Future library

evening.

Cheng's mother packed things for Cheng Jinzhou with red and swollen eyes.

Cheng's father sat beside him helplessly. Although he didn't do anything, it was an exception for him to stay by the side. The guilt in his eyes was clearly visible. Whether as a nobleman or as a father, he is confident that he can provide his family and his children with the capital to settle down and live a happy life. Being named on the gold list and being promoted to the prefect of Shaonan City seems to be an affirmation of his ability. However, this senseless disaster cast a shadow over everything.

Like most literati, when faced with setbacks, especially unfavorable situations created by themselves, gentlemen choose to give in, while villains resist heroically.

Cheng Yunan has always been a standard scholar and gentleman. So apart from feeling sorry for himself, he didn't take any substantive action. In fact, there was really nothing he could do now.

Cheng Jinzhou had some difficulty adapting to the depressing atmosphere, so he made an excuse and said, "I should go say goodbye to Warlock Liu Kuangxing and Warlock Wang Linghexing."

"Go." Mother Cheng wiped her face with the back of her hand, turned around and forced a smile: "They also helped you a lot. I still have a few pairs of bottles in the room. You can give them to some star warlocks. , as a thank you gift."

"No need." Cheng Jinzhou shook his head and said, "I will thank them."

Cheng's father waved his hand and said: "Take Shi Yan Shi Mo, plus Meng Da Meng Er. Remember to meet grandma early tomorrow morning, and then we will set off."

Not knowing what to say, Cheng Jinzhou pursed his lips and left, feeling his heart twitch.

He didn't really think that he would encounter difficulties. If he had enough time and the resources at his disposal, the problems at hand could be solved. But for today's parents, the dilemma is real.

Cheng's mother watched Cheng Jinzhou pass through the small door and couldn't help wiping her tears again and said, "Fortunately, Meng Dameng Er is here. At least he won't suffer any disadvantages in the capital."

As she spoke, she began to patter.

Father Cheng turned his head in frustration and said in a hoarse voice: "There are inns along the way. It's safe."

Cheng's mother turned a deaf ear and said with a cry: "We should ask the old lady to send a few more people to follow Jinzhou to the capital. There are only two book boys following. When we get to the places where there is support in the capital, there is no capable person, and he has never been in good health. Okay, now it’s snowy again…”

"It's okay." Father Cheng repeated the words of comfort, not knowing what to say.

Cheng's mother dropped the clothes in her hands, thought seriously for a moment and then said, "My father-in-law left Qing Shuang here. It seems he sent a lot of people."

Cheng Yun'an stood up unhappily and said with a red face: "Envoy Liu Zhuan thought it was safe to leave his daughter in the Cheng family, so he asked us that if we let her go to the capital with Jinzhou, then..."

If Liu Bin wanted to carry out land reform in Hexi, he would definitely offend countless nobles. He promised Liu Qingshuang to Cheng Jinzhou and left him in Shaonan City, not only as an orphan but also with the intention of taking care of him. If he went to the capital, it would naturally go against his original intention.

Cheng's mother said nonchalantly: "When you marry, you obey your husband, no matter whether it's good or bad. How can she escape from the Cheng family? In the current situation, no one can be willful. Let me go and ask."

Cheng Yun'an let out a long sigh.

The three rooms were brightly lit, and the small courtyard where the star warlocks lived was also brightly lit.

Cheng Jinzhou didn't take the book boy with him. He picked up a big red lantern and walked slowly over. The distance from one end of the house to the other was equivalent to an ordinary pedestrian street. Although the surrounding buildings were sparse, they showed careful layout everywhere. Mark of. The Cheng family's more than a hundred years of operation, foundation and many years of twists and turns can be glimpsed in the house.

Each of the four star warlocks has an independent small courtyard that is connected to each other. In the middle is a carefully cultivated lotus pond. In the independent room in the corner, the knights accompanying the star warlocks live.

In the Great Xia Dynasty, knights and cavalry were completely different concepts. Although they did not belong to the aristocratic class, they had privileges equivalent to those in the imperial examination. As members of professional soldiers, knights from aristocratic families usually pursued becoming front-line commanders, while civilians Knights born in the family often start as high-ranking noble guards.

It is an honor to serve as the accompanying knight of a fourth-level star warlock, and they are also very serious. Even if it is dark, there are still people guarding the door, shaking their heads in boredom.

The knight guarding the gate saw Cheng Jinzhou's lantern from a distance. After looking at it carefully for a moment, he asked, "Is it the third brother?"

They all recognize Cheng Jinzhou and have a good impression of him. Not every 13-year-old child has the courage and ability to turn the tide.

"Is it Knight Yue Zhendong?" Cheng Jinzhou recalled the other party's name, raised the lantern and put it in front of his face and said with a smile, "Are Warlock Liu Kuangxing and Warlock Wang Linghexing here?"

He deliberately ignored Lu Xu who poured cold water on him.

"I'm afraid I'm working in the room at the moment." Yue Zhendong took a step forward and lowered his voice: "Are you okay?"

"It's not an urgent matter." Cheng Jinzhou smiled.

"Jinzhou? Come in when you come." Liu Kuang showed his excellent ear. Except for high-level astromancers of the third and fourth levels, ordinary astromancers would not have the luxury to continuously use the star array.

The knight quickly got out of the way and said with a smile: "Enter through the small garden and turn left to the courtyard of Warlock Liu Kuangxing."

Cheng Jinzhou smacked his lips, eavesdropping on the conversation between two people from such a long distance, a fourth-level star warlock is indeed very good at it. He thought with some malicious intent that if this guy could time travel to the 21st century, he could be a tabloid reporter and drive expensive cars every day.

Walking into the small courtyard, they saw four star warlocks gathered together. The nearly 100 square meters open-air courtyard was also filled with white boards with formulas and numbers written on them.

"I'm disturbing your work." Cheng Jinzhou smiled sheepishly, looked up at the sky and said with a smile, "Is it a little cold in the yard?"

"Do you feel cold?" Liu Kuang asked with a half-smile.

"Oh?" Cheng Jinzhou finally realized that he didn't feel the cold at all in the small courtyard where Liu Kuang lived, and there were no charcoal fires around. And when he was in the room, he even had to wear a thick cotton-padded jacket, but at this moment, several star warlocks were only wearing single clothes.

Dr. Cheng Da looked around with inquiring eyes and unbuttoned his collar at the same time. The environment seemed to really get warmer.

Liu Kuang smiled and pointed to the ground and said: "It's just a simple star formation."

"It's so convenient." This is definitely worthy of envy. Ordinary air conditioners may not have such power. If every household installs it, heating, air conditioning and other things can be completely retired.

Just as Cheng Jinzhou was thinking about it, Xiang Xin laughed: "It's not convenient at all. It cost 3,500 taels of silver to draw this star array."

"3500?" Cheng Jinzhou almost dropped his jaw. 3500 taels of silver has the purchasing power of more than 100,000 US dollars. If it is used to heat the heating, it can be used by a community. If it were used to hire labor, a little bookboy like Shi Yan could hire 2,000 people, which would be enough to build a house.

"It's mainly for Xiang Xin to practice." Liu Kuangyi said indifferently: "After the star warlock level is high, he will not be short of money. If there is any real need, it is just to contribute points. After all, a person's intelligence It’s limited, and only through brainstorming can we have a deeper understanding of the world.”

"Yes, yes, although I am not a one-star warlock, I still earned a lot of contribution points." Lu Xu finally found something to say, but his words made people laugh.

Cheng Jinzhou didn't answer their words, laughed twice, turned to a serious face and said, "Actually, I took the liberty to come here because I want to say goodbye to you all."

"Farewell? Why?" Xiang Xin called out first.

Wang Linghe also turned his head to express concern.

"Father asked me to enroll in Hongwen Hall." Cheng Jinzhou whispered, and it was very smooth for him to call Cheng Yun'an his father again.

Several star warlocks looked at each other. Wang Linghe smiled first and said: "This is a good thing..."

We are all smart people and have similar judgments on the situation. Cheng Jinzhou, who has lost his blessing, still has the status of a noble and the qualifications of a star warlock. It is time to move forward bravely. Regardless of whether Cheng Yunan is demoted or dies, he can only rely on himself to turn over. , entering Hongwen Hall is indeed the best way out for noble children.

The greatest tragedy is not falling, but not being able to stand up after falling.

"How are you going to leave?" Liu Kuang asked after pondering for a moment.

"The snow has almost melted, let's take a carriage." Cheng Jinzhou wanted to ride a horse, but his mother firmly opposed it. Considering that long-distance travel in winter would be very painful, Cheng Jinzhou also gave up the idea of ​​riding fast and practicing his riding skills. .

If you weren't worried that Cheng Yun'an might be convicted and wanted to enter Hongwen Hall before now, the weather would be the best in two months. But by then, a certain censor who wanted to earn qualifications might have been contentedly lying at home. The grape vines are down, and the next impeachment is being planned.

"We are also preparing to return to Beijing in the near future. If you can answer one question, I can consider letting you take the airship to join us." Liu Kuang didn't smile like an old man, but like a teacher who deliberately made a problem. . There is no coldness or politics on his face anymore, although Cheng Jinzhou has firmly remembered that look in his heart.

The airship is somewhat like an 18th century airship. The speed is slightly slower, and the power unit uses a star array. It is expensive as you can imagine, but the comfort level is also improved. It probably only takes two or three days to go from Shaonan to the capital. It's accessible, and it's actually much more comfortable.

Cheng Jinzhou looked at the whiteboards on the four sides with some interest. They were full of ellipses, parabolas, and calculations composed of various symbols. Liu Kuang represents the highest level of mathematics in this era. They are still lingering outside the gate of analytic geometry and have not yet formed a complete concept.

"What's the problem?" he asked tentatively.

"Just tell me how much you know about their properties. Let me see your thoughts outside of plane geometry." Liu Kuang spoke in a test-teaching tone. In the eyes of the star warlocks, even though Cheng Jinzhou made Although he has passed a surprising proposition, it does not mean that he has the level of a first-class star warlock. It only means that he paid attention to things that others did not pay attention to.

Cheng Jinzhou raised his eyebrows and looked from left to right. Whiteboards painted with soft paint were placed three or four close together, describing circles, ellipses, hyperbolas, parabolas... Without looking at the text content, he already understood that what this group of people were studying was exactly The famous conic section.

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