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

Warm sunshine.

An old man, smoking a pipe.

A young girl supported her chin with both hands, staring at Bai Shaoqiu without blinking, and the small freckles on both sides of her nose were shining.

Bai Shaoqiu just sat there and slowly told the grandfather and grandson about the Zhuxi Literary Meeting.

Xiao Xi knew what happened when the young master passed through Zhuxi. She never expected that the young master was almost tricked by Song Zigui's father in front of Shuxiang Gate!

The little girl was very angry!

Fang felt that if the young master had not written such good poems, what happened later probably would not have happened.

After all, the young master has real skills!

But... where does this ability of the young master come from?

Xiao Xi didn’t know.

Of course, Uncle Fu didn't know either.

As the former steward of the Bai Mansion, Uncle Fu had been influenced by the surroundings and had some insights into the appreciation of poetry and prose.

After listening to Bai Shaoqiu recite his poems one by one, his old eyes became brighter and brighter——

Young Master deserves the top six!

As for the seventh one, Lan Ting asked about it, but the young master didn't say anything, so Uncle Fu didn't ask.

When he heard Xiao Xi say that the young master won the championship, he was very surprised.

He even wondered if the royal palace had a hand in this.

Now he knew he was mistaken. The young master was indeed extremely talented!

Then, the matter of opening a bookstore will no longer be as difficult as previously thought.

The young master already has enough reputation!

The young master also said that the two great scholars, Mr. Si and Mr. Fang, had become close friends with him regardless of age difference!

This is a huge fortune!

What is the most important thing to open a bookstore?

It’s a book written by a famous person!

Although Mr. Si has retired for more than ten years, he still has many old friends and disciples in Kyoto.

And Mr. Fang is a transcendent existence in Jinghua Academy!

These two great scholars have many students all over the world, and now they hit it off with the young master...

"To run a successful bookstore, one book alone is not enough."

"What I mean is... no matter how good Young Master's 'The Story of the Stone' is, it can only be a core product of the bookstore."

"The bookstore still needs many books to support and improve itself."

"A bookstore isn't afraid of publishing too many new books. If there are one or two new books published every month, that's crucial for the bookstore."

"Young Master, you must establish good relations with these two great scholars. With their support, I believe that Sanwei Bookstore will be even more prosperous than when you ran Bai's Bookstore!"

Bai Shaoqiu nodded slightly, "I understand. They will meet with me some other day, and then I will explain this to them."

"As for how much they can help us... let's not expect too much. I don't want too many vested interests involved."

"Take it one step at a time. Don't rush."

A young man advises an old man not to be anxious...

Uncle Fu was very relieved because he had been worried that the young master was a little anxious.

Now it seems that the young master has a very good mentality, which is the best character a successful businessman needs to have.

The three of them chatted about the past as the sun gradually set in the west. Xiao Xi happily went to make dinner.

Bai Shaoqiu had a happy dinner with Uncle Fu and Xiaoxi. When night fell, Shisan Niang arrived at the gate of the courtyard in a carriage.

"I gotta go,"

Rubbing Xiaoxi's head, Bai Shaoqiu stood up and said, "I'll come back after the people of Xiling City calm down in the next two days."

"I will bring the silver and then find a suitable printing workshop."

"'The Story of the Stone'... I'll ask Mr. Si to write a preface. By the time I come back, there should be ten chapters. I'll print the first ten and sell them at Sanwei Bookstore."

Uncle Fu had already stood up, holding his pipe in his mouth: "Okay, Master, are you going back to the Princess's Mansion?"

"I'm not in a hurry to go back to the Princess' Mansion yet. I live outside the city now. It's quiet and suitable for writing books."

"Oh...then take care, young master."

"Well, I'm leaving."

Xiao Xi pinched the hem of her clothes and looked at the remaining braised chickens on the table. "Master, where's the big guy?"

"As for him, Master, please bring him here another day."

"...Oh, goodbye, Master!"

"goodbye!"

……

……

The winner of the Zhuxi Literary Society was announced around noon.

The news that Bai Shaoqiu won the first place in the literary examination with seven top scores quickly spread throughout Xiling City.

Xiling City was naturally in an uproar.

It’s more exciting than the announcement of the winner of literary competitions in previous years!

This excitement is not happiness, but... anger!

Almost everyone in Xiling City bet on Bai Shaoqiu to lose, but they never expected that they would be the ones to lose.

Lord Ge, the city defender, is very busy today!

He sent all the city guards and constables out to maintain public order in the city, and even arrested several people who were so desperate that they were ready to kill and set fire to people with knives.

But this cannot calm the anger of the people of Xiling City——

They surrounded the city defense office!

"We want an explanation!"

"Who doesn't know that Bai Shaoqiu is the most useless person in Xiling City? How could he win the championship?"

"Jubao Money House colluded with the royal palace, forcing Bai Shaoqiu to be the ringleader and defrauding us of our money... We want justice!"

"I thought the prince was a virtuous king, but now I know he is a black-hearted devil!"

"Come on, come out! I don't want to live anymore! Chop off my head!"

"..."

The streets outside the City Guard's Mansion were blocked by crowds of people. When Shisan Niang drove her carriage past here, the carriage could not move forward. Bai Shaoqiu lifted the curtain and took a look.

Those sounds naturally fell into his ears.

He smiled calmly and lowered the curtain.

Shisan Niang turned her horse around and had to take a detour to Chunman Cottage.

This son-in-law... is quite interesting.

The princess was originally so angry about this son-in-law appointed by the emperor that she lost her appetite. Now this son-in-law suddenly showed his extraordinary talent, which immediately aroused the princess's worldly desires.

The princess has both wealth and beauty!

As for wealth...it was Shisanniang who did the betting at Jubao Money House!

One hundred thousand taels of silver are needed to bet on Bai Shaoqiu to win!

When the princess told me this, I was shocked!

The princess is very poor.

She actually borrowed 60,000 taels of silver from the Fourth Young Master, and pawned all the jewelry she had saved over the years to collect 100,000 taels of silver, gambled everything on betting on Young Master Bai to win!

At that time, I thought the princess had gone crazy!

Now I realize how good the princess's vision is!

This son-in-law... is amazing!

Worthy of the princess's lifelong trust!

But the people of Xiling City have almost lost all their wealth. Will they vent their anger on the palace?

As the carriage turned around, a loud voice came from the wall of the City Guard House:

"Are you all... doubting the talent of my son-in-law?"

That's the prince's voice!

If Xiling City is likened to a forest, King Zhenxi is the only tiger in this forest!

At this moment, the tiger roared, and the area outside the city guard's mansion suddenly became quiet.

"Do you all think that I have colluded with Jubao Bank to cause you to lose money?"

"Well, for three days, you can choose a few talented people, even teachers from the academy."

"Let the person you choose compete against my son-in-law in an open duel... Of course, we can't gamble in vain. The stakes... let's say 100,000 taels of silver!"

"If my son-in-law loses, I will pay you tenfold."

"But if my son-in-law wins...if you dare to act rashly again..."

"Do you really think that I am merciful and that the knife in my hand cannot chop off your heads?!"