Chapter 364: Design Fee

Chapter 364 Design Fees

Emperor Jingyang hadn't lifted a finger himself, so why did he think he was getting the short end of the stick?

Concubine Li overheard their conversation, a sly glint flickering in her eyes. She suddenly suggested, "Your Majesty, I think we should charge the other three kingdoms for our designs."

"First, designs like these are inherently rare. Once mass-produced, they'd definitely help the common folk of every nation. If they use our designed tools, their national power would take a huge leap forward, and their people's lives would become more and more prosperous—which would put our Dongchen Kingdom at a real disadvantage."

"Second, the treasury's been running dry lately. I think charging a fair fee would bring in some income for the royal family, to help keep things stable and cover day-to-day costs."

"Third, since we already broke new ground by letting women sign up for the Canglang Poetry Talk, why can't we charge for woodworking designs too? Your Majesty should really think this over—maybe you could even talk Director Mei into going along with it."

After Concubine Li finished speaking, Emperor Jingyang started mulling over whether this could actually work.

From a selfish standpoint, he had to admit Concubine Li's idea hit the spot.

Take the thirty wooden pieces sitting right in front of him—if he charged per piece, say a hundred thousand taels of silver per design, thirty pieces would come to three million taels.

Three million from one nation, nine million from three—that was a serious chunk of change.

Emperor Jingyang's heart raced at the thought. So he wasted no time bringing it up with the Empress.

After laying it all out, he added one more thing.

"Empress, there are certain matters I can't handle personally. As the nation's mother, I want you to step up and handle this negotiation for me."

His plan was simple: let the Empress be the bad guy while he stayed in the background, clean and innocent, reaping all the rewards.

That way, if anyone got upset, it'd all be on the Empress, and he'd have nothing to do with it.

But to his surprise, the Empress shot the idea down right away.

"Your Majesty, I don't think this is a good idea. For starters, the Canglang Poetry Talk is run by Qingyun Hall, and the Dongchen Imperial Family, as a partner, only gets a say in joining, not in calling the shots."

"Aren't you worried that suddenly charging such steep fees could wreck the hard-won peace between the four nations?"

Emperor Jingyang clamped his mouth shut, fury brewing in his eyes as he glared at the Empress.

"Haven't we shared our designs for fifteen years? Isn't that enough? We can't just let them mooch off us forever. When they blow past us, will you finally be happy?"

"Put it nicely, it's about spreading our culture. Put it bluntly, it's handing over state secrets. I can let them use our designs, but I can also say no."

The Empress: "..."

She thought Emperor Jingyang was being completely unreasonable.

It had taken over a decade of peace between the four nations for the people to finally settle into some kind of stability.

If he pulled this off, that fragile peace would be over!

The Empress's face went cold, her eyes like ice. "You're the one who said the harem must not meddle in state affairs. So I'm not getting involved in this. If you really want this, go talk to Director Mei yourself!"

"Oh, and by the way, these finished pieces have nothing to do with you. If you want to charge for them, you should at least ask the candidates who made them what they think, or you'll break the hearts of Dongchen's scholars, and they won't want to serve the royal family anymore."

Emperor Jingyang's eyes burned with rage. "Empress, are you threatening me?!"

"I wouldn't dare." The Empress gave him a cool, steady look. "Culture has no borders. The woodworking pieces from the Canglang Poetry Talk were meant to be shared freely, no strings attached. I'm sure the candidates who signed up knew that, which is why they designed tools that make everyday life easier for folks."

"They sure didn't do it to make a buck. Looks like the only one trying to cash in here is you, Your Majesty."

Emperor Jingyang: "..."

Caught off guard by the Empress hitting the nail on the head, his face burned with embarrassment.

But once the idea took root, he couldn't shake it. As a result, he couldn't be bothered to watch the rest of the presentations, his face all twisted with worry.

Until Eunuch Zhang leaned in and whispered, "Your Majesty, all the candidates' woodworking pieces have been presented. What should we do about Third Young Master Ji's and Third Miss Murong's pieces?"

Emperor Jingyang snapped back to reality and saw two finished pieces still covered in red cloth standing in the vast venue.

One tall and one short, standing there with no hint of what lay beneath.

Not far away, Meng was straightening the official robes on Ji Nanchuan.

She said softly, "Marquis, since His Majesty allowed Hang'er's folding bed to be brought up, that shows he still acknowledges Hang'er's design abilities."

"Luckily, yesterday Hang'er wrote down the principles of his folding bed design on paper and had Che'er deliver it to you. As long as you can seize this opportunity, perhaps if His Majesty is pleased, he might release Hang'er from the heavenly prison."

Ji Nanchuan's eyes were defiant as he said slowly, "You don't need to tell me—this Marquis knows exactly what to do!"

He stood to the side, waiting for Eunuch Zhang to call Ji Zihang's name, after which he would go up and unveil the red cloth.

Unexpectedly, Eunuch Zhang didn't even glance at him. Instead, he summoned four guards to carry Ji Zihang's folding bed toward the exit.

Ji Nanchuan panicked and rushed forward to block him, putting on a humble expression as he asked.

"Eunuch Zhang, this is the folding bed designed by my son. This Marquis hasn't yet presented and introduced it on his behalf. May I ask where they're taking the folding bed?"

Eunuch Zhang glanced at Ji Nanchuan, his horsetail whisk pointing toward the red cloth in front of him.

"Oh, so what's under this red cloth is Third Young Master Ji's folding bed?"

Before Ji Nanchuan could figure out what he meant, Eunuch Zhang continued in his drawn-out voice:

"His Majesty has decreed that since Third Young Master Ji is in the heavenly prison and has been disqualified from the competition, his finished design naturally doesn't count anymore. After all, who would dare use something designed by someone with a stain on their record? His Majesty has ordered us to take this folding bed to the wood shed, chop it up, and burn it."

Ji Nanchuan: "..."

Ji Nanchuan: "!!!"

He could hardly believe his ears.

"Chop it up and burn it—how could this happen?"

"Eunuch Zhang, in consideration of my second daughter about to become the Crown Princess, could you please put in a good word for this Marquis before His Majesty, and give Hang'er a chance to present his work?"

Ji Nanchuan pressed a gold ingot into Eunuch Zhang's arms, but Eunuch Zhang pushed it back.

"Marquis, the decisions His Majesty makes are not something this servant can change. Please don't make things difficult for me!"

With that, he ordered the guards to carry away the woodworking pieces designed by Ji Zihang and Mu Rongyue!

Ji Nanchuan felt as if his heart were being twisted in agony. What he didn't know was that Emperor Jingyang deeply despised these two items.

He believed that since the designers themselves had already been imprisoned, they now bore stains on their records.

And designs bearing such stains, if offered for sale to the other three kingdoms, wouldn't necessarily be accepted by them.

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