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

Bai Shaoqiu left Shangling Academy in the carriage of the Ninth Princess Tang Xianxian.

He felt quite uneasy.

He is reflecting.

I was too careless when I first came into this world.

If I hadn't been so anxious to go to the library of Shangling Academy, I wouldn't have met Tang Xianxian.

I wouldn't have wandered to the Wall of Knowledge and met Song Zigui that night.

There would be no gambling with Yun Sanlian, and Tang Xianxian would not take a fancy to him.

Naturally, there would not have been the gambling game that shocked the whole city.

Pretending to be cool without understanding the situation is fatal!

Wouldn't it be nice to continue pretending to be stupid and living off the king's wife?

This guy is so good!

He gained both fame and fortune, but his life was in great danger.

Compared with fame and fortune, life is naturally more important.

But now that things have come to this, there is no medicine for regret in the world, and I need to deal with everything that happens next by myself!

Who cares!

Let’s open the bookstore first.

Well... In order to have the ability to protect myself, I can't slack off on this training.

It is probably impossible to fly around, and even if you can practice martial arts, it will be too late.

Gotta build a compound bow and a small crossbow!

It also needs to be equipped with daggers, which can save lives in critical moments.

I am familiar with the structure of these weapons, but I don't know to what extent the world's technology level can bring out the offensive power of these two weapons.

I'll have to go find a blacksmith shop someday.

Once your life is in the hands of someone else, it is no longer yours!

Bai Shaoqiu needs to have the power to protect himself... or at least the power to drag a few people down with him!

As he was thinking this, he ignored the noisy voices coming from outside the carriage, and the carriage swayed to Koi Alley.

It suddenly became quiet here.

At the east end of Koi Alley.

There is a dilapidated courtyard.

For more than a year, there has been no joy or laughter in this courtyard.

The atmosphere in this small courtyard has always been as gloomy as the weather during the plum rain season, as if there is a musty smell everywhere.

There was no longer a smile on Uncle Fu's old face. He was silent than ever before and smoked more.

Koyumoto in the Mood for Love.

But because of the young master's matter, she didn't know how long it had been since she had laughed heartily.

But ever since the young master became the son-in-law of the royal family and returned home a few days ago, the atmosphere in this small courtyard has changed unconsciously.

Uncle Fu really didn't go to work as a helper for a certain family anymore. These past few days, he'd been walking through the streets and alleys of Xiling City with a pipe in his mouth, full of interest.

It’s not about taking a stroll, but about finding a suitable shop and yard for the young master!

Xiao Xi was of course skeptical.

There are probably few people in this world who understand the young master better than her.

Xiao Xi was originally extremely worried about the young master's sudden change and her grandfather's blind optimism.

But today...

Xiao Xi was extremely happy!

"grandfather,"

She rushed into the courtyard like a flash, carrying a jar of wine and a large box of Yuji Braised Chicken. Before she arrived, her voice had already reached her:

"Grandpa, the young master won the championship!"

"Young Master really won the championship!"

Uncle Fu stood up suddenly, holding his pipe in his mouth. "Really?"

Xiao Xi pushed open the fence door and ran to Uncle Fu's side, her face flushed and her chest heaving violently:

"real!"

"It's spread all over the city!"

"I also heard that the City Guard has sent people to check on those leaving the city."

Uncle Fu was stunned: "Why are you checking people leaving the city?"

"It is said that the shameless Song Zigui knew he was going to lose ten thousand taels of silver to the young master, so he ran away!"

"Ten thousand taels of silver!"

"That damn Song Zigui, he's a scholar, how could he go back on his word?!"

The wrinkles on Uncle Fu's face bloomed like flowers.

He didn't care about Song Zigui at all, let alone the ten thousand taels of silver!

The only thing he cared about was the news that the young master won the championship.

"Good, good, good!"

Xiao Xi placed the wine jar and the braised chicken box on the table. "What good is this? The duck that was about to be in my mouth flew away!"

"Just fly away. Did the young master say when he would be back?"

Uncle Fu looked down at the box and was immediately surprised:

“You bought so much braised chicken…”

"Oh, the young master said he would come back for dinner in the evening. He found a guard from somewhere... maybe he was sent by the palace."

Xiao Xi spread her arms, "That guard is so big!"

"He said he wanted to eat chicken, too. He said he might eat ten chickens in one meal."

"Don't worry, Grandpa. The big guy has silver. He'll give it to you."

Before Xiao Xi finished speaking, the sound of a carriage came from the alley.

She turned her head and looked,

A pitch-black carriage stopped beside the fence, the door of the carriage opened, and it was the young master who got out!

Bai Shaoqiu smiled at Uncle Fu and Xiao Xi in the yard, then turned and came to Zhao Poshan.

"Thank you for your hard work, Commander Zhao."

"This is the princess' order, so it's not hard work."

Bai Shaoqiu groped in his sleeve pocket and took out a ten-liang silver ingot and handed it over:

"I haven't received the money from the bank yet, and I only have this much on me."

Zhao Poshan was startled:

"……What do you mean?"

"Ah, it's just a small gift. Please accept it, Commander Zhao."

"I can't accept it."

Bai Shaoqiu stuffed the silver ingot into Zhao Poshan's hand:

"I should have treated you to a banquet, but Your Highness will be returning to the capital tomorrow, so we won't be able to have this banquet with Commander Zhao for the time being."

"This is a small token of my appreciation from Bai Shaoqiu. It's a little small, but I'll be going to Kyoto next year, and I'll make up for it by giving this bottle of wine to Commander Zhao!"

Zhao Poshan looked at Bai Shaoqiu meaningfully, then suddenly grinned: "Then I'll accept it."

"Well, I feel at ease if you accept it."

"I'm leaving."

"it is good!"

Zhao Poshan raised his whip and said to Bai Shaoqiu without dropping it:

"I used to be a soldier of General Wei!"

He drove away in a horse-drawn carriage.

Bai Shaoqiu stared at the direction where the carriage disappeared for a while, then smiled, shook his head, pushed open the wooden fence door and walked in.

He came to the stone table in the yard, rubbed Xiaoxi's head, and sat in front of Uncle Fu:

"I won the Zhuxi Literary Competition."

"Congratulations, young master!"

"Is there a suitable shop?"

"Have it!"

"This is quite a coincidence. Yesterday, I was searching everywhere and happened to meet an old friend who recommended a shop to me... It's great!"

"It's in Liujiaojing Alley in the southwest. It's not very prosperous, but it's not far from Changning Academy and Changxing Academy."

"It was a big shop, originally selling pens, ink, paper, and inkstones. But it suddenly closed a couple of days ago. They said the owner had to take care of his grandson and didn't have time to run it anymore..."

"Also, according to your request, there happens to be a three-story courtyard next to that shop, but it's not for rent but for sale."

"I went to check it out this morning. The shop barely needs any renovations. The yard next to it is quite elegant. The original owner was a businessman, dealing in furs."

"I went west in March this year. Unexpectedly, I was robbed by a group of bandits on my way back with furs. Fortunately, I made it back alive and well."

"Well, it just so happens that the Jubao Bank has opened this gambling game, and the owner of this courtyard has pooled together a full 10,000 taels of silver to bet on the young master to lose..."

"Now that the young master has won, I think his yard was originally valued at two thousand taels of silver, but now I'm afraid I can sell it for a lower price!"

"What do you think, Master?"

Bai Shaoqiu pondered for three breaths, "Buy it! Put it in your name!"

"Okay, but... to rent the shop next door, you need to deposit 100 taels of silver and pay 200 taels of rent a year... I don't have enough silver on hand."

Bai Shaoqiu pondered for three breaths:

"I'll get a three thousand taels of silver reward for winning the literary competition. I'll probably get it in the next two days. Tell the boss to wait for us for two days."

"it is good,"

Uncle Fu's face lit up, "Master, tell me what poems you wrote at the Zhuxi Literary Society so I can have fun too!"