When Xizhen came out of the palace gate, he saw Aguihe and the carriage parked on the side of the road from a distance.

When Agui saw her come out, he hurriedly helped her open the car curtain.

"Waited a long time, didn't you? Thank you for your hard work. Xizhen said to him.

"It didn't take long, and Miss worked harder." Agui replied with a smile.

Miss can always give people just the right amount of care, making people feel kind from the heart, no wonder even the emperor likes to get along with her, Agui looked at her and praised her secretly in his heart.

As soon as she sat down, Agui immediately rode her horse and hurried.

"Agui, you won't have to pick me up tomorrow afternoon, I'm going out to do some errands, and I'll go back directly when I'm done." Xizhen said to him again.

"Okay." Agui hurriedly replied. Although she didn't know what she was going to do or whether it was dangerous, Agui didn't dare to ask more if she didn't know what she was going to say.

At this time, the surrounding sounds are silent, and the sound of horses' hooves is particularly clear and loud.

The results showed that her luck today was in danger, and she was relieved.

The carriage galloped all the way, and it didn't take long to return to the Shen Mansion.

Du Qiniang and Ji Yuelian were still waiting for her in the hall.

Seeing that they were still waiting for him so late, Xizhen's heart was both moved and guilty, and he hurriedly walked towards them.

"Have you eaten? Cold or not? Du Qiniang asked her.

"After eating, it's not cold, mother, sister-in-law, I may occasionally return late in the future, don't wait for me, go to bed early."

"Oh, anyway, you have to be safe." Du Qiniang said again. I know very well that if she returns late, even if she lies down early, she won't be able to sleep. But she also knows that now Xizhen has won the trust of the emperor and has to give advice to the emperor, so it is inevitable that she will come back late sometimes.

"If you don't come back, I know A-Niang won't be able to sleep." Ji Yuelian said with a smile.

Mixed feelings.

"I'll try not to be late. It's late at night, so let's go to sleep. Xizhen hurriedly helped Du Qiniang back to the room.

After settling down and seeing that her sister-in-law had also gone to sleep, Xizhen went back to her room.

…………………………

The next afternoon, after leaving the palace, Xizhen turned right, found a place where no one was, quickly changed into men's clothes, and walked towards a house in the suburbs.

What she is going to find is the most famous Azusa person in the whole capital 1 - Wan Haimo.

It is said that he is already in his fifties, and because of his great fame, the people who come to him to build a house are constantly asking him to build a house all year round, but because he is overwhelmed and does not want to be perfunctory, the conditions of cooperation he proposes have become more and more tricky, so in recent years there have been fewer and fewer people asking him for help.

As he grew older, he was happy to enjoy this semi-retired state, so he became more and more stubborn, and only willing to cooperate with people who shared his aesthetic or admired him.

Hee Zhen searched all the way according to the address provided by others, and finally came to his residence.

When the doorman came out and opened the door, Xi Zhen asked him to give Wan Haimo the design he had drawn.

Mending has never seen anyone who dares to skip those tricky conditions and hand in the design drawings directly, so he hesitated for a moment, and saw that he was dressed in men's clothes with extraordinary joy and grace, and he did not talk elegantly, not like a simple person, so he did not dare to slack off, and went into the house with the pile of design drawings to ask for instructions.

After a while, the doorman trotted out and said to her, "My master has an invite." ”

Xi Zhen smiled indifferently and immediately followed him inside.

But he said that Wan Haimo was originally working on a new device in the house, and when the doorman came in to report, he wanted to reply that he would not accept it, because he had not even discussed the basic conditions for cooperation, so where could he just look at the design drawings? Therefore, he only squinted at the design drawings in the doorman's hand, and found that there were at least fifty or so pages, and he was secretly surprised in his heart, and hurriedly took the pile of design drawings to look at them, and he was so shocked that he almost knelt down at this sight - but he had not entered the horizon space device, the pulley device, the bomb shelter, the dark arrow grid, the operation room of the transfer machine, the maze wall, the hall of the Bagua Array, and the automatic turnstile ...... Just hearing these names stunned him.

After reading fifty pages, he counted twenty-six mechanisms, and the structure and function of the house were unprecedentedly large.

He had never taken on so many projects, and there were many of them that he had never heard of, let alone seen before, so what kind of mind could design such a complex house?

He couldn't help but want to see this person, those tricky conditions were secondary.

Therefore, he hurriedly called the doorman out and invited Xizhen in.

Hee Zhen followed the doorman through the large courtyard to the living room.

Wan Haimo was already smiling at the entrance of the hall.

"Did you design this house?" Looking at Xizhen, who was still so young, Wan Haimo asked in disbelief.

"Yes, is it still in your eyes?" Hee-jin responded with a smile.

"I've been in the industry for 35 years, and I've never seen a house so peculiar and functional." Wan Haimo said from the bottom of his heart that he had a good impression of a person like 'him' with a clean and wise temperament.

"Master Wan has won the award, so do you dare to take on this project?" Xi Zhen asked. She was already keenly aware that Wan Haimo was interested in these designs and had a good impression of her, so she wanted to take the opportunity to stir things up.

"Looking at the entire capital, it is estimated that few people will dare to take it except me, and the son will ask if he doesn't believe it." Wan Haimo said quietly.

"Okay, then let's talk about cooperation."

"Since there are fifteen new types of mechanisms involved, I'm afraid it will take half a year to make them alone, and there is also the device that can be submerged in the horizon space, which I have never touched before, and I am afraid it will take a lot of time to study, so the price of the entire project will also be very considerable, and Childe must be mentally prepared."

"Please." Hee Zhen didn't even blink an eyelid.

Wan Haimer then quoted an estimated price.

"Okay, you can calculate the specific cost for me within three days. Also, you are not allowed to disclose the slightest rumor about this house, so we have to sign a contract. With that, Xi Zhen took out two pieces of paper from his pocket, which listed the contents of the contract in detail.

Wan Haimo looked at it and said, "Cooperation is nothing more than the word credit, and it won't be interesting for you to do this." ”

"I'd rather be a villain before a gentleman, and I can't compromise on that." Xi Zhen said very calmly.

"Hehe, okay, then it's decided." Wan Haimo gritted his teeth, signed the contract, and stamped his fingerprint.

He is also a smart person, and he has encountered a lot of disputes with customers on cooperation, and he knows the importance of setting rules in advance, and since the content of this contract is reasonable in his opinion, he does not mind signing the contract.

"I will pay the salary in three installments, this is the deposit, help me write a receipt, thank you!" Xi Zhen placed a small bag of silver taels on the table.

Wan Haimo happily wrote her a receipt.

"This is the address of the house." Hee-jin took out a piece of paper from another pocket, drew a road map on it, and wrote down the address in words.

The location is exactly where the Taoist Genji used to live, a place that few people know.

"Okay, I'll see for myself tomorrow." Wanheimer said.

"Okay, then thank you, Master Wan! I will come back to you in three days, so you can prepare for the start of work according to the contract. ”

With that, Xizhen said goodbye and left.

Wan Haimo then remembered that he hadn't even told 'him' about his tricky conditions, but soon he felt that it didn't matter, anyway, this project could make a lot of money, and he could get access to so many novel mechanisms, why not?

……………………………

Another day, in the afternoon, in the Ciyuan Palace, Empress Wenci and the protector Liu Shijian were talking secretly in the back room.

The sun was a little fierce, and even if the curtains were closed, there was still bright light coming in through those cracks, which made Empress Wenci feel slightly uncomfortable, she didn't like things that were too bright.

It was supposed to be a relaxing afternoon, but the two of them didn't look relaxed.

"First I made weapons, then I went to the palace as a teacher, and now I am a series of ideas to consolidate the frontier and the cities, and then I don't know what earth-shattering things will be done. Uncle, it seems that we need to pay attention to this person. Empress Wenci said in a deep voice.

"In fact, the emperor who should pay attention to her the most, now she enters the palace almost every day to see the emperor, and it is said that she stays for a long time every time she meets, which shows that the emperor's trust in her is increasing day by day, and if it goes on like this, it is not just a problem between the two of them, but a problem related to the entire Xi country." Liu Shipai said.

"But every proposal she proposes is for the benefit of the country and the people." Empress Wenci said again.

"Who knows if there will be an ulterior motive in this?" Liu Shiji lowered his voice.

……………………………

1 Remarks: Azusa people, ancient carpenters, also skilled craftsmen. There are seven carpenters, one of which is the Ziren, specializing in drinking vessels, arrow targets and the shelves of the bell. Later generations also called the construction workers "Ziren".