DLERB -Chapter 71 Your Bamboo Slips Weigh Twenty Pounds—Mine Is a Divine Object Called Paper!

Ying Ziye’s words were like a stone thrown into a dead still pond.

Cheaper than toilet bamboo sticks?

Cheaper than cabbages in the field?

Kong Fu’s expression immediately darkened.

“Brat! Utter nonsense!”

He pointed at Ying Ziye, his voice trembling.

“Knowledge is a national treasure! The classics of sages! How can it be compared to mundane objects!”

“You are humiliating all scholars in the world!”

Behind him, the Confucian officials immediately echoed him.

“Impudent and reckless! Your Majesty, punish him!”

“A clueless child—what does he know of the value of learning!”

Ying Ziye looked at them.

It was as if he were looking at a flock of noisy ducks.

He said nothing.

He simply raised his small hand.

Snap.

A crisp finger snap echoed.

Outside the hall.

Two tall Imperial Guards walked in carrying a huge wooden box.

Thud!

The box was placed heavily in the center of the hall.

All voices stopped.

All eyes focused on it.

Ying Ziye walked over with his short legs.

“Open it.”

“Yes!”

The guards drew their blades and pried open the seal.

Creeeak—

The lid slowly opened.

In an instant.

A dazzling white light reflected out, blinding everyone’s eyes.

Gasps filled the hall.

Inside the box were neatly stacked layers of something.

White.

Smooth.

As thin as cicada wings.

In the dim hall, it was as white as clouds in the sky, as snow over the northern frontier.

“What… what is this?”

An official exclaimed in shock.

The best writing material they knew was white silk.

But even the finest silk had a slight yellow tint—and was as valuable as gold.

What lay before them was even whiter, flatter, and smoother.

And judging by the quantity, there were thousands upon thousands of sheets.

Kong Fu’s pupils contracted slightly.

But he quickly steadied himself.

He let out a cold laugh.

“Gimmicks.”

“It is so light and thin—it will probably tear with a touch.”

He looked at Ying Ziye with heavy sarcasm.

“Could it be that Ninth Prince is presenting used diapers as treasure?”

“Hahaha!”

The Confucian scholars behind him burst into laughter.

On the dragon throne, Ying Zheng’s expression turned cold.

But Ying Ziye remained completely unfazed.

He even smiled brightly at Kong Fu.

“Bring me brush and ink.”

A eunuch quickly ran over carrying an inkstone and brush.

Under the gaze of the entire court,

Ying Ziye took out a sheet of paper from the box.

It floated lightly onto the desk.

He picked up the brush, dipped it in ink, and began writing.

Everyone stretched their necks to watch.

The black ink fell onto the paper.

It instantly sank in—yet did not spread or blur.

Black was black, white was white.

So clear it was shocking.

After a few strokes, a turtle with its head tucked in appeared on the paper.

Ying Ziye seemed unsatisfied.

He added two crooked childish characters on the turtle’s shell:

Kong Fu

“Pfft…”

Someone couldn’t hold back a laugh.

Then more suppressed laughter followed.

Kong Fu’s old face instantly turned the color of liver.

“You brat! You dare insult me!”

Ying Ziye didn’t even look at him.

He lifted the paper with the turtle drawing.

And gently shook it in front of everyone.

The paper made a soft rustling sound.

“Look.”

“So light.”

At that moment, a figure rushed out from the ranks of the civil officials.

It was the Chancellor, Li Si!

His official hat was crooked from running, and there was none of his usual composure left on his face.

He rushed to the desk.

His eyes were locked tightly onto the sheet of paper in Ying Ziye’s hand.

His hands were trembling.

He wanted to touch it, yet did not dare—as if it were not paper, but some divine artifact.

“This… this texture…”

“This ink absorption…”

“Black and white so distinct, ink charm formed by nature!”

Li Si’s voice carried a hint of tears.

“A divine object!”

“This is a heavenly gift!”

Who was Li Si?

The Chancellor of Great Qin! The reformer of small seal script! The greatest calligrapher of the empire!

Even he called it a divine object!

At this point, no one dared doubt it any longer.

Ying Ziye smiled.

He walked over holding the sheet of paper and stood in front of Kong Fu.

Kong Fu was holding a bundle of bamboo slips—prepared to quote classics and lecture Ying Ziye.

That bundle weighed at least twenty to thirty jin.

Ying Ziye pointed at it with his small hand.

“Old man.”

“How heavy is your bundle?”

Kong Fu did not answer.

Ying Ziye then lifted the sheet of paper in his hand.

“This one of mine weighs less than a tenth of a tael.”

He paused, then said something that made Kong Fu’s heart collapse completely.

“Every word in your bundle of bamboo slips—both sides of my sheet of paper can hold it all!”

Boom!

It was as if thunder exploded inside Kong Fu’s mind.

The bamboo slips in his arms, once as heavy as a mountain, suddenly felt scorching hot and unbearable.

But it wasn’t over.

Ying Ziye’s next words were like a blade piercing his heart.

“Your bamboo slips require cutting bamboo, baking, drilling, and threading—complicated processes, and extremely expensive.”

He pointed at the paper in his hand, smiling like a little devil.

“This is called ‘paper.’”

“It is made from the cheapest tree bark and plant roots.”

“As for cost…”

Ying Ziye tilted his little head and thought for a moment.

“Probably… one-thousandth the cost of your precious bamboo slips.”

One-thousandth!

Kong Fu’s body trembled violently.

He staggered back one step.

Then another.

His face was even paler than the paper in Ying Ziye’s hand.

On the dragon throne, Ying Zheng suddenly stood up!

He strode down the steps and took the sheet of paper with the turtle drawing from Ying Ziye’s hand.

His fingers felt its delicate yet resilient texture.

He grasped both ends of the paper.

And tore it hard!

Riiip—

A dull sound.

The paper… did not break!

Ying Zheng’s eyes erupted with unprecedented brilliance!

He raised his head toward the dome of the hall and burst into thunderous laughter!

“Hahahahaha!”

“Good! Truly a divine object called ‘paper’!”

He turned to the ministers, holding the sheet high.

“Do you know? I review one hundred twenty jin of memorials every day!”

“One hundred twenty jin!”

His voice echoed through the Qilin Hall.

“With this object…”

“My memorials will be only a few sheets of paper!”

“The decrees of Great Qin can be spread across the world within a single day!”

The Emperor’s endorsement was the final blow.

Thud.

One Confucian scholar behind Kong Fu collapsed to the ground.

Then a second… a third…

They looked at Ying Ziye as if he were a demon crawling out of hell.

The monopoly on knowledge…was gone.

Their foundation for survival…had collapsed!

Kong Fu stood there, utterly lost.

Just as he was sinking into despair, Ying Ziye’s childish yet fatal voice rang out again.

“Don’t rush.”

He spread his little hands innocently.

“Just having paper… what’s the use?”

“Writing is still too slow.”

Ying Ziye grinned, revealing two rows of small white teeth.

“Bring it out!”

“Bring the divine tool!”