Chapter 165: Mirror

When Yun Shu arrived at the Eastern Palace, Yan Ning was listening to Grand Tutor Chen give a lecture.

Grand Tutor Chen was profoundly knowledgeable, and his lectures to Yan Ning progressed from the simple to the profound.

At this moment, she saw Yun Shu to the side, and her eyes lit up, "What good thing have you brought over this time?"

Yun Shu said with a smile, "I made a little trinket; it can't really be called a good thing."

Yan Ning took the parcel from Yun Shu's hands, opened it, and saw that it was actually two mirrors!

There were two round mirrors the size of a palm that could clearly reflect one's image; although they were slightly inferior to those mirrors from later generations, compared to the current bronze mirrors and silver mirrors, they were truly much clearer.

Master Chen also found this mirror miraculous upon seeing it; he could see everything clearly, even the wrinkles and small spots on his own face were visible.

Thinking of his wife's bronze mirror, which became unclear after being used for a little too long, this was quite different.

Master Chen asked, "Will this mirror become blurry later on?"

Yun Shu shook his head, "No, as long as it isn't broken, it can be kept forever."

Grand Tutor Chen's eyes lit up immediately.

He couldn't help but ask, "How is this mirror made to be so clear, and will it be sold in the future?"

Yun Shu looked at Yan Ning, "It should be sold, but this mirror is made of Glazed Glass."

Grand Tutor Chen's hand trembled; he knew that a mirror this clear must be very expensive.

But he hadn't expected it to be made of Glazed Glass; one wouldn't be able to buy it for less than three to five hundred taels.

Yan Ning examined these two mirrors carefully and said to Yun Shu, "Find a carpenter to make some suitable mirror frames; in a few days, I will open a new shop specifically to sell mirrors."

Yun Shu asked, "I'm afraid it will require a large amount of Glass, no, I mean Glazed Glass."

Yan Ning said, "I will provide the Glazed Glass, you make the mirrors, and we will split the profits fifty-fifty. If the mirrors sell well, perhaps we can make a Steam Train sooner."

Yun Shu added, "When that time comes, we can go wherever we want, and those fruits not found in the Capital can also be transported here."

Yan Ning's eyes were sparkling; she wanted to make money!

Make more money and earn enough for the Train.

After Yun Shu handed over the mirrors, he left, and Grand Tutor Chen looked at his retreating figure with some emotion.

Are children nowadays all this capable?

The next day at the morning court.

After the officials in the court had finished discussing official business, Yan Ning brought up the mirror.

Yan Ning took out the mirror to show everyone: "This is something new that Yun Shu has figured out. This mirror can reflect people clearly, and as long as it isn't dropped and broken, it can be used forever."

Yan Ze stood up to take a look, and it was indeed a mirror.

It is fortunate to have a top-student transmigrator; otherwise, it would be very troublesome for them to make these things themselves.

The ministers exclaimed, "This mirror can actually reflect things so clearly, it can even show the green onion stuck on Minister Gu's mouth."

"There is actually such an amazing mirror in the world; it is much better looking than a bronze mirror."

"Yun Shu comes up with inventions every so often; could it be that the position of Dean of the Kexueyuan is being saved for him?"

Yan Ning said with a smile, "Naturally, it is reserved for Yun Shu; otherwise, tell me, where is there anyone more capable than Yun Shu?"

Yan Ze said with a smile, "This mirror is quite interesting; it is indeed a good invention. Reward him with five hundred taels of silver and two bolts of plain silk."

Yun Shu was not present, so Yun You helped accept the reward on his behalf.

Yan Ning saw the officials craning their necks to look toward her, and she knew that this mirror had already piqued their interest.

After the court session, the officials surrounded Yun You.

"Minister Yun, you have raised a good son; it makes us all very envious."

The corners of Yun You's mouth could not be suppressed; his son was truly too outstanding!

At this time, Chancellor Ji asked, "What kind of fortuitous encounter did your Yun Shu have? He has actually made quite a few good things in these past few months."

Yun You cleared his throat, "It is like this: when my son went hunting, he picked up a book. That book had many symbols on it; I looked at it once and couldn't make heads or tails of it at all."

This was a book Yun Shu had deliberately forged, so naturally, Yun You could not understand it.

Chancellor Ji found it strange, "Tell me what is recorded in that book; could it be that only Yun Shu can understand it?"

Yun You nodded, "Besides Yun Shu, I found a few others to look at it together, but the symbols on it could not be made out at all; only Yun Shu could understand them."

"After he understood it, he compiled books like 'Basic Physics' and 'Physics Textbook'."

The others did not believe it and insisted that Yun You bring the book over.

Yun You was helpless and could only have a servant go home to fetch the book.

Today, everyone had no heart for work and was just waiting to see that book of Yun You's.

As a result, everyone gathered together to look at the book.

The handwriting on it was sloppy, and there were many ink blots; every page had many special symbols.

Grand Tutor Chen said, "I have seen these special patterns; they are in 'Basic Physics'."

Several people came over to look one after another, only feeling that it was quite miraculous.

They couldn't understand it, but Yun Shu could.

It could be considered a natural gift.

The expressions of the crowd as they looked at Yun You became even more resentful.

Why didn't they have such a good son?

Yan Ning acted very quickly; she said she wanted to open a mirror shop, so she did it immediately, and even gave it a particularly nice name.

——Jianyue Pavilion.

This shop was opened next to the Liuli Shop, and Yan Ning paid a high price to buy the shop.

These days, Yun Shu had been secretly making mirrors in his office, and whenever he finished one, he would have someone send it to Yan Ning.

Yan Ning had saved up quite a few mirrors, and at this moment, Yan Ning and the maids were arranging the mirrors together.

There were full-length mirrors, vanity mirrors, and small mirrors; round ones, square ones, and odd-shaped ones—there were quite a few of each.

After all these mirrors were set in place, it still felt somewhat empty.

However, her pricing was very high; a Small Round Mirror six centimeters in diameter, inlaid in wood, cost three hundred taels of silver.

Larger vanity mirrors cost eight hundred taels, even larger half-length mirrors cost two thousand taels, and there were two full-length mirrors that cost five thousand taels of silver.

For the new shop opening, Yun Shu also came over together.

Everyone came over excitedly, but once they saw the prices, they found them too outrageous.

"An ordinary bronze mirror only costs about one hundred taels; is this Mirror of yours made of gold, to charge such a high price?"

"Sigh, I suddenly feel that Silver Mirrors and bronze mirrors seem quite good after all."

"Bronze mirrors get blurrier the longer they are kept, and who knows how long the mirrors here will last."

Yun Shu said loudly, "This Mirror is made of Glazed Glass, which is why the price is on the high side."

"Furthermore, as long as it is not broken, this Mirror can be used forever; try to be careful, don't bump or knock it, and generally it won't break."

The crowd gasped.

They were actually using Glazed Glass to make mirrors!

It was unknown how they were made, but one could faintly see the texture of Glazed Glass.

Upon hearing they were made of Glazed Glass, the few wealthy merchants who had come over rushed toward the full-length mirrors, insisting on buying them, and nearly started a fight.

Yan Ning and Yun Shu hurriedly stopped them: "There will be more of these mirrors in the future, so please don't break them."