Ming Dynasty and New Rome and Infinite Magic Machine

Chapter 1528 Lanfang's Disposal

To Shang Luo's surprise—and truly to his surprise—Zheng Shijie appeared downstairs before his meeting with Zhu Xianxi had even ended.

"Did you teleport here?!" Zhu Xianxi exclaimed in shock. "If you had told me you were coming earlier, I would have given you an extra pair of chopsticks for dinner."

"I," Zheng Shijie said, leaning against the doorframe, "can't I hurry up? If I don't come, you're going to sell me off. Brother Huohua, what exactly are you going to do? Is Lanfang no longer to your liking?"

[It's here! The original wife's lines after being seduced and then abandoned. Wow~~ I'm totally shipping them~~]

"What do you mean by agreeable or disagreeable? We used Lanfang not because we agreed with it, and we want to abolish Lanfang now not because we disagree with it."

What a scumbag's statement!

"You...you've forgotten that we still have dreams? What did we say together in that laboratory? You promised me that you would talk about how useless the officials are and that Lanfang should be encouraged more."

Wow~~ You two even have a child together, you should keep up the good work. Okay, I can't make this up anymore. If I keep going, I'll really start to believe something really happened between them.

"Did I say that? I think I did. But I was talking about the progress of the experiment. Our experimental progress here is faster than the entire imperial court, after all, I have a different kind of furnace. But that's not important. What's important is that I didn't actually make this decision."

"Who is it? Who else but you can decide that?"

“There’s something you need to understand—even I can’t decide to cripple Lanfang on my own, because this matter is so outrageous that it exceeds the scope of my insignificant direct decision-making power.”

That's true, because Zhu Xianxi didn't actually have the power to appoint people. Although he could directly appoint people to the cabinet, the cabinet didn't have clearly defined ranks; theoretically, it was just a joint meeting of the six ministers. Aside from cabinet appointments, his personnel appointments required cabinet approval. Without cabinet approval, he couldn't do anything—he could use the oversight system to remove people, but he couldn't bring them back. Because there were no more eunuchs these days, he couldn't promote important officials from the Directorate of Ceremonial.

Abolishing Lanfang institutionally is not a decision Zhu Xianxi could make alone. Even if he did make that decision, the cabinet would probably have just as many questions as Zheng Shijie himself.

"So, what's the reason?"

"Because that's what Aozang Wang decided."

"What does his decision as a Dragon King have to do with our family?" Suddenly, he thought for a moment, "Hmm?"

"Hmm. Think about it yourself."

Zheng Shijie suddenly looked up: "Was this my father's idea?"

"Mm." Zhu Xianxi nodded.

They could only exchange a few "hmm"s about this issue, because only they themselves knew the specifics.

Wait a minute. So, after the last time, his father, who has the surname Guo, re-established contact with him?

"It seems so. But that's none of our business; it's someone else's internal affair."

“Alright.” Zheng Shijie nodded. “I agree. Since it was my father’s decision, I agree. It’s no wonder you agreed; it’s the vassal himself returning the territory.”

"That's not the case. In fact, Ao Zang's proposed plan is 'Nine Dragons Governing the Seas.' He will dismantle the Dragon Palace and distribute it among all the sea territories that need to be governed. Lan Fang will be part of that—after all, you wouldn't think of giving up your immortality just to rule the sea territories, would you?"

"No, no. What I mean is, it was agreed beforehand that we would be left with a portion, but I thought it had changed—the Dragon Palace is the portion that was left behind, right?"

Yes. Are you satisfied now?

"I'm satisfied. Since it was my father's decision, there's nothing to be dissatisfied about."

"By the way, how's the banana research going lately?"

"Oh right." Shangluo also remembered, "Actually, we have more than one kind of spiritual plant, right? The banana was Lanfang's experiment?"

“Unfortunately, we don’t have Spirit Bananas,” Zheng Shijie replied. “Spirit Radishes are a rare and stable variety, and only Spirit Radishes can maintain their properties during large-scale cultivation. Lanfang’s research on bananas is to achieve a qualitative change through the accumulation of ordinary bananas.”

"So, what was the result?"

“You can tell by looking at his hair,” Zhu Xianxi said, taking a sip of tea. “It was useful, but not really. Later, our research directions diverged, and he kept focusing on the bananas. But that wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. At least it increased banana production. He only took the bananas he needed to compost, and ate the rest.”

"What is composting? That's called fusion."

"Yes, yes, all these years you haven't even produced a decent bottle of spiritual liquid. Its only use is to mix it with spiritual radish to make banana-flavored spiritual liquid."

"Huh? Do you also have banana flavor?" Shangluo asked.

“Yes.” Zheng Shijie thought for a moment. “You can send some next time. After the imperial court started selling spiritual energy as an energy drink, I also started placing such drinks in Pontianak, Singapore, and Sunda in Java. To prevent the bananas from attracting the natives, I even added a gene lock. Oh, by the way, Shangluo, I haven’t properly thanked you for the Foundation Establishment Pill you sent me.”

"How is Guo Xing's cultivation level lately?"

"Um, I'm a bit busy."

“That’s just how he is,” Zhu Xianxi shook his head. “He seems very anxious, but he’s too lazy to do anything when it really matters. Even if you use the Foundation Establishment Pill to help him open up his joints, he still has to put in the effort himself. It turns out that the gap between mortals and celestials seems to be bigger than he imagined. I’m telling you, you’d better step up your game. Otherwise, you’ll be rushing to ascend when everyone else is doing it, and all that effort you put into using the Foundation Establishment Pill will have been for nothing.”

"I don't think so. I think this will be very beneficial for my advancement to the Golden Core stage."

"Yes, yes, then you should work harder—and, the reason I called you here is because of one thing."

"Finally, the main event is here? I think you just called me here to tease me."

Hmm? Something's starting to go wrong again.

"The main reason I called you here is that Yanqiu needs to cooperate with my treatment, so please give her a week off."

Zheng Shijie didn't react.

"Why, you don't agree?"

"That's it?!"

"What else can I do? Yanqiu is my patient now, and I have to be responsible for my patient."

"You called me here just for this?! Yanqiu is just my employee. Couldn't you have just made a phone call? Am I your follower who's at your beck and call now, and not as important as a little girl?"

[I'll forget it, I'm not going to say anything.]

"I already told you, she's my patient. This is my first time treating someone, so I have to be careful."

"Okay, I'll give him a day off. But you have to treat me to a meal."

"Isn't this exactly why I invited you to dinner?" Afterwards, they had a delicious meal.

After returning home, Shangluo leaned against the wall. He hadn't eaten so much in a long time—eating together seemed to increase his appetite.

The main reason is that, while Zheng Shijie claims there's been no progress, he has actually made quite significant progress: his appetite has become enormous, comparable to that of a celestial being. In this meal, he ate almost half a pig. Given more time, he might be able to devour the entire pig.

"Hiccup~~"

"What's wrong with you?" Phaethon asked in surprise. "You seem... you seem to have eaten too much? You can eat until you're stuffed?"

"I never realized that persuading someone to eat could be so effective. Those two people were holding a whole pork hock and urging me to eat it, saying, 'One, two, three, drink it all in one gulp.' I felt like my blood sugar was about to explode."

"Shangluo, you're back~~" Victoria greeted him from inside. "Did you succeed today? Miss Yanqiu has been waiting for you for a while."

Has she returned? How is she now?

"It seems like I'm alright. But I still have the medicine in my mouth, so I can't speak. We're playing games."

"Go tell Yanqiu that she's on free—no, I mean, she's on vacation. Guo Xing gave her seven days of paid leave so she can rest and recover before going back to work. Oh, and this too."

Shangluo took out a small paper bag: "This is a gift from Guo Xing to the employees. Could you pass it to her for me? I'm so full, I want to sit down for a while."

"Okay~~" Victoria took the paper bag away, leaving Shang Luo still standing there, leaning against the door frame.

Should I help you to bed?

"No need, I can just lie down on the sofa over there for a while. Oh, by the way, where are they playing games?"

"In the attic. Victoria has set up a whole audio-visual system upstairs from you, and Ms. Agatha is so annoyed by the noise that she's baking bread in the kitchen now."

"Won't the neighbors hear us?"

"No, that room is soundproof—of course, there's no way to sound it from inside. They seem quite happy."

"Then I'll call Yanqiu down later." Shangluo sat down on the sofa and placed the small square box from his pocket on the table.

"Huh??? What is this?"

"Something very important. Very expensive, you know, it cost a fortune to get it. What do you think it is?"

"Necklace? Ring?"

"What are you thinking? Why would I send Yanqiu these things for no reason? These are her teeth."

Before she could finish speaking, the attic door above her head opened, and Yanqiu descended from upstairs: "Tooth??? Your teeth are healed?"

"I knew you'd come down. Here you go." Shang Luo handed over the box.

"Isn't this expensive?"

"If we're talking about expensive, then it really is very expensive."

After all, this is the world's only "regenerating tooth." Once installed, the missing tooth can be replaced. This is the ultimate dream of dentistry; with it, the final solution for all teeth can be extraction and implantation, eliminating the need to waste time and energy on alternative solutions.

But for the Dragon Palace, this was actually very simple; it was just a part of the dragon palace that had taken human form.

Moreover, Shangluo had only just realized that mirages were actually very suitable for use as auxiliary components inside the human body.

Because mirages melt when exposed to high temperatures, but remain stable at body temperature—roughly the same as body temperature.

This is why dishes made with mirage gas could only be served cold, as there was no way to heat them.

However, the human body is naturally thermoregulatory and can maintain its internal temperature well. After the human body is enhanced with mirage energy, this mirage energy can already function within the human body's normal environment.

Of course, dental work requires some special techniques, since teeth occasionally come into contact with things that are higher than the human body, such as drinking hot water.

Considering this, the tooth that Yanqiu is about to use is quite interesting. It seems to be a new technology in the Dragon Palace as well. However, the Dragon Palace will transfer the entire technology later, so there's no need to research a tooth at this point.

"Ah, finally, I'm finally free from pain." Yanqiu held the small box. "Technology really does change lives."

"Are you going to keep this tooth yourself, or should I keep it for you?"

Yanqiu will have to wait a few more days before she can deal with her dental problem. It seems that the bacteria are quite stubborn right now, so she needs to use a general medicine to suppress them first before going to the Imperial Guard General Hospital to have the tooth extracted. After that, she can have the regenerated tooth installed.

"It's not safe for me to keep it; you should keep it for me."

"Okay." Shang Luo nodded and put the package in his bag. "By the way, you have a week off. Where do you want to go?"

"I don't want to go anywhere, I just want to find a place to lie down."

"Ah, that's true." For Yanqiu, going out is always like working overtime. But finding a quiet place to lie still is the best rest she can get.

"I'm going back to class tomorrow. So, you'll stay here with Victoria?"

"Mmm. I've found that we seem to get along very well."

Neither of them likes to go out, so they definitely get along well. It's just that I'm worried that if the diligent Miss Yanqiu spends too much time with her, she'll become a couch potato.

"It's just human nature, so let it be. More importantly, our plan has finally reached a crucial step."

After the Dragon Palace officially expressed its willingness to join the "Grand Plan," the imperial court was fully prepared in every aspect—both its own and the protective bulwarks were ready.

However, there are still some areas where arrangements have not been made.

For example?

"For example, the areas we previously demarcated were actually just human territory. But in reality, humanity's control over the Earth is not that high. To control the Earth, in addition to eliminating human nations, we also need to have complete control over the entire Earth's natural environment—this is a prerequisite for ascension. The Dragon Palace incident has given me a wake-up call. It seems that the Dragon Palace has already gained experience in managing the sea, so the imperial court doesn't need to manage the sea personally. This solves a large part of the problem. But besides the sea, there are also mountains and forests."

This means we'll still have to deal with elves?

"As I said before, elves can actually play a significant role if properly controlled. The mountains and forests of this world need to be controlled, or as the court says, by the 'mountain spirits.' In short, whether it's elves or mountain spirits, a decisive battle to subdue them is probably inevitable. This will likely be nature's counterattack against us."

(End of this chapter)