The Carriage Rumbles Southward

When setting off again, Xiang Bei boarded the carriage first and entered the compartment. She grabbed the handles above the axles and lifted them forcefully, raising the entire seat bottom. Then, she propped up the four wooden pillars folded in the middle, instantly creating a small square table. With additional recessed spaces on the sides of the axles beneath the tabletop, it transformed into two rows of benches, allowing for much more comfortable seating with legs stretched out. Xiang Bei placed parchment paper, pencils, and two cups of tea on the table, setting the stage for a journey discussion.

Since they had already opened up about secrets between them, Xiang Bei took advantage of the leisure time during this journey to impart astronomical knowledge to Cheng Mo. She explained concepts of the universe, Earth, and world cultures while roughly sketching out the surrounding map of their journey on the parchment. As the carriage moved forward, the unlocked spatial scale of Xiang Bei's power in the Jade Space had reached a range of 100 kilometers radius, with her as the center.

"Xiao Bei, how many more brilliant ideas do you have in store for me? How many more surprises do you have in store for me?" Are you still going to claim you're not a fairy?"

"Well, who knows, there might actually be a possibility. So, if the fairy want to hear a song now, Would you like to sing for her?" With the knowledge output being a bit overwhelming, Xiang Bei wanted to lighten the mood and relieve Cheng Mo's stress, so she made a joke.

"You're too bold, aren't you? Are you treating me like a singer?" Cheng Mo pretended to be angry, but he looked more like he was shy.

"It's about balancing work and rest, you know. I've been dealing with maps and plans all morning, and I can't even take a break. If you're not going to sing, I'll just go to sleep." Xiang Bei quickly lowered the small table back onto the seat bottom, then proudly pulled out a single-person mattress from the space in front of Cheng Mo's eyes and hopped onto it, bouncing around. "Oh, Little Dian Dian, you're truly my mischievous little elf genius. This spring mattress is really comfortable."

"Who's Little Dian Dian? And what's a spring? Xiang Bei, is this bed soft because of the spring? The spring, I remember last time you made it by wrapping a red-hot iron rod in a coil, and you called it a spring, right? Can you let me try it too?" Cheng Mo suddenly remembered what a spring was, but what caught his attention next was something else. "And you mentioned Little Dian Dian, could it be that you're referring to Cheng Dian who makes springs for you? How can you be so intimate with him?"

"Are you done yet? Are you a curious baby? It's fine if you don't sing, but can you be quiet and let others rest?" Xiang Bei has lbecame willful and chose the cold war route.

"I'll sing, alright? If I sing, you're not allowed to call him Little Dian Dian anymore. Also, I can't sing, but can I play the Zither instead? I can play for as long as you want, but I really can't sing a song."

"This is what you said, play as long as you want." Xiang Bei quickly sat up, pleased that she could listen to him play the Zither．Her intention is actually just to get him involved and liven up the atmosphere, whether it's playing the zither or singing doesn't matter.

"I always keep my word." Cheng Mo, seeing how quickly the upset girl was appeased, felt much better.

"Alright, I forgive you. Move over a bit, the bed is ready for you already, try it out." Xiang Bei took out another single spring mattress from the space for Cheng Mo, "Here, this one is made of 200 small springs woven together and padded with three quilts, absolutely the best shock absorption. And there's also the down comforter I made by hand, an enjoyment that even the palace doesn't have."

"I can't feel any vibrations from the carriage at all. Hey, Xiao Bei, every time we report these new inventions to Father Emperor in detail, he always responds with just four words: 'very pleasing to the heart'. He never adopts them or implements them. What's he thinking indeed?"

"Isn't 'very pleasing to the heart' a response? Let us do as we please, aren't we promoting them? But be honestly I have to say, your Father Emperor does seem to care about you. He's blatantly giving you silver. If he were to adopt them, the management and operational rights of them will be transferred to the national government, no longer under your personal independent ownership. In this situation, we're undeniably monopolistic merchants now.

That's why there's an old idiom in the East: 'Blood is thicker than water'. There is another saying: 'Even if the meat is boiled in the pot, they are still family.'"Xiang Bei, being an impartial observer, gave a very objective assessment of the Emperor's attitude.

"I left the palace to my maternal grandfather's home in the Southern Frontier when I was six. In all the years I spent there as a dependent, he never once asked about me. Less than half a year after Mother Queen passed away, news came from the palace that Concubine Shu was three months pregnant. Care of me? Those are the most meaningless words to me." Cheng Mo's estrangement from his father Emperor had been long-standing and couldn't be resolved with just a few words from Xiang Bei. However, Xiang Bei's mention of the direction they could develop in made him pay attention. "I just hope that what we're doing can help more people especially my DongBinh' people first, live prosperous lives, and help Yunmeng become stronger. I don't care about family ties or royal affections anymore."

"Don't be so pessimistic. Your brother, Rongzhi, cares a lot about you." Xiang Bei saw Cheng Mo sinking into a melancholic mood again as she spoke. Emo young man, can't handle too much, better change the mood quickly. "Alright, no much talking, let me sing you a song, and you take a break in the comfortable spring mattress, okay?."