Chapter 555: That...Brother Chu Bi feels that he is too poor (please subscribe and vote)
On the side, Wu Meiniang was sitting obediently and docilely next to the table, grinding ink for the jewel in the eye of the royal family.
Looking at this princess who has picturesque features but is also smart and clever, almost no one dislikes this kind-hearted princess.
Wu Meiniang, on the other hand, pays more attention to this princess. After all, this cute and kind little princess can almost be said to have been fattened by Cheng Sanlang...
Hmm... When she thought of this, Wu Meiniang couldn't help but lower her head and glance at herself, her slim figure that was getting taller and taller day by day.
Of course I also like the delicacies he sent me. It always arouses my greed.
I still remember the day before when my companions commented that my figure was not only taller but also much rounder.
But Wu Meiniang had been nervous for several days, fearing what would happen if Brother Cheng liked a skinny woman?
However, it didn't take long for her to feel uneasy. Last time, because of the fat man's incident with King Wei, Brother Cheng entered the palace because of it.
After seeing herself, her eyes were still warm and gentle, and her sunny smile was still there.
The important thing is that this stupid piece of wood not only didn't say she was fat, but also presented herself with new delicacies, which finally made Wu Meiniang secretly relieved.
A fool like Cheng Sange who just says whatever comes to his mind would definitely say it directly if he couldn't see me saying that.
Oops, why do I care so much about that stupid piece of wood? It’s not like this girl can’t get married...
"Sister Wu, your face is so red..." A crisp and sweet voice suddenly sounded in my ears.
Wu Meiniang was stunned for a while, and then she noticed that Princess Li Mingda of Jinyang in front of her was staring at her with dark eyes, looking at her curiously.
Wu Meiniang also noticed that Empress Changsun's gaze also moved over. Now she became more and more calm and could only quickly raise her hands to cover her pretty face.
"Your Highness, you are not mistaken...well, it should be hot, it is hot..."
Fortunately, at this time, I heard the eunuch's report coming from outside, saying that His Highness King Wu had come to see his mother.
Empress Changsun, whose eyes seemed to be able to penetrate people's hearts, looked away, making Wu Meiniang heave a sigh of relief.
But in my heart, I couldn't help but grit my teeth in hatred, as if Third Brother Cheng was such a stupid idiot, I was almost embarrassed.
#####
Then I saw Li Ke, His Royal Highness the King of Wu, who looked so elegant in his conduct and demeanor, approaching, and then bowed respectfully to Queen Changsun.
"My sons and ministers meet their mother and queen..."
"I've met Sister Sizi."
"Sizi has met the third brother." Li Mingda put down his pen and obediently bowed to Li Ke.
Empress Changsun smiled gently, beckoned Li Ke to sit next to her, and personally served him a bowl of iced lotus seed soup.
"Okay, Sanlang, no need to be polite, come and sit down quickly... There happens to be soup to relieve the heat here, drink some quickly."
"Thank you, Queen Mother. I am here today. Firstly, I want to pay my respects to Queen Mother. Secondly, I have something that I want to discuss with Queen Mother."
After taking it, Li Ke took a sip, held up the bamboo tube containing the paper pattern with both hands and said.
"This is..." Empress Changsun glanced at the bamboo tube in confusion. "Does Saburo have something good to offer to your father?"
Sitting obediently in front of the desk, Li Mingda, who had just picked up his pen, also looked over curiously.
From the corner of his eye, Li Ke glanced at the medical girl and his mother's personal maid, who had an unclear relationship with Brother Chu Bi. Come on, just be there. Anyway, he was doing this to show his merit for Brother Chu Bi.
"Mother, the things here are not paintings and calligraphy by famous artists, but paper samples produced by Cheng Chubi..."
"Brother Cheng San did it?" Before the confused Empress Changsun could speak, Li Mingda's eyes lit up and she took over the topic.
"Yes, it's Cheng Sanlang's handiwork." Li Ke explained kindly to this cute and well-behaved girl.
Wu Meiniang's eyes suddenly lit up, and then she lowered her eyes again. However, her eyes were always fixed on the bamboo tube in the hands of Queen Changsun.
Empress Changsun raised her eyebrows slightly, took out the piece of paper that was not soaked in ink from the bamboo tube, and then spread it out in front of her.
"This paper, huh?..." After touching the paper pattern, Empress Changsun's expression changed slightly. She waited until she saw the poems and poems copied on the paper.
The point is, although the handwriting on these ink books is slightly stained in some places, these can only be regarded as minor flaws.
Seeing Empress Changsun's increasingly suspicious eyes and her increasingly solemn expression, Li Ke lowered his voice and explained.
"This is just the first batch of paper patterns that Brother Chu Bi asked Chengjia Paper Workshop to trial-produce. Brother Chu Bi said that there is still room for improvement..."
"How much does this paper... cost?" Queen Changsun took a deep breath and asked in a somewhat cautious tone.
"According to Brother Chu Bi, the price of paper is eighty-nine yuan per zhang, which is almost the same as the price of paper-making money."
"...Only eight or nine dollars?" Empress Changsun's solemn expression suddenly changed, and her voice suddenly became an octave higher.
Empress Changsun, who was also very good at controlling her emotions, also realized that she was a little out of sorts.
After calming down, he smiled brightly at Li Mingda. "My dear, I want to talk to your third brother about business..."
Her Royal Highness Princess Jinyang, as a wise woman, nodded obediently and stood up.
"Mom, Third Brother, Xiao Sizi will go out to play first and come back later to practice calligraphy, okay?"
"Go, Meiniang, stay with Jinyang..." Empress Changsun hugged the girl who she really didn't know how to praise, and then ordered to Wu Meiniang.
"Okay, Your Majesty, please come with your servant..."
Although Wu Meiniang was a little regretful that she could not continue to listen, the news about the exchange between Li Ke and Empress Changsun just now was shocking enough.
During those days when she was copying books, she naturally also inquired carefully about the price of paper.
It is clear that there are several types of paper on the market today that can be used for writing, and each of them is ridiculously expensive.
For example, the most exquisite paper among the Xuanzhou tribute papers, I'm afraid you can't buy it even if you don't have a hundred dollars.
A slightly inferior one will cost you seventy or eighty yuan, but you won’t think it’s expensive.
The lowest price of Xuanzhou tribute paper is between 60 and 70 yuan.
And that hard yellow paper, the worst kind of hard yellow paper, costs almost thirty yuan per foot.
Only the paper that cannot be written on has a price that fluctuates between ten yuan and seven yuan. After all, the usage is different.
Queen Changsun suppressed the excitement in her heart and asked after she calmed down a little.
"He, why is he thinking about making paper again?"
Li Ke touched his face, glanced at Li Mingda, who was looking at the paper pattern curiously, and Wu Meiniang, whose eyes were shining, and then he gritted his teeth and said.
"Well...Brother Chu Bi feels that he is too poor."
Chapter completed!