A crown princess who doesn't do infrastructure construction isn't a good doctor.

"Masashi, this is it."

"okay."

The bookstore's ledgers had been sorted out by Jinwen and Lanfeng the day before yesterday. The next day, the group spent some time compiling a plan and decided to finish it as soon as possible. Today, Qin Suiyou suppressed his laziness and left the mansion.

This trip has a specific destination, and Gao Yu is most familiar with Yejing, so he will lead the way.

Jinwen and Lanfeng also came along this time, but since they didn't need too many people to inspect the bookstore, they left a few people outside.

After glancing at the plaque that read "Southwest Bookstore," Qin Suiyou said, "You guys find a place to sit nearby first. Lu Xi, Jinwen, and I will go take a look."

"I also need to go."

At this point, it was naturally Beitang Yan who spoke up, expressing his considerable dissatisfaction with his wife's tendency to always leave him behind.

Qin Suiyou showed no sign of guilt, and calmly beckoned Beitang Yan to follow, with Shuo Han, who was in charge of security, following behind.

In the two days since Beitang Yan woke up, not only did Li Yuanyuan go out, but Shuo Han and the others also stopped going to Wutong Courtyard. However, when they reappeared today, none of them seemed puzzled by Beitang Yan's unusual behavior, probably because they already knew about the situation.

Looking at the clothes of the group, which didn't seem to have any obvious related characteristics, Jinwen had changed out of the uniform servant's attire from the palace beforehand, while Lu Xi hadn't changed out of the uniform clothes at all.

Qin Suiyou said, "We can go in separately. In a moment, we'll just be ordinary consumers."

Lu Xi and Jin Wen had no objections. Shuo Han didn't speak, but nodded to indicate that he understood. Bei Tang Yan didn't express his opinion; if he were to express his opinion, it would be in accordance with his wife.

Fortunately, Qin Suiyou had asked Gao Yu beforehand and learned that Beitang Yan's past movements were very regular. Apart from the Prince's Mansion, he was basically always at the camps outside Yejing City where a small number of Zhenbei Army troops were stationed when there was no war. When the battle in the Northern Region was won, Beitang Yan was unconscious, so most of the people in Yejing did not recognize him. However, for safety reasons, Du Ruo did his makeup before he left the mansion, and Lu Xi also used a trick to make him look different. Therefore, it was not a problem for Beitang Yan to follow along.

Lu Xi and Jin Wen led the way, followed by Qin Suiyou and Beitang Yan, with Shuo Han bringing up the rear.

Southwest Bookstore is quite large, with two floors, and is considered to be of medium size among similar bookstores on Xizheng Street.

When Yun was preparing Qin Suiyou's dowry, she originally planned to add a few good shops, but Qin Suiyou chose several shops on West Main Street, including Southwest Bookstore, which seemed to have little profit, for the sake of convenience. Yun didn't quite understand, but she still went along with his wishes. However, she added some other things for Qin Suiyou in other places.

Qin Suiyou chose an inconspicuous corner to enter, ignoring the areas on the outside and heading straight to the inside.

Seeing that Beitang Yan had nothing better to do, Qin Suiyou said, "Why don't you take a look and see if there are any books you'd like to read? You can buy some to take home."

Beitang Yan looked around, seemingly somewhat uninterested, but when his gaze returned to Qin Suiyou, he seemed to suddenly remember something and nodded, saying, "Okay."

Qin Suiyou didn't know why Beitang Yan had suddenly become so enthusiastic, but he didn't think much of it and even suggested, "If you really don't know what to look at, you can go to the front and ask the waiter or the shopkeeper for recommendations."

"Well, I see."

Seeing that Beitang Yan was really starting to look at the shelves, Qin Suiyou also began to focus on his own work.

It doesn't actually take too long to browse through a bookstore. Even if you leisurely go up to the second floor, take a look around, and come back down, it only takes about 15 minutes.

When they met up on the first floor, everyone was busy.

After paying the bill and leaving, Lu Xi, with a mischievous grin, approached Qin Suiyou and waved the book in his hand at him, saying, "I got a good book."

Qin Suiyou asked cooperatively, "What good stuff?"

Lu Xi did not answer, but instead tucked the half-rolled book behind her back.

Qin Suiyou raised an eyebrow, didn't ask any more questions, and turned to look at Beitang Yan, who seemed unusually agitated.

"What did you buy?"

Everyone had money on them when they came out, including Beitang Yan, so they didn't pay together when it came time to settle the bill, and they didn't even know what the other had bought.

Beitang Yan, his ears turning red, said, "A book."

Qin Suiyou asked, "What book?"

Can this be kept confidential for now?

Qin Suiyou raised an eyebrow slightly. Keeping it a secret for now means he'll have to tell me in a few days.

"Row."

Seeing that Qin Suiyou didn't ask any more questions, Beitang Yan breathed a sigh of relief and carefully touched the booklet that he had put in his sleeve pocket.

Upon arriving at the small restaurant where Gao Yu and his companion had reserved private rooms, the group began to share the spoils they had gathered from their visit to the bookstore.

Lu Xi began by pretending to be mature, saying, "They sell a wide variety of things inside, but they're all too old-fashioned. They don't even have any of the currently popular storybooks. They need to add something that keeps up with the times."

Jinwen continued, "A large part of the pricing is unreasonable. Just like Lu Xi said, outdated storybooks, letter paper patterns, and scented ink sticks should all be discounted and imported separately, but they are sticking to the old ways. Moreover, the books and items are arranged in a messy manner, which is obviously not well managed."

Beitang Yan also expressed his opinion: "That shopkeeper is no good. When I went to ask him, he was very rude. It was a young shop assistant who took me to find the book."

Unexpectedly, Shuo Han also spoke up, mentioning a point that none of the others had noticed.

"They sell fake books, many of which contain content that is completely unrelated to the title. They take some low-grade miscellaneous poems and claim them to be written by sages, or even by the current emperor. If these are widely circulated, it would be a capital offense of blasphemy against the emperor."

It was rare to see Shuo Han say so much, and Gao Yu was so surprised that her jaw almost dropped. Lan Feng kindly helped her lift it back up.

Jinwen, standing to the side, said with shame, "I did see those things, but my perspective was too narrow, and I never expected them to be so bold."

Lu Xi happened to be sitting next to Jin Wen. Upon hearing what Jin Wen said, he still shook his head, feigning seriousness.

"What's the big deal? I'm not very familiar with Bei Qian's poetry collections either. Now that I have the opportunity, I can learn more and broaden my horizons."

Lan Feng also said, "Yes, my father used to be a traveling merchant who traveled all over the country. I didn't even know that there were now scented ink sticks. But why are these ink sticks no longer fashionable?"

Lu Xi nodded in agreement.

"Yes, the high-ranking officials and nobles of Beiqian are quite fond of incense, so why are scented ink sticks not popular anymore?"

Zhongzhou has scented ink, but no one makes ink sticks yet. Lu Xi regretted not buying some to try earlier.

Qin Suiyou was also curious, so he gestured for Jinwen to explain.

Jinwen said, "It's because the technology is not perfect yet. The ink from the ink stick does have a pleasant fragrance when you first write with it, but after a while, the fragrance turns into a foul smell, like the smell of over-rotted flowers and plants. Since it has not been improved, it has gradually stopped being used."

"I see."

Lu Xi, who had initially regretted his purchase, was now glad he hadn't bought it. After all, as a little fairy deer who loved life, he couldn't stand the smell of decay.

The small restaurant where the group settled was diagonally opposite the bookstore. In a private room on the second floor, Qin Suiyou sat by the window and glanced out. People came and went on the street, but few stopped for a bookstore.

"Jinwen, Lanfeng."

After Jinwen and Lanfeng responded, Qin Suiyou said, "You two, take the bookstore's contract and this jade token and go to the bookstore to take control. There's no need for everyone inside to rush for now. There's still more than an hour before lunch. If you don't finish quickly and come back soon, there won't be any lunch left."

"We'll get on it right away!"