The Three Great Papermaking Workshops of Huai City

The improved papermaking method had been destroyed? The people who had brought the improved method forward had been assassinated?

The civil and military officials at court were no fools. Those two pieces of information from Chacha alone were enough to show that the other party's goal was to make the improved method and everyone involved disappear.

Someone didn't want the improved method to see the light of day!

This was an attempt to sever the lifeline of Great Qi's literary heritage!

A chill ran down everyone's backs at the thought.

At that moment, no one dared breathe too loudly. Trembling, they looked up at the emperor seated above them.

They didn't have to think to know that His Majesty must be furious.

Emperor Hongyao's face was almost expressionless, but his eyes were already filled with murderous intent, as though heads might roll the very next second.

Marquis Chengping, however, was a beat slower to react. When he did, his expression changed abruptly.

He knew nothing about this future or whatever it was.

All he could feel was the terrifyingly oppressive atmosphere in the hall. They don't think I did it, do they? Everyone else died, and I was the only one left unscathed! Th-this looks far too suspicious.

What was more, he had previously tried to claim the credit. He was afraid His Majesty would now be thoroughly suspicious of him.

He cautiously raised his head, only to discover that no one was looking at him at all.

Marquis Chengping: They... they don't suspect me?

Naturally, no one suspected him. After all, this fellow was merely glowing with confidence and wanted to steal the credit on the sly. He wasn't capable of such a great evil.

Shen Anxin was shocked by the new gossip Chacha had revealed. How could things have turned out like that?

Chacha: It couldn't be helped. The improved method was initially kept secret. Only Su Lingyu, her husband, and a few workers at the papermaking workshop knew its actual effects and circumstances.

Yan Xuetong herself didn't know the details. She had merely obtained the instructions for the improved method.

After arriving in the capital, Yan Xuetong couldn't possibly hand the court something she didn't understand herself and that hadn't been tested at all.

If it turned out to be a blunder, she would be at fault instead. So she planned to test it herself in a small papermaking workshop first.

With Su Xue'er and Zhuo Lingqi's help, things went smoothly enough.

Although Yan Xuetong's approach was cautious, it gave the enemy an opportunity to strike.

Just as they were about to succeed, she was targeted by villains and killed along with Su Xue'er and Zhuo Lingqi.

No one dared speak up. After all, this was a discussion between Shen Anxin and Chacha, and they couldn't openly discuss it.

But inside, they were already howling. What a pity, what a terrible pity! They had been just one step away!

Yan Xuetong had still been somewhat dazed when she first heard about their future. Now, hearing everything she would do, she broke out in a cold sweat.

Before coming to the capital, she hadn't yet heard about the Welfare Pavilion, and that had indeed been her original plan.

She would work it out herself first, then submit the finished product to the court. That would be more convincing.

But the establishment of the Welfare Pavilion had given everyone in the realm a guarantee: even if their research failed to produce the desired results, or failed altogether, they wouldn't be held accountable. Instead, they would be actively encouraged, as long as there was innovation, an idea, and feasibility.

Under those circumstances, Yan Xuetong had felt she didn't need to work it out herself and could simply submit it.

That was why she had changed her plans.

Yan Xuetong's eyes reddened in an instant. So her caution had foolishly cost her aunt and older male cousin their lives, and had even destroyed the work her mother and father had spent half their lives painstakingly researching.

At the thought, Yan Xuetong nearly broke down.

Shen Anxin: Those damned villains! They destroyed the fruits of Su Lingyu and her husband's labor, took Yan Xuetong and the other two's lives, and even hindered social development. They're utterly despicable.

The civil and military officials: Indeed! If not for Shen Anxin and Chacha, we might truly have missed out on a technology capable of changing the fate of Great Qi's scholars!

This was no simple act of evil. It was enough to wipe out their nine familial clans!

Emperor Hongyao narrowed his eyes dangerously. Time to hunt...

Yan Xuetong was stunned. That voice didn't blame her in the slightest? If she had chosen to submit it from the start, perhaps things wouldn't have...

Someone patted her shoulder twice. Yan Xuetong turned to see Zhuo Lingqi looking at her reassuringly and gently shaking his head, clearly unwilling to let her fall into that groundless self-reproach.

Yan Xuetong gritted her teeth, took a deep breath, and suddenly stepped forward and knelt. "Your Majesty, I beg you to thoroughly investigate my parents' deaths!"

Shen Anxin was feeling heartsick over the fate those people would originally have met. When she heard Yan Xuetong's words, she jolted.

That's right! I was just wondering whether Yan Xuetong's parents' deaths might not have been an accident either!

In fact, it wasn't just Shen Anxin. Almost everyone present had begun to suspect it.

Now that Yan Xuetong had raised the matter, it was convenient for Emperor Hongyao to act.

"You think there was something suspicious about your parents' deaths?"

Meanwhile, Chacha also gave an answer. It was murder.

Yan Xuetong's throat caught, and tears immediately fell.

When Su Xue'er heard the answer, she went completely limp. None of her earlier strength remained.

She had refused to give up her investigation largely because she hadn't been willing to believe her older sister was dead. Now she was being told that her sister had indeed been murdered! She truly couldn't accept it.

"Xuetong! What do you know? Why didn't you tell me?" Su Xue'er was so agitated that she could no longer control herself.

Yan Xuetong's eyes were red. "Aunt, before Mother died, she gave me the improved method. She specifically warned me that I absolutely must not reveal it until I was certain it was completely safe, and that I couldn't even tell you. That warning was strange to begin with. After all, I know how close you and Mother were. If I couldn't even tell you, then perhaps it was to protect you. What circumstances would make it necessary to go that far? So I've been suspicious all along..."

She had presented the improved method so that she would have a chance to petition His Majesty and have her parents' deaths investigated. Otherwise, the question would remain in her heart forever.

Hearing this, Su Xue'er couldn't help embracing Yan Xuetong and bursting into tears. "Who was it? Who killed my sister?!"

Shen Anxin: The people who killed her parents and those who later targeted her should be the same group. Chacha, you must know who the real culprit behind it all is, right?

Chacha: Of course!

Yan Xuetong and Su Xue'er's eyes widened at once.

Emperor Hongyao was also waiting for the crucial information, but he still had to keep up appearances.

"Minister of the Court of Judicial Review! You are in charge of this case. I want the whole truth brought to light, and everyone involved must be apprehended and brought to justice!"

"Your subject obeys." The minister immediately stepped forward and used the opportunity to question Yan Xuetong while secretly listening for the answer. "Miss Yan, do you have any suspects?"

Naturally, Yan Xuetong knew nothing.

But in the next second, Chacha's answer came.

Chacha: The three great papermaking workshops in Huai City joined forces to set the whole thing up. They also bribed the local authorities to stop investigating and close the case as an accidental fire.

No one was surprised. Even Yan Xuetong and Su Xue'er had suspected the other three papermaking workshops.

But they hadn't expected all three great workshops to join forces against Su Lingyu and her husband. At first, they had guessed that it might have been just one of them.

The three great papermaking workshops in Huai City had a near monopoly on the entire papermaking industry in Great Qi, yet they were actually fierce competitors.

Yan Xuetong couldn't concern herself with all that. For now, she repeated what she had heard.

She had also noticed that everyone believed those voices were telling the truth, even though they didn't dare discuss them openly.

"I have suspects: the three great papermaking workshops in Huai City! They jointly control the price of paper, and they set the price throughout Great Qi. If my mother's improved method were used, the price of the new paper would surely disrupt the market and cause them severe losses! They had ample motive to join forces and murder my parents!"