Conceptual melting pot, the fusion of all realms starting from the Qin Dynasty.

Wei Zhuang got up and looked out the window. "South Korea has never been peaceful, has it?"

Zi Nu shook her head silently, then said to Nong Yu, who was happily gazing at the landscape painting, "Nong Yu, if you like this painting, why don't you take Hong Yu to Qing Ping Zhai for a stroll?"

"I imagine you and the young owner of Qingpingzhai will get along very well."

Nongyu looked at Zinu with surprise: "Is it alright?"

Nongyu was raised by Zinu and was especially favored in Zilanxuan. She was not restricted in her freedom at all.

However, because of her beauty, Nongyu rarely went out of Zilan Pavilion to play in Xinzheng City.

That's why Nongyu was so happy after Zi Nu agreed that she could go to Qing Ping Zhai.

"Of course!" Zi Nu gently stroked Nong Yu's long hair with affection and said with a smile, "Qing Ping Zhai is not far from Zi Lan Xuan. With Hong Yu looking after us, there will be no danger."

"That's wonderful!" Nongyu jumped up with joy.

...

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Chapter 018 The Ripples Caused by Books and Paper

Inside the royal palace of Korea, in the villa of Princess Hongyeon.

At this moment, Honglian was sitting idly in the pavilion in the princess's villa, staring blankly into space, her paintbrush held between her nose and lips.

On the stone table in the pavilion, there was a pile of bamboo slips and a piece of cloth that was smeared with red lotus petals.

"Your Highness...Your Highness..."

Honglian's little maidservant, carrying a large pile of things in her arms, ran towards this side.

Thud!

The brush fell from the startled red lotus nose and landed on the stone table, splashing ink stains on the cloth and bamboo slips.

Honglian turned to look at the little maid and scolded, "What happened? Why are you in such a hurry?"

The little maid ran to Honglian's side and said, feeling wronged:

"Someone from outside the palace sent in some interesting things for me to bring to Your Highness."

"Something interesting?" Honglian's attention was instantly drawn, and she asked curiously, "What is it? Where is it?"

For Honglian, who is still quite childish, this is the age when she loves to play and have fun the most.

So when he heard the maid say there were fun and interesting things, he instantly forgot about his previous unpleasantness.

The maidservant quickly went to Honglian's side, tidied up the stone table, and then placed the pile of things she was carrying in front of Princess Honglian.

Then the little maid said sweetly:

"A new shop called Qingpingzhai has opened in Xinzheng City. These books and scrolls were bought from that shop and are specially given to Princess Honglian."

"what the hell?"

Honglian flipped through the books and scrolls that the little maid had just put down with some disappointment. "Although the material is a bit novel, aren't these still books?"

"No, Your Highness!" The little maid quickly opened a scroll and unfolded the painting inside in front of Honglian.

Then, boasting, he said, "The paintings sold at this Qingpingzhai are so realistic and beautiful."

"If it weren't for Princess Honglian's status, people outside the palace probably wouldn't have been able to snatch these scrolls."

Looking at the lifelike flower and bird painting in front of her, Princess Honglian's previously indifferent expression instantly turned into surprise. "This...the flowers and birds in this painting...are so realistic and expressive!"

Princess Honglian then snatched the scroll from the little maid's hand and examined it carefully.

After a long while, Princess Honglian exclaimed in admiration, "Wonderful! Wonderful! I have never seen such a beautiful painting before."

After Princess Honglian felt she had looked at the flower and bird painting enough, she handed the scroll to her maid and then opened another scroll to admire it.

Landscape painting and figure painting—these are the other two scrolls brought by the little maid.

He glanced at the landscape painting of red lotuses but became quite engrossed in the figure painting of red lotuses. "Who is depicted in this painting? It looks as if a real person has been imprinted on it?"

The little maid peeked at the portrait next to Honglian, then shook her head in confusion, "I don't know!"

"However, I heard from people outside the palace that someone in Xinzheng City spent a lot of money to have the owner of Qingpingzhai paint his portrait."

"After the portrait was drawn, it looked exactly like him."

The little maid made an exaggerated gesture in a cute way, "and because the man was so satisfied with the portrait, he immediately rewarded the owner of Qingpingzhai with several hundred gold coins."

Honglian was extremely surprised to hear this!

After regaining her senses, Honglian immediately pulled her little maid and walked towards the outside of the Han King's Palace: "Let's go, let's go and take a look at [Qingpingzhai]."

The maidservant stared blankly, "Your Highness...Your Highness...what are you doing at Qingpingzhai?"

"Of course, I'll go and have the young master of Qingpingzhai paint my portrait too," Honglian retorted to her maid with a spoiled attitude. "What? Am I not pretty enough?"

"Does my beauty not deserve to be depicted in a painting as a keepsake?"

“Of course the princess is beautiful!” The little maid nodded hurriedly. “The princess’s appearance should certainly be recorded.”

...

At almost the same time, inside the palace where Lady Myeongju of the King of Han was located.

Lady Mingzhu, dressed in a purple court robe, with a platinum necklace around her neck and a pearl and jade hairpin in her hair, was looking at a portrait in front of her with great curiosity.

"Interesting!" Lady Mingzhu closed the scroll, revealing an expression of interest. "I never expected that such an interesting painter would appear in Xinzheng City."

"Chen Hao, it's unbelievable that a fifteen-year-old boy possesses such superb painting skills."

"There's even paper that can hold text and drawings. I really don't know what his purpose is in coming to Xinzheng?"

Madam Mingzhu looked thoughtful.

She then frowned and called out, "Someone come here!"

"What are your orders, Madam?"

Soon a maid came to Madam Mingzhu's side and bowed respectfully to inquire.

"Make arrangements. I want to meet that painter named Chen Hao," Madam Mingzhu ordered without hesitation. "Tell him I want him to paint a portrait of me."

"Yes!"

The maidservant quickly responded.

...

The Zhang Mansion, where the Korean Prime Minister Zhang Kaidi resided.

After finishing his day's official duties, Zhang Kaidi was now kneeling on his desk, flipping through various books he had purchased from Qingpingzhai.

Compared to the various paintings circulating in Qingpingzhai, Zhang Kaidi paid more attention to the books there.

After a long while, Zhang Fang put down the book in his hand and asked Zhang Liang, who was kneeling respectfully opposite him, "Zifang, what do you think of these newly appearing books?"

Zhang Liang pondered for a moment, then said, "The invention of paper made it much easier to record things in writing."

"The advent of paper was even more important for each school of thought. Books that were easy to disseminate could increase the influence of their doctrines."

"Especially for Confucianism."

At this point, Zhang Liang paused and carefully looked at his grandfather.

“That’s right!” Zhang Kai stroked his beard heavily, saying with some worry, “It’s just that such an important thing has suddenly appeared in our Korea. I don’t know if it’s a blessing or a curse.”

"Grandfather meant..."

Zhang Liang tentatively inquired, "Could it be that someone in Korea would be interested in paper production?"

“They wouldn’t dare do that!” Zhang Kai said, his voice carrying a heavy aura. “If those people didn’t want the various schools of thought to join forces against them, they would never have set their sights on paper.”

"The advent of paper was a rare opportunity for the various schools of thought during the Warring States period, but they would never allow anyone to desecrate such a sacred object as paper."

"Then what do you mean, Grandfather?" Zhang Liang asked, puzzled.

Zhang Kai stood up with a worried expression and sighed helplessly: "Once the news of the appearance of paper spreads, it will inevitably attract people from all schools of thought and the various schools of thought to come to Korea."

"The whole of South Korea is going to be bustling then..."

...

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Chapter 019 Nongyu and Hongyu Visit

After obtaining Zi Nu's consent, Nong Yu eagerly pulled her maid Hong Yu to Qing Ping Zhai.

"Qingpingzhai, I wonder if the name Qingping means 'the wind rises on the green grass'?"

Nongyu paused in front of Qingpingzhai, looked up at the plaque, and then, following Hongyu's suggestion, went inside the shop.

Upon entering Qingpingzhai, Nongyu was immediately drawn to the numerous paintings on the walls.

Landscape painting, flower-and-bird painting, figure painting, freehand painting, meticulous painting...

For Nongyu, a young woman with remarkable achievements in playing the zither, artworks in the field of painting also resonate with her inner world.

of course!

The layout of the rooms in Qingpingzhai also struck her as novel.