How could this be possible? She hadn't married the eldest prince yet, hadn't become the most noble woman in the Great Zhou Dynasty, and lived a life of ease. How could she die just to develop gunpowder?

But even if she didn't want to do this, there was no way. She had already boasted to the general that she could definitely develop gunpowder.

The general also gave her a high degree of trust. No matter what she wanted, the general would satisfy her without hesitation.

Although she was in a military camp with rather simple conditions, her daily expenses were not bad.

Of course, it was far from comparable to the life she had lived in Prince An's Mansion. It could only be said that they were as far apart as heaven and earth.

But this was in the military camp, and she was already very satisfied.

After all, while the soldiers had a bowl of boiled cabbage and two or three steamed buns for every meal, she had two dishes and a soup for every meal. She heard that the general also had only one dish and one soup.

The treatment given to her by the general really satisfied her vanity. She no longer felt how hard her life was. Instead, she devoted herself to following the general's orders and developing gunpowder.

But things always went against her wishes. She had no idea how gunpowder was made. She only knew that gunpowder consisted of three ingredients: coal, sulfur, and saltpeter, and that was all.

Although the general also helped her find craftsmen to make fireworks and firecrackers, those craftsmen had no experience with the powerful gunpowder she mentioned.

When she said that gunpowder could directly blow up a mountain and that throwing it on the ground could kill dozens or even hundreds of people instantly, the craftsmen found it incredible, saying that it was absolutely impossible for there to be such a powerful explosive.

They disagreed with Shen Yu's order. Of course, they didn't dare to say anything openly, but they were a little lazy in secret.

Shen Yu didn't know about these things. She just thought that the people the general was looking for were craftsmen with no technical skills.

The craftsmen couldn't think of how to make the explosives she mentioned, nor did they know how to make them. She wanted to give them some guidance, but she had no idea how to start and couldn't explain it clearly. She could only let the craftsmen use the three raw materials: coal, sulfur, and saltpeter, to continuously develop gunpowder.

But as soon as she entered the military camp, she was assigned by the general to develop gunpowder. She has conducted experiments no less than a thousand times, and each one ended in failure.

Seeing that the general was becoming more and more impatient, Shen Yu was very afraid that the general would kill her with a knife. What future would she have then?

Thinking of that tragic end, she couldn't help but regret it, and subconsciously missed the days when she lived in Prince An's Mansion.

That period of time was the most carefree time in her life. Every day, she only had to go to Fushouyuan to pay her respects to the old lady, chat with her, and make her smile. She didn't have to do any other work.

Moreover, no matter whether it was the people in the old lady's courtyard or other servants, they all respected her very much. Sometimes she felt that she was the cousin of Prince An's Mansion, not a fake.

But she was not satisfied with pretending to be the cousin of Prince An's Mansion. Outsiders didn't know, but she knew it very well, and she also believed that the masters in Prince An's Mansion knew it very well.

Especially when Xie Wan'er returned to the palace, her situation became even more awkward. She entered the palace as Xie Wan'er's daughter.

But when Xie Wan'er returned home, she didn't say she wanted to see her, and she didn't want to get close to her.

Therefore, every time she went to Fushouyuan and saw Xie Wan'er there, she didn't know how to start a conversation with the old lady. No matter how thick-skinned she was, she couldn't feel at ease in front of Xie Wan'er.

Although the old lady didn't say anything and her attitude towards her was the same as usual, she felt that the old lady's eyes were full of deep meaning when she looked at her.