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

Chapter 130 Li Shimin: This is truly a rare treasure!

"Li Er still has some sense of shame, after all."

Listening to these aunties gossiping about the family matters of the recently punished officials, Li Xiang thought to himself.

Having been forced to this point, if these powerful officials were not dealt with, it would be a loss of face for Li Shimin himself.

"Young master—"

Just as they were relaxing, they saw Liu Zhi, dressed in casual clothes, walking over.

After the grand banquet for the Xia sacrifice, Li Shimin devoted himself to dealing with the powerful clans according to the book, causing widespread anxiety throughout the court.

From the emperor to the court officials, it seemed that no one cared about Li Xiang's rebellious behavior at the grand banquet.

Li Shimin did not punish Li Xiang, or perhaps he confined him to his residence again.

Li Xiang spent his days wandering around, and the Right Guard Army, responsible for guarding him, could not simply stand by and do nothing about his safety.

Thus, Liu Zhi, this unfortunate imperial guard, was assigned to be Li Xiang's follower.

Not long ago, this restless grandson of the emperor caused a scene at the Xia Sacrifice Banquet.

But now, he is still leisurely enjoying himself with the common people in Longqingfang, showing no remorse whatsoever.

Liu Zhi couldn't help but sigh inwardly—who knows what kind of trouble this imperial grandson will cause in the future.

Why did I return to Chang'an back then?

"Young master, a young man surnamed Wang has arrived with a guest and is waiting for you outside the gate." Liu Zhi put aside his worries and became the servant who announced the arrival.

"Old Wang is here?" Upon hearing this, Li Xiang excitedly stood up.

Wang Xuance has been experimenting with making bamboo paper for the past few days and has not visited for a long time. His sudden arrival today could be because the bamboo paper has been successfully made.

"Dear aunts and sisters, I have guests at home, so I'll take my leave first."

"Young man, go on your way. Come find us again when you have time to chat and have some fun!"

The group of village intelligence officers bid farewell to Li Xiang warmly. They had clearly become very familiar with each other.

Li Xiang walked briskly to the gate of the mansion, and sure enough, he saw Wang Xuance standing below the steps, with a handsome young man with refined features and a gentle demeanor standing beside him.

Each of them held a neatly cut stack of paper, and the unique, light fragrance of bamboo wafted in the breeze.

"Brother Xuan Ce!" Li Xiang hurried forward, "Judging from your excited appearance, could it be that the bamboo paper is finished?"

Wang Xuance laughed heartily, stepped aside to let Lu Zhaolin stand beside him, and said, "Thanks to Your Highness's gift, after several attempts, our efforts have finally paid off. This is Lu Zhaolin, courtesy name Shengzhi. This papermaking project is largely thanks to the Lu family workshop's generous assistance."

Lu Zhaolin quickly stepped forward and bowed respectfully: "I am Lu Zhaolin, and I greet Your Highness, the Imperial Grandson. I had heard of Your Highness's mastery of poetry before, and now, having witnessed Your Highness's talent in improving paper, I am even more impressed."

"If Your Highness has the time, I hope we can discuss poetry together."

"Are you Lu Zhaolin?" Li Xiang was startled and looked the young man up and down.

"Uh—you recognize me?" Lu Zhaolin asked, somewhat surprised.

"I've seen you before at the Imperial Academy," Li Xiang chuckled.

This is another familiar figure. I remember Lu Zhaolin was a poet, right? I don't think I copied any of his works when I was copying poems before, did I?

Teaching Lu Zhaolin to write poetry—that's something to brag about for a lifetime, no less impressive than teaching Li Shimin how to be an emperor.

His gaze shifted to the stack of papers. Upon seeing this, Wang Xuance handed him the inkstone and wolf-hair brush, saying, "Your Highness, why don't you try it yourself? We've already tested it; the ink flows smoothly and absorbs very little, far superior to ordinary coarse paper."

Li Xiang did not refuse. He walked to the stone table by the door, laid out bamboo paper, picked up his brush, dipped it in ink, paused slightly, and casually wrote a few lines of small characters. The thick black ink fell on the paper, the characters were clear and neat, and the ink solidified steadily on the paper without any messy smearing or fuzzing.

"Not bad," Li Xiang said.

Compared to paper from later generations, this paper is noticeably brittle, with occasional clumps of fiber visible on it, and the color appears uneven. But it is clearly sufficient for its purpose.

"————It's just not suitable as toilet paper." Li Xiang twirled the bamboo paper in his hand and muttered to himself.

Wang Xuance and Lu Zhaolin exchanged a glance, both of them horrified.

The two men were overjoyed at the success of the bamboo paper project. However, they were surprised to find that the imperial grandson appeared quite disappointed.

Could it be that, in the eyes of the imperial grandson, the bamboo paper, as it is now, is not good enough?

Lu Zhaolin stepped forward, pointing to the three characters "Imperial Grandson Paper" that he had just written on the paper, and said with a smile, "When I was testing my brush just now, I dared to name this paper Imperial Grandson Paper. Without Your Highness's instruction, even if my brother Xuan Ce and I had a thousand ideas, we would never have been able to create such a fine product."

"Your Highness's name shall be remembered for eternity along with this piece of paper."

Imperial grandson's paper? That sounds strange —

"Never mind, it doesn't matter." Li Xiang smiled and thanked Lu Zhaolin for his kindness. The three of them chatted for a while about the method of making bamboo paper. Wang Xuance suddenly said, "Your Highness once said that this papermaking method originated from a field of study. He also mentioned that if the knowledge of water flowing into a rainbow is properly applied, it can create a telescope."

"I wonder if the telescope is finished yet?"

The successful production of bamboo paper proved that what Li Xiang had said that day was true. Wang Xuance was even more interested in the knowledge that Li Xiang had mentioned.

Papermaking is still within the realm of what ordinary people can accept. But to be able to create a telescope that can see dozens of miles away would truly be unfathomable.

Wang Xuance had also heard that Fang Yi'ai, the second son of the Fang family and Princess Gaoyang, had come to Li Xiang with his family's most prized possessions, asking Li Xiang to make a telescope for him. Naturally, he wanted to see such a wondrous object.

"Well, unfortunately. The Fang family took the completed telescope away yesterday," Li Xiang said.

"This—" Wang Xuance was taken aback, then sighed and said, "It's a real pity that I have no chance to see this treasure."

The craftsmen who made jade and polished bronze mirrors in the East Market were all highly skilled. In just three days, they cut and polished a suitable mirror from the glass alms bowl. However, the way the craftsmen looked at Li Xiang always carried the feeling of looking at a spendthrift: a perfectly good, rare treasure, just for two small mirrors, they actually cut it apart!

Of course, in Li Xiang's eyes, it was just a broken piece of glassware. As long as he mastered the art of glassmaking, he could make as many as he wanted.

Since they accepted the Fang family's money and used their materials, the ownership of the telescope naturally belongs to the Fang family. The main issue is that Li Xiang doesn't value this. Why would someone who could return to the modern world at any moment need such a crudely made, simple telescope?

It's enough to exchange for some pocket money for daily expenses. Only those who have never seen the world would treat that kind of junk as a treasure.

Meanwhile, in the imperial city...

According to the design drawn by Li Xiang, the telescope that was made should have been given to Fang Yi'ai of the Fang family. But now, it was in the hands of Li Shimin.

Li Shimin held a telescope, stood inside the Ganlu Hall, and looked out through the telescope.

The palace towers, market towns, and houses that were originally far away outside the palace walls and shrouded in mist were suddenly brought closer. The roof tiles and birds flying under the eaves were clearly visible, with every detail meticulously rendered. The scenery that was dozens of steps away seemed to be right next to us.

"How amazing! How amazing!" he exclaimed, looking around curiously through his binoculars.

"This is truly a rare treasure!"