Tangyuan decisively shook her head, "No way, I learned all this from books, but I have a good memory, so I remembered everything. Plus, when I was in Yikun Palace, I even followed a carpenter and learned some basic, superficial skills. They’re not much to use on a large scale, but at least I know something, enough so that carpenters could build these described things from the books without any problem."
"Books? What kind of books did you read? Show them to this Prince."
Rong Heng clearly didn’t believe her, and he considered himself well-read, too—why hadn’t he read those books?
"Have you gone mad? Where am I now? How could I possibly have books from Dongru Country? However, I can tell you the name of the book, it’s ’Baidu.’ You can ask around when you get back. If you can find it that would be great, but if not, there’s nothing you can do. After all, the book I read seemed quite tattered; I don’t even know from which corner it sprang out."
Rong Heng, seeing her talk with such conviction, believed her and silently noted down the name of the book. He didn’t see Tangyuan rolling her eyes massively at him as she turned and lowered her head.
"Damn man, making me your slave, go ahead and search. You’ll never find it in your lifetime. Baidu is the encyclopedia of Hua Country for Five Thousand Years; how could it possibly be summed up in a single book?"
Since Rong Heng had indeed been busy with the irrigation of the fields for a while, after getting these ideas, he couldn’t even afford to have supper and immediately stood up and left. Tangyuan felt that her mission was accomplished and went to wash up and sleep by herself.
In the middle of the night, while she was sleeping beautifully, someone shook her like a rattle drum. She woke up startled; Rong Heng was tugging at her clothes, dragging her up from the bed, "Are you a pig, sleeping like that? I’ve been calling you for ages. Look at you drooling, it’s disgusting."
Tangyuan subconsciously reached to touch the corner of her mouth, but he didn’t give her the chance to worry about her appearance.
"Hurry up, get dressed properly and come with me to the camp. They’re all waiting for your explanation. If this matter isn’t sorted, you can forget about sleeping. It’s your chance to make your master proud; what are you hesitating for? Hurry up and come with me, and also show those simple-minded lads that you’re not just a fat person, but a clever fat person. You’re not just a woman, but a woman who can match the top scorer. Come on, hurry!"
To have such high praise from this Prince was quite unexpected for Tangyuan, but she didn’t forget to negotiate terms while the opportunity was present.
"Prince, if I handle this matter well, can I reduce my servitude by half a year?" Updates are released by novel•fire.net
At first, Rong Heng didn’t understand. When he realized she was asking for half a year off her three-year servitude, he became displeased.
"Wow, getting gutsy, aren’t we? Now you even start bargaining and setting terms with your master?"
Tangyuan smiled sheepishly, "In business, we talk business, right? Besides, aren’t I just learning from you?"
"Alright, what harm is there in agreeing to it? As long as you handle this matter neatly and make that old man hurry up and send me back, I’ll show mercy and reduce half a year for you."
"That won’t do, spoken words hold no proof. You have to write me a promissory note and stamp it with your seal."
"Tangyuan, oh Tangyuan, you’re not foolish at all!"
"How could I be foolish if I can come up with all these clever schemes?"
Eventually, a certain Prince, albeit very unwillingly, came to the desk and wrote her a promissory note.
With the promissory note in hand, she became even more efficient, following Rong Heng to the camp and using the overnight time to give the soldiers a lively and visually engaging lesson combining physics and agriculture with carpentry.