On the wedding day, my wife was abnormal

As he spoke, his eyes fell on her cheeks, which were slightly red from her concentration on calculations. He loved her so much that he couldn't help but kiss her again.

"It's just that seeing how hard my Yan'er works, I thought I should reward her."

"Reward?" Murong Yan's eyes lit up, and she instantly forgot about the private money. She pulled his sleeve, and the fingers under the flared sleeve gently shook his arm.

"What's the reward? Is it the new set of gilded commemorative coins from the Baoquan Bureau? Or is it the red coral and gem-inlaid headpieces from the Linglong Pavilion?"

She knew the value of these.

Lin Zhen smiled and shook his head, saying mysteriously, "Neither. It's more interesting than those."

As he spoke, he took out a folded piece of silk from his sleeve and slowly unfolded it in front of her.

It was a meticulously rendered illustration of the gardens of the imperial residence outside Beijing, but it included many novel features. Along the shores of the vast, misty Taiye Lake, there were "pedal-operated swan boats"; deep in the peach forest, there were "steam-powered rotating swings"; there was even a "glass greenhouse," with small print next to it declaring "built-in automatic sprinkler and temperature control."

"This is..." Murong Yan opened her beautiful eyes wide in surprise, looking at the unprecedented facilities on the picture.

"I'll build a new amusement park for you." Lin Zhen pointed at the blueprints and explained one by one. "When Yan'er gets bored in the future, she won't have to count money all the time in the mansion. She can go there to relax. If she wants to go boating, she doesn't have to wait for the boatman, she can just pedal. The swing will turn by itself, and you can swing as high as you want. The greenhouse will be like spring all year round, and the water will be automatically watered, so you can just enjoy the flowers..."

He spoke softly, his voice gentle and filled with obvious fondness. These were all places of entertainment he had designed and built specifically for her based on existing technology, just to make her smile.

Murong Yan listened, looked at the ingenious ideas on the drawings, and imagined the scene, with the light in her eyes growing brighter and brighter.

She suddenly put down the drawing, turned around and hugged Lin Zhen's neck tightly, almost burying her whole body in his arms. The three-meter-long ink-black tail surged on the ground like water waves because of her movements.

"My husband is the best!" Her voice was muffled in his shoulder, filled with immense joy and dependence.

No matter how many commemorative coins or coral head ornaments there are, they can compare to the unique thought that her husband has put into this gift just for her.

Lin Zhen held her firmly, feeling the warmth and softness of her body in his arms and the sheer joy she felt, his heart filled with an indescribable sense of satisfaction. He gently stroked her long, flowing black hair, chuckling softly, "Then... Your Majesty, are you satisfied with this reward?"

Murong Yan raised her head from his arms, her eyes and eyebrows smiling, and nodded vigorously: "Satisfied! Very satisfied!"

As she spoke, she suddenly remembered something and took out the string of special copper coins strung together with a red string that she never took off from the secret pocket of her trumpet sleeve and stuffed it into Lin Zhen's hand.

"A reward for you! This month's biggest expense, guaranteed!"

Lin Zhen held the string of copper coins that still had her body temperature and fragrance, looked at the charming smile of the person in his arms, and could no longer hold back. He lowered his head and deeply kissed those two tempting red lips.

Murong Yan moaned softly, closing her eyes subtly as she responded to his kiss. Her wide, flared sleeves fell, and her arms softly wrapped around his neck. The magnificent, three-foot-long train, like inky wings, gently enveloped the two of them as they embraced.

The sun is warm, the spring breeze is gentle, and the room is filled with the sweet fragrance of flowers. Time seems to have stopped at this moment, leaving only endless tenderness and warmth.

In the depths of spring, the gardens behind the Prince Regent's Palace were ablaze with blossoms, and the warm breeze was intoxicating. Yet, amidst this vibrant riot of color, the most striking thing was still a shifting, majestic black.

Murong Yan was strolling along the nine-curve corridor by the water.

She was still wearing her incomparably luxurious dark black phoenix robe. The inky satin was incredibly soft and breathable, sheening in the bright spring sunlight with a dull, noble sheen. Embroidered with a pattern of birds paying homage to the phoenix in deep purple and dark gold thread, it lacked the aggressiveness of court attire, instead exuding a sense of leisure amidst its splendor.

The three-meter-long train was not omitted. Two maids carefully held the end to protect it from dust and moisture from the corridor. It meandered along the clean white jade corridor like a reserved and elegant inky river. The wide bell-shaped cuffs fluttered gently in the breeze, revealing the embroidered lotus pattern on the edges.

In her hand, she held a round fan decorated with peony in mud gold, waving it from time to time, admiring the newly blossoming crabapples outside the corridor, looking lazy and contented.

Lin Zhen was beside her, wearing a moon-white dress with cloud patterns, and was whispering something to her, which made her occasionally giggle with her hands covering her lips. Her flared sleeves slipped down, revealing a part of her snow-white wrist.

At this moment, the chief steward of the palace came hurriedly with two officials dressed in the uniforms of the Ministry of Works, who looked both excited and nervous. They knelt respectfully and saluted a few feet away.

"Your Highness, Your Highness," the steward's voice was filled with suppressed excitement. "In compliance with Your Highness's orders, the Ministry of Works has completed the preliminary development of a new and improved 'automatic irrigation device'. We invite Your Highness and Your Highness to come and take a look!"

When Lin Zhen heard this, a gleam flashed in his eyes. He had indeed recently instructed the Institute of Gewu to study how to use small steam engines and connecting rod mechanisms to design a labor-saving automatic irrigation system for the royal garden. He did not expect that the efficiency would be so high.

"Oh? It's done? Very good." Lin Zhen nodded, very excited, and naturally took Murong Yan's hand, "Yan'er, let's go and take a look. If it's useful, we can irrigate these flowers and plants in the future without so many gardeners working so hard to carry water."

Murong Yan had no idea what an "automatic irrigation device" was, but seeing Lin Zhen's great interest, she nodded obediently, letting him lead her, and followed the official's instructions to the open space reserved on the side of the garden.

In the center of the clearing stood an extremely odd-looking object. It was a brass machine, more than half a man's height, with a complex structure. Connected to it were several long, thick copper pipes, which led to a nearby canal.

In the middle of the machine there is a small but solid boiler, emitting wisps of white steam. Next to it are several metal connecting rods that are constantly moving back and forth and several gears that are constantly turning, making a regular and dull "clang...clang..." sound and the "squeaking" sound of metal friction.

The entire machine looks like a dormant, breathing metal monster.

Murong Yan saw them from afar, her brows furrowed slightly. That look, that sound, filled her with an inexplicable unease. She subconsciously slowed her pace, her hands unconsciously clenching beneath her wide, flared sleeves.

Lin Zhen had already strode forward, and the Ministry of Industry official hurried forward, excitedly explaining the working principle:

"...Your Highness, please look here. The steam here drives the piston... which drives the connecting rod... The gear train converts the reciprocating motion into rotation... which in turn drives the impeller at the rear... which draws water from the canal and sprays it out through the small holes in these copper pipes..."

As the officials operated, the noise of the machinery suddenly increased, the "clang clang" sound became rapid, and the boiler spewed out thicker white steam.

Immediately afterwards, those copper tubes suddenly began to shake violently, making a buzzing sound, and countless fine water lines suddenly spurted out from several tiny holes on the tube walls, shooting towards the surrounding land!

"Puff—hiss, hiss—"

The air was filled with steam, the machinery roared, the sounds of metal friction, water jets, and steam hissed were intertwined, and the originally dead machinery seemed to come alive in an instant, turning into a steel monster that roared and sprayed water in the spring sunshine!

"what--!"

Murong Yan was caught off guard. She was frightened by the sudden noise and the horrifying scene. She screamed and stepped back suddenly.

She completely forgot about the three-meter-long tail behind her. She tripped and fell backwards before she could even scream!

"Sir!"

"His Majesty!"

The maids and officials screamed at the same time.

Fortunately, Lin Zhen had been paying attention to her and reacted very quickly. He turned around as soon as she screamed. At the moment she was about to fall, he stretched out his long arms, steadily brought her into his arms, and hugged her tightly.

Murong Yan was still trembling with fear, her face buried deep in Lin Zhen's chest, her hands clutching the front of his shirt tightly, her knuckles turning white. The mud-gold round fan had already fallen to the ground.

Her wide, bell-shaped sleeves swayed constantly from her trembling, like the wings of a frightened butterfly. The three-meter-long, dark-black train behind her was accidentally stepped on by the hurriedly retreating maids due to this sudden change, and it was pulled and tangled, no longer as graceful and smooth as before.