Chapter 203 The Incident (First Update)
No one in the entire Golden Palace dared to speak like that in front of His Majesty.
Eunuch Wei's expression changed.
Gu Jinyu's expression also changed slightly.
However, she was not bothered by the other party's inappropriate wording.
She forced herself to calm down.
His Majesty gave Gu Jinyu a strange look, and said to the old blacksmith and carpenter, "She is Miss Gu."
The carpenter had never met Gu Jinyu and therefore could not comment.
But the old blacksmith remembered it perfectly. He waved his hand and said, "No! Miss Gu doesn't look like that!"
Eunuch Wei smiled and said, "Could it be that you've mistaken me for someone else? Take another look?"
The old blacksmith had spent his entire life forging iron, and he didn't understand much about human relationships or social graces. He wasn't very tactful in dealing with people, and when his temper flared up, he even forgot that he was speaking to the emperor: "No need to look! Miss Gu has been in my shop all afternoon, how could I not remember what she looks like? Besides, her voice isn't like that either! No, no! You've got it wrong!"
Eunuch Wei chuckled and asked, "Are you sure that young lady's surname is Gu, and that she is the daughter of a marquis?"
"Yes, yes!" The old blacksmith nodded hurriedly.
When Xiao Sanzi went to the blacksmith's shop to get farm tools for Gu Jiao, the old blacksmith insisted on giving Gu Jiao a bonus. Xiao Sanzi, unable to resist the nagging, inadvertently said, "Gu Jiao is the daughter of a marquis; why would she need your little bit of money?"
Xiao Sanzi let it slip, and afterwards he became extremely cautious and never spoke of it again.
Eunuch Wei said, "But she is indeed the daughter of a marquis, and her surname is Gu. There is no other marquis's daughter in the entire world with the surname Gu..."
He paused abruptly at this point.
No, there is a second one.
Lord Gu's family has two daughters.
One was his biological daughter who grew up in the countryside, and the other was his adopted daughter who grew up by his side. Although they were switched at birth, Lord Gu always treated his adopted daughter as his own, and this adopted daughter was also very promising.
If it weren't for the news of her being switched at birth, probably no one would doubt that she wasn't the real heiress of a prominent family.
What Eunuch Wei guessed, His Majesty naturally guessed as well.
However, Lord Gu had sworn that his own daughter was illiterate.
So who is lying?
The old blacksmith looked calm and collected, while Gu Jinyu's face turned ashen.
His Majesty's gaze, tinged with sternness, fell upon Gu Jinyu's face: "What do you have to say?"
Gu Jinyu clenched her fingers, not wanting to show any weakness: "Your Majesty, the bellows was indeed invented by me."
The old blacksmith grew anxious: "Oh, you little brat, how could you lie? You didn't even go to my shop! If you don't believe me, call them all here!"
The old blacksmith wasn't the only one at the blacksmith shop that day; several other craftsmen had also seen Gu Jiao.
"How dare you! This is the Princess!" Eunuch Wei warned in a low but serious voice.
The old blacksmith didn't care about being a princess or anything like that; all he knew was that she wasn't the person he was looking for, and she couldn't take credit for him!
"Your Majesty!" Gu Jinyu bowed and said, "This humble woman has indeed never been to the blacksmith shop, but the bellows was indeed designed by this humble woman."
His Majesty frowned and asked, "What did you say at the beginning?"
Gu Jinyu lowered her eyes and said softly, "His Majesty only asked me whether the bellows was my invention, but did not ask me whether I had ever been to a blacksmith's shop."
His Majesty's brows furrowed even more: "Aren't you curious how someone else managed to replicate your things?"
Gu Jinyu said, "I was curious, but it wasn't too surprising. After all, I've mentioned it to quite a few people, and even my maid knows about it."
His Majesty's eyes were already filled with suspicion: "Are you implying that someone stole your work?"
"No, that's not how it works!" the old blacksmith argued. "Miss Gu wouldn't steal anything!"
Gu Jinyu shook her head and said earnestly, "I didn't say she stole anything. Maybe she just meant well and wanted to help you, so I don't blame that person."
"Ah..." The old blacksmith was dumbfounded.
She possesses intelligence, generosity, and selflessness—she embodies all of these qualities.
But the old blacksmith still felt something was wrong.
It wasn't based on any evidence, but on his intuition built up over most of his life.
Gu Jinyu had made up her mind. She insisted that the inspiration was her own, and that if His Majesty wanted to investigate, he could only investigate the people around her. She had already taken care of the maids, who would provide her with favorable testimonies. More importantly, her father would definitely side with her.
As for that girl, what evidence can she possibly produce?
Blueprints?
Ha, who doesn't have that?
I've long since mastered the principle of bellows, so when it comes to a real confrontation, it's like no one can out-argue that girl!
However, to Gu Jinyu's utter surprise, just when she thought she had victory in the bag, bad news suddenly came from the Ministry of Works—the iron smelting furnace had exploded!
The furnace that was blown up was the one with the bellows that Gu Jinyu had modified.
The stove exploded this morning after only three days, or rather, less than three days.
The power of that furnace was so great that it completely destroyed the furnace that the Ministry of Works had just built.
That wasn't the worst part. The worst part was that several imperial craftsmen were present at the time, and they were all seriously injured in the explosion!
The person who came to report was a deputy supervisor of the Ministry of Works. He had rushed over from the site. He happened to be in the outhouse and was not near the furnace, otherwise he would have been seriously injured by now.
"Bring the person in," His Majesty said in a deep voice.
In an instant, his amiable demeanor vanished, and the old blacksmith and carpenter witnessed firsthand what true imperial power was all about.
He sat on the wooden chair, exuding an unshakeable aura that made the two of them feel suffocated.
The deputy supervisor of the construction entered the side hall in a disheveled state, his legs buckled and he knelt down. He briefly explained the incident, and when he mentioned that it was Gu Jinyu who had modified the furnace, he glanced at Gu Jinyu beside him with a complicated expression.
Gu Jinyu's face drained of color instantly.
The old blacksmith asked anxiously, "Why did it explode? How big is your furnace? How many bellows did you use?"
The deputy supervisor of the construction did not recognize this commoner, but since he was able to appear in His Majesty's study and His Majesty did not stop him, he told the truth.
The old blacksmith lamented, "Oh dear! Miss Gu instructed that such a large furnace could only use a maximum of two bellows! Who told you to use six? Isn't that courting death?"
When Gu Jiao passed on her skills to the old blacksmith, she naturally gave him instructions on precautions, which the old blacksmith then shared with the court officials without reservation.
"Why did you act on your own initiative?" the old blacksmith asked anxiously.
The deputy supervisor was in a bad mood because it was the princess's idea. She invented the bellows, and she wanted to improve it. Who would question her?
His Majesty's gaze towards Gu Jinyu suddenly turned cold!
Gu Jinyu broke out in a cold sweat, but she forced herself to say, "My design won't have any problems... something must have gone wrong somewhere else..."
The deputy supervisor of the construction said, "No, we are strictly following the princess's blueprints!"
Moreover, the bellows is very easy to operate; as long as it is connected correctly, there is no possibility of operational error.
At this point, nobody wants to take the blame.
His Majesty turned to the old blacksmith and carpenter: "Old men, I would like to trouble you two to go and take a look at the site."
The old blacksmith and the carpenter followed the deputy supervisor of construction to the Ministry of Works, and Gu Jinyu also went.
The fire spread rapidly, thick smoke billowed, and the scene was a complete mess.
The injured craftsman was carried out on a wooden plank by the guards; his mangled flesh was a gruesome sight. Gu Jinyu felt a wave of nausea wash over her. She clutched her chest, turned away, and began to retch.
Gu Jiao is off today.
All four men in the family had gone to school, and the old lady had taken the old master of ceremonies out to play cards. She was alone at home, intending to steal a half-day of leisure, but before she could even relax for a short while, her youngest son came to the door.
"Miss Gu! Miss Gu! Something terrible has happened!"
Gu Jiao said casually, "Is Gu Chenglin refusing to eat again, or is Gu Chengfeng behind on medical bills again?"
"None of those!" Xiao Sanzi exclaimed in horror, "The furnace at the Ministry of Works exploded!"
In Zhao Kingdom, there are no public hospitals like those in Gu Jiao's previous life. The number of doctors provided by the imperial court is limited. The largest is the Imperial Medical Bureau, but it is not large in number. The next largest are the military medical officers, but they are too far away to be of immediate use.
In the event of such an emergency, the imperial court would usually requisition doctors from major medical clinics in the capital.
Miaoshoutang is also within the scope of the requisition.
Gu Jiao took her medical kit and went to the scene with Doctor Song and two other doctors from the clinic.
The scene was even more chaotic than Gu Jiao had imagined. In the thick smoke, the injured were being carried out of the collapsed smelting room by guards from time to time. Doctors from other clinics had arrived and were treating the injuries of several people.
Gu Jiao didn't rush to treat the wounds. Instead, she took out strips of cloth of various colors that she had prepared earlier and handed them to the three doctors at Miaoshoutang: "Do it the way I told you before."
"Um!"
The three nodded.
Minister Zhao was inspecting the city's defenses and drainage system when he heard that something had happened at the yamen. He rushed back without stopping, and a distinguished young man stood beside him.
The man was dressed in brocade robes, tall and imposing, with a cold and stern face, and an air of authority about him.
By this time, almost all the wounded had been carried out; there were dozens of them, both lightly and seriously injured.
Doctors from various clinics are treating the injured, but among them, a few doctors have a particularly unusual way of doing things.
Instead of rushing to save the patients, they first quickly conducted an initial examination and applied different colored strips of cloth to them according to the severity of their injuries.
The patient wearing the red ribbon was in critical condition.
The patient with the yellow cloth strip was also seriously injured, but was conscious.
The person wearing the green cloth strip is a minor injured patient.
They prioritized treating patients with red ribbons, then those with yellow ribbons, and finally those with green ribbons.
Compared to the chaos at other clinics, theirs appeared orderly and well-organized.
The young man narrowed his eyes slightly, and soon he noticed a patient whose face was covered with a black cloth strip.
He lay quietly on the floor, while doctors came and went, but no one seemed to care about his condition.
"Is he dead?" the young man asked.
Minister Zhao rushed over, checked the patient's breathing with his hand, and returned to report: "He seems to still be breathing, but why isn't he being treated?"
Minister Zhao expressed his incomprehension.
The old blacksmith and carpenter also joined the rescue efforts. Although they didn't know anything about medicine, they could help get people out of the rubble.
Amidst the billowing smoke, a small figure could not be ignored. Dressed in green, with a slender figure, her sleeves were rolled up, revealing her fair wrists.
Her profile was perfect, but there was a red birthmark on her left cheek.
Her delicate hands flowed through the bloodstains, yet she remained calm and composed, her eyes showing no trace of panic or disgust.
The young man stared at her intently: "Who is that?"
Minister Zhao replied, "Your Highness, that seems to be a female physician from the Miaoshou Hall."
The young man murmured, "Miracle Hands, Hall."
While the rescue efforts at the scene were in full swing, Gu Jinyu was in complete panic.
She never expected that the furnace she modified would cause such a big accident, with dozens of people injured and people still being dug out of the rubble.
At that moment, she was truly terrified.
She dared not think about how His Majesty would hold her accountable.
She felt as if she were standing next to a crumbling wall, a wall that could collapse at any moment!
Her whole body trembled.
In her moment of confusion, she noticed the injured person whose body was covered with a black cloth strip.
She grasped at the straw as if it were a lifeline and rushed toward the injured man. Ignoring the ashes and bloodstains on the ground and the man's mangled flesh, she knelt down beside him.
"Help! Is there a doctor coming to save him?"
She cried out in despair, letting out her own inner turmoil. Her elegant and clean skirt was stained with blood. She took out a clean white silk handkerchief, held it in her hand, and bent down to carefully wipe the wounded person's face.
"Doctor! Doctor!" she cried, her voice choked with sobs.
She is a good person, not someone who disregards human life. She has a conscience and a compassionate heart!
She gritted her teeth and roared, "I am a princess! I order you to save him!"
This area is the treatment area of Miaoshoutang. The doctors at Miaoshoutang are engrossed in treating their patients and no one pays any attention to her.
(End of this chapter)
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