Chen Shangshu stood up and took a step forward, bowing his head and saying: "Your Majesty, how can the land you bestowed have poor soil? The Lin family's daughter uses the fiefdom for pasturing, fruit gardens, mulberry gardens, and even builds workshops with it. Doesn't this mean that all the fiefs Your Majesty bestows are poor soil?"

  Chen Shangshu sternly asked, "Doesn't the Princess of Lin have any opinion on the land granted by the Emperor?"

  The emperor couldn't help but smile, and after clearing his throat, he looked at Liu Gonggong, "This time, Lin Guizhu not only refuted the questions, but also attached a letter saying that she had thought about all the questions raised by the various ministers' families and provided her answers. Among them was the question asked by Chen's family."

  Duke Liu immediately pulled out a letter from his bosom and said with a slight cough, "Princess Lin says that if someone asks whether the land bestowed by Your Majesty is all good land, she will answer whether using her fief for other purposes is being disloyal to Your Majesty."

  Liu Gonggong looked up and gazed at Chen Shangshu with sympathy, saying: "I request that Your Majesty exchange the land of equal size with his family's land. If Your Majesty is busy, the princess can take on the task of selecting the land. After all, Your Majesty's fields are all fertile, while their fields have differences in wealth and poverty, but yours do not."

  Everyone present couldn't help but laugh, and the Minister of Works stepped forward with a smile: "Your Majesty, I think this method is excellent. Secretary Chen must be overjoyed in his heart."

  All the ministers burst out laughing.

  "Alright," the Emperor raised his hand to suppress the laughter and said: "Princess Qingyuan is still young, so she speaks childishly. Are you all children too?"

  Can such nonsense be uttered by Lin Qingyuan and also by the ministers?

  What has happened to the imperial court?

  Although it's a bit unreasonable, it's strangely effective. Everyone understands Lin Qingyan's meaning. If you insist that the imperial granted fields are all good fields and frame her for using good fields elsewhere, then she'll have all the land in your household changed to imperial granted fields.

  Your Majesty, apart from the imperial estate and those cultivated by others, aren't all the other fields left barren?

  The world is the king's land, as long as it is still ownerless, the emperor can grant it to anyone. If Lin Qingyuan chooses all the sandy and stony lands or mountainous lands, you will have nowhere to cry even if you want to.

  Of course, they all knew that the Emperor would not be fooled by Lin Qingyan's nonsense, but in their hearts, they couldn't help but feel a sense of unease. The Minister of Works and the Minister of Personnel on this side were even more ferocious, as if they wanted to give them a change of land.

  An official who was not satisfied shouted: "Lin Junzhu is still competing with the people for profit, selling paper in large quantities and at a low price, I don't know how many craftsmen have lost their jobs, and all the money has been gathered in her hands. Your Majesty, for the sake of the people, you can't ignore this."

  Liu Gonggong flipped through the paper in his hand, cleared his throat lightly and said softly: "This adult, Lin Guizhu also listed this question. The princess replied that the court only stipulated that officials were not allowed to engage in business, but never stipulated that princesses and county masters could not engage in business either. You officials in the court still let your wives and family slaves run shops and industries, she is a widow with a niece, and most of her family property was donated by her brother, can't she be self-reliant and strong, and earn some capital for herself and her niece?"

  The officials were silent, and it was only then that they remembered Lin Jiang had donated all of the Lin family's assets.

  Ren Shangshu's eyes were filled with hot tears, and he knelt down: "Your Majesty, the Lin family's daughter only didn't want to sell at an exorbitant price, she had no intention of competing with the people for profit. The Lin family has been loyal and heroic for generations, we can't let them lose heart."

  "Your Majesty, a meritorious minister should be rewarded for his merits, but also punished for his mistakes. The Lin family has already been rewarded for their merits, you can't just reward and not punish! Lady Lin intentionally lowered the price of paper, causing chaos in the paper industry, this is also a fact."

  "Alright, so now you're finally willing to tell the truth. All those good lands he used were just excuses. In the end, you're still envious of others' formulas."

  "Premier Ren is cautious with his words, and our family doesn't even have a paper mill or bookstore at home, what's the point of envying her formula?"

  Ma Shangshu also broke his silence and said in a cold voice: "Then we'll have to ask your good teacher about that."

  His face suddenly turned bright red with rage, and he was about to roll up his sleeves to quarrel. The emperor was afraid that they would stage another group fight in front of him, so he couldn't help but pat the table and say: "Alright, you've been arguing over this small matter for almost two months without a result, do I really need to summon Lady Lin into the capital?"

  The Emperor angrily said: "Lin Gunzhu told me that the cost of grass paper, including sales costs, is no more than five cents per knife. If it's fixed at twenty cents or more, isn't that profiteering?"

  The emperor's eyes sank as he stared at them and asked, "Is the price of paper on the market reasonable or not? How can you be sure that it was Lin Guizhi who deliberately lowered the price of paper?"

  There were several ministers who were bitter in their mouths, and they had paper mills at home. As soon as Lin Qingwen's grass paper came out, they suspected that it was the servants or craftsmen who were deceiving them, privately embezzling money, and deliberately raising the price of paper.

  It wasn't until they went to the paper mill and saw the paper-making process that they realized the cost was not much different from what Lin Qingyan had quoted, with their cost per knife being equivalent to Lin Qingyan's selling price.

  Of course, they sell the eight-wen-money thing for more than twenty wen, which is a bit black-hearted. But the wholesale price they offer to each bookstore is only twelve wen, and the paper price on the market has been agreed upon for many years.

  Paper is not food, no need to fluctuate, since people didn't change prices before, why should they now?

  Anyway, people who read books have to buy paper, regardless of whether it's expensive or cheap. You need to buy it in order to write and read, it's not food, but it's related to one's livelihood.

  The emperor does not know what they think in their hearts, otherwise he would definitely smash them to death with a jade seal. Because the price of paper is high, books are also expensive, and the cost of reading is even higher, so there are only a few talented people who can be used.

  This time, neither side has won the argument, but the focus has shifted from Lin Qingwen's good deeds to whether she is competing with the people for profit and disrupting market stability.

  Unfortunately, they didn't quarrel for long, because they were busy. The time for the imperial examination had arrived. Although most of the talented people entered official schools to study or became officials in government positions, it was also a major event for the country to select talents.

  So everyone is very concerned.

  Moreover, as the King of England finally captured the imperial city of Southern Han, the good news reached the capital one after another. Su Zhang also captured Lü Jing alive and would soon send troops to escort the prisoners of war back to the capital. Do you think they are surprised or delighted?

  So even if the Lin family had sold the grass paper to the capital, selling it right under their noses, making them hate it so much that their teeth ached, they couldn't make a move at this time, and there was no room for action.

  Every department is busy.

  Lin Qingwan burst into laughter upon hearing the news and exclaimed: "The Southern Expeditionary Army is indeed a lucky army for me!"

  If it weren't for the Southern Expeditionary Army, she would definitely not have responded so easily.

  Lin Qingwan laughed and said to Lin You: "Tomorrow's Ming Jing Ke exam will be over, and the day after tomorrow you can hold a literary meeting in Wen Garden and announce the formula for grass paper."

  "Should I let the young master in the clan know about this?"

  "I've already told them, they have a number in mind, let them decide for themselves." Lin Qingyan just informed them of her decision so that they wouldn't underestimate the market and lose money due to delayed information, as for what to do next it's up to them.

  But those who dare to borrow money from her to venture out should not be too stupid, and if they are a bit stupid, it doesn't matter, they will learn to be clever after losing twice.

  "Does Auntie want to go herself?"

  Lin Qingwan smiled and shook her head, "I won't go, you are all students, it's easier to talk to each other."

  She tapped on the grass paper on the table and said meaningfully: "The formula of this grass paper can't be shown to people who know how to read."

  The Lin family specially cleaned up a piece of land, set up more than a dozen large vats, and sent people to spread the word inside and outside the city: "Madam Lin has asked craftsmen to teach paper-making techniques in the western suburbs. Those who want to learn should hurry up and go."

  The crowd was shocked and rushed to hold down the person who shouted, "Is what you said true? Don't deceive us!"

  "How could I cheat you all? If you don't believe me, go to Xijiao and take a look. Even the big vats have been carried out."

  "The Lin family's paper money is so profitable, why does Old Lady Lin want to teach us? Isn't teaching apprentices going to starve the master to death?"

  "You don't know yet, someone is jealous of Lin's high earnings and is framing her in front of the emperor, saying that she maliciously lowers the price of paper to compete with the people for profit, anyway, forcing Lin to raise the price of paper."

  But Lin's grandmother pitied the poor students who found it hard to study, and refused to raise the price. Then someone impeached the county lord's daughter, saying she was using good land for personal gain, and if things got out of hand, they might even confiscate her property. So she simply published the formula.

  But we ordinary people are illiterate, this good thing can't be monopolized by literate people only. The Lin family is famous for their kindness, and this time they specially selected a few craftsmen to teach skills in the western suburbs. Whoever wants to learn, just go there and line up.

  The Lin family has spoken out and they have lived in Suzhou for generations. They rely heavily on the help of their elders and fellow villagers, so this time the skills are being passed down completely free of charge.

  Everyone listened with half-belief and half-doubt, then the person beating the gong and drum stamped his foot and said: "Aye, Xijiao is not far from here, if you're afraid I'm deceiving you, just go take a look yourself!"

  At this moment, some quick-witted people quietly left and rushed to the western suburbs.

  But most people just thought he was telling a joke and didn't move.

  How important is a skill? They want to send their children to learn a trade, not only do they have to pay money, but also let the child be exploited for several years. If they encounter a good master, when they grow up, they may be able to master the skill.

  After encountering some bad things and being beaten and scolded for a few years, I also learned some superficial things.

  Last time Lin's grandma didn't even teach tofu-making skills, how could she possibly give away paper-making skills for free this time?

  Besides, when learning how to make tofu, all the work I did in the past was used as compensation for working at Lin's house. This paper is much more expensive than tofu, so how can it be free?

  So most people didn't move, just gathered together talking, "Really someone reported Lin's grandma?"

  "It must be true, I've seen people from the post station running to Lin's villa several times, probably delivering the indictment papers."

  "Alas, who has such a cruel heart? It's already hard for the two sisters to make a living, this is not giving people a way out."

  "It's not those powerful corrupt officials, didn't you hear what that young man just said? Why was Lin aunt sued? It's because she sold paper too cheaply, this is to force her to raise the price of paper."

  "Some people whispered: 'Big brother, let's go take a look at Xijiao, even if it's not true, there's nothing to lose, and if...'"

  That would be a windfall.

  As soon as this was said, many people were moved and set off in groups towards the western suburbs.