"The Prince's residence is divided into three sections!"
Xie Yuan held the blueprints and carefully explained them to Helian Jue:
“The central road and the east and west roads. The main gate of the central road has five rooms, and passing through the main gate leads to the front courtyard.”
"There is a council hall in the front courtyard. The prince usually meets with his subordinates or discusses government affairs in the council hall."
"...Each route has seven courtyards. The Prince's main hall is in the third courtyard of the central route, and Ah Zhen and I are in the fourth courtyard."
The east side has waterside pavilions, libraries, and warehouses, while the west side has gardens and pavilions.
If Helian Jue's harem grows larger, or if he has children in the future, then the East and West routes will finally be useful.
Behind the Prince's Mansion was a street used to house the Prince's officials and their families, as well as military officers of rank.
The talents recruited by Xie Yuan, such as the Zheng family, were also arranged to work in the back alley of the Prince's Mansion.
Helian Jue wasn't interested in these things. He pointed to the washroom, bathroom, and underground pipes on the blueprints and asked, "What are these?"
Xie Yuan replied, "This is the clean room, the place where the five grains are circulated!"
"These lines are pipes used to flush out filth."
"And here is the bathroom. I plan to have the craftsmen build it into a hot spring pool so that Your Highness can take a bath and cool off every day!"
Yuezhou is located in the south and has almost no winter.
It is more necessary to avoid the heat than to keep warm.
Xie Yuan said with a hint of relief, "Your Highness, it's fortunate that we came to Lingnan. If we had gone to the Western Frontier or the North, we would have had to lay down ground heating or build firewalls."
In Lingnan, you only need to worry about typhoons, torrential rains, and the sweltering heat, humidity, snakes, insects, rodents... well, there are plenty of problems too.
Helian Jue, however, astutely grasped a few key words: "Earth dragon? Fire wall? What are these?"
Xie Yuan thought to himself, "Serves you right for being so quick-tongued! You blurted it out!" but he still wore a polite smile on his face.
She took another sheet of white paper and drew a breakdown diagram with a brush: "Earth dragons are pipes dug under the floor of a house. When it's cold, fires are lit in the pipes, and the heat radiates from the ground, thus achieving the effect of heating."
"The principle of a fire wall is similar to that of an earthen heating system. However, when building the wall, it is made hollow, and a fire is lit inside, which warms the room!"
Helian Jue had experience in handling state affairs and had some understanding of people's livelihoods.
Hearing Xie Yuan's words, he couldn't help but nod and say, "It's a good idea, but ordinary people can't afford it!"
How much firewood or charcoal would be needed to heat up a pipe or a wall and then continuously keep it warm?
It's a pity that such a good method cannot be implemented in the cold northern regions.
Helian Jue sighed inwardly without thinking.
But then, he became somewhat embarrassed and angry: "I'm not the crown prince anymore, why should I worry about these things?!"
Xie Yuan didn't pay attention to Helian Jue's change of expression; she was used to his unpredictable temper.
"Ordinary people certainly can't afford it, but they can build a heated kang (traditional Chinese bed) at home."
As he spoke, Xie Yuan began to write and draw again, "The earthen kang (heated brick bed) is connected to the kitchen. When cooking, the smoke and heat enter the kang's heating chamber, which also warms the room!"
Helian Jue's eyes lit up. "That's a great idea!"
Although "one should not concern oneself with affairs outside one's official position," and these things are not needed in the Lingnan region.
However, knowing more is also a form of knowledge.
Helian Jue looked at Xie Yuan and suddenly asked, "This...is this something you learned from the common people or from ancient books you occasionally found when you were traveling the world with your father?"
Since their marriage, Xie Yuan has displayed a level of knowledge and skills that ordinary noblewomen do not possess in front of Helian Jue!
Whenever asked, Xie Yuan would say, "I've been to many places with my father, and that's how I learned some things from the local people."
They would either claim that they found it in the Xie family's collection of books, or in an ancient book they stumbled upon by chance.
When pressed further about the ancient books, Xie Yuan shrugged and said helplessly, "Destroyed in the war!"
Helian Jue: ...I always felt that Xie was bluffing. Cough cough, I only heard Xie mention the word "bluffing" when she was joking with her younger brother.
"Hmm!" Xie Yuan responded vaguely, indicating that the prince was right.
Then, she quickly changed the subject: "Your Highness, are you satisfied with the map of the Prince's Palace?"
"It's alright! Let's go with your drawing."
Helian Jue was indifferent.
Since being deposed, Helian Jue has been in a state of dejection.
He seemed indifferent to everything, and there was nothing or no one in this world that he longed for!
Xie Yuan was very capable and took the initiative to take the lead, so Helian Jue handed over everything in the palace to her.
"Very well! Then I will go and arrange the construction matters!"
Xie Yuan put down his pen, rolled up the blueprints, and prepared to leave.
"Be careful during construction; Governor Cui is keeping an eye on things!"
Originally, Helian Jue did not want to "meddle," but seeing Xie Yuan's energetic and enthusiastic appearance, he had a sudden thought and blurted out such a sentence.
Xie Yuan was taken aback, and after a moment he realized: Was the prince giving me a hint?
Is he concerned about me?
"Don't flatter yourself! I'm not concerned about you! I'm worried about my royal palace!"
Helian Jue said something a little awkwardly.
Xie Yuan chuckled inwardly: Your Highness, are you perhaps a bit arrogant?
Whenever Helian Jue was upset, he would refer to himself as "I, the Lonely One".
Suppressing a laugh, Xie Yuan feigned a flattered expression, "Yes! Your Highness, rest assured, I will personally oversee the construction and ensure that Your Highness can move into the palace as soon as possible."
As for Prefect Cui, Xie Yuan was not afraid of him causing trouble at all!
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