Chapter 270 This… he means it should be…
I found an abandoned old warehouse in the palace and turned it into my workshop. I gathered skilled craftsmen and discussed with them how to reduce the cost of papermaking, conducting several experiments. Ultimately, we eliminated the high-cost processes of both the mainland and modern methods, retaining only the techniques that could be performed at the lowest cost, thus combining the strengths of both and achieving the best results.
This achievement will greatly reduce papermaking costs and may open the door to widespread public education in the future.
Next came printing. Printing techniques already existed on this continent, but they were very expensive. I had only seen Bi Sheng's movable type printing in books; modern printing plants already used large machines. But I tried hard to recall the contents of the books, experimented repeatedly with the craftsmen, and finally succeeded.
Perhaps Bi Sheng's principle was not very complicated to begin with, or perhaps the craftsmen were very capable; in any case, they succeeded.
More than half a month had passed. Mamboa had arrived, and so had my children, but the Elf King had not.
At the grand reception banquet, Anria, dressed in her finest attire, said to me, "My father is unwell and unable to attend." She then introduced me to Aya and Elijah.
Anleya was quite grown up now, with a mature face and mature eyes, almost unrecognizable from her childhood self. Her demeanor and body language were incredibly sophisticated. She was adept at socializing and at concealing her true thoughts. Of course, she was beautiful; she resembled the Elf King in every way, from her features to her hair color to her expression. However, she lacked the ethereal quality common to elven royalty; her aura seemed overly worldly, even vulgar. Yet, compared to truly worldly people, she still possessed a transcendent air.
Aya also resembles the Elf King, with delicate features, golden eyes, and golden hair. Her temperament is closer to that of the Elf royal family—ethereal and elegant. However, she also possesses a touch of pitifulness, coupled with her innocent eyes, making her appear like a royal princess raised in seclusion.
It's hard to believe that she and Aurora are twin sisters. The older sister is deep and reserved, burdened with bitterness and resentment, while the younger sister is innocent, carefree, and delicate. The two are only half an hour apart in age.
Elijah was very tall and thin, with the typical appearance and demeanor of an elven royalty. His features were delicate, and his aura ethereal; from afar, he resembled an elven king.
Compared to Anrea and Aya's enthusiastic greetings, Elijah was rather indifferent, only offering me a faint smile and nod, maintaining the basic politeness one would show to one's mother.
"Mother, I heard you're running some kind of newspaper?" An Leya asked curiously at the banquet table.
"Yes."
"What's a newspaper?" Aya asked curiously.
"An intelligence report that disseminates the latest news."
"Since it's intelligence, can it be spread around freely?" Aya asked again.
“I have some intelligence,” I replied.
Just then, Mamboya arrived, and the banquet table suddenly fell silent. He had gone to see Asmin first, which was why he was a little late. Mamboya wore a silver-gray brocade robe and had an extraordinary air about him. Even with his graying temples and a short, white beard, he still possessed a handsome air. His long, silvery-white hair made him even more beautiful; I have to admit, it even gave him a touch of elven charm.
Asmin, dressed in a snow-white, pearl-embroidered fishtail gown, followed respectfully behind him.
I stood up to greet them with a smile, "Welcome!" Aurora, Anrea, and the others also stood up.
I first took Asmin's hand and said, "Come, sit here."
Asmin stood still, glancing at Manberia almost imperceptibly. Manberia nodded almost indistinctly before Asmin followed me to my seat.
“You shouldn’t have taken your daughter and rushed out of the North.” As soon as Manberia sat down, his words were accusatory.
I smiled slightly, "Are you just waiting to get beaten up if you don't leave?"
“You should tell me the truth first, and I will handle it according to the law,” Mamboya said.
“If you could handle this matter fairly, how did your daughter end up in a slave camp?” I said.
There was a tense atmosphere between the two.
Aurora quickly smoothed things over, smiling as she picked up a bottle of shimmering purple wine. "This is wine made from the finest grapes of the Western Territory. A hundred pounds of grapes are carefully selected, and only one bottle is made from them. Your Excellency has come from afar, why not try some first?"
Manberia readily raised his glass, "Have a drink."
Aurora poured me another glass after filling one.
The atmosphere eased somewhat. Anrea started talking about the local customs and culture she had encountered along the way, and Aurora smoothly picked up the conversation, comparing these customs and culture with the scenery of the western border, and the topic quickly became more open.
Half an hour later, the dinner party ended. I invited the children to join me for tea. We sat by the fireplace in the living room, and I solemnly apologized to them, feeling a deep sense of guilt for not being by their side all these years.
Only Anria and Aurora accepted my apology, at least superficially. They said, "It's okay." "It's been so long."
The other children remained silent.
Aya and Elijah remained silent, while Asmin gazed out the window at the falling snow.
"You won't forgive me?" I asked slowly.
An Leya smiled and said, "Mother, please don't be offended. They haven't seen you for so long, and they don't know what to say."
Aurora smiled and said, "Maybe they'll be fine in a couple of days."
“How long will you stay here? Is it possible that you’ll stay?” I asked.
Anleya replied, "Three days. Mother, we are not suited to this place. Children who grow up in the Elven Realm will not adapt to this place. Father rarely leaves the Realm now."
“I sincerely hope you will stay,” I said.
Anrea smiled and shook her head. "The air here is too polluted, the water isn't clean enough, and the food is terrible." She looked at Aurora. "I don't know how you've managed to adapt."
“I just want to live so I can adapt,” Aurora said demurely.
It means that staying in the secret realm would only lead to her death.
“It’s not that bad,” Anrea laughed. “If you promise your father that you will serve in the temple for the rest of your life and that your children will stay with you, your father will spare your son from imprisonment.”
Aurora simply smiled without saying a word.
"What do you like?" I asked Aya and Elijah.
But they still didn't speak. An Leya laughed, "These two guys were very quiet in the secret realm, and this is their first time going out, so naturally they won't talk."
"Are they all married?" I asked.
“Aya married the purchasing minister’s second son,” Anrea said. “Elijah is engaged to the treasurer’s youngest daughter.”
"Then next time you can bring your husband, wife, and children along," I said with a smile.
This time, it was Anleya's turn to smile without saying a word, while Aya and Elijah remained silent. Asumi also didn't speak from beginning to end.
It was late at night, and the tea party had ended. I had just stepped into the corridor when I saw Manberia. He seemed to have been waiting for me for a long time; a thin layer of snowflakes had covered his magnificent brocade robe.
"Aren't you cold standing here? How long have you been standing here?" I asked.
"It's been so many years since we last met, have you missed me?" he asked, seemingly unrelated to the question.
"How would you like me to answer?" I countered.
He scoffed coldly, "If you're thinking about me, you'll only think about Bernard or the kids, not me."
He walked up to me, getting very close. "I don't understand. Back in the Land of Death, I was the one who saved you. Why did you fall in love with Bernard? He's handsome, but I'm not bad either. What did you see in him?"
"Did I say I was in love with him?" I asked.
He sneered again, "You don't need to deny it, everyone knows. Even if the Elf King had four children with you, you still love him. But at least you and the Elf King have four children, entanglements that are hard to come by, while you and I only have one."
Does he mean we should have more children?
I sat down—on the steps not covered by snow—and gestured for him to sit down as well. He seemed unaccustomed to sitting on the ground and hesitated for a moment before sitting down.
As the light snowflakes drifted down, I told him the story of how I and Bernard swapped bodies, and the bits and pieces we experienced in the wilderness. Bernard and I were not just in a relationship of rescuer and rescued, but also faced life-or-death moments together. I saved him, but he saved me many times, and even took an arrow for me.
“So that’s how it is,” he said. “I had my suspicions from the beginning, and I thought you guys were weird, but I couldn’t be sure.”
He looked at me and said, "When they took away the underground farmland, they should have taken you with them."
I laughed. "Yeah, they should have taken me with them back then."
He suddenly stood up. "I'm tired. I'm going back to sleep."
I was surprised; I couldn't understand his reaction.
He said, "Asumi will be coming back to the North with me this time."
"She agreed?" I asked in surprise.
“Of course I agree. The North is her home, and I will find her another husband there.”
"Is she willing?"
Why is she unwilling?
Before dawn the next day, I went to Asumi's room. Asumi was still asleep. When she heard the noise, she opened her eyes, saw me, and was startled.
"Mother, what are you doing here?" She quickly sat up and put on the robe by the bedside.
"Your father said you would go back to the North with him and that he agreed to let you find another husband?"
Why do you disagree?
"You've just escaped one prison of marriage, and now you're about to enter another?"
“Mother,” she laughed sarcastically, “do you think everyone is like you, able to keep several men on their side at the same time, without getting married, since all these men can give you benefits anyway.”
My expression froze.
"But I can't. I don't want to be involved with several men at the same time, ruining my reputation and ending up unable to get married, like you." She suddenly spoke righteously, "Look at yourself! Do you look like a good woman? No wonder so many nobles look down on you, and you even caused me to be verbally and physically abused by my ex-husband. My ex-husband often cursed me, saying I was just like your runaway mother, born with a lowly fate. He wouldn't be my chief mistress, nor would he be a princess, but instead chose to be a woman without status or title, not even a proper mistress." After saying that, he beat me mercilessly, feeling that I had embarrassed him. I cried and begged for mercy, but he wouldn't stop, beating me until I couldn't get up. Mother, it's all because of you that I've suffered so much. If you had a better reputation or stayed obediently by Father's side, would I be living such a miserable life?
"It's all because of you. I've been ridiculed and mocked since I was a child, people said I had a shameless mother, and that my mother had slept with many powerful men and her reputation was ruined. When I was little, I desperately argued that no, my mother wasn't like that. But after investigating from various sources, I found that what they said was actually true. You really were with many men, without any status or recognition, not even a legitimate mistress. The Elf King finally signed the marriage certificate with you, but you ran away again, and have been gone for many years, leaving behind so many children. Mother, you are such a shameless person who doesn't care about your children. I hate you, Mother, I've hated you for a long time. I can't help but hate you, even though you rescued me this time and helped me get a divorce, I still hate you."
I was stunned and couldn't say a word back after being scolded.
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