Harem Daily Life

Qingfeng rubbed his head sheepishly. "Well, I've only read a few of them. But most of the novels published nowadays are pretty much the same. They just change the names of the talented scholar and the beautiful woman, but the plot remains the same. After reading so many of them, the novelty has worn off."

Tao Yanyan agreed. The novellas that He Linzhang had recently sent people to collect for her were completely devoid of fresh stories. But in this day and age, besides reading novellas, she had no other entertainment options.

"It would be great if there were writers. I could just give them some ideas and they would write them."

Qingfeng replied, "Perhaps there really is. I'd better ask him some other day. I heard that many scholars who failed the imperial examinations became copyists or ghostwriters. I think if I give them some ideas, they should be able to write a storybook."

Tao Yanyan smiled and said, "Then go and ask around. I'll write a few story summaries."

Thinking that he would be able to customize the storybook soon, Tao Yanyan stopped being idle and immediately went to the study.

Romeo and Juliet, Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai, Rebirth: Revenge of the Previous Life, and The Domineering Prince and His Sweet and Pampered Wife are all must-sees. I love watching them.

Qingfeng is also a man of action. After the queen gave her the story outline, she hurried to inquire.

She knew a palace servant who often went out of the palace to buy things, so she gave him the outline written by the Empress and said, "Please ask the scribe to write it down, and then buy it back when it's done."

The palace servant quickly accepted the manuscript and said, "Don't worry, those who provide the outline of a story can get three taels of silver per story."

"It doesn't matter whether it's worth money or not. The key is to write it beautifully and make the reader read it." After Qingfeng gave the instructions, he returned to Changle Palace to wait for news.

The Xia Kingdom delegation arrived at the capital of the Great Zhou Dynasty, bearing their official documents. The Minister of Rites was in charge of their reception. They were accommodated in an inn and would appear before the emperor in the palace two days later.

After being away from his homeland for thirty years, Shang Yuanzhou also wanted to see whether the capital of the Great Zhou Dynasty had changed.

He left the eldest princess and her group and went out for a night stroll alone with his attendants.

Back then, Shang Jia was considered a wealthy businessman, and was very rich in the area. However, the capital was full of dignitaries, and no matter how rich they were, they could not reach the level of theirs.

Shang had some properties in the capital. That year, the Shu family broke off the engagement, and all the properties were sold. The family moved to other places. He also left the capital sadly, and traveled around the Great Zhou. Finally, he met the eldest princess of the Xia Kingdom who was also trapped in love in Liangzhou. He followed the eldest princess to the Xia Kingdom and served as her staff member and her lover.

Walking on the bustling Zhengyang Street, Shang Yuanzhou's thoughts drifted away and his expression was lonely.

"Sir, do you want to buy some new books? We have the largest selection of books in the capital. Come in and take a look." He walked to the door of "Sihai Bookstore" and was pulled in by the enthusiastic shopkeeper.

Seeing some people copying books and some recording what others were saying, he raised an eyebrow and asked, "Do you also offer ghostwriting services here?"

Seeing his interest, the shopkeeper quickly recommended, "Yes, our ghostwriters are all well-educated scholars. They get a lot of work. In the past two days alone, they've received four excellent stories. If they all wrote them, they would make a lot of money!"

Shang Yuanzhou became interested: "What's the good story? Can you let me read it?"

The shopkeeper saw that the gentleman was very elegant in his every move and gesture, and thought that he might be a scholar or a civil servant. He did not dare to offend him, so he said, "Yes, of course."

He walked over, picked up four pieces of paper and handed them to Shang Yuanzhou.

Shang Yuanzhou was a little nonchalant at first, but when he saw the font and the content of the words, his eyes lit up. After reading it carefully, he smiled and said, "It's quite interesting indeed. But these Juliet and Romeo, these names are really strange."

After saying that, he looked at the second and third pieces of paper and was also attracted by the contents on them.

"Interesting. When will this storybook be finished? I want to buy it." Shang Yuanzhou asked.

The shopkeeper calculated the time and said, "It will take about five days to finish writing this first draft. But we can't give it to you. We have to copy it, and then we can sell the rest."

Seeing Shang Yuanzhou frown, the shopkeeper quickly said, "But don't worry, sir. If you place an order today, the third copy will be yours."

"You said the first copy was the master copy, so why didn't you sell the second copy to me first?"

The shopkeeper smiled and said, "This second copy must be sent to the palace. Our Queen Mother of the Great Zhou Dynasty really loves to read storybooks."

The shopkeeper spoke with pride, as if it was a great fortune for the book to be read by the queen.

Although he was itching to buy it, Shang Yuanzhou had no choice but to reserve the third copy and pay a deposit of four taels of silver.

"I wonder who wrote this synopsis? Could you recommend someone? I really like his handwriting."

After paying the money, the shopkeeper became even more enthusiastic, but he didn't know who wrote it.

An idea struck the shopkeeper, who replied, "To be honest, this story outline came from the palace. As for who wrote it, I really can't find out."

In fact, the shopkeeper had no idea whether it came from the palace. He said this just to tell the people in front of him not to ask any more questions. If they were asked, he would just say "I don't know, I can't find out, it's in the palace."

Unexpectedly, he hit the mark and what he said turned out to be true.

Shang Yuanzhou's eyes darkened, knowing that the shopkeeper was just being perfunctory, so he didn't say anything, took the receipt and walked out of the store.

The night went on and the place became more and more bustling. Shang Yuanzhou walked on the street and saw that it was crowded with people, all kinds of good things were sold there, and everyone was well dressed. He couldn't help but feel suffocated for a while.

The Xia Kingdom does not have such a prosperous capital. The capital of the Great Zhou Dynasty has really changed a lot!

As he walked, he saw the words "Baichuan Teahouse". His eyes darkened and he thought of the last letter he received, which said that all the guards sent to Da Zhou were wiped out, and even the communication base of Canglongmen was destroyed.

I didn't expect that today I would come to the destroyed stronghold of Canglongmen.

He stepped into the shop and saw a one-eyed waiter coming towards him.

He frowned and looked elsewhere. He was shocked when he saw it. "You? Are you all disabled people?"

Although the words were a bit offensive, the waiter was used to it and replied with a smile: "Sir, you are new to the Great Zhou, right? The staff at Baichuan Teahouse are all retired wounded soldiers, so they all have some disabilities. But don't worry, we are still very efficient. Please tell me what kind of tea you would like to drink, and I will make it for you. We also have all kinds of snacks and pastries for you to choose from."

The guy took out a cookbook and gave him something to choose from.

After randomly ordering two dishes, Shang Yuanzhou asked, "Who is your boss? Doesn't he worry about business if he employs you?"

The clerk smiled and said, "We don't know who the owner is. This shop has been open for so long, and I've been here for so long, but I've never met the owner."