The next day, Hu Ji boldly went to Ying Zheng's study.
Today, the results should be out.
Ying Zheng looked as usual, reviewing the memorial and waiting for news about Chunyu Yue and Fu Yao.
In the morning, no news came. At noon, there was still no news.
After lunch, Ying Zheng couldn't sit still.
He said to the young eunuch: "Come here. Go and take Fu Yao and Chun Yuyue..."
Having said this, Ying Zheng shook his head slightly and changed his mind: That's all, I'll go and see for myself.
Ying Zheng turned to look at Hu Ji, who was kneeling in the corner: "You come too."
Hu Ji responded and stood up in a panic.
In fact, she knew very well that Ying Zheng wanted to invite her there, not because of love, but... to convince herself.
Hu Ji felt a little bitter in her heart, but at this stage, there was no need to think about pampering, so let's save Hu Hai first. As long as Hu Hai can keep it, he can keep it for the rest of his life.
Hu Ji changed her clothes in her random thoughts.
Ying Zheng did not leave the palace with much fanfare, but dressed up like an ordinary nobleman and brought a few guards with him.
In Xianyang City, such noble people can be seen all the time, and they are not too eye-catching.
Ying Zheng did not notify anyone and went to the Immortal Exile Tower for a surprise inspection.
To Ying Zheng's surprise, it was quiet in front of the Banished Immortal Building, with no one buying books.
Ying Zheng was a little puzzled: This situation is very different from what I imagined.
Hu Ji's heart was beating loudly: This... what on earth does this mean? Who wins and who loses?
Ying Zheng strolled into the Exorcist Tower and found that the Exorcist Tower was also in a mess today.
There were no drinkers inside, and several cases had been moved to the side.
There was a large group of clerks surrounding a man who was fiddling with an abacus and calculating accounts.
In the corner, Chun Yuyue was reading attentively. He frowned and looked confused.
Finally, a waiter noticed Ying Zheng. He bowed and said respectfully: "This distinguished guest, the Exorcist Building is not open for business today. Please come back another day. I apologize if I offended you."
Ying Zheng said calmly: "I won't drink alcohol today. I'm looking for someone. Can the banished immortal be here?"
Before the waiter could answer, Ying Zheng had already seen Li Shui.
He walked to Li Shui and said calmly: "Huaiguzi, how are the sales of your books going?"
Li Shui was startled when he heard Ying Zheng's voice. He quickly turned around and saluted, saying, "This book... is selling well."
Fu Yao, who was next to him, had a sad expression on his face: "Oh, this book only lasted for two hours before it was sold out. The printing shop in Shangjun Courtyard can't keep up with my progress no matter what."
Ying Zheng was slightly startled: "The sales are better than yesterday?"
Fu Yao said: "Exactly."
Ying Zheng asked again: "Is there anyone who has withdrawn the book?"
Fu Yao said: "Yesterday, some Confucian scholars withdrew their books, but today there are no more."
At this time, Chunyu Yue in the corner suddenly tugged on his beard and muttered to himself, "Why on earth is this?"
Chunyu Yue was immersed in his own little world and never noticed Ying Zheng's arrival.
Ying Zheng walked to Chunyu Yue and asked with a smile: "Dr. Chunyu, are you worried?"
Chunyu Yue came to his senses, saluted Ying Zheng quickly, and then smiled bitterly.
Ying Zheng saw that what he was holding in his hand was Journey to the North.
Ying Zheng smiled and said, "What? You also like Journey to the North?"
Chunyu Yue hesitated for a moment, then sighed and said honestly: "I dare not hide it. In fact, I am not interested in Journey to the North."
"It's just that the people in Xianyang City, like crazy, rushed to buy Journey to the North. The old minister was really puzzled, so he bought a copy from the Exalted Immortal and wanted to find out why. But... But I still don’t understand, so I’m very distressed.”
Ying Zheng felt as if he had seen a confidant and thought to himself: Don't you understand? I don’t understand either.
Suddenly, Ying Zheng thought of a possibility.
His face darkened slightly, and he said to Fu Yao, "Did you hire some people to come here deliberately to buy your books?"
Fu Yao asked curiously: "How is it possible? The supply of this book exceeds the demand. Why should I spend money to hire people to buy it?"
Ying Zheng said: "If you didn't hire someone to buy it, why are your books selling so well?"
Fu Yao said matter-of-factly: "Of course Erchen's book is well-written."
Originally, Fu Yao was not very confident in his books, but after experiencing the book-selling incident, he became completely confident.
Ying Zheng looked at him speechlessly: You are really ignorant and fearless, and you are not ashamed to speak loudly. You can hardly call this thing a book, how dare you claim to be a good writer?
Li Shui smiled and said, "Your Majesty, instead of guessing here, I would rather I find a few people who have bought the book and listen to what they have to say."
Ying Zheng nodded: "That makes sense."
Chun Yuyue suddenly said: "But... if you teach them a few words in advance when banishing the immortal to find someone, and let them praise Journey to the North. Then won't we not hear the truth? It's better... let the old minister find the person. .”
Li Shui said with a smile: "If Dr. Chunyu teaches them a few words in advance when he is looking for people to slander Journey to the North, wouldn't we not be able to hear the truth?"
Chunyu Yue stared and said, "How can I be such a shameless person?"
Li Shuihui didn't change his expression: "How can I be such a shameless person?"
Chunyu Yue was furious. He was not afraid of arguing with Li Shui, but Li Shui imitated his speech. This...
Li Xin saw it with great insight, took out a piece of paper and wrote a few notes on it.
Ying Zheng said calmly: "That's all, let's go together. I will go too."
Li Shui responded and accompanied Ying Zheng out.
Hu Ji lowered her head and followed behind Ying Zheng.
Fortunately, the atmosphere is much more open now. It is very common for ladies to go shopping. They are not too conspicuous when walking on the street.
Ying Zheng took two steps on the street and soon saw the owner of a cloth shop holding a book and looking attentively.
Ying Zheng walked in casually.
The boss reluctantly looked away from the book, and then said with a smile: "Dear guests, what do you want to buy?"
Li Shui smiled and said, "Just take a look."
The boss responded: "Please take a look."
Then I started reading again.
Li Shui pretended to chat: "Is this book good?"
The boss slapped his thigh: "It's beautiful, it's so beautiful. Dear guest, you must buy a copy and read it. This book is really..."
The boss scratched his head anxiously, wishing he could stuff his book into Shuishui Li's hand.
Chunyu Yue was a little unconvinced and asked the boss: "Is it really good-looking? I heard that many Confucian scholars returned the books after buying them."
The boss said: "What do those Confucian scholars know?"
Chunyu Yue: "..."
Confucian scholars don’t understand? Do you understand?
The boss was slobbering: "At the beginning, I was also deceived by those Confucian scholars, thinking that Journey to the North was exaggerated. But seeing all the neighbors buying it, I felt a little itchy."
"This Northern Journey is not expensive, so I bought it and took a look. Even if it doesn't look good, I can still return it. Isn't it just a loss of money? So I bought it."
"After I bought it, I took a look...my God, it looks so beautiful."
The boss opened the book: "Look at the painting, how exquisite it is. Look at the text, how concise and straightforward it is. Look at the story, how fascinating it is."
Chun Yuyue's lips moved, and he said with some dissatisfaction: "However, shouldn't a truly good book tell some principles about governing a country and bringing peace to the world?"
The boss coughed dryly: "You're just a cloth seller. What do you do if you know those principles?"
Chunyu Yue: "..."
The boss was still not finished and said: "If you want to know the truth, you can actually do it. In the past, I only heard that Mr. Fu Yao was very effective in governing Beidi County."
"But how Master Fu Yao governs and what results he achieves, I don't know. But after reading this book, I can remember it very firmly."
The boss sighed: "Our Xianyang City is doing well. It is said that there are many poor places in the world without enough food and clothing. It would be great if they could follow the example of Beidi County."
Fu Yao kept smiling after hearing this, then bought two pieces of cloth and left.
After leaving the store, there were two more girls on the street. Judging from their clothes, they must be the female dependents of some powerful families.
These girls were standing on the street, reading a book about travels to the north.
Ying Zheng glanced at Hu Ji. Hu Ji understood, walked forward, and said with a smile: "Girls, are you also reading Journey to the North?"
The girls seemed to have met their close friends and said, "Exactly. Do you like to watch it too?"
Hu Ji forced a smile: "I didn't buy it."
The girl pulled Hu Ji over enthusiastically and said, "Come on, let's take a look together."
How could Hu Ji have the heart to look at this? She laughed dryly and said, "Is this book really good?"
One of the girls said: "Of course he is good-looking. Look at Mr. Fu Yao, how wise and mighty he is, how perseverant he is, how... alas... Ever since I read this book of Journey to the North, and looked at other men in the world, It’s out of sight.”
The other girl nodded vigorously: "Yes, once you see the young master, you will be mistaken for life."
Hu Ji: "..."
Fu Yao was happy again.
Li Shui was a little jealous: I have done so many things, but I am not thought about so much. It seems that being a nerd in science and engineering is really not enough. You have to imitate those liberal arts students, you have to publish a book, and you have to be able to promote yourself.
He wanted to remind these girls that Fu Yao was full of plans this year, he was only eleven or twelve years old and still a child.
But Li Shui then thought about it... This age was not too young for the ancients. It is estimated that after waiting for another two years, he can marry a wife and have children...
Hu Ji sneaked back after looking for a few words, and Ying Zheng said calmly: "Let's continue walking."
It is not difficult to find a few people who have read Travels to the North, because people all over the street are discussing this book.
Ying Zheng even heard a few beggars talking about Journey to the North next to a pile of haystacks.
Ying Zheng asked curiously: "Have you also read Journey to the North?"
These beggars were a little nervous when they saw a noble asking questions.
One of them, who was more daring, said cautiously: "Young man... I have watched it. Now in Xianyang City, everyone is reading Journey to the North. We felt itchy in our hearts, so everyone took out a penny and pooled their money to buy one. Book."
Chunyu Yue didn't believe it: "What? Do beggars also know how to read?"
Those beggars looked at me, and I looked at you, and said tremblingly: "Little man, I don't know how to read."
Chunyu Yue: "...If you don't know how to read, what books will you buy?"
The beggar laughed dryly: "Most of the stories in Journey to the North are pictures. We can understand everything just by looking at the pictures. Moreover, people are discussing the stories in Journey to the North. The more we listen to them, the more we can understand them. I half-guessed what I was talking about.”
Ying Zheng smiled and said, "Can you tell me about it?"
The beggar responded, wiped his hands on his body, and then took out a cloth bag. This cloth bag is clearly made of one piece of clothing. The clothes are ragged, but clean.
Opening the cloth bag, there was a clean book inside.
The beggar turned to the first page and began to speak.
Everyone found that the plot he told was generally correct, but it was obviously hearsay, and he could not understand the words below.
The beggar talked for three to five pages. Ying Zheng nodded and said, "That's enough. It's rare. It's really rare."
I don’t know who this rare thing is about.
Chunyu Yue was speechless. Even the beggars on the street were reading Journey to the North. What else was there to say?
Ying Zheng, however, was still unfinished and said to the beggar: "After reading this journey to the north, what do you think?"
The beggars said: "We all want to go to Beidi County. Maybe when we get to Beidi County, we don't have to be beggars. But Beidi County is too far away. I beg all the way. I don't know if we can get there. If Xianyang can be like Beidi County It’s the same as the county, that’s good.”
Ying Zheng said nothing, but took out a piece of gold and gave it to the beggars.
Hu Ji stood nearby, feeling bitter: It's over, it's completely over this time.
Suddenly, he saw a Confucian scholar and a child passing by in a hurry.
Hu Ji immediately stopped the Confucian scholar as if she had grasped a life-saving straw.
When the Confucian scholar saw a group of people with luxurious clothes and elegant temperament, he suddenly became a little nervous and hurriedly came over and bowed.
Hu Ji asked: "Have you ever bought Journey to the North?"
The Confucian scholar was a little panicked: "I bought it, but I returned it."
Hu Ji was overjoyed: "Why did you quit again?"
Chunyu Yue also waited expectantly for the Confucian scholar's answer.
The Confucian scholar said: "What I like most is Dr. Chun Yu's Hometown of Yao and Shun. It has beautiful diction, eloquent discussions and is thought-provoking. This journey to the north is a little uncomfortable."
Chunyu Yue felt a little emotional and thought: After all, there is a close friend in this world.
Suddenly, Fu Yao pointed to the book in the child's hand and said, "Isn't this Journey to the North?"
The child was only four or five years old. After seeing Fu Yao's actions, he quickly hugged the book tightly in his arms, as if he was afraid that Fu Yao would snatch it away.
The Confucian scholar was a little embarrassed.
Ying Zheng said: "What's going on with this book?"
The Confucian scholar laughed dryly and said: "The child is stupid and playful. After months of coercion and inducement, he still refuses to read or read. I just went to a friend's house yesterday and accidentally saw this travelogue to the north. He was actually quite interested."
"The child only recognized a few words after reading it for an hour. Therefore, I think it would be good to buy Journey to the North as an enlightenment book to teach children how to read."
Chunyu fainted quickly: It didn't matter if others bought Journey to the North, even Confucian scholars started to buy it? I really lost this bet.
