Chapter 39: The Concubine, Lady Ma

…

When she entered, Ma Xiao Jiao lowered her head and even closed her eyes.

She was truly afraid that Zhao Yu would pounce on her with the same lewd grin as in her dream.

The key was, in her dream, she could dodge—but in reality, she dared not dodge, and no longer wanted to.

After walking a few steps, Ma Xiao Jiao slammed into someone's arms with a loud "thud."

Ma Xiao Jiao thought she had crashed into Liang Scheng, who walked ahead, and hastily stepped back, apologizing: "Sorry! Sorry!"

Because she stepped back too quickly, she accidentally stepped on her long skirt and nearly fell.

At that moment, a pair of large hands wrapped around Ma Xiao Jiao's slender waist, steadying her body.

Ma Xiao Jiao was greatly startled and instinctively tried to struggle.

But just then, Zhao Yu's voice rang out: "Do you always walk with your eyes closed?"

Ma Xiao Jiao's body froze instantly, her heart leaping into panic.

Ma Xiao Jiao quickly opened her eyes and saw Zhao Yu's face—part teasing, part tender.

Ma Xiao Jiao realized Zhao Yu's eyes held none of the lewdness from her dream; instead, there was a faint, barely noticeable care and tolerance.

Being held in the arms of the man who haunted her nights and days, Ma Xiao Jiao hesitated, then tried to pull away from Zhao Yu's embrace.

But Ma Xiao Jiao found Zhao Yu's arms firm and warm, giving her an unprecedented sense of safety—as if some mysterious force rendered her motionless.

Just as Ma Xiao Jiao was at a loss, Zhao Yu gallantly helped her up, then took her hand and led her before the several people in the room.

Ma Xiao Jiao felt deeply uncomfortable, yet for some reason, she did not resent Zhao Yu's closeness.

This feeling was twisted—but it was Ma Xiao Jiao's most genuine emotion.

Zhao Yu said to the old man in the center: "Master Su, this is my concubine, Lady Ma, whom I told you about."

The old man saw that the woman Zhao Yu had praised as a genius with extraordinary mechanical skill, capable of crafting wondrous devices, was merely a girl of sixteen or seventeen, heavily made-up and resembling a common courtesan, and immediately dismissed her with three-tenths contempt.

Yet Zhao Yu was a prince, and held him in high esteem; he could not afford to completely disregard Zhao Yu's face.

So the old man smiled at Ma Xiao Jiao and said: "Prince Shen has sung your praises to the heavens—pray, Lady Ma, do not withhold your wisdom."

Ma Xiao Jiao was completely dazed, utterly unaware of what was happening.

Moreover, perhaps the past few days of failing to serve in his bed had driven her mad—Ma Xiao Jiao's first thought was: "Chun Jie said nobles of this era often give their concubines to others—could Zhao Yu be planning to give me to this old man?"

Ma Xiao Jiao dared not think further, for if things truly developed this way, she might become the most pitiful transmigrator ever.

At this moment, Zhao Yu introduced the old man to Ma Xiao Jiao: "This is Master Su, Crown Prince's Tutor, Chancellor during the Shaozheng era…"

If Zhang Chun were here and heard Zhao Yu's introduction, she would have immediately guessed this old man was Su Song, a mid-Northern Song official, outstanding astronomer, astronomical mechanical engineer, and pharmacologist.

But Ma Xiao Jiao was not Zhang Chun—she didn't even know what the Shaozheng era was, let alone who the chancellor of that time was.

Fortunately, Zhao Yu did not stop there but continued introducing: "Master Su is learned in classics, histories, the nine schools, the hundred philosophies, mathematics, geography, mountain treatises, herbal medicine, philology, and musical pitch standards—all of which he masters. He led the creation of the 'Water-Powered Armillary Sphere,' the most advanced mechanical device of the age."

Now Ma Xiao Jiao understood: the old man before her was Su Song, one of ancient China's greatest naturalists and scientists.

Ma Xiao Jiao's eyes sparkled as if facing her idol; she hurriedly asked: "How did Your Excellency conceive the anchor escapement of the Water-Powered Armillary Sphere?"

A master reveals his skill with one move.

Ma Xiao Jiao named the core component of the Water-Powered Armillary Sphere at once, causing Su Song and others—who had previously dismissed her—to take notice.

Han Gonglian beside Su Song asked: "Lady Ma, have you seen the Water-Powered Armillary Sphere?"

—Su Song had been ordered to inspect the various armillary spheres used by the Imperial Astronomical Bureau and conceived that a celestial display device should accompany them; he gathered talent for this research and recommended Han Gonglian, skilled in mathematics and astronomy, to collaborate. Under Su Song's planning, Han Gonglian wrote "Nine Chapters on Right Triangles for Measuring the Celestial Sphere," built large and small wooden models, and together with Su Song, they enlisted master craftsmen to meticulously construct the Water-Powered Armillary Sphere.

Ma Xiao Jiao thought: "I've never seen the Water-Powered Armillary Sphere, but I've seen its restored model, its structural diagrams, and I once considered rebuilding it—yet the difficulty was too great, and the space required too vast, so I had to abandon it."

But Ma Xiao Jiao could not say this; she could only brazenly reply: "I have never seen it, yet I deduced it myself."

Without waiting for Su Song, Han Gonglian, or others to ask further, Ma Xiao Jiao poured out her understanding of the Water-Powered Armillary Sphere.

Seeing that Ma Xiao Jiao, relying solely on her own deductions, had reconstructed the Water-Powered Armillary Sphere nearly perfectly, Su Song, Han Gonglian, and others were profoundly shocked.

To be honest, Su Song and Han Gonglian had indeed suspected Ma Xiao Jiao had seen the Water-Powered Armillary Sphere.

But the problem was, Ma Xiao Jiao not only understood it thoroughly—she had optimized it, not slightly, but comprehensively; even the designs Su Song and Han Gonglian considered brilliant, she had improved.

Now, no one doubted Zhao Yu's claim that Ma Xiao Jiao was a genius of mechanical arts.

In the following conversation between Ma Xiao Jiao and Su Song, Han Gonglian, and others, Zhao Yu, a complete layman in science and engineering, could not understand a word.

Zhao Yu did not force himself to listen; instead, he sat alone in the corner, watching Ma Xiao Jiao radiate her unique charm.

During this time, Zhao Yu had not been idle. He continued selling soap to earn money, recruited talent, and had his garden demolished to build this row of workshops, gathering for Ma Xiao Jiao every advanced tool, instrument, and machine of the era—preparing a stage for her to fully unleash her talents.

—Of course, to avoid unnecessary trouble, Zhao Yu did not recruit warriors. He recruited mainly practical literati and craftsmen.

Among the talents Zhao Yu recruited were Han Gonglian and other scientists and master craftsmen who had participated in the development and manufacture of the Water-Powered Armillary Sphere.

Precisely because Han Gonglian and others who had worked with Su Song for years had all been recruited by Zhao Yu, the retired Su Song—who no longer involved himself in court affairs—had accepted Zhao Yu's invitation to visit his private workshop.

To be honest, Zhao Yu did not know what these top scientists and master craftsmen of the era, under Ma Xiao Jiao's leadership, would ultimately create.

But Zhao Yu's heart brimmed with anticipation and longing—he hoped the union of Ma Xiao Jiao and these ancient technological giants would usher in an unprecedented era: a new age where technology and culture intertwined and flourished together.

As the conversation deepened, Ma Xiao Jiao not only demonstrated her profound understanding and unique insights into the Water-Powered Armillary Sphere, but also voiced numerous modern scientific concepts, leaving Su Song, Han Gonglian, and others enlightened.

Occasionally, Su Song, Han Gonglian, and others shared their own understanding of technology and discussed it with Ma Xiao Jiao.

Watching all this unfold, Zhao Yu felt as if witnessing a dialogue across time—ancient and advanced, tradition and innovation—colliding in this moment with dazzling sparks.

Zhao Yu thought: "Perhaps I can bring the Industrial Revolution forward by seven or eight hundred years…"

…

(End of Chapter)