Chapter 30

"Rascal!" Mr. Kou's face turned as white as snow with anger, wishing he could immediately order the soldiers to kill this boy. However, he immediately remembered that everyone had witnessed the scene just now, and the boy had deliberately called out for a banquet and candles, making it known to everyone that Young Master Ye was entertaining a guest!

Killing in such a situation, not to mention himself, even his own young master might not be able to bear the consequences.

Unless he could kill everyone in the entire inn.

If he didn't kill, indeed, as soon as this boy shouted, everyone in the county and the region would know that the scholarly family Yu had a servant who brought private soldiers to kidnap a civilian girl. This time, he might be expelled from the Yu family at best, and at worst, be beaten to death by family law.

Thinking about this, his hatred surged like a tide, but he still maintained a bit of clarity. He glared hatefully and turned to leave without a word. Just as he went out, he bumped into the innkeeper carrying a food box. Seeing the situation, the innkeeper was depressed: "Ah, sir, why not use the banquet? Are you leaving already?"

Mr. Kou ignored him and wanted to leave directly, but he heard Ye Qing laughing behind him: "Take the silver away, this silver dirties my eyes."

Mr. Kou gritted his teeth in hatred, and a soldier went back to fetch it. The group then disappeared into the rainy night in a blink.

"Set it up, they don't eat, I'll enjoy it myself." Ye Qing gave the order calmly, but his palm was sweating, and he stared into the distance with a dark face.

In his previous life, he had become a scholar, a person of some standing, and had connections with the major families in the region, so he knew these details.

The Great Yi Martial Canon was compiled by the court of the former Great Yi Dynasty, each one meticulously refined, creating an invincible army to reverse the fate of the dynasty.

The Great Yi Iron Army swept across the battlefield, invincible, and the so-called righteous armies, military strategists, and scholars were all destroyed, shattering the potential dragon that had emerged.

The Dao Emperor and the Heavenly Court could endure, but did not directly send down the Heavenly Army.

But the will of heaven was to play with people, and in just fifteen years, Emperor Ping of Yi was assassinated by a martial artist, and the once-reviving Great Yi Dynasty disintegrated. A new dragon entered the court, breaking the precedent of enfeoffing the nobles of the previous dynasty to continue their lineage, and issued an edict to kill all the royal family members of the previous dynasty, which was extremely brutal.

Although the Great Yi Dynasty was destroyed, the Martial Canon spread out. By now, it was not something ordinary people could access; only the prominent families in the region could.

Thinking about this, his heart trembled with fear.

However, he thought to himself, seeing the innkeeper set up the table, he sat down calmly and chewed: "Mm, the taste is good..."

At this moment, the curtain was pulled aside, and Qianqian came out, pouring him wine: "Young Master, you woke me up."

"It's my fault. To wake you up, I deeply apologize to Miss Qianqian." Ye Qing's expression was as if he had lost a loved one, but his eyes secretly looked at Qianqian, very insincerely.

"Don't be like that..." Qianqian, seeing his expression, suddenly burst into tears, sobbing: "I heard everything just now... Young Master, from your words, I know the other party is very powerful. Qianqian is just a small maid, not worthy of your protection."

"Nonsense!" Ye Qing scolded with a thin anger, putting his hand around her waist and pulling her closer: "Even if you are a maid, you are my maid, Ye Qing's maid. What does it have to do with others? Don't worry about it."

Qianqian's face did not show gratitude; her eyes seriously looked at Ye Qing and said: "Young Master... Young Master is good to Qianqian, Qianqian cannot be ungrateful and drag Young Master down..."

Ye Qing reined in his frivolity, his gaze darkened, and his expression was very solemn. In an instant, a stern and murderous aura appeared on him: "Qianqian, listen to me, don't doubt yourself. I, Ye Qing, am Ye Qing. Even if there are many twists and turns, I will not violate my heart or my will—I said I will never give you up, no one can take you away, unless they are prepared to fight to the death!"

"Qianqian, you are my person, I will never let you go. If you say this again, I will really be angry."

Hearing this, Qianqian did not speak. She just lay in his arms, feeling his warmth, and tears quietly fell, soon wetting a patch.

Ye Qing did not speak. Coming from Earth, he did not take this for granted, even after his previous life's experiences, he could not fully reconcile. Every time, he felt two completely different worlds overlapping on him, trying to merge spontaneously.

This overlap sometimes helped him, sometimes troubled him, and sometimes both, as in this case.

Moreover, this matter was not so simple. It was probably related to the Dragon Lord's banquet, and the key was still in Mr. Long... No matter how I strive, it is all for that literary fame and fortune.

But what is Mr. Long striving for? Such an existence, having experienced the vicissitudes of life and the rise and fall of a hundred generations, is it really just a "lover of scholars"?

Seeing Qianqian gradually calm down, Ye Qing fell into a reverie, gradually closing his eyes.

That day on the Yellow Dragon Tower, every word and action of the Dragon Lord, even the slightest detail, played out before his eyes.

A faint sound of flowing water passed by, vast and serene, then froze on a soft sigh.

"The Great Way..."

"In the Three Scriptures and Five Classics of the Daoist school, there is the Dao, but I have never heard of adding the word 'Great'." Qianqian was a bit puzzled and asked out of habit: "Young Master, what is the Great Way?"

"It is the ultimate that encompasses everything." Ye Qing realized he had spoken these words and explained.

Qianqian did not understand at this moment, just staring at him, silently memorizing the words, but then heard Ye Qing laugh and say: "This is just my understanding. Everyone has different views. I can tell you a story, Qianqian..."

Qianqian sat up straight and listened.

"Long ago, in a far, far away place, there were great merchants. They had vast wealth but could not use it freely due to various rules. So they sought out small merchants, examined their abilities, and tried to lend them money or invest in them to help them make money. The profits would then be partly returned to the great merchants' treasury, thus bypassing the restrictions and making the vast wealth useful."

Ye Qing paused, ending his introduction to venture capital, and smiled at Qianqian: "You are the great merchant. When examining the small merchants, what do you hope for the most, and what do you fear the most?"

Qianqian grabbed her small purse, imagining it to be a legendary container with a lot of money, her eyes shining with gold, and said emphatically: "I hope he has the ability to make money, and I fear he won't pay back!"

Ye Qing stroked her black hair and sighed: "I am such a small merchant, and what I want to prove is also from these two aspects."

This sigh immediately pulled Qianqian out of the golden mountains and silver seas. She understood Ye Qing's concerns, and this was already the "world of power," a stage dominated by men.

So, the thing that Young Master often worries about is this...

This is not a field that women can involve themselves in. Qianqian's eyes dimmed, and she got up to close the window. The wind howled, and the rain beat against the window and eaves.

"I still have the ability to make money." Ye Qing took out a piece of paper, placed it on the table with satisfaction, and said: "Read it."

Qianqian came over and read softly: "A golden goblet of clear wine, ten thousand coins for a cup; a jade plate of rare delicacies, ten thousand coins for a dish. I put down my cup and chopsticks, unable to eat; I draw my sword and look around, my heart lost in confusion. I want to cross the Yellow River, but ice blocks the way; I want to climb Mount Taihang, but snow covers the sky."

At this moment, the grand imagery made even a woman feel a surge of grandeur in her chest.

She paused involuntarily and continued: "In my leisure, I fish by the stream; suddenly, I dream of sailing by the sun."

Her young master had little fishing experience, and this line was a reference to the failed fishing trip from the day before.

She smiled in understanding and read the last line: "The road is hard, the road is hard, with many paths, where is it now? There will be a time when the wind will break the waves, and I will hoist my sail and cross the sea."

Qianqian, though cultivated by the lady, was well-read and polite, but at her age of fifteen or sixteen, she could not clearly define the level of this poem. She just said happily: "Young Master's poem is truly excellent."

Ye Qing was speechless, thinking that if Li Bai knew, he would be pleased to receive such sincere praise from Qianqian.

This made his face thicker, and he felt no shame in plagiarism, looking at the stack of poems on the table. This was the result of the past few days.

Ye Qing wrote them to select a few that were most fitting, repeatedly pondering to match his literary style, status, experience, and age, to achieve a natural perfection. The rest would still be destroyed.

The history of this world is very long, with a million years, but due to the opening of the Immortal Path, talented people were all focused on the Immortal Path. Even if they liked literature, who would do this kind of study?

And the most critical point is that poetry values true feelings and sincerity, which is somewhat in conflict with the Immortal Path. Few immortals could write high-quality poetry, and most of their poems were dry and "transcendent," "Daoist poetry"!

Failed scholars, however, often refined their poetic skills, but their frustration and unfulfilled ambitions gave their poems a sense of failure, rarely reaching the level of high art.

But the Immortal Path still had a great demand for poetry.

In his previous life, Ye Qing had no foresight and often encountered setbacks on the Immortal Path, but he still managed to thrive in the mortal world. If not for the great calamity that forced mortals to struggle for time, the outcome and the winner would still be unknown. This was due to the cultural foundation and accumulation of Earth.

Fortunately, in this life, he had the foresight of the great calamity, and Ye Qing would never abandon a civilization.

Just the stack of rejected poems on the table, if taken out one by one, would shock the literary world, but Ye Qing rejected them because they did not fit the scene.

Even without any accidents, for many poems, this "small maid" might be the only and the last reader.

"In my leisure, I fish by the stream; suddenly, I dream of sailing by the sun... Qianqian still likes this line the most. Did Young Master write it about the day before?"

Qianqian happily read the poem carefully, not realizing that she was the happiest of all the literati in the world. At this moment, she was the closest to the brilliant civilization of another world.

"It was inspired by the events of the past two days, though I only caught a small fish..." Ye Qing laughed and admitted it, then opened the door and went out: "Alright, if you want, I'll read each poem to you, but now I have to arrange some things!"

He said, his eyes dark: "If I leave in the middle of the night now, I might be killed. I must go openly and with a group to ensure safety. I need to discuss with the innkeeper to see which merchant caravan is going the same way."

"Wait, I'll get the umbrella... Young Master, be careful on the road, go and come back early."

Qianqian rushed out of the courtyard, handed him a prepared oiled paper umbrella, and watched his figure disappear in the white mist, swallowed by the stage called the "world of power."

The thoughts that had been swirling in her mind finally became clear. If things continued like this, they would eventually drift apart. She would not accept such a distance and must find a way to help Young Master... Hadn't Young Master said that everyone should strive for their own happiness, and that happiness cannot be obtained through giving?

Under the autumn wind and drizzle, Qianqian's eyes sparkled, her little face puffed up, and she clenched her small fist.

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