Chapter 70 The Queen's Nightmare
Black Mountain Ink is gradually becoming famous in Xunzhou.
Even Governor Gu and County Magistrate Song heard about the ink-making in Liangmin Village.
Hao Ren selected two sceptres of black mountain ink painted with gold and gave them to them.
He said he was asking for their advice, but in fact he was just trying to gain their favorability.
With the protection and support of the government, the ink-making industry in Liangmin Village will be more prosperous.
Governor Gu and County Magistrate Song were first shocked by the quality of the Black Mountain Ink, and then they were even more moved when they heard that Liangmin Village limited the price of Guangxian Ink to two hundred coins.
County Magistrate Song's favorability towards Good Citizen Village has once again exceeded the upper limit:
"Great, great! This is what it means to be a righteous businessman and benefit the people."
If Black Mountain ink costs 200 wen, then the price of inferior ink on the market will fall, even lower than before, so low that poor students can afford it.
"Who says Lingnan is a barbarian land? It's clearly full of righteous men."
County Magistrate Song decided that the best village in Baiyun County this year must be a good citizen village.
The elderly Governor Gu's eyes were filled with tears:
"Gao Yi from Liangmin Village! This Black Mountain Ink is produced in Xunzhou, which is a blessing for the people of Xunzhou."
Governor Gu recalled his days as a poor student many years ago. If he had encountered this incident, he would not have to live frugally to buy pens and ink.
Governor Gu decided to strongly support the ink-making industry in Liangmin Village, so that Heishan Ink could go beyond Xunzhou, beyond Lingnan, and into the world.
After much thought, he came up with a way to let everyone in the world know about Black Mountain Ink -
Pay tribute to the court.
After Governor Gu came up with this idea, he excitedly visited Black Bandit Mountain again in person and solemnly told Hao Ren about the matter.
He stated that the government was willing to invest in purchasing a batch of high-quality Black Mountain ink, the better the better, and price was not an issue.
Hao Ren immediately showed excitement on his face:
"Thank you very much for your recommendation, Governor. We will definitely live up to your expectations."
Governor Gu had a meal in the village, which was still meatless wild vegetable dumplings. After the meal, Hao Ren escorted Governor Gu down the mountain.
Along the way, Hao Ren repeatedly expressed his gratitude to Governor Gu, saying that the mountain people never thought that there would be a day when they would have to make tribute.
But when Gu Cishi got on the carriage and left, the joy and excitement on Hao Ren's face disappeared in an instant.
Hao Ren returned to the small workshop and told Song Yu about this.
"Village Chief Hao, are you really paying tribute?"
Song Yu always called him "Village Chief Hao" in front of and behind others, for fear that he would let something slip one day.
Hao Ren pondered: "Yes, and we must select the best batch."
Song Yu's heart skipped a beat: "Are we going to poison Mo Li?"
"Won't."
Murong Yu was very suspicious, and the poisoned thing would probably be discovered before it was delivered to the emperor.
Hao Ren paused and added:
"At least not right now."
Hao Ren and Song Yu knew the morals of the wealthy and idle people in Chang'an, and most of them followed the trend in the palace.
Anything used by the emperor in the palace will be sought after, regardless of whether it is suitable or not.
If this can be utilized, the fame of Black Mountain Ink will spread throughout Dayu.
Boom boom boom——
A knock on the door interrupted their conversation.
Song Yu opened the door and saw Lu Chunniang standing outside.
"Village Chief Hao, Xiao Song."
Lu Chunniang had a happy look on her face:
"I know the village has been busy making ink lately, but I still wanted to show it to you."
Lu Chunniang was carrying a small basket in her hand, and in the basket was a neatly folded piece of clothing.
"I've been thinking about spinning cotton and making it into cloth recently." Lu Chunniang handed the clothes to Hao Ren.
She had this idea since she came here last year. Recalling what she had read in the palace books before, she pondered and experimented for several months and finally succeeded.
Hao Ren and Song Yu touched the cotton clothes.
It is not filled with cotton, but woven into cloth. It is softer than linen and more breathable than silk.
Song Yu's eyes sparkled.
This is a business opportunity, an absolute business opportunity.
Dayu does not mean that everyone needs to use ink, but everyone needs to wear clothes.
Silk is expensive and has low yields, while cotton can be grown on a large scale.
Hao Ren nodded repeatedly: "Lu Chunniang, you did a great job. I just wonder if the process is complicated?"
Lu Chunniang touched the calluses on her hands, which had thickened again:
"The process isn't simple, but I've memorized it. If we need to mass-produce it, we can assign different people to do it, which will be much faster. We still have a lot of cotton in the warehouse, but—"
Lu Chunniang hesitated for a moment.
The three people in the room all understood what problem they had encountered.
They are short-staffed.
Although there are many people and great strength in the village, there are also more and more things to do.
Farming, hunting, raising livestock, making ink, spinning cotton, running restaurants... everything requires manpower.
They need lots and lots of people.
Hao Ren stroked his cotton coat with his fingertips and thought:
"It's time to recruit some people."
…
Chang'an.
A procession of carriages and horses passed by the suburbs of Beijing.
The horses were tall and strong, and the young guards, holding long spears, guarded in front and behind.
The carriage was covered with gorgeous satin, which shone brightly in the sunlight.
Two months ago, the Queen and the Crown Prince went to Ciguang Temple outside Beijing to pray for the Emperor and the Queen Mother, and they returned in the summer.
Inside the carriage, Queen Du Ru was leaning against a table, resting with her eyes closed, and she looked quite well.
"Your Majesty, does your head hurt today?" Nanny Dong served her a cup of tea.
The Queen shook her head: "It doesn't hurt anymore."
She lived in Ciguang Temple for so long, ostensibly to pray for the royal family, but actually because she herself felt uneasy.
A few days before leaving the palace, there was a fire in Myeonghye Palace and Xiao Quanzi was burned beyond recognition inside.
Maybe it was an accident, or maybe Xiao Quanzi was exposed.
When the queen learned about this, she thought it was nothing.
Over the years, she has asked Nanny Dong to send more than one or two subordinates to various palaces, and loss of manpower has happened before.
Anyway, Nanny You has the leverage over these people, so there is no need to worry that they will reveal the Yifeng Palace.
The boy named Xiao Quanzi knows some kung fu, and his only concern is his lame grandmother in his hometown.
Nanny Dong told Xiao Quanzi that as long as he obeyed her orders, his grandmother in his hometown would live a long and worry-free life.
But Xiao Quanzi probably didn't know until his death that his grandmother had passed away two years ago.
Aunt Dong said:
"Don't worry, Your Majesty. After a while, when the storm has calmed down, we can send someone else in."
But this time, something is different.
On the night when Xiao Quanzi was burned to death, the queen fell into a very deep dream.
In the dream, Xiao Quanzi, covered in flames, stood in front of the queen's bed.
His whole body was covered in bright burning flames, and pieces of flesh were falling off his body.
The burning flesh fell on the queen's quilt, burning holes in it.
Xiao Quanzi spoke amidst the blazing flames: "We'll be waiting for you down there."
The queen was so frightened that she felt so heavy that she couldn't move.
She didn't know who the "we" Xiao Quanzi was talking about, and she couldn't speak.
Then, many figures suddenly appeared behind Xiao Quanzi, and each of them was covered in fire.
Some of them looked familiar, as if they were palace servants who had been sent to other palaces before and were later caught and beaten to death.
The fire on everyone's body burned more and more fiercely, until finally all the skin and flesh were burned away and their figures became very small.
It turned into many cats.
The cats had green pupils and pounced on her with their sharp claws, tearing her pajamas and scratching her skin.
It was clearly a dream, but it hurt so much, even the smell of blood was so real...
"ah--"
The queen woke up from her dream, covered in cold sweat.
What’s even more terrifying is that such strange dreams appeared for two consecutive nights.
The queen felt anxious and had a headache, and could not sleep at night, so she went to Ciguang Temple to rest for a while and consult Master Mingdeng of Ciguang Temple.
Master Mingdeng said, "There may be resentment in the palace, so it's best to stay away from it."
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