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Chapter 188 Emperor Jingxuan Tests Cement

Emperor Jingxuan snapped out of his daze, temporarily clearing his mind of the jumbled thoughts, and stepped out of the palanquin with a hint of anticipation on his face.

Cao Qing hurriedly helped him walk forward, and they saw Yu Kang Sheng, who was not far ahead, leading several officials from the Ministry of Works to come forward to greet them.

"Your Majesty, we pay our respects."

"No need for formalities, quickly show me the cement."

At this moment, everyone was at Taihe Lake in Shanglin Garden, just to witness the formation of the cement.

With He Nanzhou's detailed explanation, the Ministry of Works had a preliminary idea for developing cement. After four or five days of testing, cement was finally produced. The first attempt failed, which was normal, but Yu Kangsheng himself did not expect that the second attempt would be successful.

Yesterday afternoon, after consulting with Emperor Jingxuan, Yu Kangsheng led craftsmen to build a pond next to Taihe Lake in Shanglin Garden, and then plastered it with cement.

From the moment the cement began to harden, Yu Kang Sheng was so excited he was reluctant to leave. However, he couldn't stay overnight at Taihe Lake; otherwise, he would have to stay there like a mushroom, constantly on the move.

Nevertheless, he still came over very early this morning.

In fact, Emperor Jingxuan had the same thought. Today, there was no morning court session, and since Chaochao had been sick these past few days and spent most of his time in his room, there were no interesting things for them to see or discuss. Therefore, Emperor Jingxuan did not hold an extra morning court session. He even skipped the morning court session to meet with important ministers to discuss state affairs and came over immediately after finishing his breakfast.

Cement, such a beneficial substance for the country and its people, is finally in his hands.

"Your Majesty, this is the cement that was applied last night." In front of Yu Kang Sheng was a small pool, much like the one his Seventh Uncle had cleaned that day.

Emperor Jingxuan wanted to see the water storage capacity of the pool. If it could, it would be a great leap forward in water conservancy, which was something he was very much looking forward to.

He crouched down and examined the hardness of the cement. "Can I touch it?"

"It has solidified for seven hours. I pressed it with my finger and it is indeed fine, but it is still unknown whether it will crack if crushed by something heavier." For example, a carriage.

Emperor Jingxuan hesitated for a moment, then reached out and pressed it. The rough, hard texture under his fingers gave him a sense of reality.

He thought for a moment, "That Uncle Qi from Jinwen Village put up a guardrail after applying cement, and it wasn't removed until the next day. I guess it will take a while longer before we can fill it with water."

"That's what I think too, but we'll have to test it again to see how long it will take."

Emperor Jingxuan stood up and stomped down again, applying a little force.

Then, everyone saw a footprint on the cement ground.

Everyone, "..."

Yu Kang Sheng looked resentful. If the other person wasn't His Majesty, he would definitely have cursed him for being a jerk.

Why would you step on it for no reason? This is a pool, what does it look like with so many footprints in it?!
Emperor Jingxuan silently withdrew his foot, pretending not to know anything, and said, "I remember that Seventh Uncle, he even sprinkled water on the cement the next day?"

Yu Kang Sheng chuckled inwardly, but nodded respectfully on the surface, "Yes, Your Majesty, would you like to try it yourself?"

"Ah."

Emperor Jingxuan not only personally sprinkled water, but also had Yu Kang Sheng level the ground and personally lay cement on it.

In this way, once the cement has hardened, we can test it on this ground. We can also bring a horse-drawn carriage over later to see if it can withstand the pressure of a carriage after a few days.

Seeing the cement he had laid, Emperor Jingxuan felt a great sense of accomplishment.

“Very good, Minister Yu. Next, we will focus on testing the cement. Once the results are in, we will select cement manufacturers and get the cement laid out as soon as possible.”

"Your subject obeys the decree." Emperor Jingxuan thought for a moment and then said, "Make a batch of cement first and have it sent to Shangliu Village. The Chaoyang Orphanage in Shangliu Village is almost finished. It's a good opportunity to have the walls of this first orphanage plastered with cement to make it more sturdy."

"I'll do it now."

Emperor Jingxuan was in high spirits. Chaochao's illness seemed to be almost cured, the cement project had progressed, the Chaoyang Orphanage was almost ready for use, and the earlier smallpox vaccination had been confirmed to be effective and was being rolled out. Although high-yield grains had not yet been found, the maritime ban he had been longing for had been lifted. Seeing that the Great Qi was getting better and better, how could he, as the emperor, not be happy?

After inspecting the cement, Emperor Jingxuan decided to return home.

He asked Cao Qing, "The villagers of Shangliu Village must have arrived in the capital three days ago, right?"

"Yes."

"Alright, summon them to the palace."

Cao Qing immediately went to deliver the imperial decree.

At this moment, Lin Lan and the others, who were at the post station and were relieved because Chaochao's health was gradually improving, were caught off guard and received an imperial decree to go to the palace to meet the emperor.

For a fleeting moment, everyone's smiles froze.

"What should we do? What should we do? We're suddenly being forced to enter the palace. What should we do?"

They originally thought they would see the emperor soon after arriving in the capital, but they ended up staying at the post station for three days.

From initial nervousness to subsequent anxiety, none of them knew what to do.

I had originally thought that after meeting the emperor, I might have a chance to stroll around the streets, but now I'm not in the mood for it at all.

During this time, Guo Xiucai asked the guards who were leading them, and they only said that they were waiting for His Majesty's decree and that they did not need to worry too much.

That's what they say, but it's simply impossible to do.

Now that His Majesty is finally summoning them, they immediately panicked.

"Fortunately, I take a bath every morning, so I don't have to worry about the fumes bothering His Majesty."

Taking a bath once a day in Shangliu Village is simply impossible. The village is freezing cold in the dead of winter, and it's easy to catch a cold if you don't take a bath. They have to wait for good weather to bathe, and sometimes they only get to do it once every two weeks.

The group tidied themselves up, and only after confirming that everything was in order did they nervously follow the guards to the palace.

As soon as they stepped outside, they saw Hu Fulai, Jiang Laosan, and others.

The group of people, who had looked disheveled along the way, had now changed their clothes and tidied their hair.

Hu Baodun didn't go with them. He no longer recognizes people and sometimes even screams and shouts. He was always short-tempered, and now he's even more so, smashing things.

Given his appearance, the guards dared not bring him before His Majesty.

Compared to the tension of Lin Lan and the others, Jiang Laosan and his group were clearly afraid.

While Hu Fulai and Zheng were still in Huaiping County prison, they naively thought that after meeting the emperor, they would file a complaint with him and ask him to help them.

However, their experiences along the way, the attitude of the guards towards them, and the shock of Hu Baodun becoming an idiot made them realize that the emperor had been on the side of Chaochao Linlan from the very beginning.

If they go there, they will not only fail to get a proper appeal to the emperor, but they may also lose their lives.

Upon realizing this outcome, both Hu Fulai and Zheng's expressions turned somewhat sinister.