The cruel little princess

Chapter 38 Successfully burning willow charcoal strips!

Liu Bin asked for more rice paper. Chun Tao was quietly making a notebook according to her mistress' instructions. Meanwhile, An Er went straight to the blacksmiths in the weapons camp. They were usually responsible for the maintenance of various weapons in the camp.

"Master, excuse me, I am a subordinate of His Royal Highness Prince Jin." An Er greeted the blacksmith with a smile on his face.

When the blacksmith heard that it was His Royal Highness Prince Jin's men, he quickly stood up and asked respectfully, "What does this young man want from me?"

An Er took out a piece of paper from his pocket, placed it in front of the blacksmith, and said, "Master, this is what we want to make. Can you see if you can make it?"

The blacksmith took the blueprint and looked at it. He frowned slightly and asked in confusion, "What is this?"

An Er explained, "This is something like a small iron bucket with many small holes in it. The size of the holes just needs to be big enough to hold the willow branches."

The blacksmith thought for a moment and replied, "If I have all the materials, it will take about half a day to make it."

An Er got a little anxious when he heard this and said quickly, "Master, this won't do. We need it urgently! How long do you think it will take to be done?"

The blacksmith thought for a moment and said awkwardly, "It'll take at least two cups of tea, but then the quality might be affected."

An Er nodded helplessly, thinking: two cups of tea is two cups of tea, it's better than nothing. So he said to the blacksmith, "Thank you for your help, Master. We really need this stuff."

The blacksmith nodded to show his understanding, and then began to prepare the materials and tools needed for the production.

"I just wonder how much the prince needs?" As a qualified blacksmith, you should know what to ask and what not to ask. Just do what you are told.

"I don't need several, just one will be enough!" An Er answered quickly. "Then I'll come get it when I'm done!" He turned and left.

An Er remembered that there were many willow trees at the foot of the mountain outside the military camp, and he had the skill of lightness skill, so it only took him half a cup of tea to go back and forth, plus the skill of breaking the willow trees into sections was enough.

When An Er arrived, he found many willow trees. He happily untied his bag and, following Miss Shen's instructions, he searched for willow branches of similar thickness. He unsheathed his sword and swiftly cut down many of them.

After bringing the willow branch back to the bark, An Er began to peel it. He carefully used a knife to peel off the outer skin of the willow branch, and then gently tore it off, and the green skin fell off, revealing the smooth white willow branch inside.

Next came the most important step—cutting the willow branches. An Er took out a sharp dagger and carefully observed the length and shape of each branch, ensuring they met the standard. Then, he began to work, each stroke with unwavering precision, chopping the branches into evenly sized and consistent lengths.

As time went by, more and more willow branches piled up on the ground. An Er carefully selected the most perfect willow branches and placed them neatly aside for later use.

Finally, after some effort, An Er finally completed the task. He counted the willow branches on the ground and found there were about two or three hundred of them. These branches were not only the right length, but also had a tough texture, making them perfect for making the willow charcoal strips that Miss Shen had mentioned.

He estimated that there were two or three hundred of them, and thinking that the time was almost up, he went to find the blacksmith.

After thanking the blacksmith for the tools he had made, he left.

An Er returned to the outside of Shen Youyou's tent, put down his things, went to the kitchen to get some firewood, and went back and forth several times to fetch a few buckets of water. He found a place that was a little further away, fearing that the smoke would choke Miss Shen.

After quickly starting a fire, he began processing the willow branches. He inserted them one by one into the small holes. Most of them went in easily, but some of the thicker ones proved difficult to insert. An Er shook his head helplessly, picked up the dagger again, and whittled the branches down even thinner until they could fit smoothly into the small holes.

The fire was getting stronger and stronger, and An Er hurriedly threw the small iron bucket into the fire. Less than half a cup of tea had passed before he could no longer wait to use the firewood to pull the small iron bucket out and quickly poured water on it.

"Shh..." As a burst of steam rose, An Er carefully poured out the carbon bars from the small iron bucket. However, when he reached out to take it, he found that the carbon bars shattered at the touch.

"This..." An Er was stunned. He looked at the broken pieces in his hand and fell into deep thought. He realized that there might be a problem in the process of burning the carbon bars and he needed to try again.

An Er frowned, trying to recall the steps he had just taken. He wondered, "Could it be that the firing time was too long?" So, he decided to try adjusting the firing time and temperature, hoping to find just the right method to create a strong and durable carbon bar.

An Er gathered his spirits and began again, following the previous steps. This time, he shortened the firing time slightly. After dousing the charcoal with water and removing it, he found that while the charcoal hadn't shattered, the interior hadn't been fully burned, making it barely usable. However, An Er, a perfectionist, found such a flawed product difficult to accept. He knew that if he was going to give it to Miss Shen, he had to do his best, so he resolved to continue his efforts.

Without hesitation, An Er placed the new willow branch into the furnace to burn. After repeated attempts, he finally mastered the optimal firing time. When he doused the carbon with water again and removed the charcoal, he was overjoyed by the sight before him—not only was the carbon charcoal remarkably tough, but its interior had also completely blackened, making it resistant to breaking. This was exactly the result he had been hoping for!

An Er happily carried the freshly cooked willow charcoal sticks and trotted over to Shen Youyou's tent. His face was filled with the joy of success, and he shouted, "Miss Shen, I have fulfilled my mission!"

Shen Youyou was overjoyed when she heard the sound and rushed out of the tent impatiently. She didn't care about the stain on An Er's hand and eagerly took the willow charcoal stick from him. When she opened it, she couldn't help but exclaimed, "Wow! It's perfect!"

Then, Shen Youyou looked at An Er shyly and asked cautiously, "An Er, could you please make some more? When the other imperial physicians arrive, I'm not sure if they'll need this for my classes. Writing with this is much faster than using a brush, and it doesn't require ink; you can just write directly on the paper." She returned to the tent, took out a sheet of paper, and gently scratched it with a willow charcoal stick. A thick black mark remained. As the stick moved again, more and more ink was left on the paper, and no ink was needed at all. An Er marveled at this. Imagine a scout on a mission to investigate the enemy in the wild. He'd pull out his pen, inkstone, and paper, grind the ink with water, and then record the military intelligence he'd gathered. Every moment spent out in the wild was a dangerous time. But if he carried this easy-to-write willow charcoal stick with him, could he just take it out and write anything he wanted?! Thinking of this, An Er couldn't help but feel his blood boiling! As a secret guard, he knew the key to this all too well! He had to report this to his own prince right away!

An Er answered without hesitation, "I'll follow your instructions, young lady!" Then he pointed to the side and told Shen Youyou, "There are still many willow charcoal strips here. If there are not enough, I can go and get some more."

Shen Youyou looked in the direction An Er pointed and saw a bundle containing about two or three hundred willow charcoal sticks. She quickly waved her hand to indicate that it was enough and thanked An Er, "That's enough. Thank you very much!"

An Er gathered the successfully fired willow charcoal sticks together—fifteen in total, since the small iron bucket had just the right number of holes. He picked up the willow charcoal sticks and prepared to hand them to Shen Youyou, but suddenly realized his hands were covered in black charcoal ash, leaving his once fair skin grimy. It turned out the charcoal sticks were to blame. He tried to find a handkerchief or some other material to wrap the sticks before handing them to Shen Youyou, but he searched his entire body and couldn't find one—after all, he'd never carried such a "feminine" thing with him. At that moment, An Er's face was filled with bewilderment, like an ant on a hot pan, at a loss as to what to do. What should he do? He was anxiously waiting for an answer online!

At that moment, Shen Youyou noticed An Er's anxiety and embarrassment. She watched him scratch his head, his face flushed, and for some reason, she found it amusing. An Er gently lowered the willow charcoal strips in his hand, then quickly lifted the inner hem of his tights. With a firm tug, a small strip of cloth appeared before his eyes. He then expertly tied the strips together tightly, leaving some extra so that Shen Youyou could easily carry them without getting her hands dirty. Finally, he carefully handed the strips to Shen Youyou, his eyes revealing a look of respect and genuine admiration.

"Thank you!" Shen Youyou took the willow charcoal stick, thanked him, and took it back to the tent to continue with the work at hand.

On the other hand, An Er, having previously successfully mastered the process, had a precise grasp of the required time. Therefore, he could fire the willow branches quickly and efficiently! Soon, all the willow branches had been burned into charcoal strips! He tore off another piece of his jacket, pulled out a charcoal strip, carefully wrapped it in a piece of cloth, and placed it in his arms. He then placed the remaining charcoal strips in a wooden barrel and carried it outside Shen Youyou's tent.

"Miss Shen, all the willow charcoal strips have been burned. I have placed them directly outside the door. Please find a dry place to store them. I will go and put the burning tools away so that they can be used next time. I will be back in half a cup of tea and be on standby." If An Er had respected Shen Youyou before only because his prince was fond of her, then now An Er respected her because Shen Youyou was worthy of respect for what she did!

"Okay, go and do your own thing!" Shen Youyou replied, and motioned Chuntao to bring in the willow charcoal strips first.