Chapter 43: The Young Master is So Mischievous

"Miss Chujian, about that manuscript of mine..."

Bi'er was startled awake, cast a shy glance at him, and hurriedly closed the room door.

This guy actually touched her head...

Liu Chujian said softly, "I went to ask today. I originally wanted to let you, Young Master, go over and discuss it with them yourself, but..."

Luo Zijun said, "Please feel free to speak, Miss."

Liu Chujian looked a bit embarrassed: "They said that since this is your first time publishing a book, Young Master, and they haven't heard of your name, although the story is written very well, they are only willing to offer two hundred taels of silver..."

"Two hundred taels?"

Luo Zijun frowned.

Two hundred taels was undoubtedly a huge sum of money for him right now.

It was also a huge sum for his elder sister and brother-in-law.

But it was still a bit short of the price he had in mind.

However, he also understood.

This was his first time writing a book, and he was completely unknown.

It was already quite good that they were willing to pay to buy it out.

Seeing him frown, Liu Chujian hurriedly said in a low voice, "Don't worry, Young Master, I haven't agreed yet. I also feel the price is too low, so I was preparing to find some time to go ask at other bookstores. Of course, if you have time, Young Master, you could also go ask yourself, so as to avoid feeling that I have deceived you."

Luo Zijun said, "Miss Chujian, please don't say that. If I didn't trust you, why would I have come to you first for help?"

He pondered for a moment.

He made his decision: "Two hundred taels it is. It's my first time writing anyway, so it doesn't matter if it's a bit cheaper."

The main thing was that he still had many stories here.

Only after this book had some effect would he have the confidence to negotiate the price.

Liu Chujian frowned slightly: "Are you sure, Young Master? Two hundred taels is really a bit..."

"It's fine, I'll just negotiate for the next one."

Luo Zijun looked calm and indifferent: "Let's publish one first and see the results."

Liu Chujian's eyes brightened: "Are you planning to continue writing, Young Master?"

Luo Zijun said, "Of course, I still need to earn money to study."

Liu Chujian was slightly stunned, looked at him deeply, and said softly, "Then we shall follow your wishes, Young Master, two hundred taels it is. Once this book has sales, it will be much easier for you to negotiate the price. I believe many people will definitely like this book."

"I hope your words come true, Miss."

Luo Zijun thanked her and asked, "Did you bring the contract?"

Liu Chujian smiled bitterly: "No, I thought you wouldn't agree, so... let's do it tomorrow. Come back tomorrow night, Young Master, and I will have the contract prepared."

Luo Zijun nodded: "Then I will trouble you, Miss."

After a pause, he added, "By the way, is there anything you like, Miss?"

Once he received the silver, he naturally had to thank her.

Besides giving some remuneration, he should probably buy some gifts as well.

"Things I like?"

Liu Chujian was slightly stunned, then gave a bitter smile and shook her head gently: "I live in this pavilion every day, what could I possibly like? At most, I like reading books and standing by the window to look at the scenery outside."

"I see."

Seeing this, Luo Zijun didn't ask further.

He would just buy some random gifts when the time came.

"Then..."

He prepared to take his leave.

Liu Chujian said softly, "If you are going to write more books, Young Master, I hope you can bring them to me to see first, is that alright?"

Luo Zijun nodded: "Of course, I will still need your help in the future, Miss."

Liu Chujian suddenly remembered: "By the way, if you publish the book, Young Master, will you be using your own name?"

Luo Zijun thought for a moment and said, "No, just help me pick any name you like, Miss."

He dared not let his sister and brother-in-law know about this kind of book.

Liu Chujian said, "If you use your own name, Young Master, you can use your Scholar Nameplate to stamp it. By then, your reputation will grow, which will be very beneficial for your future prospects."

Luo Zijun did know that the Scholar Nameplate could be used as a seal.

However, he really didn't want to be famous.

Especially after discovering that the so-called Literary Qi could not be cultivated.

"No need, just help me pick any name, Miss. Something like 'Cat or Dog', 'Little Piggy Oink', or 'Bi'er' or 'Lu'er' would all be fine."

"Pfft..."

Bi'er, who was to the side, let out another "pfft" laugh, hurriedly covered her small mouth, and whispered, "It should be called 'Young Master Frequent Urination' instead."

"Hmm?"

Luo Zijun looked at her.

Bi'er hurriedly lowered her head and turned away, her face flushed red, and she didn't dare to make another sound.

"Calling it 'Chujian' is also fine."

Luo Zijun added.

Liu Chujian was slightly stunned, and her fair, beautiful face was instantly dyed with two faint blushes as she said in a low voice, "How could that be..."

"It's fine, let's just call it Chujian."

Luo Zijun decided immediately.

"Young lady, you help me publish the book, and I'll help you become famous."

Seeing that it was getting late, he did not linger, cupped his hands and said, "Then I will trouble you with this matter, Young Lady. I still have to go home for dinner, so I won't disturb you any further."

"Farewell."

Having said that, he left directly.

Liu Chujian opened her mouth, and just as she was about to speak, she saw that he had already opened the door and left with quick steps.

Bi'er pouted to the side and said, "Look, Miss, he's always like this—comes when he wants, leaves when he wants. He only asks about the manuscript when he arrives, and leaves as soon as he's done asking. How excessive."

Liu Chujian was stunned for a moment, then looked at the manuscript in her hand.

"Miss, why don't you just write your name?"

Bi'er blinked her eyes and whispered, "If this book becomes famous, Miss's name will be even more renowned! Then we can earn lots of silver to pay off our debts and redeem ourselves!"

"Grind the ink."

After pondering for a moment, Liu Chujian seemed to have made up her mind.

"Yes, Miss."

Bi'er hurriedly brought over the brush, ink, and Inkstone, and began to grind the ink.

Liu Chujian sat down at the table, slowly spread out the manuscript in her hand, and her gaze fell upon the lines of text above.

A moment later.

Her fair hand lifted the brush, dipped it in ink, and she wrote three elegant, small characters.

"Jun... Chujian?"

"Luo Zijun, Liu Chujian, Jun Chujian... Chujian Jun..."

Bi'er murmured to herself, then looked at her: "Miss, you wouldn't happen to..."

"What nonsense are you spouting?" Liu Chujian glared at her and said, "I don't have any other meaning; I just felt that Young Master Luo's name should be added."

Bi'er blinked: "But Miss, this servant hasn't even said anything yet, so how is it nonsense? I didn't say Miss had any other meaning either. What is Miss nervous about?"

"You... asking for a beating!"

Liu Chujian put down the brush and reached out to pinch her.

Bi'er giggled and ran away.

The sunset had just dipped below the mountains.

When Luo Zijun returned home, dinner was just ready.

The family ate while asking him about his time at the Academy.

"It's good that everything went smoothly."

Li Zhengshan nodded after hearing this, his face full of smiles.

!

"Today I went to the Prefectural Office and mentioned that Zijun had been exceptionally admitted to West Lake Academy. Those bastards didn't even believe me, saying I was bragging."

Luo Jiaorong glared at him and said, "You love to brag anyway! Stop talking big outside; you need to be low-key, understand?"

Li Zhengshan picked up some food with his chopsticks and said, "Oh my, I wonder who couldn't sleep early this morning and ran off in a flurry to Wang Shen's place to show off, making poor Wang Shen pack up her stall and go home early."

Luo Zijun: "..."

"Hmph! Who told her to look down on our Zijun! She promised a red envelope but didn't give a single coin!"

Luo Jiaorong felt she was in the right.

Li Zhengshan put a chicken leg in her bowl and advised, "Wang Shen works in the wind and sun every day; it's not easy for her to earn money. Asking for two taels of silver is going to cost her her life, so stop scaring her."

Luo Jiaorong snorted coldly, then put the chicken leg into Luo Zijun's bowl and said, "I was just scaring her on purpose; who would actually want her money? Every time I buy fruit there, she's stingy as can be and won't even give me an extra half-tael on the scale. How could I dare to really take two taels of silver from her? If I really did, she'd probably be so heartbroken she'd hang herself tonight."

The husband and wife chatted.

Luo Zijun took the chicken leg and put it into the bowl of Xiaohuan, who was standing to the side serving them.

Luo Jiaorong glanced at her, a smile appearing on her face: "Xiaohuan, I've told you not to be so formal; just sit down and eat. We don't treat you like a servant; we treat you like one of our own."

Xiaohuan remained standing, lowered her head and said, "This servant... this servant prefers to stand..."

Luo Jiaorong felt helpless and did not insist further.

After dinner.

Luo Jiaorong and Xiaohuan cleared the bowls and chopsticks.

Li Zhengshan was tired after a long day, and after drinking a little wine, he went back to his room to sleep, drunk.

Luo Zijun went to the backyard to practice his fist techniques.

Currently, he had no other techniques, only Taizu Long Fist to practice.

With Internal Energy, his punches were naturally fierce and powerful.

The movement and force of his punches, as well as his speed and momentum, were clearly incomparable to before.

The path of literature was temporarily blocked.

In that case, he could only practice martial arts diligently.

After all, this world was still very dangerous, and there might even be demons and ghosts.

After practicing Taizu Long Fist a few times, he was already covered in sweat.

He went to take a bath before returning to his room.

In the room, an oil lamp was lit, casting a dim, yellow light.

The young girl had also bathed and was wearing a new nightgown; she was sitting on the edge of the bed with her head lowered and legs together, waiting for him obediently.

Her long, black hair was draped down, and the pink bodice beneath her gown was faintly visible. Hearing him enter the room, her face immediately flushed with two blushes.

"Xiaohuan, if you're tired, go to sleep first; I still have some work to do."

Luo Zijun glanced at her, walked to the table and sat down, his mind contemplating what book to write next.

He couldn't really write something like "The Plum in the Golden Vase," could he?

He could write it, if he wanted to.

In this day and age, not only were such books sold in bookstores outside, but he had even seen them in the Hidden Book Pavilion of West Lake Academy.

Furthermore, those books were written even more explicitly and even came with exquisite illustrations.

However...

He always felt it was still somewhat shameful.

After all, once he finished writing, he still had to let that Miss Chujian read it first.

"Hmm? I'll write 'The Butterfly Lovers' first."

After thinking for a moment, he decided to write a few safe and proper books first.

He would talk about other things after he had made a name for himself.

"Young Master, this servant will come help you grind the ink..."

Seeing that he was about to write, Xiaohuan hurried over, picked up the ink stick, and helped grind the ink.

The Young Maid carried a faint floral scent from her bath, and her youthful face was tinged with two blushes; under the glow of the lamp, she was delicate and lovely, like a flower bud that had just bloomed.

The footsteps outside the door quietly retreated.

Clearly, his sister was eavesdropping outside the door again.

Luo Zijun was speechless; he spread out the rice paper on the table, picked up his brush, dipped it in ink, and began to write the book.

"Xiaohuan, do you know how to read?"

"This servant... this servant knows a little..."

"You do? Then what are these characters I wrote?"

"Jin... Ping Mei..."

"You really do know. But as a Young Maid, how do you know how to read?"

"This servant... this servant wasn't a Young Maid before..."

"Oh? Could it be that you were the Young Lady of some family?"

"No... no, this servant... this servant was... was a little girl before, not a Young Maid..."

"..."

Luo Zijun crossed out the three characters for "The Plum in the Golden Vase" and wrote the characters for "The Butterfly Lovers."

"Xiaohuan, although you are literate, I feel like you're a bit silly. How about this: call me 'good brother,' and I'll make you smart immediately."

"Ah..."

"Ah what? Are you going to call me that or not?"

"Good, good brother..."

"Good girl."

Luo Zijun patted her head and then asked, "What is one plus one?"

"Two."

"See, as soon as I patted your head, you suddenly became smart, didn't you?"

"..."

As Xiaohuan ground the ink, she couldn't help but raise her gaze and steal a glance at him.

She thought to herself: Young Master is so mischievous...

(End of chapter)