Chapter 201: Picking a Quarrel

Chapter 201: Picking a Quarrel

"Miss Kou?" Seeing that Miss Kou remained silent, the attendant prompted.

Miss Kou calmed her mind and apologetically said, "The last time I saw Mr. Songling, he told me he was leaving the capital."

Upon hearing that Mr. Songling was not in the capital, the attendant looked at Miss Kou with suspicion in his eyes. "Mr. Songling's storybooks are highly popular and have brought him both fame and fortune. Why would he leave the capital?"

Miss Kou replied indifferently, "That, I'm not clear about. Our bookshop has a cooperative relationship with Mr. Songling and does not inquire into his personal matters."

The attendant had no choice but to return and report this.

Failing to meet Mr. Songling, King Qing's mood darkened.

A mere writer is unapproachable, and now that it involves Miss Kou, everything goes awry?

King Qing temporarily suppressed his frustration. Over the next few days, he was busy attending banquets. After getting through this busy period, he finally went to Qingsong Bookshop.

At that moment, Qingsong Bookshop had just opened. Liu Zhou and Stone were organizing the bookshelves, while Hu Boss was leisurely sitting and flipping through the account books. As soon as King Qing entered, Hu Boss sprang up.

"Your Majesty—"

King Qing waved his hand to stop Hu Boss from paying respects. "Is Miss Kou here?"

He was dressed in a robe that did not reveal his rank, in a casual manner.

Hu Boss did not dare to neglect him and hurriedly sent Stone to fetch Miss Kou from the back.

"This commoner greets His Highness, King Qing."

At that time, there were no customers at the door. King Qing looked around the book hall filled with books and asked, "Can Miss Kou take me to the Printing House for a visit?"

"The Printing House is crowded and chaotic. If anything were to happen to Your Highness, I would be severely punished," Miss Kou replied.

King Qing's face turned cold. "I am not made of paper. I went to the disaster area in Dingbei without any problems; do you think something could happen to me at the Printing House?"

Miss Kou's brow twitched slightly.

There was no harm in taking King Qing to the Printing House; her earlier refusal was a test.

Clearly, King Qing had come with ulterior motives.

"Then, Your Highness, please follow me," Miss Kou bowed slightly and led the way.

King Qing followed, accompanied by two guards.

Qingsong Bookshop's Printing House was larger than King Qing had expected. Even early in the morning, there were numerous workers.

The craftsmen greeted Miss Kou, casting curious glances at King Qing.

King Qing frowned.

He had come for Mr. Songling, not out of genuine interest in the printing process.

After a tour, King Qing stopped. "A few days ago, I wanted to meet Mr. Songling, but it was unlucky that he was not available. Today, I also came to ask Miss Kou, where has Mr. Songling gone, and when will he return to the capital?"

"I am not aware," Miss Kou repeated her earlier statement.

King Qing sneered, "Do you take me for a three-year-old child?"

Xin You’s eyes showed confusion.

"Your bookstore's success relies entirely on the books written by Mr. Songling. The *Journey to the West* still has another ten or eight volumes yet to be released. How could you possibly let Mr. Songling leave so easily?" King Qing pointed out, gesturing in the air.

Faced with King Qing’s questioning, Xin You remained calm. "Indeed, our shop can’t do without Mr. Songling’s new books. Fortunately, Mr. Songling was thoughtful enough to hand over the remaining manuscripts of *Journey to the West* before he left."

King Qing was taken aback. "You mean, all the remaining manuscripts of *Journey to the West*?"

"Yes, there are eight more volumes. Our plan is to release one volume every couple of months, so we won’t have to worry about new books for the next two years."

King Qing looked at Xin You deeply, then chuckled. "After reading the second volume of *Journey to the West*, I’m eager to know what happens next. May I borrow the manuscript to take a look?"

Borrow the manuscript?

Meeting King Qing’s unreadable gaze, Xin You quickly smiled. "It’s our honor that *Journey to the West* has gained the favor of King Qing. Xiaolian—"

"I’m here, miss."

"Go to my study and fetch the *Journey to the West* manuscript."

Xiaolian hesitated, then bowed. "Yes, miss."

As King Qing watched the servant girl hurry away, his expression turned grave. The importance of unpublished manuscripts to a bookstore was obvious. He had prepared himself for rejection.

Being rejected would have given him a pretext to act.

But Xin You had agreed without hesitation, leaving him no room to react.

Thinking back to his first visit to Qingsong Bookstore, King Qing gave Xin You another deep look.

This girl was truly adaptable and shrewd, not at all like a typical teenager.

"Miss, the manuscript has been retrieved," Xiaolian soon returned, holding a box.

Xin You accepted it. "King Qing, this is the *Journey to the West* manuscript."

A guard stepped forward, took the box, and opened it, revealing a stack of manuscripts. Another guard inspected each one before presenting them to King Qing.

Xin You watched impassively, reminding herself not to act rashly with King Qing.

This prince, though traveling light and casual, was actually very protective of his life.

King Qing didn’t take the manuscripts but glanced over them and smiled. "Mr. Songling’s handwriting is excellent. He must be a dashing and free-spirited person. It’s a pity I wasn’t able to meet him."

Xin You smiled. "Mr. Songling said he would return. You will get to meet him, King Qing."

"I’ve troubled you today, Miss Kou." Having failed to find a pretext, King Qing left with the manuscripts.

Once King Qing’s carriage had completely disappeared, Xiaolian worriedly said, "Miss, what if those manuscripts fall into the wrong hands?"

If they fell into the hands of other bookstores, Qingsong Bookstore would face significant losses.

Xin You lowered her gaze, staring at the ground.

In the cracks of the blue bricks, small grass sprouts had emerged, delicate and tender, a color of early spring.

"If they leak out, so be it. It’s not a major issue."

Xiaolian was deeply reluctant. “But—”

“We don’t lack money. There’s no need to offend a prince over this.” After speaking, Xin You turned and walked inside.

Xiaolian bit her lip and silently followed.

The girl was right, but thinking about how hard she worked writing the book and managing the bookstore, it was really frustrating.

A prince, and yet he acts like this!

As soon as Xin You returned to the eastern courtyard, she went into the study and only came out after a long while.

After returning, King Qing started reading the manuscript and became so engrossed that he couldn't put it down.

He didn’t like Miss Kou, but *Journey to the West* was truly fascinating.

King Qing stayed up for two consecutive nights and finally finished reading it.

“Cousin, what’s wrong with you?” Dai Ze, who had come to visit King Qing, asked in shock.

“I—” King Qing paused, then, seeing his curious cousin, had an idea.

If the unreleased manuscript of *Journey to the West* were to leak, it would be a devastating blow to Qingsong Bookstore and would also help him get back at him for the insult at his aunt’s birthday banquet.

However, if the manuscript were to leak from King Qing’s residence, it wouldn’t look good if it were traced back to him. Dai Ze, on the other hand, was different. This cousin of his was reckless, and it wouldn’t be surprising if he leaked it.

Dai Ze, knowing that King Qing had the manuscript of *Journey to the West*, would definitely ask for it, and since this cousin couldn’t keep secrets, it would naturally spread after he took it.

King Qing yawned, looking exhausted. “I’ve been reading *Journey to the West*.”

“One *Journey to the West* isn’t that big of a deal, it’s not that long.”

King Qing glanced at Dai Ze. “What if there were ten?”