Chapter 22: Retreat Quickly
The craftsmanship on this thing was so crude it was painful to look at!
The edges of the wood hadn’t even been properly sanded. Bristly splinters still stuck out everywhere.
The copper tubes were rough and crooked, jutting out in all directions.
The few brass gears embedded in the middle were different sizes, and there were visible gaps where the teeth meshed.
【That’s it?】
【This shoddy wooden box looks worse than a kindergarten senior’s craft project!】
【This is supposed to be a top-tier mechanical device? Do they have some kind of misunderstanding about the word “treasure”?】
Lin Wan'er carefully lifted the wooden box, holding it as though it were a priceless piece of fragile glass.
She reached out and pinched the brass crank on the side of the box.
“Ladies, please behold. This object is known as the Ruyi Music Box.”
With a proud smile, Lin Wan'er turned the crank.
“Creak, creak.”
As the crank rotated, the wooden box emitted an unpleasant metallic scraping sound.
A halting, clunky series of tinkling noises came from inside the box.
To Su Yaoyao, it sounded like two pieces of rusted metal scraping against each other. It was practically torture for the ears!
And yet!
The consorts and noble ladies around her looked as though they had heard music from heaven!
Every single one widened her eyes, covered her mouth, and let out a series of astonished exclamations.
“My heavens! This wooden box can actually make sounds all by itself!”
“How miraculous! Without a musician playing it, how can it produce such beautiful celestial music?”
“Miss Lin, I’m afraid even the Imperial Workshops couldn’t make such a divine object!”
The consorts surrounded the box in a circle, their gazes burning with fanatic awe.
The smugness on Lin Wan'er's face was almost impossible to conceal.
She forcibly suppressed the corners of her mouth from curling upward and put on an air of calm humility and delicate modesty.
“Ladies, you flatter me. The Ruyi Music Box was crafted by the finest mechanical master in the world, who devoted his entire life’s work to it.”
“My father happened to acquire it from a merchant of a neighboring country. It cost him a full one hundred thousand taels of silver.”
“I brought it out today merely to offer a humble contribution and give everyone a little amusement.”
One hundred thousand taels of silver!
The moment the figure was mentioned, the exclamations in the pavilion grew even louder.
After basking in everyone’s praise, Lin Wan'er turned her eyes back to Su Yaoyao.
Seeing Su Yaoyao staring blankly at the music box, Lin Wan'er sneered inwardly.
A country bumpkin was still a country bumpkin.
She had probably never seen such an elegant object before.
Was she so stunned by this young lady’s wealth and talent that she had gone speechless?
Lin Wan'er inclined her body and used the gentlest possible tone to deliver the most cutting words.
“Little Sister Crown Princess, you’ve been staring at this music box for quite some time. You must have been deeply impressed by the ingenious mechanical craftsmanship, haven’t you?”
Lin Wan'er deliberately emphasized the words “Little Sister.”
“Wan'er knows that you’ve lived among the common people since childhood, growing up in a place as rough and violent as the black market.”
“It’s only natural that you’ve never seen such a priceless treasure before. Everyone understands.”
The women around them immediately understood the implication. They covered their mouths with their handkerchiefs and let out waves of scornful laughter.
“Exactly. Although Her Highness the Crown Princess is wealthy, her money reeks of blood and vulgarity.”
“She probably hasn’t even touched an elegant treasure like this before.”
Lin Wan'er sighed, looking every inch the considerate older sister.
“If Little Sister Crown Princess truly can’t come up with a respectable item to donate, there’s no need to force yourself.”
“If you feel embarrassed, Wan'er would be happy to contribute the silver on your behalf and donate it to the soldiers stationed at the border.”
“Consider it a way of preserving the dignity of the Crown Princess of Great Yuan.”
At this point, Lin Wan'er abruptly changed her tone, deliberately allowing worry and guardedness to appear in her eyes.
“However...”
“This music box is exceedingly precious and fragile, with mechanisms of incomparable complexity inside.”
“I only ask that you stand back, Little Sister Crown Princess. Please don’t use those hands of yours, so accustomed to handling blades and weapons, to damage this treasure.”
“If even a single tiny gear inside were broken, I’m afraid you’d have to offer up the entire fortune of the black market to make amends.”
Listening to this syrupy, sanctimonious speech, Su Yaoyao didn’t even have the energy to roll her eyes.
She folded her arms across her chest. Her gaze passed right over Lin Wan'er’s face and fixed itself on the wooden box that was still creaking away.
【That’s it? And this is supposed to have an exquisitely precise internal mechanism?】
Su Yaoyao’s professional instincts kicked in, and she began ranting inwardly.
【Every single transmission gear is meshing at an angle. The tolerances are so huge you could fit an ox in there!】
【They didn’t even calculate the most basic gear ratio correctly. No wonder it sounds like someone sawing through a table leg!】
【The spring box is as brittle as a biscuit. Two more turns and the whole thing will collapse!】
Su Yaoyao’s eyes were as precise as a measuring gauge.
She had already taken the music box’s internal structure apart in her mind.
【But then again...】
Excitement flashed in Su Yaoyao’s eyes as inspiration struck.
【Although the mechanical structure is garbage, the catch controlling the release of the spring is actually pretty clever.】
【The brass gears just happen to form a delayed linkage mechanism.】
【All I need to do is adjust the meshing angles of these gears a little and tweak the rebound force of the catch...】
The more Su Yaoyao thought about it, the more excited she became. She couldn’t help swallowing.
【Then I’ll stuff some black powder beneath the base!】
【Add a few iron nails and shards of porcelain!】
【A broken music box?】
【The moment someone turns the crank, once the countdown ends, it’ll become a powerful miniature timed land mine!】
【An excellent weapon for murder, robbery, assassination, and blowing things up!】
At the same time.
Less than thirty paces from the pavilion, behind a massive Taihu rockery, Su Zhen was sitting wide-legged on a small stool.
He held a bowl of caramel sunflower seeds freshly roasted by the Imperial Kitchen, cracking them with practiced ease as he watched the spectacle unfolding in the distance with great relish.
After learning that his daughter had gone to the Imperial Garden to collect protection money, the Emperor had pushed aside all his memorials and rushed over to enjoy the show from the front row.
Watching that flock of foolish harem women being toyed with like monkeys by his daughter, Su Zhen felt indescribably pleased.
But as he cracked sunflower seeds and leisurely listened to his daughter’s thoughts...
The Tyrant Dad, who had been grinning happily just a moment earlier, suddenly froze.
A miniature timed land mine?!
A thunderous boom went off in Su Zhen’s mind. He could practically see the Imperial Garden being blown to pieces.
He had personally witnessed the way this girl handled those dangerous powders!
If she said she could turn that shabby wooden box into a land mine, then she absolutely could blow the entire Imperial Garden sky-high!
“Clatter.”
Su Zhen’s hand jerked in fright, scattering the bowl of fragrant caramel sunflower seeds all over the ground.
“Retreat! Now!”
Su Zhen had no time to bother with the eunuch beside him. Hunching over, he backed away through the shadows of the rockery.
Three steps became two.
The mighty God-of-Slaughter Emperor swiftly located the thickest white marble pillar in the Imperial Garden.
He plunged behind it, hid his enormous frame, and wrapped both arms over his head as a shield.
Inside the pavilion.
Faced with Lin Wan'er's taunts, Su Yaoyao curved her lips into a dangerously benevolent smile.
She took a step forward and reached out.
Under the stunned gazes of all the women present, she snatched the priceless treasure right out of Lin Wan'er's hands!