Tang Dynasty Little Godfather

Chapter 274 Treasure Offering
In fact, every large family has its own political foundation, and the Linghu family has always given people the impression of being relatively calm and composed.

They would never put themselves in opposition to the Grand Secretary of the court over a piece of paper.

This is also very unwise for a political family.

The Linghu brothers admitted defeat very quickly.

Because they felt that this was not something to consider at all, and that they wouldn't lose too much in terms of key assets.

However, throughout history, things rarely go as planned.

The women of the Linghu family were unwilling to be bullied, especially the wives of Linghu Xiaozhe and Linghu Xiaoli, namely the two Yuchi women.

What's even more problematic is that Linghu Changge's personality is unlike her father's, but rather very much like her mother's.

On the contrary, Linghu Baodi is more like her father. That kid is completely uninvolved and never asks about family matters. Right now, he is arguing with Xue Jun about the shape of the flight wing.

In the eyes of the two Yuchi clan members and Linghu Changge, this was simply bullying, and had nothing to do with any interests.

That's the truth; the Yuan family is bullying the weak.

Conversely, the Linghu family wouldn't dare to cause trouble for the Yuan family.

But that's the reality.

This has always been the case; morality is simply based on equality of power.

Under the instigation of the four senior disciples, led by Wang Xi, Linghu Changge first went to his mother and aunt, adding fuel to the fire and saying that they must not give in. After angering them, he then said that he had Wang Xi's support.

Instead of trying to please them with this paper, you should try to please the emperor.

Compared to the emperor, the Yuan family is nothing!
The two Yuchi women hadn't slept for days because they were so angry, but they were frustrated because no one supported them. Their husbands were both cowards and agreed to Linghu Changge's plan with almost no hesitation.

After going around in circles, the secret recipe for bamboo paper returned to the hands of the nameless fourth senior brother.

Zichen Palace.

"Sparrow, you've come at the right time. Your uncle has been wanting to summon you to the palace recently. Let's have another round of violin practice. And also..."

At this point, Li Longji chuckled.

Wang Xi asked curiously, "What else?"

Li Longji smiled and said, "And there's your promise to your uncle."

"promise?"

Wang Xi scratched his head, thought for a moment, and then cautiously asked, "Uncle, do you mean promoting Taoist thought?"

Li Longji said with slight dissatisfaction, "Is this the only promise you've made to your uncle?"

Wang Xi thought for a long time, "Uncle, I've been very busy lately. Isn't it said that busy people are forgetful?"

"It's because important people have bad memories."

Li Longji glared at him slightly and said, "It's about teaching my uncle the art of makeup."

"Oh!"

Wang Xi then remembered something, and suddenly her eyes lit up. "It seems that my uncle didn't agree at the time, so it can't be considered a promise."

"You really can't stand to suffer even the slightest loss."

Li Longji gave him a disapproving look.

Wang Xi patted his chest again and said, "These are all minor matters. Uncle, just say the word and I'll open my heart to you."

"You are a good talker."

Li Longji chuckled and asked, "Then what important matter does Que'er wish to discuss with her uncle today?"

"It's nothing major. I've just come to present a gift to my uncle."

"A gift?"

"Ah."

Wang Xi said excitedly, "Uncle, our Taoist thought has achieved new results today, and I have specially brought them to present to you."

Li Longji asked excitedly, "What is it?"

"Clang clang clang!"

Wang Xi took out a few sheets of paper.

Gao Lishi, who was standing nearby, quickly stepped forward and presented the paper to Li Longji.

Li Longji took it and looked at it, but there was nothing written on it. "There's nothing written on this paper. Did I take the wrong one?"

Wang Xi said, “The Tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao; the name that can be named is not the eternal name. Not writing it down is the essence of our Taoist philosophy. Uncle, please take another look.”

Li Longji took the paper, looked at it, and suddenly asked curiously, "This paper!"

Seeing Wang Xi chuckle again, he knew he had guessed correctly, and said, "The secret lies in this piece of paper."

"Exactly."

Wang Xi nodded and said, "Uncle, you might as well write a few papers."

Li Longji nodded, and Gao Lishi, who was beside him, immediately prepared the brush and ink.

Li Longji wrote down two sentences: "The Tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao; the name that can be named is not the eternal name."

He said with a hint of surprise, "This paper is very good."

Wang Xi said, "This is nothing special; it's actually quite similar to the rattan paper we use today."

Li Longji asked, "Then what do you mean?"

"Cost!"

Wang Xi said, "The price of a single sheet of rattan paper is almost a hundred times that of our paper."

Li Longji exclaimed in shock, "A hundred times?"

Of course, this 100 times figure only applies to the price of rattan paper in Guanzhong, and it includes various costs, such as shipping.

Wang Xi nodded. "Uncle, do you know what paper is made of?"

Li Longji shook his head.

Wang Xi said, "It's bamboo that's abundant in our Guanzhong region, and it can be produced on a large scale. It's very cheap, and before long, bamboo slips and silk will all be replaced by our bamboo paper."

Gao Lishi, standing nearby, exclaimed excitedly, "Your Majesty, the court is currently facing a severe shortage of paper. This paper can perfectly solve the court's urgent problem!" Li Longji nodded with great delight. The Tang Dynasty was currently in a transitional period regarding the medium of writing, and people were increasingly favoring paper. If it were this cheap, it would be of great help to the Tang Dynasty's civil administration. He asked, "Did you manufacture this again?"

"Ah."

Wang Xi nodded and said, "It was developed by one of my nephew's junior sisters."

"Little junior sister?"

"It was created by Linghu Changge, the eldest daughter of Linghu County Magistrate of Chang'an County."

"Magistrate Linghu?"

Li Longji hesitated for a moment and said, "Are you talking about Linghu Xiaozhe?"

"Exactly."

Wang Xi nodded and said, "The magistrate of Linghu County highly admires our Taoist thought. First, he sent his son, Linghu Baodi, to study at our academy. Later, he went through many hardships to send his daughter to our academy to study Taoist thought."

Linghu Baodi contributed greatly to the improvement of ships at that time, and now her sister Linghu Changge has developed this paper, which has not disappointed her uncle Linghu's good intentions.

Li Longji smiled and nodded.

Gao Lishi, who was standing to the side, couldn't help but ponder this.

Wang Xi boasted again, "Uncle, although this paper can make a lot of money, our Taoist philosophy is born for the greater good. Besides, if they all use paper made by our Taoists, how can they write bad things about our Taoists? So we decided to offer it to the imperial court."

"Look!"

Li Longji pointed at Wang Xi, but looked at Gao Lishi and said, "So many people talk about serving the country and the people, but how many of them can actually do what Que'er and the others do?"

Gao Lishi nodded and said, "Your Majesty is right. If it were anyone else, they would definitely be keeping it to themselves to make money, and would never think of the court."

Wang Xi chuckled and said, "Actually, those people who make money by selling paper don't know how to make money. I actually look down on them."

Li Longji chuckled and said, "What brilliant idea does Que'er have?"

Wang Xi said, "The reason why paper is valuable is that it is a carrier of text. The key is the text, not the paper. As long as paper can be widely used, our talents will be able to be displayed, such as Dream of the Red Chamber, Liang Shanbo, and 100,000 Whys."

The paper with "Dream of the Red Chamber" written on it will be more valuable.

Li Longji was stunned for a moment, then suddenly slammed his hand on the table and said, "Well said! Que'er's words are truly excellent. If you ask me, based on these words alone, Que'er has already surpassed most people."

“That’s always been my thought,” Wang Xi chuckled.

Upon seeing this, Li Longji couldn't help but burst into laughter.

After discussing the matter, Li Longji took Wang Xi to his palace. Don't misunderstand, Li Longji just wanted to learn the art of makeup.

Of course, the reason was still because of Wu Jieyu's whispers.

Wang Xi had prepared all of this long ago, just waiting for Li Longji to speak.

But his focus wasn't actually on how to do makeup, because he knew that Li Longji couldn't possibly do women's makeup every day. He didn't need to rely on that to woo women. So what Li Longji wanted was aesthetic appreciation in this area.

Therefore, Wang Xi focused on aesthetics.

How can I draw it to make it more three-dimensional?

What proportion of demand?

How should we match them?

and many more.

Li Longji originally wanted to see some things, or rather, learn a few tricks to show off to the imperial concubine, but he gradually became addicted to it.

This is a whole field of knowledge!

It's so profound!
He was very interested in these things; his artistic talent wasn't acquired for nothing.

Soon, he started talking to Wang Xi, asking more and more questions, until it was past midnight. It wasn't until Gao Lishi repeatedly reminded him that it was really time to eat and rest afterward, as there were still many things to do the next day.

Li Longji reluctantly gave up, but still wouldn't let Wang Xi leave, so he pulled Wang Xi to have dinner with him.

"Sparrow".

Li Longji still found it unbelievable, "Did you come up with all these makeup techniques yourself, or did your teacher teach you?"

Wang Xi said, "Of course, this is my own idea. The teacher doesn't know these things. Well, actually, you can't say that. The teacher has taught me."

Hearing his incoherent words, Li Longji asked, "What exactly happened?"

Wang Xi said, "When my nephew was playing around in Pingkangfang, he seriously studied this makeup and often commented on which courtesan's makeup was the best. Later, when our academy was going to perform opera, my nephew studied it even more carefully."

But the reason my nephew was able to grasp this makeup technique was because of the painting skills his teacher taught him. While studying painting, he often thought about how to make his paintings look beautiful.

"I see." Li Longji nodded, having no doubt about it. He had witnessed the painting skills firsthand; the aesthetic was indeed different from contemporary paintings, being more three-dimensional. He then jokingly added, "But you're working so hard just to please a girl."

Wang Xi nodded and said, "That was originally true, but now it can also make my uncle happy. It's a real bargain, hehe."

Li Longji was taken aback for a moment, then laughed heartily, "With you around, it's hard for your uncle not to be happy."

The saying "the onlooker sees most of the game" is highly affirmed by Gao Lishi.

Wang Xi said smugly, "That's right, everyone says that I, Wang Xiaoque, am loved by all and admired by all."

After the meal, under Gao Lishi's watchful eye, Wang Xi wisely took his leave.

After Wang Xi left, Li Longji suddenly asked Gao Lishi, "It seems that the security and tax revenue in Chang'an County have been quite good recently."

Gao Lishi nodded and said, "Yes."

Li Longji pondered for a while and said, "Send someone to the Secretariat now and bring me Linghu Xiaozhe's resume. I want to see it when I get up tomorrow."

"Yes."

Gao Lishi was not surprised by this.

To an outsider, Wang Xi's words seemed utterly incoherent and immature, but Li Longji truly listened to them.

I don't know if I'm possessed.

"besides."

Li Longji said, "Summon Wang Maozhong to the palace first thing tomorrow morning."

"Yes."

(End of this chapter)