It’s not easy to be the Prince of the Red Chamber
20 From printing to newspapers

Yelu Cheng

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A sinister smile appeared on Chief Physician Wang's face. He leaned over and said,""Jia Zhen of the Ningguo Manor, this person looks down on his highness and dares to hold the princess consort's servant without letting go. He is simply arrogant to the extreme. If we don't punish him, I'm afraid he will be even more arrogant in the future.”Guardian Wang still remembered the time when he didn't give him face, and he hated it for a long time.

Ning Jun glanced at him." I am a grand prince, yet I am fighting with someone over two maids. Where would I put my face? You can look for the face you lost yourself."

Wang Changshi rolled his eyes." Your Highness, I heard that Jia Zhen's family has a kid. Is there any gossip outside?”

"Alright!" Ning Jun glared at him in disdain." Are your eyelids that shallow? Aren't you ashamed to find trouble with people over trivial matters?”Now that the atmosphere in the Divine Capital was like this, was this even worth mentioning?

"Anything else?"

Wang Changshi racked his brain and whispered,""There's also money?"

Ning Jun scolded her in disappointment." What is this? I only ask if you have put in the money?”

Wang Changshi's face turned pale and he quickly tried to clear his name." Your Highness, I definitely didn't."”

Ning Jun couldn't be bothered with what he was thinking. He turned around and remembered something." Right, get someone to send a message to that Baozhu. Tell her that I'm very interested in what she said to the princess consort last time! Tell her to keep an eye out!"

Chief Physician Wang was very puzzled, but he didn't know how to ask.

Ning Jun stood on the steps at the door with a deep gaze."I'm a gentleman. I walk my own path and leave others with nowhere to go! You have to do things openly in the future, do you hear me?”

Hearing the song, Minister Wang knew what he meant. He smiled and nodded." Your Highness is right. We have to dig a hole openly."”

Ning Jun smiled." You're a bootlicker. The more I look at you, the more you look like a Grand Master!"”

Chief Secretary Wang straightened his back and cupped his hands."Your Highness, you clearly see that this official did indeed work as a financial advisor for more than ten years before the Imperial Examination, so this official is very clear about the ways of the government.”

Ning Jun patted him on the shoulder." I'll give you a task now. Take some time to go to the Jingzhao Mansion and Imperial Censorate. Make some friends and maybe you'll hear some interesting things.”

Wang Changshi thought for a moment." Your Highness, what do you mean?”

"As the saying goes, wild geese leave a sound when they pass by, and water leaves a mark when it passes by. Your task is to catch their traces and follow them." Especially for a big family like the Jia family, which year would they not ask for help a few times?”

Wang Changshi only felt enlightened. He was really an expert in this kind of thing." Your Highness, don't worry. This subject's eyes are fiery and sharp!”

As he was speaking, a group of people walked over from afar. The leader was the eunuch of the six palaces, Xia Shouzhong, followed by many internal supervisors.

Xia Shouzhong saw Ning Jun standing at the door and quickly dismounted. He rushed over and said with a smile,""Aiyo, wangye, are you planning to go out?”

Ning Jun smiled." The early magpies call. I counted on my fingers. Eunuch Xia is coming back today, so I specially came here to welcome him."”

Xia Shouzhong hurriedly knelt down and paid his respects." Your Highness, you must be joking. Don't you dare ruin this servant's life!" This servant has received the emperor's decree, ordering his highness and the princess consort to enter court and meet in the Lin Jing Hall.”

Ning Jun looked at his fawning face." Tell me honestly, is it a good thing?”

"Of course it's a good thing!" Xia Shouzhong smiled.”

So Ning Jun prepared a large sedan chair and went into the palace with Ke Qing.

Lin Jing Hall was on the east side of the Yin and Yang Hall and was very close to the Great Ming Palace where the Retired Emperor resided. It was where the Emperor reviewed memorials and summoned his ministers after a regular court session.

Ning Jun and Ke Qing entered Lin Jing Hall. The Emperor was sitting behind the imperial table, writing furiously.

However, Qing held onto Ning Jun tightly. Ning Jun patted his hand gently and smiled at her. He said softly,"" Don't worry, although he looks very serious, in fact…"

But Qing's face was flushed red.

The Emperor suddenly raised his head.”

"Actually, it's also very serious!" Ning Jun replied seriously.”

However, Qing couldn't help but laugh and secretly rolled her eyes at Ning Jun.

After paying his respects, the Emperor had Xia Shouzhong announce the decree.

But you kneel and listen.

"The Emperor of Heaven decreed that in the play, the screen should be set up to promote enlightenment, and the pot should be fixed. You are the daughter of Qin Ye, the construction and repair Lang of the Ministry of Works. You are innocent and beautiful. You can naturally become a model and be gentle and bright. Therefore, the selection of the most famous families, together with the vassal states. I now confer upon you the title of loyal and obedient princess. You should carry forward the way of women and not forget the teachings of your mother. It's all because of filial piety that our family and country will always be strong. Can you not be careful? Respect this!"

You can bow again and accept the edict.

Only then did Ning Jun help her up." Keqing, you are finally my Princess Consort!”Seeing that the two of them were affectionate, the Emperor interrupted,""Zhongshun Princess Consort, go to the Great Ming Palace to thank the Emperor first. Eighth Brother, stay here first.”

So Ning Jun took her hand and walked her out of the hall." You go first. I'll be right there."”

Finally, she had a certificate to take up her post. Ke Qing's face was full of shyness. She nodded and followed the chamberlain to the Great Ming Palace.

When he returned to the palace, the Emperor said unhappily,"What have you done?”

Ning Jun was confused." Everything I dare to do is a good thing!”

The Emperor snorted." You came up with a stone seal without saying a word. Do you still have me in your eyes?"”

Ning Jun smiled,"Replying to the emperor, this little brother is also trying to earn money to support the family!"”

The Emperor stood up and walked in front of him." Do you think that the salary I gave you is too little? Tell me, how many people have you hooked up with this time? More than half of the Divine Capital is in an uproar!"

Ning Jun said modestly," This has nothing to do with me. Those people are after the reputation of Li Shouzhong, Kong Jizong, and Wang Shu's calligraphy. I only earned a few hard-earned money."”

The Emperor laughed." Look at you. I'm not going to rob you of your money!"”

Ning Jun became alert." Could it be that Imperial Brother wants my stone seal technique?”

The Emperor smiled and nodded." Of course! Don't tell me you want to hold on to me forever? Li Shouzhong and the others have already submitted a memorial, requesting you to make the method of the stone seal technique public!”

"No!" Ning Jun shook his head repeatedly." Why? This is an idea I came up with after racking my brains. They think they can get such a big benefit without paying a tael of silver? No way!"

The Emperor understood what she meant." If the price is right, you won't disagree, right?”

Ning Jun nodded matter-of-factly." I just want to get rich. I won't do things that benefit others at the expense of myself!"”

"You're still a prince!" The Emperor laughed. Don't you have any love for the people?"

Ning Jun immediately said," My brother loves the people. He printed 10,000 copies of the Four Books and Five Classics. He symbolically received one tael of silver for each copy. His merit is boundless!"”

When the Emperor heard this, he couldn't help but kick him." When did you fall for money? Was he focused on making money? By the way, you even took the entire street of the Salvation Yard. There are so many shops on the street, how much did you spend?”

"Imperial Brother, if it weren't for my younger brother, even a dog wouldn't be willing to look at the Yangji Yard!" It was my brother who turned stone into gold.”

The Emperor turned around and sat back at the imperial table." Let's put it this way. What do you need to do to take out the Stone Seal Technique?”

Ning Jun knew that he couldn't keep it anymore. He smiled and said,"Royal brother, instead of letting others get rich, why don't we get rich together?”

The Emperor raised his eyebrows." You mean, you want me to fight for benefits with the people?”

"How is this competing with the people?" Ning Jun hurriedly explained. Besides, what they were fighting for was the profits of those bookstores and merchants. If the scholars in the world benefited, they should be fighting for the benefits of the people!”

The difference of one word was thousands of miles!

The Emperor knocked on the imperial table." When did you become so sharp-tongued? Zhen looks like your wangfei isn't a good talker?”

"Of course I'm enlightened!" Ning Jun smiled. Imperial brother, this little brother has a good idea! At present, the imperial court had a court bulletin, which was managed by the General Administration Department. On it were imperial court decrees, memorials, and so on. Most of them were only targeted at imperial court officials. Now, there were also civilian newspapers on the market, and a small number of them printed the so-called Beijing News. It was better to set up a news bureau under the General Administration Department. In addition to the imperial court's decrees, important appointments, and so on, it could also publish moral articles, essays, interesting stories, or typical cases that were beneficial to education. Together with comments, it could help to break the rumors. The effect of seeing and hearing. Of course, my brother thinks that the court bulletin is divided into different sections and has a variety of contents that are suitable for all levels. They could even choose a special page for merchants to publish information about their business. I've even thought of a name. It'll be called 'Divine Capital News!'”

The Emperor pondered for a moment." This is nothing more than an expansion of the court bulletin. The idea of dividing it into several pages is also very good. However, this thing was only a few copper coins per serving. How could he earn money?”

Ning Jun looked at the Emperor." The trading information that Brother Chen mentioned just now! For example, if someone shipped a batch of goods from the south and could not find a buyer, the goods would be damaged and they would lose money. They could publish the news in the newspaper. This is an advertisement!"

"Then how much silver do you plan to collect for a situation like this?" the Emperor asked.”

Ning Jun didn't even think." We'll decide based on the value of his goods."”

The Emperor asked a few more questions in detail, and Ning Jun answered them all in detail.

Then, Ning Jun came to his senses." Imperial Brother, are you thinking of burning bridges after crossing them?”

The Emperor's face began to turn stern." According to you,'Divine Capital News' is the court's organ. Should I hand it over to you?”

"Of course!" Ning Jun said. Imperial brother, think about it, those scholars in the Imperial Academy, those blockheads in the General Administration Department, who can play with this new thing? Especially with this advertisement, how could scholars like them put down their pride and beg those inferior businessmen? As for those distinguished people, there was no need to mention them!”

The Emperor smiled." Other than you, no one else can do it, right?”

Ning Jun straightened his back." Who else but me? Also, Imperial Brother, please write an inscription for the Divine Capital News. All imperial court decrees can only be published here. Other so-called Beijing News are not allowed to be published. Moreover, if the people wanted to set up a newspaper office, they would need to be checked by the Information Bureau of the General Administration Department. Once the content exceeded the stipulated scope, they would be sealed up by the Royal Guards!”

The Emperor looked at him with a faint smile." You want to do an exclusive deal?”

Ning Jun said seriously," Imperial Brother, this is a grand plan of the imperial court and is closely related to the people's livelihood. How can you say that it's an exclusive deal?"”

"What should it be then?" the Emperor asked with a smile.”

Ning Jun spat out a word,"Monopoly!"”

"To think you could think of that!" The Emperor also sat up straight." Tell me how we should split the profits!”

"Didn't you say that you won't compete with the people for benefits?" Ning Jun said with a smile. This little brother is also a citizen!"

The Emperor picked up a jade paperweight from the table and threw it over." Speak!”

Ning Jun quickly caught it." Thank you for your reward, Imperial Brother!" How about a 50 - 50 split?"

The Emperor smiled insincerely." You still want to be on equal footing with me?”

"Sixty-four, my royal brother sixty-four, my younger brother fourty-four!" Ning Jun hurriedly said.”

The Emperor didn't speak and continued to stare at him.

Ning Jun gritted his teeth. If it doesn't work, Imperial Brother, you should find someone else!”

The Emperor laughed loudly." This matter is settled! Let's talk about the stone printing technique!”

"Why are you talking about this again?" Ning Jun asked anxiously.”

"You think you can deny it like this, right?"”

"Brother, do you know about intellectual property?" Ning Jun sighed.”

"What intellectual property?" The Emperor asked him.

Ning Jun couldn't explain it clearly for a while." It's something I invented. If others want to use it, shouldn't they give me some money? Isn't taking it stealing?"

The Emperor could not be bothered to beat around the bush with him and asked directly,""Be straightforward, how much do you want?”

Ning Jun thought about it again and again." How about this, Little Brother Chen will provide them with specialized stone slabs, ink, and transfer ink. Every time they print a book, they will have to pay Little Brother Chen five wen?”

"How do you know how many books he sold?" the Emperor asked with a smile.”

Ning Jun was stunned for a moment. How could he check in this era?

"Based on the ink he bought, we can estimate how many books he printed.”

The Emperor could not help but ask,"What do you need so much silver for?"”

"I want to build a big garden for my women!" Ning Jun said seriously.”

The Emperor laughed." When I saw you and the princess being so intimate and reluctant to part, I thought you had suddenly become infatuated. So this is your plan!"

Ning Jun's face turned red as he defended himself,"My brother is a prince, he should follow the system of the country…"?

"Alright!" The Emperor waved his hand." If you have the ability, then snatch it away! I still need to discuss these two matters with the cabinet. I will reply to you after the discussion is done!”

This book is provided by FunNovel Novel Book | Fan Fiction Novel [Beautiful Free Novel Book]

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