Return to Beijing (3)

Jason gently placed a cup of warm lemon tea on the table.

Inger looked up and smiled at him, said thank you, took a few sips of tea, and continued writing.

The improved fountain pen has smooth ink flow.

Just because he had just gone through a big change didn't mean he could take a break. Instead, he became even busier.

Inger spends most of his time in his room, except for half a day of study and discussion at school.

He currently focuses on two areas of writing, one is the writing of an "English" spell encyclopedia, and the other is a thesis on the application of magic strategy.

Recently, Professor Obide has admitted more students into the program, including some with good talents.

The previous battles taught Inger many lessons, which he discussed with the professors and organized into a unified whole.

Professor Obide had privately suggested to him more than once that he join the research institute, but he declined each time. Although he was interested in research, he had too many secrets of his own. It would be better for him to set up a room in his own home to do research than to go to the research institute, since he could buy all the equipment there anyway.

At this moment, he is writing English textbooks. He has memorized everything in this regard and writes quickly.

In the quiet study, the only sound you can hear is the rustling sound of the pen tip rubbing against the paper.

Jason usually left quietly so as not to disturb him, but this time he stayed for a while.

He took out two letters, which were large envelopes wrapped in oiled paper.

"Sir, this is for you, but there is no sender."

Inger took them. There was no sender's name on either of them. One was stamped with a green ink leaf seal, and the other was stamped with a brown and yellow mountain stone seal. He smiled slightly.

"Yes, it's mine, thank you."

Jason looked at Inger's face. He had been observing him every day these past few days. Their young master had finally recovered a little from his haggard spirit in the first few days.

He backed out quickly.

However, someone was already at the door.

Alex smiled at Jason and walked in.

Jason pursed his lips. He didn't dare to show any disrespect to the prince, but he couldn't help thinking about it in his heart.

[Why do the young master and the Ninth Prince always experience bad things when they go out? ]

[But why does the young master seem to be more friendly towards him? ]

Just as Alex entered, Inger had just opened the letter. Inger knew who it was when he heard the footsteps and said without looking up, "You've come at the right time. The botanist and the geographer seem to have made some progress. Their first letter has arrived."

Both of these seals were privately customized by Inger in his own workshop. The imprints were designed by him and engraved with magic spells to prevent counterfeiting and tampering.

It is highly recognizable, but a bit simple and lacks artistry.

Alex smiled and said, "This seal is so cute no matter how many times I see it."

Inger chuckled twice and said, "It's fine as long as it's practical. I haven't learned how to carve seals."

Alex moved a chair and sat next to Inger, and took up his coat and put it on his shoulders. The two sat together and read the letter.

"This is a beautiful picture."

"It is said that there is a person in the team who has studied sketching. The work is so detailed that even the colors are well applied."

“Such a thick volume?”

Along with the letter came a stack of transcription paper with a sketch of the plant, notes explaining each part, size rulers, and diagrams breaking down the structure of each plant organ.

"I have told them to look for the edible value of these plants. I didn't expect them to do such a thorough study. They are indeed scholars," Inger praised, stroking the manuscript.

Alex pointed to the picture and said, "In addition to the ones you found, they also found other similar ones."

Tuberous fruits all look pretty much the same, but it's good to find more.

Inger glanced at the letter again and said with a smile, "They said the fruit sample plants are on the way and will be delivered in about two days."

Alex opened the envelope from the geographer, which contained a dozen maps and some manuscript paper for copying.

Inger said: "My request is to draw contour maps and environmental maps. This is a long-term project. It is good to be able to achieve this level in the early stage. At least it can be seen that they are surveying and mapping very carefully."

[However, without a computer and a modeling machine, this map is really difficult to read. ]

Inger suddenly summoned his magic wand and took a map of part of the East China Sea coast and memorized it carefully, quickly memorizing its contour lines and scale.

Alex watched in amazement as Inger looked at the map for a few seconds and then drew a terrain model made of light mist in the air.

Inger himself found it incredible: "…it really works…"

Alex took a breath and stood up. "This is amazing!"

Inger feels that this is a bit like holographic projection.

In his time, although full potential virtuality had not yet been realized, holographic projection had already been used in people's lives.

He felt inexplicably nostalgic. It had only been over a year, but those modern things seemed so unfamiliar to him.

Alex couldn't help but touch the light and shadow with his hands.

The hand went straight through the model.

Inger waved his hand gently, spun the model around, and adjusted some details.

Alex smiled and said, "This is better than the sandbox."

Inger knew he was talking about the kind used in war, so he didn't answer.

Inger thought about it and decided to use water to make the model and then freeze it.

A topographic map ice sculpture model is completed.

"Is it still possible?" Alex said, "Your control over magic is becoming more and more refined."

By the way, Inger has reached level six at this time.

It seemed like he was at level six when he woke up.

He suspected it had something to do with his wand.

He had never noticed the appearance of the eight beads of light floating out of the wand ball before.

A closer look revealed that the rotation orbits of the eight light beads were completely consistent with the orbits of the eight planets in the solar system around the sun.

The colors are gray, dark gold, blue-white, red, light brown, earthy brown, light green, and dark blue.

This is an incredible correspondence.

This time, the light ball that was shattered was in the orbit of "Mercury". Since then, his control over water element magic has become more refined.

Inger couldn't figure out how there could be such a strange connection.

But what is certain is that he would not want to see the second bead shatter.

Death is a fact, despite resurrection, and the pain of death will be embedded in his memory like a malignant shipworm.

"What's wrong with you? Is your head still hurting?" Alex saw that he was distracted again, so he held his shoulder and asked.

Inger came back to his senses and smiled, "It's okay."

Alex knew that the best way to deal with this was to divert his attention, so he asked, "But people's acceptance of these plants is still very low."

Inger raised his lips and said, "That's easy. I've asked Norihua to spread the news."

The best way to make something popular is through word of mouth.

Noriha was originally from a working-class neighborhood. After becoming an adopted daughter of a noble family, she continued to support her poor neighbors, so she had a large network of connections among the common people.

Noriha first pretended to chat with women as if they were chatting about daily life, preferably women with many children who were struggling to make ends meet at home, and mixed gossip with news about the latest "delicacies" they had acquired, preferably exaggerating the effect a little.

Then I kindly gave her some "fruits" and asked her to go home and try cooking it herself.

Because Norihua does this kind of thing all the time, no one would suspect anything.

Naturally, the fruits given to her would not be the ugly melon balls covered with dirt, but the beautiful "potatoes" that had been washed clean.

After the woman had fed her family and tasted its deliciousness, she would naturally rush back to ask Norihua for more and ask where she could buy it.

At this time, Nolihua can tell the other party that this thing can be found in the wild and is easy to grow.

Even if the other party has prejudices against "mud balls" and "weeds", how can ordinary people be as picky about food as the nobles? When they hear the words "free", "delicious", and "easy to grow", even if they hesitate, it won't last long.

If there is one, there will be three.

The secrets among the people will never be hidden, and all that is left is to fan the flames.

The common people have started this trend, and sooner or later the nobles will humble themselves and give it a try.

After all, the nobility likes fresh things. If Norihua can contribute to this and recommend advanced cooking methods for new ingredients, it can break away from the "common people" in their eyes.

Of course, promoting this thing has little to do with the nobility. As long as society generally accepts this kind of plant as edible food, the purpose will be achieved.

Norihua has already started planting these soil ball melons. She plans to make a killing from the nobles.

Inger praised her for her business genius, told her the key points of planting, and let her go. She seemed very happy.

Inger smiled and took a sip from the teacup.

Alex exclaimed, "I suddenly remembered what my maid had mentioned to me. One day, she suddenly said mysteriously that there was an ingredient that could enhance virility and replenish Qi. Could this be it?"

"Puff——" Inger spat out.

Alex bent over with laughter.

[Although I know the rumors are terrible, it has only been a short time...what kind of nonsense is this?]

"Okay, have you laughed enough?"

After wiping his mouth, Inger remembered another thing he had asked him to do.

"We will go back to your annex palace later. Before that, let's go somewhere first."

Although Alex is out all day, he still has his own palace.

Especially since Ola clearly stood on the same side with him, he was treated much better and at least he was not neglected over some minor details, although Alex didn't care at all.

The only person left by Alex's side was the maid who had been with him since his mother was still alive. She was also the second person who died for him, having been poisoned to death.

Because the name of this maid never appeared in the comics, it was only said that she was dead, so Inger asked, "What was her name?"

Alex said: "She only has a nickname, Coco."

Inger had never seen this name in comics, so he said casually, "It's a cute name."

They arrived at the prison in a carriage.

The prison situation in the 19th century was not very good, but it was not as bad as you might imagine.

Inger is here for the first time too.

Inger showed his family ID and was allowed in.

I didn't see anyone operating a sewing machine.

There were many people sitting down and knitting sweaters, scarves, and gloves, and they looked very harmonious.

He found his goal.

"Althaea rubrum, someone is visiting."

After Minna Sersi, the leader of the Neka family knights, was responsible for escorting Alsophila and his companions back, Alsophila was imprisoned here.

Red Alsophila had handcuffs on her hands and was croaking with needle and thread, with a pile of fabric beside her. She looked up when she heard the words.

Inger thought she looked much better.

Alsophila rubra said expressionlessly, "What do you want to see me for?"

Inger said, "You seem to be doing well."

Alsophila chuckled: "No need to worry about food, no need to worry about being hunted, no need to run around, doing the same thing every day, and occasionally reading a newspaper, it's much better than my previous shitty life."

Inger also smiled and said, "You still remember our deal, you have to do what the other maids have to do, and you also have to sign a life and death magic contract with him."

Alsophila spinulosa was silent for a while. She just couldn't believe that after she had a stable life, she also gained freedom, although it was limited freedom.

Inger said, "If you want to survive, you must work for him for the rest of your life."

The chains on Alsophila's hands and feet were opened, and he rubbed the bruises on his hands.

They took her to the palace.

Inger met Alex's maid, who was younger than them, a 13-year-old girl with long reddish-brown hair, petite and delicate. She wore a sky blue maid's dress, like a doll, with tender baby fat on her face.

"Your Highness! You're back!" He ran over like a little sparrow.

Inger thought, "So how did a kid like that get such gossip...?"

Alex introduced Alsophila rubrum: "She will be my maid in the future. She will share some of your work. The job of poison testing will be handed over to her in the future."

Tears immediately welled up in the little girl's eyes, "Your Highness... Is Coco going to be fired for not doing well?"

Alex hurriedly said, "No, no, no, you still have to stay and work. You are so amazing, why would I fire you?"

Coco's expression changed immediately, "That's good." She looked at Alsophila spinulosa, "Sister! Although you are older than me, I am the senior! If there is anything you don't know, I will teach you! Come on." After saying that, she took Alsophila spinulosa's arm.

[Oh, he's a very sociable person, the type I'm least good at.] Inger thought.

Then he saw the impatience in Alsophila's eyes.

[Hmm, it seems that this is the type she hates the most.]

Alex pinched Alsophila's shoulders and whispered in her ear, "If you dare to bully Coco, I promise you will have a worse life than before." He smiled and patted her shoulder.

The red tree also narrowed its eyes, restrained all emotions, pretended to be ignorant and docile, and followed Coco.

Not long after, there was a knock on the door.

"Your Highness? Are you in there?"

"Come in." Alex said immediately after hearing Quinpeu's voice.

Kumpeu came in with the chessboard. It was the first time he met Inger face to face and he was stunned for a moment.

Although I have seen it from a distance several times at school, I have never been in such close contact.

He knew that Inger was Alex's good friend and that Inger often bought food for them.

Kunpewu laughed: "Master Neka is here too."

Inger looked at the chessboard and two sets of chess pieces in his hands and asked Alex, "Did you teach him?"

"Yeah." Alex suddenly became depressed. "He learned it not long ago and he beat me!"

Inger: "That's your thing."

Alex: “…”

This was the first time in Alex's two lives that he had a bad day. Normally he could do everything well.

Inger ignored Alex's grievance and smiled at Kumpewu, "Let's each have a plate."

Kunpeu looked at the inviting gesture, and with an idea in mind, he sat down in the seat opposite Inger.

It wasn't politeness, it was just an attitude of treating him as an equal, just like Alex.

It was a matter of course, but Kunpewu was rarely treated like this.

Kumpeu thinks that this is the kind of person Alex should have as his friend.

Their first game was Go.

Inger knew from the way he played chess that he must have practiced a lot.

"Don't give in to Alex just because he cried with you."

Alex defended himself: "No way! I always told him to give it his all."

Kunpeiwu just smiled shyly, "Your Highness told me that doing your best to defeat your opponent is the best way to show respect to your opponent."

Inger teased Alex while playing with him.

The style of playing chess can reflect a person's character to a large extent.

For example, Alex likes to defend himself the most when playing chess. His moves are very cautious and his purpose is very clear, which is to capture as few pieces as possible and win. Generally speaking, Go is a game like this.

But he would also protect the chess piece in front of him, which would often lead to a collapse later. So his chess skills are really bad.

But that doesn't mean he doesn't know how to play chess. He obviously saw the future of the game but still chose to preserve the present. He insisted on his belief even in such a small game. I don't know whether to say he was stupid or consistent.

Kempeiwu is the complete opposite. He is shy and introverted, but his style of play is aggressive and aggressive. He occasionally takes risks, throws away his weapons and pawns to protect his position. But he has a good view of the overall situation, a sharp formation, hits the key points directly, and can predict thirty steps ahead from one step.

Whether it is Go, chess or war chess.

Kunpei sighed and put down the chess piece. "I lost."

Alex laughed and said, "Sure enough, you can't beat him."

Inger looked at the chessboard and smiled without saying anything.

In fact, with just over ten moves left in the game, Kumpeu already saw that he was doomed.

Alex could also see that he was going to lose the game a dozen moves in advance, but he would not give up until his last move.

Inger's own style of play is actually more inclined towards Kumpulan, but he maintained a cautious and meticulous attitude.

Kumpewu is a radical type who is quick to react and observant, decisive and accurate.

If we use a soldier as an analogy, it is the ideal pioneer who is not afraid of death.

This is also Kumpul's shortcoming.

Combined with the comics, this style is not formed because Kumpeu is too confident, but because he does not take the lives of soldiers seriously. From the moment he decided to sacrifice his life for Alex, he believed that all soldiers should swear allegiance to the monarch and sacrifice their lives.

Inger picked up a horse next to him and said, "Please treat this rider as Alex and come back."

Kunpeu stared at the horse and nodded.

They played another game of chess.

This time Kumpeu lost again, but he looked at the chessboard thoughtfully.

Inger asked, "Do you understand?"

Kunpeu nodded and covered his face in embarrassment.

Alex looked at them in amusement.

"I know that as a knight, you have to protect your monarch, but your monarch is a knight who wants to protect his people. Soldiers are also his people, and so are you. You should obey his wishes."

Kumpeu looked at Inger and thought: [They said something similar.]

Alex smiled and said, "You still understand me the best."

Inger ignored him and said to Kumpeu: "You are very talented in this area, learn it well."

Kunpeu nodded repeatedly.

Alex said, "Please check his level."

Inger: "What rank? Knight rank?"

"right."

Inger was surprised: "He became a knight?"

Because in the comics, Quinpeu is just an ordinary person with low magical sensitivity.

Alex said, "I found out that he had magic in his body, but he missed the best period to develop it. I taught him a little bit, and he soon became a master."

Missing probably refers to before returning.

Inger summoned a magic circle to detect and sense it.

"Level 2."

Kumpeu looked disappointed.

Inger consoled him: "Don't compare yourself with people like Alex. He is not a normal person."

Alex didn't know whether to laugh or cry: "You are the only one who has no right to criticize me, right?"

Inger said perfunctorily: "I am not abnormal either. I am just stating the facts."

Kunpei stumbled for a moment and said, "Then I will also try to become abnormal."

Inger: "See how you teach grammar?"

Alex: "It's my fault again?"

The days returned to normal, and the accident that day only existed in the minds of the two people.

As if if they just kept silent about it, this horrible fact would disappear.

But they all knew, vaguely, that something was different.

For Inger and Alex, the change was in completely different directions.

Inger still remembers it occasionally, but his busy life keeps him from paying attention, which is a good thing.

After that, he traveled to many places.

(In chess, the horse is called knight.)