Lin Zhao listened to Qin Zheng’s question with a deep frown.

“I don’t understand the process of building a suspension bridge.

I only heard from Big Brother Wang Biao that they were preparing to lay the dragon beams.

But last night, the river flooded, and the foundations we dug for the bridge piers all got submerged and collapsed.

The foreman from the Western stronghold can’t avoid responsibility either.

My brother rushed to the bridge early in the morning without even having breakfast.

If we have to ask for help from the Western stronghold again, they’ll not only demand a hefty price, but my brother will also be embarrassed.”

Actually, constructing the suspension bridge was one reason Lin Yao tolerated the Western stronghold.

With the mountain surrounded by water on all sides, and steep cliffs, transporting plundered goods uphill was quite challenging.

If they had a suspension bridge, it would make transportation much easier.

Hearing the problems Lin Zhao mentioned, Qin Zheng furrowed her brows deeply. “Wasn’t there any slope when digging the foundations? Or drainage channels?”

Lin Zhao looked puzzled. “What are you talking about, Sister Zheng?”

She scratched her head. “Actually, I don’t know what those terms mean. When they rebuilt the ancestral hall in the village when I was a child, I saw them place some animal bones under the beams and pillars for warding off evil spirits. Could dragon beams serve a similar purpose?”

These were all construction terms, and it was understandable that Lin Zhao, being an outsider, didn’t understand them.

Qin Zheng patiently explained, “Dragon beams are not real bones but wooden structures that support the overall shape of the suspension bridge and secure its structure.”

“Oh, so dragon beams are just wood.” Lin Zhao was quite intrigued.

Qin Zheng added, “Not entirely accurate. Dragon beams are a major structural component of a building, like the bones supporting our bodies. It doesn’t matter what material they are made of. If the suspension bridge is made of wood, then they are indeed wooden. But if it’s made of steel cables and plates, then they are made of steel.”

Lin Zhao finally understood.

She looked at Qin Zheng with great admiration. “Sister Zheng, how do you know so much?”

She finally asked the question.

Qin Zheng knew she couldn’t reveal her identity and replied vaguely, “My ancestors worked in the Maritime Office, and our family has many books about ships and bridges.

Before I got married, I read some of them. I’m only telling you this, so don’t mention it to anyone else, including my husband.”

If the Prince found out, it would be bad.

The Duke of Qin had never worked in the Maritime Office.

Moreover, knowledge related to construction wasn’t something one could grasp just by reading books.

Back in the day, she spent several years studying theoretical knowledge at school, but that only scratched the surface of her field.

After starting work, she had to start from scratch.

During the two years of grassroots rotation, she had done all the dirty and tiring work on the construction site, such as measuring, excavating, and pouring concrete.

Being an engineer meant she couldn’t just look at design drawings.

She had to be familiar with every aspect of construction work and understand the difficulty of each task in order to match the appropriate labor and personnel and develop construction plans in advance.

Her lie might fool Lin Zhao, who didn’t understand, but it couldn’t deceive someone as shrewd as the Crown Prince.

Lin Zhao nodded heavily at Qin Zheng’s words. “Don’t worry, Sister Zheng. I won’t tell anyone else. But…”

She hesitated slightly. “Why shouldn’t your husband know?”

Qin Zheng paused for a second.

There was a saying: once you weave one lie, you have to weave countless more to cover it up.

Lowering her eyelashes, she said with a clear conscience, “My husband comes from a scholarly family. They value virtues over talents in women. Reading those books doesn’t conform to the norms.”

In her heart, Qin Zheng imagined a little figure, tearfully apologizing to the Crown Prince.

She didn’t intend to discredit him.

She had to say this so that Lin Zhao wouldn’t suspect her and wouldn’t mention her knowledge of construction to the Prince.

Sure enough, when Lin Zhao heard Qin Zheng’s explanation, her face showed a hint of indignation. “This damned society! Why should women be inferior to men?”

She felt sorry for Qin Zheng, but she also knew that many things couldn’t be changed just by feeling indignant.

Afraid of causing trouble for Qin Zheng, she promised, “I won’t let anyone else know about this.”

This girl was pure-hearted and hated evil. Qin Zheng felt genuinely close to her.

Staying in the stronghold as guests, they received friendly treatment from the people of the Eastern stronghold.

Last night, Lin Zhao had gone to stir up trouble in the Western stronghold just to help Qin Zheng vent her anger.

This had led to the rupture of the alliance between the Eastern and Western strongholds and the suspension of the bridge construction.

Qin Zheng felt quite guilty about it.

When Lin Zhao mentioned the obstacles in building the bridge, Qin Zheng wanted to do something for them.

After all, compared to the projects she had handled before, this was hardly anything.

She initially thought it was just a theoretical problem that needed some technical guidance for Lin Zhao to pass on.

But the issues Lin Zhao mentioned were beyond technical guidance; they were fundamental flaws.

After thinking it over, Qin Zheng decided to go and inspect the site before giving any advice.

She said, “If you trust me, Ah Zhao, you can take me to the bridge construction site. Maybe I can help.”

Lin Zhao’s eyes lit up. “Really?”

Qin Zheng nodded. “But we have to conceal the purpose of our visit and come up with a pretext.”

“That’s easy. I’ll tell Aunt Wang that I’m going to bring lunch to my brother and them at noon!” Lin Zhao glanced at the bare mud outside the kitchen where all the weeds had been pulled out.

“Since there are no snake-repelling plants in your yard, you can come with me! We’ll say I’m taking you to dig up some snake-repelling herbs!”

Qin Zheng nodded after considering, “That reason works.”

The pot on the stove hadn’t boiled much, and there was a faint smell of burning.

Qin Zheng hurriedly used a damp cloth to lift the pot off the stove. “Look at me, I almost forgot about the medicine.”

Fortunately, it was only burnt at the bottom.

After squeezing out the residue, she managed to pour out most of the medicinal liquid.

Originally, Lin Zhao had some goodwill towards the Prince.

But when she thought about what Qin Zheng had said earlier about their family valuing “virtue over talent in women,” her expression soured.

“It’s just as well it’s burnt. If they asked me to make medicine, I’d have to add two extra taels of coptis! Sister Zheng, you’re so good, but marrying into their family, you still have to put up with those annoying things.”

Feeling extremely guilty, Qin Zheng was just glad that the kitchen was far from the main house, so the Prince couldn’t hear the words she had fabricated to discredit him.

She cleared her throat and said, “My husband treats me well.”

Lin Zhao looked at her with a heavy heart.

Considering that the Prince was highly skilled and handsome, at least outwardly, they seemed to be a perfect match.

He hadn’t abandoned her and fled alone during the danger.

Her resentment towards him diminished slightly, and she couldn’t help but sigh, “Why can’t men in this world be perfect?”

Shaking her head with an air of resignation, she said, “Sister Zheng, I’ll go help Aunt Wang first, then come find you at noon.”

Watching Lin Zhao’s skeptical departure, Qin Zheng felt as though she had shattered a young girl’s fantasy of love.

She silently recited a few words of apology in her heart.

Aunt Lu had a few acres of land in the stronghold and went to work in the fields after breakfast.

With Lin Zhao gone, only Qin Zheng and the Prince remained in the courtyard.

Carrying the bowl of burnt medicinal liquid, she walked into the main house and called the Prince to take his medicine.

Because she had snatched his blanket last night and almost squeezed him under the bed, and now she had made up such a story about male chauvinism, Qin Zheng felt too embarrassed to look at the Prince.

As the Prince took his medicine, she sewed up the clothes he had torn when fighting off the river bandits.

She said, “When the weather warms up, snakes and insects may come into the courtyard. After lunch, Ah Zhao and I will go dig up some snake-repelling plants and bring them back to plant in the yard.”

As the medicinal liquid entered his mouth, the Prince tasted a faint burnt flavor.

He glanced at Qin Zheng but remained silent.

After swallowing the last bitter mouthful of medicine, which made his throat tighten, he said, “Let the people in the stronghold dig it up and send it over.”

Qin Zheng was in a battle of wits with the embroidery needle in her hand.

The thread was too long, and she kept accidentally knotting it.

After sorting out the thread several times, feeling a bit impatient, she heard the Prince’s words.

With one careless move, she pricked her own finger.

She let out a low cry and looked at the blood bead that oozed from her index finger, feeling a bit teary-eyed.

To think that as a civil engineer, she had once built railways in Africa, but now she was defeated by an embroidery needle.

Qin Zheng suddenly felt a little short of breath, as if her heroic spirit had been taken away.

Hearing her low cry, the Prince looked over, catching sight of the bright red blood bead on her fair fingertip.

His eyebrows furrowed slightly. “Stop sewing.”

Qin Zheng watched as blood continued to well up from the bead on her finger.

Without responding to the Prince’s words, she put her finger in her mouth and sucked on it.

Her slender fingers, fair as jade, with a hint of redness on her lips, looked pitiful with the water-like gloss, and her long eyelashes hung half-closed, adding to her charm.

He should have looked away, but the Prince stared at her for a long time.

After a moment, Qin Zheng spat out her finger and found that the bleeding had stopped.

Satisfied, she responded to the Prince’s earlier statement, “While the stronghold’s leader and his siblings are polite to us, it’s not good to trouble the people in the stronghold too much.

Digging up a few plants is not a big deal. Going out for a while will also help me get more familiar with the layout of the stronghold.”

Qin Zheng thought her reason was flawless, but after she finished speaking, she didn’t hear the Prince’s response for a long time.

She couldn’t help but lift her head to look at him. “Your Highness?”

Sitting on the stool, Qin Zheng was much shorter than the Prince, who was leaning against the head of the bed.

With his slightly narrowed, elongated eyes fixed on her, he exuded an oppressive feeling of looking down on her.

He had always been reserved and indifferent in front of others, but Qin Zheng always felt that behind that indifference, there seemed to be a sealed beast.

Her long eyelashes trembled instinctively, and she wanted to avert her gaze, but suddenly the Prince lifted his hand, and his thumb gently brushed against her plump lips.

Her heartbeat quickened again, and the spot where his fingertip had brushed against her lips felt faintly warm.

Qin Zheng stared blankly at the Prince’s exquisite face.

“There’s blood on your lips.” The Prince showed her the faint trace of blood on his fingertip and spoke softly.

It was exactly the same as last time when he wiped the charcoal from her face, but there seemed to be something different this time.

As Qin Zheng walked out of the main house with the bowl of medicine, she still felt a bit dizzy.

Back in the kitchen, she touched her lips and realized belatedly that she had been flirted with this time?

But the Prince didn’t say anything more, so the afternoon could proceed as planned, and she would go to the bridge construction site with Lin Zhao.