Chapter 0106: Second Prince Who Never Sets Foot in Eastern Palace, Xie Chengze Rolling Up Sleeves
“Second Prince, did you truly conceive this heated kang method yourself?”
Old Gu turned in astonishment, his gaze toward Xie Chengze filled with utter disbelief.
At this point, Xie Chengze could no longer deny it. After all, this was personally verified by the Emperor. If Xie Chengze refuted it, wouldn’t that be openly undermining Emperor Jian, implying the Son of Heaven was lying?
He could only rub his small nose and admit, “Indeed, it was conceived by this prince.”
The origin of the heated kang was untraceable. In his world, it was said to have been invented by the Sushen people in ancient times, so Xie Chengze swallowed his conscience and claimed it. “However, this prince merely stumbled upon the idea by chance. There are still many flaws that need resolution.”
After speaking, he secretly glared at Emperor Jian. “Considering the Ministry of Works has many talents, especially Old Gu here, who could surely resolve its flaws, I had Father Emperor send the blueprint to the Ministry of Works.”
“It was actually Second Prince…” Old Gu couldn’t help but take a step back, murmuring softly.
Recalling how he had boldly claimed in the Ministry of Works that the craftsman was just some country bumpkin who stumbled upon the idea by chance, and how he had internally criticized Second Prince for pretending to understand without having seen the blueprint, he silently wiped his old face, feeling deeply ashamed.
The main issue was, who would have thought the creator of the heated kang blueprint would be Second Prince!
After all, in the social hierarchy of scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants, merchants held the lowest status, followed by artisans. Even within the Ministry of Works, among the Six Ministries, it was often looked down upon by the other five. Anyone with any ambition would not choose to abandon scholarly pursuits for artisan work, let alone a prince of such esteemed status?
Moreover, Second Prince was merely an amateur, yet he could create something so beneficial to the people. This made Old Gu feel utterly embarrassed, as if he had single-handedly tarnished the reputation of the Ministry of Works.
He couldn’t help but sigh. “Your Highness flatters me. The heated kang has no major flaws, only minor imperfections. Even without this old minister, common craftsmen could resolve them. Your Highness is truly an ingenious artisan.”
“No, no, this prince was merely fortunate.”
“If it were mere fortune, why was it Your Highness who was fortunate, and not someone else? Your Highness need not be so modest.”
“Not at all, it was just a fortunate break—fortunately on leave, fortunately his mother opened the door, and fortunately his father said he was fortunate to be home…” Xie Chengze grew increasingly humble.
Old Gu: …
Your Highness, perhaps it would be better if you just gave this old minister ten lashes. Your humility only makes me more terrified!
The old and the young exchanging flattery left the surrounding ministers dumbfounded and still somewhat incredulous. The Grand Tutor, standing behind Prime Minister Li, poked his back and asked, “Prime Minister Li, was the heated kang method truly conceived by Second Prince?”
The ministers behind the Grand Tutor quickly leaned their ears in their direction.
Prime Minister Li cast a cool glance at them. “Otherwise? Would His Majesty lie?”
If Second Prince could invent gunpowder, what difficulty would a mere heated kang pose?
Thinking this, Prime Minister Li couldn’t help but join in the criticism, looking at them with disdain. “His Majesty was indeed correct—you are not even worthy of comparing to a single strand of Second Prince’s hair!”
The Ministers: ?
Prime Minister Li! You’ve changed!
What kind of bewitching potion has Second Prince fed you and His Majesty? Especially you, Prime Minister Li! Weren’t you also looking down on Second Prince before? How come you’ve changed your tune so completely now?
However, the court officials of the Jian’an Dynasty all knew that it was better to trust the cunning words of Prime Minister Li than to believe in Emperor Jian’s extravagant praises. This showed that although Prime Minister Li was exceptionally shrewd and would not reveal the whole truth outright, he never lied—at least the core of his statements was always true.
Therefore, it was indeed possible that the heated kang method was devised by the Second Prince.
The ministers could not help but sigh with emotion, “It seems the Second Prince is not entirely useless after all.”
“Indeed, didn’t he previously propose ideas like the iron vehicle that could travel a thousand li in a day and some kind of road? Those were quite innovative.”
“Although the Second Prince is utterly clueless in political affairs, he shows remarkable talent in engineering. Given that, it’s not surprising that the heated kang method was his idea.”
As the ministers discussed among themselves, they quickly convinced themselves and began showering Xie Chengze with praise again, “The Second Prince is truly a genius. We are in awe!”
“The Second Prince cares for the common people. Creating the heated kang to protect our millions of citizens is truly a blessing for Jian’an!”
Some even recalled the Heavenly Decree from years past and effusively praised, “The Second Prince is indeed a heaven-sent lucky star. With him here, we will surely overcome the calamity of the snow disaster safely!”
Yet, Xie Chengze was not at all pleased to hear these praises. He was on the verge of breaking down because he had originally been scheduled to have a day off the day after tomorrow, but now, thanks to Emperor Jian, he was assigned to work again!
He glared at the ministers and said discontentedly, “If you truly wish to thank me, why not follow me to the Ministry of Works and learn how to make the heated kang?”
The ministers quickly lowered their heads, pretending not to hear.
What a joke! Who would want to learn that? They were court officials, not craftsmen!
Xie Chengze wanted to make a last-ditch effort, but Emperor Jian, as if his backside were on fire, immediately stood up and waved his sleeves, declaring, “The matter of the snow disaster has been discussed sufficiently. Ministers of all departments, return and immediately dispatch personnel to prepare to follow the Crown Prince and others on their departure! Court is dismissed!”
The ministers hurriedly bowed and knelt, “We send off Your Majesty—long live the Emperor, long live, long live!”
Xie Chengze: …What?
You old rascal! Don’t you dare run!
Xie Chengze quickly chased after Emperor Jian but was intercepted by Eunuch Zhao. By the time he managed to get around Eunuch Zhao and reach the rear chambers, Emperor Jian had already vanished without a trace. Fuming, he headed toward the Imperial Study, muttering, “Run? Where can you run? I don’t believe you won’t return to the Imperial Study to review memorials!”
Xie Chengze rushed to the Imperial Study and kicked the door open, only to find the room empty. As he stepped out, he noticed two eunuchs carrying two large trays of memorials passing by. Raising an eyebrow, he sneered and stepped forward to ask, “Where are you taking those memorials?”
“Your Highness, His Majesty has ordered them to be delivered to the Eastern Palace,” the two eunuchs replied honestly.
The Eastern Palace?
Oh~ I see. He’s hiding from trouble at his other son’s place.
Xie Chengze rubbed his hands together and headed toward the Eastern Palace.
Interestingly, this was Xie Chengze’s first time visiting the Eastern Palace. In the book The Powerful Minister, the Second Prince had never set foot inside the Eastern Palace unless he was utterly enraged, in which case he would stand at the main gate and loudly curse the Crown Prince inside.
Afterward, the Crown Prince would come out, first dismissing the guards at the gate, then patiently advising the Second Prince. He would then invite him inside the Eastern Palace to continue his cursing so as not to be overheard by outsiders. But without exception, the Second Prince would always end up shouting one more rebuke at him:
“Don’t think I don’t know what you’re scheming. Neither you nor Father Emperor are any good!”
This scene had occurred at least seven or eight times.
Xie Chengze didn’t understand why the Second Prince refused to set foot in the Eastern Palace. The book never explained it even by the end, but he speculated it might be because the Second Prince was rather stubborn and particular – since the Eastern Palace wasn’t yet within his grasp, he refused to enter it.
Just like how the Second Prince spent his whole life scheming, yet never secretly kept dragon robes or secretly sat on the dragon throne.
But Xie Chengze was different. He had no ambition for the throne in his heart. If conditions permitted, he absolutely had to try on the dragon robes and sit on the dragon throne, to experience just how wonderful it felt to be emperor.
After all, could someone who didn’t want to experience the feeling of being emperor even be called human?