
Therefore, Rong Mo decided to come to his ancestral home.
Thinking of this, Rong Xi showed a gentle smile, took a book and handed it to Rong Mo’s hand.
“This book is for you.”
When Hu Yulin borrowed books, he reminded Rong Xi to prepare a few more books.
As soon as the book fell into Rong Mo’s hands, Rong Mo suddenly raised his head, his eyes were dark and deep, seemingly without a trace of light, but they seemed to burst with heat of light in an instant.
Rong Xi finally got to see Rong Mo’s appearance.
The looks of the Rong clan’s members were all good. Although Rong Mo was not as good looking as Rong Lian, he was still handsome. However, because of his gloomy temperament, he was not well liked and was bullied by others.
“After reading this book, if you come to me again, I will still have a book for you.”
As soon as Rong Xi finished speaking, Qin Ke appeared outside the study.
Rong Mo didn’t say a word, bowed, and quickly left the study with the book in hand.
After he walked away, Qin Ke entered the house and closed the door.
“You want to train him?”
Rong Xi leaned on the back of the chair and closed his eyes to rest.
“Third brother has such a talent, I can’t bear to let my pearl fall into dust.”
Qin Ke sat down, moved his legs to his knees, massaged them gently, and listened carefully to Rong Xi’s continued words.
“Compared to the other children, the third brother is not obsessed with reading. Teaching him algorithms will be more effective.”
Qin Ke took a stack of manuscripts from the dark drawer and felt very distressed when he saw dense pencil writings on them.
“You go back and forth the workshop every day and but still spend time to write calculations at night. It’s really too hard.”
In the past few days, Rong Xi had lost weight, and his jaw had become more angular.
The childishness of youth had gradually disappeared, and the outline of mature had become more and more obvious.
Qin Ke’s massage skills were really good. Rong Xi was drowsy. Even if he heard Qin Ke’s words clearly, he was unable to reply. He only hummed a few times and fell asleep.
Prince Qin had no choice but to admire his sleeping face for a moment, then picked him up by the waist and carried him to the bedroom.
The shadow of the candle flickered, and Rong Xi suddenly seemed to be standing in Rong’s house.
Liu Zishi suddenly came over holding clothes with a strange smile, “Young master, please change your clothes.”
“Zishi, why are the colors of the clothes vermilion?” Rong Xi asked in surprise and took a few steps back.
Liu Zishi’s expression suddenly changed, becoming vicious and cruel.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
“Tbecu wjrafg, sbe jgf ufaalcu wjgglfv abvjs, qifjrf mtjcuf sbeg mibatfr.”
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“P kbc’a ufa wjgglfv! P kbc’a ufa wjgglfv!”
Ktf vgfjw revvfcis ojvfv jkjs, jcv Ebcu Wl rja eq revvfcis, klat mbiv rkfja ygfjxlcu bea bc tlr ybvs.
Qin Ke was about to leave when he saw that he was awakened by a nightmare and hurriedly comforted him: “It’s just a dream, don’t be afraid.”
“I dreamed that someone was forcing me to get married.”
Thinking of the scene in his dream just now, Rong Xi felt frightened.
Qin Ke was stunned for a moment, then comforted him softly: “I have ordered someone to take care of it, and if your father arranges a marriage for you, it will definitely be shelved.”
Rong Xi nodded, calmed down and asked with a smile: “How do you take care of it?”
Within a wealthy family, there were bound to be a lot of dirty and dark things, and he didn’t know how Qin Ke would intervene.
Qin Ke felt that his hands and feet were cold, so he took off his shoes and went to the bed, holding Rong Xi in his arms.
He was a martial arts practitioner, and his body was full of heat. To Rong Xi, he was like a source of heat.
“The seventh son of the Zhou family has been naughty since he was a child. Because his parents doted on him, he kept getting into trouble. His crimes when he was young were just small fights, and he became more and more rampant as an adult.”
Rong Xi was attracted by what he said. He quickly raised his head and asked, “What did he do?”
Qin Ke raised his lips and pointed his finger at his cheek, his intention was obvious.
The beauty invited him, how could Rong Xi refuse? Rong Xi didn’t hesitate and kissed him loudly on the cheek.
Qin Ke was extremely satisfied and continued: “He had a dispute with a scholar, and in anger, he destroyed the scholar’s legs.”
“Being like this deserves to be punished by prison!” Rong Xi said solemnly.
Qin Ke nodded, “However, power exceeds the law. This son has not been punished at all, and he returned home without any wound.”
The Zhou family was Rong Xi’s stepmother’s natal family. Zhou Qilang was the son of Rong Zhou’s biological brother. If he is punished, the Zhou family will not sit idly by and watch.
However, the highest official rank of the Zhou clan was only fifth rank, how could they shake the law?
The Zhou clan then turned to Rong Zhou for help.
Rong Weijing was the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, in charge of official assessment, promotion and other matters. He had the considerable power, so some people would agree to do something for his face.
Rong Zhou concealed Rong Weijing and used his reputation to treat the interrogating officials with hot and cold attitude, so Zhou Qilang was exempted from punishment.
The scholar’s legs were disabled and he had no way to seek help.
After Qin Ke finished speaking, he saw Rong Xi’s angry expression and hurriedly patted his back and comforted him: “Don’t be upset. I have sent people to search for evidence and seek justice for the scholar.”
“Brother Si, I’m lucky to have you.” Rong Xi hugged him tighter and asked again, “Can the scholar’s legs be healed?”
“No.” Qin Ke shook his head.
Chen Chuangu stayed in Shengjing, and after receiving a message from Qin Ke, he went to see the patient himself. However, the scholar’s legs were completely disabled and could not be cured.
What a pity.
A few days later, during the court meeting, a minister angrily impeached Rong Weijing, the Minister of Personnel, accusing him of ignoring the law, using power to suppress people, and shielding criminals. He simply did not take the court’s rules and regulations seriously!
Rong Weijing was quite confused and had no idea what he was talking about.
He had always been extremely cautious. As the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, many people have given him gifts openly or secretly, but he had always rejected them.
What happened to the case which was mentioned!
After the Minister denounced him, he reported the persecution of the scholar by Zhou Qilang. After hearing this, the Emperor felt sad and asked, “Is this news correct? Did Zhou Qilang really not receive any punishment?”
The Minister said with a righteous look on his face, “Your Majesty, everything I said is true.”
“Rong Weijing, what do you have to say?” The Emperor’s face darkened.
How could the people live in peace if the country was not governed?
Rong Weijing knelt down and said with a slight trembling: “Your Majesty, I don’t know about this matter. Please help me clear my name.”
He suddenly remembered that his wife did indeed mention this matter to him, but after being rejected by him, she never mentioned it again.
Could it be that it was the madam who did it?
The Emperor thought that he was conscientious in his official duties and that a minister could not easily convict him, so he sent someone to investigate the matter thoroughly.
As for Rong Weijing, he would stay at home for a few days and wait until the truth came to light before making a decision.
Rong Weijing’s heart sank. If someone did take advantage of the power of the minister to do something that ignored the law, no matter whether it was his intention or not, he would not be able to escape his involvement!
He returned home feeling dizzy, and when he saw Rong Zhou greeting him with a smile, he barely suppressed the anger in his chest.
“Husband, why are you going back home so early today?”
When serving in a government office, being late or leaving early without special reasons would result in impeachment. Rong Weijing had been an official for many years and had never made such a despicable mistake.
Therefore, Mrs. Zhou asked curiously.
Rong Weijing felt aggrieved.
He obviously did nothing, but was severely impeached by the minister. He was really wrong and innocent.
“Tell me frankly, why was Zhou Qilang acquitted?”
Rong Zhou’s expression suddenly changed, “Husband, what happened?”
Rong Weijing stared at her without saying a word, his anger hidden in his eyes, waiting to explode.
“I don’t know, husband. If you didn’t agree that day, I would reject my brother.” Rong Zhou was about to cry and refused to admit it.
Rong Weijing stared at her closely, “My unstained name cannot be burdened by your mother’s family.”
Even if Rong Zhou really didn’t know about this, the Zhou family was related to her. If the Zhou clan members borrowed the name of the minister without authorization and violated the law, Rong Zhou must bear the responsibility.
“Husband, I will go find my brother and sister-in-law and find out!”
Rong Weijing suffered this disaster, and everyone was watching. The matter of promiscuity was naturally settled.
Just when Rong Weijing was worried, the truth finally came out.
The Zhou family took full responsibility, saying that they were obsessed with things and had harmed the reputation of the minister, and personally sent Zhou Qilang to prison.
Rong Weijing returned to the government office.
But after this incident, Rong Weijing no longer treated Rong Zhou as gently as before, and rested in his concubine’s room for several days.
Mrs. Rong Zhou was so anxious, how could she still have the energy to interfere with Rong Xi’s marriage?
After learning the news, Rong Xi hugged Qin Ke and kissed him hard several times as a reward.
After breakfast, Liu Zishi took the horses out of the house for Rong Xi and Qin Ke as usual.
Rong Xi was in a very happy mood and rarely looked kind and cheerful, “Zishi, spring is coming. You go to the city today to buy some cloth and come back to ask some ladies to make new clothes.”
“Okay!” Liu Zishi responded happily.
Since a few days ago, young master had been avoiding him for some unknown reason. He was sad for a long time. Today, the young master finally smiled at him!
Rong Xi and Qin Ke rode together.
It was February, the rivers were thawing, and the slender willows were growing buds.
Beside the river bank, the ladies were washing their clothes and playing with each other, and the children were laughing and playing, creating a scene of harmonious spring.
“Brother Si, do you know that if the fields were far away from the river, how would the farmers transport water for irrigation?”
Rong Xi suddenly asked him a question.
Qin Ke looked up and saw that the farmland was connected together. If it was far away from the river bank, irrigation would be extremely time-consuming and labor-intensive.
“Farmers carry water to water their crops.”
Rong Xi smiled and said: “I have a way to solve this problem, but this method is not a small project and requires a big job.”
He told Qin Ke how to divide the canals.
In fact, the method of dividing canals had been around for a long time. However, in the past, canals were all made of earth walls. When water passed through the canals, a small amount of water seeped into the soil, resulting in a reduction in water volume, and the ditches were easily blocked and difficult to clear.
If the channel was built with cement, the river would flow in without any obstruction, and the dredging would be extremely convenient, and the effect would be a hundred times better than the earth wall.
“This method is indeed good,” Qin Ke nodded, “Spring is about to come. Today, you and I will go to Shen Yi to discuss it first, and then go to the workshop.”
The Wei Dynasty was based on agriculture. If it was beneficial to the build farmlands and help the farmers, Shen Yi would not refuse and happily start the project immediately.
Hearing Rong Xi’s words, Shen Yi’s heart beat wildly. After a few words of praise, he regained his senses.
“Although young master Rong’s method can relieve farmers’ irrigation needs, building ditches was a major event, and the county’s financial resources were insufficient or unable to support it.”
This statement was true.
“No problem, please report this matter to the imperial court, and the imperial court will surely allocate funds at that time.”
Qin Ke gave him a reassurance.
Regarding agriculture, the court would definitely pay attention to it.
Shen Yi nodded repeatedly. It was a blessing for the people of Mengshan to have the God of War protecting them!
However, all this happened because of Rong Xi.
After leaving the county government office, the two went to the workshop. After meeting Cheng Hao, Cheng Hao was extremely excited.
“The workshop is about to be completed, and you will have no time to spare in the future.”
Rong Xi smiled and replied: “I am lucky to be able to do my best for the imperial court.”
“Haha, if your abilities are only meager, wouldn’t I be extremely ashamed?” Cheng Hao teased him and asked, “Recently, the kiln workers seem to be firing new glassware. What do you want to make?”
Rong Xi confessed: “A warm kettle can keep the hot water from getting cold day and night.”
“Use glass?” Cheng Hao didn’t believe it.
“Glass is only one of the raw materials. After it is made, Uncle Cheng can test it himself.”
Some things could only be believed if you witnessed them with your own eyes. Rong Xi didn’t want to explain more.
Cheng Hao smiled heartily. It was not that he didn’t believe Rong Xi, but that he couldn’t believe it.
After staying in the workshop until dinner time, Rong Xi and Qin Ke returned to Rong’s mansion together.
As soon as he entered the front yard, he saw Jin Jili running towards him with a huge smile, as if he was experiencing a great event.
“Young master!”
His pair of blue eyes were filled with the three characters “Hurry up and praise me”.
“What happened?” he asked with a smile.
At this time, Liu Zishi chased after him and explained to Rong Xi: “A boy fell into the water today. Fortunately, he was good at swimming and rescued the boy in time.”
“It’s very good to act bravely when needed.” Rong Xi gave a thumbs up.
Jin Jili’s smile and hair color became more and more dazzling.
“It’s cold in spring and the water is cold, so drink some ginger soup.”
“Young master, grandpa has persuaded him to drink a bowl, haha.” Liu Zishi gloated.
Jin Jili immediately shook his head in frustration. He hated ginger soup!
After dinner, Rong Xi went to the study and wanted to describe ditches, waterwheels, bicycles and other things on paper for Shen Yi’s reference.
But he saw Rong Mo following him closely.
“Third brother, have you read through this book?”
He took the arithmetic textbook handed back by Rong Mo, slightly surprised.
Rong Mo remained silent, and stared at Rong Xi with his big and expressionless eyes. There was a light full of deep emotions in the dark eyes.
Rong Xi led him to the study room and pulled out a few pieces of paper, all of which were arithmetic problems.
“These are thirty arithmetic problems. If you can solve them all, I will give you a new book.”
Rong Mo quickly took it, bowed and walked out of the study, his steps looked a bit eager.
He thought it would take at least tomorrow for Rong Mo to solve these thirty questions. Unexpectedly, within an hour, Rong Mo went to Rong Xi’s study and handed over the answer sheet.
At that time, Qin Ke was helping Rong Xi pinch his legs.
Rong Mo didn’t seem to see Qin Ke, only Rong Xi was in his eyes.
Rong Xi looked through the answers and saw no mistakes. He was extremely surprised and praised with a smile: “The third brother is very talented, very good.”
After saying this, he impromptuly came up with another question. Although it was within the scope of the book, it was more complicated and subtle.
After Rong Mo got the question, he had no time to take into account the etiquette. His eyes were bright, he sat on the floor, held a pencil and started to answer the question.
Under the table, Qin Ke gently squeezed Rong Xi’s hand and asked in a low voice: “Happy?”
“Yes!” Rong Xi nodded fiercely. Anyone who discovered a good seed could help but be happy.
Seeing the joy between his brows and eyes, Qin Ke’s heart became softer. Lanzhi was happy, and he was also happy.
After a moment, Rong Mo suddenly stopped writing, stood up quickly, put the paper on the table, and asked Rong Xi to take a look.
Rong Xi looked at his problem-solving ideas carefully and became more and more satisfied.
He stood up and took a brand new book from the bookshelf and handed it to Rong Mo.
“Third brother, if you have any doubts, you can come to me. If you don’t want to talk, a note will do.”
Rong Xi had always been as gentle as the spring breeze to the talented young man.
Rong Mo took the book and bowed deeply again, then hugged the precious book and went back to the room to study it carefully.
A few days later, the thermos was ready.
The raw materials were only glass, mercury, cork, and shell. Although it seemed simple, it was quite difficult at the beginning.
But if we fail plan A, we can try plan B.
With experience, the kiln workers would only become more skilled in making it.
When the thermos kettle came out, Cheng Hao tried it first. He poured hot water into the pot, plugged the cork tightly, let it sit for a day and night, and then poured the water out.
The water in the cup was warm to the touch.
“Rong Xi,” Cheng Hao patted his shoulder and said excitedly, “It can really keep the water warm!”
Qin Ke had no expression on his face, stretched out his hand to wave away Chang Hao’s thick arm, gave him a cold look, and then asked Rong Xi, “Is everything okay?”
Cheng Hao didn’t know how to control his power, how can he let Lanzhi bear it?
Before Rong Xi could answer, Cheng Hao didn’t understand what he meant and asked, “Is it possible that Rong Xi has an injury on his shoulder? That’s really my fault!”
“Uncle Cheng, my shoulder is not injured.” Rong Xi reluctantly changed the subject, “The workshop will be completed in a few days. I wonder how uncle Cheng will allocate the craftsmen by then?”
Ordnance Supervision, as the name suggests, was where military weapons were manufactured. This was a court secret and could not be easily known to outsiders.
The chosen craftsman must be trustworthy.
“Don’t worry, Rong Xi. The prince and I have already agreed on this matter, and we will not let bad guys cause trouble.” Cheng Hao replied solemnly.
Rong Xi nodded, “In that case, I will do my best too.”
“You don’t have to be polite, Rong Xi. How about giving me this hot water bottle?” Cheng Hao asked cheekily.
Rong Xi smiled and said, “I originally want to gave it to uncle Cheng.”
An idea flashed in his mind, and he suddenly said: “Uncle Cheng, our Supervision consumes a lot of financial resources. This time we got the allocated funds from the Ministry of Household Affairs. In the future, it may be not that easy.”
What he said also worried Cheng Hao.
“If you have any ideas, please tell me.” Cheng Hao couldn’t wait.
Seeing that Qin Ke was also interested, Rong Xi said, “All the workers in the workshops and kilns are weapons supervisors, right?”
The two nodded.
“In this case, the thermos kettle was made by the workshop and kiln workers, so it can be traded with the people in the name of the weapons supervisor, in exchange for some money and silk, for the needs of the weapons supervisor.”
Cheng Hao couldn’t help but look at Qin Ke, “What does the prince think?”
“No one of us is a good merchant, it is not easy to make it work?” Qin Ke asked with a frown.
Rong Xi smiled and replied: “Although it is in the name of the weapons supervisor, we can entrust merchants to do things. After making a profit, we will divide the 20% profit to them, and the remaining 80% will be distributed by the court and the weapons supervisor. It all depends on what uncle Cheng and the prince think.”
If the Ordnance Inspector wants to make money on his own, the court will definitely not allow it. But if it can fill the national treasury, why not do it?
Qin Ke’s eyes were extremely soft, he raised his lips and said with a smile: “As Rong Xi requested, I will definitely represent that idea to Majesty.”
Cheng Hao thought that since Prince Qin agreed, he did not need to worry about this matter.
The author has something to say:
After Rong Xi had a dream, he hid when he saw Liu Zishi.
Liu Zishi: (covering his face and crying) What did I do wrong? Woohoo.
Hahaha, poor Zishi!
Glad to see Rong wife running into some consequences and even more happy to see Rong Xi finding the shining potential in Rong Mo!
Thank you for the chapter. C:
Thanks for the chapter! A good seed, how wonderful! I’m so glad his dad actually knows his child & followed his wishes, unlike that worthless minister…
Thanks!
✅Good dad check! taking my words back😆
Thanks for the chapter!
Justice
Thank you for your translation 💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙
Okay, at least Rong Mo’s dad was not so scummy 😌I was just wondering how much Rong Xi actually knows about everything. If it was me stranded in the past, I would remember f**k all about how every little thing is produced 😅 I do remember some basics, but certainly would not put together a method of making many of these things. (But I would probably stitch at least some underwear together 😅)