Chapter 048 But I'm dying
In fact, if you look closely, it is very abnormal for Rong Yin to learn to speak so quickly. It is obvious that she is a cat. But this matter does no harm to anyone. On the contrary, it brings convenience and touches everyone, so Lu'e and others did not think much about it.
Now Lu'e looks forward to Rong Yin talking to her more every day. Every time Rong Yin calls her name, she can get excited for a long time.
Looking at Lu'e who was quietly wiping her tears with a handkerchief, Rong Yin slapped his face awkwardly.
After he talked it out with Zong Zhengxiao, he decided to give up the disguise of "not being able to speak human language" to facilitate future communication.
He thought that other people might be surprised that he could speak, but he didn't expect Lu'e to be so excited. He felt that he and Lu'e were like a game player and an NPC these two days. Lu'e approached him, he called her name, and then Lu'e was moved to tears.
Rong Yin also thought about keeping silent, but when he met Lu'e's expectant eyes, he really couldn't bear to refuse.
Not only Lu'e, but other palace ladies also liked to listen to him talk. On the one hand, they felt it was novel, and on the other hand, they thought Rong Yin's voice was pleasant and could not help but want to listen.
Therefore, every time Rong Yin opened her mouth, the palace ladies around her would quietly prick up their ears, making Rong Yin feel inexplicably pressured.
Maybe after a while everyone gets used to him talking and things will get better.
Zong Zhengxiao, who had just returned from bathing, saw the scene in front of him and knew what had happened. He walked over with amusement to help Rong Yin out, because after seeing him, Lu'e didn't dare to be sentimental anymore.
Zong Zhengxiao: "Go out first. I have something to say to your master."
"Yes." After Lu'e left and there were no other palace maids nearby, Rong Yin patted his chest and breathed a sigh of relief.
Finally, I don't have to speak like a babbling child anymore.
Although he knew that his and Zong Zhengxiao's little tricks would be easily seen through, he still wanted to act more realistically, pretending to be someone who had just learned to speak and was not yet proficient.
Zong Zhengxiao sat down and touched his head: "Thank you for your hard work."
Rong Yin shook her head: "It's not hard at all, it's just that they are too enthusiastic."
Zong Zhengxiao had the same idea as Rong Yin: "It will be fine after they get used to it after a while."
"Yeah." Rong Yin nodded, and suddenly remembered something. She turned around and asked Zong Zhengxiao: "Is the composting going well?"
In ancient times, due to the shortage of grain seeds and fertilizers, grain production was very limited. Rong Yin asked Zong Zhengxiao, and at present, one mu of fertile land with careful care can produce nearly two dan, or almost two hundred kilograms. The yield of thin land or newly opened wasteland is infinite. There is no minimum, only lower.
The yield per mu is low, there is little fertile land, and reclaiming wasteland is even more of a sin, so the key is to increase the yield per mu of land. It takes time to make the fields fertile and select good varieties, and the quickest way is to use fertilizer.
Nowadays, most people use farm manure, which is the feces of humans and livestock. However, the amount of human excretion is small, and we have to farm every year, so how can we use enough manure?
Not to mention livestock. Small animals like chickens, ducks and geese don't even produce as much feces as humans. The feces and urine of larger cows, horses and donkeys can produce more fertilizer when fermented with dead leaves of plants.
But only a few people can afford large livestock, and it is not common.
There is no other way but to find other ways to make fertilizer.
The only fertilizer Rong Yin could think of that could be produced even without modern industry was urine plus gypsum, mixed with feces, wood ash, dead leaves, etc. to make earth fertilizer.
Although Rong Yin grew up in an orphanage, the orphanage was located in the city, so there was no land for him to farm even if he wanted to. He heard about this composting method from the caretaker of the orphanage. Before he moved to the city, he was an old farmer in the village.
Rong Yin didn't dare to guarantee it because she had never used it herself, but she still told Zong Zhengxiao the compost ratio she remembered and asked him to arrange it.
The main thing was that even if Rong Yin wanted to do the work himself, the conditions did not allow it. Not to mention that he could not stay out of the water for too long, just imagining himself picking up shit in the field with a fish tail on his head was so weird that Rong Yin wanted to laugh.
It takes some time for fertilizer to ferment. Now that spring planting has begun, it may be too late to do it in time. You can wait until the grain grows before applying top dressing.
The effect may be a little worse, but it's better than nothing.
Zong Zhengxiao heard this and said, "It's going smoothly. We just need to wait for the fertilizer to ferment."
The most troublesome step in composting is that it requires a large amount of gypsum. However, Zong Zhengxiao is the emperor, and with just one order from him, this problem is no longer a problem.
"I will try it in the imperial manor first, and then gradually promote it after the results are out." Zong Zhengxiao continued.
"Well, let's experiment first. Once we have a real example, people will believe it when we promote it."
Rong Yin expressed his understanding. After all, it was a new thing and it was related to the people's lifeline - land and food, so he had to be extremely cautious.
The imperial farm was Zong Zhengxiao's own land. If the fertilizer worked well, everyone would be happy. If not, only one year's food supply would be lost, and he would not starve to death.
As an emperor, when talking to Rong Yin about fertile soil and farmland, Zong Zhengxiao did not show any disgust on his face, but was full of anticipation.
If this method could allow more people in Dasheng to have enough food every day, let alone just talking about it, he would be happy even if Zong Zhengxiao made compost himself.
Zong Zhengxiao looked at Rong Yin with a smile and said, "The results will be seen in late summer at the latest, and even earlier for winter wheat. I will take you to the imperial farm to see the grain harvest then."
Rong Yin was stunned when he heard this, and a hint of gloom flashed across his eyes, but he quickly regained his happy expression: "Okay."
Afraid that Zong Zhengxiao would hear her thoughts, Rong Yin quickly changed the subject: "By the way, didn't I tell you about potatoes, corn, and sweet potatoes, which are high-yield crops?"
Hearing the word "high yield", Zong Zhengxiao's eyes lit up instantly, and he quickly said, "You say."
Rong Yin put aside the messy thoughts in her mind and began to concentrate on talking with Zong Zheng Xiao.
With these three kinds of food, producing 1,000 kilograms of grain per mu is not a dream. As long as the country is stable, it can not only reduce famine, but also drive the processing and production of agricultural and sideline products and promote economic development.
Because this was originally a fictional world of fiction, Rong Yin had no idea whether these high-quality potato varieties had already appeared in Dasheng, or were still somewhere outside. Did they grow into their later appearance?
He drew pictures of the three kinds of grains during their seed, growth and fruiting stages and gave them to Zong Zhengxiao, asking him to send people to pay more attention to overseas and Western Regions business, as he might find unexpected gains.
Looking at the drawing paper in his hand, Zong Zhengxiao's excitement was beyond words. After saying something to Rong Yin, he couldn't wait to leave. By the way, he asked Si Xi to summon several people from the group of meritorious officials to enter the palace secretly, as he had important matters to entrust to them.
After making sure that Zong Zhengxiao had left, Rong Yin's stiff back slowly relaxed.
When Zong Zhengxiao said he would take him to the imperial estate to witness the bumper harvest with his own eyes, Rong Yin almost couldn't help but blurt out: I'm afraid I won't live to see that day.
It was early summer when he came here, around the end of May. Now it was spring, and if he made a full calculation, he would have less than three months to live.
When the time comes, heaven will take back his reward, and he will return to his original fate and die of a terminal illness.
As a friend, he should have told Zong Zhengxiao the truth earlier so that he could be prepared and not face his death hastily.
But for some reason, Rong Yin didn't want Zong Zhengxiao to know about this in advance. He didn't want Zong Zhengxiao to be immersed in the pain of losing his friend in the future.
Rong Yin was unsure when would be the best time to tell Zong Zheng Xiao. Perhaps he should just die peacefully and alone, so that he wouldn't have to face the sadness of separation.
The sound of birds chirping could be heard outside. Rong Yin turned around and saw that the scenery in the yard remained the same, as if nothing had changed. Only his life had helplessly entered a countdown.
The joy and sorrow in the palace did not blow out of the palace with the wind. The young girls and young men from the families of dignitaries in the capital were taking advantage of the spring breeze to go out for an outing.
Men rode through the streets, all smiling and flirting; women sat in carriages that drove slowly out of the city gate; even the wind blowing through the window curtains seemed to be tainted with a scent.
The peach blossoms are just beginning to bud, the grass is green, and the paper ibis are flying higher and higher under the blue sky, attracting bursts of cheers and laughter.
There were a few less groomsmen on the trip this year, and no one seemed to notice, and no one even wanted to mention their names.
If the bloody scene in Caishikou had not yet been completely washed away, I'm afraid no one would have remembered that countless heads had fallen here not long ago.
Most of the dignitaries seemed to be unaffected by the great changes. They ate, drank, slept and played as usual.
Only the Ning Prince's Palace, with its gates closed every day and no outside visitors allowed, seemed to be still mired in the shadow of last winter.
However, those who had been keeping an eye on Prince Ning's mansion discovered that the smell of medicine in the mansion had faded a lot since the beginning of spring, perhaps because the conditions of the two masters had improved.
This is understandable. The eldest son is dead, and the Ning Prince's Mansion still has two children. They can't just sink into sorrow forever and ignore reality.
I heard that Prince Ning is still bedridden and can't even leave his room, but Princess Ning is much better and can be seen in the mansion more often.
On this day, the side door of Prince Ning's mansion opened and a horse-drawn carriage drove out. Following the carriage was a handsome young man on horseback. He was Prince Ning's second son, Zong Zheng Lianjun, and sitting in the carriage was his mother, Princess Ning.
After leaving the city, the carriage went straight to the Buddhist temple on the mountain. Princess Ning met the abbot, Master Wuchen. It is unknown what Master Wuchen said to her, but Princess Ning, who had originally looked ashen, had a little more spirit in her eyes after leaving the temple.
Master Wuchen was the best at explaining Buddhist scriptures. It was probably because of him that Princess Ning resolved the knot in her heart and brought her back to life.
有人好奇無塵大師到底跟寧王妃說了什麽，但奈何兩人的身份都不簡單，又齊齊守口如瓶，想要打聽到消息，簡直比登天還難。
寧王府的老三宗政連星也想知道為什麽自己娘去趟寺廟後就跟藥到病除了似的，臉上笑容都多了起來。
他不敢問母親，只能去找二哥宗政連鈞，因為宗政連鈞那天也跟着去上香拜佛了。
“哥，你就告訴我嘛，求你了！”小書房裏，宗政連星像個小尾巴似地黏在自家二哥身後，巴巴地求他告訴自己真相。
宗政連鈞從書架上挑出一本兵書，來到書桌前坐下，翻開第一頁的同時對弟弟道：“我剛才不都告訴你了，當時我在外面候着，不知道娘和無塵大師說了什麽。”
“我不信。”宗政連星一屁股坐到哥哥對面，想了想，才小聲地問：“是不是跟哥哥嫂嫂有關啊？”
兄弟倆都知道，雖然家裏跟哥哥斷了親，蘇婉兒也不再是他們的嫂嫂了，但兩人的離世，還是給父母造成了很大的打擊，兄弟倆也為此傷心了許久。
寧王府的家庭氛圍極好，宗政連祺和蘇婉兒性格善良，對兩個弟弟幾乎是百依百順，平時連口舌之争都未曾有過。
一開始哥哥嫂嫂被囚禁起來，兄弟倆還想去向父親求情，結果被母親攔了下來，說寧王這麽做也是有苦衷的，叫兩人別去為難他了。
見平時最疼兄長的母親都這麽說，兄弟倆盡管還是不明白究竟發生了什麽，但也聽話沒有去鬧父親。
再後來，嫂嫂的身世暴露于人前，哥哥逼着父親寫下斷親書，他倆作為小孩子，還是只能着急地在局外圍觀。
父母都病倒了，家裏只能由宗政連鈞來主持大局，宗政連星見哥哥經常眼圈泛紅，大概是夜裏哭過，但白天還是得強打起精神來安排府中各項事宜，那些日子裏，宗政連鈞時時都緊繃着，沒有一刻放松過。
直到哥哥嫂嫂被斬首前的某個夜晚，宗政連星半夜起床喝水，聽見外面有響動，打開門一看，發現住自己隔壁的哥哥正衣着整齊地站在院中，擡頭望着皇宮的方向。
宗政連星不知道哥哥這是怎麽了，他心裏害怕，就跑過去抱住了宗政連鈞，而宗政連鈞也回抱住他，輕聲安撫：“星星不怕，哥哥在呢。”
那晚過後，宗政連星就發現哥哥變了，他還是在兢兢業業地管理寧王府，可心情卻不再像之前那樣沉重。
不過在外人看來，宗政連鈞還是那副愁眉苦臉的模樣，也只有和宗政連鈞更親近的弟弟宗政連星，才能看出自己哥哥身上的微妙變化。
哥哥嫂嫂被斬首那日，寧王府依舊沒有任何動靜，但寧王和寧王妃強撐病體帶着兄弟倆站在前院，凝神駐足許久，直到行刑完的消息傳來，他們才回到屋裏去。
開春後，爹娘病情有所好轉，哥哥經常帶着他去看望兩人，陪他們說話。
只是有好幾次，宗政連星都被提前叫了出去，宗政連鈞留在屋裏，不知跟爹娘說了什麽他不知道的悄悄話。
宗政連星有點不高興，覺得家裏人在瞞着他什麽秘密，就像前幾日到寺廟上香，他也想随母親一起去，但哥哥和母親都不允許。
說他性格調皮，怕是會打擾到佛祖。
宗政連星才不信他們的說辭，可他年紀小，無力反抗，只能聽家人安排。
從寺廟回來後，母親病情痊愈，宗政連星猜到可能在寺廟裏發生了什麽他不知道的事。
這讓他又産生了一種被家裏人排斥在外的感覺，他不喜歡這樣，所以才會來找哥哥詢問具體情況。
見哥哥不回答自己的問題，宗政連星便自顧自地說了起來。
“娘的病本來就不重，之所以一直沒好，是因為心裏想着哥哥嫂嫂，所以娘現在好起來了，除了跟哥哥嫂嫂有關的事情外，我想不出還能有什麽能解決母親的心病。”
宗政連祺和蘇婉兒從明面上看，确實是和寧王府沒關系了，為了不落人口實，平時在其他人包括父母面前，宗政連星都從來不會稱呼他們哥哥嫂嫂。
只有在自己和哥哥宗政連鈞單獨一起時，他知道哥哥最疼他，是以才會肆意而為。
聞言，宗政連鈞終于放下了書，他看向弟弟，笑道：“看來我們星星還是很聰明的。”
宗政連星眼眸放光，“我猜對了。”
宗政連鈞點頭：“的确是這樣，無塵大師告訴母親，大哥大嫂下輩子會投胎到好人家，勸她和父親不要過度悲痛，不然大哥大嫂的亡靈見到家人難過，會舍不得離開，從而逗留人間，錯失這個投好胎的機會。”
宗政連星似懂非懂，“母親不想讓哥哥嫂嫂擔心，也知道了他們以後會有好歸宿，心裏放松了，病自然就好了……哥哥，是這樣嗎？”
宗政連鈞點頭，認同了弟弟的結論。
知道真相後，宗政連星本該高興的，可他總覺得其中還有什麽他沒發現的秘密，這讓他有些郁悶。
不過無論宗政連星怎麽想的，兩人的這番對話，還是“不小心”落入了有心之人的耳中。
知曉寧王妃只是因為和尚幾句真假不清的話就病好了，聽到消息的人表現得很不屑，其中一個笑吟吟道：“既然她那麽信神佛，那以後要用到她時就好辦了。”
其餘人對視幾眼，都露出了心照不宣的笑容。
在他們沾沾自喜的同時，宗政連鈞也為自己目的達成而微笑着。
一個“寧王妃癡信神佛”的假消息，不僅迷惑了世家，也隐藏了寧王妃病好的真正原因，可謂是一箭雙雕。
為了加深世家的錯誤印象，寧王妃之後還在家裏建起小佛堂，請了尊佛像進來，天天去燒香拜佛。
他每次去寺廟找主持都會捐一大筆香油錢，暗地裏不少人都說她傻，為了和尚的幾句花言巧語付出這麽多，肯定是被騙了。
可寧王妃聽見這些話後依舊我行我素，據說還想帶着寧王一起信佛。
外面的人笑得越狠，寧王府才越安心。
某日，宗政連鈞收到了一份禮物，一方雕刻着青松的硯臺，宮裏那位叫人悄悄送來的。
與硯臺一同來的還有一句話：沉心靜氣，方成大事。
硯臺是對他這次謀劃成功的獎勵，那句話是在提醒他不要因為一時的成功就洋洋自得，以免暴露了自己，只有能忍能靜得下心來，才能成就一番大事業。
宗政連鈞将硯臺放到自己書桌上，告訴自己要時時刻刻謹記陛下的教誨。
看着硯臺，他又忍不住想起那個夜晚。
因為家裏父母病重，大哥大嫂又即将被行刑，宗政連鈞時常在夜裏輾轉反側，難以入眠。
那夜同樣如此，但又與之前的每一夜都不同，因為他見到了皇上派來秘密帶他進宮的暗衛。
對于宗政逍這個小叔，宗政連鈞兒時既崇拜又向往，崇拜他年紀輕輕就戰功赫赫，向往以後也能成為他這樣的大英雄。
在皇爺爺離世前，宗政連鈞記得自己父親和幾個叔叔的關系是非常好的，小叔的性格最陽光開朗，是軍中人人稱贊的小将軍，他還會經常帶着他和哥哥騎馬打獵，教他們耍槍射箭。
可一場皇位争奪戰改變了一切，二叔死了，三叔被迫前往封地，父親變得更加嚴肅刻板，姑姑自請離京。
至于登上皇位的小叔，也像是換了個人一般，冷漠陰郁的可怕。
逢年過節，小叔會邀請他們進宮參加家宴，但他和哥哥弟弟們再也不能開開心心地喊他小叔，讓他帶自己出去玩，而是要恭恭敬敬地行禮，稱呼他為聖上。
三年的時間，足夠宗政連鈞适應這樣的變化。
哥哥嫂嫂被判斬首，他也從未怪過小叔，因為他明白，坐在那個位置上，會有太多的身不由己。
他在禦書房見到了皇上，皇上開口就問他：“蘇婉兒和宗政連祺，你是想要他們死，還是想讓他們活？”
宗政連鈞毫不猶豫地跪下，真心實意道：“出于私心，臣想讓他們活，可如果他們活着，會對整個宗政家造成威脅，會引起江山社稷不穩，那臣希望，他們能早登極樂世界。”
他說完後，皇上沉默許久，最後忽然笑了一聲，道：“不愧是大哥的兒子，頗有他的風範。”
宗政連鈞不敢回話，緊接着，皇上又道：“如果朕願意讓他們活着，但又必須叫外人覺得他們已經死了，交給你去辦的話，你會怎麽做？”
宗政連鈞思考過後，将自己的計劃和盤托出，宗政逍聽完後不置可否，只是道：“朕給你救他們的機會，也會命人配合你，至于能不能成功，就得看你自己了。”
要從世家眼皮底下救出兩個必死之人，這對只有十四歲的宗政連鈞來說是個不小的挑戰，但他還是毅然決然地應下了。
After this, Zong Zhengxiao asked him many more questions, covering military affairs, agriculture, the ways of being a minister and a king, and his views on the rebellion. He answered them all one by one, but Zong Zhengxiao only listened to his answers and never commented on them once.
Before dawn, Zong Zheng Xiao sent someone to send him back the same way. He stood in the yard, gazing towards the direction of the imperial palace. His originally dead heart began to beat wildly again.