The emperor had just returned to the palace from the Qin family. He had not been able to rest well from last night to today. He had not planned to go to the harem. Who would have thought that the queen would send someone to invite him just after he changed his mind.
The emperor had no choice but to go over. When he saw the food on the table, he sighed, "I've already had dinner."
"Oh? That's a pity." The Queen smiled and poured the Emperor a cup of tea. She then winked at the Sixth Prince, "This is a calming tea. Would Your Majesty like to have some?"
The Sixth Prince offered the Emperor a piece of fruit and asked with a smile, "Where did your father go today? He took my second brother with him and didn't even take his son to play. Your father is partial."
The queen glared at him when she heard this. She asked him to ask this question but didn't ask it so directly!
Be more roundabout and show some understanding! I don't want him to be jealous!
The Sixth Prince ignored the Queen's gaze and ordered someone to bring in the flowers he had planted. "Father, I had someone build a glass flower house in the palace. These are the newly cultivated orchids. Take a look."
The emperor had the orchid brought closer and admired it carefully: "Very good."
The Queen was furious. What a great opportunity! She could seize the opportunity to get the job. She had heard that the divorced daughter of the Qin family had won the title of county lord because of a magnifying glass.
His Majesty also asked for two of her craftsmen. The Queen wanted the Sixth Prince to go to the Ministry of Works and follow these craftsmen to make magnifying glasses. It would be safe and he would get credit for his work. How great!
"His Majesty……"
"Your Majesty, the Fourth Prince, the Marquis of Pingyang and his wife request an audience."
The report from outside interrupted the queen's words.
The queen closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
The emperor was a little unhappy: "Why are you asking for an audience now?"
The young eunuch said, "Marquis Pingyang said that he and his wife presented a treasure."
"Okay, let's go and take a look." The emperor finally stood up. This was the emperor's difficulty. When his ministers asked for an audience, he sometimes had to see them too. But who summoned whom? If you look into it carefully, it would be a difficult problem.
Upon hearing this, the Queen quickly gave the Sixth Prince a push and said, "Go with your father."
"Son, please see your father off!"
The Sixth Prince did not shirk his responsibility this time and followed the Emperor happily.
Before reaching the imperial study, the Sixth Prince slipped away: "Father, I'm tired. I'm going back to rest first."
The emperor grabbed him and said, "Why don't you accompany me to take a look? Aren't you afraid your mother will be angry?"
The Sixth Prince chuckled and said, "Father, don't you think that when Mother is angry, she is very energetic?"
"You stinky boy!" The emperor laughed heartily, letting him go, and then sent for the prince to come over. How could the prince rest well if he himself couldn't? This kid had been lazy for so many years, couldn't he learn from his other brothers and let his father rest?
In the imperial study.
The emperor took the prince into the imperial study.
The prince went in and stood aside like an invisible man.
The emperor sat down, waving his hand to excuse them from the formalities, and then looked at the Fourth Prince: "Is there anything you need, Fourth Prince?"
His Royal Highness the Fourth Prince smiled and said, "My son is here because of Marquis Lu's matter. I want to seek justice for him."
"Oh?" The emperor became interested. "Didn't you say you were offering treasures? Why are you asking for justice again?"
Lu Yan held up a square box and said, "The treasure I wish to present is a magnifying glass! The justice I seek is also a magnifying glass!"
The emperor frowned, his expression darkening as he asked, "Are you kidding, Mr. Lu? Marquis Qin just presented me with a magnifying glass today, and now you're bringing this over here, asking for justice. Is there something wrong with the magnifying glass?"
Lu Yan said in a deep voice, "Your Majesty! This is exactly what I'm talking about! The magnifying glass was originally made by my wife, and it was Qin who stole it. This is the work of a villain!"
Bai Wanyi stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, this is what I made. Qin Wan must have stolen my recipe! It's actually not difficult to make. Once you see it, you'll know how to make it. But does she know the underlying principles? Can she explain it in detail?"
The emperor lowered his eyes and looked at Bai Wanyi, his dignity evident without anger: "Calling people by their first names, is this the upbringing of the Pingyang Marquisate?"
"Your Majesty, please forgive me!" Lu Yan knelt down quickly and pulled Bai Wanyi.
Bai Wanyi knelt down reluctantly: "Your Majesty, please forgive me."
The emperor looked at Eunuch Zhang and said, "I can pretend that what happened today never happened, but Marquis Lu, your wife really needs to be disciplined. Go back."
Lu Yan was unwilling to leave. He looked up at the emperor and said, "Your Majesty! I have brought some craftsmen with me and they are waiting outside the palace. Your Majesty can ask them to confirm whether this magnifying glass was indeed made by my wife. You can also ask the Qin family's people to come and confront them and find out when this magnifying glass was made!"
The emperor knew that Lu Yan would not give up until he reached the Yellow River, so he ordered someone to summon them in.
The emperor asked Bai Wanyi's people to speak first: "Come, tell me how you made this magnifying glass?"
Several craftsmen looked at each other, deliberated for a moment, and then one of them said, "Your Majesty, it was Madam Bai who drew the blueprints and asked us to do it."
The emperor asked, "Oh? What drawings?"
Bai Wanyi presented the drawings and began to talk about the various principles of magnifying glasses, and then extended it to various imaging principles.
The drawing was very simple, just a prototype with markings on where it was thin and where it was thick. This was easy to understand, but Bai Wanyi's words were like a heavenly book. The emperor couldn't understand them, but he didn't notice that Xie Qing was listening attentively.
The emperor raised his hand to stop Bai Wanyi and looked at the craftsmen: "Do you know that this thing can make things bigger?"
Several people shook their heads: "I don't know, I just followed the blueprint."
The emperor then asked the two newly appointed officials from the Ministry of Works—the original glass craftsmen: "How did you come up with the idea of making a magnifying glass?"
They had said this once today, and they said it again: "I don't know what Madam Bai is talking about, or what the principle of baldness is, but when we were making it, we knew that this glass could be made to magnify things."
"In the past, when those things were placed aside, there was a phenomenon of magnifying them, but we didn't think much about it. It was Miss Qin who suggested that we try to enlarge the font to make it easier to read..."
They explained everything clearly, from how they discovered it, to how to use a magnifying glass to achieve such an effect, and how to make it and polish it. Except for the things that are not known to outsiders, they told everything that a glass craftsman knows.
The emperor pointed in both directions and said to Bai Wanyi and Lu Yan, "How can I believe you? Maybe you made the magnifying glass first, but Princess Qin definitely didn't copy your work. She discovered it together with the craftsman."
"Why? You can do this with a magnifying glass, but others can't?"
"But she doesn't understand the principle!" Bai Wanyi was also a little confused after hearing this. Was it really Qin Wan's accidental discovery?
The Fourth Prince also said, "Your Majesty, please allow me to explain that one must understand the principles behind making something before they can be made. Your Majesty, please ask the County Lady Qin to come to the palace and ask her if she understands the principles behind it."
The prince lazily raised his eyelids and said, "Oh? Fourth brother, is that true? Then, to be a human being, one also needs to understand the principles of being a human being before one can be a human being?"
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