Chapter 50 Investigation "Xie Er, do you know how to calculate the weather?" ...
Chapter 50
"Xie Er, you're smiling so foolishly." Zhou Mingyan suddenly said, "What are you thinking about?"
"Nothing." Xie Junxing put the exquisite tower back in place, then looked at it reluctantly for a few more moments before returning it to Jingyue in the carriage. "Thank you, my Lord."
Seeing that 'Young Marquis Lin' was willing to help him, Xie Junxing readily changed his address to 'Prince Consort'.
After all, offending one's future brother-in-law is a big taboo before marriage.
Jingyue reached out from the window and took it calmly.
He looked at Xie Junxing through the window: "Now, Mr. Xie, do you know what you are going to Yuhuatai for?"
Xie Junxing's fox eyes revealed a sincere smile: "Got it! Your Highness, there's no need to be so formal. Just call me Xie Er. Or...if Your Highness doesn't mind, you can also call me Second Brother."
Zhou Mingyan said servilely, "What are you doing? Do you want to take advantage of the prince consort? I won't call you Second Brother. He's with me, so I'll call you Xie Er first. If you have the ability, we'll naturally call you Second Brother in the future."
Xie Junxing glanced at him helplessly and compromised: "Okay, no problem."
Who told the prince consort to have such a good relationship with Zhou Mingyan?
And...it is said that the Zhou family is also interested in marrying into the Lin family.
No matter if it was Brother Zhou, Brother Tuesday or Brother Wednesday, or which daughter of the Lin family...if it worked out, he would be a relative of the Zhou family in the future.
Zhou Mingyan and Lin Zhiyi are both two years younger than him, so it’s okay for him to take care of them more and give in more on unimportant matters.
The three of them arrived at Yuhuatai.
Many people come here to burn incense.
Yuhuatai is not far from Tianlong Temple.
On the first and fifteenth day of every month, Tianlong Temple arranges masters to go to Yuhuatai to preach and bring blessings.
In addition to being a place for masters to chant scriptures and pray, Yuhuatai also has another function, which is to calculate rain and snow weather.
Yuhuatai is very high and has a spacious platform. The entire Yuhuatai is divided into three parts. The middle part is where sutras are preached. There are suspended houses under the platforms on both sides, which contain various tools needed to measure rainy and snowy weather.
After Jing Yue, Zhou Mingyan and Xie Junxing arrived, they first handed the carriage and horses to the guards, who would park the horses and carriage in a special place.
Jing Yue asked, "Xie Er, do you know how to calculate the weather?"
Xie Junxing understood this was a test, so he said, "The Book of Changes records solar and lunar eclipses, which can be calculated based on the changing orbits of the stars. There are also anemometers that can measure wind speed, humidity, temperature, air pressure, and other instruments. Telescopes can see changes in clouds farther away. Ultimately, by combining the results from various fields and judging by the seasons and solar terms, we can reach a conclusion."
Zhou Mingyan was completely confused. "Is that all? But if I don't understand the underlying logic, even if I combine what you said, I don't know how to infer it."
Xie Junxing tried to give an example: "I saw this saying in a book: The east wind brings moisture, the west wind brings dryness; the south wind brings warmth, the north wind brings cold. ① In the Lüshi Chunqiu, clouds are divided into four types: 'mountain clouds, water clouds, drought clouds, and rain clouds.' There's also the saying, 'When there are castle-like clouds in the sky, thunderstorms are coming on the ground.'②"
"Wow~ so amazing." Zhou Mingyan is really a novice in this area and doesn't understand anything at all.
He looked at Jingyue and asked, "Xiuyuan, do you know this?"
Jing Yue shook her head: "I don't know."
Although he loves reading, he has not done in-depth research in this area.
Zhou Mingyan: "Anything else?"
Xie Junxing: "Another way is to observe changes in animal behavior. The simplest ones are 'swallows flying low, frogs croaking, ants moving'—these are all signs of rain. If you're interested, you can read 'The Book of Predicting Rain' and 'Nine Chapters on the Book of Numbers'."③"
Zhou Mingyan got a headache when he heard this and shook his head, "Forget it, I'm not interested. Just listen." He looked at Jingyue, "Xiuyuan, what else do you want to ask him?"
Xie Junxing also looked at Jing Yue with a look of readiness.
Jing Yue: "Will you... be committed to serving in the Ministry of Industry in the future?"
Xie Junxing was slightly startled, then spoke the truth: "I haven't made up my mind yet. Before... I really wanted to surpass my eldest brother and excel in next year's imperial examination. But recently, I've thought about it carefully, and I feel that if I neglect my future because of a quarrel with my family, it would be too naive and not worth the loss."
After hearing what he said, Jing Yue's opinion of him changed slightly. "It's good that you think this way. You're not hopeless. Xie Junnuo is Xie Junnuo, and you are you. Everyone is unique. Even if you're not the one favored, you'll always find someone who favors you."
Xie Junxing's eyes lit up: "What the Prince Consort means is... Does the Fourth Young Lady have feelings for me as well?"
Jing Yue: “…”
He avoided answering, but gave Xie Junxing a subtle look.
Xie Junxing smiled happily: "I knew she still remembered me."
"If you were so intent on this, why did you deliberately leave such a reputation in the capital?"
"I didn't know how to fight for it before. Growing up, I assumed my eldest brother was the one who chose everything in our family. My parents and family's partiality for him only reinforced this belief. He was certainly very good to me, but given the circumstances, I was vulnerable, and I deliberately let myself go to get my parents' attention. Now I understand that my parents care about me, too, and their love for me lies elsewhere. For example, I can be more willful than my eldest brother, I can make mistakes, and I can do many unconventional things. As long as I'm happy, they won't do anything to me, except nag me a few times. It's me who has my own inner demons."
Zhou Mingyan was stunned when he heard this: "People with good literary talent are different. They even have inner demons. You scholars just think too much. Look at me. If I have any troubles, I just practice a set of boxing, practice swordsmanship for a while, or ride a horse for a while, and everything will be gone."
"You are heartless." Xie Junxing said bluntly.
Zhou Mingyan: "What's wrong with being heartless? Isn't it enough to be happy?"
"That's right." Xie Junxing breathed a sigh of relief, "I was too narrow-minded before."
"However, judging from your appearance, I really can't tell that you are so thoughtful." Zhou Mingyan said carelessly.
Xie Junxing glared at him: "How can it be so deep? The Prince Consort saw through me at a glance. You are stupid, don't drag others into this."
I can't be labeled as "deep-minded", otherwise, how can I discuss marriage with the person I like?
Jingyue didn't mind this.
Lin Zhihua is open-minded and devotes all her thoughts and ingenuity to the things she likes. It's good that Xie Junxing is more thoughtful, and the two of them complement each other perfectly.
Otherwise, you will be bullied by people with more ulterior motives in the future.
"Do you still remember where it was built based on the blueprints drawn by my fourth sister?" Jing Yue asked.
If you are really obsessed with a girl you met in childhood, you should remember it very clearly, right?
Xie Junxing remembered it clearly. Pointing to the Xiangfeng Bronze Crow on the right side of the platform, he said, "The Xiangfeng Bronze Crow was constructed according to the records of the ancient sages, and after further improvements, she came up with the best design. She also chose the construction site. I heard from my uncle that after the people from the Ministry of Works conducted several measurements and tests, they realized that her proposal was indeed the best solution."
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The author has something to say: This is the first update, there will be another one in the evening.
①②③ are from online search.
Note: "Xiang Yu Shu" - Huang Zifa in the Tang Dynasty, "Nine Chapters on Mathematics" - Qin Jiushao in the Southern Song Dynasty.
④ Zhang Heng, the scientist who invented the seismometer, also invented the world's earliest wind vane - the Xiangfeng Bronze Crow.
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