Night falls.
Xue Huan delivered a letter.
" The Ten-Li Slope irrigation canal, dug to the Severed Dragon Ridge, encountered a stretch of strange rocks. Fire and water were ineffective, three chisels broke, and seventeen workers suffered blisters on their hands. We humbly request Your Highness's instructions."
Gu Moran held the letter in her hand, tracing the words with her fingertips, without saying a word.
Uncle Fu leaned closer. "Your Highness, would you like to take a detour?"
"The detour will add two miles, and we'll need to remeasure the water level."
Gu Moran folded the letter and stuffed it into his sleeve pocket. "The time wasted is at least a month."
One month.
If the irrigation is delayed, the winter wheat will not be able to be irrigated in time, and the harvest for this season will be reduced.
He stood under the eaves, gazing at the old locust tree in the courtyard, its shadow stretched long by the lanterns, spreading across the bluestone slabs.
The first two words that popped into Gu Moran's mind were explosives.
I can even recall the formula diagram from my high school chemistry textbook: one part saltpeter, two parts sulfur, and three parts charcoal—the most original and classic ratio for gunpowder.
But these days, saltpeter is used in medicine in pharmacies, sulfur is used for alchemy, and charcoal is used for fuel. Who would have thought that putting these three things together could be used to blast a mountain?
He lacked practical experience in this area, couldn't remember the proportions, and was completely clueless about the cooking time.
Trying it rashly could result in anything from a failed explosion becoming a laughing stock to more serious consequences like injuring your own people.
The thought weighed heavily on my mind, like a stone.
He coughed twice more.
Uncle Fu, with his sharp ears, immediately changed his expression upon hearing the cough. "Your Highness, are you having another attack?"
Go back to your room and rest. This old servant will go and tell the kitchen to make some ginger soup.
There's no need to make a fuss.
Gu Moran her hand, but Uncle Fu had already trotted off to the front yard, shouting as he went.
"His Highness is ill. His Highness is ill."
Gu Moran his forehead.
This old man is usually calm and collected, but he loses his composure whenever he feels unwell.
He turned and went back to his bedroom.
He thought to himself that, taking advantage of the quiet of the night, he could sort out his thoughts and piece together the fragments of his memory about steelmaking and gunpowder.
But just as he sat down on the couch, before he could even lay out paper and grind ink, a series of chaotic footsteps came from outside the door.
First came Shen Ling'er's voice, tinged with urgency. "Where is His Highness? Is he ill again?"
Next was Lin Qingdai, her voice cold and hard. "Sick? How did he get sick? Who hurt him?"
Further on, Su Yao's footsteps were neither hurried nor slow, yet they also revealed a sense of urgent restraint.
Gu Moran sat on the edge of the couch, staring at the door, knowing perfectly well that Uncle Fu's shout had alarmed the entire Prince Yi's Residence.
A moment later, the door was pushed open, and three figures rushed in almost one after the other.
Shen Ling'er carried a food box in her hand. As soon as she entered the room, her nose twitched. She glanced at his face and went straight to the couch to sit down.
The copper rings on Lin Qingdai's sword sheath jingled with her steps. She stood still at the doorway, her eyes sweeping over him.
Su Yao was holding a stack of account books in her arms, the edges of the papers worn and frayed.
He stood furthest from the bed, his expression still aloof, but a hint of concern lingered in his eyes.
"Your Highness, is your cough a sign of a cold?" Shen Ling'er put down the food box and reached out to take his pulse.
Gu Moran looked down at her, Shen Ling'er's expression remained unchanged. "Her pulse is floating and weak, she needs a strong tonic."
Lin Qingdai scoffed from the side, "What do you mean by 'highly nourishing' or 'not nourishing'? Sweating it out will do the trick."
She placed the sword on the table. "Your Highness, come with me to the training ground. After three moves, once you're sweating, your illness will be gone."
Su Yao closed the ledger, her voice calm. "If His Highness is ill and unable to attend to affairs, we will take over the matters of Ten-Li Slope."
Gu Moran looked at them.
One wanted to give him medicine, another wanted to drag him into a fight, and yet another directly seized control of his finances and pressured him. He was at a loss as to which one to deal with first.
"I'm fine."
He spoke, his voice hoarse from coughing, "My illness has nothing to do with a cold."
"The irrigation canal at Ten-Li Slope reached the Severed Dragon Ridge and struck an entire vein of stone."
"It can't be chiseled by manpower."
Shen Ling'er's expression shifted, but she didn't interrupt.
"What's more troublesome is..."
Gu Moran, a tickle rising in his throat, and suppressed the urge to cough before continuing.
"The price of pig iron used to forge pickaxes has been secretly driven up by several neighboring prefectures. This price increase has widened the supply gap even further."
After he finished speaking, the room was silent for a moment.
Lin Qingdai made the first move.
She had been sitting on the chair, ready to take him to the training ground, but now she slowly stood up, walked to the edge of the couch, sat down, and placed her hand on his shoulder.
"What are you afraid of? Take care of yourself first. Your shoulders are as stiff as rocks." She rubbed them hard with her fingers.
"How about Murong Xue and I give it a try instead..."
Gu Moran as she was pressed down; his shoulders were indeed very sore and swollen. He had been supervising the progress at the construction site for days, and his body was already as tense as a string.
Shen Ling'er put down the bowl of bitter medicine in her hand, turned around, took out another ceramic pot from the food box, poured out a bowl of warm water, and handed it over.
"Drink this." Her voice softened.
"Don't drink the bitter medicine yet. You're not suffering from qi and blood deficiency; you're just holding something in your heart."
Gu Moran took it and looked up at her.
Shen Ling'er lowered her eyes and didn't say anything more, but simply sat a little closer to him.
Su Yao walked to the edge of the tatami mat and stood there.
Looking down at him, her eyes held a newfound seriousness.
"I can figure out a way to get the pig iron," she said.
" The Chancellor's Residence has trade routes in Jiangnan, where there are abundant iron ore deposits and prices can be kept low. I'll write a letter back, and within ten days, I can procure a batch at a low price."
Gu Moran paused, staring at her.
Su Yao added another sentence.
"You don't need to thank me. If Yi Prefecture falls, none of the six of us will escape."
These words, though blunt, warmed Gu Moran's heart.
Lin Qingdai continued massaging his shoulders.
"My fear is that even if Murong Xue and I work together, we won't be able to split that strange rock. Do you have any plans for that?"
Gu Moran silent for a moment.
Making explosives?
"I'm thinking," he carefully chose his words, "There's something even more powerful than fire or water."
Lin Qingdai paused, "What is that?"
"That's a saying."
Gu Moran gave a vague answer, not going into details about its origin, "It's just that I don't remember the recipe completely, and I haven't tested the heat control before. I'm afraid that if I try to do it rashly, I might hurt someone."
Shen Ling'er immediately became interested. "What's the formula? Tell me about it. I know a little about pharmacology; maybe I can help."
[Thanks to: the amazing verification from the top experts! Shiyin's update reminder charm, Xianzun's capsule, Yuxin's character summoning, Baishan's capsule, Yihai's capsule, Knight's like, Chen Qing's update reminder charm! Pear's love letter, and all the babies who contributed their love, hehe`(*∩_∩*)′]
[It's summer vacation, I'm in Luoyang, so I'm taking a day off. I'll make up for it with an extra update when I get back! Remember to play the bag-grabbing game with Qiuqiu's skirt tonight.]