Tianliangyuan

Chapter 158 Peony Notes

Even the privileged class has a strict hierarchy.

For example, the royal family is synonymous with absolute power.

Because Xu Zhaozhao invited children of noble families, they were generally not required to kneel, but the servants were required to kneel and were not allowed to raise their heads.

Princess Ning Shuo naturally needed a retinue when she traveled, but since she wasn't leaving the capital and it wasn't a major occasion, she only brought a portion of the retinue. Even so, it was enough to astonish the people outside.

There were at least a hundred people, including servants and guards.

Princess Ning Shuo was on good terms with Princess Le Yang, and she was already married. Before she left the palace, she had basically never left the palace.

That's why she was interested when Princess Leyang mentioned the Hundred Fruit Garden to her.

“Xu Zhaozhao, I came here today because of your fine wine. I have heard that your garden is full of beautiful scenery. If it were accompanied by fine wine, it would be perfect.”

"Yes, Your Highness will certainly enjoy yourself to the fullest today."

With Princess Ning Shuo's arrival, the banquet immediately rose to a higher level.

Xu Zhaozhao was even more excited about today's arrangements.

Sure enough, when the young gentlemen were invited to compose poems and essays, and the bamboo paper sold in the market was displayed, everyone couldn't help but examine it closely.

"This paper is soft yet thick, and it's translucent when you hold it. Plus, it smells a bit like flowers. Xu Sanlang, where did you buy this?"

"Oh, these were purchased from several bookstores in Wannian County. Because we thought everyone might be inspired to write poetry today, we specially ordered people to prepare more writing materials. These papers look the same, but they were not bought from the same store."

"Huh, I've never seen this before?"

"It looks somewhat familiar to me, like I've seen it before, but I can't quite place it."

"Gentlemen, let's compose poems first!"

Xu Junting's reminder brought everyone's attention back to the garden full of flowers.

"I see that these monthly roses are blooming exceptionally well, with varying colors, sizes, and graceful postures. Why not use this flower as the theme?"

"What Prince Qi said is quite right, so let's take this flower as the theme!"

The male guests began to compose poems, and the female guests naturally couldn't be left behind.

They were both in the waterside pavilion, but the men and women were seated on the east and west sides respectively. Not far from the opposite side of the pavilion, there was a hexagonal pavilion with two pots of peonies on a stone table inside, which were in full bloom.

Xie Zheng has always kept a low profile, trying his best to minimize his presence.

He had a clear understanding of himself; he was a man with a fiancée, so he couldn't be too conspicuous in public, otherwise his fiancée might hold a grudge.

When the female guests were also served the Four Treasures of the Study, everyone was even more astonished!

Even the well-informed Princess Ning Shuo showed a hint of surprise on her face.

"Are all of these sheets of paper like this?"

The paper is cut to a uniform size, which is the standard size for letters and official documents at present. It is separated by pink vertical lines to facilitate writing. In addition, there is a peony flower in the lower left corner of each page.

The noble ladies found it fascinating and stepped forward to examine it.

This was quite a surprise; this thick stack of papers was completely identical!

"Ah! If I could use this paper to write a poem, just thinking about it would be so elegant!"

"Hehe, I thought you were going to say that if you used this stationery to write a letter to your beloved, how tender and affectionate it would be!"

"Haha! Joking aside, this paper is truly beautiful and elegant, a fine piece!"

After further inquiries, Xu Zhaozhao's answer was exactly the same as Xu Junting's.

In other words, it is available in several major bookstores in Beijing.

What Xu Zhaozhao didn't say was that the bookstore run by the Deng family didn't have it!

Ordinary bamboo paper has now dropped to fifty coins per bundle, but the two types that Xu Zhaozhao took out are priced at eighty and one hundred coins per bundle.

To put it bluntly, what they're selling is something rare.

When this kind of paper becomes popular, other workshops will inevitably follow suit, and the price will naturally come down.

This is not a big deal.

Right now, Xu Zhaozhao's main goal is to harvest the first wave of韭菜 (a metaphor for exploited investors).

This first wave of retail investors is often when the profits are greatest.

When similar paper is everywhere, it will naturally become worthless.

The flower-viewing party was a great success.

Later, at the banquet, in addition to the "Top Scholar's Wine," Xu Zhaozhao also specially brought out "Peach Blossom Wine" and "Hundred Flowers Fragrance" to entertain the ladies, which showed her great sincerity.

Xie Zheng helped see off the last young man, then turned around and ran off to find Xu Zhaozhao.

Dingxiang tactfully withdrew and stood not far from the waterside pavilion, occasionally observing the activity inside.

"Zhaozhao, did you create those papers today?"

“How come you see?”

"Hehe, only someone as clever as you could be. And I can tell everyone really likes these. I'm sure these papers will sell out in the capital within three days!"

"Well, since that's the case, why don't you hurry up and buy a batch?"

Xie Zheng paused for a moment: "I will naturally not lag behind in supporting Zhao Zhao's career. But I was thinking that Zhao Zhao would surely prepare some things especially for me, right?"

Those eager little eyes of hers couldn't be more serious!

Xu Zhaozhao sighed softly: "Someone will see you off when you leave later. If it's just for these things, you can leave now."

Xie Zheng said with a hint of grievance, "Is Zhao Zhao still angry about Cheng Yuan? I am truly innocent with her, and since Cheng Yuan arrived in Beijing, it has been Qi Yunze who has been taking care of her. It has nothing to do with me!"

Xu Zhaozhao rolled her eyes at him, annoyed: "They kindly helped you clean up the mess, and you just betrayed them!"

Seeing that her tone had relaxed considerably, Xie Zheng knew that she was no longer angry, so he smiled apologetically and said, "He was originally known as a romantic and talented man, and I was just doing this to accommodate him."

Xu Zhaozhao couldn't help but laugh again.

If Qi Yunze heard this, he would probably be so angry that he would fight him.

Xie Zheng told him that Cheng Yuan had moved out, and then mentioned that Cheng Yuan was indeed somewhat spoiled and acted without any sense of order.

To be honest, Xie Zheng just didn't know whether he should apologize on behalf of Cheng Yuan or advise Xu Zhaozhao to ignore Cheng Yuan.

Xu Zhaozhao wasn't stupid; she naturally understood what he was talking about.

“Cheng Yuan came to the capital specifically to find you. Now she’s pushing everything onto Qi Yunze, what’s the meaning of that? And she even went to the Marquis’s residence to look for me. I actually feel quite sorry for her. This person has gone through such a big change, yet she can still be so brainless. I don’t know how she survived the past few years.”

Xu Zhaozhao wasn't being sarcastic; she was genuinely curious.

Cheng Yuan was exiled before. Although she had her own relatives to take care of her along the way, surely she could still distinguish between good and bad people?

It would be a miracle if such a person could survive even ten days on the road to exile, let alone live to this day.