CHAPTER 1022: CHAPTER 1020: SAME DISTRIBUTION AS THE YOUNG PRINCESS OF THE COUNTY

Although Xiao Muxian was young, he could understand the word "brother." He looked at Ah Xiu and blurted out in a childish voice, "Sister."

Behind them, Jinrong heard this and instantly broke into a smile. Little Brother Xian, this kid, is quite clever. Imagine him as a prince, fancying Ah Xiu but being strictly guarded by Jiang Yifan, who protects his child fiercely, causing much frustration.

For Little Brother Xian, who is just a child wanting to play with his sister, Jiang Yifan probably has no objections, right?

He bent his head forward and cheerfully said, "That’s right, sister. Little Brother Xian should take good care of his sister and play with her, alright?"

Hearing the support in his father’s words, Muxian immediately wanted to scramble up onto the low couch, saying, "Sister, Ah Xiu."

Ah Xiu, who had been sitting on the couch, seeing someone even smaller than her little uncle trying hard to come over, lunged forward, crawling on the couch towards Muxian.

Ye Xinyan, feeling helpless, glanced at Shi Lan who followed along, and remembering Jinrong’s recent words, couldn’t let His Highness Prince Yu lose face in front of women. So she had to lift Muxian onto the couch.

Watching the two little ones greet each other with incoherent babble, Jinrong was greatly amused and leaned closer to Jiang Yifan, lowering his voice, "How about it? See how well-matched these two little ones are. Why don’t we become in-laws?"

"Cough, cough..." Jiang Yifan almost choked on his saliva. His daughter was only six months old, and this rascal Jinrong not only acknowledged her as a goddaughter but also wanted to outright snatch her into his family. How could there be such a good deal?

He calmed himself and casually picked up a teacup from the small table beside him, saying indifferently, "Your Highness is joking. They’re just little children. I think it’s too early to talk about this now."

Jinrong sat up straight, still enthusiastic, "Hmm, Yuanfan is right. Then let’s wait until they’re a little older in a few years and discuss it again."

Jiang Yifan’s hand, holding the teacup, instantly stiffened. So this rascal has set his sights on his family’s Ah Xiu.

The two children played excitedly on the low couch, tumbling over and soon rolling into a bundle.

Consort Sun initially wanted to go over and join the fun, letting Sister Xian play with Ah Xiu, who was named by the Emperor, to please the Prince.

However, seeing the two children play without any reservation, she was alarmed. Afraid that her gentle daughter might be accidentally collided by those two rowdy children, she dared not hold her daughter and go over.

Han Yufang accompanied Jinrong, amiably chatting with Jiang Yifan and his wife, while her eyes frequently flicked towards the low couch.

Inwardly she was tormented, wondering if her own unborn child should also be like Ah Xiu and Little Brother Xian to gain the Prince’s favor? Or should she frequently bring Ah Xiu to the mansion to learn early how to raise a child with a temperament like Ah Xiu’s?

Jinrong and Jiang Yifan hesitated for a while, intending to get up and head to the outer courtyard, but before the two even stepped out, Uncle Wan entered with people.

Ye Xinyan’s gaze swept over, her eyes instantly widened... It was palace people again.

Is the Emperor so idle? The frequency of appearances by eunuchs and palace maids from the palace is really high.

This time, there were two little eunuchs in the front, followed by a capable middle-aged female officer, and two palace maids trailing behind.

During the grand celebrations, the female officer did not babble on. After exchanging courtesies on both sides, she directly explained the Empress’s bestowals, then politely bid farewell and left. Even the customary tea money was chased out by the mansion’s old ladies.

The Empress’s gifts were for three children. Yes, all three, two from the mansion and the other one was Ah Xiu.

Little Muxian’s gift was somewhat awkward, a famous inkstone and ten pieces of Huimo Ink.

Sister Xian and Ah Xiu each received a Jade Ruyi.

Then, all three children received the same, numerous small gold ingots and small silver ingots with royal seal patterns, tribute satin Shu brocade fine cloth, and other materials used for tributes.

Ah Xiu’s share was the same as the young princess of the mansion.

Jiang Yifan watching all these things being brought up for several people to look at and then taken away, couldn’t help but suspiciously glance at Jinrong.

They came to Prince Yu’s Mansion as guests today, only for the Empress to bestow gifts upon the three children. Isn’t this a bit too coincidental?

Jinrong seemed a bit guilty, laughed dryly twice, and said, "I just mentioned to Imperial Father the other day, that on the fifth day, our two families would have a family banquet together."

Jiang Yifan instantly felt a wave of exasperation. So the Empress’s gifts today were solicited by Jinrong from the Emperor.

Just coming to his mansion for a meal and getting trapped like this, indeed the world is a tough place.

When Jiang Yifan and Ye Xinyan came out, they traveled lightly. Although one would visit with gifts during the celebrations, they left with quite a lot of items.

Returning home, the carriage had return gifts from Prince Yu’s Mansion, along with a Jade Ruyi of exceptional quality. In another carriage, there were more than twenty pieces of tribute silk fabric loaded.

Ye Xinyan did not deliberately mention this affair to anyone, but since the Empress who gifted the items to the three children extracted them from the internal treasury and sent them outside the palace, such news could not be hidden.

As I mentioned, the concubines in the harem and all parties’ eyes and ears knew what they needed to know, and accordingly, people outside the palace also knew quite a bit.

Families with some standing in the capital keenly noticed that the Emperor’s favor towards the Qi Family Mechanical Workshop and the Jiang Family was extraordinarily abundant, indeed an extreme preference from the throne.

On the sixth day of the month, when Ye Xinyan took her daughter back to her maternal home, Duke An even knew clearly each type and pattern of the fabric Ah Xiu received.

The old man sighed repeatedly at Ye Xinyan. He opened his mouth several times but ultimately said nothing, waving her away.

Watching his granddaughter’s unconcerned expression, Duke An couldn’t help but sigh inwardly: Being capable isn’t entirely good, it’s too attention-grabbing.

Luckily, Ah Xiu possessing gold and silver ingots embossed with the royal seal, is considered a child of status. Such things, unless implicated in a major case of treason, can serve as a safeguard once presented.

In the blink of an eye, it was the eighth day of the first month, the day when some craftsmen from the Mechanical Workshop would start work, going to Huaiyuan County to formally inaugurate the Iron-smelting Furnace Blast Furnace.

This trial operation was still mainly handled by craftsmen from the Smeltery Workshop, with craftsmen from the Mechanical Workshop only responsible for operating the Steam Engine, ensuring it could drive the blast furnace normally.

The official nature of this operation was very clear, with officials from the Ministry of Works and Imperial Workshops Bureau accompanying, making real-time records.

On the Shen Hour of the seventh day, officials from the Mechanical Workshop and the court departed the capital, heading to Huaiyuan County. After resting overnight, they started work on the morning of the eighth day at the Smeltery Workshop.

Due to previous experience running the operation, both the craftsmen from the Smeltery Workshop and Wong Qiao, Shi Yin, and others handled the operations quite skillfully. From the eighth to the sixteenth day of the first month, during the running period, only two minor issues occurred. All were promptly resolved by Shi Yin leading people.

On the morning court of the seventeenth day, the Ministry of Works presented the results of eight days of operation of the blast furnace iron-smelting, showing the output of iron materials.

The operational effect was exactly as the Emperor and Jinrong hoped for: high output, high quality, and less labor.

The output and the quality of iron materials need no elaboration, just the blow process alone significantly reduced labor.

The operation of the blast furnace only required two roles similar to stove supervisors, requiring little physical strength; as long as workers were responsible enough to ensure heat and maintain the boiler water level.

Whereas the previous method of blowing the iron-smelting furnace required strong laborers, relying entirely on human strength to supply air to the furnace, which was a highly intense physical labor.