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

Three poles in the sun.

When Lu Yuan opened his eyes, Su Yuling was nestled on his arm to his left.

On the right, Shen Hanqiu was curled up in his shoulder.

The two of them slept like pigs.

Lu Yuan gritted his teeth and pulled his arm out from under Su Yuling's head.

She pushed Shen Hanqiu to the side again before getting up from the bed.

He walked into the yard, supporting his back.

The sky was clear and the wind was not strong.

Lu Yuan plopped down on the steps in the corridor, took a sip of water, and waited a while.

"That's outrageous."

"One martial artist is strong enough to lift a cauldron, while the other looks frail but has incredible stamina. If they take turns attacking each other, even my iron kidneys couldn't withstand it!"

He rubbed his lower back, grinned, and then stood up.

But things still need to be done.

Last time, he offered horseshoes and other such items, saying they were rewards from the old immortal after he had slept with a woman.

Now that Shen Hanqiu has been taken into the household, Father Emperor must be eagerly awaiting a new reward.

We need to choose a reward that carries weight.

Lu Yuan paced back and forth in the courtyard, his mind starting to race.

gunpowder?

No, once that thing appears, all sides will go crazy.

Improve printing technology? Too slow; the effects won't be visible for several years.

Glass? Although it could make money, it came out too early. Later, when we come up with some gadgets, my cheap dad won't be very interested.

He lowered his head, looking at the bluestone path beneath his feet.

The stone slabs were laid relatively flat, but the gaps were so large that you could stick your finger in them.

Suddenly, a brilliant idea flashed into his mind.

"cement."

Lu Yuan stopped in his tracks.

Cement is a simple material; it can be used for paving roads, repairing walls, building houses, and reinforcing riverbanks—it can do almost anything.

Raw materials are readily available and inexpensive; you can tell if it works by simply applying it to the ground.

It's much more impressive than a horseshoe.

"You're the one."

Lu Yuan slapped his thigh and turned to walk towards the study.

The study was ready with writing brushes and ink.

He tore off a sheet of Xuan paper, spread it out, dipped his brush in ink, and wrote down the cement formula and firing process from beginning to end.

The specific requirements for limestone and clay mixing ratios, grinding fineness, kiln temperature range, and curing time after discharge are all listed.

After finishing writing, he blew the paper dry, folded it neatly, put it in his sleeve, and left the study.

Just as I passed through the passageway, Su Bo'an ran towards me.

"Your Highness, where are you going? You haven't had breakfast yet. The kitchen has prepared some white fungus soup and..."

"I'm busy."

Lu Yuan waved his hand to interrupt him, "I'm going to the palace."

Su Bo'an followed him outside.

"Your Highness, you've been up all night, please eat something before you leave..."

"What are you yelling about? Do you want the whole mansion to know that I almost died in bed last night?"

Su Bo'an quickly shut up.

Lu Yuan took two steps, then stopped.

"By the way, send two people to keep an eye on things in the Ministry of Justice prison."

Su Bo'an was taken aback. "Staring at who?"

"Han Gou".

Lu Yuan turned his head and said, "See if that bastard has been bailed out. If someone tampered with his release, catch him immediately and give him another beating."

Su Bo'an nodded.

"What if they don't release them?"

"It's better that it wasn't released."

Lu Yuan squinted and said, "Send a few people in, don't let that bastard have too much free time. Give him less prison food, make his bedding thinner, and find two loud-voiced people in the next cell to sing to him in the open air, so he can't sleep soundly."

Su Bo'an's lips twitched.

That's such a sneaky trick.

"This old servant understands."

Lu Yuan mounted his horse and headed towards the palace gate.

……

The Imperial Palace, Qianyuan Hall.

The morning court session has been going on for more than half an hour.

The six officials stood guard on either side, while Lu Cangqiong sat leaning against the dragon throne, holding a memorial in his hand, his expression relatively calm.

This continued until Xie Guangkun, the Minister of Works, came out.

"His Majesty!"

Xie Guangkun was in his fifties or sixties, very thin, and balding, but he had a very loud voice.

He held a ceremonial tablet in his hand, head held high and chest out.

"Your Majesty, I request that the manufacturing methods for horseshoes, stirrups, and saddles have been inspected by the Imperial Arsenal and can greatly enhance the combat effectiveness of the cavalry. I request Your Majesty to allocate 300,000 taels of silver to immediately forge these divine weapons for the army."

No sooner had he finished speaking than Liu Nengke, the Minister of Revenue, rushed in from the other side.

"No!"

Liu Neng is a head shorter than Xie Guangkun, but his spirit of never giving up is even stronger.

"Your Majesty, the Ministry of Revenue's treasury is running low on silver. This autumn, three more sections of the Yellow River breached their banks. If the dikes are not repaired quickly, next year's floods will surely cause great disaster."

"Moreover, the roads for various officials haven't been repaired in a long time, and the funding for the post stations has been delayed for two years. Aren't these all urgent problems that need to be solved?"

"Three hundred thousand taels? How can my Ministry of Revenue possibly give him that much?"

After Xie Guangkun turned around, he started arguing with Liu Neng.

"Lord Liu, war is a matter of national importance, concerning life and death. How can we delay military operations because of a little silver?"

"A little silver?"

Liu Neng raised his chin, "Is 300,000 taels just a little bit to you? So you don't care that it's not from your Ministry of Works?"

"I don't care? The 100,000 cavalry stationed along the nine borders of Dayong would have their combat effectiveness increased several times if equipped with these three items. The Rong and Di tribes in the north harass the border every year, and those who die are all soldiers of Dayong."

"Since you don't have any money, don't come looking for me!"

Xie Guangkun's beard was practically crooked with anger.

"Liu Neng, as the Minister of Revenue, instead of finding a way to raise military funds, you make all sorts of excuses. What are your intentions? Do you have some shady dealings with the barbarians in the north?"

That hat is way too big.

Liu Neng's face turned a deep liver color.

"Xie Guangkun, you're talking nonsense! I've worked in the Ministry of Revenue for twenty years and have never embezzled a single penny! Your Ministry of Works has been overspending every year, and I have to clean up your messes with your reports. And you still have the nerve to come asking me for money?"

"you!"

Xie Guangkun tucked the tablet into his waistband and rolled up his sleeves.

"Say it again?"

Liu Neng wasn't intimidated by him and took a step forward.

"I can say it as many times as I want! Your Ministry of Works' budget is so bad, even a dog would shake its head!"

Zhao Guoqiang, the Minister of Rites, stood in the middle, his forehead covered in sweat from anxiety.

He stretched out his arms to block the way to both sides, and kept trying to persuade them.

"Your Excellencies, this is a courtly setting! Please be respectful and dignified! His Majesty is watching!"

Xie Guangkun completely ignored him.

"Zhao Guoqiang, get out of my way! I'm going to settle this with this miser today!"

Liu Neng also stuck out his neck.

"What are you arguing about? Are you arguing about the Ministry of Works overreporting the cost of repairing the palace walls by eight thousand taels last year?"

"you…"

Xie Guangkun raised his fist to strike.

"That's enough!"

The voices on the dragon throne were not loud, and the hall fell silent immediately.

Lu Cangqiong's face was extremely gloomy.

He slammed the memorial in his hand onto the imperial desk and glared at the three people below.

"This is the Qian Yuan Palace, not some vegetable stall at the West Market. If you lot keep making a fuss, I'll have the Imperial Guards drag you out and soak you in the horse-washing trough!"

Xie Guangkun and Liu Neng exchanged a glance, each taking a step back, their necks stiff and refusing to look at each other.

Zhao Guoqiang wiped his sweat and quickly returned to the train.

Just as Lu Cangqiong picked up his teacup, a young eunuch ran in from the palace gate.

"Your Majesty, the Ninth Prince requests an audience outside the palace."

Lu Cangqiong paused for a moment while holding the teacup.

What's that kid doing here again? He just got married a day ago.

"What's he doing here?"

The young eunuch bowed his head and said, "His Highness the Ninth Prince said he has something important to report."

Lu Cangqiong thought for a moment and put down the teacup.

When he consummated his marriage with Su Yuling last time, he presented her with a set of horseshoes.

This time, they took Shen Hanqiu as a concubine...

Could it be that the old immortal has bestowed another treasure?

Lu Cangqiong sat up straight.

"Let him in."