Chapter 20: The Grace of a Steamed Bun

Jun Zhengming looked astonished and dared not make a sound, retreating to the side. Quan Aoyu’s gaze fell upon Jun Zijin once more, his cold expression instantly softening as he said:

"I have matters to discuss with the Second Young Lady; all others may withdraw."

Upon hearing this, Jun Shuyan was filled with admiration, Jun Zhidie’s expression turned gloomy, and Jun Yiyi secretly gritted her teeth. Both were extremely unwilling yet helpless, and could only stomp their feet in private before reluctantly withdrawing.

Jun Zhengming was even more incredulous, his face full of shock. He had not expected this disgraced daughter to catch the Crown Prince’s eye, and he did not know if it was a blessing or a curse. He feared that this notorious, disgraced daughter would one day offend this god of slaughter and implicate the entire Jun Fu.

No sooner had Jun Zhengming dismissed everyone in the hall than he heard the Crown Prince say:

"You withdraw as well."

The hall fell silent, and only then did Jun Zijin continue the conversation,

"Your Highness, the wheelchair retrieved today has already been sent to my grandmother’s courtyard. Grandmother is frail, and I fear it may be quite inconvenient for her."

"It is no matter," he said. "I have nothing to do today; I shall pay a visit to the Old Lady later."

"..." This blockhead was truly obsessed with her wheelchair.

A flash of inspiration struck her; perhaps...

Jun Yiyi returned to Aoxue Courtyard in a rage. She had dressed meticulously today, yet the Crown Prince’s gaze had not lingered on her for even a moment. Jun Yiyi rushed into the room and swept the tea set off the table; with a crisp "clatter," the sound still failed to extinguish the anger in her heart.

Her personal maid, Cui Liu, cautiously advised:

"Young Lady, do not ruin your health with anger. Perhaps the Crown Prince was merely bewitched by that Jun Zijin for a moment."

Jun Yiyi bit her lip, her eyes turning red. "What virtue or ability does that slut have? To be able to attract the Prince’s attention with just some trifling object."

Just then, Jun Zhidie also entered Aoxue Courtyard. She gave a cold snort:

"Why is Eldest Sister so angry? It was nothing more than a farce today. That village girl just had good luck."

Jun Yiyi glared at her. "If you hadn't been spouting nonsense in front of the Crown Prince, how could I have been so embarrassed?"

The two began to blame each other.

"What embarrassment? You practically threw yourself at him to play the zither; who doesn't know what you were thinking!" Jun Zhidie secretly sneered.

Jun Yiyi felt slightly better after smashing things and scolding someone. But at the thought of Jun Zijin, a wave of hatred surged in her heart again.

Seeing that Jun Yiyi had calmed down, Jun Zhidie rolled her eyes and said, "Eldest Sister, rather than sulking here, why not think of a way to deal with that Jun Zijin, who knows nothing of the zither, chess, calligraphy, or painting? I hear she lives in a remote little courtyard and has few capable people around her."

A flash of ruthlessness crossed Jun Yiyi’s eyes. "Third Sister is right. Just you wait; in less than two days, there will be a good show to watch."

Jun Yiyi gritted her teeth: "Jun Zijin, I will let you be proud for two days. I want to see if the Crown Prince will still look at you properly in two days' time!"

The Old Lady was in particularly high spirits today; it seemed the June weather was not so hot after all. She ordered Wang Mama to push the wheelchair around the courtyard several times. When the news came that the Crown Prince was coming to Jingzhu Courtyard, Wang Mama was still pushing the Old Lady around the tree-lined path, chatting about daily life.

In fact, the Old Lady had once sat in a wooden wheelchair, but it was bulky, uncomfortable, and very inconvenient to use, so later she preferred to lie in bed rather than sit in it.

The Old Lady tidied herself up and ordered Wang Mama to push her to the courtyard gate to welcome him.

When Jun Zijin led Quan Aoyu into Jingshan Courtyard, they saw the maids and mamas kneeling all over the ground. The Old Lady was sitting in the wheelchair and could not easily bow, so she simply said respectfully:

"We, your humble servants, welcome the Crown Prince. I am truly quite inconvenienced; I beg Your Highness to forgive me."

Quan Aoyu raised his hand slightly, signaling everyone to rise. He said politely:

"Old Lady, there is no need for such formalities. I am intruding today because I do indeed have a matter to discuss."

The Old Lady hurriedly said: "Your Highness, you speak too seriously. I wonder what matter brings you here?"

Quan Aoyu glanced at Jun Zijin beside him, then looked at the wheelchair the Old Lady was sitting in, and spoke slowly:

"I have come today to see a novelty."

The Old Lady understood and hurriedly welcomed the Crown Prince into the tea room to make arrangements.

Quan Aoyu examined the object carefully; it was indeed vastly different from the wooden wheelchairs he had seen before.

This wheelchair focused more on ergonomic design; it was lightweight and multifunctional, capable of standing, lying flat, folding, and other operations, and one could easily turn the wheels to travel alone.

This wheelchair was a huge improvement in design and function, and it was lighter—it was simply a godsend for the disabled.

Quan Aoyu pondered the principles, his heart filled with amazement.

[One thousand words omitted.] After finishing, Jun Zijin saw Quan Aoyu out of the residence.

Jun Zijin possessed the wisdom of a modern person and could naturally sense Quan Aoyu’s goodwill toward her, which occasionally even revealed a hint of familiarity. She was no great beauty, so she certainly wouldn't be narcissistic enough to think that a mere wheelchair could make the dignified Crown Prince of the current dynasty look at her differently; there must be something she didn't know. Since she didn't know, she wouldn't hold it in:

"Has the Crown Prince known me from before?" She really wasn't used to the ancients referring to themselves as "this humble girl" or "this subject's daughter," and all that pedantic language.

"Hmm, do you remember five years ago, you gave me a steamed bun... hmm, a life-saving grace."

"A further hint... the back mountain, the injured youth."

Quan Aoyu hadn't even realized he could be so talkative, and that he was referring to himself as "I" instead of "the Crown Prince." Of course, when he did realize it, the feeling wasn't bad.

Jun Zijin searched the original owner’s memories again; there was indeed such an incident. Five years ago, the original owner was gathering firewood on the back mountain and encountered an injured youth wearing a mask. She used her knowledge of pharmacology to treat his wounds and gave him the only half-bun she had for dinner. For this, she was beaten for returning late and went hungry all night after missing dinner. So it was him. "The original owner and this blockhead Crown Prince actually had such a... hmm, encounter."

"So it was you," Jun Zijin said, somewhat happily.

"Yes, it was me," Quan Aoyu nodded.

They did not chat much more on this topic and went on to discuss the wheelchair.

Quan Aoyu felt the design was truly ingenious, but... he asked Jun Zijin if it was feasible to promote the wheelchair.

In reality, Tianqi currently had wooden wheelchairs, but they were not only mobility tools for the disabled but also symbols of wealth and status for the nobility. They were not something ordinary commoners could afford.

Quan Aoyu’s idea of promoting steel wheelchairs perfectly matched Jun Zijin’s intentions. However, she couldn't give them away for free. If her plan succeeded, broadly speaking, it would be a leap in steel-making technology for Tianqi and even the world; in the small sense, her purse would be filled with endless silver.

Jun Zijin understood Quan Aoyu’s concerns. As everyone knew, steel would rust, which was why Tianqi was still stuck in the era of wooden wheelchairs.

To truly promote it, improvements in materials were needed. Tianqi’s steel-making technology was already extremely mature; as long as improvements were made to the ingredients and techniques, stainless steel could be produced.

The wisdom of the ancients was powerful. As long as there was a formula and a manufacturing method, surely, before long, they would definitely succeed in smelting stainless steel, and perhaps even develop the aluminum alloys and titanium alloys that only existed in the 20th century.

The dynasty of Tianqi had never appeared in history. Since she was in a fictional historical space, creating these things wouldn't be considered overturning history, right? Jun Zijin pondered.

Jun Zijin happened to know the formula and manufacturing process for smelting stainless steel. Ordinary steel was mainly composed of carbon and iron; the main components of stainless steel included iron, chromium, nickel, and other elements. Stainless steel contained at least 10.5% chromium, and these elements gave stainless steel its excellent corrosion resistance.

She remembered the raw materials, steel-making, ingredients, and process treatments clearly; this was thanks to her good habit of reading widely.

It was just that while it sounded simple, implementing it was truly not easy. This was not something a disgraced official's daughter could accomplish; she had to borrow the Crown Prince’s influence.

She did not agree immediately; she still had to calculate things further.