Li Yuan paused for a moment after hearing her words, then smiled and said, "Do you know who made this hairpin?"
Reminiscing about the past will only make you miserable. We should always look forward. Bringing it up will only add to your troubles.
"Does the Queen Mother want to make a few more?" asked my aunt.
Li Yuan shook his head and said, "The craftsmanship of this hairpin is superb, with some ingenious mechanisms. The owner who made it must have some knowledge of mechanical engineering. If I could ask him to make some toys for me, it would be a good way to kill time."
The aunt nodded repeatedly: "Indeed, I will arrange for someone to inquire."
"Thank you very much, aunt." Li Yuan sat there with his chin in his hand, twisting the hairpin on his fingers.
Anyone who can create such delicate workmanship must be a master craftsman with extremely rich experience and extremely skillful techniques to make such exquisite things.
"Just a mechanical toy?" asked Emperor Yuanhe.
The palace official said, "The aunt in the Empress Dowager's palace said that she was young and always alone, afraid of being bored. Seeing the exquisite hairpin given by Your Majesty, she wanted to relieve her boredom."
The higher the status in the palace, the faster things can be done. When Emperor Yuanhe heard that the empress dowager just wanted to make some mechanical toys, he naturally agreed.
The current empress dowager has the grace of protecting him. Although he is young, he is sensible and never interferes with the decisions of the previous dynasty and the harem. It is just a matter of supporting one more person and making it easy for him to be a filial son. Emperor Yuanhe is naturally happy to meet some of the life requirements of this nominal elder.
"Then send someone to do it as soon as possible." Emperor Yuanhe said, "If the empress dowager is pleased, it is also feasible to have the master come to the palace to solve those tricks and please the empress dowager."
The emperor agreed, and Master Lin Su naturally received a special order: "Mechanical toys?"
The subordinate nodded and said, "That's what the palace maid said. She said the Queen Mother saw the exquisite craftsmanship of your hairpins, so she wanted to see if you could make some ingenious toys. If it could help entertain the Queen Mother, that would be great."
Empress Dowager Li Yuan is the target of this mission. She became the empress dowager when the late emperor passed away at the age of fifteen, and is now only sixteen years old.
Being locked up in a palace like that at the age of sixteen was indeed a bit boring.
There was no reason to refuse business when it came to him. Lin Su smiled and said, "I'll give it to him tomorrow."
The mechanical toys of this era were probably things like the Nine Rings puzzle, which could be solved as long as you figured out the trick. There were basically no things like the Rubik's Cube that required an algorithm.
His subordinates were naturally happy that he could agree: "Yes, Master, I will send the palace maid back for you right away."
Lin Su is extremely fast and has skilled craftsmen under him, so it is not difficult for him to make complicated mechanical toys.
On the second day, Li Yuan received a very complicated wooden product from outside the palace. Next to it was a piece of paper with a simple description written on it.
Li Yuan was in no hurry to solve it, but picked up the paper: "Lu Ban Lock, without a single piece of wood, is made entirely of pieces of wood."
There weren't many characters, but the handwriting was of excellent style and had a subtle edge. With just a few strokes, Li Yuan was impressed. "This kind of calligraphy can't be achieved overnight. This master has obviously been immersed in it for many years."
To be able to practice calligraphy so well must have taken decades of hard work.
Li Yuan carefully put away the paper. He looked at the wooden ball in front of him, which was as big as his head, looking for the mechanism inside it.
Pushing and pulling to unlock, if one thing was wrong, there would be constraints everywhere, but Li Yuan was very serious about it. Every time he pulled out a piece of wood, his eyes would light up a little. It was not until dusk when his aunt came to tell him to have dinner that he came out of that state. The couch was full of wood. When he moved, the wood that fell on his clothes would fall to the ground.
Li Yuan was a little embarrassed: "I was just fascinated for a moment."
But he picked up the wood with great care.
"It's rare to see the Queen Mother in such a good mood." Auntie said with a smile, "You've relieved a lot. It won't be too late to relieve it after dinner."
The most idle person in the palace should be Li Yuan. He doesn't have to rack his brains to please anyone like the concubines, nor does he have to engage in intrigue with anyone. He just needs to stay here and kill time.
"I used to feel that time was very long, but now I don't even feel that time has passed in an afternoon." Li Yuan put the fallen wood away, and even when he went to have a meal, he kept looking back with a feeling of reluctance to leave.
It was rare for the aunt to see him so shed his old age and regain some of the youthful vigor he had in the Kingdom of Li. She was naturally happy and felt that the owner of the Treasure Pavilion was indeed a resourceful person. "Queen Dowager, watch your way. You are so obsessed with this thing. I will have to keep an eye on you tonight."
"I... I just have nothing to do." Li Yuan used to eat slowly. Since he had nothing to do after the meal, he might as well eat slowly to avoid wasting time. But today, he felt that his aunt was really slow in serving the dishes. He only took two bites and put down his chopsticks, "I'm full."
He stood up and left, obviously still thinking about the mechanical toy he had not yet disassembled.
It wasn't a big deal to skip dinner once, but it had been a long time since my aunt had seen him so enthusiastic about anything. Looking at the table full of food, she shook her head and sighed, "Never mind, the Queen Mother's happiness is what matters most."
People who are bored in this palace mostly develop bad health problems due to boredom. Being able to have fun once is more important than having a meal.
Li Yuan continued his research after dinner, this time until the third watch. His aunt came over with a lamp to remind him to go to bed: "Queen Dowager, you can play again tomorrow. You should rest. It would be terrible if His Majesty came to pay his respects tomorrow and you couldn't get up."
"Just forget about his greetings." Li Yuan didn't even raise his head. "Aunt, go to sleep too. Don't worry about me."
She was the Queen Mother, and even as her closest servant, she could only advise, not give direct orders.
The aunt took a deep breath, changed the oil lamp and said, "If you are tired, call me. I will keep watch for you outside."
Even on weekdays, there must be someone on guard in each palace to prevent the master from getting up in the middle of the night and needing anything.
"Yeah." Li Yuan responded. His hands kept working until dawn when he finally unlocked the last lock. After unlocking it, he breathed a sigh of relief and felt extremely tired.
He lay back on the couch, feeling happier than he had been in a long time. He held the last piece of wood in his hand and looked at it carefully, but he didn't know when he fell asleep in a daze.
The aunt had been listening to the noise inside. Occasionally, she dozed off and shook her head, only to find that there was no more noise inside. She went in and saw the young man lying on the couch, curled up on his side, holding a piece of wood. His breathing was steady, and he was obviously asleep.
"Really..." The aunt is old and has seen a lot of ups and downs. She naturally feels pity for the child she has raised since childhood. However, the empress dowager always asked her to be polite and self-disciplined in the past to avoid making mistakes. Now she looks like a child and can be so willful occasionally.
The palace maids were sent to carefully carry the young man to the bed and take off his outer clothes. The young man seemed to be drowsy and wanted to wake up. He rubbed himself against the quilt. The aunt raised her hand and patted his back until his breathing calmed down again.
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