Chapter 122: with translation of chapter title

Princess Consort of Qi brought Sui Sui, after they had finished washing and grooming, tidied their appearance, and then came out to see the Marquis Protecting the State.

The Marquis Protecting the State was somewhat older than the Princess Consort of Qi, over forty, his hair showed no white, but he kept a goatee that made him look rather mature; half of the beard was white, which, paired with his not-so-old face, made him look somewhat comical.

Upon seeing the Princess Consort of Qi, the Marquis Protecting the State hurriedly rose to salute, again expressing the gratitude of the Da Zhang Gong Zhu Fu.

The Princess Consort of Qi waved her hand indifferently, then invited the other party to sit down and chat.

Sui Sui, well-behaved, was led by Mother Consort; after seeing Mother Consort seated, Sui Sui stood beside the chair, her small hand clinging to Mother Consort's arm, her bright, lively eyes timidly gazing at the Marquis Protecting the State not far away.

When Princess Consort of Qi brought Sui Sui in, the Marquis Protecting the State had already seen her.

Yesterday such a big incident occurred, so the Marquis Protecting the State naturally returned to the Da Zhang Gong Zhu Fu.

He had also heard quite a bit about Sui Sui's matter.

As for the specific details, he didn't ask much.

However, seeing how fondly the Princess Consort of Qi doted on this child, the Marquis Protecting the State thought for a moment, then smiled and greeted Sui Sui: 'This must be Sui Sui, right? What a lovely little girl.'

Suddenly being praised so by an older uncle, Sui Sui felt a bit embarrassed, pursed her lips, and shrank closer to Mother Consort.

Although embarrassed, Sui Sui did not forget her manners; her voice was not loud but clear: 'Hello, uncle, thank you for praising me as cute.'

After saying that, Sui Sui's little face turned red.

Looking at Sui Sui's cute little appearance, the Princess Consort of Qi felt her hands itch again, very much wanting to touch her.

Her daughter, truly adorable!

However, there were still others present; the Princess Consort of Qi struggled to control her hand, turned her head, first thanked the Marquis Protecting the State for his praise, then carefully inquired about the safety of the Da Zhang Gong Zhu Fu party.

Upon learning that everything was fine, that only some houses and fields in the villa had been destroyed with no casualties, the Princess Consort of Qi finally relaxed and sighed: 'All right, all right.'

No casualties—that was the best news.

For people of their standing, merely destroying some courtyards and fields was not considered any trouble.

The Marquis Protecting the State evidently thought the same, nodding and saying: 'Thanks to the Wangfu's blessing, we too have been fortunate once.'

Hearing those words, the Princess Consort of Qi's heart gave a jolt; even though she knew the other was just being polite, she couldn't help feeling guilty.

So she quickly waved her hand: 'No, no, it's because His Highness is blessed by heaven.'

After they had exchanged pleasantries for a while, the Marquis Protecting the State then curiously asked: 'When I came earlier, I heard that the Princess Consort brought the young lady to make charcoal briquettes; how did it turn out? Would you like some guidance? I often help with making them at the Ministry of Works.'

The Princess Consort of Qi felt that Sui Sui's plaything was fine for them to enjoy a bit of liveliness at their own residence; there was no need to involve others, lest the briquettes fail to ignite and upset the little girl.

She had originally intended to refuse outright, but upon turning her head and meeting Sui Sui's expectant gaze, the words rose to her lips yet the Princess Consort of Qi could not utter a single one.

After thinking it over, she smiled and nodded at the Marquis Protecting the State: 'Then, please trouble yourself.'

The Marquis Protecting the State waved his hand indifferently: 'No problem, no problem, Princess Consort, don't think I'm being meddlesome.'

'Not at all, not at all,' the Princess Consort of Qi also said politely.

The group went to the backyard where the charcoal briquettes were being aired out.

When Sui Sui was making the charcoal briquettes, she was very earnest.

Although, due to the proportions, some of the briquettes actually turned out not very attractive in shape.

Nevertheless, overall, they were still quite good.

The Marquis Protecting the State originally thought what he would see might just be some makeshift efforts by the children, not particularly nice-looking.

He thought, too, that one couldn't force a five-year-old to make the briquettes especially neat and pretty.

But, looking at it now…

…it seems not bad.

The Marquis Protecting the State lightly lifted his robe, squatted down, and examined those briquettes closely.

How to put it?

There was surprise, as well as doubt.

After looking for a while, the Marquis Protecting the State pointed at the briquettes and asked: 'Why are there holes poked in these?'

Sui Sui had mentioned this before, and the Princess Consort of Qi still remembered; hearing the question, she smiled and explained: 'This allows them to communicate with each other, improving the burning effect and making it more thorough.'

That theory was quite novel; after hearing it, the Marquis Protecting the State fell into thought.

He had served many years in the Ministry of Works, his rank not high, and many even thought he was relying on his family background, just coasting along.

In fact, the Marquis Protecting the State merely stayed in the middle ranks due to his interest in these matters, occasionally dropping to lower levels to conduct some small research.

Although his rank is not high, he does have some understanding of many things and enjoys thinking about them.

Now, regarding the holes in the honeycomb coal, he really gave them careful thought.

After thinking for a while and still not figuring it out, the Marquis Protecting the State pondered and then tentatively asked: 'Could I take some back to the Ministry of Works to experiment and see the effect?'

Upon hearing that, the Princess Consort of Qi also felt uncertain.

She looked at the honeycomb coal, then at the Marquis Protecting the State; after a good while, she turned her head to look at Sui Sui.

Meeting the little girl's innocent gaze, the Princess Consort of Qi thought and asked: 'Uncle Su wants to take these briquettes back; what do you think, Sui Sui?'

This was the result of the little girl's hard work all morning; the Princess Consort of Qi did not want to simply wave her hand and decide to send them away outright.

What would we do if the child became upset and heartbroken then?

Sui Sui did not expect Mother Consort to ask her.

She obediently leaned against Mother Consort's thigh, lifted her head, and whispered: 'I will follow Mother Consort.'

Such a well-behaved, soft little child really makes one's heart melt.

The Princess Consort of Qi felt her heart melt again; she raised her free hand and gently stroked Sui Sui's head, speaking softly: 'You don't always have to obey Mother Consort; Sui Sui should have her own thoughts—if she likes something, she likes it; if she doesn't, she doesn't; if she doesn't want to give them away, we can just keep them to play with ourselves.'

Sui Sui actually didn't understand; it was the lullaby attendant from last night and Le Le who were guiding her forward.

A morning's worth of making briquettes had already let Sui Sui indulge her craving.

She felt she had fun playing; as for the results?

She didn't care.

At that moment, hearing Mother Consort ask like that, Sui Sui thought for a moment, then nodded: "Sui Sui likes it, Sui Sui is willing!"

Le Le said, these things, if someone spreads them, then maybe this winter won't cause so many deaths.

Winter is very cold, Sui Sui knows that.

If more people had charcoal fire, wouldn't they avoid freezing to death, or getting frostbitten?

If that's really the case, Sui Sui is willing to send out all these bundles of charcoal.

Sui Sui doesn't understand the grand notion of self‑sacrifice; she only wants other children to have a winter that isn't cold.

The Grand Princess's two sons share the same father and mother, but have different surnames; this will be explained slowly later~