Chapter 126 Peeping Skills
The other masters followed suit and said a few words. Zhao Yan did not express anything, but simply said, "Thank you for your concern. It's just a minor injury, nothing to worry about."
Then he continued, "I called you all here today because I heard from my subordinates that the Persian envoys have been acting strangely lately. Sometimes they spend the entire day in various shops just to learn skills. Sometimes they do nothing but watch. They suspect these people have ulterior motives and seem to be peeping at the skills."
After this was said, there was a brief silence in the teahouse. Zhou Xiang said, "Although I'm not entirely sure, a lot of Persians have come to our Lantern Master Hall these past few days. They specifically asked for the most expensive lamps, or lamps with mechanical devices. We even sold four the day before yesterday. But I can't tell what their intentions are."
Zhao Yingcai of Judengtang also continued, "Our apprentices are usually upstairs. There have been more Persian envoys these days than usual, but they are also sitting in the hall, speaking in a language we can't understand. We can't speculate whether it is what the adults said."
Other masters also talked about the recent sales volume of their shops and the behavior of the Persian envoys, but no one said that they were definitely spying.
Zhao Yingcai from Judengtang and Jiang Zhou from Huadengtang talked about the situation of the barbarians who had learned skills secretly in the past. Some of them would come to shops in the middle of the night to steal the machine drawings.
Some would even offer large sums of money to take him in as an apprentice, and some would even resort to honey traps, both men and women, just to obtain the core skills passed down from generation to generation.
Although people of their generation are all craftsmen, each family has its own characteristics. The craftsmanship of each family is not passed on to others. It is passed down from ancestors and is usually only passed on orally or hidden in secret rooms.
It would indeed take a long time for an ordinary peeper to obtain it.
After the two finished speaking, they said, "The chief lantern guild leader has been missing for five years. This year is the day for the Lantern Guild to be held. We would like to ask the adults to appoint someone to take charge of this matter."
The thoughts of these two people were very clear. Although the other masters were dissatisfied after hearing it, they did not dare to show it in front of Zhao Yan.
Zhao Yan didn't say anything, he just kept looking at the silent Yu Huatang.
Although he had recently come to the government office to work, he was still a little hurt. They had just discussed the selection of the chief candidate. He knew there were many twists and turns involved, and he didn't know the details, so he wanted to see her opinion.
Yu Huatang understood what he meant and stood up, saying, "I read a book the other day. During the Dayin period of the previous dynasty, the art of weaving brocade was unrivaled in the world, and there was a Tianji Workshop where the secret techniques were kept."
"At that time, the Western Territory Prince sent his adopted daughter, Ye Mingyuan, to the weaving workshop under an assumed name to become a disciple and secretly steal the weaving techniques. Thanks to her intelligence, she became the last disciple of the chief weaver, Lu Mingshuang. Fortunately, she was discovered by a disciple within the sect, and her scheme to steal the skills was exposed, allowing the secret technique of Yunjin to be preserved."
"Whether the Persian envoys are genuinely interested in learning or have ulterior motives, we should be cautious. Each of our shops can record the questions they ask and the things they want to learn or pay attention to. We'll discuss this later. As for the guild leader, we can postpone it for a while..."
Zhou Xiang then said, "Miss Yu is still so well-read, but just reading books is not enough. When I was young, I happened to experience an incident where foreign envoys stole ancient ink making methods, but they were not like this back then. Generally speaking, we will find out soon, and even if we don't find out for a while, their brains are not capable of learning such things..."
"That's true, but the fact that the Persian envoys were able to create the Thousand Machine Lantern that has troubled everyone proves that their craftsmanship is extraordinary..."
"Miss Yu may not know that in the past, our folk crafts were all registered. If anyone was found to have leaked these to foreign countries, they would not only be expelled from the sect, but also be registered and reported to the court. Now, we are only judging based on past deeds and the whereabouts of the Persian envoys. If there is any mistake, we will become the culprits who caused the rupture between the foreign vassal states."
Zhou Xiang's words were quite disrespectful to the master of the front lamp master hall. He either said this from his own heart or at Ji Guifen's behest. But either way, it was quite excessive...
Dengshitang was once the largest shop here, and thanks to Yu Huatang's presence, many high-ranking officials and dignitaries placed orders there. But now that Yu Huatang has branched out and opened Changming Pavilion, a large portion of the customers have followed Yu Huatang to Changming Pavilion. As you can imagine, Dengshitang's business has plummeted. If it weren't for Zhou Xiang bringing in some customers from Fuzhou, it would have been a disastrous situation...
Master Zhao, Master Jiang, Master Ge and others standing by all knew what was going on, so they just kept silent and listened quietly.
Yu Huatang is not a person who is greedy for credit and aggressive. In the past, when she was in the Dengshi Hall, she was tolerant in every way because she had to consider the care of her senior brother.
But now she is the owner of Changming Pavilion. If they look down on her, they are also looking down on Changming Pavilion.
At this time, she said, "Your Excellency didn't call us here to listen to the polite words of each family to protect their reputation. If this theft is true, then the core technologies of each family must have been discovered by Persia. As for when they come to take it or when they obtain it, it is beyond our control. I only know that since they can create the Thousand Machine Lantern, it is only a matter of time before they obtain the water shadow technology of the Heavenly Crafts Lantern. Since Your Excellency has come to inquire about it personally, it must be related to a century-old skill."
Her voice was soft, not as strong and powerful as men's, but her pronunciation was clear, sonorous and convincing.
Zhao Yan looked at her, his mind clear.
At this time, he could speak up for her, but he must never open his mouth.
She had put so much effort into being on equal footing with them, using her strength as a woman to accomplish what they could not. This was her honor, not because of the divorced relationship between them.
Once he opened his mouth, the situation changed. People would simply ignore her efforts and contributions and think that everything that happened before was because she was Lord Zhao's ex-wife.
At this time, Yu Huatang looked at Zhao Yan and said, "My Lord Governor, I don't know the specific situation of other families. But there are indeed many Persians near Changming Pavilion. To avoid being discovered, they secretly bribed people and deliberately entered the apprentices or the restricted areas on the second floor. If they were truly interested in learning, I think they would not be so sneaky."
"As everyone knows, as a condition of friendly relations, the government would usually send artists to teach visiting foreign vassals, and they would also study at designated post houses. I've never heard of anyone trying to spy on their core skills, or even sending people to spy on them."
Zhao Yan looked at the others and said, "I've gathered you all today to determine if Persia has any ulterior motives. Don't panic, everyone. The government will be responsible for making all the decisions. You are merely providing clues and providing the truth. Please tell me the truth so I can make a judgment."
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