After the first month of the year, everything begins to revive.

There was no change even though there was one more person in the house. Rong Sanlang seemed to be invisible. He stayed in his room except for meals every day, which was really gloomy.

But for Rong Xi, this makes things less stressful.

A few days later, he and Qin Ke returned home from the workshop. Liu Zishi came forward to lead the horse, approached Rong Xi, and whispered: "My dear, I heard from Xiyan that the third young master left the house after noon today."

This is rare.

Rong Xi asked curiously, "What is he doing outside the house?"

"He stood outside the school for two full hours!" Liu Zishi was quite impressed.

Rong Xi paused, his eyebrows twitching, "If I remember correctly, the afternoon course is arithmetic."

"My dear, it is indeed arithmetic."

Rong Xi chuckled and stopped talking about Rong Mo.

During dinner, Rong Mo still kept his head down while eating, with no sense of presence at all. After the meal, Rong Sanlang was about to turn around and leave, but Rong Xi called him back.

"Third brother, I have a book for you."

Rong Sanlang did not respond, but just stood there quietly.

"Come with me."

Rong Xi led him to the study, and he followed obediently.

After Rong Mo suddenly arrived at Rong's house, Qin Ke asked someone to investigate Rong Mo's life.

I won’t go into details about things like being bullied. What surprised Rong Xi was that the person who decided to come to Rong's house was not Rong Weiheng, but Rong Mo himself.

In addition to not liking to talk, Rong Mo has another special feature that is unknown to the public.

He is extremely sensitive to arithmetic.

Rong Weiheng runs a small business. His shop is not big, but it has everything he needs and his business account books are kept in great detail.

When Rong Mo was a child, Rong Weiheng often held him in his arms to look through the account books. Sometimes Rong Weiheng needed to use an abacus 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 received praise from the emperor, the people of Shengjing no longer looked down on him as they did in the past.

There are many jealous and envious people in the Rong family.

Although Rong Mo did not talk to others, he had heard some stories. But no matter what new things they were, nothing could impress him, except for one thing.

There are many merchants in Shengjing, and I don’t know how many of them come from Mengshan.

Rong Weiheng had some dealings with traveling merchants. When he heard about the new algorithm, he found it quite novel and pondered it carefully after returning home.

Rong Mo happened to find out about it and immediately became obsessed with it.

The father knew his son's nature, so Rong Weiheng hurried to find the merchant and asked him the origin of the algorithm. Because Hu Yulin made Rong Xi famous, the merchants knew that the algorithm was compiled by Rong Xi, so they told Rong Weiheng honestly.

Therefore, Rong Mo decided to come to the ancestral home.

Thinking of this, Rong Xi smiled gently, took out a book and handed it to Rong Mo.

“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 seemed without a trace of light, yet seemed to burst into heat in an instant.

Rong Xi finally got to see Rong Mo's appearance.

The Rong family members all have good looks. Although Rong Mo is not as handsome as Rong Lian, he can be considered handsome. However, due to his overly gloomy temperament, he is not liked by others and is often bullied.

"After you have read this book, come back and find me. I have another book for you."

As soon as Rong Xi finished speaking, Qin Ke appeared outside the study.

Rong Mo said nothing, bowed deeply, and quickly left the study with the book in his hands.

After he walked away, Qin Ke entered the room and closed the door.

"You want to train him?"

Rong Xi leaned against the back of the chair, closing his eyes and pretending to rest.

"My third brother has such a talent, I can't bear to see his talent go to waste."

Qin Ke sat down, moved his legs onto his knees, massaged them gently, and listened carefully to what Rong Xi continued.

"Compared to the children, my third brother can read and is obsessed with this. Teaching him the algorithm will be more effective."

Qin Ke took out a stack of manuscripts from the secret drawer and was distressed to see the dense pencil marks on them.

"You go back and forth to the workshop every day, and write math problems at night. It's really too tiring."

In the past few days, Rong Xi has lost some weight, and his chin has become more angular.

The boyish appearance has gradually disappeared, and the outline of youth has become more and more obvious.

Qin Ke's massage skills were really great. Rong Xi was drowsy, and even though he could hear what Qin Ke said, he was unable to reply. He just hummed a few times and fell asleep.

Prince Qin had no choice but to quietly admire his sleeping face for a moment, then picked him up by the waist and walked to the bedroom.

The candlelight flickered, and Rong Xi suddenly seemed to be standing in the courtyard of Rong's house.

Liu Zishi suddenly came over with clothes in his hand, smiling strangely, "My dear, please change your clothes."

"Zi Shi, why is the color of your clothes red?" Rong Xi asked in surprise and took a few steps back.

Liu Zishi's expression suddenly changed, becoming ferocious and cruel.

"My dear, you are getting married today, please change your clothes."

He was very strong and trapped Rong Xi. He forcibly took off Rong Xi's outer clothes and changed him into a groom's suit. The clothes were as red as blood, and Rong Xi was quite frightened.

"I won't get married! I won't get married!"

The dream suddenly faded away, and Rong Xi sat up abruptly, with cold sweat breaking out on his body.

Qin Ke was about to leave when he saw him awakened by a nightmare and hurriedly comforted him, "It's just a dream, don't be afraid."

"I dreamed that someone forced me to get married."

Thinking of the scene in his dream just now, Rong Xi was still frightened.

Qin Ke was slightly stunned, then he soothed her softly, "I have already ordered people to arrange for the marriage for you in the Rong Mansion, and it will definitely be put on hold."

Rong Xi nodded, calmed down and asked with a smile: "How do you operate it?"

There must be a lot of dirty and shady things happening within the wealthy and powerful families. I wonder how Qin Ke will intervene.

Qin Ke felt his hands and feet were cold, so he took off his shoes, got on the bed, and held him in his arms.

He was a martial artist, and his body was full of heat. To Rong Xi, he was like a source of heat.

"Zhou Jia Qilang has been naughty since he was young. Because of his parents' pampering, he has been getting into trouble all the time. When he was young, he was just a minor offender, but he has become more rampant since he grew up."

Rong Xi was attracted by what he said and 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.

When a beautiful lady invites me, how can I refuse? Rong Xi didn't hesitate and gave him a loud kiss on the cheek.

Qin Ke was very satisfied and continued, "He had an argument with a scholar and in anger, he crippled the scholar's legs."

"Those who behave like this deserve to be punished in prison!" Rong Xi said in a deep voice.

Qin Ke nodded, "But power overrides the law. Zhou Qilang has not been punished at all, so he must return home safely."

Zhou is the maiden family of Rong Xi's stepmother. Zhou Qillang is the son of Rong Zhou's eldest brother. If he is punished, the Zhou family will certainly not sit idly by.

However, the highest official rank of the Zhou family is only fifth grade, so how can they shake the law?

The Zhou clan members then turned to Rong Zhou for help.

Rong Weijing was the Minister of Personnel, in charge of official assessments and promotions. He had considerable power, so naturally there were people who would give him face.

Rong Zhou concealed the fact that Rong Weijing was involved, and used his reputation to treat the interrogating officials with both kindness and severity, so Zhou Qilang was spared punishment.

However, the scholar had crippled legs and had no one to turn to for help.

After Qin Ke finished speaking, he saw Rong Xi's angry expression, so he patted him on the back and said to him, "Don't be upset. I have already asked people to search for evidence and seek justice for that scholar."

"Sizhi, 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 was still in Shengjing. After receiving the message from Qin Ke, he went to treat the scholar in person. However, the scholar's legs were completely disabled and could not be cured.

What a pity.

A few days later, the censor angrily impeached the Minister of Personnel Rong Weijing during the court meeting, accusing him of ignoring the law, abusing his power to oppress others, shielding criminals, and simply not taking the court's rules and regulations seriously!

Rong Weijing was quite confused and had no idea what the censor was talking about.

He has always been cautious. As the Minister of Personnel, countless people have given him gifts, openly or secretly, but he has always refused them all and has always been clean.

What on earth is going on with what the censor said about sheltering?

After a fierce rebuke, the censor reported to the emperor that the scholar had been persecuted by Zhou Qilang. The emperor was deeply saddened and asked, "Did Zhou Qilang really not receive any punishment at all?"

The censor looked righteous and said, "Your Majesty, everything I said is true."

"Rong Weijing, what do you have to say?" The emperor's face darkened.

If the country has no laws, how can the people live in peace?

Rong Weijing knelt on the ground and said tremblingly: "Your Majesty, I don't know about this matter. Please investigate it."

He suddenly remembered that his wife seemed to have mentioned this matter to him, but after he rejected it, she never mentioned it again.

Could it be that it was the madam who did it?

The emperor took into consideration that he was diligent in his official duties and that it was impossible to convict him easily as he was a minister, so he ordered a thorough investigation of the matter.

As for Rong Weijing, he will stay at home for a few days and make a decision after the matter is clear.

Rong Weijing's heart sank. If there really was someone who took advantage of the power of the Shangshu to do something that disregarded the law, he would be held responsible regardless of whether it was his intention or not!

He returned home dazed and was greeted by Rong Zhou with a smile. He managed to suppress his anger.

"Sanlang, why are you coming home so early today?"

When working in a government office, if you are late or leave early without a special reason, you will be impeached. Rong Weijing has been an official for many years and has never made such a bad mistake.

So let Zhou ask curiously.

Rong Weijing felt wronged.

He clearly did nothing, but was severely impeached by the censor. He was really innocent.

"Tell me the truth, why was Zhou Qilang acquitted?"

Rong Zhou's expression suddenly changed, "Sanlang, what happened?"

Rong Weijing looked at her without saying a word, anger hidden in his eyes, ready to explode.

"I don't know, Sanlang. When you disagreed that day, I rejected my brother." Rong Zhou was about to cry and did not admit it.

Rong Weijing stared at her closely, "My reputation cannot be affected by your mother's family."

Even if Rong Zhou really didn't know about this, Zhou was related to her. If the Zhou clan members used the name of Shangshu without authorization and violated the law, Rong Zhou must be held responsible.

"Sanlang, I will go find my brother and his wife and ask them clearly!"

Rong Weijing suffered this disaster and everyone was watching. Naturally, the marriage proposal came to nothing.

Just when Rong Weijing was getting extremely anxious, the truth finally came to light.

The Zhou family took all the responsibility, saying that they were bewitched and had damaged the Shangshu's reputation, and they personally sent Zhou Qilang to prison.

Rong Wei returned to the government office with great respect.

But after this incident, Rong Weijing no longer treated Rong Zhou with the same gentleness as before, and for several days in a row, he stayed in his concubine's room.

Rong Zhou was so anxious that she had no energy to interfere in Rong Xi's marriage.

After hearing the news, Rong Xi hugged Qin Ke and gave him a few kisses as a reward.

After breakfast, Liu Zishi led the horses out of the house for Rong Xi and Qin Ke as usual.

Rong Xi was very pleased and had a rare friendly expression. "Zi Shi, spring is coming. Go to the city today to buy some cloth and come back to ask the ladies to make new clothes for you."

"Okay!" Liu Zishi responded happily.

A few days ago, for some unknown reason, the lover had been avoiding him as much as possible, and he was sad for a long time. Today, the lover finally smiled at him!

Rong Xi and Qin Ke rode side by side on horseback.

It is February, the rivers have thawed, and the willow trees are sprouting.

By the river bank, ladies were washing clothes and pounding clothes, and children were playing and having fun, creating a warm spring scene.

"Sizhi, do you know how farmers transport water when irrigating fields far from the river?"

Rong Xi suddenly threw him a question.

Qin Ke looked up and saw that the farmlands were connected to each other. If they were 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 it is a huge undertaking and requires a lot of effort."

He told Qin Ke the method of dividing the channel.

In fact, the method of dividing channels has existed for a long time. However, in the past, the channels were all made of earth walls. When water passed through the channels, some of it seeped into the soil, causing the water volume to decrease. In addition, the ditches were easily blocked and difficult to dredge.

If a channel is built with cement, the river water can flow in unhindered, and dredging will be extremely convenient. The effect will be a hundred times better than that of an earth wall.

"This method is indeed good," Qin Ke nodded, "Spring ploughing is imminent, you and I will go to Chen Yi to discuss it first, and then go to the workshop."

The Great Wei is based on agriculture. If it can benefit the people by building farmland, Shen Yi will be so happy that he will not refuse at all.

Hearing Rong Xi's words, Chen Yi's heart was pounding, and after a few words of praise, his rationality returned.

"Although Rong Langjun's method can solve the farmers' urgent need for irrigation, building ditches is a major undertaking, and the county may not have enough financial resources to support it."

This is true.

"No problem. You can report this matter to the court, and the court will certainly allocate funds."

Qin Ke gave him a reassurance.

Since it concerns agriculture, the imperial court will definitely pay attention to it.

Chen Yi nodded repeatedly. It was a blessing for the people of Mengshan that the God of War was protecting them!

However, all this was caused by Rong Dalang.

After leaving the county government office, the two went to the workshop. After seeing Cheng Hao, Cheng Hao was extremely excited.

"The workshop will be completed soon, and Dalang will be very busy in the future."

Rong Xi smiled and replied: "It is my honor to be able to do my best for the court."

"Haha, if Dalang's ability is just a small contribution, wouldn't I be extremely ashamed?" Cheng Hao teased him and asked, "The kiln workers seem to be firing new glassware these days. What do you want to make, Dalang?"

Rong Xi confessed: "A thermos kettle can keep hot water warm day and night."

"Use glass?" Cheng Hao didn't believe it.

"Glass is only one of the raw materials. Once it is made, Uncle Cheng can test it himself."

Some things can only be believed if you see them with your own eyes, Rong Xi does not want to explain further.

Cheng Hao smiled heartily. It was not that he did not believe Rong Xi, but that he just could not believe it.

After waiting in the workshop until 3:15 p.m., Rong Xi and Qin Ke returned together.

As soon as I entered the front yard, I saw Jin Jili running towards me with a big smile on his face, as if he had encountered some great joy.

"My dear!"

His pair of green eyes were filled with the three big words "Praise me quickly".

"What happened?" he asked with a smile.

At this time, Liu Zishi chased over and explained to Rong Xi: "Today a boy fell into the water. Fortunately, Jili is good at swimming and rescued the boy in time."

"It's good to be brave and do what is right." Rong Xi gave a thumbs up.

Jinjili's hair color becomes more and more dazzling.

"It's cold in spring, so drink some ginger soup."

"My dear, the old man has persuaded him to drink a bowl, haha." Liu Zishi gloated.

Jin Jili immediately shook his head in grievance. He hated ginger soup!

After dinner, Rong Xi went to the study and wanted to describe the ditches, water wheels, treadmills and other things on paper for Chen Yi's reference.

But he saw Rong Mo following closely behind him.

"Third brother, have you read this book?"

He took the arithmetic textbook handed back by Rong Mo and was slightly surprised.

Rong Sanlang still remained silent, but stared at Rong Xi with his big eyes. His appearance was expressionless, but inside he seemed to be deeply buried with burning emotions.

Rong Xi led him to the desk and pulled out a few sheets of paper, all of which were filled with arithmetic problems.

"Here are thirty math problems. If you can solve them all, I will give you a new book."

Rong Mo took it quickly, bowed, and walked out of the study, his steps seeming quite anxious.

I originally thought that it would take Rong Mo at least until tomorrow to solve these thirty questions.

Unexpectedly, within an hour, Rong Sanlang came to Rong Xi's study with manuscript paper and delivered the answer.

At that time, Qin Ke was massaging Rong Xi's legs.

Rong Mo seemed not to have seen Qin Ke, and only Rong Xi was in his eyes.

Rong Xi looked through the answers and saw that there was not a single mistake. He was very surprised and praised with a smile: "Third brother is very talented, very good."

After saying this, he improvised another question, which was within the scope of the book but more complex and sophisticated.

When Rong Sanlang got the question, he had no time to care about etiquette. His eyes lit up and he sat on the ground, holding a pencil and started answering the questions.

After the case, Qin Ke gently squeezed Rong Xi's hand and asked in a low voice: "Are you happy?"

"Yeah!" Rong Xi nodded vigorously. Anyone who discovered a good seedling would be happy.

Seeing the joy in his eyes, Qin Ke's heart softened. Rong Lan was happy, and he was happy too.

After a moment, Rong Mo suddenly stopped writing, stood up quickly, put the paper on the desk, and asked Rong Xi to take a look.

Rong Xi looked carefully at his solution and became more and more satisfied.

He stood up, took a brand new book from the bookshelf and handed it to Rong Mo.

"Third brother, if you have any questions, you can come to me. If you don't want to talk, a note will do."

Rong Xi has always been as gentle as a spring breeze towards talented young people.

Rong Mo took the book, bowed deeply again, then held the precious book in his arms and went back to his room to study it carefully.

A few days later, the kettle was made.

The raw materials are only glass, mercury, cork and shell. Although it looks simple, it is quite difficult to fire it at the beginning.

But if there is one, there will be two.

As kiln workers gain experience, their skills will only become more sophisticated.

When the kettle came out, Cheng Hao tried it out first. He poured boiling water into the pot, plugged the cork tightly, let it sit for a day and a night, and then poured out the water.

The water in the cup is warm to the touch.

"Da Lang," Cheng Hao patted his shoulder hard and said excitedly, "It really can keep warm!"

Qin Ke had a blank expression on his face. He stretched out his hand to wave away his thick arm, glanced at him coldly, and then asked Rong Xi: "Are you okay?"

Mr. Cheng does not know the seriousness of the situation. How can Lanzhi bear it?

Before Rong Xi answered, Cheng Hao didn't understand what he meant and asked, "Is there an injury on Dalang's shoulder? That's really my fault!"

"Uncle Cheng, my shoulder is fine." Rong Xi had no choice but to change the subject. "The workshop will be completed in a few days. I wonder how Uncle Cheng will allocate the craftsmen by then?"

As the name suggests, the Military Equipment Bureau is a place where military weapons are manufactured. This is a court secret and cannot be easily known to outsiders.

The selected craftsman must be trustworthy.

"Don't worry, Dalang. The prince and I have already made a plan for this matter. We will definitely not allow the scoundrels to cause trouble." Cheng Hao replied with a serious face.

Rong Xi nodded, "In that case, I'll trouble Uncle Cheng."

"Don't be so polite, Dalang. How about giving me this thermos?" Cheng Hao asked shamelessly.

Rong Xi smiled and said, "It was originally given to Uncle Cheng."

An idea suddenly flashed in his mind, and he said, "Uncle Cheng, the construction of the Military Equipment Bureau has been funded by the Ministry of Revenue, which has cost a huge amount of money. If we rely on the Ministry of Revenue in the future, we will inevitably be restricted."

What he said was also what Cheng Hao was worried about.

"If you have any idea, please tell us." Cheng Hao couldn't wait.

Rong Xi saw that Qin Ke was also interested, so he said, "All the kiln workers in the workshop belong to the Military Equipment Supervisor, right?"

The two nodded.

"In this case, the kettle was made by the kiln workers in the workshop, so we can trade it with the people in the name of the Military Equipment Bureau and exchange it for some money and silk to meet the needs of the Military Equipment Bureau."

Cheng Hao couldn't help but look at Qin Ke, "What do you think, Prince?"

"No one in the Military Equipment Bureau is good at business, so how can it be easy for the people?" Qin Ke asked with a frown.

Rong Xi smiled and replied, "Although it is in the name of the Military Equipment Supervisor, we can entrust merchants to act. After making a profit, we will share 20% of the profit. The remaining 80% will be divided between the court and the Military Equipment Supervisor. It all depends on Uncle Cheng and the prince."

If the Military Equipment Inspectorate wants to make money on its own, the court will certainly not allow it. But if it can fill the national treasury, why not do it?

Qin Ke's eyes were very gentle, and he smiled and said, "I will definitely report what Dalang said to His Majesty."

Cheng Hao said that with Prince Qin around, he didn't need to worry about this matter.

The author has something to say:

After Rong Xi had the dream, he hid when he saw Liu Zishi.

Liu Zishi: (covering his face and crying) What did I do wrong? Woo woo woo.