Chapter 46 Gears Turn
Sun Mengqiu hurried out of the East Palace's main courtyard. Thinking of what she had just done, she was overwhelmed with shame, torment, and pain. She walked faster and faster, leaving the palace servants behind. Unexpectedly, she bumped into a woman in official attire. Startled by Sun Mengqiu's impetuousness, she knelt down and said, "I have offended the Second Concubine. Please punish me."
Sun Mengqiu was already feeling a bit depressed, and she felt even more depressed when she heard her call her that. Sun Mengqiu said coldly, "What are you, a female official, doing here?"
The female official noticed that she was in a bad mood and said timidly, "In reply to the Second Concubine, the Empress said that she would transfer some palace affairs to the Crown Princess, so she sent us to deliver the memorial and the account books and other official documents..."
When Sun Mengqiu heard her words, she couldn't help but clench her hands and said, "I understand."
When the Queen was still the Crown Princess, she had done disaster relief work to help the people. In order to curry favor with Queen Zhang, she had devoted herself to the disaster relief work. But in the end, Queen Zhang still valued Hu Shanxiang more and even assigned some of the palace affairs to her... Her efforts were like a reflection in the river, shattered at the slightest touch.
Ruilan and the others hurriedly chased after him at this time. Ruilan asked, "Did the master get bumped by this female official?"
If it were any other time, Sun Mengqiu would probably just laugh it off and let them get on with their own business, but today she was filled with mixed emotions and felt extremely unhappy with everyone.
Sun Mengqiu stared at her for a long time, as if remembering something, and asked, "Are you the maid from the flower house? And now you've become a female official?"
Wu Miaosu was startled. She had not expected that this concubine would still remember her. She hurriedly said, "It is you."
Sun Mengqiu thought that she seemed to be a female official taught by Hu Shanwei, who often came to the East Palace and was beautiful. She couldn't help but frowned slightly and said nothing.
Ruilan saw that Sun Mengqiu was unhappy, so she said coldly, "Even a female official shouldn't offend the concubine casually. Since that's the case, I'll punish you by making you kneel here for half an hour as a warning to others."
Wu Miaosu knew that Consort Sun was quite favored by the Crown Prince, not to mention that she had to be cautious in her actions within the palace. Naturally, she did not dare to resist and said in a deep voice, "I am willing to be punished."
More importantly, the other party deliberately punished her because she was Hu Shanwei's apprentice.
Ruilan glanced at the palace maids following behind her and said, "You guys, hurry up and deliver the booklet to the Crown Princess. You can't afford to pay for delaying the Empress's work... Also, if anyone dares to say anything bad in front of the Crown Princess and the Master finds out, you'll be in big trouble."
The palace servants timidly said, "Yes."
Ruilan snorted, "Why don't you leave now?"
All the palace maids were driven away, and in the end only Wu Miaosu was left kneeling in the snow. She stared at the ice and snow in front of her, silent.
She was really unlucky. Whenever she had anything to do with the prince, she would either be frightened or suffer physical pain... If she hadn't been thinking about her family, how could she have entered the palace and encountered such a thing?
The melted snow water gradually seeped into the fabric of her clothes. Wu Miaosu's thoughts were a little hazy, and she vaguely drifted back to her hometown in spring. She could vaguely hear the laughter of her brother and herself.
"Who made you kneel here?"
Wu Miaosu was stunned and subconsciously turned around to look at the source of the voice. Zhu Yuhuan was wearing a moon-white cloak. When he leaned over to look at her, a piece of royal blue collar was revealed. His eyes were sparkling, making her look even more like jade and gold.
Behind her followed four eunuchs, each holding a dozen or so disc-shaped pieces of wood in their arms. The wooden plates were of different sizes, some as big as a palm and some as small as a thumb. The edges had been trimmed, and at first glance they looked like sawed pieces. There were holes in the middle of the wooden plates, and they looked a bit like the waterwheels Wu Miaosu had seen before. Only one eunuch was holding a wooden box two feet long and more than one foot wide, and holding a wooden pole. No one knew what was in the wooden box.
Wu Miaosu stared for a long time until she met those eyes. Then she came to her senses and said in a panic, "I am rude. Please punish me, Princess."
Zhu Yuhuan was a little confused by her words. He simply reached out and helped Wu Miaosu up, saying, "You're a female official. Why are you running around alone and kneeling in such a cold place? Mother doesn't usually punish people like this... What happened?"
Wu Miaosu naturally couldn't say that she was punished to kneel here because she had offended Concubine Sun Ci, so she just said, "It was my negligence, and I accept the punishment willingly."
Zhu Yuhuan also knew that some things were not easy to ask. After all, there was only Zhu Zhanji's family in the Eastern Palace now, and Hu Shanxiang never punished the palace maids like this, so there was only one possibility left.
Seeing that she was stumbling from kneeling in the snow for too long, and her hands were red from the cold, Zhu Yuhuan handed her a hand warmer and said, "Warm your hands first. My courtyard is not far from here. You can come over to my side and warm yourself by the fire. If you have to see my mother soon, you can dry your clothes so that you don't get too embarrassed and lose your manners in front of the palace."
Wu Miaosu originally wanted to refuse, but when she heard what Zhu Yuhuan said made sense, she had no choice but to agree.
Zhu Yuhuan guessed that she might have been caught in the crossfire, so he extended his hand and said, "Let me support you."
Wu Miaosu was startled and said, "How dare I..."
Zhu Yuhuan, however, was already holding her arm and said with a smile, "Others will just think I asked you to hold my hand. I won't tell anyone about it, don't worry." After that, she turned to look at the eunuchs behind her and said, "Right?"
The eunuchs nodded frequently upon hearing this and said, "The princess is right."
They have been with Zhu Yuhuan since she was born. Now that Zhu Yuhuan is deeply loved, they also benefit from it. Every time they go out, they are flattered. How dare they reveal the affairs of their own princess?
Although she was young, she was already good at managing her subordinates, which made Wu Miaosu sigh that this princess was indeed born with great talent and intelligence.
Zhu Yuhuan's hands were completely different from the little girl's hands that Wu Miaosu had imagined. They were neither soft nor delicate. Instead, they were covered with calluses and were almost as rough as her hands as a palace maid who worked all the time.
Wu Miaosu couldn't help but look at Zhu Yuhuan. She was still looking into the distance and walking slowly.
Zhu Yuhuan noticed Wu Miaosu's gaze, tilted his head slightly, looked up at her, and said, "I'm sorry for putting you in such a difficult position."
Wu Miaosu was stunned and immediately realized that Zhu Yuhuan had guessed who was punishing her. She felt a lump in her throat and remained silent.
After struggling to reach Zhu Yuhuan's courtyard, Zhu Yuhuan first asked Wu Miaosu to sit next to the fumigation cage to keep warm and dry her clothes, and then ordered the palace maid to tell Hu Shanxiang that he had returned. Then he directed the eunuchs to see that the wooden box was placed on the Eight Immortals Table. She glanced at the wooden box and nodded with satisfaction.
Wu Miaosu looked at the wooden box and found that it did not seem to be sealed. There was a crack on the front and a hole on the side. The size was very awkward and it seemed that it could not hold much. She couldn't help feeling puzzled.
Where did the little princess get the idea to make such a strange wooden box?
Seeing the puzzled look on her face, Zhu Yuhuan smiled and explained, "That's not enough. You have to put all these things in and assemble them." After that, she skillfully put those strangely shaped things together and fixed them in the corresponding positions. They fit together perfectly without any mistakes.
Only after checking that everything was OK did Zhu Yuhuan take the wooden pole from the eunuch, insert it into the hole on the right side of the box, and turn it forward.
As her hands moved, the angled discs that were originally almost tightly pressed together actually rotated together, making a dull sound of wood rubbing against each other. This set of movements was not smooth at the beginning, but Zhu Yuhuan kept moving, and with time, the movements became more and more fluent, as if it was a natural movement, which left Wu Miaosu stunned.
Zhu Yuhuan explained with a grin, "My uncle saw this in the Records of Vehicles and Clothing in the History of the Song Dynasty. It listed the number of gears. After hearing this from him, I figured out how to get a set of books myself. I also asked the Imperial Household Supervisor to find some wood for me. I made these things and put them together... Now, you can crank it by hand and it will turn."
"Gears..." Wu Miaosu chewed over the unfamiliar word and asked, "Is there something like this in history books?"
"Of course there are. During the Song Dynasty, someone restored a compass chariot. I heard that no matter which direction it went, it would always point south. It was these gears inside that kept the chariot moving." Zhu Yuhuan patted his wooden box and said, "But making a compass chariot is still too difficult. This is much simpler. I plan to finish it with my uncle later."
After all, that thing is difficult to restore even with modern technology, and Zhu Yuhuan certainly couldn't make it just by reading books. She mentioned "History of Song Dynasty" just to find a legitimate source for what she made.
Wu Miaosu carefully examined the wooden box again and asked curiously, "Can I try to turn it around?"
"sure."
Zhu Yuhuan moved aside, and Wu Miaosu reached out and carefully turned the joystick. Then she asked, "The compass car can indicate the direction. What is the princess's wooden box used for...?"
She was full of speculations, but Zhu Yuhuan calmly said, "It's a birthday gift for my mother."
Wu Miaosu was startled and asked in confusion, "Birthday gift?" She stared at the wooden box for a long time, and finally came up with an idea. She said, "Could it be a wooden box that can be used for weaving? But looking at its size and the things inside, it doesn't seem likely..."
Zhu Yuhuan didn't expect that her first reaction after seeing these was to weave cloth. He secretly felt that engaging in production was indeed an instinct flowing in the blood of our ancestors. Once they saw something new, their attention would unconsciously be drawn to the development of productivity.
It's a pity that she didn't know much about instruments. She only took apart some small things at home when she was a child, such as a music box. Because there was only one music box in the house, she was beaten for it, so she has always been impressed by it.
Hu Shanxiang's pipa went home with Hu Shanwei. Zhu Yuhuan was worried that she would feel lonely, so he thought about making a music box as a comfort.
"This isn't finished yet. I'll have to ask someone to forge a tuning fork later." Zhu Yuhuan realized her explanation wasn't sufficient, so she had a slender tea cone brought over. She placed one of them on the edge of the table and flicked it, causing it to emit a sharp sound. She left the cone in place, but placed a piece of tea cake on it. She flicked it again, and the sound suddenly deepened. "Just like a comb, set it up here and add different weights to produce different sounds. By cranking it, the gears will move the tuning fork."
Wu Miaosu suddenly understood, and she asked curiously, "Then...how do we combine them into a song?"
Zhu Yuhuan gestured and explained, "Use special thick paper and punch holes in it. The holes in the paper drive the gears to hit the tuning fork, which will produce the sound."
"So that's how it is..." Wu Miaosu couldn't help but sigh, "The princess was able to be so inspired just by reading a book. Such a clever mind is beyond reach."
Zhu Yuhuan was startled and quickly waved his hands, saying, "That's not the case...but..."
"but?"
Zhu Yuhuan scratched his head and said, "Since we need to make a tuning fork, we must use copper or iron. The inner palace supervisor doesn't have the courage to give it to me. I'm afraid I have to ask grandma for help."
After all, the Forbidden City is the residence of the emperor, and anything related to danger is strictly guarded and cannot be circulated at will. Zhu Yuhuan does not want to get into trouble, so it is better to report to Empress Zhang first.
Wu Miaosu also understood this and nodded slightly, saying, "I should indeed tell the Empress the truth to avoid giving her any reason to criticize me." Even after she finished speaking, she couldn't help but ask, "This wooden box...when will the princess be able to finish it?"
Zhu Yuhuan saw that her expression, which had just been serious, had turned into anticipation again. He couldn't help but smile and said, "The only thing left is the tuning fork. It should be solved soon."
"What music does the princess plan to play?"
This really stumped Zhu Yuhuan. Before and after he started giving daily lectures, he had read quite a few books, but they were mostly classics and historical books. He had also occasionally peeked at two or three writers' notes, but when it came to music theory, Zhu Yuhuan knew absolutely nothing.
By chance, a palace servant beside Zhu Yuhuan came back from outside and said, "Princess, the palace affairs on the Crown Princess' side have been almost handled."
Seeing this, Zhu Yuhuan decisively skipped this somewhat awkward question. She reached out and touched the hem of Wu Miaosu's skirt, and seeing that the snow water on it had dried, she said, "I'll go with you to see my mother. You can say that you were accompanying me to move things, so you couldn't meet the Crown Princess with the other palace ladies."
Although Wu Miaosu was a female official promoted by Hu Shanwei, Hu Shanwei was no longer in the palace, and Sun Mengqiu was the prince's favored second wife. Wu Miaosu naturally could not resist, but the palace maids paid the most attention to their face. Being punished in public like this, it was inevitable that some people would talk too much. Sometimes words can be more hurtful than a sharp knife. Zhu Yuhuan really didn't want something similar to what happened to that little eunuch to happen again.
"Thank you, Princess."
Hu Shanxiang was not surprised to see the two of them appear together. She glanced at them, smiled at Wu Miaosu, and said, "This girl must have asked you to help out at the last minute."
Wu Miaosu didn't expect that Hu Shanxiang had also found a way out for her, so she could only respond awkwardly.
Hu Shanxiang placed the palace affairs memorials she had already handled on the tray and said, "You are a female official. You should refuse when you should. This is for both your own sake and the Empress's. If people knew that the Empress's female official who delivered messages was being ordered around at will, wouldn't that be an insult to the Empress?"
Hu Shanxiang rarely said such words, and Zhu Yuhuan looked over in surprise.
Wu Miaosu responded.
She knew that the mother, daughter, and Hu Shanwei were all doing this for her own good, and she would always remember this kindness. However, she had her own difficulties and had to endure some things.
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