CHAPTER 369: CHAPTER 366: UNBELIEVABLE

Meng Changshu put down her pen, took a step back, and restrained herself from looking at Xie Liangchen.

The remaining women had no idea what was going on.

Miss Yan seemed to have forgotten her earlier doubts about Miss Xie and just kept her head down, staring at the paper in front of her.

Fifth Miss Cao watched the scene unfold and gleaned some truth from it, barely able to hide her smile. Meng Changshu obviously approached to stand up for Xie Liangchen, but now, lowered her head and stepped aside, which spoke volumes. It was undoubtedly because the paper was unpresentable, truly beyond salvaging.

Fifth Miss Cao glanced at her sister as Miss Cao San stood up, "What’s going on with everyone?"

Miss Cao San spoke as she walked towards the desk.

Miss Xu also stood up, everyone unable to suppress their curiosity, quickly following behind Miss Cao San and Miss Xu.

Miss Cao San moved the fastest, without saying a word, she went to pick up the pen, "Since none of you are writing, I will." Once the ink hit the paper, Xie Liangchen’s reputation would be ruined.

Before Miss Cao San’s hand touched the pen rest, her eyes had already caught sight of the paper. At first, she hadn’t realized what made this paper different but sensed instinctively that this wasn’t what she thought it was. Had she been given a moment longer, she would’ve noticed the subtle details like Meng Changshu. But Miss Yan, not far away, had already come to her senses by that time.

Miss Yan instinctively rushed over and stopped Miss Cao San, "Don’t write, don’t write, this is wax paper, don’t ruin it."

Miss Cao San was unexpectedly knocked aside, staggered, almost crashing to the ground, but fortunately, Miss Xu reached out to steady her.

"What are you doing?" Miss Xu felt her foot being stepped on by Miss Cao San. Her brows furrowed in pain, "Suddenly acting so reckless."

Miss Yan wasn’t being reckless, but rather a bit deranged, ignoring Miss Xu’s question, she hurriedly asked Xie Liangchen after finding her in the crowd, "Miss Xie, is this Zhenzhou paper? Made in Zhenzhou?"

Xie Liangchen nodded, "We got it from the family paper workshop before coming to the Capital City."

Family paper workshop? Miss Xu suddenly remembered the kid from Chen Family Village mentioning in the ink shop that their Chen Family Village had its own paper workshop.

Is this true?

"What exactly is going on?"

"Sister, what’s wrong with you?"

Miss Xu heard inquiries around her, but she had already lost interest in asking Miss Cao San and was quickly heading towards the desk.

She wanted to see for herself...

Miss Xu’s eyes landed on the paper.

It wasn’t coarse; instead, it was smooth-surfaced, bright white in color, and uniformly toned paper.

That stroke by Miss Yan was black as lacquer...

This was good paper, extremely rare and high-quality.

Miss Xu thought of her father’s collection of paper; why did Xie Liangchen have such paper? Did she buy it? Was it handed down from Prince Guangyang Mansion? Or a gift from the palace? Or acquired from somewhere else?

How much of it is there? Just this one sheet?

"What kind of paper is this?"

"It’s different from ordinary paper."

"Why does ink look so lovely on it?"

Amidst the chatter, Miss Xu heard Miss Yan’s voice, "Miss Xie, this is wax paper, isn’t it?"

Xie Liangchen replied, "It’s pink wax paper."

Miss Yan said, "Your family paper workshop can make pink wax paper? This pink wax paper is very costly... Even with silver coin, you can’t buy such quality, this... such paper shouldn’t be used for writing, it shouldn’t be wasted like this paper. Had my father known I dared to write on pink wax paper, he’d surely punish me."

After finishing, Miss Yan looked apologetic, "Miss Xie, I apologize for earlier, I wrote without looking carefully."

Xie Liangchen smiled at Miss Yan, "Miss Yan, there’s no need. I brought this paper for everyone to compose poems, so feel free to continue writing."

Miss Yan quickly replied, "No, no, we can’t use it so casually. Our poems are just scribbles, such use would truly be a waste."

Xie Liangchen said, "It’s from my own lot, Miss Yan, there’s no need to worry. Since everyone’s here today and I don’t have much else to gift, I brought some items from Chen Family Village as return gifts, and this pink wax paper is one of them."

Hearing Xie Liangchen’s words, Miss Yan took a deep breath and felt embarrassed, "What should I do about this?" Compared to this, the gifts she brought seemed too modest. If she had known, she would have selected something more carefully.

Miss Xu at the desk finally came out of her shock, recalling the events at the ink shop where Xie Liangchen’s younger brother felt the shopkeeper’s paper offerings weren’t satisfactory.

It’s not that they didn’t understand; it’s just that the paper was indeed inferior.

How can ordinary paper compare to pink wax paper?

Both Miss Cao sisters were speechless, the previous mocking tone and mocking smiles now seemed to turn into icy water, poured over their heads.

Fifth Miss Cao’s face alternated between flushed and pale. Until now, she still hadn’t figured it out; if Zhenzhou truly had pink wax paper, how could the people in Zhenzhou Village go hungry, and why would Xie Liangchen still eat coarse rice?

Fifth Miss Cao looked to Miss Xu for help, although Miss Xu had also stated that Xie Liangchen’s family was just an honest farming household.

Which farmer would use wax paper this way, and use such paper as return gifts?

Xie Liangchen looked at the crowd, her smile as before, "Weren’t you all going to write poetry? There’s even a prize for today’s poetry assembly."

Meng Changshu finally couldn’t suppress her amusement, "Let me speak on behalf of everyone; most of us are seeing such high-quality pink wax paper for the first time, it’s inevitable to lose composure, Liangchen, don’t laugh at us."

Meng Changshu spoke as she looked at the two Miss Cao sisters, "Miss Cao sisters, don’t you agree?"

Miss Cao San opened her mouth to retort but didn’t know what to say.

Fifth Miss Cao lowered her head, using a handkerchief to wipe the sweat from her nose.

Meng Changshu continued, "I didn’t expect Miss Xie to use pink wax paper as a return gift... We truly feel unworthy, how can we accept?"

"Yes," Miss Yan said, "this pink wax paper is so good, it should never be used for ordinary poetry writing."

Meng Changshu took Xie Liangchen’s hand, "How did you come up with making pink wax paper? You must have put a lot of effort into it, right?"

Xie Liangchen nodded, "Indeed, I consulted many people and wasted quite a bit of paper, but fortunately, I succeeded. I wanted to make it because I know artwork on pink wax paper can be preserved for a long time."

Meng Changshu listened attentively, "You want to preserve something?"

Xie Liangchen nodded and turned to Chen Zigeng, "Bring my box."

Chen Zigeng naturally knew what his sister referred to and quickly left.

Miss Xu remained silent the whole time, as everything before her differed entirely from her expectations.

Moments later, Chen Zigeng handed the box to Xie Liangchen, and Meng Changshu and Li Ruchu helped retrieve the items.

"Is this," Miss Yan asked, "herbs?"

Xie Liangchen nodded, "These are herbal illustrations; I want to sketch all the herbs for everyone’s reference. Now, these herbs I’ve illustrated are known to everyone in Zhenzhou Village, not only can they identify them, but they also understand their properties, although I have only sketched a fraction."

Everyone looked over and saw that the herbs drawn on the paper were extraordinarily detailed, as if freshly picked from the mountains.

As soon as Xie Liangchen finished speaking, Hei Dan’s voice was heard from the distant corridor.

"Sister is composing poems? We can too."

"Ginseng is sweet, stops cough and nourishes; Poria is bland, drains dampness and transforms phlegm; Angelica is warm, generates blood and heals injuries; Coptis is bitter, dispels stagnation and clears heat; Fritillaria is slightly cold, relieves distress and dispels irritability..."

Listening to the voice, Miss Xu’s face looked increasingly unpleasant; is this a farmer’s child? The one who talked about piglets yesterday?