Zhen Meili traced his shoulder line and then leaned down to look at the foot of the couch. Gu Moran she was going to continue finding fault, but then he heard her muttering to the wooden block that Uncle Fu had left to the side.
"These couch legs need to be replaced with hardwood. Leaning against them like this all day will loosen the joints sooner or later."
Gu Moran a laugh and gathered the corner of the blanket back onto her lap.
"Will you examine me, or my bed?"
Zhen Meili pointed confidently to her lower body. "Everything has to be tested. Only a stable base can withstand any impact. We Mohist School value this."
Xie Wanqing had already opened her mouth, but when she heard her bring up the Mohist School, she changed her words at the last minute.
"Is this how your master taught you?"
Zhen Meili straightened her back and answered even more readily than when she handed in the blueprints.
My master taught me that you can't cut corners on load-bearing parts.
Someone in the warm pavilion couldn't help but laugh out loud. Gu Moran looked in the direction of the sound.
Yun Shuyue had her face buried next to the plate of melon seeds, her shoulders shrugging, while Meng Jiuning at least knew to cover herself with a handkerchief.
What are you laughing at?
Zhen Meili turned around and glanced at them, "When building a house, look at the pillars first; when making a cart, look at the axle first. Where did you go wrong?"
Shen Ling'er picked up the medicine bowl, intending to take it to the bedside, but upon hearing these words, she put the bowl back on the tray, the bottom of the bowl making a soft clinking sound.
"According to you, you're more accurate at judging people than I am, a doctor?"
"You manage things inside, I'll look after things outside; we each have our own skills."
Zhen Meili pushed her sleeves up to her elbows and gestured towards Gu Moran's shoulder again.
Gu Moran finally raised his hand and grabbed her wrist as it was about to fall.
If I keep talking, I'll really become an animal.
"Just check it; don't touch it randomly. My self-control isn't great."
Zhen Meili was stunned for a moment, then realized what was happening and pulled her hand back to wipe it on the hem of her clothes.
"What I'm saying is, your ox's frame is pretty good. Just looking at the outside, its internal firepower is probably not bad either."
Gu Moran finally laughed out loud, and the cushion slid backward under his weight. Xie Wanqing reached out to steady him, but as soon as she raised her hand, she noticed that Zhen Meili was about to speak again, so she withdrew her hand and picked up her tea.
Normally, no one would notice such a small action.
This girl has really ruined things today; I have to be careful she doesn't say anything even when I'm just holding a cup of tea.
Gu Moran straightened the cushion himself, and taking advantage of everyone's attention being on Zhen Meili, tentatively began, "Now that the person has been examined, let's leave it at that..."
"It's not over yet."
Zhen Meili blocked his escape route with one sentence, then turned to face the room full of women, put her hands on her hips, and looked Xie Wanqing, who was sitting at the small table, up and down.
Gu Moran stopped lifting the blanket.
Okay, you still have work to do.
Xie Wanqing, feeling stared at, switched her teacup to the other hand and finally couldn't help but speak up, "Speak your mind, don't stare at me like that."
I'm afraid you won't like to hear it if I say it directly.
"Of everything you just said, was there any consideration for whether we liked it or not?"
Xie Wanqing's quick response brought a smile to Zhen Meili's face. She picked up the blueprints from the chair, rolled them into a tube, and gently touched them in her palm, as if she were back in the workshop inspecting the new mechanism.
"Then I'll be blunt: you all have your own problems."
Su Yao closed the copper coin box tightly and moved the abacus to the inside of the table.
Lest I hear something unpleasant later and actually hit her with the beads.
"If you can't provide a reason after that, you'll have to settle the accounts yourself for the extra copper the workshop received today."
Zhen Meili pulled the tube of blueprints further into her sleeve.
"Let's stick to the facts, why are we bringing up copper?"
"You categorize the affairs of the Prince's mansion as farm work or carpentry, while I categorize the carpentry as accounting. What's wrong with that?"
Gu Moran nearly spilled the tea.
Su Yao has finally recovered.
He decided to make himself more comfortable and pushed the small dish of candied fruit toward Shen Ling'er, indicating that she shouldn't rush the medicine. Right now, this argument was more invigorating than the medicine.
Shen Ling'er understood what he meant, picked up a candied fruit, and moved the medicine bowl closer to the charcoal brazier.
"After she finishes speaking, you'll have to drink this bowl too."
Just as Gu Moran was about to agree, Zhen Meili followed the hand holding the candied fruit and looked from the top of Shen Ling'er's head to the tip of her shoe, her face becoming more serious.
Shen Ling'er put the candied fruit back. "Why are you looking at me like that?"
Zhen Meili tucked the blueprint back under her arm, held it up to her shoulder to measure her height, and looked at her small frame again.
"Let's talk about you first. With your size, you'll suffer so much if you actually give birth."
Gu Moran silently put the plate back to his side.
Shen Ling'er probably can't eat this candied fruit for the time being.
Shen Ling'er pressed the medicine spoon into the tray, fastened the medicine box that she was about to unfasten, and walked straight to Zhen Meili, looking up at the girl who was much taller than her.
"Say it again, where can't I give birth?"
Zhen Meili realized she had asked the wrong question and quickly waved her hand.
"I said it was suffering, when did I say I couldn't have children?"
"You're so small, if you stand on the street holding a baby, people will think you're an older sister leading a younger brother."
Yun Shuyue lowered the melon seeds from her lips and looked at Shen Ling'er seriously. Before she could speak, Meng Jiuning shoved the teacup into her mouth.
Seeing this, Gu Moran knew that she had probably also figured out something she shouldn't have said.
In this warm pavilion today, Zhen Meili's outrageous remarks were enough; if Yun Shuyue were added to the mix, Shen Ling'er would be furious, and her medicine chest would probably turn into a weapon box.
Shen Ling'er wasn't so angry as to take out the silver needles; she simply pressed Zhen Meili's hand, which had been comparing heights, down.
"Does being short necessarily mean a difficult childbirth? How many women in labor have you seen, how many pulses have you taken?"
When asked the question, Zhen Meili stepped back.
"I've never delivered a baby. The women in the village said that if you're strong enough, you can handle it."
"Being healthy is good, but childbirth also depends on the baby's position, the size of the fetus, and prenatal care. It's not up to you to decide whether it's good or bad just by saying so."
"If you keep talking nonsense, I'll leave you two medical books so you can make up for this lesson."
Upon hearing that there would be extra lessons, Zhen Meili quickly tucked her hands into her sleeves.
"I haven't finished studying the mechanical manual my master left me, so don't pile up my books. I'll say less to you in the future, okay?"
"Saying less is considered an admission of wrongdoing?"
Shen Ling'er picked up a clean handkerchief from the tray and stuffed it directly into her palm.
"Wipe your hands clean first; you've left marks on the prince's clothes."
Gu Moran looked down and saw a faint gray mark on his chest.
Zhen Meili also saw it, slowed down her hand-wiping movements, and used the time it took to unfold her handkerchief to cover half of her face before turning to Xie Wanqing.
Gu Moran raised an eyebrow.
Good grief, they didn't get any advantage from Shen Ling'er, so they're picking on the weaker one now.
Unfortunately, Xie Wanqing is only good at talking; when it comes to cleaning up a mess, she's far more capable than Shen Ling'er.
Seeing this, Xie Wanqing put the tea back on the table.
"Is it my turn? Miss Zhen, would you like your shoulders or your waist measured?"
Zhen Meili examined her hands resting on her knees, then looked at her wrist peeking out from her sleeve.
"You have a thin frame, you need to take better care of yourself. You're too frail, it's easy for you to get stuck."