Chapter 179: Lu Yuan Made a Baron; Twelve Days Later, the Human Emperor Summons Him

Seeing the two people looking frightened, Lu Yuan blinked.

Then he suddenly raised his eyebrows and said:

"Um… you two, come jogging from the kitchen again so I can watch."

Huh?

The two didn't know what it meant, but with fearful faces they looked at Lu Yuan and said:

"Brother~ we're scared~"

Lu Yuan raised an eyebrow and said:

"What's there to fear! I'm here, go quickly!"

Afterwards, the two did as Lu Yuan said, running quickly from the kitchen doorway and hiding behind him.

They were really frightened by the hissing of that pressure cooker.

Lu Yuan, meanwhile, was quite satisfied.

Just now, my wife and Gu Qingwan ran, swaying left and right… like surging waves…

It was gorgeous.

After Su Liyan and Gu Qingwan stared for half a second, they suddenly understood why Lu Yuan had them run again.

Su Liyan immediately embraced her husband, burying her gorgeous face in his chest, and said shyly:

"Brother~~ you're naughty~"

Gu Qingwan beside them also blushed, couldn't help lightly patting Lu Yuan's shoulder and said coquettishly:

"Oh dear, hurry up… what… what's the deal with that pot?!"

Holding his extremely shy wife, Lu Yuan raised his eyebrows and smiled, saying:

"Don't be scared, just that—press it for twenty or thirty minutes and it'll be fine, nothing to worry about, don't be afraid."

At that moment, the kitchen still filled with hissing sounds, which left both Su Liyan and Gu Qingwan feeling a bit uneasy.

They felt as if it might explode…

In the end, the two returned to the kitchen.

Lu Yuan, meanwhile, lay in bed reading 《Ingenuity》.

After about twenty or thirty minutes, Su Liyan and Gu Qingwan had reheated all the dishes from the previous night's table and brought them to the main hall.

Lu Yuan got out of bed, put on his shoes, and while walking toward the kitchen, he looked at the two women in the room and said:

"Come with me, brother, I'll show you a little trick."

"A trick?"

They didn't understand, but they followed Lu Yuan into the kitchen.

Lu Yuan first took the pressure cooker off the stove and placed it on a nearby counter to sit for a moment.

Then he went to the basket, picked up an egg, and held it in his hand.

Lu Yuan then looked at his frightened wife and Gu Qingwan beside him and said:

"Watch closely, let you see the power of steam."

Gu Qingwan blinked, still not understanding what was what.

Lu Yuan placed one hand on the valve of the pressure cooker, gave a tug, and instantly a burst of hissing steam shot out.

At the same moment, Lu Yuan placed the egg on top.

Then a miraculous scene occurred—well, to Lu Yuan it was ordinary.

But to Su Liyan and Gu Qingwan, it was truly amazing.

The powerful jet blew the egg straight up into the air, and just as it was about to fall, it was instantly pushed up again.

In the wildly spraying steam, the egg spun wildly, dancing up and down, looking quite impressive.

Su Liyan and Gu Qingwan, hiding behind Lu Yuan, were both stunned by the sight.

But that wasn't the end; Lu Yuan carefully lifted the pressure cooker, slowly turned, and prepared to walk to the main hall.

The egg kept being pushed up by the cooker, dancing above it.

When Lu Yuan carefully placed it down in the main hall, he then waited nearly a minute.

The pressure in the cooker had mostly dissipated, and the egg was no longer tumbling up and down.

Instead, it hovered a few centimeters above the valve, about to drop.

Only then did Lu Yuan take the egg down.

Lu Yuan then turned, looked at Gu Qingwan behind him, and said with an amused expression:

"The steam engine I mentioned—do you now have a rough idea of what I meant?"

At that moment, Gu Qingwan looked at Lu Yuan with a face full of admiration and said:

"I… roughly understand what your steam engine is about…"

Gu Qingwan still didn't grasp the specifics.

But she could roughly figure it out.

At least it's better than being completely clueless before.

Seeing Gu Qingwan say she understood the idea, Lu Yuan grinned and said:

"Knowing the general idea is enough; the real steam engine is far more complicated than this, but the principle is much the same—just boil water."

Having said that, Lu Yuan didn't say anything more to Gu Qingwan.

Instead, he squatted down, twisted the pressure cooker, and then lifted its lid.

Instantly, another burst of gas shot out.

Lu Yuan found two pieces of cloth to pad it, and finally lifted out a small basin of braised pork from inside.

At this moment, this song meat was already completely extremely soft and mushy.

When lightly placed on the table, the meat trembled.

As soon as the song meat was set down, Lu Yuan, face full of excitement, sat down and picked up his chopsticks, saying:

"Hurry, hurry, hurry, stop looking and start eating!!"

After Su Liyan came to her senses, she quickly sat beside her husband, scooped a bowl of rice from a wooden tub for him, and handed it over.

Gu Qingwan, meanwhile, stood where she was, glancing at the pot still steaming.

She also glanced at Lu Yuan, who couldn't wait to eat.

At this moment, Gu Qingwan's expression was the same as Su Liyan's—nothing but admiration.

After Gu Qingwan also sat down, Lu Yuan, just holding the basin of song meat, scooped several pieces for his wife, then turned his head to Gu Qingwan and said:

"Bring a bowl."

Gu Qingwan startled, then immediately passed her own bowl over.

Lu Yuan gave Gu Qingwan several pieces of song meat, drizzled some broth on them, and said somewhat proudly:

"Try this song meat I made today!!"

"It's guaranteed to be delicious!"

As a modern person, Lu Yuan had never experienced any hardship growing up, and he didn't know what fragrant fatty meat slices were.

Lu Yuan really doesn't like eating fatty meat.

Usually when stir-frying dishes at home with some pork belly, Lu Yuan would eat the lean parts and toss the fat into his wife's bowl.

But the fatty meat in this song meat, Lu Yuan especially loves to eat.

Although it has the aroma of fat, it's not at all greasy.

It's like jelly—just one bite and it slides down.

Lu Yuan steamed this in the pressure cooker for twenty to thirty minutes, which equals the effect of four or five hours in a regular steamer!

After taking a bite, both Gu Qingwan and Su Liyan felt that this song meat was completely different from anything they had eaten before.

Especially the fatty part—it gets sucked in with one bite.

Extremely delicious.

"Brother~~ how are you so amazing~~"

Su Liyan looked admiringly, her beautiful eyes full of little stars.

And Lu Yuan laughed loudly, extremely proud.

"There's plenty more where my awesomeness comes from~"

Gu Qingwan, beside them, after shoving a piece of song meat into her mouth, watched the scene before her and couldn't help but blink.

For a moment……

Gu Qingwan actually felt a bit envious of Su Liyan.

Lu Yuan is Su Liyan's man, and Su Liyan can praise Lu Yuan whenever she wants.

She can do so without restraint, without caring about anyone.

As for her own words……

Actually, she also wants to be like Su Liyan, to praise Lu Yuan with a face full of admiration, saying how amazing he is.

But……

Lu Yuan isn't her man……

Since she's still attending to Su Liyan, Gu Qingwan can't act that way.

Although yesterday's affair seems to have passed, she still needs to look after Su Liyan's feelings.

Then Lu Yuan, after affectionately pinching his wife's beautiful cheek, turned his head and raised an eyebrow at Gu Qingwan, saying:

"What, not tasty, huh? You won't even praise someone?"

Gu Qingwan startled, then, just like Su Liyan a moment ago, gazed at Lu Yuan with an overly sweet look and spoke in a coquettish voice:

"Delicious~~ especially delicious~~ Brother's cooking is the best~~ alright~"

Hearing Gu Qingwan's words, Lu Yuan finally satisfied, burst into laughter, then lowered his head and began to eat rice.

After he was full, Lu Yuan simply lay back on the bed, crossed his legs, and continued reading 《Artisan's Heart》.

Su Liyan, meanwhile, was clearing the dishes with Gu Qingwan.

After everything was cleaned up, Gu Qingwan wasn't in a hurry to leave, since it was still before seven in the evening.

"Brother~ can I use the sewing machine~"

After finishing her chores, Su Liyan suddenly turned her head to look sweetly at her husband lying on the bed and asked:

Su Liyan was afraid of disturbing her husband's reading.

"Hmm?"

Lu Yuan set down his copy of 《Artisan's Heart》, glanced at his sweet, obedient wife, then suddenly beckoned with his hand and said:

"Come here."

Su Liyan blinked curiously, then walked to the bedside, squatted in front of her husband, and asked with a face full of curiosity:

"What is it?"

The next second, Lu Yuan embraced his wife, gave her a thorough kiss, then, satisfied, looked at her blushing face and said:

"Go ahead."

Su Liyan, her face flushed with shyness, gave her husband a glance that was almost dripping with charm, then obediently walked toward the sewing machine.

Meanwhile, Gu Qingwan, who was wiping her hands with a towel, saw this and slightly pursed her lips.

This……

Afterwards, Lu Yuan continued reading.

To be frank, if there's no sign of his wife's sewing machine at night in this house, Lu Yuan still feels restless.

Su Liyan, meanwhile, shyly brought Gu Qingwan to the sewing machine.

"Sister Wan, do you know how to use a sewing machine?"

Su Liyan looked at Gu Qingwan, who had just grabbed a stool and sat down beside her, and asked curiously.

As for the sewing machine, Gu Qingwan definitely didn't know how to use it.

This thing was a new gadget produced by the Two Guang Forging Bureau in the year Gu Qingwan first ascended the throne.

Naturally, Gu Qingwan had no time to learn it.

Besides… what would Gu Qingwan learn it for, to make clothes for whom?

Afterwards, Gu Qingwan shook her head and said:

"I don't know how to use it; we haven't even bought one at home."

Su Liyan immediately nodded lightly and smiled, saying:

"Then I'll teach you."

After blinking, Gu Qingwan pursed her lips and smiled, saying:

"Sure."

Time passed second by second, and Lu Yuan read quietly.

Su Liyan and Gu Qingwan occasionally whispered a few words to each other.

This household was truly harmonious.

After Su Liyan spoke a while longer, she began earnestly teaching Gu Qingwan how to stitch on the sewing machine.

Su Liyan taught seriously, and Gu Qingwan learned seriously.

But soon, Gu Qingwan spotted a sheet of paper tucked inside a large book beside her.

The paper showed half a page, with a pattern drawn on it.

It looked like Lu Yuan's manuscript.

Gu Qingwan curiously pulled it out and glanced at it; seconds later, her face flushed intensely.

Meanwhile, Su Liyan had just finished a row of stitching, turned her head to look at Gu Qingwan, and was about to let her try.

But when Su Liyan saw the paper Gu Qingwan was holding in her hand,

Su Liyan's face instantly flushed crimson; with a swoosh, she snatched the paper back.

Blushing, she put it back into the large book and tucked it neatly.

At that moment, Gu Qingwan stood frozen, blinked, then stared at Su Liyan in disbelief and said:

"Little sister… those… those are too embarrassing…

how could anyone wear something like that?"

At this point, Su Liyan was so embarrassed she wanted to find a crack in the ground to hide in.

Extremely shy, Su Liyan lowered her head, her face red, and said:

"Anyway… anyway, it's only for my husband to see… no one else…

my husband… as long as he likes it, that's fine."

Gu Qingwan looked at Su Liyan, blinked, then suddenly leaned in mysteriously to whisper in her ear:

"Little sister… you're not wearing it now, are you?"

The blush on Su Liyan's lovely face had already spread to her ears and neck.

Her swan‑like neck was also tinged with a layer of red.

Su Liyan thought there was nothing wrong with it—this… this, her husband likes it, so what's the problem…

What's there to be embarrassed about?

After a few seconds of silence, Su Liyan plucked up her courage, lifted her head, looked at Gu Qingwan, and nodded, saying:

"Yes… yeah… actually… actually, these things… aren't just for wearing in bed…

wearing them normally… is also quite comfortable."

Gu Qingwan blinked, then got up and pulled the curtain on her side shut.

Having drawn the curtain, Gu Qingwan sat back down beside Su Liyan.

Before Su Liyan could even react,

Gu Qingwan directly reached out and tugged at Su Liyan's chest clothing.

This frightened Su Liyan so much that she hurriedly covered her chest, looking at Gu Qingwan in panic and said:

"What are you doing, Sister Wan!!"

At that moment, Gu Qingwan looked at Su Liyan with a serious expression and said:

"Let me have a look; I want to see what this thing looks like when worn."

"Oh dear, quickly let sister have a look…"

…

At half past eight at night, Gu Qingwan put on her coat, preparing to leave.

Lu Yuan, too lazy to get up to see her off,

just lay in bed, lazily waving at Gu Qingwan.

which counted as a greeting.

Su Liyan, after seeing her to the back courtyard gate, then returned.

Upon returning home, Su Liyan immediately drew all the curtains.

Afterwards, she stood by the bed with a blushing face, gazing at her husband and coquettishly said:

"Brother~~

"The new clothes are finished today, want to take a look~"

"Huh?"

When Lu Yuan lifted his head, he saw his wife already blushing and coquettishly beginning to undo his collar.

Such a gorgeous, mature, sexy wife made Lu Yuan involuntarily swallow his saliva.

……

Three days later.

Lu Yuan's reward for his previous yield of 2500 catties of potatoes per mu has come down.

Inside the Siheyuan.

A eunuch dressed in grand red court robes, leading a team of little eunuchs, stood at the gate of the backyard, holding an imperial edict to proclaim.

Everyone in the courtyard knelt on the ground to listen to the edict.

Lu Yuan was ennobled as a baron.

Twelve days later, the formal investiture ceremony was held before the Taihe Hall, and the Human Emperor summoned him.

Thanks to FURY Xiao Fei Lao Ge for the 500 book coin tip, thank you very much~

Thanks to Míshī Měng Jìng, and also Linlin Xiao Yao Jing Lao Ge for the 100 book coin tip, thank you very much~

(End of chapter)