After explaining the matter, Zhu Youjian deliberately feigned excitement and waved for Wei Zhongxian to leave.
Wei Zhongxian smiled knowingly.
"Since Your Majesty is so eager to have children for the country, then this old servant will not disturb you any longer."
He seized the opportunity and immediately tried to get close to Zhu Youjian.
They immediately upgraded the original "lackey" to "old slave".
Zhu Youjian didn't pay much attention, but Wang Chengen kept it in mind.
"Wei Zhongxian is indeed quite capable. Although His Majesty has been on guard against Wei Zhongxian after being reminded by Master Gao."
"But who can say for sure about this?"
"No, I have to find a chance to call my godfather back."
"Let him deal with Wei Zhongxian."
Not long after, Wang Chengen took advantage of Zhu Youjian's handling of state affairs and found an excuse to leave.
First, he sent someone to Nanjing to find his godfather.
Then he remembered the pencil that Gao Qingyun had mentioned to him earlier.
"This thing is quite interesting. I'll go find someone to make it."
Wang Chengen did not hesitate. As Zhu Youjian's confidant, it was extremely easy for him to find a few craftsmen.
The craftsmen of the Ministry of Works, upon hearing that the powerful eunuch Wang Chengen had arrived again...
Their eyes lit up, and they immediately surrounded them.
"Eunuch Wang, you've come to see us, surely you're willing to pass on your papermaking skills to us?"
It turns out they were still thinking about Gao Qingyun's letter of appointment.
When Wang Chengen saw them like this, his face immediately darkened.
How dare you speak like that?
"presumptuous!"
Don't be fooled by his humble and subservient demeanor in front of the emperor and Gao Qingyun.
But in front of these craftsmen, he was a figure who held the power of life and death.
The craftsmen immediately came to their senses, trembling all over, and knelt down to kowtow.
"Eunuch Wang, we are guilty, we are guilty."
Wang Chengen nodded in satisfaction.
"Considering this is your first offense, I'll let you off this time."
"By the way, I've come to you this time because I need you to do something for me."
Then, he briefly repeated the method for making the pencil that Gao Qingyun had just told him.
Then he asked, "So, are you confident you can make it?"
The craftsmen exchanged glances, then cautiously said:
“Eunuch Wang, making this so-called pencil is indeed not difficult.”
"But... can this thing really write?"
Since he was a craftsman, he naturally had a lot of contact with things like charcoal on a daily basis.
In their view, reading and writing were things that only scholars and gentlemen were worthy of engaging in.
The Four Treasures of the Study—brush, ink, paper, and inkstone—possess a certain special divine quality.
"Why make pencils from charcoal? Won't that anger the God of Literature?"
"Yes, although my family is made up of artisans, my child plans to take the imperial examination in the future."
"What if we offend the God of Literature and fail to pass the imperial examination?"
Although, according to the Great Ming Code, children of artisans were not actually allowed to take the imperial examinations.
However, by the late Ming Dynasty, this rule was no longer strictly enforced.
Wang Chengen frowned and said angrily, "What, you think this thing can't be made?"
"Do you still think I'm just making fun of you, so you don't want to build it at all?"
With this heavy responsibility imposed, no matter what the craftsmen thought, they certainly couldn't object anymore.
They knelt on the ground once again.
"We dare not! We'll go make those pencils right now."
"Hmph, that's right!" Wang Chengen nodded in satisfaction, then sat down to wait.
Making pencils wasn't difficult; soon the craftsmen were putting the shaved charcoal into small wooden buckets.
Although they had never seen a pencil before, they subconsciously imitated the style of a calligraphy brush.
So by sheer chance, the thing they made turned out to be eight or nine parts similar to pencils from later generations.
"Eunuch Wang, we've finished building it."
"Hmm, so fast?" Now it was Wang Chengen's turn to be surprised.
"You've finished making it in just half an incense stick's time?"
The craftsmen nodded quickly.
"Eunuch Wang, this is actually something we're not very familiar with."
"Otherwise, let alone half an incense stick, we could make a pencil in the time it takes to brew a cup of tea."
Upon hearing this, Wang Chengen nodded.
But I've lost some of my anticipation for this pencil.
"Something that can be made so easily probably won't be very useful."
"It's probably just a toy."
He reached for a pencil, then asked for some Xuan paper, and wrote something on it casually.
The next moment, his expression changed: "Hmm?"
Soon, he addressed the craftsmen around him:
"You are not to spread what happened today, or you will all be sentenced to death!"
He then hurried back to the palace, eager to meet Zhu Youjian.
Zhu Youjian was clearly displeased when he saw Wang Chengen rush in.
"Wang Chengen, what kind of behavior is this, rushing around like this?"
"Could something terrible have happened?!"
Wang Chengen quickly apologized and then raised his pencil high with both hands.
"Your Majesty, although there is nothing of great importance, I have something to offer you."
Zhu Youjian frowned and asked, "What is this?"
Wang Chengen dared not conceal anything and explained the whole story.
Then he got up and started writing and drawing on the paper with a pencil.
Zhu Youjian's eyes lit up instantly after reading it.
"This so-called pencil can really be made from just charcoal and a wooden barrel."
"And it only took half an incense stick's time?"
Wang Chengen nodded excitedly: "That's right!"
Zhu Youjian slammed his fist on the table.
"Good! I knew Master Gao was no ordinary person."
"A single word he utters is worth a fortune."
"Come on, let's go see Master Gao!"
However, at the same time, Gao Qingyun was praised by Zhu Youjian.
But his face was full of helplessness.
"Are you girls trying to fool me?"
"You're trying to fool me with fake names, aren't you?"
"But I must say, you guys are much more well-informed than the adults in your village."
"They actually know these people."
It turned out that Wang Chengen had sent someone to bring the young girl that Wei Zhongxian had sent into the palace to Gao Qingyun.
Gao Qingyun was quite excited at first.
"Old Wang may be a bit old-fashioned, but he's quite receptive to advice."
“I just advised him not to favor boys over girls, and he sent female students here.”
Then he asked in a gentle tone, "Good children, don't be afraid, Uncle is not a bad person... Um, something seems off."
He suddenly remembered that there seemed to be no bad people who called themselves bad people.
So he quickly changed the subject and said directly:
"My name is Gao Qingyun, and I am a teacher sent by the state."
What are your names?
There were three little girls who were sent over.
They looked at each other, and then the oldest girl stepped forward.
She said in a soft voice, "Reporting to Your Excellency, my name is Gu Hengbo, the lady on the left is Chen Yuanyuan, and the lady on the right is Dong Xiaowan."
Gao Qingyun instantly lost her temper.
He said the above.
"Don't try to fool me with fake names!"
"Do you think I don't know the origins of these names?"
He then pointed to the right and casually said:
"Speaking of other pseudonyms, that's one thing, but why did you choose Chen Yuanyuan? What's the meaning behind that?"
"These days, there are no Wu Sangui or Zhu Youjian to snatch you, this femme fatale."
Zhu Youjian, who had just walked in, was stunned when he heard these words.
"What?"
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