As soon as the Fourth Prince said this, the students immediately stood up and applauded: "The Fourth Prince has a heart of justice, and the Marquis of Pingyang and his wife do not care about gains and losses. This is admirable."

Regardless of whether it was the flattery of the Fourth Prince's people or the sincere praise from others, the Fourth Prince was satisfied listening to these praises.

However, in the blink of an eye, a student ran in with a piece of paper:

"The Crown Princess has revealed the recipe!"

"What to disclose?" someone asked.

The student who ran over unfolded the paper in his hand, panting with exhaustion: "Princess, the papermaking formula has been revealed! We can all make paper ourselves!"

What? !

The Fourth Prince's expression suddenly became even uglier. He grabbed the recipe and examined it in disbelief. He could hear the students talking in his ears:

"The Crown Princess announced it just like that?"

"Yes, the cost of a piece of paper is less than a penny, so you can make it yourself, but it will take a little longer. Moreover, the temperature, humidity, and the person who controls it will all lead to differences in the paper produced. You'll need to slowly learn it yourself."

"Even if the cost is less than a penny, it's still profitable. There are so many students in the world. If we sell so much paper, how much profit will we make? But should we make the recipe public?"

"My family runs a cloth shop, and the dyeing recipe is a closely guarded secret. My father said he would wait until he died before passing it on to the next successor. But the Crown Princess actually made it public?"

Everyone couldn't believe it and looked at the Fourth Prince:

"Fourth Prince, you have seen the papermaking recipe, but is it true?"

"It's fake, right? Who is so kind?"

Someone in the crowd said something, and the Fourth Prince's words got stuck in his throat. Just as he was about to nod, a voice suddenly rang out:

"It's true. My family runs a paper mill."

The voice came from behind the Fourth Prince. He turned around and saw a skinny man standing beside him, peeking his head in.

Noticing the Fourth Prince's gaze, the man chuckled dryly and shuddered, looking even more pitiful.

The Fourth Prince endured it and didn't lose his temper. He just forced a smile and said, "The Crown Princess is very kind."

"Yes, she has to be the Crown Princess!"

The wind direction suddenly changed, and the Fourth Prince could no longer stay at the poetry meeting and left in anger.

The Fourth Prince was angry but had no way to go to Qin Wan to question her, so he went to the imperial study to find Xie Qing.

Xie Qing was so busy that he was dizzy. When he heard that the Fourth Prince wanted to see him, he agreed without even looking up. Even so, when the Fourth Prince entered, he still had no time to look up. He only looked up at him after he finished reviewing a memorial: "Is there something wrong, Fourth Brother?"

The Fourth Prince gritted his teeth and said, "I make paper, and the Crown Princess also makes paper, and has even made her papermaking recipe public. The Crown Princess is truly resourceful!"

Xie Qing raised his eyebrows slightly, looking at the irritable Fourth Prince with interest: "Everyone wants the recipe, but you look so furious, as if my wife's recipe is better than yours? Since you are so angry, this recipe has been made public, why don't you use it? It will save you from developing a new recipe. It saves time, worry, and effort, isn't it great?"

His nonchalant words were like a slap in the face of the Fourth Prince. It turned out that he was just seeking fame and reputation and was full of the stench of money!

He gritted his teeth and said, "Are you making fun of me, Prince?"

Xie Qing shook his head, then nodded, unable to help but laugh: "Oh, I'm sorry that Fourth Brother saw it, but I also want to thank Fourth Brother for allowing students all over the world to use such cheap paper. I can't compare to you, I admire you."

Qin Wan didn't make much money from selling paper, and she even had to lose money because the so-called cost was only the cost of the product, and did not include the cost of labor, shop costs, etc. If all were included, she would have to sell this piece of paper for three to five cents to make a profit.

So Qin Wan simply released the recipe. As more people made it, the price would naturally go down.

As for how her papermaking workshop makes money?

There are many places to make money. The cheapest paper is not profitable, but she can still make some expensive paper to earn money.

What's more, among the papers made by Qin Wan, there is a kind that is very soft and tough, which is perfect for use in the toilet. Now this kind of paper is used in the East Palace. If it is promoted in the future, it will make more money than writing paper.

The Fourth Prince failed to question him and was furious. He stormed out in anger, but before he even left the Imperial Study, he heard Xie Qing say:

"Li Zhaoyi has been thinking about you for a long time. Why don't you go and see her?"

The Fourth Prince paused and turned angrily towards the harem.

It was not until he entered Yinghua Palace, the main hall where Li Zhaoyi lived, that the anger on his face subsided, and a hint of smile appeared in his gloomy eyes.

Li Zhaoyi hadn't seen her son for a long time. Seeing him walk in with an angry face, she became even more worried. Then, seeing his expression change in an instant, her heart tightened and she asked hurriedly, "What happened?"

The Fourth Prince sat down next to Li Zhaoyi and sneered, "The Crown Prince and the Crown Princess won't leave us any chance to survive."

Li Zhaoyi hurriedly asked, "What happened?"

The Fourth Prince then told him about the paper.

Li Zhaoyi thought it was a small matter. "Your father is in good health, so there's no need to be so anxious. Hasn't the Imperial Examination started yet? And there's also the Spring Examination. It's all part of your plan. If you manage it well, the Crown Prince will suffer a great setback. He'll have to endure the consequences!"

"You must not rush things!" Li Zhaoyi knew the emperor's temper well. Even though he had vomited blood in public, she didn't think he was seriously ill. "Your father's mind is unpredictable. Don't rush things."

The Fourth Prince couldn't wait that long: "No, I need to make preparations for both scenarios. It's just that it's not convenient for me to go to the palace all the time right now. The Imperial Concubine... that's all. I'll go back and ask the concubine to go to the palace to contact Mother. If necessary, you and I can work together from inside and outside."

"You..." Li Zhaoyi wanted to persuade him again, but the Fourth Prince left in a hurry.

Internal and external collaboration?

The "inside" here does not only refer to the palace, and the "outside" here does not only refer to the outside of the palace.

What is this hiding one's strength and biding one's time? He doesn't want to endure it anymore!

He wanted to see, if the prince coveted the throne and intended to rebel, would his father still stand by him?

The Fourth Prince sent someone to deliver the letter while ordering people to prepare the dragon robe. He also asked people to take out a large amount of gunpowder from the gunpowder workshop and asked them to find a way to get it to the Qin family.

If it is discovered that the prince is plotting a rebellion, the Qin family's gunpowder will be a powerful weapon for rebellion, enough to directly wipe out all nine generations of the Qin family!

If the prince rebels and the emperor still protects him, then all this gunpowder will be enough to raze the Qin family to the ground. Let's see how long the prince can remain so powerful without the help of the Yue family!

Of course, before that, the most important thing is the Spring Examination.

The results of the palace examination have been announced. Ping'er is not on the list. Naturally, the several young princes of the Fourth Prince's Mansion have also failed. Not to mention those of the Eldest Prince's Mansion, none of them are cut out for studying.

The Fourth Prince's army was completely wiped out, but the Qin family was doing very well.

More than a dozen people took part in the provincial examination, but no one failed. This was the case for those whose household registration was in the capital. No one knew how many members of the Qin family who did not have their household registration in the capital took part in the imperial examination this time.