Chapter 646: The Sensation Caused by Silk and Porcelain!

The nobleman's steward's words instantly sparked a wave of skepticism around him.

"True or false? Ten thousand gold coins per chi? Is this cloth made of gold?"

A commoner cried out in astonishment.

A commoner's garment typically used four to six chi of cloth, varying slightly by gender or body size, but generally within this range.

Even in the Eternal Night Empire, a thin garment for a commoner cost only dozens of silver coins; a thick winter garment cost just a few gold coins, and such thick garments were worn for years, even decades.

But silk clearly was an extremely thin fabric.

Based on commoners' clothing, the cloth they used cost no more than ten silver coins per chi.

One hundred silver coins equaled one gold coin.

Yet now, this nobleman's steward claimed one chi was worth ten thousand gold coins!

Heaven!

Wouldn't a single garment require tens of thousands of gold coins?

No, there was also the processing cost.

The more expensive the fabric, the higher the processing cost.

Without even thinking, one knew that garments made from this silk would cost… over a million gold coins each?

Some commoners, upon imagining this sum, felt a wave of suffocation.

Oh my heavens!

A million gold coins per garment.

And it was an extremely thin garment!

These commoners simply could not imagine it!

They instinctively refused to believe it!

A million gold coins meant ten tons of gold—twenty thousand jin!

Heaven!

"Even if this cloth were made of pure gold, it wouldn't be worth this much."

A commoner muttered.

Indeed.

How much could one chi of gold even be worth?

"Look at the emblem on those carriages—that's the Laurens Grand Duke's crest! This entire convoy belongs to the Laurens Grand Duke! Laurens Grand Duke wouldn't lie—this silk must be valuable, otherwise he'd never dare use such fabric to present to Your Majesty!"

At this moment, a minor noble recognized the nobleman transporting the silk.

"It really is Laurens Grand Duke! I remember now—recently I heard a count boast he spent a million gold coins on a priceless garment; could it have been this silk?"

Another noble recalled.

"I wonder if Lady Anne, Laurens Grand Duke's daughter, known as the brightest jewel of the six eastern provinces, has come?"

Upon learning it was Laurens Grand Duke, the noble instantly shifted the topic.

In the Eternal Night Empire, grand dukes fell into two categories: one type ruled duchies within the empire, possessing vast lands but no sovereign state—Laurens Grand Duke was such a duke.

The other type were grand dukes from human kingdoms surrounding the Eternal Night Empire; these grand dukes were sovereign rulers of entire kingdoms.

"I also want to know—Laurens Grand Duke really is generous! Ten thousand gold coins per chi of silk, and he brought an entire cartload!"

"Yes, yes! Where is this silk even from? How could it be so expensive? It's unbelievable."

"…"

The onlookers immediately burst into heated discussion.

Soon, the crowd lining the street learned that Laurens Grand Duke had brought a fabric called silk to present to the Emperor—ten thousand gold coins per chi!

And this news soon spread throughout Ducheng, then across the entire Eternal Night Empire.

In the Eternal Night Empire, whatever the grand ducal families coveted would drive countless lesser nobles into frenzy.

Thus, the name "silk," thanks to Laurens Grand Duke's display, spread at lightning speed across the entire Eternal Night Empire after the Emperor's thousandth birthday, sparking intense admiration from nobles everywhere.

From then on, nobles no longer competed by who wore more gold and silver jewelry, but by who could wear a garment of silk!

Countless nobles with deep pockets held gold coins, using connections to buy even a few chi of silk.

Of course, that was later.

"Laurens Grand Duke has truly stolen the spotlight this time! I've long heard that a new silk has appeared in the three eastern provinces—this silk is not only breathtakingly beautiful, but also enhances magical affinity, far superior to any fabric we have. Too bad I was too slow—even paying double the price, I couldn't get any."

As he watched Laurens Grand Duke steal the spotlight with his cart of silk, another grand duke couldn't help but feel envy.

The duke's words revealed some information.

That is, silk had undergone significant changes upon arriving in this world.

This was a world infused with magic.

Magical elements were everywhere.

Silk contained no artificial elements whatsoever; it resembled the fabric elves extracted from plants, possessing excellent magical affinity.

Worn on the body, it felt exceptionally comfortable.

This made silk even more coveted in this world.

Especially among nobles who were themselves magicians.

In this world, nobles were noble.

Magicians were even nobler.

Anything both groups adored would naturally draw admiration from others!

Though most could never afford it.

But they didn't need to be able to afford it.

They only needed to know it was something extremely expensive; the nobles' vanity would be satisfied.

After speaking, the duke added:

"But although we have no silk, I have something else. Steward, order the men to uncover the drapes—we cannot let Duke Laurent steal all the spotlight."

"Yes, my lord."

At the command of the duke's steward, several warriors began to uncover the drapes on the carriage.

"Hey, that's Duke Victor's convoy—look, Duke Victor's carriage is about to have its drapes unveiled too! Let's see what treasure Duke Victor has brought this time!"

Some commoners, with sharp eyes, noticed the warriors' movements and turned to look.