Chapter 126: White Porcelain

Chapter 126 White Porcelain

After visiting the temple during his day of rest, Zheng Shanci returned to the Ministry of Revenue and checked on the textile workshop, which was now running like clockwork.

"Lord Zheng, I’ve put up recruitment notices to hire textile workers," Jia Chengwang reported to Zheng Shanci. As the manager, he still deferred to Zheng Shanci for major decisions, especially since the previous manager had been caught selling appointments for personal gain. Thus, Jia Chengwang was extra cautious in such matters.

Zheng Shanci: "Hire some master artisans."

Jia Chengwang acknowledged the order and presented nine textile designs created by artists for Zheng Shanci to choose from.

Zheng Shanci selected two—one featuring narcissus and the other plum blossoms. The plum blossom motif drew his admiration.

"Have the plum blossoms embroidered in two styles: one with ink-plum, entirely outlined in black thread, and the other with black branches and red blossoms, all on pure white fabric."

Winter was plum blossom season, and the capital’s residents admired their resilience. Scholars often compared themselves to plum blossoms, alongside pine and bamboo—the "Three Friends of Winter."

"Also, have the artists design a bamboo pattern. Once it’s ready, bring it to me for approval, and use light green fabric for that."

Jia Chengwang agreed. Zheng Shanci also settled on the porcelain workshop’s patterns, opting for a ruyi floral motif. They would start by producing mainstream ceramic designs to test the market before gradually introducing innovations.

As for the printing house, after receiving Mei Huai’s notes, Zheng Shanci had them printed under the title *The Tanhua’s Notes*.

At noon, Xiao Gaoyang and Jiang Lanli also submitted their manuscripts. Zheng Shanci thanked them and promised them a 20% share of the sales revenue, ensuring long-term benefits rather than a one-time payment.

"Brother Zheng, you’re too generous. These notes of ours were just lying around unused. Printing them for others to read is almost embarrassing—we hardly deserve such recognition," Xiao Gaoyang said.

"Exactly. With so many future zhuangyuan, bangyan, and tanhua, publishing our notes like this feels rather ostentatious," Jiang Lanli added.

Hearing Jiang Lanli’s words, Xiao Gaoyang and Mei Huai exchanged uneasy looks.

Zheng Shanci quickly reassured them, "Brothers Jiang, Xiao, and Mei, your help is invaluable. Moreover, ranking in the top three of the imperial examinations across the entire Great Yan Dynasty is an extraordinary achievement—especially given how young and accomplished you all are. That’s truly rare."

Cui Ziqi waved a hand dismissively. "Enough, you three."

Cui Ziqi was still working on his *Tales from the Ministry of Justice*, which would take some time before he could submit the manuscript. He wasn’t a storyteller—he merely adapted real cases, omitting sensitive details.

At noon, Zheng Shanci took Xiao Gaoyang and Jiang Lanli’s notes to the printing house, where Mei Huai’s notes had already been printed. Skimming through the pages, Zheng Shanci nodded in satisfaction. "Have an artist design a cover, and then these can be displayed on the shelves."

Manager Yu remained somewhat uneasy. "Lord Zheng, will printing these notes actually turn a profit?"

The printing house was currently running at a loss, and the funds for printing these notes had been borrowed from the Ministry of Revenue. Manager Yu was an honest man who hadn’t embezzled, but he was overly cautious.

"Don’t worry. Just set up a sign outside the bookstore that says, ‘Zhuangyuan, Bangyan, Tanhua Notes—Best Sellers!’ That’s all you need. These books are meant for scholars—they’ll sell." Zheng Shanci reassured him.

The capital was full of scholars. Since the imperial examinations became a path to officialdom, great families redoubled their efforts in educating their descendants. While nobility could secure minor or honorary positions through hereditary privilege, only those who earned the jinshi degree could attain proper high office. The examination system had broken the aristocracy’s monopoly on official positions. If their descendants lacked talent, noble families could still maintain their status by marrying into the families of promising new jinshi graduates—essentially securing future prospects.

[Note: This tradition is known as "catching a groom beneath the list," where prestigious families sought to marry their daughters to newly successful examinees.]

Most scholars had money, and they couldn’t afford *not* to buy the notes of the top three examinees. The mere idea would plague their thoughts.

Zheng Shanci had 5,000 copies of each set of notes printed to start, planning to print more if sales were strong.

Manager Yu: "Lord Zheng, how much should each book be priced at?"

Books in those days were brief—for example, *The Great Learning*, unannotated, contained only a few thousand words. Mei Huai’s notes filled three volumes, which Zheng Shanci divided into three books. Xiao Gaoyang’s spanned five volumes, and Jiang Lanli’s three.

"One tael of silver per book [approx. $50-100 modern equivalent]."

Manager Yu's jaw dropped.

With printing technology now available, the price of books had significantly decreased. In ancient times, such as the Han Dynasty, books had to be recorded on silk, making them prohibitively expensive. Now, with the printing technology in the Great Yan Dynasty, selling a single volume for one tael of silver was still somewhat expensive.

Manager Yu agreed to proceed.

After Lord Zheng left, Manager Yu instructed the workers to begin printing the notes of Xiao Gaoyang and Jiang Lanli. He picked up a copy of Mei Huai's notes, flipped through a few pages, and quietly admired the handwriting. The calligraphy of the top three scholars was exquisitely elegant—each with its own distinctive charm. Printing five thousand copies seemed excessive to Manager Yu. If they didn’t sell, the surplus would just pile up in storage.

This could bankrupt the printing house. Manager Yu sighed. Well, it was Lord Zheng’s first time managing such matters, and he was his superior. He had no choice but to follow Lord Zheng’s orders. If the five thousand copies showed no sign of selling, Lord Zheng would surely realize it was time to stop.

Though Manager Yu had read some books and held scholars in high esteem, he couldn’t help but feel that Lord Zheng lacked experience in managing shops. He sighed again. The previous superior hadn’t bothered with these matters at all. Now that Minister Mei had entrusted the shops to Lord Zheng, at least he was taking initiative.

With this thought, Manager Yu urged the workers to speed up the printing.

…

The winter was bitter cold. During the morning court session, the Golden Hall had only a few braziers placed inside, barely making a difference. The courtiers huddled against the cold, exchanging quiet remarks among themselves until Emperor Wuming arrived, at which point they fell silent.

In the freezing winter, it was mostly the Six Ministers and the Grand Secretaries who spoke, while the rest listened unless they had pressing matters.

Xie Cheng attended court as an observer, keeping his thoughts to himself.

He scanned the hall but didn’t spot any familiar faces—except for Assistant Grand Secretary Wei, who noticed Xie Cheng’s gaze and nodded at him with a smile. Xie Cheng returned the courtesy.

Lord Zheng, meanwhile, hid behind Vice Minister Mei, fighting back a yawn.

Minister Lei stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, typhoons and blizzards have struck Quanzhou, causing widespread damage. We await Your Majesty’s decision on how to proceed."

Minister Lei had already submitted a memorial to Emperor Wuming about this matter. Raising it again in court was to select a suitable official for disaster relief.

The courtiers, divided into factions, each recommended their own candidates. In the end, Emperor Wuming chose Lord Hu, the Minister of the Imperial Ancestral Temple.

The Imperial Ancestral Temple had little to do lately, and as a third-rank official, Lord Hu was sufficiently qualified for disaster relief duty. Though not exceptionally talented, he was neither corrupt nor incompetent—precisely the kind of moderate official Emperor Wuming preferred.

Such honest officials rarely made mistakes, and even when they committed foolish blunders, Emperor Wuming would generously overlook them.

Lord Hu, however, did not consider this a favorable assignment. He broke into a cold sweat as he bowed and accepted the emperor’s decree. "Your servant thanks Your Majesty for your trust."

Thus, the matter of Quanzhou was settled.

After court, Lord Zheng returned to the Ministry of Revenue and turned his thoughts to the situation in Quanzhou. The coastal region had thriving fisheries, with many fishermen—about a fifth of the population—living on the sea. The loss of their taxes had reduced Quanzhou’s revenue by a fifth, leading the court to register them as households and impose fishing taxes.

Once registered, they could either settle on land, where the court would allocate farmland, or continue their seafaring life while paying fishing taxes.

Half chose to stay ashore, while the other half continued their seafaring life. The idea of fishing taxes had been proposed by Assistant Grand Secretary Wei back when he was still just a Grand Secretary. His solution had pleased the late emperor greatly, earning him imperial favor.

Anything that increased the treasury’s revenue pleased the emperor greatly. The policy also benefited the people, allowing them to settle down and receive land. Paying taxes meant the court would provide security for their livelihoods.

A mutually beneficial arrangement.

While organizing the Ministry of Revenue’s records, Lord Zheng discovered several departments owed silver taels, including the Hanlin Academy, which had a debt of fifty thousand taels. He compiled the list of debts and presented it to Vice Minister Mei.

Vice Minister Mei glanced at it. "They’ll repay before the New Year."

Lord Zheng nodded in response. Then Vice Minister Mei asked, "Those three shops are just for practice. Don't worry about them. If they continue to lose money, just shut them down."

The Ministry of Revenue had more profitable ventures, like salt and iron monopolies. Three small shops were of little consequence.

Lord Zheng gave an acknowledging nod.

During these days, he dared not go to the library again. Xie Cheng went there at noon, only to find more officials arriving. Their faces lit up when they saw him. After enduring several days without seeing Zheng Shanci, Xie Cheng left dejected.

His father had spoken to him about balancing civil and military affairs, leaving Xie Cheng shocked and terrified. The court appeared calm on the surface, but it was all under his father's control. The factional disputes among court officials and the conflicts between civil and military officials were all part of his father's machinations.

After learning this, Xie Cheng spent several sleepless nights slowly absorbing what Emperor Wuming had told him.

Tutor Jiang lectured them in the imperial study. Now, when Xie Cheng listened to Confucian classics, he felt differently about them now. After class, Tutor Jiang collected the assignments of both princes.

He didn’t review them himself first—they were to be presented to Emperor Wuming. Unlike other emperors who had twenty or thirty sons, Emperor Wuming had only two princes, which allowed him the energy to focus on them.

Emperor Wuming first glanced at Xie Dan’s work and nodded approvingly, then turned to Xie Cheng’s. His gaze sharpened, and a hint of amusement played at the corners of his lips.

After class, Xie Dan went straight to the *Kunning Palace* to see Wang Fengjun and, incidentally, enjoy the pastries there.

"The Second Prince loves the palace’s water chestnut cakes the most," a palace maid beside Wang Fengjun remarked with a smile.

Wang Fengjun shot Xie Dan a sidelong glance. "He’s always stuffing his face. Every time, his assignments earn him a scolding from His Majesty."

"Mother, you’re bringing up studies again. I just don’t want to learn. I memorize them in five reads—what’s the big deal?" Xie Dan said nonchalantly.

"Stop talking nonsense. Do you think you’re some prodigy?" Wang Fengjun ruffled his hair affectionately. "Just stop angering your father, and I’ll be at ease."

After finishing the pastries, Xie Dan chatted with Wang Fengjun, resting his head on her lap while she ignored him, busy embroidering a medicine pouch.

"Who are you making that for?" Xie Dan asked.

"One for you, and one for your brother."

"What about Father?"

"He has the palace attendants for that."

After playing for a while, Xie Dan headed back to the princes' quarters. He took some pastries with him, having a servant pack a food box. "Mother, I’ll take these back first and come to dine with you in the evening."

He left cheerfully.

"The Second Prince is so thoughtful, remembering to join you for dinner tonight," the palace maid said with a smile.

Wang Fengjun’s lips curved slightly. "He just has a sweet tooth."

Xie Dan brought the food box back to the princes' quarters and shared half the pastries with Xie Cheng. Noticing Xie Cheng practicing calligraphy, he praised his brother’s handwriting before saying, "Brother, Mother wants us to dine with her tonight. There’ll be lots of delicious food."

Xie Cheng acknowledged with a nod. "I know. But don’t eat too many pastries."

Xie Dan grumbled but agreed before heading back to his own quarters to dig through his things.

Seeing this, Feng Zhong called out, "Your Highness, what are you looking for? Let me help you."

Xie Dan scratched his cheek. "I hid two ointments under my bed."

Feng Zhong brought over a box. "Your Highness, I found those two ointments carelessly tossed under the bed and stored them in this box. I forgot to mention it afterward—I deserve to be punished." With that, he handed the box to Xie Dan and slapped his own cheek hard, leaving it reddened.

"It’s not your fault. I was too careless to leave them under the bed. You did well to tidy them up—just don’t forget to tell me next time." Xie Dan helped him up.

Fearing to burden Xie Dan, Feng Zhong stood up obediently.

"Don’t hit yourself like that. I still need you to talk to me."

"I understand, Your Highness."

Xie Dan took the ointments and went out to find Captain Wang. Spotting him from afar, he immediately called out, "Uncle!"

Captain Wang felt both embarrassed and proud. As he was about to salute, Xie Dan quickly helped him up.

Xie Dan handed the two ointments to his uncle, Captain Wang, saying, "Uncle, these are medicines the imperial physician prepared for me when Father punished me. Winter is coming, and your old leg pain will flare up again. Rub this on your legs—it warms up quickly, and the heat will ease the pain."

Captain Wang took a deep breath, deeply moved.

"Uncle, the rabbit you gave me during the autumn hunt—I’ve been keeping it in the royal residence, but it’s so lonely all by itself. Could you bring me another one?" Xie Dan asked.

Captain Wang immediately agreed.

"The Second Prince has been wanting another rabbit for a while. I suggested having someone catch one for him, but he insisted it had to be from Uncle Wang," Feng Zhong remarked.

Hearing this, Captain Wang felt even more gratified.

...

After finishing his duties, Zheng Shanci went to the porcelain shop. The white porcelain was indeed selling well, and among the crowd, he spotted a familiar figure.

Yu Lanyi had purchased three pieces of white porcelain, planning to take them home and use them as vases for plum blossoms on his table.

"Zheng Shanci, what are you doing here?" Yu Lanyi instructed Jin Yun to hold the porcelain carefully before looking up and spotting Zheng Shanci in his vermilion official robe.

Recently, the white porcelain from this place had gained some fame. During winter, noble ladies of the capital enjoyed admiring plum blossoms and often wished to cut some branches to display in vases. What kind of vase best suited plum blossoms? Flashy colors would only detract from the purity of the blossoms, failing to highlight the preciousness of their red petals blooming in winter.

A lady who adored plum blossoms, while searching for vases in the market, was immediately drawn to the white porcelain in the shop. The porcelain was glossy and plain, flawless without a single distracting pattern—simply pristine and immaculate. She purchased two pieces, arranged plum blossoms in them, and found them perfectly suited.

When her husband invited friends over for tea during his day off, they admired the plum blossoms displayed in the main hall. Moved, they penned several fine poems while appreciating the blossoms against the snowy backdrop.

As these poems spread in the capital, the white porcelain gained widespread attention. Literati and connoisseurs rushed to buy them, quickly selling out the stock.

"The shopkeeper said these three pieces are the last available today. I’ll take them home and arrange plum blossoms in them—to add a touch of refinement," Yu Lanyi remarked, finding the porcelain exquisite and intriguing, especially with so many people praising it. He had come to see for himself and, upon inspection, truly found the white porcelain beautiful.

These were white porcelains produced by the official kiln, made by master artisans from across the land, naturally of superior quality. Though earlier designs were limited by dyes, the craftsmanship itself had always been excellent.

Zheng Shanci had never imagined the white porcelain to sell so well with little promotion.

"Did you come to see the white porcelain too?" Yu Lanyi ushered him into the carriage.

Zheng Shanci obediently climbed in. Since the porcelain was selling well, there was no need for him to inspect further.

"How did the white porcelain suddenly become so popular?" Zheng Shanci was still puzzled.

Yu Lanyi first took a sip of hot tea, placed his hand warmer on the carriage seat, and held a heated pouch, finally feeling comfortable before explaining the reason to Zheng Shanci.

"What a serendipitous twist." A few poems by officials in the capital had inadvertently boosted the porcelain trade. It was reminiscent of the Song Dynasty, when songs based on poetry became popular, often performed by singing girls in pleasure houses. Should a song become popular, the poet would rise in prominence as well, with a single lyric sometimes worth hundreds of taels of silver.

The poems by those officials were particularly well-written, coinciding with winter—the season for admiring plum blossoms—thus propelling the porcelain into the spotlight and introducing the shop to the public.

With attention came demand. People in the capital had no shortage of silver and were willing to spend it on a few pieces of white porcelain. Soon, owning white porcelain became a trend, with people asking each other if they had bought any. Those who had felt a sense of superiority. Some objects served practical purposes—like pots, bowls, and utensils. But once those needs were met, people sought something more.

Often, it was about beauty without utility, but more importantly, it fulfilled a sense of prestige.

"What do you mean by 'serendipitous twist'?" Yu Lanyi shot him a look, annoyed by the cryptic remark.

Zheng Shanci then explained, "Remember how Minister Mei gave me three shops? One for porcelain, one for printing, and one for textiles. This porcelain shop is one of them."

"No wonder I ran into you here. Usually, you head straight home after duty, but today you just happened to come here for no reason." Yu Lanyi flipped open the carriage curtain, letting in a gust of cold wind. He glanced at the shop, now viewing it differently knowing it was under Zheng Shanci’s management. He sat back, his eyes brightened.

Reaching out to poke Zheng Shanci's arm, "You should’ve been a merchant, not an official. You went to Xinfeng County to help the county office make money, and now you're in the Ministry of Revenue making money again."

Zheng Shanci liked the poke. Though the finger was a bit forceful, he could handle it.

He grabbed Yu Lanyi's fingers and placed them on his own knee. His hand was still warm, giving off heat. Unlike Yu Lanyi's feet at night—his feet were most prone to cold in winter. Even after soaking them and tucking them under the blankets, they’d soon turn cold again. Then he’d whimper and cling to Zheng Shanci, pressing himself close, even wrapping his legs around Zheng Shanci’s to steal warmth. So fussy, so needy.

"It's just duty. Most of the credit should go to the excellent porcelain-making technique, which is why you all like it so much," Zheng Shanci said with a laugh.

His face was as smooth as jade, and when he smiled like this, it could melt anyone’s heart.

When they reached the mansion, a servant brought a low stool. Zheng Shanci stepped down first, then helped Yu Lanyi descend.

"Dad sent some fish over, said they were fresh and delicious. I told the kitchen to make spicy fish. It’s cold in winter—eating something spicy warms you up."

Zheng Shanci nodded, and the two returned to their courtyard. Once the room warmed up, Yu Lanyi had Wu Shi bring Xiao Pingan over. Xiao Pingan could sit up by himself now, though he couldn’t walk yet—he was six months old.

When he saw Yu Lanyi, he opened his mouth wide and grinned. Yu Lanyi spotted something white inside. After Wu Shi placed the child on the bed, Yu Lanyi leaned in for a closer look. Xiao Pingan sat there and grinned again.

He saw a little tooth starting to come in.

"Zheng Shanci, come quick! Xiao Pingan’s teething!"

Zheng Shanci was in the inner chamber changing out of his official robe. Hearing this, he hastily dressed and hurried over, seeing the tiny tooth in his son’s mouth. "He really is teething."

"No wonder he’s always trying to touch his mouth—his gums must be itchy."

Xiao Pingan clapped his hands. His little toys were already on the bed—two cloth tigers and a small horse figurine, a gift from Du Ning that Xiao Pingan adored. Now that he was teething, he loved them even more. He brought the little horse to his mouth.

Zheng Shanci yanked the horse away.

Xiao Pingan whined, his lips trembling as if about to cry.

He just wanted to chew on it.

Sure enough, Xiao Pingan burst into tears.

Yu Lanyi snapped, "You deal with him."

Zheng Shanci sighed.

Grumbling, he picked up his son and soothed him, distracting him with playful gestures.

Once the baby settled down, he patted him and let him return to playing on the bed.

Seeing Xiao Pingan happily playing with the two cloth tigers again, no longer fussing, Yu Lanyi relaxed. He hadn’t just gone out for porcelain—he’d also stopped by the tavern to bring back the account books. The tavern workers were trustworthy, and the books were clean. With the cold weather, more people were buying wine, so the recent accounts looked good.

Zheng Shanci watched Xiao Pingan play with the cloth tigers, patiently watching, only calling for Wu Shi to take him back once the child grew tired.

Not wanting to disturb Yu Lanyi as he reviewed the accounts, Zheng Shanci went to the study to fetch paper and ink for calligraphy practice. Usually, he was busy with Ministry affairs, but this year, the workload was light, giving him rare leisure to practice writing.

For the disaster relief in Quanzhou, the Ministry had allocated a hundred thousand taels of silver, thousands of catties of grain, medicine, and tents—all properly arranged. Now that Lord Hu was sent, as long as he harbored no ill intentions, the snow disaster in Quanzhou should be resolved quickly.

He’d barely read the original and didn’t know much about the plot beyond that. He did recall the new emperor’s reign title—Emperor Yongwen—but little else.

After finishing two large calligraphy sheets, it was time for dinner. Xiao Pingan was still too young for solid food and remained on milk. That evening, only Zheng Shanci and Yu Lanyi dined together.

Yu Lanyi eagerly served Zheng Shanci fish, while Zheng Shanci carefully picked out the bones before placing the meat in his bowl.

"This fish is delicious. The cucumber in the spicy fish is so refreshing."

The dish came with glass noodles. Zheng Shanci slurped them down fast. A hot winter meal was cozy enough, but having his beloved by his side made it even better.

Yu Lanyi ladled a bowl of cabbage soup for Zheng Shanci. The fish’s strong taste was cut by the mild soup, making it just right. After the meal, Yu Lanyi noticed snowflakes drifting outside. He tossed on a cloak and dragged Zheng Shanci outside to see the snow.