My husband, please respect yourself. The princess is here to grab the bride.

"Hey, look, isn't that the Bai Shaoqiu, the Great Young Master from Xiling City?"

"It's really him, that damned Young Master Bai, isn't he just a prodigal son!"

"Hush, keep your voices down. Even though I've squandered all my family fortune and driven my parents away, I'm lucky. Now this gentleman is the son-in-law of the Zhenxi Palace, appointed by the Emperor himself!"

Xiling City,

Shangling Academy.

Bai Shaoqiu, dressed in white, walked in with a maid carrying a bag.

"Tsk, son-in-law? He's just a son-in-law!"

A young man exclaimed, his eyes filled with envy:

"A son-in-law granted by the emperor... a rare tale for the ages! However, even if I can marry Princess Changying, I am willing to do so!"

"Get lost! Do you think it's so easy to be Princess Changying's husband?"

"I heard that Princess Changying didn't attend the wedding two days ago. They said the barbarians from the grasslands outside the Great Wall were causing chaos, so the princess led 3,000 Red Tassel soldiers to fight... This was obviously intentional on the part of the princess!"

Some students agree:

"Well, that's as it should be. With Princess Changying's peerless beauty and her literary and martial arts skills, how could she possibly be interested in this prodigal son?"

"The Bai family is just a poor merchant family. They are not even worthy of carrying shoes for the royal palace or Princess Changying!"

"Hey, hey, hey, why would the emperor issue such an order? Doesn't this ruin Princess Changying and tarnish the reputation of the palace?"

"Could it be that the rumors about the discord between the prince and the emperor are true?"

The sound disappeared immediately.

Because no one can answer.

No one dared to answer!

"No, I heard this guy didn't even finish elementary school. What do you think he's doing in our academy?"

No one could answer—

A prodigal son who had not even finished his elementary education, the places he used to go to were mostly restaurants, teahouses, brothels, and gambling houses.

The academy is not a place he should go to, nor is it a place he would go to.

But here he comes.

As everyone looked on in surprise, Bai Shaoqiu walked through the front yard with steady steps, his head held high, and his chest held high, crossed the moon gate, and entered the main courtyard of the academy!

The curious students followed in, their eyes widening in shock.

"Hello, Master Zhang!"

Bai Shaoqiu bowed respectfully.

Standing opposite him was Zhang Wenqian, the dean of Shangling Academy!

Zhang Wenqian's face was cold, and his words were also cold:

"coming?"

"coming!"

"Then go ahead."

"Please show me the way, Mr. Zhang!"

An old man and two young men walked towards the west side of the main courtyard.

A group of students were even more curious.

The west side is not a school. There is a lotus pond, several elegant houses, and a library!

"In consideration of your father's donation of over ten thousand taels of silver to the academy, you can read in the library for three days..."

"It's just that you haven't even finished elementary school yet. Can you understand the books in there?"

"Pretending to show off to the prince and Princess Changying...it's useless."

“A person with a wealth of knowledge and experience possesses a refined temperament.” This refers to the change in temperament that comes from reading a lot of books, understanding them, and appreciating their principles.

"Your reputation in Xiling City is already like this,"

Zhang Wenqian glanced at Bai Shaoqiu beside him and said disdainfully:

"You... aren't a scholar to begin with, so you probably don't recognize many characters. It's just a waste of three days."

"I have the Emperor's decree. No matter how much the prince dislikes you, he won't kill you."

"I heard that you sold the Bai family's ancestral home... I think it would be better for you to just live off the prince's family. Why suffer so much to please the prince?"

"Besides, a son-in-law can't pass the imperial examination... Even if you start studying now and read a lot of books, you still won't be able to enter the officialdom."

"Why bother?"

"Why bother?"

Qing'er deeply agreed with what Master Zhang said.

She thought Bai Shaoqiu would be ashamed and embarrassed, but when she looked at Bai Shaoqiu, she found that this son-in-law remained calm and composed.

Even that pretty and fair face didn't blush!

How thick-skinned does one have to be?

"Mr. Zhang has some misunderstandings."

Zhang Wenqian was stunned: "What did I misunderstand?"

“I’m not here to study.”

"...Then what are you doing here?"

"I'm here to read a book."

"..."

Zhang Wenqian and Qing'er were stunned!

Is there a difference between reading and reading a book?

There is a difference if you savor it carefully.

Reading is a process of learning.

It is to memorize the book in your mind, to understand the meaning of the book, and to be able to draw inferences about other situations and write an excellent article in order to win a place on the list of successful candidates.

But reading is different.

When reading, you use your eyes. You can read ten lines at a glance and you don’t have to remember them.

You just need to know the general content of the book.

If you read books carefully, you can be well-versed in ancient and modern knowledge, be able to govern the country and maintain peace, and even leave your name in history!

But books are just for reading... If you read a lot, it can become a skill to brag about.

Zhang Wenqian suddenly understood and laughed:

"That octagonal building up ahead is the library. Go check it out. You have three days to go. There are many rare books inside, so don't destroy them or take them out!"

"Also... there's an important person at Yashe, you absolutely must not disturb them!"

Bai Shaoqiu bowed and said, "Thank you, old sir!"

He walked towards the library.

The students following behind were suddenly in an uproar.

"He actually went to the library!"

"Did you say he went to read?"

"What else can you do in the library besides reading?"

"But these days, even students like us from the academy can't get in. How can Bai Shaoqiu, who is illiterate, get in?"

Zhang Wenqian turned around, his face solemn, and shouted:

"What are you looking at?"

"In five days, the Xiling City Three-Academy Bamboo Creek Literary Festival will begin!"

"Let me tell you, besides the great scholar Fang, there is another distinguished person from Kyoto attending this Zhuxi Literary Gathering!"

"The winner of this literary gathering will not only have a bearing on the reputation of Shangling Academy, but will also directly qualify for the Xiangshan Literary Gathering to be held in Kyoto next autumn!"

"You still have the leisure to watch the fun?"

"Why don't you go and study for me?"

"Remember, it's reading, not looking at books!"

All the students were suddenly excited and they left cheering.

The current emperor likes and values ​​literature. This is a great era for scholars to make a name for themselves.

The triennial Xiangshan Literary Festival in Kyoto is a grand event in the country's literary world!

If I could win the first prize at the Xiangshan Literary Competition... that would be even more glorious than winning the top spot in the imperial examination!

These are the dreams of students in Xingguo.

It's the business of scholars.

Bai Shaoqiu is not a scholar, he knows nothing about these things.

He just came to look at the books in the library.

Three days had passed since he came into this world. He had inexplicably become the royal son-in-law, but he didn't even see his wife on his wedding night.

By searching the memories in his mind, he knew that he had traveled to a nearly parallel world.

But the memories in this predecessor's mind were a bit strange, mostly of those beautiful women, and then of those bad friends he had met over the years.

He was surprised to find that this world already had most of the things that those time travelers used to make a fortune.

For example, strong liquor!

Like white salt!

For example, the most common soap!

There are even glass mirrors!

How can I, a time traveler, survive?

Could it be that he would subdue people by force again like in the previous life?

I'm tired of fighting and killing. I traveled through time and space and became a son-in-law of a royal family. I have to eat this gigolo even if I don't want to.

He thought a time traveler had come earlier, but his memory lacked the poems and songs from his previous life.

This makes no sense!

No time traveler would miss the opportunity to show off by using the poems that have been passed down through the ages.

Even if I don't sell it for money, I can always cheat the girl.

Especially Xingguo’s pursuit of poetry and songs has reached an outrageous level!

From the Emperor to the Emperor,

Even down to the prostitutes!

After some analysis, Bai Shaoqiu thought that it was because the previous incarnation of this body had not studied, so he had to verify this problem, so he came to Shangling Academy.

Looking across the entire Xiling City, only the library of Shangling Academy has the richest collection of books.

I stepped into the mottled wooden door of the library. The light inside was not too dim, perhaps because the window was open.

He walked in with great interest and stood in front of a row of bookshelves.

Qing'er put down the bag on her back and looked up to see her son-in-law eagerly reading a book!

My son-in-law has a slender figure and actually looks like a scholar.

But, is he reading a book?

Bai Shaoqiu's right index finger fell on the spine of the book.

His fingers slid across the spines of books with their names printed on them, and his footsteps followed them. Occasionally, he would stop, take out a book, open it, glance at it briefly, then put it back in, and continue swiping and walking...

Qing'er sighed in her heart:

"I'm going back to the palace. I'll bring you dinner."

"Okay, remember to bring some more candles, I want to read all night."

Qing'er turned around and left sadly.

After about an incense stick of time, Bai Zhiqiu finished reading a shelf of books.

There are three more shelves here!

But his heart was already happy——

Judging from the poetry and prose collections I have read, it seems that the bigwigs of the previous life did not leave any traces here.

He turned around and saw a desk in front of another row of bookshelves.

He walked over and sat down in front of the desk, intending to take a nap, but he found a piece of paper on the desk with a line of words on it:

'Flowers and leaves, emerald green and red, only Si Xiangwei is dedicated to supporting them, not letting them suffer from wind and rain, and being pure and cold.'

This is the first line of a couplet.

The handwriting is beautiful, it must be a woman's.

Bai Shaoqiu became interested, picked up the brush, dipped it in ink... There was actually ground ink in the inkstone!

He put pen to paper.

Then, a line of crooked words appeared on the paper:

'May all lovers be together forever, forever loving each other day and night, in great joy.'

Putting down his pen, Bai Zhiqiu felt happy. This was the first line of words he left in this world after traveling through time!

Well, it’s a little ugly, but what does it matter?

He stood up and stood in front of another row of bookshelves to continue reading.

There were slight footsteps in the library, and after a moment, a woman's voice rang out:

"Eh...someone's been here..."

"Why is this handwriting so ugly?!"

"Eh... this second line..."

"May all lovers be together forever, forever loving each other, day and night, in great joy..."

"Excellent!"

"Who wrote this couplet?"

Someone's eyes fell on Bai Shaoqiu's back. He turned around and saw a pretty girl.

"Is this couplet the one you came up with, young master?"

Bai Shaoqiu showed a beautiful smile:

"It's not me. That person has already left."

"Do you know that man?"

"do not know!"

"...Who are you?"

Bai Shaoqiu turned around and continued to read the book. His fingers landed on the spine of the book, and he walked slowly and said slowly:

"I was originally a guest who never returned home, but because I loved books, I fell in love with the world..."

"I'm just a...reader!"