Chapter 161

Chu Congxia never expected that the first step in his grand scheme of revenge would be thwarted by his failure to pass his academic exams.

After discovering that she couldn't recite the textbook from memory, Qin Su randomly tested her on a few knowledge points.

For example, "Why did the Duke of Zhou spit out his food to welcome guests?"

Chu Congxia confidently replied, "I've learned this. It's about how the Duke of Zhou spat out his food to welcome people from all over the world, which was to show that he valued talent!"

Qin Su then asked, "Then why didn't he swallow it? Why did he spit it out?"

Chu Congxia exclaimed "Ah!" and realized that she hadn't thought about this question before.

Right, wouldn't it be easier to swallow it? Why spit it out?

She hesitated for a moment, then whispered, "For...acting?"

But that would be too fake, wouldn't everyone know you're just acting?

As expected, Qin Su shook her head slightly.

Chu Congxia racked his brains, making full use of his liberal arts student's imagination: "To highlight his anxious mood, his eagerness to find talent, to create an atmosphere... oh dear!"

Qin Su smacked her on the head with the "Elementary School Physics" book she had just picked up: "Are you answering reading comprehension questions here? What nonsense are you spouting?"

"None of them are right?" Chu Congxia stammered. "Then... then why is that?"

"Because people in that era had not yet fully mastered the technology of hulling grains, the Duke of Zhou ate food with the husks on, which required careful chewing. Do you know what unhulled grains are?" Qin Su casually dragged a book from the table, the cover of which read "Basic Encyclopedia of Agriculture".

She skillfully found one of the pages and pointed to the picture on it for Chu Congxia to see. "This is what it looks like before it molts. You can imagine that if Zhou Gong (the Duke of Zhou) doesn't spit it out, he might cut his throat or choke to death if he tries to swallow it."

Chu Congxia's eyes widened, as if a new world had opened up for her: "So that's how it is."

She glanced at the page with curiosity and remarked, "I always thought that all ancient times were pretty much the same. But now that I think about it, it's been several thousand years. Human life has been incredibly diverse. The time of the Duke of Zhou is too ancient; it's very far removed from the Great Yu Dynasty."

"It's not far." Qin Su's cool voice made Chu Congxia pause for a moment.

She looked up at Qin Su.

Qin Su said, "Just ten years ago, millions of people in Dayu starved to death every year. They would eat dirt, let alone grains with husks."

"What?" Chu Congxia was bewildered and shocked, saying in disbelief, "Millions of people in the Great Yu Dynasty starve to death every year? How could that be? Why?"

Qin Su said, "Because many people don't have land, and without land, they have no way to farm. Others have encountered natural disasters or man-made calamities, and even if they have land to grow grain, they still reap no harvest."

Chu Congxia opened his mouth: "Then, what about the land?"

Qin Su said, "Since you have studied, you should have learned that many ancient dynasties had problems of land annexation, whether minor or major."

The wealthy and powerful occupy the land of ordinary people, then make the ordinary people farm for them, giving them only a little food or none at all.

Ordinary people have no land or savings, so they will naturally work for these people generation after generation.

Chu Congxia felt that these words were somewhat familiar, but she couldn't recall the details.

Her mind was a bit of a mess; she vaguely realized what Qin Su wanted to say, but didn't quite understand.

Qin Su said, "Perhaps you are wondering why the farmers don't flee and instead cultivate the wasteland to grow their own crops."

Chu Congxia hadn't actually thought of that yet. She paused for a moment, then asked, "Why?"

"Because reclaiming wasteland requires tools and manpower, and most people who have no food have neither the tools nor the strength to cultivate and wait," Qin Su added. "You've also studied the development of ancient agricultural tools, right?"

Chu Congxia did indeed study it.

But for her, whether it's "land annexation" or "the development of ancient agricultural tools," these are just "knowledge points."

The content in textbooks mainly represents scores and grades. Memorizing, understanding, and reciting them is for answering questions and taking exams.

She never imagined that one day she would come to ancient times, and that the concise phrases and analyses in history textbooks were so complex and cruel in real ancient dynasties.

It turns out that every drop of ink in history books has witnessed the fates of countless people.

Chu Congxia's heart sank slowly.

She thought of her thoughts when she was first reborn: Was the fall of the Great Yu Kingdom solely due to Wanyan Chengzhang and the wolfish ambitions of the grasslands?

If a dynasty is strong and prosperous, can it be easily defeated?

Was she living in a dream world of romance and love in her previous life, never seeing the wider world?

Thinking of this, Chu Congxia walked around the table to Qin Su and respectfully said, "Your Majesty, could you tell me more about the people of Dayu?"

"There are so many things to talk about, and besides, I'm busy. I don't have time to teach children." Qin Su coldly refused. "I thought you could share the burden of compiling textbooks, but it turns out you can't even recite elementary school textbooks."

Chu Congxia: "..."

Fine, it's her fault for not being able to memorize the textbook.

Initially, Chu Congxia felt that Qin Su was relatively gentle and patient with her, which boosted her courage. She felt that she might have some special feelings for Qin Su, but now it seems that it might only be a little bit.

Chu Congxia lowered his head in disappointment and said, "Then, Your Majesty, is there anything else I can do for you?"

Qin Su glanced at her: "Can you do chemistry experiments?"

Chu Congxia shook his head.

Do you have any medical knowledge?

Chu Congxia shook her head again, saying that she couldn't even remember the taboos regarding food pairings and often got stomach aches from eating the wrong things.

"Do you understand soil? Can you identify minerals? Do you know anything about animal behavior? Can you cook? Do you know a lot about plants?"

Chu Congxia shook her little head like a rattle drum.

Qin Su thought for a moment and finally lowered the difficulty for her: "I'm currently researching a cannon that requires mathematical functions for calculations, but we don't have enough people to teach functions right now. Could you teach that?"

Chu Congxia hesitated for a few seconds, then tentatively asked, "Does a squared + b squared equal c squared?"

Qin Su: "..."

Forget it, don't count on Chu Congxia.

She glanced around, then took out a "Handbook for Grassroots Officials": "Alright, this is none of your business. Take it back and read it."

Chu Congxia awkwardly took the book: "I will definitely study it carefully when I get back."

She left the imperial study following proper etiquette, but as the door closed, she caught two sentences of conversation.

"Baby is so tired, Your Majesty, please give this baby a massage."

“Su Su…”

"Oh, so the baby's on the bed and Susu's under the bed? General Ye, you..."

Chu Congxia didn't hear what was said after that, but those two sentences made her blush.

The tone and manner of Qin Su and Ye Yan's voices were completely different from when they had spoken to her earlier. They carried a kind of alluring quality that she couldn't quite describe, with the last syllables sounding like hooks, making half of her body go numb.

Chu Congxia stood there in a daze for a long time before finally snapping out of it after being reminded by a guard. She then hurriedly left the palace and returned home.

For a period of time afterward, Chu Congxia read the book that Qin Su had given her.

She learned many things from this book that she didn't know in her previous life.

Before the salt-making method became widespread, many people couldn't afford salt, so they would scrape saltpeter from the rocks in the latrines and eat it as salt—oh, the same saltpeter used to make gunpowder.

Iron pots used to be very valuable; in the past, an iron pot could be exchanged for three horses on the grasslands. But that's no longer the case. With the increase in iron production, they can only be exchanged for half a horse now.

It turns out that even carrying manure is a popular job, with so many people vying to do it...

Humans cannot imagine the unknown.

Chu Congxia had never known there were so many "original" facts.

Needless to say, in her first life in modern times, she had hardly ever seen a rice paddy. In her previous life, when she transmigrated to ancient times, she was pampered and spoiled and never really saw the lives of ordinary people in ancient times.

Of course, no one would teach her these things. It could be said that her understanding of ancient times was limited to that of the powerful and wealthy.

This time, under Qin Su's guidance, she gently lifted a corner of the veil of the lives of ordinary people in this era and was shocked by what she saw.

The handbook's vivid statistics show that the Great Yu Dynasty has been getting better and better over the years. If converted into GDP in later generations, the figure would be astonishing, enough to make anyone who sees it burst into laughter.

Chu Congxia, however, did not smile.

She hid from everyone, hugged the booklet, and cried her heart out, as if she wanted to cry out all the hatred and resentment she felt before her death, as well as the anxiety and unease she felt after being reborn.

After crying, she no longer had her mind solely focused on revenge.

“The person I should hate the most is not Wanyan Chengzhang, nor the grasslands,” Chu Congxia said. “I hate myself. I hate my own incompetence and weakness.”

She pleaded with Qin Su, "Your Majesty, I heard that you have established the Imperial Study. May I go there to study now?"

Qin Su said, "Of course, but the teacher won't lower the bar for you just because you're young, and I won't make any extra arrangements for you. Once you're enrolled, you can't drop out halfway. Have you thought it through?"

Chu Congxia gritted her teeth and nodded: "I've thought it through, I will never back out."