46 Confrontation
◎Lu Jing's carriage stopped Gu Ningxi on the palace road◎
Today, Gu Ningxi was hosting. When she invited him in person, she asked Doctor Zhou from across the street to book a place. Doctor Zhou didn't refuse and chose the Xinghe Teahouse, which Gu Ningxi had never been to.
As the sun was setting, Doctor Zhou arrived in the quiet private room a quarter of an hour earlier than Gu Ningxi.
After a brief exchange of courtesies, Doctor Zhou, with a gentle demeanor, smiled and said, "When I saw Lord Gu approaching, I couldn't help but think of my own youth, studying and attending school. Over a decade has passed in the blink of an eye; time truly flies."
He looked at the man in front of him, wearing the turquoise uniform of a sixth-rank official and with a youthful, energetic face, and sighed, "Master Gu is young and promising."
"Master Zhou, thank you for your kind words. I am still young and inexperienced. If I encounter any difficulties in the future, I hope you will be willing to give me some advice."
Doctor Zhou took a leisurely sip of his tea and said, "Master Gu, what are you talking about? It is my honor to be able to learn from the younger generation."
Gu Ningxi readily agreed: "I do have a difficult problem today, and I would like to discuss it with Master Zhou."
She pulled out her Jiangdong plow blueprints, having been busy working on them for months, carefully preserving every version. This time, she brought three drafts, each signed. Arranged chronologically, they clearly showed the changes and improvements.
Gu Ningxi asked, "I wonder if Sir Zhou could give me an explanation for this diagram?"
Although he knew that the person coming had bad intentions, Zhou Cheng was still surprised by how direct he was.
The private room fell silent. Zhou Cheng put down his teacup and said crisply, "What does Lord Gu want?"
"You should know what I mean."
Zhou Cheng's tone remained calm. "There's no evidence. Sir Gu, please think carefully before you speak."
As Gu Ningxi's superior, he had the authority to review Gu Ningxi's official records. In the official documents from the past six months, Gu hadn't mentioned a single word about his research into plowing tools.
Zhou Cheng certainly knew his intention. In fact, if it were him, he would hide in the same way.
"What if I have witnesses?"
"The words of close associates or servants probably don't count." Zhou Cheng remained calm. Even if he were to confront the Minister, he would have his own explanation. "Master Gu has been at the Ministry of Works for less than two years, right? I joined the Ministry at the age of twenty-eight, so it's been thirteen years now. At that time, Master Gu had probably just entered the Imperial College, right?"
In terms of seniority and popularity, Zhou Cheng has the confidence.
Even if the drawings were similar, it could be explained as a coincidence. Zhou Cheng was certain that Gu Ningxi could not provide conclusive evidence to determine the origin of his drawings.
Moreover, Zhou Cheng was more familiar with people's hearts. No one would be happy to see such a major political achievement come from a young teenager. Comparing the two, they would favor and trust the accumulation of experience rather than be overshadowed by the brilliance of a young talent.
"What if my witness is His Royal Highness Prince Zhao?"
Ignoring Doctor Zhou's changing expression, Gu Ningxi continued, "Aren't you curious how I came up with the idea for the curved plow? In April, I accompanied Prince Zhao out of the capital, and it was the first time I saw civilians using such a farm implement in the suburbs."
Gu Ningxi picked out her first piece of paper and said, "I drew this picture that night and presented it to His Royal Highness Prince Zhao."
Her eyes were open, without any sign of pretense.
Doctor Zhou's hands unconsciously clenched under his official robe, and he believed Gu Ningxi's words about 60%.
"But what does it matter? Lord Gu, do you think you can ask His Royal Highness Prince Zhao to testify?"
"So, you admit to stealing my blueprints?"
Doctor Zhou's expression changed.
Gu Ningxi's suspicions were fully confirmed. "The rest is irrelevant. I have no personal relationship with you. I invited you out of the blue today, and you didn't refuse. That's one thing. I'm the host, so according to etiquette, I should have chosen the venue, but you chose the Xinghe Teahouse, which you're familiar with, and even arrived early to reserve a private room and check to see if anyone was eavesdropping. That's two. If you had a clear conscience, you should have thrown the tea and gotten angry at my first question, instead of patiently dealing with me. That's three."
Doctor Zhou clenched the teacup tightly. From the very beginning, he was distracted by the other party.
After years of immersion in officialdom, Doctor Zhou did not lose his composure.
The private room he had chosen had thick walls, and he had brought several servants outside just in case. He was certain that no one was watching, so Gu Ningxi still had no evidence of the previous conversation.
Gu Ningxi's purpose was not this. She just wanted to confirm whether Doctor Zhou had really taken her things so as not to wrongly accuse an innocent person.
His reaction said it all.
The topic returned to the original point, and Zhou Cheng continued with the same question: "Master Gu, what makes you think that His Royal Highness Prince Zhao can care about such trivial matters?"
Not to mention that Gu Zhushi was the Crown Prince's Assistant and an official of the Eastern Palace. Just to mention his old grudge against His Royal Highness Prince Zhao, the imperial edict that banished Prince Zhao from the capital was written by him.
Besides, some time ago, Master Gu asked to accompany His Royal Highness Prince Zhao out of the capital, and his words were sincere. Did His Royal Highness Prince Zhao agree?
Zhou Cheng knew his superiors' intentions perfectly well. As long as the achievements were within the Ministry of Works, it didn't matter which subordinate produced them. In fact, they would do their utmost to avoid complications and strive for peace and harmony.
"He's not ignoring me. No matter who is in my position, as long as His Royal Highness Prince Zhao knows about it, he will help and uphold justice. This is his nature, and it hasn't changed over the years." Gu Ningxi brewed a third cup of tea and returned the question, "When His Royal Highness Prince Zhao and I met, Lord Zhou, you hadn't yet entered the officialdom, right?"
The other party looked too calm, and Zhou Cheng couldn't help but feel suspicious.
After a long pause, he slowly said, "Master Gu, do you still remember your original intention in creating this plow? Wasn't it to improve the livelihoods of the people? Now the curved plow can be used more quickly and benefit the world. Why is Master Gu digging into the matter and hindering its progress? Could it be that Master Gu entered the government only for personal advancement and wealth, rather than for the benefit of the people?"
"Excuse me, Doctor Zhou, what was your original intention in entering the government? If you truly were dedicated to serving the people, then after you looked through my borrowing records at the Ministry of Works and guessed I was crafting farm tools, why didn't you join me in this endeavor? Instead, you took the blueprints and took all the credit."
She didn't respond at all, and Doctor Zhou remained speechless.
Gu Ningxi held up the teacup and said, "A gentleman is judged by deeds, not by heart. Judging by the heart, no one is perfect. Since it belongs to me, why can't I fight for it?"
After she finished speaking, the private room fell silent again.
The opponent refused to give in even a little bit, and Zhou Cheng's palms were covered with cold sweat.
In front of the Shangshu and the Shilang, he had already asserted that the drawings were from his own hands and that the damage was done could not be undone.
Originally, he thought that Master Gu had lost the trust of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, and since there was no evidence, it was inconvenient for the Xuanping Marquis' Mansion to intervene, so he could only swallow this loss.
Who would have thought that the other party was so lucky that he had His Royal Highness Prince Zhao as a witness.
As if seeing through Doctor Zhou's thoughts, Gu Ningxi said, "If it wasn't His Royal Highness Prince Zhao, it would have been someone else. Doctor Zhou, with such a painstaking effort on this blueprint, why would he think I wouldn't leave any backup plans?"
She even had a candidate in mind, ready to copy a blueprint and submit it to Marquis Wu'an. He had no involvement with the Ministry of Works, was a man of integrity, and owed her a favor for the wooden chariot, so asking him to help bear witness was the perfect choice.
It was just that His Royal Highness Prince Zhao happened to meet him that night, and his identity was even more noble, so Gu Ningxi did not do anything unnecessary.
Knowing that Zhou Lang's heart was already wavering, Gu Ningxi said, "If this matter were brought before the Emperor, I'm afraid it would be disastrous for everyone. Lord Zhou, are you seriously going to gamble with me on whether I can persuade His Royal Highness Prince Zhao to intervene?"
Zhou Cheng pinched the empty teacup: "So what does Lord Gu mean?"
"I've seen your drawings, and I admit I'm not up to the task."
Doctor Zhou's improvements to the plowshare were beyond her reach; his decades of experience were far from meaningless. If it were her, even if she studied for months more, she might not achieve even half the results Doctor Zhou had.
"I don't deny your hard work." Gu Ningxi said, "I just want to get back what I deserve."
"If not," Gu Ningxi refilled Doctor Zhou's cup with tea, "Master Zhou, don't expect me to keep quiet."
…
A day passed in the blink of an eye.
In the imperial study, Lu Jingfang accompanied Emperor Mingde to finish his lunch.
He had just arrived at the Secretariat yesterday when his father summoned him to the palace to play chess and asked him about his experiences during his trip out of the capital.
Because it was late, his father asked him to stay overnight in the palace.
Yesterday, halfway through the third game of chess, Emperor Mingde ordered people to keep the chessboard, so it was a good time to continue the game.
It has always been said that one can judge a person by observing a chess game, and Emperor Mingde saw that Qi'an was undecided.
He said deliberately, "You left the capital in such a hurry, how come you brought back so many local rituals?"
"I just find it new," Lu Jing replied. "The world is united, and the products are abundant. I think your father will be happy to see it."
Naturally, the most items were sent to the palace. Emperor Mingde felt his son's filial piety and was very touched.
But he wasn't going to let Qi'an get away with it.
Prince Zhao's Mansion distributed a lot of local specialties to various mansions this time. If it is to win people's hearts, it is so ostentatious. The gifts are not expensive, and all the mansions benefit equally. I am afraid it will not be effective.
Emperor Mingde had already asked people to inquire about the gift list of Prince Zhao's Mansion. He guessed that Qi'an's sweetheart should be in one of the mansions.
In order to give a gift to that lady...girl, Qi'an simply gave gifts to everyone.
No one knows a son better than his father. Qi'an's little tricks cannot be hidden from him.
Emperor Mingde asked a few more questions in a roundabout way under the pretext of playing chess, but there were no useful clues.
After the chess game was over, Lu Jing wanted to return to the Secretariat, but Emperor Mingde said, "No hurry. I have summoned the Minister of Works to meet you later."
Emperor Mingde was in a good mood when talking about this: "While you were away, the Ministry of Works made a new plow, it's a good opportunity for us to take a look at it together."
Lu Jing's expression shifted slightly, and he nodded in agreement, "Does your Majesty have anything real here?"
Emperor Mingde smiled and shook his head: "I did keep a copy of the blueprint in the Ministry of Finance."
He ordered Li Ji to find it out. His ministers had made such great achievements on the eve of his birthday, which seemed like a gift from God to him.
Lu Jing took it and read it. He felt familiar at first glance. He smiled. It seemed that Yuan Le's months of hard work had paid off.
However, when his eyes moved to the signature in the corner of the drawing, Lu Jing's eyes froze.
He remained calm and thought of Yuan Le's appearance when he saw him yesterday.
Li Jilai reported, "Your Majesty, Minister Li and Minister of Works Zhou Cheng request an audience."
"Go ahead."
"Your Majesty, I bow to you. Long live Your Majesty."
"Long live His Royal Highness Prince Zhao."
The emperor gave him a seat, and Zhou Cheng couldn't help feeling nervous. When he raised his eyes, he met the cold gaze of His Royal Highness Prince Zhao, and he quickly lowered his head.
Emperor Mingde was lenient with his subjects and spoke a few words with the Minister of Works, who then asked about the details of the curved plow.
The Minister of Works wanted to promote Zhou Cheng, so he motioned for him to come forward and answer.
Zhou Cheng had memorized the contents by heart, and the Minister had reviewed them word for word for him. Just as he was about to speak, he heard His Royal Highness Prince Zhao say, neither lightly nor seriously, "Answer carefully before your Majesty."
Zhou Cheng's heart trembled when he saw that His Royal Highness Prince Zhao was holding the blueprint he had handed over earlier.
He thought quickly and moved the last paragraph to the front.
"Your Majesty, and His Royal Highness Prince Zhao, while browsing books at the Ministry of Works, I came across a blueprint tucked inside. I used it as a basis for drawing the curved plow. I originally thought it was the work of a predecessor, but I never imagined it was the work of a colleague at the Ministry. I dare not take all the credit for it."
"Oh? Who is it?" Emperor Mingde asked with interest.
The Minister of Works answered on his behalf, "Your Majesty, it is a fifth-rank official in the Ministry of Works, Gu Ningxi, from the Xuanping Marquis's residence."
Emperor Mingde immediately remembered who it was. He was quite pleased that such a talent had emerged from a noble family.
Lu Jing looked through the memorial just submitted by the Minister of Works, and when he saw Yuan Le's name on the list, he stopped talking.
…
"Why didn't you tell this to the king earlier?"
Lu Jing's carriage stopped Gu Ningxi, who was on duty, on the palace road and sent her out of the palace together.
He already understood the whole story. Yuan Le's expression in Huiwen Hall and the fact that there was only Zhou Cheng's name on the drawing explained everything.
"I can handle it myself, there is no need to trouble Your Highness." Gu Ningxi said with a smile.
She was familiar with Doctor Zhou's temperament. He had been in the Ministry of Works for many years and was steady and seldom made mistakes. He would certainly not dare to take risks easily.
She was 90% sure that as long as she borrowed some of His Royal Highness Prince Zhao's reputation, she would be able to intimidate him.
"Trouble..." Lu Jing said these two unfamiliar words, "Why do you feel like it's a trouble?"
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