I only wished to take up my fiefdom, but my elder brother forced me to rebel.

For the next three days, Lu Yuan rarely showed his face.

The imperial sword hung in the study, the account books of the Phoenix Battalion filled half the table, and the Grand Canal project charter sent by the Ministry of Revenue had not yet been opened.

Every morning he would go to the main courtyard, and in the afternoon he would take a stroll around the small courtyard where Shen Hanqiu lived. Only in the evening would he be helped back to his study by his maid.

At first, the servants in the mansion came to him to report things, but Su Bo'an stopped them all.

"His Highness is busy."

Su Bo'an stood outside the moon gate, rolled up his sleeves, and looked very serious.

The clerk who came to deliver the tent glanced into the door and heard Su Yuling's reprimanding voice coming from inside.

"Lu Yuan, put your hand down."

"Your shoulders look sore, let me massage them for you."

"When you massage your shoulders, you should massage the areas that are meant to be massaged."

Then came the sound of tables and chairs being moved.

The clerk's face flushed, and holding the account book, he asked Steward Su, "When will Your Highness be finished? The Ministry of Revenue is still waiting for a reply."

"Let's put this matter aside and look at it when His Highness has time!"

Su Bo'an took the account book and then called over two maids.

"Is the soup in the kitchen ready yet?"

"It's been simmering for about two hours."

"Has the tiger penis been released?"

"Release them."

"What about deer antler velvet?"

"They were released too."

"The sheep's penis is indispensable, and two slices of old ginseng are also needed. Your Highness is busy with state affairs; your health is of utmost importance."

The maid's face turned red, and she ran away with her head down.

Su Bo'an looked at the main courtyard, and the wrinkles on his face smoothed out.

If they continue to work so diligently, how far away is the little prince?

The late Empress, if she were alive today, could rest in peace.

Inside the room, after dodging the sword sheath in Su Yuling's hand, Lu Yuan sat down next to Shen Hanqiu.

"Look at her, she's only been married a few days and she's already plotting to murder her husband."

Shen Hanqiu was embroidering a purse when she heard this, and she moved her needle and thread aside.

"Your Highness, you may release my waist now."

"I was worried you'd get tired, so I helped you up."

"I am sitting."

"You can fall even while sitting."

Su Yuling walked over with a sword sheath in her hand.

Lu Yuan immediately stopped what he was doing, picked up the river works regulations on the table, and examined them carefully.

"Work-for-relief programs are related to the interests of tens of thousands of disaster-stricken people and cannot be treated lightly."

Su Yuling looked at him.

"You're holding the book upside down."

Lu Yuan glanced down at it, his expression unchanged, and quickly flipped the document over.

"I am checking the binding to see if any pages are missing."

Shen Hanqiu turned her face to the side, her shoulders trembling slightly.

When Lu Yuan saw this, he reached out and tickled her waist.

"Are you still laughing or not?"

Shen Hanqiu hid behind Su Yuling, her eyes filled with tears.

"Princess Consort, save me!"

Su Yuling placed the sword sheath on Lu Yuan's body.

"Today it belongs to me."

Lu Yuan looked at her, then at Shen Hanqiu, and said with a wry smile, "Aren't you sisters a little too harmonious?"

……

South Study Room.

Minister of Works Xie Guangkun ran into the main hall carrying a square brick with gray and white stripes.

"Your Majesty, it's a success."

Lu Cangqiong was reading the disaster report sent from Hedong when he heard the noise and looked up to curse.

"You're the Minister of Works, have you forgotten the proper etiquette when you enter the palace?"

After Xie Guangkun placed the cement block on the ground, he knelt down and bowed.

"I have been impolite, Your Majesty, please punish me. But the cement formula provided by the Ninth Prince has indeed been successfully fired."

Lu Cangqiong put down the memorial and walked around the imperial desk.

The floor tiles are gray and look ordinary, but they feel a bit rough to the touch.

"Is this the cement Lao Jiu was talking about?"

"Exactly."

Xie Guangkun took an iron rod from the accompanying clerk.

"Your Majesty, please take a look."

He swung the sledgehammer and smashed it against the cement bricks.

With a muffled thud, the hammer was flung away, leaving a shallow white mark on the cement brick.

Lu Cangqiong's expression changed drastically.

"Keep smashing!"

Xie Guangkun spat into his palm, then swung the hammer with both hands and struck it five or six times in succession.

The edges of the cement bricks were chipped, but the middle was still intact.

Lu Cangqiong squatted down and touched it, then asked Zhou Fu to bring over ordinary blue bricks.

With the same hammer blow, the blue brick was split in two on the spot.

"nice one!"

Lu Cangqiong held up half a blue brick, then looked at the cement block.

"How much will it cost?"

Xie Guangkun took out the account book. "Your Majesty, the first firing cost more than 2,700 taels of silver, most of which was used to build the kiln and purchase horses. If we continue firing, the cost can be reduced a bit."

"The price of each cubic meter of cement is only about one-third the price of blue bricks. Using locally sourced materials will be even cheaper!"

Lu Cangqiong's breathing quickened.

"Can river embankments be used?"

"Can!"

Lu Cangqiong picked up the hammer and struck it twice.

The cement block had no cracks, but the vibration made his hand feel numb.

He was smiling happily.

"deliver an imperial order!"

"The Ministry of Works immediately expanded the cement kilns to supply the dike repairs in Hedong. A section of the official road from the capital to Hedong was also selected for trial paving."

"I need to formulate regulations for the border walls, military camps, and granaries."

Xie Guangkun prostrated himself on the ground to receive the imperial edict, his face beaming with undisguised excitement.

"Your subject obeys."

Lu Cangqiong turned it over and over again, looking at it several times, and liked it more and more each time he looked at it.

Old Nine slept with Su Yuling, and then took out horseshoes and such.

After marrying Shen Hanqiu, he also produced cement.

Today is the Flower Festival.

If this kid were to meet a woman favored by an immortal, he might just find a way to solve the problem of the empty treasury.

"Zhou Fu".

"This servant is here."

"How are the preparations for the Hundred Flowers Banquet going?"

"The families of officials of the fifth rank and above in the capital have all entered the palace, and there are a total of 137 women of marriageable age in various prefectures."

Lu Cangqiong nodded.

"Of the 137, there's bound to be one that suits him."

Zhou Fu kept his head down, his mind filled with doubt.

When other princes choose their consorts, they select virtuous and gentle women.

The Ninth Prince's selection of a concubine is to choose a national treasure for the Great Yong Dynasty.

……

All sorts of flowers were in bloom in the Imperial Garden, and the palace maids set up a banquet along the winding paths.

The noble ladies gathered in small groups, their clothes exuding a fragrance that mingled with the scent of flowers, which could be smelled from afar.

Lu Yuan walked in the middle, with Su Yuling and Shen Hanqiu standing on his left and right sides respectively.

The young ladies from the various prefectures and counties he passed through would cast envious glances at him.

Those who saw Lu Yuan, those who saw the knife in Su Yuling's hand, and those who saw Shen Hanqiu wearing the concubine's clothes were all whispering among themselves.

After looking around, Su Yuling walked towards Lu Yuan.

"Today's Hundred Flowers Banquet was organized by Consort Shen."

"I know."

"She is the birth mother of the second prince."

"Lu Cheng has just been confined to his quarters, and Liu Ruyan is now implicated in the drugging incident. Consort Shen's invitation to the palace at this time may not be for good intentions."

Lu Yuan casually picked up a piece of osmanthus cake from a roadside table and took a bite.

"It's not certain yet who's targeting whom."

Are you prepared?

"no."

Su Yuling turned her head and glared at him.

"Then where does your confidence come from?"

Lu Yuan held the remaining half of the cake to her lips.

"Since we're already here, we can't argue with people on an empty stomach. Take a bite, it's sweet."

Su Yuling looked at the piece of cake he had bitten, but didn't open her mouth.

Several noble ladies nearby had already looked over.

She reached out to take it, but Lu Yuan pulled his hand back slightly.

"I'll feed you."

"Give it to me."

"Call me husband."

Su Yuling narrowed her eyes and reached for the hilt of the knife.

Lu Yuan immediately stuffed the cake into her hand.

"Just kidding, why are you getting so worked up?"

Shen Hanqiu smiled, pursing her lips, and raised her hand to wipe the crumbs from the corner of Lu Yuan's mouth.

She only realized there were many people around her as soon as her fingertips touched the ground, and quickly withdrew her hand.

Lu Yuan looked at her.

"Is there anything else?"

Shen Hanqiu avoided his gaze and stepped back to Su Yuling's side.

"there is none left."

Just as Lu Yuan was about to ask further, a cold laugh came from ahead.

"Ninth Brother is in high spirits."

Several palace servants carried a sedan chair to a stop at the end of the flower path.

Lu Cheng sat on it, his face still injured, his left arm in a sling across his chest.

Consort Shen granted him special permission to attend the banquet today, so he couldn't wait to come.

He stared at the two women beside Lu Yuan, his eyes filled with barely suppressed hatred.

"He paraded through the city with his principal wife and concubines."

"What, you haven't forgotten our bet, have you?"