EBE Chapter 168 The Imperial Academy changed its previous attitude and began to encourage its students t
Chapter 168 The Imperial Academy changed its previous attitude and began to encourage its students t
"It must be that the Empress Dowager's health has been deteriorating recently, and she is particularly susceptible to cold."
As soon as the Crown Prince said this, the Eldest Princess quieted down.
No one knew the Empress Dowager's body better than her. Since losing a child, not only her body had been depleted, but her spirit had also been robbed.
The emperor seemed to know this, so he kept trying to make amends, but the empress had long since given up on him.
"It is estimated that the common people will soon be making heated kang beds on a large scale," the prince said slowly after a long pause.
It was only because the emperor indulged him; otherwise, he wouldn't have wanted to send Wang Yong out of the palace.
Just as he had predicted, after Wang Yong left the palace, everyone in the streets and alleys knew that he had gone to build heated kang beds for nobles.
Especially after learning that he had renovated the Empress's bedchamber, Wang Yong instantly became a hot commodity, with many neighbors asking him to warm their beds.
Even some high-ranking officials and nobles sought him out, offering him generous rewards to renovate some warm palaces in their mansions.
Wang Yong was too busy, so he hired an apprentice to work with him.
Before long, not only the mansions of high-ranking officials and nobles, but also the neighbors in the streets and alleys near his home, all had heated kang beds installed.
After all, this method isn't difficult. Some people secretly learned it a few times and then mastered it, and they also learned from Wang Yong to do it for other people.
After a while, not only Wang Yong and his relatives built heated kang beds in their alley, but other families also gradually learned about this method of keeping warm, and one by one they asked someone to build heated kang beds in their homes.
Some of the smarter ones, who had learned a few characters, somehow found out that Wang Yong learned from the storybook "The Little Chef of the Jin Dynasty," and they bought several issues of the book. Since they didn't know which issue it was serialized in, they had to start reading from the beginning.
He didn't recognize some of the characters, so he asked a nearby scholar, and only then was he able to finish reading it and find the passage in a storybook.
It turns out that the magistrate's wife in the story was in poor health, especially in winter. She was very kind to Luo Nanzhi, so Luo Nanzhi devised this method to make a heated room and a heated kang for her.
The book doesn't explain in detail how to make a heated room, but it does explain in detail how to make a heated kang (a traditional heated bed). If people study it carefully, they can make it.
The emperor was actually reading a storybook when he happened to come across this description.
However, at this point, he still doubted Ye Yuwu's authenticity.
After all, how could a young girl be so clever as to come up with so many unheard-of things? Even the well-read Grand Tutor Zhao dared not say that he had seen them in other books, yet she could easily write them into her storybooks.
What puzzled the emperor even more was why she told Yanran that she had read it in a book.
Just then, the emperor saw that she had written about warm rooms and heated beds in her storybook.
Originally, he wanted to make it to win the Empress's heart. Moreover, the Empress's health had been very poor recently, and he was very worried, so he asked the craftsmen in the palace to replicate the heated room and heated kang.
However, the craftsmen in the palace were like fools; after studying for several days, they couldn't even make the simplest heated kang (a traditional heated bed).
At this moment, he was asked to report that someone had successfully made a heated kang the next day. He was overjoyed and sent someone to summon him to the palace.
The heated kang (a traditional heated bed) was made, but no one could actually build the warm room that was only mentioned briefly in the storybooks.
At this time, the Crown Prince brought up the matter again, claiming that he had a way to get Ye Yuwu into the palace and asked her to reveal the method for making a greenhouse.
After hearing the Crown Prince's words, the Emperor decided to use this matter to probe Ye Yuwu's abilities.
Just as he expected, Ye Yuwu's simple painting and a few words were enough to get Wang Yong to renovate the warm palace.
Unexpectedly, when I wanted to test her out of this situation, she actually managed to teach others how to make a greenhouse.
This also made the emperor more confident in her abilities; such a talented person must not fall into the hands of other countries.
But he couldn't figure out how much Ye Yuwu knew that others couldn't, nor could he figure out how to get her to willingly show her abilities.
That's why he acquiesced to the Grand Tutor's actions in order to find out more about Ye Yuwu, but unfortunately the Grand Tutor failed to do so.
The emperor thought with some regret, but at least there was a warm palace, so this winter wouldn't be too cold.
Perhaps because it's colder in the north, the production of this heated kang (a traditional heated platform bed) spread like wildfire across the northern regions, even faster than the earlier promotion of honeycomb briquettes.
Before long, heated kang beds were in use throughout northern China.
"The words of Mr. Wuming have truly benefited many people."
In a room at the Imperial College, several students sat together, chatting during their free time.
One of the students was holding a storybook, his eyes never leaving the book, but he quickly picked up on what the other student was saying.
A closer look reveals that the student is holding the latest issue of "Between Square Inches".
"Yes, just based on what's in the storybooks, if he were to make it himself, how much gold and silver would he have earned? Just by writing down the recipes and selling them to wealthy merchants or high-ranking officials, he could have made a fortune. But he's righteous and doesn't care about worldly matters; he shares it all!"
The student who had first brought up the topic couldn't help but sigh after picking up the writing brush:
"Hehe, the teachers at the Imperial Academy have changed their aloof attitude. Before, they wouldn't let us read storybooks, especially Mr. Wuming's! They were very protective of us, afraid that reading storybooks would corrupt us. But now, after only a short time, they've changed their minds and are actually letting us read his storybooks."
The third student sitting next to him also expressed his opinion.
"And have you noticed? The most self-righteous Master Lin keeps calling us 'Mr. Wuming' every day, and lately he's been the one calling us to read Mr. Wuming's stories the most." The student holding the writing brush immediately chimed in.
"He used to scoff at and severely criticize us for reading Mr. Wuming's stories! How come he was convinced so quickly!"
This student with the storybook is the most qualified to speak on this matter.
“Previously, a student was reading Wuming’s storybook in class when Master Lin discovered it. He immediately berated the student, saying that the storybook was misleading students and harming the pillars of the nation. The student disagreed and retorted to Master Lin. Master Lin became even angrier and declared to all the students: If this storybook were truly useful, he would run naked if he read such a low-class storybook.”
"To be fair, this student really did something wrong. How could he read a storybook in class? It's disrespectful to Master Lin!" At this moment, the person who was eavesdropping next to him couldn't help but interject.
Everyone can ignore his sudden argumentative behavior.
The student holding the writing brush urged anxiously.