Zhu Ci and Fu had originally brought several guards, but because there were so many people, they were forcibly scattered, leaving only the two of them able to ensure they remained together.
Zhu Ci observed that most of the people coming and going were young people; not only that, but most were in male-female pairs. Although they were all walking properly, the affection flickering in their eyes could not be faked.
He suddenly remembered that during this time, the fifteenth day of the first lunar month seemed to be a day for young men and women who were already married or engaged to be dating.
Zhu Ci's heart skipped a beat as he quietly reached out and hooked his finger with Fu's, only to quickly let go before the other's fingers could entwine with his.
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Author's Note: Zhu Ci: You can pet me, but I can't pet you! A tsundere kitty swiping its claws. jpg
Next update at 6:00 PM~
Chapter 287
Fu's gaze followed Zhu Ci constantly; he had been relatively restrained outside, not wanting to be too intimate in front of others.
Their relationship was not one that could be proclaimed to the world, he did not care whether it could be or not.
However, at this moment, he was feeling an unbearable itch in his heart, using the concealment of his wide sleeves, he grasped Zhu Ci's hand.
Zhu Ci paused for a moment and moved his hand; just as Fu was about to let go of him, he turned his hand to interlace his fingers with hers.
A smile played on Fu's face, but it was hidden from view by the wide brim of his hat.
Zhu Ci turned his head to glance at him, guessing that he must be smiling right now, even though he couldn't see it, couldn't help but complain, "There's no sun in the middle of the night, why did you bring this hat out?"
Fu Qingsheng said, "My appearance makes me easy to recognize."
"So what if they recognize me?" Zhu Ci said with an indifferent expression.
Fu pursed his lips and said nothing; he cared.
Zhu Ci received no answer, so he leaned in and said, "Actually, people who know you would still be able to recognize you even like this."
With Fu's signature wide-brimmed hat and sunglasses, how many people in the imperial court wouldn't recognize him? Moreover, Fu's height was quite striking even in the North, making him even easier to identify.
Fu paused for a moment, turning to look at Zhu Ci with a hint of helplessness, "Your Majes—"
Mm-hmm?" Zhu Ci said nonchalantly while looking around, "Be careful, someone might hear you.
Fu watched him smile so slyly that his Adam's apple bobbed slightly; unfortunately, he could only take a deep breath and follow the Little Emperor forward.
Zhu Ci clearly loved joining in the festivities; he had to try the popular roadside stalls, he also had to visit the crowded lantern stalls to take a look.
Fu only had to do three things following behind him: pay the money, carry the items, guess the lantern riddles.
If it had been before, if Zhu Ci had been unable to guess those lantern riddles filled with classical allusions, he would certainly have found a way to make the Little Emperor study hard.
Now.. looking at Zhu Ci's bright black eyes reflecting the light of the lanterns, he couldn't bear to part with him.
In truth, he hadn't known before what a qualified emperor should be like; he only knew that as the role model for the world, an emperor must excel in all aspects, or at the very least be outstanding, which was why he had pressured the Little Emperor to study.
But now, he felt that as long as an emperor could bring peace to the world and allow the people to live in peace and prosperity, he would be a qualified emperor.
Moreover, Zhu Ci was already very tired every day; he had many matters to attend to. Most importantly, in addition to handling state affairs, he also had to rack his brains to find ways to resolve the current dilemmas that no one else could solve.
Thinking about it this way, back when he used to nag Zhu Ci every day to study, although Zhu Ci had shown a bit of resistance, he never lost his temper or became angry; his temperament was actually quite good.
As Fu was thinking about this, Zhu Ci suddenly tugged at his sleeve: "Eh? Look, look, isn't that the Prince of Qi up ahead?"
Fu looked up and squinted; because of albinism, his vision was not very good, especially when the light was not as bright as during the day.
After taking a moment to identify him, he nodded and said, "It is His Highness the Prince of Qi."
Zhu Ci rubbed his chin. "That young lady by his side.. I wonder which family she belongs to."
Fu thought for a moment and said, "I haven't heard of the Prince of Qi having any dealings with any lady from any family."
In this day and age, having been influenced by Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism for many years, the strict separation between men and women remains very rigid. Such private meetings only occurred if.. Zhu Ci had already decided to take that lady as his wife.
Thinking of this, Zhu Ci was instantly invigorated. He grabbed Fu and said, "Let's go, let's go, let's go, let's go over there and take a look."
Fu looked at the Little Emperor's rare gossipy expression; although he felt this was improper, he said nothing.
Zhu Ci was also accompanied by guards, so they noticed him and Fu the moment they drew close.
The guards were about to shout, but as soon as they looked up, they saw Zhu Ci's face and Fu's unique attire.
Zhu Ci's guard naturally recognized the Emperor; he trembled so violently that he nearly fell to his knees on the spot.
He was just about to open his mouth when Zhu Ci waved him off and said, "Silence."
Zhu Ci heard a noise behind him and looked back, when he saw Zhu Ci, he was clearly very surprised as well.
Zhu Ci raised an eyebrow. "What a coincidence, cousin."
Zhu Ci almost blurted out "Your Majesty," but he swallowed it back and asked nervously, "Why have you come here as well?"
After asking, he saw the Grand Secretary standing beside His Majesty, then looking at the various items the Grand Secretary was carrying, he could not help but stare with wide, shocked eyes.
In the eyes of most people, the current Grand Secretary appeared somewhat detached from the mundane world; not only did he seem out of place at this lively lantern festival, but he also did not look like someone who would be carrying those things in his hands.
Then he saw the Emperor's younger cousin naturally hand the items in his hands to the Grand Secretary, the Grand Secretary also naturally took the half-eaten food from him and held it in his hands.
Zhu Ci..
Can you guys please not be so reckless? I'm afraid I'll be silenced tomorrow!
Zhu Ci said with a smile, "Of course we're here to visit the lantern festival, but what about you.. what happened?"
Zhu Ci snapped out of his daze and felt a sudden wave of embarrassment; a faint blush spread across his face as he turned to glance at the girl beside him.
The young lady was quite poised and graceful; she performed a formal bow and said, "Greetings, noble one. I am the commoner Zhang, daughter of the Marquis of Jinghai."
Zhu Ci gave her a slight nod. "No need for such formalities."
He looked up at Zhu Ci and said, "I told you back then that I would act as a matchmaker for you in the future; you should have known what I meant."
Zhu Ci glanced at the Zhang Family standing beside him after hearing this, pursed his lips, smiled, said, "Yes.. I remember."
Zhu Ci's curiosity was satisfied. He turned and waved his hand dismissively, saying, "Forget it, we'll go our way, you two go yours."
Zhu Ci stood behind, watching the Emperor and the Grand Secretary walk and talk together, feeling for a moment that there was an aura surrounding these two that others could neither influence nor join.
"Your Highness?" Zhang called out to him softly.
Zhu Ci snapped out of his thoughts and smiled, saying, "Let's go. Didn't you say there was a beautiful display of flower lanterns ahead?"
Zhang's daughter nodded slightly and said vivaciously, "Follow me, Your Highness."
Zhu Ci took one last look in the direction the Emperor had departed, only to find that he was no longer in sight.
By this time, Zhu Ci had already boarded the carriage.
The lantern festival was interesting, but after looking around, it was actually nothing special; what was truly captivating was merely this sense of worldly life.
Zhu Ci had felt enough and naturally wanted to head back; otherwise, it would be too late, the guards following behind him would be exhausted.
After getting into the carriage, Zhu Ci rubbed his stomach and said, "Sigh, I didn't feel it before, but why do I feel a bit too full now?"
Fu immediately brought out a cup of hawthorn water and said, "Your Majesty, take a few sips to aid your digestion."
Zhu Ci acted quite unreasonable: "Hey, you didn't even try to persuade me at all."
Grand Secretary Fu accepted it all with great patience, "Yes, yes, it is my failure of duty. I ask Your Majesty to punish me."
Zhu Ci's eyes flickered, he immediately leaned in to whisper something in his ear.
Grand Secretary Fu's fair cheeks instantly flushed with a hint of red.
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Author's Note: Zhu Ci: Hehe, I just love teasing upright gentlemen. Cat wagging its tail smugly. jpg
Next update tomorrow morning at six o'clock
Chapter 288
Early the next morning, before dawn, Zhu Ci had his eyes half-closed, letting Fu help him dress, his entire being in a state of half-sleep and half-wakefulness.
Seeing him like this, Fu felt a sense of self-reproach and said softly, "I should have escorted Your Majesty back to the palace yesterday."
Zhu Ci yawned, "It's not like this happens all the time; once in a while is fine, besides, haven't you always been like this before?"
This was also why Zhu Ci was increasingly disliking living in the palace; it was too far away. Not to mention how difficult it was for the two of them to meet once, even on a day off, they would still have to get up early to head out to avoid being seen by more people.
After all, even on a day off, there were still people on duty in the duty room.
In the past, Fu would go to the palace and then return to the Prince's Mansion early in the morning to make it back to the palace in time for the morning or evening imperial audiences; this was the first time Zhu Ci had spent the night at the Prince's Mansion.
It must be said that waking up early in winter is truly difficult, not to mention that he and Fu had a rather intense encounter last night; even with his physical constitution, he felt a sense of exhaustion following such vigorous activity.
Fu said nothing, for it was too late to say anything now, only stating, "Your servant will follow up on the matters in Jizhou later."
Once the Jizhou Imperial Palace is completed, we can move in as soon as summer begins.
He and Zhu Ci had both planned to go there during the summer and winter seasons, stay in the palace during the spring and autumn seasons.
Zhu Ci listened and said, "It feels like the road is still somewhat inconvenient. Oh, I mentioned cement before.. I'll find a few craftsmen later to try making it and see how it goes."
Cement isn't actually a new thing; similar substances appeared in ancient China as well, though the materials used and the craftsmanship were different.
Modern cement in the true sense is Portland cement.
Zhu Ci did not know exactly when this thing would appear; at least, it did not exist yet.
Fu did not know what cement was, nor did he know what kind of craftsmen he should look for, so in the end, he simply had his subordinates bring in a group of masons.
After Zhu Ci wrote down the general process, he suddenly understood why cement had not appeared yet.
Because limestone needs to be crushed and then further pulverized, this process is indeed quite inconvenient if it relies solely on manual labor without a crushing machine.
Even the lime, clay, sand-gravel mortar used in ancient times had not formed a systematic method.
Neither human nor animal labor is very efficient; if one wants to increase efficiency, one must find a way.
Zhu Ci looked out the window with a writing brush in his mouth.
Spring in the north arrives late, combined with the Little Ice Age, nearly two months have passed since the Spring Festival before the willow trees have even begun to show the slightest hint of tender buds.