"Prince Jian?"

Upon hearing Yongzhu's words, Xu Yun's expression immediately shifted.

Well, well.

Has Xiaozhao left the palace?

Realizing this, he hurriedly put away his memorandum.

He straightened his attire, left the room, and followed Yongzhu towards the courtyard where the study was located.

After half an hour.

The two reached the outside of the study's courtyard, and Yongzhu stopped consciously:

"Brother Wang, the master and Prince Jian are both inside the courtyard. The master instructed that once you arrive, you can enter directly without announcement."

Xu Yun nodded gratefully and turned to enter the courtyard.

Since the completion of the microscope preparation not long ago, this study had not only contained books but had become an almost private research facility.

Xiaoli and Old Su would often come here to conduct experiments whenever they had free time.

Besides the microscope,

The generator and electrolytic devices that Xu Yun previously made were also moved here, adding a somewhat technological flavor to the place.

As Xu Yun entered the courtyard,

Xiaozhao, who hadn't been seen for a few days, was sitting under the tree chatting with Xiaoli and Old Su.

Seeing this, Xu Yun approached them, bowed to Prince Jian, and smiled:

"A humble citizen, Wang Lin, greets Prince Jian."

Xiaozhao was sitting with his side to the entrance, so he only noticed Xu Yun when he got closer and quickly forced a smile:

"Mr. Wang, it's been a while."

Xu Yun greeted Old Su and Xiaoli, and in the brief moment he looked up and turned his head, he quickly surveyed Xiaozhao.

Not having seen him for two weeks,

This dashing gentleman's mental state was noticeably worse than before, with a hint of worry between his brows.

Clearly,

Some incidents in the palace had brought a significant mental burden to this younger brother of Emperor Zhezong of Song, who was already under pressure.

Prince Jian then bowed to Xu Yun, apologetically saying:

"Mr. Wang, some matters arose in the palace recently, making it inconvenient for me to leave. I've neglected five occasions and more; I ask for your understanding."

Xu Yun, who had been thinking of what to say, quickly returned the gesture and said:

"As the Empress Dowager is not in good health, it is only right for Your Highness, as a descendant, to serve her. Filial piety is a fundamental principle of human relationships; there is no need for apologies."

Old Su and Xiaoli nodded in agreement upon hearing this.

Throughout the five thousand years of Huaxia's history,

Loyalty and filial piety have almost always been core principles repeatedly emphasized in every dynasty.

The Song Dynasty's rule stemmed from Zhao Kuangyin's coup, seizing the throne from the hands of Emperor Gong of Zhou's orphaned family. No matter how later Song Emperors tried to legitimize their rule, there was always some lack of confidence.

So compared to 'loyalty,' the Song Dynasty's court seemed to place more emphasis on filial piety, and the development of filial culture is historically notable.

Thus, in face of Xu Yun's response, even the relatively carefree Xiaoli showed great agreement.

Meanwhile,

Old Su took the opportunity to inquire about the situation in the palace from Xiaozhao, as he hadn't had the chance to learn the details yet:

"Prince Jian, may I ask how the Empress Dowager's health is now?"

Xiaozhao paused for a moment, his face turning faintly sullen:

"Although the Empress Dowager has awakened, her health remains poor. She requires nearly ten hours of rest each day, and the situation... is not very optimistic."

Old Su looked at him thoughtfully and asked:

"What do the Imperial Physicians say?"

Xiaozhao exhaled deeply and shook his head.

Although he didn't speak, the gesture itself was an answer.

Clearly.

As a nephew and someone with vested interests, Xiaozhao couldn't be too candid, but the Imperial Physicians had evidently provided some unfavorable assessments.

This time, although Empress Dowager Xiang was successfully saved, what about the next?

No one could guarantee it.

In fact.

There was something Xiaozhao hadn't voiced:

According to a trusted Imperial Physician, there's a high probability that Empress Dowager Xiang wouldn't survive more than three months.

Once Empress Dowager Xiang passes away, with Zhao Ji unrestrained, Xiaozhao feared he would be in trouble.

Thus, in the past days, Xiaozhao had been even busier than the physicians himself.

Apart from serving Empress Dowager Xiang,

He had been contemplating his choices and was compelled to interact with Zhao Ji daily.

After all the fuss, Xiaozhao's mental state visibly deteriorated.

Currently, the only solace Xiaozhao found was Zhao Ji's naturally gentle (soft) nature, who hadn't resorted to slaughter since ascending the throne.

Moreover, being half-brothers, Zhao Ji treated his mother, from the Zhu Family, decently and frequently paid respects.

Thus, given his apparent concession, Zhao Ji might at most reduce the stipends and spread some underhanded rumors, but was unlikely to act ruthlessly against him...

Right?

Thinking of this,

Xiaozhao couldn't help but sigh slightly, temporarily shelving these thoughts, and asked Xu Yun:

"Mr. Wang, may I inquire about the progress in telescope construction?"

Xu Yun pondered for a moment and replied:

"In reply to Your Highness, the telescope body is one-fifth completed, but the mirrors will take longer, needing roughly over twenty more days."

Earlier it was mentioned,

The telescope Xu Yun designed had a diameter close to one meter and a length of about ten meters.

Coincidentally.

When Xu Yun was writing novels in a previous life, he wrote about telescopes of similar specifications, and a reader once questioned, "Do you know how precise the base has to be?" and such thoughts.

But in reality,

Astronomical telescopes didn't have as high requirements for their bases as imagined.

Even in later generations, a general astronomical telescope base's core was just a Dobsonian base with a central plumb line to track celestial motions.

Many amateur astronomers later built mobile telescopes, compensating for the lack of Dobsonian bases of 0.5v or above by elevating one side of the base to achieve a similar effect.

For instance, in the 18th century,

Herschel's telescope that mapped the Milky Way was mounted on a wooden cart, similar to a large catapult.

The specifications of that telescope were a diameter of 1.22 meters and a length of 12.4 meters, even larger than Xu Yun's design.

With modern productivity levels, requirements are naturally refined.

But the ancient development of academia was limited, and applying modern standards to the past isn't very necessary.

It's like participating in an 800-meter high school run; is it necessary to wear hundred-thousand-dollar sneakers in a fundamentally limited platform?

Based on the scientific understanding during the Song Dynasty or the 11th century global context,

Excessively profound knowledge might have hindered them, reflecting the limitations of their era.

Of course.

Compared to Herschel, who was relatively impoverished, Xu Yun and his team wouldn't resort to using wood for the telescope tube—they used iron.

Also, it answers another reader's query regarding the base issue.

A hollow cylinder with a diameter of one meter, length of ten meters, and thickness of two centimeters has a volume of 0.61544 cubic meters, and one cubic meter of iron weighs 7.8 tons.

Simple multiplication shows that making the telescope consumed around five tons of iron.

The Song Dynasty was when Huaxia cuisine began making its way to the common people, mainly due to its high iron production.

For instance,

In the 3rd year of Xining, Song Dynasty, which is 1069, the court set up 26 coin mints nationwide, minting over 5 million strings of copper coins and over 800,000 strings of iron coins annually.

The iron coins minted in the Song Dynasty weighed 25.5 Song Jin per string, equivalent to 15.3 kilograms per large iron coin, and calculating 850,000 strings amounted to 13,000 tons. (Paper doi: 10.13850/j.cnki.chinum.2005.04.010)

Therefore, gathering over five tons of iron was not much trouble for either Xiaozhao or Old Su.

Returning focus,

Upon learning the progress of the telescope from Xu Yun, a hint of joy and anticipation appeared in Xiaozhao's eyes.

Dissimilar to his deliberately carefree image,

He genuinely enjoyed the scientific concepts discussed by Xu Yun.

Such as experiencing the high-precision microscope with Xiaoli in Xu Yun's absence, observing Brother Lv's tadpoles.

Somewhat similar to Old Su, his interest leaned more towards the observable celestial sphere than microorganisms and cells.

Xiaozhao contemplated for a moment and then asked Xu Yun:

"Mr. Wang, on my way to the courtyard, I happened upon the Captain, and I heard recently...

"You've brewed some excellent wine?"

.....

Note:

...Some readers' thought processes shouldn't be so complex, okay? At times, input methods cause 'him' to be typed as 'her'; consequently, someone speculated I succumbed to the feminist pressure? Black man question mark.....

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