Chapter 684
Desiring a Life-or-Death Contract
Chapter 684 Desiring a Life-or-Death Contract
Chapter 684
Mr. Songshan laughed and said, "If women were allowed to take the imperial examinations, becoming a Xiucai (a lower-level scholar) would be a piece of cake."
Qin Siyuan shook his head: "No, no, you should say that becoming a Jinshi is no problem."
“Yes, yes, Siyuan is right. Young Master Nantang is very talented. I was wrong,” Mr. Songshan quickly corrected himself.
Qin Yuan couldn't help but laugh: "That's a bit of a tangent. Unless another Martial Emperor emerges. But the Martial Emperor almost changed the Li family's dynasty, and later generations have taken this as a warning, fearing that the same mistake would be repeated and another empress would be created."
Lord Gu waved his hand and said, "Let's listen to Young Master Nantang. Let's talk about things closer to home, not things that are far away or mysterious."
These scholars are truly baffling. They're always talking about loyalty to the emperor and patriotism, yet they're completely unreserved when it comes to matters of dynastic change.
Even a roughneck like him knows that loose lips sink ships.
Mr. Songshan immediately weighed the scroll of paper that Shen Changle had handed over in his hand: "Yes, yes, yes, what exactly is Young Master Nantang planning? Tell me, and I will be able to offer some assistance."
Qin Yuan said, "It's simple, it's just about taking advantage of the situation."
Mr. Matsuyama grew impatient, almost pulling off his beard: "Speak quickly, stop keeping us in suspense, there are so many people waiting downstairs. Even if it can't be explained in a sentence or two, just get to the point."
Qin Yuan said in surprise, "It would be fine if others couldn't guess, but it's a bit unreasonable for Mr. Songshan not to guess. There are so many scholars in the world, so how many people are there? Shuhai Pavilion is in the business of writing essays, and we should naturally do the same. But we are just starting out now, and we can't recruit Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations) to write essays for a while. We can only wait until Brother Siyuan passes the imperial examination next year."
He glanced at Mr. Songshan, who was eager to refute him, and continued, "Of course, we can rely on the Imperial Academy Doctor to write articles and commission manuscripts from the Hanlin scholars, but compared with Shuhaige... we are, after all, latecomers. As the saying goes, if you are late, you will be late again... We can certainly do these things, but we can also find another way."
Upon hearing this, Mr. Matsuyama finally shut his mouth, widened his eyes, and patiently listened on.
Qin Yuan then slowly revealed the answer: "That is the official gazette."
"The official gazette?" Everyone exclaimed in unison, their faces showing astonishment.
Qin Yuan continued slowly, "...and so on."
Qin Siyuan: ...
Lord Gu frowned in confusion.
Mr. Songshan was stunned for a moment, then slapped the table and laughed loudly, "Hahahaha, you're really something! As expected of Young Master Nantang, it's amazing that you came up with such a method. I'm impressed! Hahahaha."
The crowd gathered outside Ranxiang Residence was growing impatient. Hearing the loud laughter coming from the pavilion, the Ninth Princess complained, "I have waited for so long, but I have not yet seen the true face of Young Master Nantang. How dare this person treat us so disrespectfully!"
King Qi sneered, raising his eyebrows disdainfully: "It's because they're here only to make friends through literature, never intending to curry favor and judge others by their status."
The Ninth Princess retorted angrily, "What are you saying, Prince Qi? I am also your sister. Didn't Sister Fu Yun come here to see the true face of that Young Master Nantang? If she can see him, why can't I? We waited for so long until he finally arrived, but he didn't come out and just stayed in the pavilion. We are, after all, members of the royal family. Shouldn't they come to pay their respects? This is extremely rude."
Princess Fuyun said softly through her veil, "But I came here without any complaints. At this time, the students are answering their questions, and I suppose the two of you are discussing them. Today is the birthday of the Empress Dowager, and the Empress Dowager is celebrating with the people. Why do you have to find trouble at Ranxiang Residence?"
"Okay, okay, just me..." Before she could finish speaking, Gu Baozhu stepped forward, tugged at the Ninth Princess's sleeve, and said loudly, "Your Highness, I've been looking for you for a long time. It turns out you're here. We searched the storeroom of Ranxiang Residence for quite a while and found something good. Would you like to take a look?"
He then winked at his right eye.
The Ninth Princess said irritably, "What good stuff is it that you went to such lengths to bring it up?"
Gu Baozhu tugged again, and the Ninth Princess stumbled.
"Come here and talk, hurry up, don't let anyone see us. I'm only showing you," Gu Baozhu said nonchalantly.
The Ninth Princess's annoyance vanished, and she rolled her eyes, saying, "Fine, I'll look, but you promised that you'd only let me see it."
“Of course,” Gu Baozhu glanced at Princess Fuyun and Prince Qi and whispered, “We are the ones who play together. I don’t know the others.”
The Ninth Princess said, "Then take me to meet that Young Master Nantang later, and see what's so great about him."
“Fine, what’s so difficult about that?” Gu Baozhu said dismissively, “It’s just a person, just like us, with two eyes and a nose. What’s so interesting about it? It’s not as pretty as the one next to you.”
He glanced in the direction of Brother Ximen out of the corner of his eye.
In high spirits, the Ninth Princess reluctantly followed Gu Baozhu to the side, avoiding the maids and guards. Gu Baozhu turned to the side and took out a small sachet from her sleeve and handed it to her, saying, "This is a sachet that Ranxiangju keeps and does not sell. It is said that even when Prince Qi came, he could not buy it. I found it rare and specially kept it to give to the Ninth Princess, as a memento."
It was just a sachet, so the Ninth Princess didn't really want it.
But upon hearing that the Prince of Qi had tried to buy it but failed, she took it, held it to her nose and sniffed it lightly. She found it quite pleasant, with a faint jasmine scent, and said, "You do know what this princess likes. But you're talking a bit strangely. Why are you keeping it as a souvenir?"
He raised his eyes and stared intently at Gu Baozhu.
Gu Baozhu said seriously, "My mother thinks I act recklessly and that no one in the manor can control me. She wants to send me back to her hometown to be tormented for a year or two. Life will be tough from now on."
The Ninth Princess laughed and said, "You can't blame the old lady. Look at what you did in the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion. Even if it were someone else, they would be in serious trouble. Your third brother has influence with the Emperor, which is why he didn't punish you. You alone caused my two brothers to be frightened. Today, His Highness the Crown Prince is still sickly and doesn't talk to anyone."
Gu Baozhu sighed, "This is something we can't help. The Ninth Princess knows my temperament. Who could have thought of so much?"
"You, you, what can I say about you!" The Ninth Princess said, looking at her with a disappointed expression.
Gu Baozhu pleaded, "Please, Princess, put in a good word for me before the Empress Dowager and the Empress, so that my mother can calm down soon. I have been confined to the courtyard for half the year and cannot come out to play. Today, you only allowed me to come out because I wanted to leave home."
The Ninth Princess smiled and said, "It's easy, it's easy. If you give me some benefits, I will agree to let you return to the capital sooner."
Gu Baozhu was overjoyed and immediately bowed.
The Ninth Princess said, "Simply bowing is not enough."
"What does the princess want?" Gu Baozhu frowned and said with a troubled expression, "What hasn't the princess seen and played with? I don't know what rare things could satisfy the princess."
“You’re absolutely right, that’s why I want that life-or-death contract.”