This made Qi Nichang not want to go out at all. She spent her days either lounging lazily on her couch or sitting drowsily on the swing, fearing she’d run into Chen Mo and he’d find out about her massages.

Worry upon worry, her body naturally grew weaker. Now, with the winter wind blowing, it would be surprising if she didn’t fall ill.

There was hardly anyone around to talk to, and her brother wasn’t by her side.

So her illness wasn’t improving quickly.

Quan Qiyang sighed and then said, "Sister, I hear from the others that you stay at the house all day and never go out. That’s not good."

"But brother, I don’t know anyone here, I have no playmates."

"You can visit the adults’ residence to play. There are many women, and I’ve met a few. They’re about your age, and you can find them to play with. You should have many topics to talk about.

As for the issue of identity, I’ve already discussed it with the adults, and Consort Jing won’t speak of it. So you can rest assured." Quan Qiyang finished, not waiting for Qi Nichang’s reply, and decided, "That’s settled then. I’ll discuss it with the adults tomorrow. They should agree."

Qi Nichang: "..."

...

"Chen Mo, what are you doing? I am the Empress of the Great Song, how dare you defy me!"

In a brightly lit room, Zhao Jiangning, dressed in a luxurious palace gown, sternly rebuked Chen Mo as he approached her, with a gradually panicking expression.

"Don’t... don’t come any closer." Zhao Jiangning kept retreating.

"Cough, cough, Jiang Ning, that’s enough."

Chen Mo was also caught up in the moment, intending for Zhao Jiangning to play the humiliated and enduring Princess De Ning, but she acted so convincingly that it made Chen Mo somewhat embarrassed.

"Bold of you, please restrain yourself." Zhao Jiangning seemed to be getting carried away with the act and scolded Chen Mo.

"..."

There was no choice. Chen Mo reluctantly played the role of the villain bullying the distressed empress.

Half an hour later, Zhao Jiangning lay in Chen Mo’s arms, drenched in sweat, holding him tightly, saying shyly, "Master, you’re so bad... I really like it."

Chen Mo: "..."

"Who taught you all this?

Sigh, what a disgrace, what a disgrace.

"You can’t do this again." Chen Mo lightly tapped Zhao Jiangning on the forehead.

"Oh." Zhao Jiangning nodded, then whispered, "I was planning to let Wanqiu play Fujin next time."

"Cough, cough." Chen Mo coughed awkwardly, saying, "Actually, doing this once or twice is fine, it’s all part of the fun in the bedroom, right?"

...

The one hundred and forty-second day of the Great Turmoil.

Li Weiqiu and Zhang Lie, whom Chen Mo dispatched to purchase grain, returned and brought back a letter from the Wu Family for Chen Mo.

"Brother Chen, I think you should agree to the Wu family’s proposal. This way, not only do you not have to pay for this batch of grain, but the Wu family also promised to provide another batch as a dowry. Such a wealthy connection can’t be found anywhere else in the world.

And that girl Xin’Er, I’ve heard about her too, young and beautiful, virtuous and gifted. She and Chen Mo are perfectly matched."

In the hall, Li Weiqiu teased Chen Mo.

Officially, Li Weiqiu called Chen Mo "sir," since they were working together, he had to acknowledge the hierarchy.

In private, Li Weiqiu still called Chen Mo "Brother Chen."

Chen Mo didn’t see anything wrong with that.

Hearing Li Weiqiu’s tease, Chen Mo shook his head, "Haven’t I told you I already have someone I care about?"

"Really?" Li Weiqiu was taken aback, then said in surprise, "I thought Brother Chen you were just joking."

Chen Mo rolled his eyes at him, "Do I seem like someone who jokes?"

Li Weiqiu gave an embarrassed smile.

"So how do we respond to the Wu family?" Zhang Lie chimed in.

"Pay as much as it costs," Chen Mo said.

"Okay."

...

Li Weiqiu and Zhang Lie hadn’t been gone long.

Luo Zhen approached, saying that after purchasing this batch of grain, there wasn’t much money left on the books.

After all, the consumption at the Gunpowder Workshop was also significant.

Chen Mo said he would think of a solution.

Then Chen Mo summoned Gao Zheng.

...

"Huh... sir, you called for me." Gao Zheng walked into the warm room, exhaling a breath of cold air that was clearly visible indoors.

Gao Zheng hadn’t reached the Innate stage and was still an ordinary person, feeling the chill of winter.

Chen Mo had a maid pour him a cup of warm wine before saying, "How’s the new army’s training going?"

"Overall not bad, but about a dozen people have died," Gao Zheng knew Chen Mo referred to the new army’s cold endurance training, where they soaked in cold water for a quarter of an hour in the dead of winter.

"The casualties aren’t huge, as long as they can endure the training, their chances of survival on the battlefield will increase," Chen Mo took a sip of wine and said.

Gao Zheng nodded.

After some small talk, Chen Mo got to the point, "I also have other important matters to instruct you on today."

"Sir, please instruct."

"Do you know anyone who profits from the dead?" Chen Mo raised his cup, covering half his face, showing only his eyes.

Gao Zheng didn’t react at first to his words.

But after a few hints, Gao Zheng realized Chen Mo was talking about tomb raiders. 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

"I want you to find some experienced people in this field and form a team called Tomb Raider Captains," Chen Mo slowly said.

Understanding what Chen Mo intended, Gao Zheng said, "Sir, isn’t that somewhat..."

"Unethical?" Chen Mo completed his sentence.

"No, no." Gao Zheng quickly shook his head.

"One can’t bring anything into the world, nor take anything out in death. If the living are struggling, what do the dead need all that money for? Let’s spend it on their behalf first."

This decision was one Chen Mo had made after thorough consideration.

"Agree," Gao Zheng said.

"Remember, if discovered, use the King Yan’s name," acts like these shouldn’t see the light of day, nor should they be done often, but the current predicament forced Chen Mo’s hand, though reputation must be considered, so the blame had to be shifted.

"Agree."

...

Then, Chen Mo visited the Gunpowder Workshop.

Master Tie Li had sent someone to inform him that the prototype of the Red Coat Cannon was completed, inviting Chen Mo to take a look.

Upon arriving at the Gunpowder Workshop, Chen Mo indeed saw the Red Coat Cannon he had initially designed and shown to Tie Li.

In his previous life, although gunpowder had long been discovered, a truly mature cannon only emerged during the Ming and Qing dynasties.

The delay was primarily due to the poor quality of extracted iron and copper ore, which contained many impurities, making gun barrels prone to bursting, significantly reducing safety and making the development of large cannons challenging.

Additionally, the gunpowder had a low nitrate content and many impurities, reducing burn efficiency, and some impurities produced harmful substances upon combustion.

But in this alternate world, the use of True Qi for refining could completely remove these impurities, and with Chen Mo having enough iron and copper ore, along with sufficient funds for research and Chen Mo’s guidance, developing the Red Coat Cannon prototype was not surprising.

However, since it was just developed, many defects remained.

Thus, Chen Mo engaged in in-depth communication with Tie Li about these defects, hoping to improve them and deploy the cannon on the battlefield promptly.

To achieve this, Chen Mo stayed at the Flame Workshop for several days, handling all daily necessities there.

Upon returning to the Luo Mansion,

Chun Lan informed him of a letter that had arrived for him from the Capital.

Chen Mo knew it was a reply from Xiao Yunxi, quickly grabbing the letter and heading to the study, where he pieced together Xiao Yunxi’s intended message from the Great Song Plants.

"As I gaze at the sun and moon, my thoughts gently linger. The road is long, and will you return?"

Chen Mo was left dumbfounded after reading it, unsure of its meaning.

One regrets having read so little when one needs it the most!

With no other choice, Chen Mo sought Jiang Ruoqing and the others for help deciphering it.

Soon, Chen Mo understood the message.

Essentially, as days pass by, the feeling of missing you remains constant, the journey is long and far, when will you return?

The sincerity touched Chen Mo profoundly.

And among the ladies, the spirit of gossip arose quickly.

"Master has another woman he fancies in the capital..."