How can I bow my head and serve the powerful officials?

"Why are you so rude, Your Highness?" Shen Yuan's pupils trembled in shock. He couldn't believe how Xie Chengze could use such a beautiful and flawless face to say such crude words. "Who taught you that?"

In my memory, even if Xie Chengze was angry, the most he would curse was "bastard" or "slave". Not to mention that his daily conversation was full of the accent of an imperial official from the capital, and he would never be so vulgar and mean.

Could it be that when he was not in Jiangdu County, some idiot taught him to speak vulgar language?

Xie Chengze curled his lips and said, "When in Rome, do as the Romans do. Why do you have to speak so flowery in the village?"

The expression on Xie Chengze's face was so real that Shen Yuan couldn't tell whether it was true or not. He even began to suspect that the reason why Xie Chengze didn't swear in his previous life was because he had never left the capital or been to the countryside.

Rubbing his brows, he could only say, "Your Highness, it is better to say less, lest you fail to correct your behavior after returning to the capital."

He could almost imagine what the expressions of Emperor Jian and the Crown Prince would be if Xie Chengze cursed after returning to the capital, and how they would think that he was not doing his job properly with Xie Chengze...

"Oh." Xie Chengze hung his head, not knowing whether he had taken it to heart. He asked, "By the way, Shen Yuan, in our Jian'an Dynasty, can people who cannot speak also become officials?"

"Of course not." Shen Yuan shook his head. He knew what he wanted to ask and explained, "But there is a difference in the position. The Astronomical Supervision Department does not consider qualifications when recruiting people, but only their abilities. Zhang Yuheng is proficient in the study of stars and astronomy, so he must be targeting the Astronomical Supervision Department."

"I see," Xie Chengze suddenly realized, "I didn't even know his name, but I didn't expect you to know everything he's good at."

Shen Yuan glanced at him calmly, "So what exactly were you and Zhang Yuheng doing just now? Don't try to change the subject."

Xie Chengze touched his nose guiltily, thinking about how to prevaricate, when he heard the man beside him say in a light tone, "I heard that His Highness wants to make an explosive called gunpowder. It seems to be related to this."

Xie Chengze: ... "Don't listen to the nonsense. How can something as powerful as gunpowder be related to sh... and filth?"

"When I traveled to Jian'an with the former Grand Tutor, I went to Penglai in the east. The people there are good at alchemy. They use filth to extract saltpeter," Shen Yuan lowered his eyes and looked at him meaningfully, "and used sulfur, charcoal and soap beans to suppress fire and eliminate the toxicity of the elixir."

"..." Xie Chengze said, "Sir Shen, you know too much."

"When these things are burned, the heat will far exceed that of burning firewood, and it is very easy to cause a fire. I know that Your Highness wants to speed up the excavation of the mountain, but it is still not advisable to risk your life." Shen Yuan stopped, paused, turned his eyes away, and whispered, "Your Highness has done well enough."

Xie Chengze pricked up his ears: Huh?

Xie Chengze doesn't have many advantages, but he is very good at grasping the key points. "Master Shen, are you praising me?"

When Shen Yuan said this, there was clearly an indescribable awkwardness in his tone. Xie Chengze took a sneak peek and found that Shen Yuan's eyes were evasively looking at the ground. After being exposed by his words, his slightly red ears instantly became even redder, like ripe pomegranate flesh.

This person is really dishonest. He is obviously impressed by his own personal charm, but he still refuses to admit it.

Hey ~ maybe this is a man's self-esteem ~

Xie Chengze teased maliciously, "Why are Lord Shen's ears red again? Did you get sunburned? Do you want me to hold an umbrella for you to avoid it~"

Sensing that the person beside him was trying to push his luck again, Shen Yuan immediately raised his feet and walked forward again, saying calmly, "Your Highness, please bring an umbrella with you when you go out in the future, lest you get sunburned and feel pain, and then throw a tantrum and blame me."

Seeing that the skin on his neck was sunburned just now, Shen Yuan thought to himself, how on earth is Wuhen Wuji a guard? Doesn't he even know to buy an umbrella for his master?

Xie Chengze smiled, trotted to catch up with Shen Yuan, raised the red oil-paper umbrella in his hand and moved towards him, "Master Shen, let's go together~"

Shen Yuan glanced at the slender arm that was exposed because of the falling sleeves when he raised his hand, sighed in his heart, took the umbrella, tilted it slightly towards the man, and completely covered him in the cool shadow.

He said softly, with a tone of heartache and indulgence that he himself could not detect, "Let the cook make you some meat tonight."

Xie Chengze:!!!

Good! I have meat to eat again!

……

Although he fooled Shen Yuan, Xie Chengze was still secretly developing gunpowder.

In his previous life, he was a second-generation rich man. His parents did business abroad all year round. Apart from coming home to accompany him, they always responded to his requests. When he was a rebellious teenager, he once said that he wanted to blow up the whole world. As a result, his parents spent a lot of money to invite a well-known chemistry professor in China to take him to visit the laboratory and teach him how to make a simple version of explosives by himself...

Well, his personality is sick, and it is definitely because of these neurotic parents.

However, because of this experience, he really knows how to make explosives and is not afraid of being killed by an explosion due to using inaccurate materials.

The problem of saltpeter was solved, but sulfur and charcoal were still needed. Charcoal was easy to deal with, as there was plenty of it in the village, and it could be obtained locally. As for sulfur, it could also be bought at the pharmacy. In order to increase the explosive power, Xie Chengze also bought some white sugar at a high price.

Just as he was hiding in the house and sticking out his tongue, wanting to lick some sugar secretly, there was a sudden knock on the door.

At this time, generally no one would come to see him. If it was Wuhen and Wuji, they would not knock on the door at all. If it was Zhu Xiaobiao and others, they would definitely call him "Young Master" or "Your Highness" after knocking on the door. Only one person would just knock on the door without saying anything...

Xie Chengze quickly hid the sulfur medicine bag he had just bought on the tea table, then strode towards the door. After opening the door, the person knocking on the door was indeed Shen Yuan.

"Is there something?" Xie Chengze asked concisely while standing behind the door.

Shen Yuan stepped into the house, holding an exquisitely shaped wooden suitcase in his hand. He knew at a glance that what was inside was not ordinary coarse linen clothes. He said softly, "The other day I saw that Your Highness's clothes looked a little worn, so I went to the clothing store..."

After a pause, Shen Yuan suddenly frowned slightly, and a familiar smell seemed to appear at the tip of his nose. His eyes sank, and he turned the clothes box between his arms, then strode towards Xie Chengze behind the door.

Xie Chengze, who had been feeling guilty since Shen Yuan stepped into the room, rushed out from behind the door and wanted to push Shen Yuan out. Unexpectedly, Shen Yuan just walked towards him. The two were too close to each other and moved at the same time, so they bumped into each other.

How could Xie Chengze's slender body, which had never been exercised, withstand the fierceness of a man with great martial arts skills? He was knocked backwards and subconsciously called out "Shen Yuan". He hurriedly tried to pull Shen Yuan's arm with both hands, but he grabbed nothing.

He thought he was going to fall hard on his butt, but suddenly he felt a pair of large hands around his waist, pulling him back forcefully.

His body pressed against a solid and taut chest, and his chin hit Shen Yuan's hard shoulder, causing Xie Chengze to hiss slightly in pain.

Realizing that he was safe, he wanted to push Shen Yuan away, but found that the big hands on his waist were still locking him tightly and he could not break free at all. He was forced to stick close to Shen Yuan in a posture of throwing himself into his arms, and could only rely on holding the jade belt on the other's waist with both hands to maintain his body balance.

On the side of his face, Shen Yuan lowered his head at some point.

The fine strands of hair on his forehead inadvertently tickled Xie Chengze's sensitive earlobes. He moved close to the fair and delicate neck of the person in his arms, sniffed with the tip of his nose, causing the person's body to tremble slightly, like a delicate flower hit by rain, attracting pity.