Shen Lang had yet come out from the other room whereas, Xu Jiazhu and Xu Qianqian had already placed their golden and purple silk on the surface table.
Bright, burnished candles lit the pavilion ablaze looking as bright as day.
Shen Lang’s golden silk he handed Lin Mo earlier on rested quietly beside Xu Jiazhu’s golden silk.
If one were to look at first glance, they’d find it difficult to distinguish between Shen Lang and Xu Jiazhu’s silk, but under the gleaming light, the fine comparison between the two silk was clear.
One could tell Xu Jiazhu’s golden was purer and more gorgeous than Shen Lang’s.
This is to be expected. The Xu Family’s a professional in this line of business. They had rich resources under their care backed with years of experience. It can’t possibly hope to compare to Shen Lang’s mediocre creation.
Yet, even so, the twinkling eyes of the officials present feasted on the purple silk which was particularly bright against the luminous candlelight.
The Xu Family’s phenomenally outstanding craftsman bowed in the presence of Xu Jiazhu and Xu Qianqian. “Master, Miss, this is our new purple dye. It’s no longer created from mixtures of blue and red. Rather, it’s extracted from a certain kind of wild grass. We’re still in the midst of researching this thing hence why it’s not yet in the market, but the results are unlike anything I’ve ever seen!”
Xu Jiazhu and Lin Mo gazed deeply at the purple silk beaming under the candlelight.
Ah… it was bright and vivid. If there were words to string together to describe it all, it’d be like the sun promising to shine and even against the darkest of clouds, it’ll continue to burn.
It was that sort of feeling it gave them.
It was pure, the most beautiful thing they’d ever seen.
The Xu Family did it again! Surely they’d strike fortune once more! Shen Lang cannot ever hope to counter against this.
The young official felt the texture of the silk. It felt nice. He hate to admit it, but it was good. Though he isn’t by any means a powerful noble, he still belonged to a well-known family of nobles, one that cannot be easily trifled with.
Besides, the young official appreciated this deep, vivid purple.
“Xu Craftsman, regarding the golden dye, please speak.” Said Xu Jiazhu.
“Yes, Master.” The craftsman bowed. “With respects to the Esteemed Officials, my humble family comes from generations after generations of professional dyers. I’ve also studied this line of work since young, especially the golden and yellow dye reserved wholly for the King. I’ve devoted most of my energy into them, experimenting with hundreds of raw resources, sophora plant being one of them.”
Then, he handed over a record book.
The young official overseeing Xuanwu City Prison looked over the record book. Sure enough, there were indeed many sorts of recipes recorded inside. Sophora plant was also included. It’d also been some time since this note was written. It was neither a forgery nor a fake.
“This Shen Lang used to be the Xu Family’s son-in-law. Though it’s a shame and quite saddening really, he was often looked down upon by many because of his mental retardation. I’m not sure why but he’d sometimes wander inside my workroom as I experimented with sophora. I assume that’s when he saw caught sight of our progress.”
The craftsman did not tell a complete lie. He did use sophora plant as the base for the golden dye. The only mistake was his failure to notice that adding alum to brighten the color was needed. It was one of the most critical steps and without it, failure was a given. Furthermore, his own recipe made with sophora plant was not too good. It only ended in bittersweet failure.
Shen Lang often strolled inside the dyeing room. He liked to gaze at the many colors.
It is for these reasons alone that Xu Jiazhu and Xu Qianqian held absolute confidence the golden dye recipe was not created by Shen Lang.
Besides, Shen Lang can’t possibly wield such wisdom. They know him well. He’s a waste, a good for nothing trash.
“Esteemed Officials, the testimony and material evidence are right here!” Xu Jiazhu said bluntly. “If you would, please arrest him!”
Though Xu Jiazhu was speaking to the officials present, his eyes were directed towards the young official. If it wasn’t for him, Shen Lang would have already been arrested.
The young official looked at the record book and the purple silk. “It would seem to be the case.”
“Then let us go.” Xu Jiazhu sneered. “Shen Lang is inside.”
Without waiting for the young official’s signal, the Xu Family’s warriors swiftly rushed in on Xu Jiazhu’s behalf.
Meanwhile, the door leading to the other room was smashed open, revealing Shen Lang’s elegant figure.
“Shen Lang, we’ve all the testimonies and evidence to arrest you! You’ll be going to prison!” Xu Jiazhu harrumphed.
Shen Lang immediately looked at the young official.
“All evidence points to theft.” Said the young official.
Shen Lang looked around, eyes landing on the golden silk produced by the Xu Family.
It was brilliant indeed.
This was no surprise to him. Xu Jiazhu did steal his own recipe and claimed it as his own, but as he is a professional, he should be able to do better than him.
“Is this the golden dye your Xu Family did their best to make?” Shen Lang questioned.
Xu Jiazhu nodded. “Yes. Isn’t it more splendid than yours?”
“You’re right. It’s better than the one I dyed before, but as I said, I did hold a certain reservations with the recipe I’ve given early on. What’s the difference with the silk I just dyed?”
Shen Lang pulled out the golden silk he dyed moments ago in the other room. It was the improved recipe belonging to the modern era.
All eyes present bulged wide open.
Xu Qianqian’s eyes shrunk and she took a long glance at Shen Lang’s golden silk.
It was half as good as theirs!
How is this possible?!
Shen Lang truly produced a golden dye much better than theirs?!\n