Chapter 22: Food and Sex are Human Nature!

"What are you looking for me for?"

Lu Fang turned his head to size up the person who came in confusion.

"He is Lu Fang? Your little martial uncle?" He Zixuan said in disbelief.

"Yes, he is."

Li Yu nodded reluctantly and asked: "What are you looking for him for?"

He Zixuan dragged his fat body, bypassed Li Yu, and stared at Lu Fang from top to bottom with his small eyes, hesitating: "You are the one who wrote the imagery-level 'Ode to Quelling Demons'?"

Lu Fang nodded: "Yes."

He Zixuan swallowed his saliva, "The elegant prose 'Liaozhai Zhiyi Nie Xiaoqian' and 'Dream of the Red Chamber' were also written by you?"

"Yes." Lu Fang showed a polite smile and leaned back, pulling away from the "pancake face."

"How old are you?" He Zixuan's fat face "twisted" together.

"Twenty." Lu Fang replied truthfully.

He Zixuan was heartbroken and beat his chest: "How can someone only twenty years old make such a good poem and write two pieces of elegant prose?"

"I also condensed a book spirit."

Lu Fang added at the right time.

"Cough, cough, cough..."

He Zixuan was choked by his own saliva and coughed repeatedly. After stopping, he stretched out his hand and gave a thumbs up, his expression extremely exaggerated, as if he were saying "You're awesome."

It was no wonder he had such a big reaction.

A twenty-year-old person making an imagery-level "Ode to Quelling Demons" and writing two pieces of elegant prose was simply too heaven-defying.

It could be called unprecedented and unrepeatable.

Lu Fang had copied them, so naturally, he didn't feel anything in his heart.

But if it were converted into a modern college student who was still in school, while a high school student had already started from scratch and become the boss of a listed company, one would know what Lu Fang looked like in the eyes of others in the Great Zhou Dynasty.

He Zixuan calmed his excited mood and explained his purpose:

"It's like this. His Majesty's meaning is for you to continue publishing the 'Dream of the Red Chamber' you wrote in the Great Zhou Literary Gazette. I am here to discuss this matter with you."

"Discuss?" Lu Fang smiled bitterly.

The Emperor had already spoken, what else could he say? Publishing it in the Great Zhou Literary Gazette was fine. Anyway, for him, this couldn't be better.

The influence of the Great Zhou Literary Gazette was destined to let many people see the "elegant prose" he wrote. In this way, wouldn't he have scholarly aura?

"Then how many more words of 'Dream of the Red Chamber' are you going to write?"

He Zixuan asked.

Hearing this, Li Yu, who was sitting on the side, couldn't help but prick up her ears. She had repeatedly read the first few chapters of Dream of the Red Chamber and loved it more the more she read it.

She was also curious about how many more stories were behind Dream of the Red Chamber.

"I'm not very clear about how many words. I plan to write a total of one hundred and twenty chapters. Why do you ask this?"

Lu Fang asked back.

He Zixuan smiled: "The text published in the 'Literary Gazette' is all paid by the national treasury. 'Dream of the Red Chamber' is the elegant prose you wrote. I want to ask how much silver you want, so I can report it to His Majesty."

Upon hearing this, Lu Fang smiled from ear to ear. He hadn't even thought about wanting money, and someone had come to send money. This was a great thing.

It was just that he was in a dilemma about how much silver to ask for.

Asking for too much or too little was not very appropriate.

"I'm not very clear about the rules either. How much silver do you think is appropriate?"

Lu Fang simply threw the question to the other party.

He Zixuan smiled, "Elegant prose is 'priceless,' this is beyond doubt. But the Great Zhou Literary Gazette is just a carrier, so the silver given to you will definitely not be much. According to the previous highest price, it is one tael per character. What do you think?"

The Great Zhou Literary Gazette would invite people with "reputation" to write an article about "national policy" or "war," basically all a few hundred words.

One tael per character was indeed not high; after all, a person might only have one chance in a lifetime.

The main thing was to be able to gain a good reputation and popularity.

"No! Too high!"

Lu Fang shook his head repeatedly.

One tael per character, one thousand characters would be one thousand taels.

He vaguely remembered that Dream of the Red Chamber seemed to have about seven hundred thousand words, that would be seven hundred thousand taels. Too much, he wouldn't feel at ease taking it.

"Ah?" He Zixuan blinked his small eyes in confusion.

There was someone in the world who disliked having too much silver?

Lu Fang pondered for a moment, his expression solemn as he cupped his hands upward and said:

"The Great Zhou Dynasty has too many places that need these silver taels more than I do. In the southeast, northwest, and four frontiers, thousands of soldiers are guarding the border in places of great danger."

"Especially the Northern Frontier, which is in a bitter cold place all year round, resisting the looting of the barbarians and suffering countless casualties."

"The words I write, one tael per character is too much."

"I only need one tael per thousand characters. The rest can be used to add clothes for those 'heroes' and give the descendants of those 'heroic souls' better living security."

"I cannot protect the country and expand the territory like them, but I only ask to let me do a little insignificant light for them."

"Well said!" Li Yu cheered.

If Li Yu had admired Lu Fang's talent before, upon hearing these impassioned words, she felt heartfelt admiration for Lu Fang.

This was the appearance of the great literary master in her heart!

Clap, clap, clap!

He Zixuan couldn't help but applaud and bowed to Lu Fang with a straight face: "Your virtuous and gentlemanly demeanor is a model for scholars like us."

Because he was grounded, Lu Fang spent the next few days in the guest room of the Li Mansion copying "Dream of the Red Chamber."

The rule of the Ink Brush Realm was that if a book was not finished, no matter how much scholarly aura he had in hand, he could not fish out the next book.

Lu Fang planned to take advantage of the one-month grounding time to copy out all of "Dream of the Red Chamber." He was very much looking forward to the reward for finishing "Dream of the Red Chamber."

The Great Zhou Literary Gazette published three chapters a day, and it had currently been published to the nineteenth chapter.

"What book is 'Romance of the Western Chamber'?"

Li Yu, who was holding the paper with "Dream of the Red Chamber," had read a few more chapters than others. Upon seeing the twenty-third chapter, she couldn't help but frown and ask.

Lu Fang's injuries from the boards had healed, and he was sitting at the desk continuing to copy "Dream of the Red Chamber." He said casually:

"Didn't the book mention it in two sentences?"

Lu Fang was afraid of violating taboos, so after writing out quite a bit of "Dream of the Red Chamber," he would specifically let He Zixuan hand it to the Prime Minister for review.

According to He Zixuan, the Prime Minister showed it directly to the Zhou Emperor. The Zhou Emperor only praised Lu Fang for his good literary talent and didn't say anything else.

That is to say, the Zhou Emperor tacitly agreed that it could be written.

Li Yu frowned and said:

"Dream of the Red Chamber has very good reviews in the capital. The storytellers in teahouses and restaurants like to tell it very much, and the novel world described in the book is also loved by the common people. But a very small number of people criticize you for writing a story of romance."

Lu Fang smiled noncommittally, saying that "Dream of the Red Chamber" was a story of romance was not wrong, but it didn't affect it being a good book.

Talented scholars in the Great Zhou Dynasty visiting "Song and Dance Workshops" were praised as elegant, and some talented scholars would shout loudly after drinking a few more cups: "Food and sex are human nature!"

Some books with descriptions of romance were not considered a big deal.

Good is good. Even if it is questioned for a while, it will be proven in the years to come.

"The people who criticize have some reputation in the capital, and most of them have some relationship with the Xiao family, such as Supervisor Xiao Xun of Wenyuan Academy, and main lecturer Xiao Jin."

Li Yu reminded: "My mother said that the Xiao family might use this to make trouble for you, so keep an eye on it." ===== CHAPTER 23 =====