The rebellious grandson of Emperor Zhenguan of the Tang Dynasty: Please, Your Majesty, be called Cro

Chapter 109 Paper is really expensive in Chang'an!

If the most bustling places in Chang'an during the day are the East and West Markets, then once night falls, the most bustling place is Pingkang Ward.

This neighborhood, situated beside the imperial city, enjoyed a unique advantage and was home to many high-ranking officials and nobles. The reason why Pingkang Ward was most lively after nightfall was because it was the most famous romantic and amorous place in Chang'an and even the entire Tang Dynasty.

Here, brothels and theaters abound, and elegant courtyards and singing houses resound with music all day long. On the boudoirs along the streets, one can often see women with powdered faces waving their red sleeves at handsome young men on the street. It's as if the spring breeze of Chang'an has gathered here, and even the air seems to be filled with the fragrance of cosmetics.

Of course, apart from the brothels, the restaurants and taverns here are no less impressive than those in the East and West Markets, and may even surpass them in terms of exquisiteness and elegance.

Chengguanglou was a high-end tavern located in Pingkangfang.

This tavern belongs to the family of Duke Zhang Liang. Located in a prime location like Pingkang Ward, it's sure to make a fortune, if not a fortune.

At this moment, Zhang Shenji, son of Duke Xun of Zhang Liang, was having a banquet in the private room of the restaurant with Li Xin, son of Prince Wei of Li Tai, Fang Yi'ai, the second son of Fang Xuanling, and other members of several aristocratic families, including the Cui family of Qinghe, the Du family of Jingzhao, and the Wang family of Taiyuan.

The faint singing of courtesans on the first floor drifted into the private room, where a group of young men were clinking glasses and having a great time.

The King of Wei wanted to win over the powerful families, and the powerful families wanted to curry favor with the King of Wei. Duke Xun, Zhang Liang, was also a new ally of the King of Wei. With these three relationships, the atmosphere in the private room was naturally lively.

As the group drank and chatted, the conversation naturally turned to the Dongshi free fighting event that had caused such a stir a few days ago.

"That Li Xiang is truly lawless! He incited a group of poor scholars to cause trouble at the palace gates, and he also allowed unruly people to humiliate scholars in the streets. This boy is a great scourge to Chang'an!" said a young man from a prominent family.

"Relying on their petty cleverness to stir up trouble and incite these lowly commoners to oppose us, the gentry, do they really think we have no one to rely on?"

"That's absolutely right!" Everyone nodded, and Fang Yi'ai, who was sitting next to Li Xin, also nodded.

Li Xiang and Li Xin are about the same age, but because their fathers have been enemies for many years, Li Xin and Li Xiang have never been on good terms.

When the topic turned to Li Xiang, his expression darkened, and he said in a deep voice, "This man is targeting my father at every turn and has repeatedly disrupted the court."

"If we let him continue to act recklessly, there will only be more and more trouble in the future."

"That's exactly right!" Fang Yi'ai echoed Li Xin, slapping the table as he spoke.

Li Xin frowned slightly, exchanged glances with the others present, and a hint of contempt flashed in her eyes.

Prince Li Tai of Wei was renowned in Chang'an for his exceptional talent and intelligence, while Li Xin, confident in his early intelligence, also considered himself a scholar. Zhang Shenji and many other scions of prominent families were also capable of composing poems and essays.

The only one present was Fang Yi'ai. Although he was the son of Fang Xiang, he was born uneducated and was a well-known fool in Chang'an. Yet he liked to feign refinement and often frequented the Prince of Wei's residence, where many literati gathered.

Unfortunately, he lacked talent and learning. When others discussed things, he couldn't say anything meaningful. He could only stammer out a few phrases like "That's exactly right" or "What you said is very true," as if by doing so, he could claim that he had a share in the other people's profound opinions.

Therefore, people in the Prince of Wei's household often secretly despised Fang Yi'ai. Even Prince Wei, Li Tai, only treated him kindly and considered him a confidant because he valued his father's high position. In reality, he only had Fang Yi'ai do errands.

Fang Yi'ai married Princess Gaoyang, making him Li Xin's uncle by seniority. However, Li Xin was very arrogant, and now that the Prince of Wei had defeated the Crown Prince, Li Xin might become the Crown Prince's grandson in a while. Therefore, he looked down on Fang Yi'ai even more.

"What kind of song is that singer downstairs singing? It's so awful and dissonant—I'll have someone remove it." Seeing that the atmosphere in the private room was a bit stiff, Zhang Shenji, as the host, took the initiative to change the subject.

Just as he was about to get up, he heard someone running up from downstairs, opening the door to the private room and approaching Zhang Shenji.

"Young Master, I—I saw that person enter the restaurant!"

"That person?" Zhang Shen was taken aback.

"It's that same guy who impersonated Prince Wei's son and swindled money from our Duke's mansion!"

The man said indignantly. If Li Xiang were here, he would recognize that this man was none other than "Manager Zhang" of that casino, one of Zhang Liang's adopted sons, the one whose bug he had exploited.

"What kind of rubbish is this? Maybe we should go somewhere else, like a brothel or a brothel—"

Li Xiang had barely sat down in the hall when he made up an excuse to get up. Song Shenzhi and Dong Jiming quickly pulled him back down.

"Your Highness, you are still young, your body has not yet grown up, and you have just recovered from your injuries. How can you go to such a place!" Song Shenzhi said with a wry smile in a low voice.

"If others find out, it will be our fault."

Since entering Pingkang Ward, this imperial grandson has been heading almost in a straight line towards the center of the crossroads filled with brothels and theaters.

He now seriously suspects that the Crown Prince's farewell party is a pretense, and that he really wants to use this as an excuse to go to a brothel.

"Do you not know my name? Since my name is 'Elephant,' how can I not be fully grown yet!"

"When my dad was my age, I was already two! You wouldn't understand the family traditions. Besides, I'm just listening to music, I don't eat seafood—"

As Li Xiang spoke, he still tried to get up, but Wang Xuance, Song Shenzhi, and the others, who were both amused and exasperated, persuaded him to return to his seat after much coaxing.

If you travel back to the Tang Dynasty and don't listen to music in the brothels of Pingkangfang, you've really wasted your trip!

Alas, I am too young to experience the grandeur of the Tang Dynasty.

Li Xiang sighed inwardly.

Sun Fujia ultimately did not attend the farewell banquet hosted by Li Xiang. Firstly, he worried that his position as a third-rank official in the Court of Judicial Review would attract too much attention and easily cause trouble. Secondly, he still had many mundane affairs to hand over at the Court of Judicial Review and could not leave his post.

Therefore, Li Xiang led seven people, including Wang Xuance, Song Shenzhi, Dong Jiming, and Chen Zijian, who were preparing to accompany Sun Fujia to Shangzhou, to Chengguanglou for a farewell banquet.

Everyone took their seats, and the food and wine were served one after another. Li Xiang raised his wine cup, looked around at everyone, and said loudly, "Today, let this cup of wine serve as a farewell toast. May your journey to Shangzhou be smooth, and may you all achieve your goals in the imperial examinations and have a bright future!"

Everyone quickly raised their glasses in return and drank them down in one gulp.

Setting down his wine cup, Li Xiang recalled what had happened earlier and casually asked, "I heard that after you left the Imperial Academy, you had no more books to read. Why is that?"

Wang Xuance shook his head with a wry smile: "Your Highness is unaware that nowadays, an ordinary scroll of scripture costs at least several hundred coins. If it is a copy by a famous author and in good condition, a single scroll can easily cost over a thousand coins, or even several strings of cash."

"We scholars from humble backgrounds rely on meager assistance to survive, barely managing to afford three meals a day. Where would we find the extra money to buy books?"

Dong Jiming added, "Within Chang'an, places with abundant book collections are few and far between. The Imperial Academy's official collection is open to students, making it the only good place for poor families to access books."

"As for the Cui, Du, and Wang families, they naturally have countless books in their mansions, but they have always kept their doors tightly shut, and outsiders have no chance to set foot inside. Even Lord Sun, who served as an official for nearly thirty years and was honest and self-disciplined, only had a few hundred volumes in his home, most of which were old books he had accumulated in his early years."

Li Xiang frowned upon hearing this.

After he transmigrated, he heard that powerful families monopolized knowledge. But he never imagined that it was a monopoly in the physical sense.

Students from poor families who left the Imperial Academy found themselves unable to afford or even read a single book.

"Since that's the case, you can ask your former classmates to help you borrow some books from the Imperial Academy's collection. Why don't you make a few copies and take them with you?"

"Copying books is easier said than done." Song Shenzhi shook his head repeatedly, his tone full of helplessness.

"Nowadays, a ream of coarse paper costs more than a hundred coins, and the best hemp paper costs twice as much. Add to that ink sticks and brushes, and you can spend dozens of coins a day copying."

"If several of us were to copy these texts in bulk, the accumulated expenses would amount to several strings of cash. Such expenses are nothing to the sons of noble families, but we common scholars simply cannot afford them."

"That day, His Highness ordered us to make those law enforcement records. Even if it cost a lot of money to buy several reams of paper, it was still a painful expense for Lord Sun. If even a third-rank official is like this, let alone us."

Chen Zhijian also sighed, "Many classmates tried copying books, often spending several months' worth of money after copying three or five volumes. In order to make a living, they had to give up halfway. After leaving the Imperial Academy, there were no official books to read, and they couldn't afford to buy or copy classics. It would be as difficult as climbing to heaven if they wanted to devote themselves to learning in the future."

After the words were spoken, the private room fell silent. The faces of the group were all somber; the immense hardships faced by children from impoverished families in their pursuit of education were laid bare before them.

"Is this really true?" Li Xiang was stunned.

He suddenly remembered that when he was in the Eastern Palace, he saw that some of the books in the Eastern Palace were written on bamboo slips.

It seems that paper was not yet widely used in the early Tang Dynasty. Otherwise, the Eastern Palace wouldn't still have such an old antique as bamboo slips.

That day, I had swindled money from the gambling den and also secretly cut a few reams of paper at the East Market, which seemed quite expensive. But since I was spending other people's money, I never paid attention.

Seeing these impoverished scholars in such dire straits for a few sheets of paper...

He specially cut the paper to wipe his bottom, yet still complained that the paper was too rough and stiff.

Li Xiang blushed unconsciously.