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Lu Desheng’s study was divided into two sections, an outer study for family members to read, and an inner study where he handled official business, similar to a private office.
Lu Songli thought that they should be able to stay there and pass the time until the two mothers finished their discussions.
When they arrived at the study, they found Lu Desheng and Qin Heng playing Go.
This outer study was about forty square meters. There were window-side low couches on both the east and west sides, suitable for reading. As long as those reading on these couches didn’t speak loudly, they wouldn’t disturb each other.
After greeting them, they went to the other side of the study. Lu Songli picked up a random book and sat down to read.
Qin Sheng noticed that the Lu Family actually had a map of the Great Li Dynasty. At this moment, the map was unfolded and placed on a wooden frame, right next to Lu Songli. Seeing her relaxed posture, it was clear that she came to her father’s study often.
Qin Sheng walked closer to examine it, becoming more and more surprised as he looked. He was very familiar with maps.
The map in the Lu Family was no worse than the one in the Qin family’s collection, and it could even be said to be very close to the one surveyed by the Qin family. Such a clear and detailed map, besides the one in the Emperor’s possession, shouldn’t exist anywhere else. It seems that this one belonging to the Lu Family must be a gift from the Emperor.
At this moment, Qin Sheng finally had a clearer understanding of his future father-in-law’s imperial favor.
Although Lu Songli was reading, she also noticed his actions. She thought, as expected of the young general in the original story who fought wars in the south and north, the first thing he noticed when he arrived at the outer study was the unfolded map.
That’s right, this map was taken from her father. These days, while she was busy, she had been thinking about what kind of compensation to ask for from the Xie family. The amount of compensation had to be carefully considered. If it was too little, she wouldn’t be happy, and if it was too much, the Xie family wouldn’t be willing. This map was used for her to ponder while thinking. After all, besides gold, silver, land, and rare treasures, the Xie family couldn’t offer anything else. Of course, they also had intangible wealth like connections in the official circles. But the Lu Family didn’t need that. Her father had already declared his loyalty to the Emperor, so he didn’t need to rise any further. Even if her father hadn’t done that, the Lu Family wouldn’t dare to use the Xie family’s connections.
Lu Songli didn’t plan to refuse compensation, but to let the Xie family owe them this favor, saving it for the future. First of all, the Xie family would definitely be unwilling. Secondly, this favor is actually like power, it may expire and become invalid.
The original owner’s life-saving grace was still there, but would the Xie family’s favor always be valuable? Not necessarily.
Cashing it in as soon as possible and maximizing its value was her goal during this time.
Lu Songli felt a little depressed thinking about this.
The Empress Dowager’s decree of marriage had wasted a lot of her effort. It was a pity that she had planned for so long, letting things develop and ferment, and the Zhao family, as she had expected, had brought the bigger judge, the Empress Dowager, into the matter. She thought she could use their power to her advantage and take advantage of the situation to extort a hefty price from the Xie family, but now everything was gone. Her parents would go to the Xie family later, and the Xie family would certainly be willing to offer some compensation, but it would definitely be much, much less than what she had planned to get smoothly.
Oh well, what’s lost at the eastern corner is gained at the western corner. No matter how much compensation the Xie family gave her, it certainly wouldn’t be worth a pardon token. Besides, she already had a draft in mind about what kind of compensation to ask for from the Xie family. With this thought, Lu Songli felt relieved.
Coming back to her senses, Lu Songli found Qin Sheng staring blankly at the map. She didn’t pay any attention to him, comfortably leaning back in her chair and turning to another page of her book.
“Do you just leave your family’s map out like this?” Qin Sheng asked softly.
“What else would I do?” Lu Songli answered casually. She hadn’t thought that maps, which were readily available in her previous life, could be considered a military secret here.
Qin Sheng mentioned the importance of the map to her.
Lu Songli laughed and asked him, “Do you think this is a place where outsiders can just casually enter?” Although she hadn’t put the map away, it was a heavily guarded study, and ordinary people couldn’t enter.
Although Lu Songli had made up a reason, he still heard her indifference towards this map. Qin Sheng pursed his lips, a little unhappy. He knew that they had paid a heavy price for their Qin family army to survey and complete this map, especially the part near the border.
“Besides, this map is too ugly, it’s a sore, I’ve never seen such an ugly map before,” Lu Songli mumbled, her voice almost inaudible by the end.
The map above depicts the territorial map of Da Li. Accustomed to seeing the national map as a rooster, she felt very uncomfortable at first sight of this map. Compared to that rooster, Da Li’s territory has shrunk by one-third, resembling a lion’s head with two long ears.
A Sore? What does that mean? She didn’t touch Sichuan peppercorns or garlic with her hands just now, did she? How could it sting her eyes? Also, did she say the map is ugly? Qin Sheng’s expression was hard to describe upon hearing this.
“The map is drawn based on the current actual territory of Da Li. We can’t deviate from reality just for the sake of aesthetics, right?”
“I know what you’re saying, but if we include places like Qianghu, Xianbei, Goguryeo, and Samhan, wouldn’t it look much better?” Lu Songli argued confidently.
Qin Sheng was speechless. No, those are other people’s territories. You can’t just add them to your own territory for the sake of beauty. However, his gaze remained on the map, and unconsciously, an image appeared in his mind. Following her suggestion, embedding the territories of these foreign tribes on the edge of the map seemed to make it look much better.
“Wait, do you even know that outside our country’s territory are Qianghu, Xianbei, Goguryeo, and Samhan?” Qin Sheng suddenly realized this and added in his mind, it seems like she also knows their locations and sizes.
Lu Songli rolled her eyes in her mind. What’s so surprising about that? She is someone who knows exactly how the seven continents, five oceans, and global map are distributed. Although Da Li did not appear in official history, based on the size of the national map and local customs, she speculated that Da Li should correspond to the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties period in official history. With supporting evidence, does it seem strange that she knows about Qianghu, Xianbei, Goguryeo, Samhan, and their approximate territories?
With this in mind, Qin Sheng scrutinized her from head to toe.
He probably knew what kind of women they were. Some girls, from birth to death, never left the prefectural city where they were born. Most women lived within a radius of ten miles between their parents’ and in-laws’ homes, unless they encountered natural disasters and needed to flee. They had little knowledge about foreign tribes outside Da Li.
Women in the capital were slightly better, but at most, they occasionally knew one or two foreign tribe names through battles and couldn’t distinguish the positions of these tribes outside Da Li. Unlike her, who could name them all accurately.
Lu Songli remained calm and indifferent, letting him scrutinize.
Lu Songli had no intention of hiding her knowledge, talent, and perspective. Firstly, the Qin family was facing a major disaster, and she needed a voice. Secondly, she didn’t want others to control her life entirely; she didn’t even have the right to listen and participate.
In the end, Qin Sheng stood in front of the map, scratching his head. He vaguely realized that the woman he was about to marry seemed extraordinary. Suddenly, he felt that he couldn’t understand Xie Zhan. How could he allow the Zhao family to interfere with his marriage? As a man, he really couldn’t understand. Was Zhao Yutan better than Lu Songli?
But from the current perspective, it didn’t seem so. Obviously, Lu Songli was superior to Zhao Yutan. Specifically, in terms of intelligence. In terms of appearance, both women were beautiful in their own ways, each with their own unique features. Qin Sheng felt that he might never understand Xie Zhan’s thoughts in his life.