Yao Huang and Prince Hui simultaneously looked at Master Deng.
Pointing at the large wheel and the push rim on the left side of the three-wheeled red sandalwood wheelchair he had just demonstrated, Master Deng explained, "Although this push rim makes it easier to propel, it sits so close to the inner large wheel that together they are over half a foot wide. This not only hinders the act of reaching over to push, but also looks bulky and cumbersome. This commoner wondered if we could forge the large wheels using metals like refined iron, dark iron, fine steel, bronze, or brass. Metal bears weight well, so using it could reduce the width of the large wheels. If paired with a rattan chair, the overall weight of the wheelchair shouldn't increase too much either."
It was unclear what Prince Hui was pondering, so Yao Huang was the first to voice her confusion. "Are wheels made of metal easy to push?"
Master Deng came prepared. From a box beside him, he took out two small wheelchairs, each only about a foot tall.
Both of the three-wheeled miniature wheelchairs with push rims were made of elm wood. However, while one had large wooden wheels, the other's large wheels had been replaced with thin rings of brass.
Yao Huang stared at the two large brass wheels, finding them more familiar the longer she looked. "Were these modified from brass bracelets?"
The inner sides of the brass bracelets had several small holes drilled into them, into which Master Deng had inserted small wooden sticks to assemble the shape of a large wheel.
"Yes," Master Deng replied. "Because civilian blacksmith shops don't have iron wheel molds that fit the dimensions of a wheelchair, and I worried they wouldn't have sufficiently masterful smelting techniques to make them on the spot, I went to a jewelry shop to have this pair of brass bracelets made. I wanted to test them first to see if my idea was truly feasible."
Yao Huang deeply admired Master Deng's ingenuity. Without needing him to say a word, she placed the two small wheelchairs on the ground and pushed one with each hand. As expected, the brass wheelchair required much less effort.
She placed the small wheelchairs on a long table, then pushed Prince Hui over so he could try them himself.
Master Deng explained, "Wooden wheels are lightweight, but the wheelchair shakes noticeably when encountering uneven ground. A brass wheel that can bear the same weight has a smaller contact area with the ground, so the shaking isn't as pronounced."
Looking at the two small wheelchairs on the long table, Yao Huang noted that the one with brass wheels indeed looked sleeker and more pleasing. Most importantly, it was smooth and effortless to push!
She asked Master Deng, "Are you saying that civilian blacksmith shops can't make the iron or brass wheels the Prince needs, and we have to go to the imperial court's armory?"
"Yes. Furthermore, this commoner is merely a carpenter and lacks sufficient knowledge of metals. I can only provide the blueprints; as for exactly which metal is most suitable, that will need to be decided by highly skilled blacksmiths."
Yao Huang looked at Prince Hui, who had been silent for quite some time.
Zhao Sui said to Master Deng, "I will consider this matter. The wheelchairs you delivered today are all very good. I will send word to you after I have tried them."
Master Deng bowed and assented.
Yao Huang shot a glance at Guo Shu, signaling him to take Master Deng to the accounting room to receive his reward. Master Deng was noticeably thinner than during their last meeting at the end of May, showing just how much thought and energy he had expended figuring out the new wheelchairs.
After they left, Yao Huang crouched in front of the large wheel of one of the new wheelchairs. She examined the wheel's structure, then looked at the various mechanisms connecting the large wheel and the push rim. Every single part required a custom-made mold. Even if outside blacksmith shops could create the molds, they usually only had access to ordinary pig iron and raw copper. Moreover, could civilian artisans who mostly forged farm tools truly produce exquisite wheels that matched Master Deng's standards?
Prince Hui was a prince of the first rank; of course he had to use the best wheelchair.
Wait, Master Deng hadn't handed over the blueprints yet!
Yao Huang hurriedly told Eunuch Cao to go ask Master Deng for them.
Eunuch Cao looked at the Prince. Given the Prince's meticulous nature, the fact that he hadn't asked Master Deng for the blueprints just now clearly meant he wasn't considering the proposal to involve the armory.
Behind the Princess Consort, Zhao Sui gave a slight nod.
Only then did Eunuch Cao step out. He quickly returned, saying that Master Deng had left the blueprints inside that box.
Yao Huang hurried over to the box. Sure enough, a thick stack of drawings lay inside. On top was a detailed blueprint of the complete metal large wheel, noting dimensions like wheel height and width. Behind it were specific breakdown diagrams of every minute detail, including the slender gear rack on the inner side of the large wheel and the inner and outer diameters of the corresponding gear holes. It was so densely packed with information that it made Yao Huang's eyes ache.
She handed the stack of blueprints to Prince Hui in their original order.
Zhao Sui briefly flipped through them and said, "You go back first. I'm going to the Bamboo Courtyard to try out these new chairs."
Yao Huang cooperatively returned to Ming'an Hall. Once she confirmed that Eunuch Cao had returned after taking a few young eunuchs to push the five wheelchairs to the Bamboo Courtyard, Yao Huang sent A'ji to call Eunuch Cao over. She asked him privately, "Does the armory only forge weapons?"
Aside from the Six Ministries, Yao Huang wasn't very clear on the duties of the other government offices.
Eunuch Cao explained, "The armory is primarily responsible for forging military equipment, but they also forge miscellaneous iron tools for the palace, like scissors, candlesticks, and so on."
Yao Huang said, "Does that mean as long as the armory's blacksmiths have Master Deng's blueprints, they can definitely make the large wheelchair wheels if they put in the time and effort?"
Eunuch Cao met the Princess Consort's eyes for a moment and sighed, "They could, but I'm afraid His Highness doesn't want to make such a request of the armory."
The armory belonged to the imperial court and the royal family. With the Prince's status, if he wanted to forge a few handy weapons or a wheelchair for himself, he only needed to send someone with his waist tag to get it done; the armory would absolutely not dare to make excuses or slack off. However, their Prince was a royal son who simply accepted whatever the Emperor rewarded him. Aside from volunteering to go to the battlefield, the Prince had never once taken the initiative to ask the Emperor for anything since he was a child, including ordering about any palace servants who weren't part of his own retinue.
If the wheelchair absolutely had to use metal wheels, the Prince might make an exception. But the Prince already had so many styles of mobility wheelchairs. Eunuch Cao guessed that the Prince probably didn't want to occupy the armory blacksmiths' energy or use up the various fine minerals the imperial court mined from all over just for his own selfish desires.
Yao Huang understood. Prince Hui was just a massive fool!
The armory could make batches of scissors and candlesticks for the palace, so how was forging two wheels for Prince Hui considered a selfish desire? It wasn't as if his legs were perfectly fine and he just wanted to forge two useless wheels for fun. His legs were crippled! Crippled from defending the lands and people of the Great Qi, crippled from alleviating Emperor Yongchang's worries. If Emperor Yongchang was willing to use metal to make candlesticks and scissors, would he really begrudge giving a drop in the bucket of metal to his disabled, battle-merited son to make a wheelchair?
The Bamboo Courtyard.
Zhao Sui stayed in the backyard alone; the space here was wide enough.
He first tried the four-wheeled rattan chair with push rims. This was the lightest of the three new four-wheeled chairs. Pushing it required about the same amount of effort as his previous rattan chair, but the push rims kept him from dirtying his hands.
There was no need to try the other two four-wheeled chairs. Zhao Sui hoisted himself onto the three-wheeled red sandalwood wheelchair. Applying the same amount of force with his hands, the wheelchair indeed traveled further than when he pushed the four-wheeled red sandalwood wheelchair.
He then transferred to the three-wheeled rattan chair. It required even less effort, allowing him to push himself from the south end of the backyard to the north end in one breath—a full fifty or sixty paces.
After resting for a moment, Zhao Sui pushed himself back to his starting position. By now, a layer of sweat had formed on his back, but he felt a wave of relief in his heart.
With this three-wheeled rattan chair, he could stroll around the garden by himself whenever the mood struck. Although he still needed to rest after moving a certain distance, at least in the back garden, he could go wherever he wanted without Qingai and Feiquan following him. Even if he stayed in one place for too long, he didn't have to worry about whether the people around him were willing to endure such a boring wait.
Even though he was a prince, Zhao Sui did not want those who served him to suffer unnecessary torment, nor did he want them to one day resent serving such an eccentric master while not daring to speak out.
.
After bathing, Zhao Sui returned to Ming'an Hall before lunch.
Yao Huang came to welcome him with a smile. "How is it?"
Zhao Sui replied, "You can have Master Deng make two more of the three-wheeled rosewood and rattan chairs with push rings as spares. As for the four-wheeled ones, we will stick to the lightweight older model from last time."
The speed at which he propelled the wheelchair himself was far slower than when someone else pushed him. Rather than wasting time when going out, it was better to leave it to his attendants.
Yao Huang said, "I can't feel the difference just by listening to Your Highness talk about it. I'll go to the Bamboo Courtyard this afternoon to try it out."
The princess had long used the wheelchair to get around, so Zhao Sui naturally wouldn't object.
At dusk, Yao Huang came to the Bamboo Courtyard. Both three-wheeled wheelchairs were set out in the front yard.
Yao Huang sat in the lightest three-wheeled rattan chair, grasped the push rings on both sides, and pushed forward with all her might.
Using about seventy percent of her strength, the rattan chair finally moved. By the time her arms ached and she could no longer push, Yao Huang looked back and realized she was only five or six steps away from her starting position.
Yao Huang looked at Prince Hui, who was sitting to the side watching. "How far can Your Highness manage?"
Zhao Sui said, "About thirty steps." This was a relatively comfortable distance where he wouldn't break a sweat.
Yao Huang: "..."
After admiring Prince Hui's arm strength, Yao Huang said with a look of longing, "If Your Highness can push these wooden wheels this far, if we really switched to the metal wheels Master Deng mentioned, wouldn't you be able to push fifty or sixty steps, or even further?"
Zhao Sui said, "This one is already sufficient for my indoor use. There is no need to develop a new one."
Yao Huang patted the rattan chair's large wheel and the push ring, which looked like a fat man and a skinny man standing side by side, with a hint of disdain. She muttered, "This doesn't look good. A man as handsome and elegant as Your Highness deserves a wheelchair that is just as pleasing to the eye."
Zhao Sui lowered his eyes, avoiding the princess's burning gaze. "It's for indoor use. Just like the cushion you wove, as long as it is comfortable, it is fine."
Yao Huang paused, genuinely displeased now. "Well then! When I said the cushion I wove didn't look good, I was just being modest. It turns out Your Highness really does think my cushion is ugly."
Zhao Sui: "..."
Yao Huang called out Qingai, who was hiding in the corner, and pointed at the main room of the Bamboo Courtyard. "His Highness thinks the cushion I gave him is hideously ugly. Go bring it out and throw it into the kitchen fire to burn!"
Hearing this, Qingai only wanted to kneel down before the princess.
Zhao Sui signaled for him to step down and comforted the princess, "It was a slip of the tongue on my part. I haven't seen other cushions, so I mistakenly took your modest words as the truth."
Yao Huang still looked at him resentfully.
Zhao Sui reached out his hand to her.
He was currently sitting in the lightweight rosewood wheelchair meant for home use, which was sturdy enough. Yao Huang placed her hand in Prince Hui's hand while skillfully sitting on his lap. Leaning against his shoulder, she asked softly, "Did Your Highness really not find it ugly?"
Prince Hui, who had mistakenly thought he needed to do more coaxing, felt his heart relax. "Mhm."
Yao Huang smiled, then turned her head and pointed at the two new wheelchairs with push rings in the distance. "But I think they are ugly. I want Your Highness to sit in a wheelchair with large metal wheels. If gold wasn't too soft, I'd want to have wheels made of pure gold for you. Neither iron nor copper is worthy of Your Highness."
Zhao Sui: "...I will only use it in the Bamboo Courtyard. I promise you won't see it."
Yao Huang: "That won't do either. I can imagine what Your Highness looks like sitting in it. You are clearly a perfect ten in handsomeness, but sitting in those two, it instantly drops to a seven. Why should that be? I want Your Highness to always remain a perfect ten."
The perfectly handsome Prince Hui: "..."
