Chapter 290: We are not afraid of being misunderstood

Translator: Dragon Boat Translation  Editor: Dragon Boat Translation

This was Liang Hengchen’s first encounter with Xiao Hanzheng and Shi Qingluo.

As expected, they did not seem to come from a remote place.

He tactfully took the initiative to ask, “Father, I’ll step down now?”

The emperor raised his hand. “There’s no need. You continue to grind the ink.”

Liang Hengchen’s expression did not change. “Yes!”

Shi Qingluo heard the conversation between the two and roughly guessed that this was the crown prince who kept a low profile.

From this, it could be seen that the emperor trusted and valued the crown prince.

Being ordered to grind the ink felt like an act of the emperor’s closeness to the crown prince.

The emperor had a good impression of Xiao Hanzheng and Shi Qingluo.

Hence, he ordered someone to prepare seats on the two of them.

Xiao Hanzheng and Shi Qingluo did not cower.

Since the emperor had prepared seats for them, then they should sit down.

The emperor first chatted with the two of them.

Then, he looked at Xiao Hanzheng and asked, “Are you the disciple of the godly doctor?”

Xiao Hanzheng nodded and replied, “Yes, your Majesty.

“I heard that your medical skills have completely inherited the mantle of the godly doctor. The Fei’s great-grandson was cured by you.

“Are you good at recuperating a patient’s body?”

Hearing the emperor’s question, Xiao Hanzheng immediately reacted. What was he trying to do?

He smiled and replied, “I’m quite good at this.”

The emperor was in his prime, and his style of doing things was not conservative.

Therefore, he actually preferred people he valued to be confident, and Xiao Hanzheng did not hide his answers when he asked questions.

Therefore, he was very satisfied with his answer.

“You should have heard of Prince Yi, who is also my younger brother. Since he was born prematurely, he did not have enough qi, so his body needs to be nursed.

“When your master was still alive, he prescribed him some medications. The effect was indeed very good.”

He went straight to the point. “It’s a pity that your master is no longer around, so I want you to help me continue to nurse Prince Yi’s body.”

Xiao Hanzheng naturally could not refuse. “Yes!”

The emperor thought for a moment and said, “In the next few days, I will let Prince Yi find you himself.”

Xiao Hanzheng nodded. “Okay.”

The emperor knew that Xiao Hanzheng was going to participate in the imperial exam, so he casually asked him a few related questions.

Then he looked at Shi Qingluo and asked jokingly, “I heard that you are going to enter the palace to offer a recipe?”

Shi Qingluo thought to herself that this was indeed coming.

Fortunately, she was prepared.

She smiled and replied, “I do want to enter the palace to offer a recipe.

“It’s just that my status is low and I can’t enter the palace just because I want to, so I was prepared to ask Xi Rong to help pass on a message to the emperor.

“Who would have thought that I would be summoned by the emperor first today.

“The emperor is really smart.” She continued to flatter.

As expected, the smile on the emperor’s face grew wider.

“You little girl, you are really cheeky in your words.”

Shi Qingluo smiled and said, “I’m telling the truth.”

The emperor chuckled and said, “Then what recipe do you want to offer this time?”

Shi Qingluo gave Xiao Hanzheng a look. “I want to make rubber.”

Xiao Hanzheng took out the paper that his little wife had drawn and handed it to the eunuch.

The emperor took the paper and looked at it.

He only saw a type of tree drawn on the paper, and beside it was a detailed description of the tree’s appearance and habits.

On the second piece of paper, there was a method to cut it.

He asked curiously, “What’s the use of this rubber?”

Liang Hengchen also looked at Shi Qingluo curiously.

Shi Qingluo smiled and replied, “Reporting to your majesty, this rubber has many uses.

“It can be used to make the tires of a carriage, for the horse carriage we are using now. If we change it to rubber wheels, not only will it be more resistant to wear, but it will also increase the speed and make it more stable and comfortable.

“We can also use rubber as the sole of the shoes. These soles will not get wet easily.

“It means that when we step on water or snow, the sole of the shoes won’t get wet like it does now, and it will also be more durable.

“Or we can directly make rubber rain shoes. When it rains, we can step on the ground as we please without getting our socks and pants feet wet.

“We can also use it to seal things.”

“For example, to make canned food, the bottle cap needed rubber to be used as a sealing gasket so that it would not leak and spoil.

“Some machines also use rubber.

“There may be other uses for the rubber. When the time comes, the people from the Ministry of Works can give it a try.”

After hearing his words, the emperor was very interested in rubber soles and rain shoes.

It often snowed in the winter of the northern border.

If a war were to break out in the future, the soldiers of the Daliang army would all wear a pair of shoes whose soles would not get wet.

This would be an advantage.

It could also seal things, which should be useful as well.

If the modification of the wheels was as Shi Qingluo had said, it would also be of great use.

Especially now that the concrete floor was paved, it could make the horse carriage faster and more stable.

There were many benefits to it.

He asked, “Is rubber cut out from this kind of tree?”

Shi Qingluo nodded. “Yes, it needs to be cut out directly from this kind of tree. Just like extracting it for paint, it also needs to be cut out from the lacquer tree.

“According to the method written on my paper, rubber can be cut out.”

The emperor nodded and asked again, “Then do you know where this kind of rubber tree can be found?”

Daliang’s kingdom was so huge.

Without a general direction, it would take a lot of time and effort to find this kind of tree.

Shi Qingluo smiled and replied, “I once heard my master mentioned that this kind of rubber tree is in Qiongzhou, Minnan, Lingnan, and Nanzhao.”

The emperor knew that Shi Qingluo had come prepared and was very satisfied.

Although she was just a young woman, she acted for the benefits of the court.

It was not bad for her to offer whatever she thought of.

He also valued Xiao Hanzheng more.

“Alright, I will send people to Qiongzhou, Minnan, and Lingnan to look for it.”

Nanzhao was really too far away, so he would not bother.

Shi Qingluo smiled and nodded. “I will first give my well wishes to the emperor’s men on their success to bring back the rubber.”

The emperor laughed out loud. “Haha, you little girl, you really know how to talk.”

She knew how to talk well, and she was also good at sarcasm.

She was really sharp-tongued.

He then changed the topic and asked, “What reward do you want this time?”

Shi Qingluo thought for a moment and said, “Your Majesty, the rubber has not been found and used. I don’t dare to claim credit for it and ask for a reward.

“Why don’t we wait for the rubber to be found? Just like what I said, we can make rubber-soled leather shoes, rain shoes, rubber tires, and so on. That’s when you would reward us?”

The emperor realized that not only could Shi Qingluo speak well, but she also knew how to back down.

He asked again, “This is fine too. Then what do you want? You can tell me first.”

Shi Qingluo realized that being an emperor made him extremely paranoid.

She asked herself and considered between helping her mother-in-law seek justice like what she said on the street yesterday, or being an asset to him.

She smiled and asked tentatively, “I don’t want anything else, and I only wish that the emperor could seek justice for my mother-in-law.”

This was also what Xiao Hanzheng’s scumbag father owed her mother-in-law.

The smile in the emperor’s eyes deepened. “Alright, I agree.”

As expected, this girl was straightforward as always.

He liked people who valued emotions and were straightforward and liked to tell the truth.

“Today, your ex-father-in-law’s matters were raised by the yushi. I am preparing to remove him from his position in the Ministry of War.”

He added meaningfully, “But I am afraid that he will misunderstand you.”

Shi Qingluo knew what the emperor meant.

They entered the palace today, and their father’s position in the Ministry of War would be removed tomorrow or a couple of days later.

Then he would definitely think that they were the ones who did it.

The emperor was also quite bad at letting them take the blame.

When she presented the recipe for making glass, she wanted to get more benefits from the emperor. Hmph hmph.

However, taking the blame would be more beneficial to them.

This would act as a deterrent and shock Xiao Hanzheng’s father and the others.

She smiled and said, “Your Majesty, we are not afraid of being misunderstood.”

The emperor laughed again. “Alright, it’s settled then.”

He liked to interact with smart people.

He wanted to put Xiao Hanzheng and his wife in an important position.

Naturally, he did not wish that there would be a day for Xiao Hanzheng and Xiao Yuanshi to improve or restore their father-son relationship.