Chapter 089

Chapter 89: How Petty People Act When They Win

The Great Sheng Empire once had two empress dowagers. One was the late emperor’s empress. When the late emperor passed away and the current emperor took the throne, she naturally became the Empress Dowager. The other empress dowager is the birth mother of the current emperor and of Prince Xiao Yao. The two empress dowagers lived in the East and West Palaces and shared high honor.

The one who passed away earlier was the East Empress Dowager, the late emperor’s empress. The one whose mind is now unclear is the West Empress Dowager.

That evening, the Yu Clan returned to their manor. When they heard that Yu Zhi Yi had refused to help rescue Yu Jiao Jiao, the brothers were angry. Second Brother Yu Ming Yu said with a cold glint in his eyes: “She thinks her wings have grown strong and she no longer needs Yu Manor, so she won’t even pretend anymore.”

Fourth Brother Yu Ning Gui leaned back with a lazy smile and said: “This is how petty people act when they get ahead.”

Yu Meng Qin frowned and said: “Enough. Stop talking about unlucky people. Let’s discuss real plans.”

Minister Yu waited until they quieted down, then made the final call: “We will do as Zi Xuan said. We will find that divine physician.”

Yu Meng Qin’s eyes flashed as he added: “That alone isn’t enough. We must tie this to Jiao Jiao, so His Majesty sees her merit and lets her atone by service.”

Minister Yu clapped his hands and said: “Yes, yes. I will enter the palace at once and say that only Jiao Jiao knows where the divine physician is, and only Jiao Jiao can invite him. That way, Jiao Jiao will be released.”

He pictured the next steps and said with rising hope: “Once the divine physician is invited and Her Highness recovers, His Majesty will surely go easy on Jiao Jiao for the sake of her service.”

Madam Zheng wrapped it up with a quiet line: “If that still does not work, then we will use that other method.”

Yu Zhi Yi did not know how the Yu Clan was working together to get Yu Jiao Jiao out. That night, she had a rare dream.

In the dream, a small boy chased after her, calling her. No matter how she ran, she could not get rid of him. She finally stopped and glared at him, saying: “I am not your sister!”

The boy’s eyes were confused, his face simple and honest. He wiped away tears and said: “Sister Yi will always be my sister. Xuan will never deny you.”

He puffed up bravely and declared: “I know someone bullied you. I will go teach them a lesson for you!”

He promised with childish pride: “Don’t be afraid, Sister Yi. Xuan will protect you. When Xuan grows up, I will buy Sister Yi many pretty dresses and lovely hairpins, and I will give Sister Yi a big estate so you will never worry about food and clothes.”

Yu Zhi Yi woke to find her eyelashes wet. She wiped the dampness away with a blank face and gave a small, mocking laugh as she said: “I really shouldn’t have slept.”

In the next few days, the Yu Clan did not come to bother her again, and Yu Zhi Yi’s mood settled.

One day, Du Zi Heng arrived in high spirits and asked with a bright smile: “Zhi Yi, my bookstore is holding a Literary Youth Contest. Do you want to come take a look?”

Yu Zhi Yi blinked and asked: “Literary Youth Contest? What is that?”

Du Zi Heng explained cheerfully: “Before, my bookstore promised to hold a contest from time to time. The winner would get ten taels of silver. After I took over, I kept that rule. From now on, we will hold a contest every month, and the winners will not be only the first place, but the top three.”

He invited again, eager to share: “Today is the monthly contest. Will you come with me to see it?”

He had decided to stand up where he once fell. The trouble at the bookstore had made him hang his head in front of Yu Zhi Yi. After hard reflection, he vowed to make the bookstore shine, and he wracked his brain to launch new policies. The Literary Youth Contest was only one of many tools.

He also adjusted You Bing Yue’s plan. Poor scholars and working folk could still read inside the bookstore, but the store would no longer offer free snacks. To stop people from loafing inside, he set a rule: anyone reading for free had to produce notes within three days. They could write their own thoughts, or they could memorize and recite the text they were studying.

The bookstore would provide pencils, brushes, and paper. Pencils were made from carbon and were easy to carry. A hundred years ago, the eldest princess of the Jia Luo Empire discovered this kind of pen first and spread it throughout the lands. Pencils were cheap, only a few coins each, so ordinary families could afford them. But they were only for practice, not for formal writing, because the words could be erased too easily.

Nan Feng Bookstore would give each contestant a pencil for practice and switch to brushes for the formal round. Whether people read, memorized, or copied, the store would not charge money. The only requirement was that the article written in the official contest had to be left behind for the academy to use for free.

Du Zi Heng’s gentle face shone with a bright smile as he teased her: “Guess what those saved essays will be used for?”

His clear eyes sparkled with hidden pride and hope.

Yu Zhi Yi answered without hesitation: “The average ones will be bound into booklets for other readers. That saves the cost of buying more books and reduces the wear on the ones you already have. The really good pieces will either be framed and hung in the store for others to admire, or used as prizes for later contests.”

She finished the thought neatly: “Hung up or given away, they will inspire readers to improve. Over time, the bookstore’s name will spread for real and attract more strong contestants and readers. That will boost business and also let the bookstore serve its true purpose.”

Du Zi Heng’s smile slowly went stiff. [My wife is too smart. It leaves me with no sense of achievement.] But after a moment, his smile grew even brighter. [Being understood feels wonderful. I have met someone who gets me.]

Soon, though, the smile turned a little bitter. He had once thought that he and his principal wife would glare at each other for life, yet this principal wife understood him so well. The person he once believed was his soulmate, however, had gotten furious because he had denied her efforts.

He defended his choices out loud, his voice tight with old frustration: “Yes, in the short term my reforms did make the store lose money, but what business doesn’t need early investment? And this so-called loss was just buying a big batch of new books. These books will be sold, or they will draw more people to read. They won’t grow wings and fly away.”

He pressed on with numbers and patience: “Membership fees come in every month. This is only the first month, and we already took in a few hundred taels in memberships. It will only grow. Soon the fees will cover the earlier losses and we will turn a profit.”

He finished with a headache coming on as he remembered all the mocking voices: “Why are you so impatient? Can’t you wait a few more months? Your so-called reform is what really wastes money. Other than throwing away paper and pens, it has no use at all.” He rubbed his temple and sighed. [Thinking about those complaints makes my head hurt.]