Countless people were overjoyed, and people's understanding of these frivolous skills changed, further elevating the status of craftsmen.
Jiang Shuwan entered the palace with two items in her hands: a movable type printing press and a phonetic alphabet.
There is another thing called a dictionary.
The dictionary was made by Jiang Shuwan with the help of thousands of students. In order to finish it before the Chinese New Year, she devoted almost all her energy to it.
If the old emperor agreed to let everyone learn pinyin and publish a dictionary, then the monopoly of knowledge held by various aristocratic families would collapse instantly.
Reading costs less than half the money it used to, and with just a dictionary you can read, the whole world will undergo earth-shattering changes.
Anyone with eyes can tell how terrifying this thing is.
It is even more terrifying than swords and knives.
Under Jiang Shuwan's tutelage, the old emperor spent a week learning pinyin, then looked it up in a dictionary, and what followed was trembling and shaking.
"No wonder the heads of all the academies in the capital are desperately sending their best students to Jiang Shuwan's side. Just the fact that their academies' names appear in the dictionary is enough to make them famous for all time."
Hearing the old emperor's deeply moved words, Eunuch Su chuckled and said, "How can they compare to His Majesty? His Majesty is the editor-in-chief, and your name is even above the princess's."
As he spoke, Eunuch Su pointed to the bottom of the dictionary.
There are three lines of text at the bottom of the dictionary. One line reads "Ordinary compilations," which are all from groups, with the most famous Bailu Academy in the capital being the leader. The names of more than a dozen academies are too long, so the characters are all small.
Next came the deputy editors, all of whom were literary giants—five in total, all literary giants of the Great Jing Dynasty. These were all invited by Jiang Shuwan. She was a woman, and originally these great figures would have been too lazy to pay attention to her. But as soon as they heard about the dictionary, they didn't care about being a woman and just desperately joined this process that could rewrite history.
There's one more line.
It was also the first line, with the largest font and the most vibrant red lettering, displaying the editor-in-chief's name. There were two names: Jiang Shuwan and the Old Emperor, with the Old Emperor's name appearing above Jiang Shuwan's.
The old emperor could not hide his excitement as he stroked his name with his fingers.
"They've already written my name on it, so it wouldn't be right for me to stop her from printing it."
"Who says otherwise? The princess is just like His Majesty's own daughter, always thinking of His Majesty when there's something good."
"Nonsense, the new daughter might not be as capable as her."
"Hehe, Your Majesty is right..."
"Her title has already reached the rank of princess, and there is no higher that she can be granted. However, the new department is only a third-rank government office, which is a bit of a waste for her. This dictionary is not something that ordinary people can match. Let's promote the new department to a first-rank department and appoint her as the Minister of the New Department."
"Your Majesty, from what I hear from the princess, it seems she doesn't want a promotion, but only wants to avenge her husband's wife."
"...Foolish! Trying to bargain with me!" The old emperor snorted coldly, and as he did so, his old ailment flared up and he coughed uncontrollably.
Since the beginning of winter, the old emperor's condition has worsened, and he is now only kept alive with strong medication.
Seeing that the old emperor was coughing so hard his lungs were about to come out, Eunuch Su quickly brought him some ginseng tea. As he got closer, he noticed that the old emperor showed no displeasure whatsoever.
On the contrary, the old emperor was even happier.
"Since she insists on this, I will grant her wish."
With a pale, aged face, the old emperor sipped his ginseng tea and waved for Eunuch Su to deliver the imperial decree.
Eunuch Su hurriedly bowed and walked forward. Just as he reached the door, he heard a soft snort from inside, "Even a genius is still a woman in the end..."
The "ah" was quite subtle; when he saw Jiang Shuwan, Eunuch Su quickly said it with a mixture of flattery and admiration.
"The princess is indeed very thoughtful. Now that the princess holds a new command and is close to General Sun, if she does not reveal her true feelings to His Majesty, I'm afraid her former favor will turn into a blade."
"I did these things not to reassure His Majesty."
"And you are...?"
"..."
Jiang Shuwan didn't say anything, but went to the Prince You's residence.
In the woodshed, Guo Yaqin had already drunk the poisoned wine bestowed by the emperor. When she saw Jiang Shuwan, she was not surprised. She propped herself up and sat up against the woodpile.
Snow was falling in the twelfth lunar month. The snow was so heavy outside, and the woodshed was as cold as an ice cellar. She was only wearing a thin blue shirt, but she was not cold at all because the poisoned wine was making her internal organs feel hot.
Do you regret it?
Standing in front of her, Jiang Shuwan looked down at her.
She had investigated the assassination attempts against her and Jiang Yao and found out that the Crown Prince and Crown Princess were not involved; it was all Guo Yaqin's doing.
"Regret? Why should I regret it?"
"My current situation is simply due to my inferior skills."
"Moreover, it's not that I lost to you, it's that the Crown Prince lost to His Majesty, which is why I've ended up in this predicament."
Guo Yaqin lay on the pile of firewood, hearing screams and shrill cries outside. Those cries were the sounds of servants from the Prince You's mansion. Today, she was given poisoned wine, her father was stripped of his official position, and the eldest prince, Li Chengyou, was also stripped of his princely title.
He will be imprisoned in this palace for the rest of his life.
"It's because the eldest prince is incompetent. He and the crown prince are both equally useless. His Majesty just thought that since the two were no different, he chose the crown prince. Establishing a legitimate heir saves a lot of fighting, especially with the Ye family, the Grand General of Pingxi. Ye Jingyu is dead. No matter how shrewd and capable the crown princess is, she can only be the crown prince's good helper."
“In the past, the powerful families held too much power, and His Majesty was not at ease with the Crown Prince. Now, there are few capable people left in the powerful families, so the Crown Prince naturally seems better. Just wait and see, the Crown Prince will soon be released from confinement and become the true Crown Prince of Dajing.”
"Jiang Shuwan, do you really think I lost to you?"
"Hmph, you ignorant country bumpkin! Even if you become a princess, you'll still be ignorant and narrow-minded, a good-for-nothing!"
Sitting on the cold ground, Guo Yaqin looked at Jiang Shuwan with a mocking expression.
Hearing her words, Jiang Shuwan smiled, "You should know that I recently published a dictionary. If your Guo family's paper mill hadn't fallen into ruin, and if I had written the First Prince's name as the editor-in-chief, do you think the First Prince or the Crown Prince would be laughing today?"
"You! I've known all along that you're a major threat to the Guo family, but that fool, the First Prince, is obsessed with your money-making brain. Stupid! Absolutely stupid! If he had agreed to join me in assassinating you, you would be dead by now... But thankfully, I'm not at a loss either, because I have Jiang Yao down there with me. It's strange, really, you and Jiang Yao don't get along, yet you're willing to avenge her. What a touching sisterly bond!"
Hearing Guo Yaqin's sarcastic words, Jiang Shuwan did not get angry. She lowered her head and gripped the hand warmer in her hand tightly.
"It wasn't just Jiang Yao who died, but also my guards."
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