Chapter 25

"Nice to meet you, Aunt." Fang Yun bowed in greeting.

"All of us are family, no need to be so formal. Come, sit down." The Second Lady smiled and gestured for Fang Yun to sit, then she herself sat in a high-ranking armchair.

The First Lady did not sit in the high position but walked over with a smile, directly going to Yang Yuhuan, holding her hand and smiling, "What a beauty from Jiangzhou, I think you are even more beautiful than Xi Shi. It’s really a bargain for Xiao Yun to have you as his wife. Since it’s our first meeting, I didn’t prepare anything, so I’ll give you this bracelet."

As she spoke, the First Lady took off the bracelet from her own hand and put it directly on Yang Yuhuan.

Yang Yuhuan blushed and said, "I can’t accept it, it’s too valuable." She tried to pull her hand away because her hands were rough, fearing that others would laugh at her.

However, the First Lady seemed completely unaware and said, "It’s only natural for an aunt to give something to her niece. You must accept it."

Fang Yun politely declined, "Aunt, this bracelet is too valuable."

"Valuable? For Yuhuan, I think it’s not good enough. I’ll go to Yuhai City and pick a better one. Otherwise, it would be a waste of such a beauty. Come, sit down." The First Lady reached out to help Yang Yuhuan fix her hair, seemingly very fond of her.

The First Lady and Fang Yun sat together in the lower seats, while the Second Lady sat alone in the main seat.

Yang Yuhuan couldn’t tell, but Fang Yun and Liang Yuan exchanged glances and noticed something was off between the two ladies.

Just as Fang Yun was about to speak, the Second Lady interjected, "Sister-in-law is right. But our Fang family supports a large household, and we can’t just spend money freely. Big Brother values Fang Yun, and I do too, but a 10% share in a bookshop costs a thousand taels. Isn’t that too much? With a thousand taels of silver..."

"Second Sister." The First Lady interrupted the Second Lady, turning to look at her, "Ying Li is almost awake from his nap. If you’re not there, he will cry and fuss. The matter of the bookshop has already been decided by Master. We women should just follow. Yuye, go find the head steward and have him go with Xiao Yun to the government office to handle the documents and contracts."

"Yes, Lady." A maid immediately left.

The Second Lady smiled, "You can’t say that. The Fang family’s money doesn’t come from the wind. A thousand taels of silver is enough for us to open our own bookstore. One share is not worth it. But since Fang Yun is family and Big Brother has spoken, I’m not greedy. Let’s make it three shares."

Fang Yun felt disgusted. He had already guessed that this was a struggle between the two branches of the Fang family, and it had somehow involved him. If so, he might as well not take the money and not teach at the Fang family school. If it came to that, he could sell a few poems to earn money to open a bookshop.

Fang Yun immediately stood up and said, "Since Second Lady has spoken, I won’t disturb you. I’ll write a letter to Uncle today, saying that I’m canceling the cooperation with the Fang family. Goodbye."

Yang Yuhuan and Liang Yuan immediately stood up in a panic.

The Second Lady quickly said, "This is your voluntary decision, don’t say I forced you in front of Big Brother. I won’t admit to something I didn’t do."

"Shut up!" The First Lady suddenly shouted at the Second Lady, then stepped in front of Fang Yun with a smile, "Second Sister is just being playful, don’t take it to heart. I manage this family, and what she says doesn’t count! Come, I’ll personally accompany you to the government office to finalize this matter. Both my husband and I have high hopes for you, don’t overthink it."

Fang Yun, seeing the First Lady’s attitude, felt his anger subside. He realized that this was clearly the Second Lady deliberately causing trouble for the First Lady, a veiled insult, and an attempt to damage his relationship with Fang Shouye. The First Lady didn’t want to make a fuss at first, but with his firm stance, she had to confront the Second Lady.

If he left in a huff, it would be exactly what the Second Lady wanted.

Fang Yun smiled and said, "Aunt, you’re overthinking it. I have clear eyes and a clear heart, and I know who treats me well. How about this: since the Second Lady doesn’t like using the Fang family’s money, let’s use Uncle’s name to take one share. Within three months, I can guarantee at least a thousand taels in dividends!"

"Watch your back!" The Second Lady muttered under her breath but didn’t dare to further trouble Fang Yun.

The First Lady smiled, "Master is a Fifth Rank General, so using his name to invest is inappropriate. How about this: I’ll invest in my name, and the thousand taels will be from my personal savings. As for the dividends, we’ll discuss it after the New Year, no rush."

"Alright." Fang Yun said.

At this moment, a maid brought in the Fang family steward.

The steward was an ordinary-looking old man, dressed in a black robe, serious and respectful.

"First Lady, Second Lady." The steward bowed politely.

The First Lady smiled and said, "I was going to have you represent the Fang family at the government office, but now I’ll go myself, so I won’t trouble you."

Fang Yun, hearing the "you" used, realized the steward’s high status in the Fang family.

The steward glanced at Fang Yun and the others and said, "I often handle such matters, let me accompany you."

"True, with you, we’ll save a lot of trouble."

Then, the group walked out, and the Second Lady muttered under her breath, "May you lose everything."

Everyone pretended not to hear.

The group first rented a house, then went to the government office to handle the relevant procedures.

The clerks at the government office rarely saw a prominent lady like the First Lady come in person, so they took special note of "Sanwei Bookshop," determined not to offend it.

While Fang Yun was handling the bookshop procedures, the clerks at the Holy Academy on Dao Peak were also busy.

Scholars are significant figures anywhere, and even noble families wouldn’t offend them without reason. In the Holy Academy, they have the lowest status, but because they are nourished by the academy’s talent, they are more likely to pass the imperial exams and have a longer future. The Holy Academy has significant influence in various countries.

Two clerks, each carrying a book box, hurriedly ran to the "Review Hall" of the monthly magazine "The Holy Way."

"Hurry up, the county exams have just ended, and each state has recommended county exam poems. These have already passed the 'Holy Selection,' so we can’t delay." The older clerk said.

"Yes." The younger clerk ran with his head down.

The two clerks arrived at the Review Hall, tidied their clothes, and pushed the door open.

The Review Hall was very spacious, filled with soft white light.

On the east, north, and west sides, there were large tables, each two zhang long. Behind each table sat a scholar in a university scholar’s robe: an elderly man, a middle-aged man, and a young man in his twenties.

Many papers floated in the air in the middle of the hall. The university scholars, with a thought, could make the papers fly away or come to them.

"Full of talent, but nonsense!" The elderly university scholar snorted, and several papers immediately rolled into a ball and flew into the wastebasket.

"This poem is good, it can be selected. Pass. You old man, take a look." The middle-aged man said, and a page flew to the elderly man. The elderly man looked down and said, "Pass." Then the paper flew to the young man.

The young man looked up and said, "Standby." The paper was set aside.

The other two continued to review.

The middle-aged man looked at the door and asked kindly, "Are these the county exam poems from various states?"

"Yes. Ninety states have recommended over two thousand poems. After the Holy Selection, only sixty-seven remain, the lowest from the county exams." The clerk said.

The elderly university scholar grumbled, "In recent years, where have there been qualified poems in the county and prefecture exams? The last of the four great talents of this generation was a Jinshi five years ago. One is worse than the other. Selecting poems from the county and prefecture exams for 'The Holy Way' makes no sense! I won’t look, you two decide, I agree."

The middle-aged university scholar waved his hand, and the papers in the two clerks’ boxes immediately flew over in sequence, making a rustling sound, forming a white paper bridge in the air, and finally landing neatly on his table.

After the two clerks left, the middle-aged university scholar didn’t pay attention to the stack of county exam poems and continued to review other articles.

After a full half an hour, the middle-aged university scholar began to read the county exam poems page by page.

One page, two pages, three pages...

On the twenty-sixth poem, the middle-aged university scholar’s expression changed, and he read it again, reciting it aloud. It was the poem "Spring Dawn."

The other two university scholars initially had no reaction, but when he read the last line, "How many flowers have fallen," the elderly and young university scholars both looked up at the middle-aged university scholar.

"Who wrote this? It has the talent of Mingzhou, rare and fresh, yet thought-provoking. It can be included in next month’s 'The Holy Way.'" The elderly university scholar said.

The young university scholar nodded, "Pass."

The two thought the middle-aged university scholar would make a judgment, but he continued to read another poem, "At the End of the Year."

"Good, full of righteous spirit. Two poems by one person? What talent is this?" The elderly university scholar spoke bluntly.

"Do you remember the only dual-talent child this year?"

The young university scholar, who had been expressionless, widened his eyes in disbelief that a child could write such good poems.

"I’ve heard of it. The younger generation is不服气 (unconvinced) and is investigating the person, but I haven’t paid much attention. Are these poems by that child?" The elderly university scholar reached out and grabbed the paper, which had "Spring Dawn" and "At the End of the Year" written on it.

The middle-aged university scholar looked at the next page and said, "It turns out 'Spring Dawn' was written in the exam. 'At the End of the Year' was only half written in the exam and was completed at the child’s literary meeting. However, there is one more surprising thing: he was dissatisfied with Jingguo’s defeat last year and said at the literary meeting, 'The rise and fall of the nation concerns every individual.'"

"Good! Good! Just this one sentence can be recorded in history! Is he called Fang Yun? I remember. If we meet, I will have a candlelit night talk with him, a great talent, a great talent! This person should be a late bloomer, right?"

The middle-aged university scholar said, "Sixteen years old."

The elderly university scholar was stunned, and the young university scholar’s eyes suddenly became extremely sharp.

"Then, should these two poems and the phrase 'The rise and fall of the nation concerns every individual' be included in next month’s 'The Holy Way'?"

"Of course." The elderly university scholar said.

The young university scholar, however, said, "The poem 'At the End of the Year' is not a top-ranked poem from the county exam. It might be too shocking to have two poems and one phrase in 'The Holy Way' in the same month. Since there are many poems to choose from this month, it’s better to delay 'At the End of the Year' for a month."