Chapter 193: Return to Jiangnan 2

Chapter 193: Return to Jiangnan 2

As soon as Hong Dongbao climbed onto the Yuan family's carriage with Yuan Lingling, he insisted on riding a horse up front instead. "Aunt Lingling, I don't want to sit in the carriage. It's not majestic at all! I want to ride a horse!"

"Dongbao, don't make a fuss. I have a favor to ask you," Yuan Lingling said, feeling a bit embarrassed. She tugged at Hong Dongbao's sleeve and hesitated. "Could you ask Brother Li to find out the name of that scholar from the inn?"

Hong Dongbao's eyes widened in surprise. "Aunt Lingling, are you taken with that scholar?"

Yuan Lingling's face flushed, and she quickly turned away. "Dongbao, are you going to help or not?"

After Hong Dongbao and his group left in a hurry, Xu Zeping led Little Tiger out of the inn, planning to grab a meal at a restaurant.

By then, the sun was setting, and street vendors were beginning to pack up and head home. The streets were growing quiet, but the restaurant Xu Zeping was heading to was near the famous Fengqing Tower in Jinzhou City. As they drew closer, the area became livelier.

Usually, Xu Zeping would choose a quiet alley to cut through, but for some reason, today he decided to take the main road.

"You're quick on your feet, aren't you?" A large, muscular man stepped out from the alley and reached for Xu Zeping's collar, but Xu Zeping ducked out of the way.

Thanks to his training in horse riding, archery, and other skills at Bowen Academy, Xu Zeping had developed keen reflexes. He wasn't good at fighting, but he could easily dodge simple ambushes.

Xu Zeping stood up swiftly and recognized the burly man. Surprised, he said, "You're with that young master named Dongbao! Your young master already said he wouldn't trouble me anymore, right?"

Li Shu laughed heartily. "Scholar, I think you've misunderstood."

"Misunderstood?" Xu Zeping asked warily, his hand brushing the dagger at his waist. "Then, may I ask what business you have with me?"

"My young master is quite interested in you. May I ask your name, where you're from, and how many siblings you have?" Li Shu noticed Xu Zeping reaching for the dagger but wasn’t concerned. He could take on three scholars like Xu Zeping, if not more.

Xu Zeping wasn't sure of Hong Dongbao's intentions. Was he just curious about him?

Xu Zeping didn't want to reveal his real name, but considering the influence of the Hong family and the Yuan family's power in Jinzhou City, it wouldn't be hard for them to find out about him. Thinking of Ah Yang's grandfather, Xu Zeping decided to share his real information. "My name is Xu Zeping, the youngest in my family, from Dongxiang Province."

"In five days, my young master will be hunting at Fengming Mountain, a famous hunting ground near Jinzhou City. Would Scholar Xu be interested in joining?" Li Shu said with a smile. "They say you scholars are skilled in rites, music, archery, chariotry, calligraphy, and mathematics. Is that true?"

"I'm truly tempted by young master Dongbao's invitation," Xu Zeping said, appearing deeply interested before politely declining. "However, I am a Bowen student, and Bowen only has three holidays a month."

A Bowen student?

Although Li Shu was a rough man, he had heard of the four great academies of the Great Jing Dynasty: Shang Jing Guozijian, Wentai Academy in Wen Dong, Huai Lake in Huai Su, and Bowen in Suwan.

Graduates from these academies, if not becoming renowned scholars, could usually become juren (advanced degree holders) or hold minor official positions.

"Then Scholar Xu, I won't disturb you further," Li Shu said, bowing before leaving gracefully.

"Young master, what was that about?" Little Tiger asked, recalling how arrogant Hong Dongbao was at the inn. He hoped the young master wasn't planning to play tricks on Xu Zeping!

"It's alright. Don't worry about them," Xu Zeping reassured. "In the capital, they wouldn’t dare act recklessly. After all, I'm a scholar, and scholars have the privilege of not kneeling before officials."

With Xu Zeping's reassurance, Little Tiger felt relieved.

After dinner, Xu Zeping saw Little Tiger back to the inn and then headed to Changqing Bookstore.

Mr. Xu had been eagerly waiting for Xu Zeping, and when he finally arrived, his eyes lit up with joy. "Scholar Xu, you're here! Did you bring a new script?"

He led Xu Zeping to the tearoom, thankful that there weren't many people in the bookstore at the moment. Otherwise, his fawning manner would have made him a laughingstock.

Mr. Xu certainly didn’t want to be in this situation either, but the patrons had also gotten their hands on the young man’s novels. From time to time, they even sent letters, urging Xu Zeping to write new ones.

It was strange—this higher-up used to be all about diligence and governance, so why were they suddenly interested in novels?

“Mr. Xu, you’ve got it wrong,” Xu Zeping said before Mr. Xu could finish. “I’m not here to collect the payment. I just wanted to check on what’s popular in novels lately, to get some inspiration for the next one.”

Mr. Xu slapped his forehead. “Look at my memory, you’re here to collect the remuneration, right?” He instructed a young attendant to bring over some silver and took out the ledger to settle the payment with Xu Zeping. To his surprise, Xu Zeping received fifty taels as payment for the second month after the novel’s completion.

After settling the payment, Mr. Xu looked eagerly at Xu Zeping. “Mr. Xu, will you be handing over the new novel?”

“Mr. Xu, you’ve really misunderstood,” Xu Zeping shook his head helplessly. “I’m not here to submit a new novel. I just wanted to see what’s popular in novels lately, to get some inspiration for the next one.”

Ever since Xu Zeping pioneered the fox demon cultivation genre, countless similar novels had flooded the market—snake demon journeys, yellow fox journeys, white wolf journeys—all blatantly copying Xu Zeping’s original work, much to Mr. Xu’s frustration.

Since their bookstore didn’t accept these kinds of novels, the authors went to smaller bookstores to sell them on consignment.

Xu Zeping acknowledged the situation, reassured Mr. Xu, and promised to deliver a new novel by the next vacation. Then, he left.

There was no shortage of novels on Blue Star.

In the past, he hadn’t read many novels due to his livelihood, but he had watched plenty of dramas.

For some reason, he suddenly thought of Harry Potter, a smile tugging at the corners of his lips. He had written cultivation stories, so why not try something different—maybe a magical world? It could be fun.

Yuan Residence, Jinzhou City

“What?” Governor Yuan looked at his precious daughter in shock. “You say you’ve taken a liking to a scholar?”

Yuan Lingling pouted and clung to her father’s wrist. “Father, you said I could choose my own husband. Now that I’ve finally found someone I like, you can’t refuse.”

“Nonsense!” Governor Yuan snapped, his face turning red with anger. “I said you could choose from the list I gave you, not someone you picked off the street!”

He pulled his wrist away and stood up. “In two days, it’s your grandmother’s birthday. I won’t argue with you now, but your mother will deal with you if you don’t behave.”

“Father,” Yuan Lingling hurriedly stopped him, anxious. “I know his background. He’s a student at Bowie and from Dongxiang Province!”

Governor Yuan paused, his expression odd. “That scholar is from Dongxiang? Is he surnamed Xu?”

Yuan Lingling’s eyes lit up. “Father, how did you know? I had Brother Li investigate. The scholar’s name is Xu Zeping, and he’s the youngest child in his family.”

Governor Yuan stared at Yuan Lingling for a few seconds before suddenly laughing. “What a coincidence~”

Seeing her father laugh, Yuan Lingling was confused. “Father, what’s so funny?”

“Lingling, do you remember the scholar I mentioned last year during the Mid-Autumn Festival?” Governor Yuan shook his head. “What did you say at the time? That Dongxiang was too far, and you didn’t want to be far from your parents.”

Yuan Lingling blushed, embarrassed, and hummed lightly. “Father, you’re so mean. I’m going to find Mother.”

Upon returning to Bowie, Xu Zeping first paid the tuition for the semester, then settled into the familiar student dormitories. Seeing the quiet room, he remarked that he had arrived early but was looking forward to seeing his classmates soon.

....

He had Little Tiger make the bed while he took local specialties to visit Ouyang Xu, his senior fellow scholar, first. Afterward, he went to see Cen Tianyuan.

He visited Senior Ouyang first because he knew Cen Tianyuan would insist on keeping him for lunch.

“Mr. Cen, I’m back,” Xu Zeping smiled, handing the items to the old servant. “I brought some smoked bacon from Dongxiang. I hope you don’t mind.”

Cen Jiangshu had received smoked cured meat sent by Cheng Xue while he was an official in Shang Jing, which his master had sent from Dongxiang Province. It tasted quite good.

"Come in," Cen Jiangshu said as he walked along. "Later, let Uncle Xiong fry the smoked cured meat, and you can stay for lunch."

"Then I'll be troubling you," replied Xu Zeping.

Looking at Xu Zeping's obedient demeanor, Cen Jiangshu snorted. "Talking so formally, do you come here often enough?"

Xu Zeping rubbed his nose and didn’t say anything.

"Come with me to the study. I want to see if you’ve forgotten what I taught you during your time away."

Since returning to the academy, Xu Zeping had to spend his days learning the essentials of shipbuilding with Cen Jiangshu, studying with the main team, assisting Cen Jiangshu as a teaching aide, and writing story scripts at night. He was running around like a spinning top.

Sometimes, he was quite impressed with his own abundant energy.

It wasn't until nine days later that he remembered Hong Dongbao's matter.

"Xu Zeping, have you heard?"

Xu Zeping climbed out of bed, walked to the well, yawned, and stretched lazily. Just as he was about to draw water to wash his face, Zhang Xiaolin eagerly patted his shoulder with a joyful expression.

Xu Zeping looked at him in confusion. "Heard what?"

"Yuan Zhizhou has organized a hunting event, and there's no class today!" Zhang Xiaolin said excitedly. "The dean has posted a notice. At 7:45 AM (the third quarter of the morning), the scholars' academy students will gather at the martial field. In the morning, there will be an elimination tournament. The students who advance will participate in a hunting event at White Deer Mountain in the afternoon. The winning team will each receive ten taels of silver!"

Xu Zeping raised an eyebrow. "Organized by Yuan Zhizhou?"

"Yes," Zhang Xiaolin nodded.