Gu Shiliu took a desperate action, following Shen Changle back to the Marquis Mansion, and entered Wutong Garden.
Shen Changle found a maid to report to Qin Yuan, saying that he had urgent matters to discuss with her.
Soon after, the two were led into the hall.
Qin Yuan and Hong Ye were waiting inside.
Seeing Gu Shiliu and Shen Changle together, Qin Yuan raised her eyebrows in surprise, then smiled and said, "What urgent matter do you two have to tell me?"
Gu Shiliu looked at Shen Changle, waiting for him to speak.
Shen Changle smiled warmly and said, "Madam, I was originally indecisive about what business to do with the shop in the West Market. But after meeting Gu Shiliu today, I suddenly had an idea."
"Oh?" Qin Yuan was even more surprised.
Shen Changle briefly explained the situation and said, "Currently, the shop still has some old stock, which isn’t worth much. I looked around and thought that it could still work as a complement. However, what new goods should the shop sell to make people not mind its location? I thought long and hard and felt that it should be some scarce items."
Qin Yuan nodded.
She originally thought that pepper would be hard to find in the coming years, so she planned to stock it and sell it within this shop. Without much business, it could rejuvenate the shop, and in the future, she could find some rare items, making the remote location not a problem.
Later, seeing that Shen Changle had some skills in doing things, she decided to let him handle it and didn’t inquire further.
"What rare items do you want to sell?"
Shen Changle smiled and said, "Either things to be used by rare people or rare items that everyone is clamoring for."
Qin Yuan nodded.
Shen Changle said to Gu Shiliu, "Quickly show the poetry manuscript to Madam."
Gu Shiliu handed the poetry manuscript to Hong Ye, who took it to Qin Yuan. Qin Yuan flipped through it, and upon seeing Qin Siyuan’s poetry, she paused in surprise and said, "My cousin’s poetry has improved this much."
Shen Changle nodded with a smile.
Qin Yuan continued to flip through and saw Lin Ziqi’s poetry, pausing momentarily and said, "Also not bad."
In the entire poetry society, the best were Qin Siyuan and Lin Ziqi, and Qin Siyuan’s poetry far exceeded Lin Ziqi’s, with only one poem on par with Qin Siyuan’s.
This poem was identical to the one she wrote in her past life. Back then, just in case, she slightly modified it and included it as a sample poem for Qin Siyuan.
In the previous life, Lin Ziqi was highly regarded by a noble due to this poem, and his official career was smooth thereafter.
Qin Yuan could figure out that upon seeing Lin Ziqi compose this poem publicly, Qin Siyuan must have felt disdain, and from then on, the two would likely drift apart.
That was good; given Lin Ziqi’s nature, he couldn’t tolerate Qin Siyuan suddenly surpassing him, and there must be a grudge in his heart. If Qin Siyuan felt Lin Ziqi was unworthy as a friend and became wary, it would reduce the possibility of being hurt in the future.
Shen Changle said, "The Imperial College makes public prints, and bookstores make private prints. As long as no banned or destroyed books are printed, the government won’t pursue it. Publishing books doesn’t necessarily need a bookstore, I heard there are many workshops across the country that undertake book printing. If the poems of the two young masters and Sixth Master can be printed into a collection and consigned in the store, wouldn’t that be wonderful?"
Qin Yuan seemed interested.
She once thought of selling policy writings but considered that she hadn’t been married into the Marquis Mansion for long, so she planned to wait for a while. If Shen Changle could explore a path, it would be just as she wished.
Qin Yuan had an excellent memory since childhood and loved reading. In her past life, she accompanied Lin Ziqi in reading and writing policy writings, memorized the market’s selection of policy writings, and thoroughly analyzed the styles of various famous writers. She was very familiar with the styles of each type of policy essay and could cater to the preferences of different examiners.
If she could become famous among the scholars, Qin Yuan thought, she could change even more.
In the past life, civil servants constantly hindered military generals for personal gain, allowing the Yelv Family to recuperate. Even Lin Ziqi himself said that the Yelv Family would surely destroy our dynasty. With a long absence of war, the common people were wealthy, and the scholars were hedonistic, afraid of war, and the officialdom deteriorated day by day. In the end, how could they resist the Yelv Family, who had suffered patiently?
In the past life, "Madam Lin Xiang" encapsulated all that she was.
She could only watch Lin Ziqi, who held a high position, indulging in power and wealth, letting the situation continue to deteriorate, and this high position was achieved through her meticulous planning for him. Lin Ziqi wouldn’t listen to her words, gradually becoming wary of her, and the backyard became a place where he maneuvered against her.
Qin Yuan did not speak for a while.
Shen Changle glanced at Qin Yuan’s expression and then said, "The Marquis Mansion is about to close its doors. I have nothing to do outside, so why not fulfill Sixth Master’s wish, find someone to privately print a poetry collection, and sell it? Since it already received praise from the Assistant Minister and Lord Academic Administrator, it should be good."