A crown princess who doesn't do infrastructure construction isn't a good doctor.

Following the head of the family to the main hall in the front yard, Qin Suiyou could sense from afar that the atmosphere inside was somewhat tense.

However, as soon as Qin Suiyou stepped across the threshold, the expression on Prince An's face immediately relaxed.

"Your subject greets Your Majesty."

With others present, Qin Suiyou politely bowed. As the heir apparent, he didn't need to be so discreet as to greet strangers, so the other person in the main hall was almost neglected.

Prince An smiled and asked Qin Suiyou to stand up and sit down. The two then began to chat about everyday matters.

"Your mother is going to cook today, and she specifically told me to take you there to try it soon."

"Is that so? Then I am in for a treat today."

"Haha, it's not exactly delicious. Your mother only makes it occasionally when she's in the mood. We'll see if it suits your taste. If it doesn't, you'll have to be patient. It's not easy to coax your mother when she's upset."

Seeing that Prince An was quite uninhibited in front of the man who was silently drinking tea, Qin Suiyou began to consider the situation.

"Your subject remembers, and will certainly not cause Mother any sadness."

Just as Prince An was about to say something, the person below him finally couldn't hold back and coughed twice to make his presence known.

Prince An withdrew his gaze from Qin Suiyou's direction, and without rushing to speak, he calmly raised his teacup, slowly skimmed off any non-existent tea foam, and then took a sip.

Qin Suiyou found it amusing. He noticed that the refined and handsome man sitting opposite him had his back teeth clenched and was glaring at Prince An from time to time, which made it even clearer how close his relationship with Prince An was.

After leaving him waiting for a while, Prince An finally became a little more serious.

“Suiyou, this is Kong An, the current Vice Director of the Imperial Academy. He can be considered a good friend of mine. You can call him Uncle Kong in the mansion.”

Qin Suiyou stood up and bowed, and Kong An smiled and accepted. But as soon as Qin Suiyou sat down again, his expression changed, not towards Qin Suiyou, but towards Prince An.

Kong An flicked his sleeves toward Prince An and said, "Alas, I am unworthy to be a friend of the esteemed Prince An. A person should know his own limitations. Since it is a forced request, I dare not presume to be associated with you."

Prince An smiled modestly and said, "What are you saying, Supervisor? The Confucian family is the one that all scholars in the world admire. If anyone should be saying they dare not associate with it, it should be me."

Kong An replied, “That is also thanks to my father. As his son, he failed to inherit the mantle properly, and I am ashamed. I can only think of helping my father in other ways so as not to disgrace the Kong family. Recently, I had the good fortune to see a light and convenient pen in Your Highness’s hand, which made me think of those poor students who can’t afford pen and ink all year round. If that pen can be popularized, it may be a great achievement that benefits thousands of poor students. I wonder if Your Highness would be willing to teach me the method of making the pen.”

Having said that, Prince An was too lazy to engage in any more bureaucratic pleasantries with Kong An. His fake smile faded, leaving behind a look of pride.

“Mingsong, you say you have made great achievements, but those are things that can’t be seen or touched right now. You have to show some sincerity to make it clear.”

Mingsong was Kong An's courtesy name. Seeing that Prince An had stopped speaking in official jargon, Kong An's posture became noticeably more relaxed, and he even leaned against the table to the side.

Kong An repeated what Qin Suiyou had told Prince An before he came: "I will pay five hundred taels of silver to buy out the method of making the brush. As long as you agree, the silver will be delivered in a few days, and no one else will know. They will only know that it was Prince An who offered the method of making the brush, which is truly selfless."

Prince An almost rolled his eyes, disregarding his image, but fortunately he managed to restrain himself.

"Kong Mingsong, not to mention that I don't know the method of making brushes, even if I did, given your attitude in the negotiation, I would never tell you."

Startled by his words, Kong An sat up straight again and said, "What's wrong with my attitude? Besides, you don't even know how to make a brush!"

"Hey."

Signaling Kong An to calm down, Prince An said, "You've known me for so many years, you should know my character. But just now, your words were full of the implication that you wanted me to hand over the method of making brushes with the help of personal gain. I don't know what has happened to you recently, that you've become so eager for quick success and instant benefits."

Upon hearing this, Kong An smiled wryly and said, "I must have been obsessed."

Prince An asked with a worried expression, "What exactly happened?"

Kong An sorted out his thoughts and said, "About half a month ago, the Emperor summoned my elder brother to the palace, saying that the national treasury had been empty in recent years and that the number of students from poor families who could enter the Imperial Academy should be reduced."

If a poor student from Beiqian can pass the imperial examination and enter the Imperial Academy, the court will allocate funds to cover his or her food, lodging, clothing, and the purchase of writing materials. However, the number of people who can enter the Imperial Academy is extremely small, sometimes only one in ten thousand. Sometimes, no one is admitted for several consecutive years. Moreover, the funds allocated by the court only guarantee the students' most basic living and learning expenses. Anyone who wants to enjoy anything else will have to go hungry. Compared to the hundreds or even thousands of taels of silver that nobles in the palace can spend on a single piece of jewelry, this amount of money is just a drop in the ocean and must be carefully considered to be comparable to it.

In this situation, the emperor reduced the number of candidates citing the empty national treasury, but his own spending was extremely extravagant, clearly indicating his intention to suppress those from poor families.

Kong An's father, Kong A, was a great Confucian scholar of his time, with countless students, most of whom came from humble backgrounds. His eldest son, Kong Wen, was the Chancellor of the Imperial Academy, and Kong An, the Assistant Chancellor, was a different story. The father and sons all had great connections with students from humble backgrounds. If students from humble backgrounds were not given important positions, not to mention the turmoil that would ensue in the court, the Kong family would decline first.

Kong Wen tried to dissuade the emperor from immediately dismissing some of the students already in the Imperial Academy, but the whole family was now extremely worried about this matter.

Prince An had served as the Vice Director of the Imperial Academy, so he was well aware of the implications of this position, and it was precisely because of this knowledge that he couldn't help but frown.

Kong An said, “Father said that the best course of action now is to help students from poor families achieve better results in the imperial examinations. Because of the constraints of the world, the emperor cannot simply prevent students from poor families from becoming officials. I have tried my best to alleviate the burden on those poor students. My mind is a complete mess, and I was just talking nonsense. Please don’t take it to heart.”

Prince An shook his head and said, "I know you well enough. It's enough that you admit your mistake."

Finally, Kong An asked, "What about the method of making brushes..."

Prince An gestured for Kong An to look in Qin Suiyou's direction and said, "That pen was given to me by my son-in-law, but he bought it from a traveling merchant in Zhongzhou. You can't understand why he would go to him now."

While surprised by Qin Suiyou's good fortune in encountering a traveling merchant from Zhongzhou, Kong An couldn't help but feel disappointed, as he also had some understanding of the legendary Zhongzhou.

Just as Kong An was feeling dejected, Qin Suiyou said, "Actually, I do know how pencils are made."

Kong An immediately perked up.

"really?"

Qin Suiyou nodded and said, "It's true."

"Ha, that's great, then...can you sell me the method?"

Prince An shook his head and said, "You can't change?"

Kong An coughed awkwardly twice.

"Ahem, I'm talking nonsense again, my dear nephew. Could you teach me the method? Of course I will. You can name your reward, as long as it doesn't violate my principles."

Prince An was about to say something when Kong An quickly said, "I already told him to ask for his own reward. I can't just take the benefits for nothing."

After pondering for a moment, Qin Suiyou asked, "If Uncle Kong were to make pencils, how would you provide them for your students?"

Kong An replied, "I will let them buy it themselves at a low price."

After all, most ambitious students wouldn't accept it if it were given away for free, and the Kong family's not-so-wealthy background couldn't sustain giving it away for free indefinitely.

"In that case, you don't need to learn the method to go back."

Kong An stared in shock, while Prince An was also slightly puzzled.

Qin Suiyou then explained, “The pencil-making process is quite time-consuming. By the time you learn it from a craftsman, you’ll have already wasted a lot of time. How about this: I currently have several shops in Yejing, which are already being renovated. I have access to pencil purchasing channels, and I will open a shop selling affordable rare items. There might be some things that you might like. If needed, you can buy them in bulk from me for your students. I will give you the biggest discount, which will greatly reduce costs, and I can also make additional profits.”

After listening to Qin Suiyou's explanation, the two discussed the details for a while, and Kong An couldn't help but praise, "Yu Chuan, your son has gained a remarkable ruler."

Prince An nodded with a reserved yet somewhat proud air, and said, "That's for sure."