The Prime Minister's Darling

Chapter 388: 199 Fame (Second Update)

Apparently, the imperial court had dug up information on the young girl, confirming that her surname was Gu, not Lu, and she was coincidentally known to be the daughter of a marquis.

Which marquis’s family she belonged to, was still unclear.

But how many marquises’ families bearing the surname Gu were there in the world? Let alone the ones that happened to appear in that county town from March to June last year.

With a little thinking, the Virtuous Consort could guess it was Gu Jin Yu.

Virtuous Consort lightly tapped her forehead and said, “Oh, you child! This is good news, not bad ones, why didn’t you say it earlier? If you had, your father wouldn’t have made such a fuss! Allowing the Ministry of War to be superior to him!”

Gu Jinyu opened her mouth in surprise.

Virtuous Consort laughed, “When you were a little girl, you loved to scribble and sketch on paper, and the Fifth Prince would follow you in doing so. I thought you two were just thinking about useless things, but now it seems, I have misunderstood you.”

Eunuch Qi at the side laughed and asked, “Your Majesty, do you still remember how Miss Gu had people improve the food boxes when she was young?”

Virtuous Consort held her temple and laughed at the sudden realization, “Ah, I almost forgot about it if you hadn’t mentioned it! That’s correct! Is that food box still there?”

Eunuch Qi replied, “It is! I’ve kept it safe!”

Virtuous Consort commanded, “Bring it to me quickly!”

Eunuch Qi fetched the old food box that Gu Jinyu had modified when she was a child from the warehouse.

The food boxes in the Imperial Palace were stacked layer by layer, like a portable steamer. Gu Jinyu had found such food boxes inconvenient, complaining about how she had to pick up all the layers to fetch something from the bottom layer. She wished that each layer could be separate.

So, she disassembled the sweet box made for Virtuous Consort, turned it into a frame, and modified it into a food box with several small drawers on the side that could be drawn out.

Though the eight-year-old child was not skilled enough, she was able to guide the palace servants with her ideas and they successfully made it as per her wishes.

It had even won her His Majesty’s praise.

Such food boxes were also available among the general population, mainly used to keep snacks as they were not good for thermal insulation.

Gu Jinyu had not seen them before; she had thought it up herself. The emperor found the intelligence of this eight-year-old girl incredibly rare.

It was from then on that Virtuous Consort recognized Gu Jinyu’s talent and often summoned her to the palace to study with the Fifth Prince.

Virtuous Consort whispered, “Tell Aunt the truth, did you do this on purpose?”

“Huh?” Gu Jinyu looked at her bewilderedly.

Virtuous Consort smiled with joy, “Indeed, this strategy indeed caused much more excitement in the court than if you had revealed your identity from the very beginning. You’ve successfully drawn everyone’s attention and also intrigued the Emperor. The more indifferent you are to fame and wealth, the more he admires you.”

Gu Jinyu wanted to speak but halted.

What bellow box?

She had never heard of such a thing.

“Your Majesty, where should I put the things you asked for?” A young eunuch came holding a piston bellow box.

Gu Jinyu looked at Virtuous Consort in confusion.

Virtuous Consort instructed Gu Jinyu, “Now, explain to Aunt how to use this! When His Majesty chats about it later, I will have something in common with him!”

This bellow box was fetched from the Ministry of War; such boxes are now quite plentiful.

Gu Jinyu had never seen one, but she was indeed very clever. She brought some tools, disassembled the bellow box, restored it, and then understood the principle of this wind blowing technology.

The bellow box has three layers, the first layer is where the lever is located, with two wind outlets at the front, each having a movable valve.

When the lever was pushed, one valve at the back opened, and the wind from there filled up the box, the second valve automatically closed, and the wind was forced into the second small wind box from the outlet below the second valve.

There is an outlet blow the small wind box, which is connected with the furnace.

And when the lever was pulled back forcefully, the second valve at the front was opened, the wind filled up from the second valve, the first valve closed, and the wind from the outlet below the first valve was forced into the second small wind box.

The first small wind box also has a wind outlet, which is connected with the furnace as well.

These two small wind boxes are independent, without any interference with each other, the common point is that they both connect with the furnace, and can both blow wind into the furnace.

This kind of double-action piston bellow box blows wind regardless of whether it is pushed or pulled, without wasting any physical energy or motion.

This design was so ingenious that Gu Jinyu couldn’t help but admire!

Compared with this bellow box, her food box was just a child’s play; no, her food box wasn’t even at the level of child’s play.

However, did the Emperor and the people in the Ministry of War make a mistake?

She didn’t create this.

“How did you come up with this method?” Virtuous Consort asked.

When Gu Jinyu was about to confess thinking that Virtuous Consort was referring to the bellow box, she was interrupted, “Not revealing your identity, but leaving a blueprint behind, leaving a small hint of being a ‘Gu’ and having a connection with Marquis Ding An’s Residence without making it look too deliberate. You’re truly a person groomed by me!”

The focus of the imperial harem consorts is always not quite the same as normal people’s.

However, Gu Jinyu was puzzled, surely there must be some mistake here? Marquis Ding An’s Residence only has two girls, one is her, but she hadn’t drawn any blueprints.

It couldn’t be that wild girl who grew up in the countryside.

She couldn’t recognize a single character!

How could she possibly create such a delicate tool?

As Gu Jinyu was racking her brains, the Noble Consort suddenly patted her hand: “The Four Seasons Osmanthus in the Imperial Garden has bloomed. Let’s go and pick some. Later, we can have the Imperial Kitchen use them to make Osmanthus Cake, and we’ll take some for your father too.”

Gu Jinyu sighed and was pulled to the Imperial Garden by the Noble Consort.

The flowers in the Imperial Garden were blooming brilliantly, a feast of colors competing for attention.

Interestingly, they weren’t the only ones in the garden to admire the flowers. The Imperial Concubine Zhuang was also there.

Imperial Concubine Zhuang was a few years older than the Noble Consort, and while she was not as beautiful, she was still dignified and elegant, exuding an overwhelmingly alluring air.

“Sister Imperial Concubine, what a coincidence,” greeted the Noble Consort with a smile, bending her knee slightly in courtesy.

Imperial Concubine Zhuang reciprocated with a half-bow.

Although both were first-rank imperial wives, as the head of the secondary imperial wives, the Imperial Concubine’s status naturally surpassed the Noble Consort’s.

Gu Jinyu greeted the Imperial Concubine: “My respects to Imperial Concubine Zhuang.”

Imperial Concubine Zhuang smiled graciously: “Welcome, Lady of Hui County. There is no need for such formality.”

“Thank you, Imperial Concubine,” Gu Jinyu replied, standing upright.

Gu Jinyu often visited the Imperial Palace and had met Imperial Concubine Zhuang before. But for some reason, this time, she found the Imperial Concubine even more gentle than before.

The Imperial Concubine’s gentle gaze fell on Gu Jinyu: “Lady of Hui County, you have come of age, haven’t you? I assume no marriage has been arranged yet?”

“Auntie!”

Zhuang Yuexi approached, carrying a basket full of freshly picked flowers.

She saw the Noble Consort and Gu Jinyu and curtsied.

Although Gu Jinyu was a person of high rank, she dared not accept Zhuang Yuexi’s respect in front of the Imperial Concubine. She returned the greeting modestly.

“What were you discussing just now, Aunt?” Zhuang Yuexi asked.

Imperial Concubine Zhuang laughingly said, “We were speaking about Lady Hui’s marriage proposal. It seems you, older than Lady Hui by a year, have yet to have your marriage discussed.”

In Zhan Country, girls come of age at fifteen, marrying afterward. In large households, most were not in a rush, getting married at eighteen or nineteen was common.

As for males, they would consider marriage and held their coming-of-age ceremony only after turning twenty.

Why Imperial Concubine Zhuang suddenly asked about Gu Jinyu’s marriage is quite intriguing.

The Noble Consort laughed and said, “Not yet.”

Imperial Concubine Zhuang remarked, “I heard she has an older sister who is already married.”

Gu Jinyu’s smile froze.

Appearing completely unperturbed, the Noble Consort replied: “Her sister grew up in the country and married early.”

There was no point in hiding it since the Imperial Concubine already knew. Might as well be upfront about it.

Imperial Concubine Zhuang sighed with a laugh: “The Noble Consort should be more attentive. Such a good niece could easily get snatched up by some lucky chap.”

Amused by Imperial Concubine Zhuang’s teasing, the Noble Consort joined in making fun of Gu Jinyu for a while before they left for their respective palaces.

The focus of Imperial Concubine Zhuang and the Noble Consort was wholly on Gu Jinyu, leaving Zhuang Yuexi seemingly overlooked. It was the first time for Gu Jinyu to play the lead role in front of the favored imperial wives.

On the way back to Changchun Palace, the Noble Consort touched her hairpin, a slightly smug smile playing on her face: “It seems that Imperial Concubine Zhuang has also heard about your invention of the bellows. Her information is really up-to-date. I just happened to overhear it when I went to deliver some treats to His Majesty. I wonder how she found out. Hmph, someone by His Majesty’s side must have tipped her off!”

As realization dawned on Gu Jinyu, she thought, ‘Could it be because of this that Imperial Concubine Zhuang’s attitude towards her had changed so much?’

Could the impact of a single bellows be that signficant?

Summoning her courage, Gu Jinyu decided to ask the Noble Consort frankly: “Why did Imperial Concubine Zhuang suddenly ask about my marriage?”

Could she be trying to push her towards Prince An?

The Noble Consort replied casually, “She probably wants to win you over. Now that the Crown Prince has Wo Linlang by his side, he is like a tiger with wings. She probably wants to emulate Empress Dowager Xiao, finding a virtuous wife for her own son.”

But Prince Ning already had a main wife. If she were to marry him, wouldn’t she end up as a concubine?

Princess Ning was no pushover. A concubine under her command would by no means have an easy time.

Besides, Gu Jinyu was not interested in Prince Ning. The one she liked was Prince An.

Gu Jinyu took the Noble Consort’s arm and pleaded, “Auntie, I don’t want to marry Prince Ning.”

The Noble Consort waved a hand, “It might not necessarily be Prince Ning.”

Gu Jinyu responded, “But she only has one son.”

The Noble Consort replied, “Doesn’t she also have a nephew?”

Gu Jinyu’s eyes sparkled: “Are you talking about… Prince An?”