System: [First of all, Cheng Weining is a Love Brain.]

Everyone: ???

Love-Brain?

What does that mean?

Yuan Ruan: [Cheng Weining is a Love-Brain? Ah, System, you mentioned before that Cheng Weining secretly loves the Second Princess. So, he likes her and will remain devoted to her in the future, right?]

System: [Devoted? That’s putting it lightly! After leaving the Marquis’s residence heartbroken and fleeing to Shu, his melancholic, broken demeanor, coupled with his sorrowful eyes, attracted the attention of many bold and passionate women. One of them even tried to drug him with an aphrodisiac and take him by force. Cheng Weining nearly castrated himself with a knife to escape.]

Everyone: !!!

What?!

He almost castrated himself?! That extreme?!

Even the Empress, who initially objected to the match, couldn’t help but cast a curious glance at Cheng Weining: this young man indeed exuded an air of devotion.

A friend of Cheng Weining patted his shoulder and whispered, “No wonder you usually don’t bother dressing up, but today you’re all dolled up. Brother, I believe in you! Heaven has blessed you with this match, so don’t act recklessly again.”

Cheng Weining’s face flushed instantly. He tried to sneak a glance at the Second Princess on the high platform but didn’t dare, instead quietly fidgeting with his hands.

Yuan Ruan: [Hmm, devotion is one thing, but what does this have to do with him being the Greatest Agricultural Inventor?]

System: [It’s related! Very much so! A few years after Cheng Weining left the Marquis’s estate, the Second Princess grew suspicious and complained to the Empress.

The Empress, furious, not only forced the Second Princess to divorce Cheng Yian but also nearly killed him.

This prompted the Marquis of Chengguo to scramble and use his connections to secure a position for Cheng Yian in the army, hoping to use military achievements to redeem him. But, as you already know, Cheng Yian later caused the deaths of 30,000 soldiers.]

The surrounding officials glared daggers at the Marquis of Chengguo.

The Marquis couldn’t lift his face in shame.

The Emperor, however, found that just looking at the Marquis no longer angered him—it was like arguing with a commoner. Instead, his gaze shifted to the Empress, surprised to hear that this usually laid-back woman would display such decisiveness.

System: [After the Princess divorced, she remarried several times, but none ended well.

For example, during her second marriage, her husband took her on a sightseeing trip, and on their way, they were ambushed by bandits. In the end, he abandoned the princess and fled.]

Everyone: !!!

Ridiculous!

The Emperor and Empress were livid, silently vowing to find out who this coward was and annihilate his clan.

Yuan Ruan: [What?! Such a coward?! Who is he?!]

System: [I think his name was… Li Dongyang.]

Everyone’s heads turned in unison.

At that moment, Li Dongyang was squatting on the ground, trying to help Cheng Yian up.

Noticing the collective gaze, Li Dongyang looked baffled but still muttered defensively, “What are you looking at?! This is the royal consort selection banquet. Even if you look down on illegitimate sons, you shouldn’t…”

The crowd collectively rolled their eyes. No wonder they say birds of a feather flock together. These two seem eager to race to their graves.

Yuan Ruan: [Oh, I don’t know him. So what happened next? Did Cheng Weining rescue the Princess and finally end up with her?]

System:[Cheng Weining did rescue the Princess, but they didn’t get together. The Princess was both moved and angry at him.

When Cheng Weining learned about her divorce, he was overjoyed. He found that the Princess was spending her days listlessly weaving fabric to pass the time. Worried she might injure her hands, he invented the first foot-operated spinning wheel and gifted it to her.

This innovation directly revolutionized the textile industry in Da Xia—and even in all four kingdoms. It triggered a massive industrial transformation.]

Yuan Ruan: [All because he didn’t want the Princess to hurt her hands? He invented a spinning wheel that’s faster and easier to use than hand-weaving? Incredible!]

Everyone: !!!

What?!

A spinning wheel that can multiply production speed several times over?!

No wonder it caused a stir across four kingdoms! Even now, they were struggling to keep their jaws from dropping.

The Emperor and Crown Prince couldn’t help but glance at the Second Princess. Who knew our daughter/sister had such a talent for inspiring innovation?

Officials from the Ministry of Work and the Ministry of Revenue stared at Cheng Weining with fiery enthusiasm, their faces practically screaming, Come read agricultural manuals with us! Let’s see what else you can invent!

Cheng Weining was utterly bewildered. Having studied the Four Books and Five Classics since childhood, he had no experience with agriculture. He had never set foot in a field, let alone built a spinning wheel.

System: [Exactly! After realizing the success of his invention, Cheng Weining rushed to Da Xia to propose marriage to the Princess.

But the Empress, traumatized by her experience with the Marquis’s household, immediately threw him out, insisting, ‘My daughter isn’t so desperate for a husband that she needs to marry into the Marquis of Chengguo’s family again!’]

Yuan Ruan: [Ah, it’s understandable. A protective mother would naturally worry about her daughter’s future, especially when marriage involves not just the couple but their extended families.]

System: [Right? But that’s not all. Cheng Weining, determined to marry the Princess, continued to wait and work tirelessly.

Meanwhile, the Empress, fearing rumors about the Princess marrying two brothers, quickly arranged another marriage for her. Heartbroken, Cheng Weining resigned from his post and returned to Shu, drowning his sorrows in alcohol.

Later, during a severe drought in Da Xia, bandits kidnapped the Princess while she was traveling with her new husband. Cheng Weining rushed to negotiate with the bandits, offering himself as a hostage in exchange for her release.

The bandits refused, demanding a steady supply of water from the Emperor as ransom.

With no water to spare and the court unwilling to expend so much effort for the Princess, Cheng Weining stayed up all night studying ancient texts and surveying the land. He eventually devised a method to extract groundwater in arid regions—similar to qanats or karez wells—benefiting tens of thousands of people and farmlands.

The bandits were so awed by his ingenuity that they knelt before him, released the Princess, and left.]

Everyone: !!!

What?!

He invented a way to access groundwater in drought-stricken areas just to save the Princess?!

This—this was a feat worthy of being worshipped in ancestral shrines!

No wonder even the bandits let her go—they couldn’t not let her go!

The officials couldn’t sit still, especially those stationed in the drought-ridden northwest.

They quietly edged closer to Cheng Weining, each offering whispered promises:

“Join me. I’ll give you full authority.”

“Don’t listen to him. Join me. I’ll step down and let you take my position. Just share a bit of the credit with me.”

A third official, growing desperate, whispered, “Work with me. I don’t need credit—just take me with you when you’re promoted. I can’t keep living like this, eating nothing but dust!”

Cheng Weining was practically backed into a corner. Helpless, he muttered, “Gentlemen, please stop making promises. I swear I’ve never been to a drought area, and I don’t even know what a karez well is.”

The officials, unwavering, declared, “If the Little National Preceptor says you can do it, then you can do it!”

Even the initially reluctant Second Princess was taken aback. Who wouldn’t be moved by a man who would go to such lengths to protect her? Especially in an era where polygamy was the norm, his devotion was extraordinary.

She couldn’t resist gripping the Empress’s wrist and softly asking, “Mother, who is he?”

The Empress, clearly shaken as well, hesitated before saying, “The suitor… cough, Cheng Weining, is over there.”

Yuan Ruan: [Oh my goodness! This is unbelievable! He’s truly astonished me. To go to such lengths for the Second Princess—no wonder he’s called a Love-Brain!]

System: [Ah Ruan, these feats don’t even fully capture his level of devotion. There’s something even more shocking!]

Everyone: !!!

What?!

These weren’t enough to show his devotion? There’s more?!