The Red Mansion Big Liar.

Chapter 21 Tiangongyuan

The master and his two servants pushed open the door of Tianxiang Tower and came to Huifang Garden.

Just then, three or five servant girls were seen poking around in the thorn bushes in the garden with bamboo poles in their hands.

"What are you doing?"

"Grandma!" the maids responded quickly, "Spring is so annoying. These days, there are wild cats coming from nowhere. They keep barking at night and make people feel upset."

Baozhu quickly took over the conversation and said, "Oh? But Master Yi asked you to leave?"

"Well! Master Yi didn't say anything. He doesn't talk much on weekdays, and he didn't let us into the house. It's about the white sugar that was boiled recently. I heard from Madam that it was the emperor's order that there were important things in the house, so we were not allowed to enter."

"Then he didn't call anyone when he changed his clothes and washed up?"

"Isn't it? Except when the lady comes to deliver food in the morning, she takes us in and empties the chamber pot and spittoon. He does everything else himself. He gets up no later than the servants every morning, and runs around the garden a few times, posing in strange postures. It looks like he is practicing martial arts."

Qin Keqing listened to the little maids talking to each other, and an image of diligence and self-motivation came to her mind.

Nowadays, every official family has slaves and maids.

Not only Jia Zhen and his son in Ningguo Mansion had everything they needed, but even her younger brother Qin Zhong was the same.

Many servants from the Ning Mansion participated in the Zhang family's funeral, and she also had some understanding of the Zhang family's situation.

Invisibly, Zhang Yun逸 was given a label of not forgetting his original aspiration.

While making up his mind secretly, he also talked indirectly and gossiped for a while.

Seeing that he could not get any more useful information, he winked at Baozhu and Ruizhu and was about to leave when he heard a maid complaining in the distance: "We have been looking for a long time, but there is no trace of him!"

So I reminded them, "These cats may not have made their nest here. Maybe they saw that people live here and came here to look for food when they were hungry at night. You might as well take some leftovers and throw them far away. After they are full, they will not come to bother you anymore."

"Grandma is really wise. I will go right away."

She had good intentions, but this cat was not that cat, and she couldn't just get rid of it with leftovers.

Not only did it fail to calm the situation, but it also caused more trouble for these little girls.

And then he called out even more happily, which made the maids think that he had more energy to call out because he was full.

This is a later story.

……

Linjing Hall.

Emperor Zhengqing watched the young eunuch pour out the pure white sugar from the porcelain jar. His eyes widened and he said with great joy, "Great! Great!"

He looked at the eunuch who was tasting the food with an anxious look on his face and asked, "How is it?"

"Your Majesty, there really is not a single scumbag." As if to prove that he was not lying, he actually stuck out his tongue.

Emperor Zhengqing was not ignorant of grains. It was common to put some sugar grains on dried fruits and candied fruits, and he would occasionally add some random things when making elixirs. Therefore, he could tell the difference from tribute sugar at a glance.

During this period, while Zhang Yunyi was busy making sugar and preparing food for Youshi, he was not idle either.

Ever since Zhang Yunyi came back to life, he asked the Jinyiwei to spread the rumor that his biological father had appeared in the spirit throughout the capital.

When he went to court after the Lantern Festival, he could not wait to bring his biological father's tablet into the Taimiao.

However, not all the people in the court were flatterers. There were also many men of integrity. In addition, there were also some former ministers of the former Emperor Deming. How could they be willing to allow an offering that the emperor had never made to be enshrined in the Imperial Ancestral Temple based on just a few rumors?

The court argued with all its might, but the situation remained deadlocked and has been delayed until now without a decision.

It's not that he hadn't thought about starting with Zhang Yunyi, but Zhang Yunyi's description of the immortal people's method was so magical that he didn't expect to get results so soon.

Therefore, when he saw the white sugar, he was not disappointed but overjoyed.

Even the cost was not considered.

He didn't care, but Zhang Yunyi was eager to show off. He quickly presented the data he had summarized and sorted out, saying, "Compared with the ordinary method, the sugar I make saves more than 10% of the materials and a little labor... Even if I only sell it at the market price, I can still make 30% more profit."

"Oh?" Emperor Zhengqing also became interested. "How can high purity save materials?"

"This method is actually very simple. If it weren't for this, I wouldn't have been able to learn it so quickly..."

After informing him of the method, Emperor Zhengqing clapped his hands and said in approval, "This immortal's technique is truly extraordinary. He can turn decay into something magical." Seeing how happy Emperor Zhengqing was, Zhang Yunyi also said, "Your Majesty, during this time of making sugar, I have come up with some new ideas..."

"Oh? Tell me now!"

"We haven't been able to get a glimpse of the whole thing yet, but it seems to be related to glass, and it's a big project that requires building a furnace."

"Okay! Quickly summon Prince Zhongshun." The sugar gave Emperor Zhengqing confidence. He waved his hand and said, "Pass on my order. I will set up the Tiangong Academy in the inner palace, which is responsible for the skills of immortals. Prince Zhongshun will temporarily serve as the chief officer. I will first confer you a sixth-rank chief official and a fifth-rank dragon guard. You should also be listed in the Imperial Observatory to prevent anyone from using filial piety as an excuse."

The fifth-rank Dragon Guard is just a nominal position, so let’s not talk about it for now.

Although the inner court could only be regarded as the emperor's private servants, it was the perfect position for him who had no hope of passing the imperial examination.

"I thank the emperor for his great grace! This life of mine was given by the emperor, and I will serve the emperor till my death!"

He finally broke free from the shackles of the Imperial Observatory.

With physical evidence, Emperor Zhengqing became more convinced of Zhang Yun逸's words.

It is inevitable to ask about some of the things that happened in the fairy world, and this is when the benefits of the original rhetoric can be reflected.

After all, these were all personal experiences in his previous life, so Zhang Yunyi answered fluently without thinking, and there were no loopholes at all.

This made Emperor Zhengqing more convinced, and he gradually became fascinated by the story.

He even didn't notice when Prince Zhongshun came with a big belly. He was not awakened until Prince Zhongshun shouted "Long live the king".

Prince Zhongshun is also the cousin of Emperor Zhengqing, but unlike Prince Yi Zhong, he has no ambitions.

He only loved to indulge in sensual pleasures, drinking, watching operas, cockfighting and dog running, so Emperor Zhengqing was quite confident in him and let him be in charge of the inner court.

Emperor Zhengqing asked Prince Zhongshun to stand up while he repeated his decree.

He also asked King Zhongshun to prepare personnel to set up Tiangong Institute and explained all matters clearly before letting the two of them go down to discuss the details.

Although Zhang Yun逸 was a subordinate of King Zhongshun, he noticed the emperor's focused look when he entered the palace just now.

Coupled with the rumors that have been circulating in the court recently, no one dared to underestimate him.

Naturally, Zhang Yun逸 could not be negligent, and the two of them had a pleasant conversation along the way. King Zhongshun was even considerate enough to let him not report for duty on time.

When he arrived at the inner court, Prince Zhongshun called several officials in charge of practical affairs to discuss the implementation details together.

Although the Imperial Household was a specialized department of the royal family, its size was no smaller than any of the six ministries.

It has seven departments and three courts under its jurisdiction, and each department has official positions at various levels, such as Langzhong, Yuanwailang, and Zhushi.

The Tiangong Academy was newly established, and Emperor Zhengqing did not directly appoint a chief official, but instead let Prince Zhongshun take on the position concurrently.

Prince Zhongshun knew the reason very well, and he was afraid that when Zhang Yunyi had enough experience, he would give up the position to him.

Therefore, he said nothing about the specific arrangements.

The sugar-making workshop is simple and can be almost copied from the folk workshops. It is just a matter of building the workshop and recruiting personnel.

But he was not in a hurry to make glass.

On the one hand, the effect of white sugar far exceeded expectations, which made him feel much more relaxed.

On the other hand, a lot of alkali is needed to make glass, but whether it is made from wood ash or salt, cost and efficiency become issues.

He remembered that Kubuqi Salt Lake was a famous alkali-producing lake, and there was even a saying that people dried salt in the summer and collected alkali in the winter.

Therefore, he planned to expand this trade route first.

Of course, making glass also requires high temperatures, so this period of time was just right for building furnaces and hiring craftsmen.

After the general preparations were completed, Prince Zhongshun called Zhao Lianggong, the chief historian from the family, to introduce him to Zhang Yun逸.

There will inevitably be many details in the future, and it is impossible for him to coordinate all of them.

……

(End of this chapter)