89 Fire Avoidance Diagram
◎Gu Ningxi lay on his chest, still catching her breath◎
Three months after the new emperor ascended the throne, the power in the court completed a peaceful transition.
A group of officials from Prince Zhao's Palace rose rapidly and were promoted successively, gradually taking charge of important posts in the Secretariat and the Ministry of Personnel. The ministers of the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of War were also replaced as confidants of Prince Zhao's Palace.
Without the bloody storm of a coup d'état to seize the throne, the people in the court gradually calmed down.
Some of the former officials of the Eastern Palace loyally followed the King of Shu and moved their families to Shu, but more people chose to stay in the court and be sent out to protect themselves.
Gu Ningxi stood among the civil officials holding a sceptre, and she became the key figure for the new emperor to appease the court.
The outer bureaucrats of the Eastern Palace and Prince Huai's Mansion were originally in a panic, but her promotion greatly calmed their minds.
After all, even she, an old member of the Eastern Palace who had offended the new emperor and drafted an edict to demote Prince Zhao, was safe and sound, and was even reused by His Majesty without any restrictions. What else do they have to worry about?
Sometimes, after court was dismissed, Gu Ningxi could feel the friendly, reassuring gazes of her former colleagues. As long as she remained in the court, it would mean that His Majesty was truly magnanimous, letting bygones be bygones, and they would have a chance of escaping unscathed.
The Prince of Huai raised an army to rebel, but on the day the rebellion was quelled, Your Majesty issued an imperial edict to pardon the crimes of the remaining followers.
Over the past few months, a steady stream of defected officers from the Eastern Palace and the Prince of Huai's Palace have returned to the capital to plead guilty. Your Majesty has pardoned all of their crimes and, if they possess exceptional abilities, has continued to appoint them to official positions. The broad-mindedness and courage of a ruler are truly admirable.
Gu Ningxi's life gradually became peaceful. She had adapted to the busy life of the Secretariat, and put the affairs of the Ministry of Works aside for the time being, leaving only the high-speed rotary drum car as her mundane task.
Her energy on duty is limited, so choosing between the two options, the Secretariat is naturally more beneficial to her.
The only change, not big or small, was that after finishing her shift, she sometimes returned to the Xuanping Marquis' Mansion, but more often she went to the Zhaowang Mansion. She had not lived in the small courtyard in Yongningfang for a long time.
The palace was crowded with people and it was inconvenient for her to stay overnight. Prince Zhao's mansion was outside the palace and had been expanded several times, now occupying an entire street.
Since Your Majesty ascended the throne, there have been few outsiders in front of Prince Zhao's palace, making it very suitable for... a private meeting.
Gu Ningxi smiled and shook her head. After all, they were married in a formal ceremony.
As for him, who could have imagined that His Majesty would not live in such a huge and beautiful palace, but instead prefer Prince Zhao's residence.
Even if people knew about it, at most they would just sigh with nostalgia.
In Gu Ningxi's Yongningfang courtyard, she had driven all the spies from the Marquis's residence back. No longer needing to worry, those who remained were all her closest followers.
Her father was unemployed, the other children of the Gu family had not achieved much, and Gu Ningzheng was still a commoner. The situation between her and the Marquis's Mansion had reversed, and the status of Qinlanyuan had risen sharply.
Even her mother no longer often mentioned her getting married. She probably heard from others that her career was bright and it would be difficult for her to withdraw, so she gave up hope for the time being.
The weather was hot and humid, and Gu Ningxi had been staying in Prince Zhao's mansion since finishing his shift yesterday.
The journey from the Secretariat back to the palace is getting shorter and shorter.
Today was her turn to rest, but someone in Prince Zhao's study needed to attend to government affairs. She slept until the afternoon, and he had to pull her over to keep him company.
Gu Ningxi took care of the memorials for Lu Jing and soon had some free time.
She read some leisure books for a while and occasionally picked out a few memorials that interested her to read.
The local implementation of the curved-beam plow has been underway for over a year, and initial results are showing. The number of people using the curved-beam plow has expanded from five counties last year to dozens of prefectures and cities. Recently, reports have been received intermittently from local authorities regarding the return of farm tools. The increase in agricultural tools, combined with abundant rain and the absence of war, promises a good harvest this autumn.
Gu Ningxi read every single memorial regarding the curved plow, word for word, as if she were witnessing her own child rise to prominence and benefit the local community. After the curved plow reached the fields, many details had been refined. During the autumn harvest, she would personally visit the outskirts of Beijing to inspect it and take a closer look at its current state.
She closed the last memorial with satisfaction, ate two pieces of her favorite cakes, and glanced at Lu Jing who was still busy beside her.
She was still in the study, her mind gradually becoming distracted, until her eyes unconsciously fell on the three-color decal-printed Pisces fish vase in the corner of the Duobao Pavilion.
I don’t know if there is any mystery behind it.
Lu Jing picked up his pen and wrote his reply, then said with a smile, "Why are you always staring at this vase?"
He had noticed before that Yuan Le seemed to pay special attention to the Pisces bottle in the study.
Previously he wanted to avoid suspicion, but now Gu Ningxi changed his seat to Lu Jing's left and simply went to satisfy his curiosity.
Lu Jing let her fiddle with it, smiled, and continued to review the memorials. Yuan Le was good at engineering, so he must have figured out some kind of trick.
Gu Ningxi picked up the Pisces bottle and carefully examined it inside and out. There was nothing wrong with the bottle body and the base.
She put the bottle back in its original shape, and the Pisces bottle and the base were connected to form a mechanism.
She turned twice, but there was no response from the study.
Gu Ningxi recalled the scene in his dream, slowed down his movements, and carefully distinguished the sounds with great patience.
Lu Jing saw that she was having fun playing alone, with a doting look in his eyes.
This mechanism was created with the painstaking efforts of today's skilled craftsmen. It is estimated that Yuan Le will have to ponder it for a long time and can sit by his side all the time.
About three or five cups of tea later, Lu Jing, who had just changed a memorial, suddenly heard the sound of the secret room door opening.
Gu Ningxi looked at the secret room that appeared in the study. The mechanism was truly mysterious. If the direction and angle of rotation deviated even slightly, it would be no different from an ordinary decoration.
The secret room was not what she remembered. What she saw were bookcases on three sides reaching the ceiling. The bookcases were filled with books and secret reports from various places, many of which were probably no longer needed.
Gu Ningxi casually took down two books and looked up at the bookcase blocking her way. She intuitively felt that there must be something mysterious behind it.
She remembered that in her dream, when she was imprisoned in the secret room, the second secret door was open.
There is no clue, this second door must be more hidden.
Gu Ningxi concentrated on thinking for a moment, then silently looked in Lu Jing's direction, with a sly smile flashing in his eyes.
So before His Majesty had the time to look at the new memorial, he was dragged to the bookcase in a few seconds.
Gu Ningxi pointed to a wall where the secret door might be and begged him, "Open it."
Lu Jing: “…Okay.”
Gu Ningxi followed him, watching him count the books from the east shelf, the third row from top to bottom, and the fifth and seventh books from left to right. As he removed them one by one, two mechanisms appeared in the empty spaces, imperceptible to the unwary. Each person pressed one in sequence, and the north bookcase swung from its sides, revealing a central door wide enough for two people to pass through.
Gu Ningxi stared intently, and there was truly a whole new world behind it!
The sunlight shines through the small room above the window, making the secret room extremely bright.
Gu Ningxi stepped into the house. The furnishings in the inner room were much simpler than when she had lived there for four days.
The mechanism for opening the door was indeed on the outside. No wonder she searched the whole house in her dream but found nothing.
Lu Jing initially wore a relaxed smile and casually found a chair to sit down. Yuan Le looked around as if he was searching for a treasure, perhaps liking the mystery of the room.
If it were him, he would also be unable to suppress his curiosity when he suddenly saw such a house.
Gu Ningxi was familiar with the place. In her dream, while being locked in a secret room and isolated from the world, she had figured out the structure of the secret room clearly.
She remembered there were several secret compartments, one of which was in—
Gu Ningxi had just stretched out half of her hand when she was suddenly picked up by the waist.
"What?"
She was caught off guard and carried on someone's shoulders, watching her hand move further and further away from the secret compartment.
The embroidered shoes tapped twice, and one fell off. Gu Ningxi was still confused: "What happened?"
Lu Jing said nothing, quickly carrying the person away from the scene. Gu Ningxi reacted: "What shameful things are you hiding?!"
Although he couldn't see Lu Jing's expression clearly, Gu Ningxi was certain that there must be a secret in the secret compartment!
"Okay, I'll tell you later."
Lu Jing carried the person out of the study and went through the corridor to the bedroom.
He kicked open the door of the palace and pushed the man onto the bed in the inner room.
"What... um..."
Gu Ningxi's words were quickly interrupted by him, and the belt of the brand new brocade dress she had worn for only an hour was quickly torn off.
The dress fell to the ground, and in the following scene, she was pushed and rubbed again and again, and she could no longer spare a thought for anything else.
“No, no more… um…”
Gu Ningxi's voice was broken into pieces by the impact, and she was led by him into endless lust in broad daylight.
The jade pendants hanging on the four corners of the curtains trembled constantly. Thinking of those nights when they were ready to accept the pleasure of sharing a peach and were tossing and turning in bed due to superstition about past life love, Lu Jing exerted more force.
Gu Ningxi's eyes were moist and sweat was dripping.
The sun was setting in the west, and when the tent had calmed down, Lu Jing held her in his arms and gently stroked her back.
With a hint of satisfaction in his eyes, Lu Jing said, "Do you understand now?"
Gu Ningxi lay on his chest, still catching her breath, her voice weak and feeble: "...The fire avoidance map?"
"Um."
Gu Ningxi closed her eyes tiredly, her hair showing fatigue.
It’s just a fire avoidance map, why didn’t you say so earlier?
She didn't have to know the answer.
Looking at the person sleeping in his arms, Lu Jing lowered his eyes and kissed her, then carefully carried her to the inner room of the couch and covered her with the quilt.
After making sure that the person was sound asleep, Lu Jing got up, changed his clothes, and told the maid to keep a good watch on the palace.
He returned to the study and ordered someone to prepare a brazier.
Sun Jing didn't understand what was going on, so he just followed His Majesty's instructions.
No one was left in the study. Lu Jing dug out the long-forgotten fire escape map from the secret compartment. It was covered in dust, but the printed pattern was still clear.
He threw the manuscript into the fire, hoping that the flames would consume it until it was reduced to ashes.
All the movements were done in one go, and he breathed a sigh of relief.
…
The bright moon hung high in the night sky. When Gu Ningxi woke up in the middle of the night, the bed beside him was empty.
She touched it and found no warmth left, so she came to her senses, put on her clothes and got out of bed.
She temporarily stopped the maid from preparing the meal. The brocade dress she wore during the day was no longer acceptable to her. She changed her clothes and left the bedroom. As expected, she could see the candlelight in the study from afar.
Sun Jing was standing guard at the palace gate. Seeing Gu Ningxi, he smiled and saluted, "Master Gu."
Originally, he had taken the lead in changing the address. Lady Gu was the legitimate wife of Prince Zhao of His Majesty, and was also the future mistress of the harem. It was not an exaggeration to call her "Empress" in private.
But Lord Gu kindly asked him not to do so and to continue to address him by the old name, so he obeyed.
"Your Majesty is still inside?"
Sun Jingying said, Your Majesty does not like others to disturb you when you are governing the country.
He opened the palace door for Gu Ningxi. After all, Lord Gu was not an ordinary person.
The candlelight in the study was bright. Lu Jing put down his pen and looked at her with a smile: "Why are you awake?"
He gestured for Gu Ningxi to sit beside him. Gu Ningxi looked at the memorials on the table and felt that his energy was truly terrifying.
The new dynasty had just been established, and both internal and external forces needed to be appeased. The emperor had left him not a glorious empire, but a newly unified dynasty with much to be rebuilt.
The candlelight flickered, and Gu Ningxi asked, "Can't you take a break?"
Lu Jing said gently, "There are a few civil affairs that need to be dealt with urgently. You can go to sleep first."
Gu Ningxi didn't say anything and just stayed in the study to accompany him.
Sometimes she felt that, though he was the second emperor of the Jin dynasty, he had fulfilled all the duties of a founding emperor. He had to conquer the four corners of the country, pacify the Central Plains, rectify the government, and consolidate the unification of the country. Every burden fell on him.
Fortunately, the transition of power was smooth. If it had really come to a point where brothers were fighting each other, not only would the national strength of the Jin Dynasty be severely depleted due to party struggles, but the people's hearts, which had only been stable for a few years, would also fall into turmoil, and the court would not be as peaceful as it is now.
Gu Ningxi lowered his eyes. If he ascended to the throne by stepping on his brother's corpse, he would only be more diligent in government affairs than he is now, and would not cherish himself even more. He would also want to prove that he is the true wise ruler of a prosperous age.
While his mind was swirling with thoughts, Gu Ningxi was sorting through the memorials. She read over the ones he hadn't read yet, sorting them by importance.
The candle had burned out halfway, and Lu Jing was lost in thought in front of the desk.
He raised his eyes and was about to search through a pile of memorials for the text he had read before for comparison.
Gu Ningxi raised her eyes and quietly handed a memorial to him.
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