The mountain has trees, and the trees have branches; one two zero years pass through classics

  As spring sunshine gradually revives, the weather is fine. Recently, a new wine has suddenly emerged in Chang'an City, which is strong and clear in color, with an intoxicating flavor. In no time, wealthy and noble families are competing to buy it, flocking to it like birds.

  Cao Shen then held such a jar of wine in the prime minister's office to handle affairs.

  "Your Excellency," asked Fang Zan, an official of the Ministry of Works, in the hall below, "now that the shell coins are in circulation and competing with the Qin half-liang coins, the people are suffering greatly. Moreover, there are unscrupulous profiteers who make a profit by manipulating them. The only way to eradicate this evil is to request the imperial court to re-mint coins and unify the currency standards."

  "The Huo Qian was cast under the imperial order of the previous emperor. As his subjects, how can we lightly speak of abolishing it?" Cao Shen took a sip of wine and said, "Let's just wait and see what happens."

  "But, Prime Minister." Fang Zan still wanted to argue, but Cao Shen had already hugged his wine and was about to fall asleep.

  A foot stepped in from outside the hall.

  "Who are you?" Fang Zan turned his head towards the newcomer.

  The newcomer was a young man in black clothes, very young, and his face was not particularly handsome to say the least, but he had a pair of bright phoenix eyes. He slightly furrowed his brow, looking somewhat serious, with a gentle temperament, yet having an introverted majesty that made Fang Zan dare not underestimate him.

  "Your Majesty."

  Cao Shen occasionally glanced this way, startled and broke out in a cold sweat, hastily threw down the wine jar, walked out and bowed.

  Liu Ying smelled the wine fumes wafting from the main hall and let out a sigh.

  "Cao Xiangguo," he said, "come with me."

  He walked to the lakeside of the government office with his hands behind his back. There was a round pavilion by the lake, which had a wild interest. "When Xiang Yu was seriously ill before," Liu Ying fell silent for a moment and then said, "I also came to visit him at the government office. At that time, I asked him in that pavilion, 'In the past, King Goujian of Yue State took ten years to recover from his defeat and eventually defeated Wu State. I also want to learn from him and hope to defeat the Xiongnu after twenty years.' Prime Minister, do you know how Premier Xiao responded to me at that time?"

  Cao Shen asked following up, "How did Xiao He answer?"

  "He said," Liu Ying's lips slightly curled, "If the great Han is united from top to bottom. If scholars from all sides come to contribute, it may be possible to achieve this in twenty years. If our great Han has a day of galloping across the vast desert, I would like to offer a cup of wine in front of my grave to comfort me under the nine springs."

  He turned around, staring at Cao Shen with the rare sharpness that belonged to him, "Twenty years have passed for more than a year. Last year, the new farming technique was implemented in Guanzhong, and a big harvest was obtained. In February, the spring water thawed, and the new year's melons, gourds, eggplants, millet, leeks, beans, and sesame seeds were just right to be sown. Xiao Shangguo wants to seek unity of heart between the upper and lower levels of the Han Dynasty. He recommended you to me, but I and Shangguo cannot unite in heart, how can we talk about unifying the hearts of the world, and the matter of jointly attacking the Xiongnu?"

  Cao Shen was sweating profusely and couldn't help but remove his hat and kneel down on the ground, saying "I was wrong."

  "You are wrong." Liu Ying pursed her lips into a straight line, showing no mercy. "Xiao He recommended you, not to let you ride on his coattails and neglect everything in this government office. If that's the case, anyone can be the Prime Minister, and I wouldn't need to use you Cao Shen at all." The Prime Minister has made great contributions to Han, and I don't want to mention it. But I also want to have the world, and I don't want to see people obstructing me. If in the future the Prime Minister still disobeys me, I am willing to honor and support him for life. Just... this Prime Minister position, you don't need to do it anymore." After finishing speaking, he didn't look at Cao Shen kneeling on the ground again, and left with big strides.

  Rarely had the emperor been so resolute, though he didn't show any real anger, his expression and words were like a knife cut, making Long Xi's heart skip a beat. He followed Liu Ying all the way out of the prime minister's office before bowing and asking, "Your Majesty, where are we going now?"

  A spring breeze blew by, blowing Liu Ying's long robe collar into slight wrinkles. He stood in front of the Prime Minister's office for a while, facing the wind, and said, "Let's go to the Xuanping Marquis' residence and pick up Ah Yan."

  Xuanping Marquis Mansion Pine Rock Building

  "Your servant Zhang Ye has seen Her Majesty the Empress." Newlywed Zhang Ye awkwardly greets the young girl kneeling in front of her.

  "Seventh sister, no need for excessive courtesy. Please get up." Zhang Yan said with a smile, and then asked, "You and, uh, that Wei Kui, how are you two doing now?"

  "He treated me very well," Zhang Ye's face flushed slightly, and she sincerely bowed her head, "If it weren't for the Empress Dowager's help, he and I wouldn't have made it to this day." However, a hint of melancholy crept into her eyebrows, having married a commoner herself, she was ultimately estranged from her father.

  "Seventh sister, no need to thank me," Zhang Yan smiled and said. "I also think that Wei Kui can help me, so I asked Father to come forward. You and I are sisters of the same clan, your husband is also my brother-in-law, we share the same honor and shame, I think you should not be stingy in helping me."

  "This..." Zhang Ye's heart couldn't help but feel apprehensive, not knowing what this ordinary couple could possibly have that would catch the eye of the noble empress in front of them.

  "If I'm lucky enough to succeed," Zhang Yan said thoughtfully, "I should be able to make a name for myself in Chang'an City and make my uncle look at me with new eyes."

  Zhang Ye's heart skipped a beat.

  Wei Kui walked into the Song Rock Building, and saw that the vermilion curtains were hanging low, the tables and cabinets were all made of precious wood and lacquer. From the subtle arrangement, one could glimpse the noble atmosphere of the Xuanping Marquis's mansion. In the center was set a screen, on which was painted a picture of the current emperor visiting the four hermits of Mount Shang. At the corner was decorated with gilded bronze and vermilion birds, polished to shine brightly. His wife, Zhang Ye, stood beside the screen with her head bowed, glanced at him, then lowered her head again.

  "Is it Wei Kui?"

  Behind the screen seemed to be standing several women, one of whom was a young girl who spoke up and asked, her voice sounding somewhat childish, intentionally putting on a few airs of majesty, but instead being quite cute.

  "Yes." He replied with a smile.

  The hem of her skirt was elliptical, supporting a high empty space, he lowered his head and looked at each other, catching a glimpse of the girl's small round head and silk shoes, with embroidered flowers, birds, clouds and patterns on the shoelace, pink lilies stretching out from the flower stem, the embroidery was exquisite and vivid.

  "In short, I won't say more. The Xuanping Marquis's estate wants to invite a core member of the Mo family to set up a workshop on the outskirts of Chang'an to make paper. All materials and financial resources will be provided by the marquis's estate. As you are the husband of Seventh Lady, you can also be considered as one of our own people. The marquis wants to ask you to take charge of the workshop and manage it. What do you think?"

  "Paper?" Wei Ke couldn't help but feel a little surprised, "Miss, are you referring to that hemp paper?"

  At that time, paper already existed in the Western Han Dynasty, but its quality was rough and uneven. It did not absorb ink well and was prone to tearing and breaking easily, so it was considered useless.

  "It is." Zhang Yan nodded behind the screen.

  "I want to create a kind of paper that can be written on, you know, nowadays people recognize characters and remember words mostly by using bamboo slips or silk fabrics, bamboo slips are clumsy and silk fabrics are expensive. Neither is an excellent choice. If Mo door succeeds in making paper, not only will it make a name for itself all over the world, but also benefit future generations."

  "What you said is naturally reasonable." Wei Kui sighed and said, "But it's easy to talk about, hard to do."

  "Is it difficult?" Zhang Yan flipped through the book with a light smile. "I don't think so. Currently, hemp paper is made from large hemp and ramie fibers. In fact, we can consider trying other materials, such as mulberry bark. Different raw materials can produce different types of paper. Moreover, Mr. Wei can try grinding and pounding more pulp."

  Many times, so-called clever ideas are like a person standing in front of a thin window, stretching out their finger and lightly poking it, and it's transparent. Wei Kui didn't understand the details of making pulp, but he heard the sound of the zither and knew the elegant meaning, as if suddenly grasping the vital point, overjoyed. He bowed, "In that case, I am willing to use my meager strength." No wonder you insisted on meeting Wei Kui in person," Zhang Jiao said with a smile in the study. "But Ah Yan, I didn't know you had even dabbled in this paper-making miscellaneous learning."

  "Father, don't belittle me." Zhang Yan stuck out her tongue and smiled, "I've grown up in the Marquis's residence since I was a child, where would I truly understand these things? However, having read some ancient rare books, I do have some strange ideas. That's why I'm making such a fuss about this. It's not for anything else." She turned around and said softly, "Father knows, in just over a month, it will be the Emperor's birthday."

  "Oh." Zhang Ao heard the lyrics and understood the elegant meaning, and couldn't help but twirl his mustache. He gazed at his daughter with a smile.

  Zhang Yan's face turned red under her father's gaze. She stomped her foot and pushed him, saying "Dad."

  "Alright, alright." Zhang Ao hastily retreated. Zhang Kai said, "Later, I'll have the family carriage send you back to the palace."

  "It's all right," Zhang Yan said softly, "This morning when I left the palace, Your Majesty promised me..."

  The green carriage stopped in front of the Xuanping Marquis's mansion, and a green-clad servant stepped forward to knock on the door. He said to the young doorman, "Please inform..."

  "Is it Mr. Han?" The young servant smiled and said, "My master has already instructed me to ask you to wait here for a moment." With that, he turned around and went inside.

  Chang Jin stood still for a moment, then saw a white-clad young man quickly flash out from the side door and walk to the front of the carriage, lift up the curtain and laughingly shout "Uncle".

  Liu Ying was startled and looked her up and down for a while, with an odd expression in her eyes. She frowned and said, "Why are you dressed like that?"

  She was dressed in men's clothing, with her hair tied up and hidden under a man's hairstyle. Her beautiful face, as a woman, was elegant and refined, but when disguised as a young man, she also had an air of purity and innocence. With a childish tone, she pouted and said, "You don't like it? That won't do. You lost the bet to me yourself, so you can't welch on the reward that's due."

  "How could it be?" Liu Ying smiled helplessly, "It's just that I'm not used to it, and at first glance, I was startled." She hesitated again and looked at the Hou Mansion gate, saying, "Are we going straight to East City? Don't we need to go in and pay our respects to Sister and Brother-in-law?"

  "No need, no need." Zhang Yan smiled and said, "My father and mother both said so, they are all in Chang'an City. What's good or bad to see, as long as we have fun ourselves. It's just that Yan'er was making a fuss and wanting to come out with me, I coaxed her into promising many gifts before she would stop. Those gifts are for you to give, I don't care."

  It's really... so bandit-like. He helplessly tightened his grip on her hand and pulled her onto the carriage, sighing, "If you're going to pretend to be a boy, you should at least do it convincingly. With your every move and gesture, anyone can tell who you are?"

  "She smiled and said, 'Isn't it convenient for me? It's easy to get Uncle to agree to spend a day with me.'"

  Before long, Dongshi was already in sight. Liu Ying turned her head and asked, "What would you like to eat?"

  She rolled her eyes, "Candied chestnuts."

  "Is this again? Aren't you tired of eating it?" Liu Ying reluctantly instructed Zhang Ji to go buy some along the street.

  "I'm just this kind of person." Her eyes were calm, like jade, "If I love something, I'll never be able to quit, and I'll be infatuated for years."

  Year after year.

  This chapter's Liu Ying is making me love her so much.

  It's said that since Jiang mentioned the 400+ bonus for Pinky yesterday, Pinky's votes have been soaring. At one point, it even surpassed the first place, and the speed of it made Jiang feel a little dizzy with happiness.

  It's a bit embarrassing, but the current voting situation is quite intense, so I can only ask for everyone's help and continue to beg for pink votes without hesitation. Want to continue experiencing happiness and the urgency of updates.

  And now, at the time of posting, Pinky has 214 votes. Let's see when it will break through 400.

  Let's work together and cheer each other on.

  Yesterday's forgotten ad: Tears burst into the ultimate family; either die in silence or explode in low-key; happy little white, relaxed farming, round and unbroken "Bad Young Husband" May PK, please support everyone