Chapter 83
Chapter 83
“Did you not know the capital saw its first snow beneath a visible moon last night?” Xie Chengze asked in surprise. “As far as I know, an omen like that is very likely to bring a catastrophic snowstorm.”
Guo Tianheng nodded, then shook his head. “This subject observed the skies last night but saw no snowfall in the capital!”
Xie Chengze: …
Oh. Apparently, the snow had been localized.
No matter. No great problem!
Xie Chengze patiently added, “I did indeed see snow falling at Moon-Gazing Tower last night. If you do not believe me, send someone to investigate the surrounding area.”
Seeing that Xie Chengze did not appear to be lying, Guo Tianheng thought for a moment. His tone grew grave, and concern filled his face. “If this is true, the north may suffer a great disaster this winter…”
Xie Chengze nodded like a chick pecking grain. “Exactly, exactly.”
Only then did Guo Tianheng register his eager agreement. He gave the prince a suspicious look. “But how does Your Highness know that first snow beneath a visible moon is an evil omen? Could it be…”
Could it be that after leaving all those years ago, the Second Prince had secretly studied astronomy?
That made no sense. The astronomical classics were all kept inside the Imperial Observatory. Without anyone to teach him, how could the Second Prince understand them?
“On my journey south to Yizhou, I met a friend who knows a great deal about astronomy and geography. He told me.” Xie Chengze casually dragged Zhang Yuheng out as an excuse. “Perhaps after next spring’s spring imperial examination, he will come to serve at the Imperial Observatory.”
“I see…” Guo Tianheng’s eyes lit up. “The Imperial Observatory is desperately short of people. If he is truly talented, we will certainly recruit him!”
“Sure.” Xie Chengze had achieved his initial aim and said no more about the matter. Instead, he pointed at the book behind Guo Tianheng. “Let me solve that problem for you.”
“Your Highness is also skilled in mathematics?” Guo Tianheng asked in astonishment.
“Only so-so. Third-best in Jian’an.” With great modesty, Xie Chengze picked up the nearby brush and added two construction lines to the geometry problem, one solid and one dashed. “These are auxiliary lines. They can simplify geometry problems. Here: a line you can see is solid, and one you cannot is dashed.”
Then he wrote out the precise solution on the scratch paper beside it.
Watching at his side, Guo Tianheng’s eyes widened further and further. “So it can be done this way! It can truly be done this way! Two simple auxiliary lines can transform an irregular shape into a regular one and reduce a complex figure to simple, basic shapes. Brilliant! Truly brilliant!”
With this method, a great many difficult problems could be solved with ease!
“Your Highness is truly a god of mathematics!” Guo Tianheng could not help exclaiming. Then, with furtive anticipation, he asked, “Might Your Highness know any other methods of solving problems?”
“Of course…” Xie Chengze shifted his tone. “That depends on whether my dear minister is willing to do me a small favor.”
A small favor?
Guo Tianheng looked at Xie Chengze’s smiling, narrowed eyes, then at the mathematics problem. Unable to resist the temptation to improve his knowledge, he finally gritted his teeth. “So long as it does not involve court politics, this official will naturally assist.”
“It absolutely does not!” Delighted, Xie Chengze immediately leaned close and whispered several sentences in his ear.
Guo Tianheng gave him a surprised look. “That is all?”
“That is all,” Xie Chengze said with a smile.
“Very well!” Guo Tianheng nodded. “This is simple. Once the time is right, this official will certainly lend Your Highness a hand.”
…
After leaving the Imperial Observatory, Xie Chengze headed straight for the Imperial Study.
Guo Tianheng was an unexpected white stone he had picked up. On this game board filled with human lives, that meant Xie Chengze could move one step ahead of the player holding the black stones. It might count as cheating, but the rules of this game did not appear to forbid cheating.
It was still early, and Emperor Jian had not yet left court. Xie Chengze sat in his palanquin and dozed. He had been awake all night, and now that he held one more measure of certainty, his nerves naturally relaxed enough for him to drift off.
When Emperor Jian returned to the Imperial Study after court, he saw that familiar slender figure curled up like a kitten in the palanquin. The bearers started to bow at his approach, but Emperor Jian raised a hand for silence, then bent beside the palanquin.
The young man slept soundly, the breath at the tip of his nose rising and falling. Only a thin blanket covered his body. He was clearly a pampered house cat, yet insisted on curling up out here like a stray.
In truth, how could Emperor Jian fail to see that ever since Xie Chengze declared he was taking court leave that day, the young man had been working very hard to prove he had no interest whatsoever in the throne?
Now, merely to avoid suspicion, he would rather endure the cold and sleep in a palanquin outside than enter the Imperial Study to warm himself…
How could Emperor Jian not ache for him?
Even if this was not his own flesh and blood, he regarded Xie Chengze as his true son. The young man was Ning’er’s child, the person Hua Ning had loved most, and the last living trace she had left in this world.
He wished only for Xie Chengze to live a long life.
With that thought, Emperor Jian slowly lifted a hand and, with paternal affection… flicked Xie Chengze hard on the forehead.
Xie Chengze jolted awake and met Emperor Jian’s smiling, wicked gaze. He rubbed his stinging forehead: …
Dog Emperor! Bullying him again, damn it!
After reluctantly greeting him as Father, Xie Chengze wrapped himself in the little fur blanket, hopped down from the palanquin, and yawned. “Let’s go inside and talk.”
Emperor Jian nodded cheerfully. “Very well. Whatever Ze’er wishes.”
The moment they entered the Imperial Study, Xie Chengze eagerly pulled a stack of papers from behind his backside and slapped them onto the imperial desk.
Emperor Jian was no longer cheerful. “Why did you keep those against your backside?!”
“Father!” Xie Chengze glared lightly, his tone disgruntled. “Do not slander this son! I clearly pulled them from behind my waist!”
Emperor Jian: Bullshit!
I am not blind! You plainly pulled them from behind your backside!
With a faintly disgusted look, he used a paperweight to flatten the sheets that had been crumpled under Xie Chengze’s backside. After studying them for a while, he still could not make sense of the bizarre scribbles. “What is this?”
Xie Chengze plopped down on the cushion beside the desk. Watching Eunuch Zhao pour him warm tea, he answered casually, “A large Northeastern-style heated brick bed.”
A large Northeastern-style heated brick bed?
What was that?
“It is a bed. But unlike a wooden canopy bed, a heated brick bed is built from stone and brick. Burning firewood heats its surface, making it ideal for keeping warm in winter.”
Xie Chengze pointed to several circles on the drawing and explained, “Look. You can burn firewood and cook here. The hot smoke produced by the fire travels through these channels beneath the bed, warming the surface. As more smoke enters from behind, it eventually flows out through the chimney. Build the heated bed broad and wide enough, and an entire family can lie on it comfortably through the winter.”
Emperor Jian’s eyes immediately brightened. “Will this method truly work?”
“We can try it.” Xie Chengze shrugged. “The Ministry of Works officials sit idle all day anyway. It is time they learned that the waves behind on the Yangtze drive on those ahead – and can smash the older waves dead against the shore.”
The metaphor sent Emperor Jian into hearty laughter. “Ze’er, how did that little head of yours grow? You devise one ingenious wonder after another.”
First blasting powder, then the Land of Abundance Plan, and now this large Northeastern-style heated brick bed.
“Perhaps I spent too many lonely years with no company and could only pass the time studying little inventions like these.” Xie Chengze sighed mournfully, the urge to spout shameless nonsense already rising again. “Father, this son is so lonely! This son’s body burns with unmet desire! That minister’s son I mentioned last time…”
“Cough, cough, cough!” Emperor Jian immediately began coughing hard. He lowered his head to study the drawing, trying to change the subject. “Let Father examine this large Northeastern-style heated brick bed more carefully. As for you…”
Afraid that Xie Chengze would leave and no one would remain to explain the heated bed, Emperor Jian glanced around the desk. Inspiration struck. “Review these memorials for your father!”
Xie Chengze: ???
I give you my heart and soul, and you want me dead???
Seeing Xie Chengze’s resistance written all over his face, Emperor Jian said, “Reviewing memorials is the foundation of an emperor’s governance. You are already six months behind the Crown Prince. Why do you still resist with such reluctance?”
The meaning beneath his words was plainly a test: With all your talent, do you truly have no wish to become emperor?
Xie Chengze’s little face scrunched up. “Father, why don’t you tell this son the truth?”
Emperor Jian’s gaze flickered. “Oh? What truth?”
Xie Chengze clutched his chest, both disgusted and aggrieved. “Have you taken a fancy to some young lady whose dream is to become the greatest beauty under heaven? Is that why you devised this wicked plan to make this son review memorials until I go bald and ugly and cannot show my face, allowing you to hand that young lady the title of greatest beauty under heaven?”
Emperor Jian: …
What fresh bullshit are you spouting now?!!