Chapter 065 Climbing into bed at midnight
"I'm hot. You're like a big heater. If you hold me, I won't be able to sleep." Rong Yin stated the facts and made sense to prove that he was not being unreasonable.
Zong Zhengxiao asked, "Is it okay if I don't sleep next to you and put a blanket between us?"
Rong Yin glanced at him and said, "No, you will definitely crawl over here in the middle of the night. It's not like you don't remember what position we are in every day after waking up."
No matter how they fell asleep the night before, the next morning they would be like vines growing together, entangled with each other and inseparable.
No one knew who started it first or if they both did it together, but Rong Yin refused to admit that she had sneaked into Zong Zheng Xiao's arms in the middle of the night. All of it was done by Zong Zheng Xiao.
Zong Zhengxiao said aggrievedly: "Is it really that hot? It wasn't like this last year."
Rong Yin said, "Last summer, we didn't sleep in each other's arms, and I was afraid of heat in my original world. Now that my body has merged with my original body, I naturally brought its nature with me."
"How about putting in a few more ice basins?"
"It's no use. You can't put the ice basin between us."
Hearing this, Zong Zhengxiao knew that sleeping in separate beds was inevitable. He could only sigh and ask, "How many days do we have to be separated?"
Rong Yin: "Maybe we have to wait until the weather cools down."
Zong Zhengxiao: “…”
It will take at least two months, and I feel like I'd rather die than live.
Although the two of them slept in separate beds, they did not have separate rooms. They just placed a smaller soft couch next to the original bed.
Since it was Rong Yin who suggested sleeping in separate beds, he volunteered to sleep on the soft couch, but was rejected by Zong Zhengxiao.
Rong Yin was a restless sleeper, and the couch was a little too small for him, so he might accidentally turn over and fall off.
In the middle of the night, Zong Zhengxiao, who hadn't experienced sleeping alone for a long time, couldn't sleep, but Rong Yin, who was sitting next to him, was breathing evenly, and it was obvious that he had gone to meet Zhou Gong.
Alas, we are in the same situation but have different fates.
After a few more hours, the temperature dropped, and with the ice basin in the house taking effect, Zong Zheng Xiao felt that the temperature he felt was almost the same as mid-autumn.
Because of his biological clock, he slowly fell into sleep.
In his sleep, Zong Zhengxiao, who was conscientiously handling government affairs, was suddenly pinned down by several strong men whose faces could not be seen. Then someone pressed a huge rock on his chest and raised a hammer, shouting loudly: "The emperor himself is performing a chest-breaking rock! Don't miss it if you pass by! Come and see it!"
The suffocating feeling in his chest woke Zong Zheng Xiao up. He squinted his eyes and saw in the dim light that Rong Yin had climbed onto the couch at some point and curled up on top of him.
No wonder he had this dream, it turned out that there really was a "huge rock" in reality that was about to crush him to death.
"Ayin?" Zong Zhengxiao thought he was awake and called out softly.
Rong Yin was probably in a half-asleep state. When he heard Zong Zheng Xiao's voice, he subconsciously said "hmm".
"Why are you here instead of staying in your bed?" Zong Zhengxiao said helplessly.
Rong Yin let out a long breath and hummed: "I want to sleep with Zong Zheng Xiao..."
Zong Zheng Xiao helped him change his position, then leaned over and held him in his arms, saying, "You said you were hot, so you want to sleep in a separate bed from me?"
Rong Yin clutched Zong Zhengxiao's clothes, buried her face in his arms, and said in a muffled voice: "Rong Yin can't do it without Zong Zhengxiao..."
Zong Zhengxiao was overjoyed by these words. All the depression he had felt all night disappeared instantly. He lowered his head and kissed Rong Yin on the top of his head: "I hope you will remember what you said when you wake up in the morning."
This time Rong Yin was completely asleep and did not respond.
The next day, when the sun was already shining brightly, Rong Yin finally sat up dazedly and found himself on Zong Zhengxiao's couch. He was completely stunned.
Wasn't he sleeping on the bed? When did he come here? Did Zong Zhengxiao carry him here?
When Zong Zhengxiao came back, Rong Yin immediately asked him, and Zong Zhengxiao told him everything that happened last night.
He said in a resentful tone: "You really don't remember anything."
Rong Yin felt embarrassed and guilty for having done such a thing and said such a thing last night: "Not tonight."
Zong Zhengxiao leaned over him, stared into his eyes and asked, "What if you do this again tonight?"
Rong Yin thought, so what, can it destroy my humanitarianism?
But Zong Zhengxiao would not let him off so easily, and said directly for him: "If you climb into my bed again in the middle of the night, we will cancel the separate beds. It will all be the same in the end anyway."
Seeing that Zong Zheng Xiao would not stop unless she agreed, Rong Yin could only nod in agreement.
So that night, Rong Yin tied one of his hands to the bedpost with a cloth strip. This was a battle that involved his dignity.
then……
Then in the middle of the night, he dignifiedly untied the cloth strips himself, and in a daze, he rode on Zong Zheng Xiao, then naturally lay down, using him as a pillow and mattress.
Zong Zhengxiao hadn't slept at all, he was just waiting for him to come over, and upon seeing this he immediately slapped him on the butt a few times to wake him up.
"The facts are right in front of you. You can't make excuses." Zong Zhengxiao rested his head on his arms and looked at Rong Yin leisurely.
Rong Yin woke up, but not completely. He accepted the fact that he did climb onto Zong Zheng Xiao's bed in the middle of the night, but he didn't know how to react. He could only instinctively reach out to Zong Zheng Xiao: "Hold me, sleep."
Zong Zheng Xiao endured it and did not move.
Rong Yin got up in a bad mood, his mouth curled up, and his eyes turned red in an instant.
"Bad guy, Zong Zheng Xiao, you won't let me sleep. I hate you."
Zong Zheng Xiao: "...Is this my fault?"
Rong Yin said pitifully, "I'm so sleepy. I need to go to sleep."
Zong Zhengxiao: “…”
He compromised and reached out to hold Rong Yin in his arms. Rong Yin buried her face in his shoulder and her voice became happy again.
"My husband is the best. I love him."
Zong Zhengxiao carried Rong Yin back to the bed, not understanding what was going on: "What does my husband mean?"
Rong Yin: “zzzz~”
"..." Zong Zhengxiao, "You are truly my little ancestor."
As he spoke, he pulled up the thin blanket and covered their waists, keeping everything cool except their stomachs.
The next day, Zong Zhengxiao came back early and asked Rong Yin, "You called me husband last night. What does husband mean?"
"Puff!" Rong Yin spat out a mouthful of ice fruit tea and almost choked herself.
"Did I really call you that last night?" Rong Yin couldn't believe it.
Zong Zheng Xiao: "How would I know this title if you didn't call me, so what does it mean?"
Rong Yin glanced around: "It doesn't mean anything, it's just an ordinary name."
Zong Zhengxiao suddenly said to Rong Yin: "Husband."
"Puff... cough cough cough..." Rong Yin, who originally wanted to drink some fruit tea to suppress his shock, was really choked this time.
Zong Zhengxiao confirmed: "This must not be an ordinary title. Let me think about it. Since you are so evasive, it must mean something very intimate. Considering our relationship, if I am not mistaken, it should mean the same thing as 'husband'."
Rong Yin didn't say anything, and Zong Zhengxiao knew that he had guessed right.
Zong Zhengxiao chuckled: "Your titles are quite interesting. Husband can correspond to wife, so what does husband correspond to?"
"I don't know." Rong Yin answered in almost seconds.
Rong Yin didn't know why. When he was awake, he could call Zong Zheng Xiao "husband", "baby", "brother" and other names without blushing or beating his heart. But he just couldn't say the word "husband" no matter what.
Zong Zhengxiao held the man in front of him, clamped his chin, stared into his eyes, and said word by word: "Really don't know?"
Rong Yin looked aside subconsciously: "I don't know."
The two of them were in a stalemate. Zong Zhengxiao insisted on knowing the answer, but Rong Yin was unwilling to answer.
After a long while, Zong Zhengxiao was the first to give up.
"Forget it. If you don't want to tell me, I won't force you."
Rong Yin was suspicious. When did Zong Zheng Xiao become so kind?
Facts have proved that Zong Zhengxiao is not a kind person.
Because that night, he deliberately delayed the time of going back to sleep with Rong Yin for a day, waiting for Rong Yin to climb into bed again in the middle of the night, and then asked softly: "You call me husband, what should I call you?"
Rong Yin: "...Wife."
Looking at his expression, Zong Zhengxiao raised his eyebrows: "You are awake."
Rong Yin: “…”
It was actually discovered!
Zong Zheng Xiao: "You knew I would ask you tonight, so why did you just pretend to be stupid and take the opportunity to answer? Then why didn't you tell me during the day?"
Rong Yin lowered her head and rubbed the corner of her clothes with her fingers: "That's different."
Zong Zhengxiao leaned close to Rong Yin's ear and whispered, "What's the difference, wife?"
As soon as the last two words came out, Rong Yin suddenly shuddered all over and the hairs on his body stood up.
Zong Zhengxiao lowered his head and saw the little guy with a swollen voice. He was a little surprised: "You like this title?"
Rong Yin blushed and twisted her body, bit her fingers, lowered her eyes and whispered, "Because, it was you who shouted."
Zong Zhengxiao's breath was choked, and the next second, he held Rong Yin's face and kissed her hard.
Rong Yin raised her arms and hugged his neck, responding shyly.
Finally, the two of them stumbled back to the big bed. Zong Zhengxiao used Rong Yin's legs to face him. Every time he bumped into her, he stared into her eyes and didn't allow him to look away.
At the critical moment, he pinched Rong Yin's vital points and forced him to shout that name to him.
Rong Yin's voice was already filled with tears. He held Zong Zheng Xiao's wrist, tears in his eyes, and begged him to let him go.
"Scream quickly." Zong Zhengxiao said as he rubbed it again with his fingers.
Rong Yin cried out in surprise, and after panting for a long time, she came back to her senses and called him with sobs, "Husband..."
Before he finished speaking, Zong Zhengxiao bit his lips again and called out, "Ayin, my wife."
They both saw a white light at the same time, and then they hugged each other, sweating profusely.
From this moment on, these two words also became sensitive words for Zong Zhengxiao.
After eating and drinking, Zong Zhengxiao took the sweaty and sleepy Rong Yin to the pool to soak for a while, then wiped his body dry and cuddled him on the dry couch to sleep together.
In the morning, Si Xi ordered the palace maids to tidy up the bedding on the big bed, and thought to himself: It's a dry day and the two masters are very angry.
Because of this accident, Rong Yin's plan of separate beds failed.
After lying in the same bed with Rong Yin again, Zong Zhengxiao gave himself a psychological hint that he would wait until the temperature dropped a little every night before he would hold Rong Yin in his arms.
In fact, Rong Yin was right before. When the two of them slept together, it was Zong Zhengxiao who would hug him in the middle of the night.
But Rong Yin had long been accustomed to sleeping in Zong Zheng Xiao's arms, so after they separated, she would take the initiative to look for him in the middle of the night.
At the morning court session that day, Zong Zhengxiao announced the existence of fertilizer in front of all the civil and military officials, and produced the test results from the imperial farm, which showed that the grain output of each acre of land that had been fertilized had increased significantly.
Zong Zhengxiao's next plan is to gradually promote the use of fertilizers, starting from the capital.
The group of heroes who had known about the situation for a long time came out to compliment Zong Zhengxiao, saying that he had found a good way to fertilize the fields for Da Sheng, which was a great achievement that would benefit future generations.
Seeing that Zong Zhengxiao was being praised higher and higher by them, the noble family was not happy and stood up and said, "Your Majesty, the importance of land to the people is self-evident. The fertilizer you mentioned has only been tested once, and only in the imperial manor. If the fertilizer is not suitable for land in other places, or if something goes wrong halfway through use, then the people's hard work for a year will be wasted. So, Your Majesty, please think twice before promoting it."
Zong Zhengxiao understood that they were just looking for trouble. Even if it wasn't fertilizer, even if he said the weather was really good today, they would still come out to refute and say that they didn't think so. They were just opposing for the sake of opposing, and Zong Zhengxiao was too lazy to pay any attention to them.
The people from the Hero Group spoke out at this time. They would not tolerate these idiots unless the facts were in their favor.
"Lord Li, there are successful cases in front of us, why are you still here to criticize us? Are you deaf or are you pretending not to hear? His Majesty said to gradually promote it, not to require the whole country to use fertilizer within a year. His Majesty is thoughtful. Isn't the reason he does this because he is afraid of the problem you mentioned?"
Lord Li stiffened his neck and said, "I think it would be better to try planting it a few more times before promoting it. This would be more stable."
The man asked again: "Do you not trust His Majesty's decision?"
Lord Li quickly pretended to be innocent: "Stop slandering me, Your Majesty, I have no such intention."
Zong Zhengxiao was very calm: "If Li Aiqing doesn't want to use fertilizer, then don't use it."
The people in the group of meritorious officials thought that Zong Zhengxiao wanted to delay the promotion of fertilizers, and were about to speak up to dissuade him, but Zong Zhengxiao continued, "Being cautious is a good thing and worth encouraging. You ministers also have the responsibility to help Li Aiqing maintain this caution. After the fertilizer is promoted, if anyone finds that Li Aiqing's land has been used with this fertilizer, please report it to me immediately. I will definitely reward you greatly. As for Li Aiqing, he will be punished for deceiving the emperor."
When Zong Zhengxiao said this, he looked at Patriarch Li steadily with a smile on his face, but the smile did not reach his eyes.
Patriarch Li was so moved by Zong Zhengxiao's look that he immediately knelt down and explained, "I am only considering the people and suggesting that we try planting a few more times before promoting it. I am not denying the role of fertilizers, nor am I refusing to use them."
Zong Zhengxiao seemed not to have heard what Patriarch Li said. He looked at the ministers with a smile, "Lord Li, you are so thoughtful that you are willing to give up using fertilizers so that everyone can clearly see the difference between land with fertilizers and land without fertilizers. You have such a broad mind, and it is worth learning from and praising."
The people of the group of meritorious officials quickly came out to respond: "Your Majesty is right, Lord Li's intentions are obvious to all. In order to cooperate with Lord Li, I am willing to use fertilizer on all the land in my home for comparison."
The others followed suit and said, "I am willing too!"
Zong Zhengxiao finally smiled sincerely: "With Li Aiqing and other virtuous and loyal ministers like him, Dasheng will surely prosper!"
Ministers: "Your Majesty is wise."
Patriarch Li was dumbfounded. You guys just made the decision on your own without listening to my opinion?
"Your Majesty..." He just opened his mouth to defend himself, but Zong Zhengxiao interrupted him directly, "Lord Li, you don't have to be so modest. You are worthy of the word virtuous. Look, now that you are willing to give up using fertilizers, and other ministers are willing to use their own land for trial planting, doesn't this just meet your demands? You don't have to thank me. It is my job to listen to the suggestions of my subjects and provide corresponding solutions."
The group of heroes smiled and said again: "Your Majesty is wise!"
Lord Li's words of struggle were blocked, and the matter was settled. He became the chicken to scare the monkeys, used to warn other ministers who had objections to the promotion of fertilizers, and also showed Zong Zhengxiao's determination in this action.
Lord Li looked at his accomplices behind him, but no one came out to speak for him.
"Is their alliance so unreliable? They won't even come out to help or say a word?"
After returning to Yinjiao Garden, Zong Zhengxiao told Rong Yin everything that happened in the court. After listening, Rong Yin could only sigh at the fragility of the alliance of aristocratic families.
Zong Zhengxiao said, "They were originally competitors, and they only cooperated temporarily to deal with me. Otherwise, they would not have given up the He family before. Moreover, they probably did not expect that my attitude would be so tough this time. They originally just wanted to annoy me, but they did not expect to shoot themselves in the foot."
Rong Yin frowned: "Don't they worry about the loss of their own teeth?"
"Of course they are worried, but their own interests are the most important. There is only the superior ordering the inferior, and there is no sincere cooperation and selflessness, because they know each other too well and are afraid of the knife from behind."
There are gaps between aristocratic families, but there is no class distinction. The transition from strong to weak is far less difficult than a change of dynasty. If you want to become strong, just eat up the weak.
The overthrow of the He family is the best example. The other families are all looking forward to their partners becoming the He family, but are also afraid that they will be the ones to become the He family.
They can never turn their backs to each other.
Rong Yin gloated over the misfortune: "I'm afraid that old man Li must be furious by now."
Zong Zhengxiao took a sip of ice water and smiled: "Maybe."
Just as they expected, Patriarch Li was indeed almost mad to death.
Although they always oppose just for the sake of opposing, but looking at the data provided by Zong Zhengxiao, that is a fertilizer that can double grain production. Who wouldn't be tempted?
But just because he stood up and said a few words, he was forced to lose the qualification to use fertilizer. Master Li didn't dare to imagine how much loss this would cause.
In the evening, the three family heads gathered together. Family head Li didn't say a word and just drank. The other two knew he was dissatisfied but pretended not to know.
In fact, although Zong Zhengxiao openly forbade the Li family to use fertilizer, he could also use it secretly as long as he was not discovered.
However, it is not so easy to say so. In order to catch the Li family's handle, Zong Zhengxiao's people will definitely keep a close eye on the Li family. How easy is it to make any small moves under such circumstances?
In order to ease the tense atmosphere, the head of the Chen family said, "We were totally unaware of the fact that the little emperor was testing fertilizers in the imperial manor. It seems that we need to strengthen surveillance."
Patriarch Cui said calmly, "We only found out about the bread and milk tea after he took the initiative to leak the information. It seems that the little emperor has hidden more than just this one thing from us."
The head of the Chen family was puzzled: "Why does this little emperor seem to have suddenly come to his senses? I haven't seen him have so many clever ideas in the past few years."
Patriarch Cui lowered his eyes and stared at the teacup. When he heard the words, a hint of sharpness suddenly flashed across his eyes, but it was fleeting, and he quickly returned to his calm expression.
"Just do as you wish. Strengthen surveillance and stop being so blind that you don't even know you're being schemed against."
Patriarch Chen nodded.
Seeing that they had no intention of giving him advice, Patriarch Li sneered and said, "Then I'll have to trouble you two adults with this matter. I'm afraid I don't have time to take care of it now as I can't protect myself."
The two of them also understood the grievance and anger in Mr. Li's heart at the moment, so they both tacitly agreed with his words.
The news about the fertilizer was spread layer by layer, and the people near the capital were the first to receive the notice. They heard that the use of fertilizer could double the grain production, but no one believed it at first.
After all, their ancestors had been farming for so many years and had never encountered such a good thing, so they were afraid that the so-called fertilizer was unreliable.
They didn't believe it, and the higher-ups didn't force them to do anything. They simply called the village heads over and told them that the fertilizer was tested by the emperor in the imperial estate and was announced to the world only after it was confirmed to be effective. Not only did those high officials scramble to use it, they also planned to use it on every estate and every piece of land.
If the people are worried, they can wait for others to use it first, or just take out a small portion of the land to try it out, and then everyone can see the results.
But if you see other people having a good harvest while your own family is still doing the same, don't regret it.
The village chief went back and relayed the meaning of his superiors. When the villagers heard that no one was required to use it, they began to have doubts after initially refusing.
"The emperor will not lie to us, will he? If the people cannot grow food, it will not benefit him either."
"That's right, and everyone in the city says that the emperor is very kind. Last time I went to the city to sell vegetables, I got free ice from the ice shop. It seemed that the emperor bought it with his own money and gave it to the people."
"Those high-ranking officials meet with the emperor every day, so they must be more informed than us. Since they dare to use fertilizers, there must be no problem with the fertilizers."
"How about we take two acres of dry land and give it a try first?"
"My family plans to offer three acres of land."
"I have eaten free ice cream sent by the emperor many times. I believe him. I will use fertilizer on both my dry land and paddy fields!"
"Use all? Zhao Laoer, are you crazy?"
Similar conversations occurred in most villages near the capital. Because of the leading role taken by the officials and Zong Zhengxiao's growing reputation, many people were tempted out of trust in their superiors.
After the village chief learned the composting technique and taught it to the whole village, the people pooled their money together to buy gypsum for composting. The gypsum merchant said that if the quantity was large, he could charge a few less coins per portion.
As for the gypsum business, Zong Zhengxiao naturally handed it over to his people.
Because they knew in advance that they would promote the use of fertilizers, Zong Zhengxiao's people had already prepared a large amount of gypsum. This would prevent the price of gypsum from skyrocketing and dampening the enthusiasm of the people, stabilize the market price, and make a small profit. Why not do it?
Even if the noble family wanted to do this business, it would be too late at least this year.
As people responded enthusiastically to composting, the Mid-Autumn Festival came quietly without them noticing.
The night before, Zong Zhengxiao asked Rong Yin if she wanted to go to the Mid-Autumn Palace Banquet with him.
Rong Yin shook her head: "No, it's boring."
Zong Zhengxiao didn't force him: "Okay, then I'll try to come back as soon as possible."
"Actually, there's no need to come back early." Rong Yin said in a low voice.
Zong Zheng Xiao was puzzled and a little aggrieved: "Why, don't you miss me?"
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