My Daughter is the Empire’s Lucky Charm

That day, after court was dismissed, Emperor Xuanwu made his way once more to the Imperial Academy.

By sheer fortune, he arrived just in time to witness Grand Preceptor Cui questioning Yun Shu about her punishment copywork.

According to the information gathered from the Dragon Shadow Guard, Yun Shu had only copied The Great Learning once over the past ten days. Yet, standing before both Grand Preceptor Cui and the emperor, Yun Shu pulled out a thick stack of pages.

A full twenty copies. Not one more, not one less. Every stroke of every character bore her unique handwriting, even with subtle traces of having been written with a quill.

Emperor Xuanwu narrowed his eyes.

Had she not been playing with radishes this entire time? When did she have the time to produce so many copies? Could it be that someone within her palace had learned to mimic her calligraphy using a quill? But the Dragon Shadow Guard had reported no such thing.

He flipped through the stack swiftly, eyes scanning for inconsistencies that might reveal a forger. None appeared.

Each copy was perfect. Every stroke, every flourish, even the slight shakiness of the final lines caused by a tired wrist, was replicated precisely across each version.

Wait a moment... the same exact mistake?

Realizing something was off, Emperor Xuanwu quickly laid out the first page of every copy side by side. The characters were identical. Too identical.

It was impossible. No one, not even the most skilled calligrapher, could replicate their writing with such absolute uniformity.

His hands trembled slightly as he held the pages. He knew, at last, that this must be the answer he had been waiting for.

Still, with the eyes of the court upon him, he maintained his composure. Only his unwavering gaze fixed upon Yun Shu betrayed the storm within.

"Explain this."

Yun Shu silently cursed her luck. She had been so sure she had gotten away with it. Three taels of silver down the drain, and her painstaking trick had still been exposed by none other than her own father.

She had accepted his so-called compensation and agreed to endure the torment of Grand Preceptor Cui a little longer. And now he had come to sabotage her harmless scheme?

Betrayal. Absolute betrayal.

Suppressing her inner turmoil, Yun Shu answered meekly, "It was... printing."

The emperor's ears perked. "What printing?"

Yun Shu blinked.

"Wait, what? This world doesn't even have printing?"

Then... didn't that mean she had just made another great contribution?

Well then!

Instantly energized, Yun Shu lifted her chin with newfound confidence. "Printing, Your Majesty. With printing, I can make a hundred copies of The Great Learning within a single hour."

One person. One hour. One hundred books.

It was staggering.

Books were expensive not because of the materials, but because they were rare.

Why were they rare? Because every single book had to be painstakingly transcribed by hand, one character at a time, by a scholar with fine handwriting. And those scholars were even rarer than the books themselves. Most of the educated elite didn't need to make a living by copying texts. The few who did could only manage a limited number each year.

Many books were lost to fire, water, or time. This made written knowledge precious, and inaccessible to the common folk.

But now, Yun Shu alone could produce a hundred books in a single afternoon.

Emperor Xuanwu held his breath, as if fearing that even speaking too loudly might scare away this miracle called printing.

"What exactly is printing?"

Yun Shu thought for a moment, then offered an analogy he could understand. "Your Majesty, what words are engraved on your imperial seal?"

The emperor replied, "Endowed by Heaven, may the mandate endure and flourish."

"And if you so desired, could you not stamp those eight words everywhere within moments?"

Emperor Xuanwu nodded.

Yun Shu stretched out her hands, gesturing broadly. "Now imagine a stamp the size of an entire page, carved with the full text of a book page. Would you not be able to press it a few times and have a complete book?"

The emperor's eyes widened. "So that is printing..."

Such a simple concept, yet none of his ministers, nor even he himself, had ever thought of it.

It was not difficult. The difficulty lay in that no one had imagined it.

He was overjoyed. He almost gave the order on the spot to gather artisans and print ten thousand books. But just as he turned to do so, another question struck him.

"When exactly did you have someone carve stamps for The Great Learning?"

Yun Shu averted her gaze, slightly embarrassed. "I didn't... not really. The proper stamps are far too costly. I didn't have the heart to spend that much money, so I used something cheaper. I used radishes."

Emperor Xuanwu: "...What?"

"Wait a moment. That sounded familiar.

Wasn't this the same excuse she had used last time to get money from me?

Never mind. Just give her the money. A princess of the realm using radishes as printing blocks, what a disgrace."

Clearly seeing through her intentions, Emperor Xuanwu sighed inwardly and mentally agreed to increase her allowance. But another realization hit him.

"What kind of radish is large enough for a full page of text?"

"Oh, it's not that the radish is big."

Yun Shu looked a little exasperated.

"I had each character carved into a small radish piece, then assembled them like puzzle pieces into the full text."

Ah...

Now he understood.

In that moment, everything he had heard over the past ten days from the Dragon Shadow Guard finally made sense.

That day, after she left the Imperial Study, what Yun Shu had discussed in whispers with Yun Chuhuan and the others really was about the punishment copywork.