Chapter 71: Chapter 71 “Ghostwriter” and Literary Master (Please Follow)
All three plate craftsn were eager to demonstrate their skills before the King and the Crown Prince, and imdiately took their stone plates to make serious attempts at printing.
All three were experts in printing, and stone plate printing was indeed overly convenient and simple. All of them were successful in their first attempt.
However, the eldest craftsman, noting so flaked-off dry ink on the stone plate, suggested,
“Your Highness, perhaps the ink prir could be thicker.”
Joseph nodded, “The specific consistency of the ink will need to be adjusted by yourselves.”
He only had a general knowledge of the stone plate printing process, and the technical details of the craft would still have to be perfected by these experts.
The craftsn imdiately began discussing:
“We should add so bitun.”
“Yes, we could also try adding so resin…”
“Your Highness, there’s another problem,” a middle-aged craftsman suddenly said, “The thod of stone plate printing differs greatly from copper coins, such as the pressure and angle of the imprint. The forr printing machines probably can’t be used directly.”
“That…” Joseph was montarily taken aback, as he was an outsider when it ca to the specifics of printing machines.
He looked at the craftsman and asked, “Can you modify the printing press?”
The craftsman imdiately shook his head.
Just as Joseph was pondering whether to seek out the workshop that made the printing presses, a sowhat modest but very confident voice ca from beside him: “Perhaps, I could be of help with this.”
Joseph turned his head to see Louis XVI looking at him with an eager expression.
His eyes lit up at once; this man was a top-notch chanical craftsman, and his “assistants,” who made locks, were fad masters. Wouldn’t altering the operation of a printing machine be a breeze for them?
He imdiately perford a chest salute and smiled, “You truly are the savior of the stone plate printing technology. I propose that this new printing press be nad the ‘King’s Printing Press’!”
Afterward, as Joseph observed the royal workshop bustling and too busy for him to assist, he returned to his sleeping quarters, knowing it was ti to start preparing the content for the publication.
He summoned his clerk and gave him a brief outline, instructing him to write a novel based on it.
The clerk took the order and did not return until it was dark.
Reading the manuscript, Joseph felt speechless—the sentences were smooth and the argunt was coherent, but the character portrayal was stiff, with no sense of imrsion.
He sighed. The gentleman’s expertise was in drafting formal docunts. It seed that hiring professional writers was necessary for novel writing after all.
He had no choice but to instruct Eman to find several authors as soon as possible.
Eman was highly efficient. The next day, right after Joseph finished his breakfast, four authors of varying ages and appearances appeared before him.
Of course, this was also because these authors originally resided in the Palace of Versailles.
After the greetings, Eman began introducing them to Joseph one by one: “Your Highness, this is a renowned Parisian man of letters, Earl Bomasha.”
Joseph was surprised: “Bomasha? ‘The Marriage of Figaro’?”
The old man with gray hair and thick nearsighted glasses imdiately bowed slightly:
“I am extrely honored that Your Highness has read my play.”
Joseph couldn’t help but feel sowhat amused; he had just been looking for a few ghostwriters, and Eman had directly brought him literary giants.
He hurriedly praised the great writer in earnest.
Eman then continued with the introductions, “This is Viscount Saint Pierre…
“This is Barret…”
Not one was an ordinary person; all were notable figures in the French literary scene.
Joseph felt numb, but since everyone was already there, he decided to impose on the writers to play the role of ghostwriter.
He turned to the four masters, smiled, and said, “I need soone to help write the stories I’ve conceived into novels.
“After the novels are published, the manuscript fees will be yours to keep, and I will pay an additional two livres for every 500 words. What do you think?”
Regardless of what they thought internally, the writers all owed the Crown Prince the courtesy, so they bowed and nodded, “It would be an honor to serve Your Highness.”
However, they were all quite curious as to how many stories the Crown Prince had that necessitated the hiring of four people.
Joseph wasted no ti, promptly taking everyone to the study, organizing in his mind so of the most thrilling stories from his past life, selecting a few, and then began to assign the tasks.
“Viscount Saint Pierre, the story you will be writing is about a young man nad…”
Joseph almost blurted out that familiar na but quickly thought to better tailor it to the French taste, and thus, he revised, “A young man nad Hurter Xiao and his story of growth.”
Saint Pierre took notes with a hint of disinterest, doubting that a thirteen-year-old Crown Prince could co up with any fascinating stories.
Joseph continued, “Hurter Xiao was born into a family of alchemists.
“As soon as he was born, he possessed extraordinary alchemy talents that far surpassed those of his family’s generation.
“However, at the age of twelve, he accidentally put on a ring, and after that, everything changed.
“His alchemy abilities began to regress. Three years later, during the alchemy test, he was barely assessed as ‘Alchemist Third Grade.’ His family mbers also began to mock and discriminate against him.”
Saint Pierre couldn’t help but interject, “That’s truly unfortunate. What was the problem with that ring?”
“I will explain that later,” Joseph teased, continuing, “The hardest thing for Hurter Xiao to accept was that his fiancée, a genius girl from the Alchemist Knight Order nad Elizabeth, one day ca to his house and proposed to terminate their engagent in front of all his family mbers.
“Because she felt his talents were too inferior to match her own.
“Hurter Xiao suffered a great insult and argued adamantly. To avoid damaging her family’s reputation due to breaking off the engagent, Elizabeth put forward a proposal: To compete in alchemy with Hurter Xiao in three years, and if he lost, the engagent would be void.
“Hurter Xiao bravely accepted the challenge and declared with ironclad conviction, ‘Thirty years on the east of the Seine River, thirty years on the west! Do not insult a young man for his poverty!’
“After this engagent fiasco ended, Hurter Xiao suddenly discovered the secret of his ring…”
Saint Pierre was already captivated by the story and impatiently asked, “Your Highness, what happened next?”
Joseph smiled slightly, “Please write down these parts first, and then I will tell you what happens next.”
Saint Pierre nodded reluctantly, then exclaid, “Your Highness, this is a most fascinating tale! I will do my utmost to write a narrative worthy of it. Oh, by the way, what is the na of the novel?”
Joseph pondered briefly and responded, “Let’s call it ‘Breaking Through the Azure Sky.’
Viscount Barret, who was standing nearby, eagerly approached once Saint Pierre left, hoping to hear a sensational story as well.
Joseph cut straight to the chase, “You will write about a lady’s story.
“Her na is Cleis. One morning, she wakes up with an especially painful headache, only to realize she is lying on her desk. The notebook open beside her has a sentence written on it, ‘Everyone will die, including ’…”
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