Chapter 343: Chapter 216 New Paper
At noon, after finishing his studies, Zhao Yao invited the Eighth Prince to have lunch together at Lanyuan Pavilion, but he was refused by the Eighth Prince.
"Eighth Brother, the ministers at Lanyuan Pavilion will bring delicious food from their hometowns, it’s really good, you should try it."
The Eighth Prince understood that Zhao Yao wanted him to enjoy good food, but he wasn’t interested. Even if he were interested, he wouldn’t go to Lanyuan Pavilion. Besides the Fourth Prince whom he disliked, there were also ministers there he didn’t like.
He was well aware that the court ministers looked down on him as the Eighth Prince, and going to Lanyuan Pavilion would only embarrass himself.
"I won’t go, you go ahead."
"Eighth Brother..."
"You know I don’t have much of a demand for food, whether it’s good or not doesn’t matter to me." The Eighth Prince gently patted Zhao Yao on the shoulder and said warmly, "You go and eat."
Zhao Yao looked at the Eighth Prince with a disappointed expression: "Eighth Brother, you don’t know how much good food you’ve missed."
The Eighth Prince laughed and said, "I don’t mind."
Zhao Yao shook his head and sighed, "What’s the point of life without good food?"
The Eighth Prince playfully patted the back of Zhao Yao’s head, "Go have your good food."
"Then I’m off, Eighth Brother." Zhao Yao waved to the Eighth Prince and then swiftly left Wende Hall.
As he reached the entrance of Wende Hall, he saw a familiar face, Ding Luo of the Office of the Chief Steward.
Seeing Zhao Yao, Ding Luo hurriedly bowed, "This servant greets the Tenth Highness."
Upon seeing Ding Luo, Zhao Yao quickly asked, "Has the paper been made?"
"It has been made." Ding Luo said excitedly, "Following your instructions, I added materials like bamboo, mulberry bark, and rattan, and the paper turned out much whiter and a lot more durable." He said, quickly taking a sheet of paper from his pocket and handing it to Zhao Yao, "Your Highness, look."
Zhao Yao took the sheet of paper and examined it closely; indeed, it was much whiter than the current paper. He gently pulled it with both hands and it didn’t tear. The paper they were using at present would tear with a little force.
He also noticed there were patterns on the paper, though very faint.
"Your Highness, what do you think?"
"It’s much better than the paper we use now, but it’s still not good enough." Zhao Yao said, "I feel you can do better."
"Your Highness, what do you mean?"
"I suggest you keep experimenting with the materials I mentioned, or you can think about adding some materials yourself." Zhao Yao suggested seriously, "I think you could try other barks and leaves, or other grasses; you might produce even better paper."
Ding Luo thought Zhao Yao’s suggestion was excellent. He nodded vigorously and said, "This servant will take your advice and try them all."
"By the way, aren’t there many types of bamboo?" Zhao Yao suggested, "You could try each type of bamboo."
Hearing this, Ding Luo’s eyes lit up immediately, "Yes, Your Highness."
"I think paper made from each type of bamboo would be different." Zhao Yao said, "It’s the same with those barks and grasses. Even straw comes in varying qualities, so keep your mind open."
"Keep my mind open?" Ding Luo asked puzzled, "Your Highness, what does that mean?"
"It means to use your imagination." Zhao Yao pointed at his head, "Don’t limit your focus on what you see in front of you, think about other things as well."
Ding Luo felt enlightened and immediately gave Zhao Yao a respectful bow.
"This servant thanks Your Highness for the guidance."
Zhao Yao quickly helped Ding Luo up and said cheerfully, "I’m just making suggestions, you’re the one doing the work."
"If not for your suggestions, this servant wouldn’t have thought of these things." Ding Luo felt a bit impatient after hearing Zhao Yao’s words, "Your Highness, this servant will return to the Office of the Chief Steward immediately."
"Wait, how much of this paper did you make?" Zhao Yao asked, "Did you end up with a lot of failed paper?"
"Your Highness, you’re right, this servant made a lot of failed paper." Ding Luo said with embarrassment, "There’s only one stack of newly made paper, about fifty sheets."
"Don’t throw away the failed paper, it’s still useful, bring it straight to Lanyuan Pavilion later." Zhao Yao said, "As for the fifty sheets of new paper, you can have Eunuch Han deliver them to the Imperial Study."
Ding Luo looked shocked, "Deliver to the Imperial Study?"
"Shouldn’t the new paper be presented to my father to see?"
"But, this isn’t the best new paper." Having heard Zhao Yao’s earlier words, Ding Luo felt the paper he made wasn’t good enough. How could such paper be presented to the Emperor?
"Isn’t the new paper much better than the current paper? Let my father use it first." Zhao Yao winked at Ding Luo, "My father will surely reward you; don’t you want a reward?"