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S T E L L A R C L O U D
[Azurixa] [Celeste S.] [Christine G.-L.] [Esther D.]
O R A N G E S T A R
[J Jean] [K.Rom] [Smurfinbatik] [Tori D.] [Ziana K.-P.] contemporary romance
Y E L L O W S T A R
[Nicole]
G O L D S T A R
[Cindy] [Nanashi D. Y.]
R A I N B O W S T A R
[Book W.] [Britnae M] [Caroline] [Christigale M.] [DetectiveGeek421] [Haruka N.]
[Hlau V.] [Ine O.] [Kiiayame] [kuroneko_chan] [Liznel M.] [onepiece] [Oushna]
[Ray] [Samanta V.] [Scorpion Princess] [Sweetlove] [Victoria]
In the whole imperial audience hall, no one else dared to speak like that in front of His Majesty.
Eunuch Wei's complexion changed.
Gu Jinyu's face also changed slightly.
However, she didn't act improperly because of the other party's words.
She forced herself to be calm.
His Majesty gave Gu Jinyu an odd look and said to the old blacksmith and carpenter, "She is Young Miss Gu."
The carpenter hadn't seen Gu Jiao, so it was hard for him to make a statement.
But the old blacksmith remembered it clearly. He waved his hand and said, "She's not! Young Miss Gu doesn't look like this!"
Eunuch Wei smiled and said, "Could it be that you are mistaken? Why don’t you look again?"
The old blacksmith had been a blacksmith all his life. He didn’t know much about the ways of the world, and he never spoke or did things tactfully. As soon as his hot temper flared up, he even forgot that he was talking to the Emperor, "What’s there to look at! Young Miss Gu stayed in my shop all afternoon, how could I not remember her appearance? Besides, her voice isn't like this either! She’s not her! You’re the one mistaken!"
Eunuch Wei said wryly, "Are you sure that the girl's surname is Gu, and she’s a young miss of a Marquis Estate?"
"I’m sure, very sure!" The old blacksmith nodded quickly.
At that time, Little San went to the iron shop to help Gu Jiao carry back her farm tools, and the old blacksmith insisted on giving Young Miss Gu a bonus. Little San felt badgered to death and accidentally said, "Gu girl is the young miss of a Marquis Estate, would she lack this bit of money?"
After Little San’s slip of the tongue, he became extra cautious and never talked again.
Eunuch Wei said, "But she is a Marquis Estate’s young miss whose surname is Gu. There is no second Marquis Estate’s young miss with the surname Gu in this world..."
His words abruptly stopped at the end.
No, there was a second one.
Marquis Gu’s family had two young misses.
One was his biological daughter who grew up in the countryside, and the other was her adopted daughter who grew up beside him. Although she was only carried by mistake, Marquis Gu had always regarded his adopted daughter as his own, and this adopted daughter was also quite a talent.
If the fact that she was a mixed-up baby hadn’t been discovered, no one would probably suspect that she wasn’t the real daughter.
Eunuch Wei guessed it, so did His Majesty.
However, Marquis Gu once vowed that his biological daughter was illiterate.
So who was telling lies in the end?
The old blacksmith had a forthright look on his face. Gu Jinyu, on the other hand, turned pale.
His Majesty's stern eyes fell on Gu Jinyu's face, "What do you have to say?"
Gu Jinyu pinched her fingers together to keep herself from making a fool of herself by an ignorant blunder, "Your Majesty, the bellows was really invented by this female subject."
The old blacksmith hurriedly retorted, "Oh, you little doll, how could you lie like that? You never even went to my shop! Summon everyone else in my shop here if you don't believe me!"
The old blacksmith wasn’t the only one in the iron shop that day. Several other blacksmiths had also seen Gu Jiao.
"Presumptuous, this is the Commandery Princess!" Eunuch Wei warned in a low and solemn voice.
The old blacksmith didn’t care what kind of princess she was. He only knew that she wasn’t the one he was looking for. She couldn’t claim the girl’s credit!
"Your Majesty!" Gu Jinyu saluted and said, "I have never been to an iron shop, but the bellows were designed by me."
His Majesty furrowed his brows, "Then, what about what you said at the beginning?"
Gu Jinyu drooped her eyes and said in a low voice, "Your Majesty only asked this female subject if the bellows were invented by me, but didn't ask if this female subject had been to the iron shop."
His Majesty's frown tightened, "Then you don't wonder how your own things were made by others?"
Gu Jinyu replied, "I was curious, but it wasn't too surprising. After all, I told many people about it; even the servant girls around me knew it."
His Majesty's eyes were already filled with suspicion, "Are you implying that someone has stolen your work?"
"No, that can’t be true!" The old blacksmith argued, "Young Miss Gu won't steal from others!"
Gu Jinyu shook her head and said earnestly, "I didn't say she stole anything. And maybe she was just being kind and wanted to help you, so I don't blame the person."
"Ah..." The old blacksmith was stunned.
Intelligent, magnanimous, and selfless. She had it all.
But the old blacksmith still felt something was wrong.
He had no evidence, just the intuition that he had most of his life.
Gu Jinyu had made up her mind to insist that the design was her own. His Majesty could only check with the people around her if he wanted to investigate. She had already taken care of her servant girls’ side and they would certainly provide a confession favorable to her. More importantly, her father's side would definitely favor her.
As for that girl, what evidence could she produce!
Drawings?
Heh, who didn’t have that?
She had mastered the principle behind the bellows a long time ago. If she really confronted her about this matter, who would speak for someone like her who simply resembled a servant girl!
However, what Gu Jinyu never expected was that just when she thought she had surely extricated herself from this predicament, the Ministry of Works suddenly brought bad news—— the iron-smelting furnace blew up!
It was the furnace connected to the bellows modified by Gu Jinyu that blew up.
It only lasted three days, to be exact, less than three days, before the furnace blew up this morning.
The explosion of the furnace was so powerful that it directly destroyed all the other furnaces that had just been built by the Ministry of Works.
This wasn’t the most terrible thing. The most terrible thing was that there were many court blacksmiths present at that time, and all of them suffered grave injuries from the explosion!
The one who came to report was the deputy supervisor of the Ministry of Works’ manufacturing department. He came from the scene. He just went to have a latrine break and wasn’t near the furnace at the time, otherwise he would have been seriously injured too.
"Bring people in." His Majesty commanded in a heavy voice.
In the twinkling of an eye, he lost his amiable and gentle aura, letting both the old blacksmith and carpenter see the true power of the son of heaven.
He sat in a wooden chair with such an unshakable might that they became out of breath.
The deputy supervisor walked into the side palace hall awkwardly, got down on his trembling knees, and told the event in a concise manner. When he came to the bellows that Gu Jinyu had modified, he glanced at Gu Jinyu on the side with a complicated look.
Gu Jinyu's face was drained of color at once.
The old blacksmith asked anxiously, "Why did it blow up? How big is your furnace? How many bellows are used?"
The deputy supervisor didn't know this commoner, but since he could appear in His Majesty's imperial study and His Majesty didn't stop him, he told the truth.
Raz P.'s Thoughts
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