Chapter 173: Seven-Wheel Fan

Very quickly, June arrived.

June weather was somewhat hot; Yan Ning was wearing a thin layer of long-sleeved clothing, yet she still felt somewhat hot.

When she was reading memorials in the study, a block of ice was placed in front of her, and a worker was holding a fan to fan her from the side.

But hot was still hot.

At the morning court the next day, someone brought this matter up.

The Minister of Works said, "Your Majesty, the weather is sweltering now; why don't we go to the imperial villa? It is cooler over there."

Yan Ze opened his mouth and asked, "Can we live there directly? Or does it need repairs? How much silver will repairs cost?"

The Minister of Works hurriedly said, "It cannot be lived in directly; it needs repairs. It will take about ten days to be ready, and it won't cost much silver—just thirty thousand taels of silver."

Yan Ze frowned, "Thirty thousand is not a small amount."

Yan Ning also said, "How many Cement Roads could I build with these thirty thousand taels?"

The Minister of Revenue hurriedly stood up, "The national treasury can still afford thirty thousand taels of silver, and the scenery at the imperial villa is quite unique."

Yan Ning: "Since it can be afforded, shouldn't the Cement Road to Lingnan also be repaired?"

The Minister of Revenue was helpless; this person was actually still thinking about building roads to Lingnan.

In the end, the matter of repairing the imperial villa was left unsettled.

After the court session, the father and daughter went to the Eastern Palace. At this time, only the two of them were in the Eastern Palace; there were not even any palace servants.

The father and daughter each took a fan and fanned themselves desperately.

It was exceptionally hot today.

Yan Ze even asked, "You said to let Yun Shu make air conditioning..."

Yan Ning sighed: "He cannot make it, at least not in the next few years."

At this moment, a palace servant brought over a bowl of watermelon shaved ice.

When Cuilan saw Yan Ze, she was stunned for a moment.

Usually, the Emperor would not be in the Eastern Palace, so she had been sending a portion of watermelon shaved ice over every day for the past few days.

Cuilan performed a salute and said, "This servant did not know His Majesty was here; this servant will go and get another portion right away."

Yan Ze said, "No need to trouble yourself."

After Yan Ning ate a few mouthfuls, Yan Ze took the bowl away.

Yan Ze said, "One must not be greedy for cold in the summer; eating so much ice will make your stomach ache when your period comes."

Yan Ning sighed.

She glanced at the shaved ice, but in the end, she did not eat it.

There was no ibuprofen here.

"I don't know when we will be able to wear short sleeves."

At the morning court the next day, Yan Ze said, "It has been sweltering recently, and wearing long-sleeved clothing is stifling and uncomfortable. Why don't we allow short sleeves and shorts to be worn in the summer starting today?"

The officials in the court were somewhat confused.

What are short sleeves and shorts?

Fearing they would not understand, Yan Ze brought over a large wooden board, on which was a simple sketch of a little person wearing short sleeves and shorts.

The little person's clothes were red and the pants were black, looking very festive.

However, the ministers in the court let out a sharp, explosive cry:

"Your Majesty, absolutely not! This is offensive to public morals!"

"Your Majesty, the rites cannot be abandoned; to dress like this, what kind of decorum is this?"

"Your Majesty, if it is hot, then let it be hot; one cannot wear such short clothing."

There was a chorus of opposition in the court, and Yan Ze had a headache.

Seeing that Yan Ze could not be bothered to care, the ministers looked at Yan Ning.

"Your Highness, please persuade His Majesty; this is truly lacking in decorum."

Facing the several officials whose faces were twisted into bitter melons, Yan Ning sighed in her heart.

Yan Ning's expression was serious, and she began by saying: "My father and I think the same; it is truly too hot. Wearing layer upon layer is not as refreshing as short sleeves."

Now it was done; the entire court of civil and military officials knelt down.

Yan Ning:...

No, is it really necessary?

Yan Ning missed the days of her past life a little—air conditioning, watermelon, wifi, and being able to wear beautiful dresses.

She thought to herself that she really needed to invest more silver into training scientific research personnel.

If only she could make air conditioning.

After the court session, Yan Ze also could not be bothered to look at the civil and military officials and went to the Eastern Palace with Yan Ning.

Both father and daughter were somewhat unhappy.

Yan Ze complained: "Everyone has the same arms and legs, so why must they be covered up so tightly?"

Yan Ning was also helpless, "But the ministers nowadays are truly stubborn. They don't wear them, and if the two of us went over wearing short sleeves and shorts, wouldn't we be drowned by their spit?"

Yan Ning fanned herself even faster, "Forget it, the summer in the Capital is not long; just endure it and it will pass."

It was at this time that Yun Shu arrived.

Yun Shu was carrying a large object, and for a moment, Yan Ning could not tell what it was.

Yun Shu placed the object on the table and introduced it to the two: "Your Majesty, Your Highness, this is the Seven-Wheel Fan I saw in an ancient book. By just turning this handle, this fan can fan out a breeze."

Yun Shu even demonstrated it once.

One could see that without using much effort, the fan began to spin.

This fan was still some distance away from Yan Ze and Yan Ning, but they could both feel a breeze blowing over.

It was just that the weather was very hot, so the wind blowing past was also warm.

Yun Shu could also feel the hot wind herself, so she placed a basin of ice in front of the fan, "How is this?"

Yan Ning's eyes lit up: "Very good, very good, it's just like a modern air-conditioning fan; the wind it blows out is very cool."

Determined to build a road in Lingnan, Yan Ning did not let go of any opportunity to make money, "Is the cost of making this fan high? If one could open a shop..."

Who knew that Yun Shu would shake her head: "This fan is not very easy to make; some small parts are very easily ruined, and this core part also requires me to assemble it personally, which is time-consuming and laborious; it would be better to go and research new products more."

Yan Ning felt a bit regretful.

However, Yun Shu was right; for such cumbersome matters, it really should not be done by her, and with this effort, it would be better to go and think about other inventions.

Yun Shu said: "The craftsmen are currently making the parts; in a few days, I will send over a few more Seven-Wheel Fans."

Having this fan, Yan Ning finally felt comfortable, so she gave Yun Shu quite a few rewards: five hundred taels of silver, plus a bowl of watermelon shaved ice and two large watermelons.

As Yun Shu ate, she sighed with emotion: "So refreshing, I haven't had shaved ice in a long time."

Yan Ze said with a smile: "If you have time, come here more often, and I will treat you to shaved ice."

After Yun Shu expressed her thanks, she left with the two watermelons.

Yan Ning was a bit curious about this fan, so she walked closer to take a look.

Turning the handle could make the fan rotate; this fan was also quite large, nearly half a meter tall, and there were even patterns carved onto the fan.

At this moment, a Eunuch came to report: "Your Majesty, the Grand Court of Revision, the Minister of Works, the Minister of War, and the Minister of Revenue request an audience."

Yan Ze could not be bothered to move his position; since it was cool over at Yan Ning's side, he stayed in the Eastern Palace.

Before long, these four ministers arrived.

As soon as they entered, they felt a cool breeze.

There were several plates of ice placed in the room, all taken from Yan Ning's Freezer Warehouse.

Cuilan stood by the fan turning the handle, and as soon as one entered the room, one could feel a cool breeze blowing over.

The few men stared at this fan and said with some surprise: "Is, is this a Seven-Wheel Fan? I have only seen it in ancient texts, but nowadays one cannot find this Seven-Wheel Fan."

The Minister of War could not help but ask: "Who made this Seven-Wheel Fan?"