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

The devilish sound that nearly brought Chang Fugui to the brink of collapse finally disappeared at the end of the alley.

The catchy ballad at the entrance of Chang's Bookstore was heard by the onlookers, including many scholars.

They showed great interest in the ballad.

A piece of news suddenly spread among the crowd—

It is said that "The Story of the Stone" is a long chapter novel written by a hermit named Meng Ruan Jushi at the request of the son-in-law of the royal palace!

It is said that the ballad came from this book.

It is said that there are many more poems in this book...all of them are the best!

It is said that the preface to the book "A Dream of Red Mansions" was originally written by the great scholar Si, but after the great scholar Fang read the first three chapters of the book, he actually rushed to write a preface for it as well!

Therefore, this book has two prefaces!

It was written by two great scholars and is unprecedented and unparalleled!

This was not enough. Not long after, there were rumors that the two great scholars, Mr. Si and Mr. Fang, both believed that this book was three times better than Master Du's...

What kind of book is this?

That must be a classic that will be passed down through the ages!

As for the name of Mr. Meng Ruan, no students or scholars in Xiling City had ever heard of it. However, since he was a hermit, he must be a person who was indifferent to fame and fortune and lived in seclusion in the mountains.

Mr. Meng Ruan is his elegant name. He might be a highly respected leader in the literary world of Xingguo.

That's the only explanation.

Otherwise, looking around Xingguo, who else can surpass Master Du in writing long chapter novels?

You have to buy it anyway!

As for whether it is true or not, you will know it after watching it.

Then,

Many talented men and beautiful women no longer followed the gong and drum team, and they all went to Liujiaojing Alley.

Liujiaojing Alley is not considered prosperous in Xiling City, it is just slightly better than Jinli Alley.

The people living in this alley are not rich in Xiling City.

Therefore, this alley has never been busy on weekdays, and the residents here have never expected that there would be such a bustling day here!

……

……

Qi Shaotong and Zhuo Yihang also came to Liujiaojing Alley.

There are still many people in the alley.

There were fewer neighbors watching the fun, but more scholars wearing Confucian robes and waving fans.

There were also many beautifully dressed girls holding handkerchiefs and accompanied by maids.

They all gathered in front of Sanwei Bookstore.

The door facade looks a bit old, but the lintel with the four big characters "Sanwei Shuwu" written on it is brand new.

It's obvious that the calligraphy was written by the great scholar Si Lao, the calligrapher of Xingguo!

This guy Bai Shaoqiu is indeed favored by Mr. Si!

The couplets posted on the left and right door frames are also new, also written by Mr. Si.

It's just that this couplet seems a bit too simple, but in Qi Shaotong's eyes it looks very unique:

"The house is as small as a boat,

A person is as pure as a chrysanthemum.

"Brother Bai... Masato!"

Zhuo Yixing pondered and smiled, "If he's a refined man, why did he do something as vulgar as parading fifty prostitutes through the streets?"

Qi Shaotong waved his fan and said, "This is what we call something that appeals to both the elite and the masses!"

Zhuo Yixing was stunned: "Brother Qi, what you said makes sense!"

"There are so many people blocking the door. How can we squeeze in?"

Qi Shaotong pondered for three breaths, looking at the crowd of people in front of the door. He felt that he was also a rogue.

"Then we'll just have to wait."

As soon as he finished speaking, a voice came from the door:

"Everyone please line up... We are all educated people, polite... polite!"

"Hey, hey, hey, I'm talking to you. Just buy the books. Why are you rubbing against the girl?"

"Fourth Young Master...someone is causing trouble!"

A sound like spring thunder exploded in the house:

"Who dares to cause trouble?"

"I'll beat him to death with a stick!"

The crowd suddenly fell silent.

"Everyone line up... Do you understand how to line up? If you're not buying books, don't join in the fun..."

Everyone was shocked, but no one left.

They lined up in an orderly manner, and the situation in the room became orderly in a few moments.

Dongfang Meng gripped his iron rod and herded these people into different groups like ducks. The gate was half empty. He wiped his mouth and walked out, shouting at the people outside:

"Those buying books should queue on the left, those onlookers should queue on the right... leave room for passage!"

Qi Shaotong and Zhuo's group were squeezed by the crowd and stood further and further back, and were accidentally squeezed to the end of Liujiaojing Alley.

Zhuo Yihang smiled bitterly:

"How long has it been since we last saw such a situation?"

"I don't think there was such a spectacular scene when Chang's Bookstore started selling Master Du's 'Moonlit Night' last year."

Qi Shaotong deeply agrees:

"Yeah, who do you think Mr. Meng Ruan could be?"

"I've never heard of it... If this 'Story of the Stone' is really as good as it's advertised to be... he must be one of the six great scholars of our Xingguo!"

Qi Shaotong was stunned:

"Could it be Mr. Master of Chinese Studies?"

There are now six great scholars in Xingguo.

Sili Taohua, Fang Tingzhao, Ye Shu, Xiang Huanian, Du Ziteng, and another one is Fu Shuchen who is known as the master of Chinese studies!

Mr. Si has retired for more than ten years and lived in seclusion in Zhuxi outside Xiling City.

Mr. Fang still teaches and educates at Jinghua Academy in Kyoto.

Ye Shu... He is the youngest great scholar. He has a somewhat strange temperament, is not very sociable, and is very eccentric.

He has no official position and likes to travel around the world. I heard that he just returned to Kyoto recently, but he did not live in the Ye Mansion.

Du Ziteng is currently the director of the Imperial College.

Xiang Huanian is currently the president of Jinghua Academy.

None of these five people is likely to write the book "A Dream of Red Mansions". Master Du is the best at it, but he would never give this book to Bai Shaoqiu.

Then the only one left is Mr. Fu Shuchen, who retired almost at the same time as Mr. Si.

"I heard that after Mr. Fu retired, he was invited by Xie Changchun to go to the Eastern Jin Dynasty and became a visiting professor at the Jiyuan Academy of the Eastern Jin Dynasty..."

After a pause, Qi Shaotong said:

"Master Fu is best at painting!"

"The painter Sima Ruyi of the Eastern Jin Dynasty was a disciple of Master Fu... It seems unlikely that he would have written The Story of the Stone,"

"Even if he wrote it, he and Bai Shaoqiu have nothing to do with each other. How could he have given this book to Bai Shaoqiu?"

Zhuo Yixing pondered for a moment. This made sense. Then who could this layperson Meng Ruan be?

"Let's take a look at the book after we buy it. If it's really that good, I think it won't take long to reveal who Mr. Meng Ruan is!"

There are many people queuing up to buy books.

There is no movement from the team yet.

Because... Sanwei Bookstore has not started selling it yet!

Bai Shaoqiu is not here.

He was in the study in Baicao Garden, which was separated from Sanwei Book House by a wall.

Manager Wen sat opposite him, turning his head to look out the window from time to time, looking a little anxious.

"Master, the fire should be about right!"

The young master invited the girls from Tianxiang Tower to parade through the streets with drums and gongs. The publicity produced by this made the head shopkeeper, who was over fifty years old, take notice!

He didn't expect so many people to come.

He also didn't expect that people who wanted to buy books would line up from the bookstore to the end of the alley, and the young master remained indifferent.

The young master is reading "A Dream of Red Mansions"!

Watch while drinking tea!

Seems like I've forgotten about selling books.

After hearing what Shopkeeper Wen said, Bai Shaoqiu raised his head and asked:

"How much do you plan to sell this book for?"