Ding Wu Yi happily agreed, then chuckled, "I will definitely escort the Second Young Master Liang safely back to the capital, to continue the royal lineage for His Majesty!"
Upon hearing this, Xiao Qing's face turned red, and he truly wanted to jump up and kick Ding Wu Yi's backside!
Never mind, seeing as he found the gold and worked so hard, I won't hold it against him...
The day Liang Xiao's bookshop started operating, the bookshop Liang Xiao had arranged in Yan Province also commenced work under the supervision of Liang Wen and Liu Fan.
Ouyang Ting, the shopkeeper of the Ouyang family's bookshop, had already received the reply letter from the capital. Following Ouyang Ji's "secret plan," he "forced" Liang Wen to sign the same contract, intending to drive the Yan Province bookshop to ruin. At the very least, it would prove to the people of Yan Province that the Ouyang family was not maliciously raising book prices, but rather Liang Xiao was undercutting them.
What else could Liang Wen do but agree? He could only hide in his blanket and chuckle to himself every day.
The bookshops in the capital were still under construction.
"Why does it feel like Zhuo Ling Jun is going mad? Is this really a letter from Zhuo Ling Jun? What good news is about to fly in, and he has to be so cryptic instead of telling me directly in the letter?"
Liang Xiao held Zhuo Zi Fang's letter, his eyelids twitching at the words "extremely urgent" written in it.
Others might be "ten thousand urgent," but Zhuo Zi Fang was "ten thousand ten thousand urgent"??
"It is indeed from Zhuo Ling Jun. Even the messenger is a clan member of the Zhuo family. To prove you wouldn't believe it, they even signed it," Liang Qing said with a wry smile.
Luo Chang Feng chuckled, "Xiao Er, it seems urgent, but not entirely. I suspect Zhuo Ling Jun has some personal agenda, perhaps he wants you to take a concubine..."
Liang Xiao felt a chill down his spine and stammered, "Are there not enough girls around me already?"
He could already imagine Jian Qin Wan's resentful gaze from behind him.
Luo Chang Feng and Liang Qing only then realized Jian Qin Wan was present. Their old faces blushed, and they covered their embarrassment with coughs.
Jian Qin Wan lowered her head, silent, but her heart grew increasingly panicked.
"Will you also go to Tian Qin Mountain to see my master..." Jian Qin Wan mumbled.
Liang Xiao was startled and nodded repeatedly, "That's precisely what I intend to do. I must meet your master!"
Tian Qin Mountain was in the Jiangnan region.
He intended to go?
Jian Qin Wan's face turned red, not daring to respond.
This was just like the meeting of parents before a couple becomes officially engaged!
Perhaps her heartless father would also be there!
Jian Qin Wan didn't know whether to be scared or expectant...
Her own mother had already "sold" her off and given her a strict order to bear children within five years. Now, she could only ask her father and master for their opinions in person!
Liang Xiao returned to the courtyard with the silent Jian Qin Wan and sat down. He said softly, "Bodhisattva, will you accompany me to Jiangnan?"
Jian Qin Wan felt both shy and delighted, humming, "I am your personal guard, of course, I must go with you!"
Liang Xiao smiled and nodded, then added, "Qing Xue doesn't have any ill intentions towards you."
"Of course, I know! We just bicker for fun, don't worry about it..." Jian Qin Wan's voice grew more and more uncertain.
Luo Qing Xue and Liang Xiao already had an engagement. She was the outsider; it was a blessing not to be looked down upon.
Liang Xiao looked at Jian Qin Wan, filled with emotion.
The Qin Immortal, who was looked up to by the world, only acted like a proud little girl when she was with him.
"Bodhisattva, don't even think about going home. I'm not saying this just because of your parents and master," Liang Xiao said softly.
"I know..." Jian Qin Wan's heart fluttered wildly, and she fled to Zhen Mi's room in a flash.
The Ouyang family had been having a rough time lately.
Three of the largest bookshops in the capital had ceased operations. Merchants from all over the country who came to the capital to buy books also learned about Liang Xiao's bookshop. They were unwilling to purchase books at the usual price of over a thousand copper coins per book. Instead, they were all waiting to buy Liang Xiao's books, or waiting for the Ouyang family to defeat Liang Xiao and lower prices, at the very least, not to sell them at a higher price than usual.
Even if these merchants wanted to buy, the Ouyang family could not resell them to them at their acquisition price. This would be self-defeating and affect their future book prices!
This resulted in the Ouyang family's warehouse being stocked with over a hundred thousand books, and an expenditure of thirty-one thousand eight hundred taels of silver that could not be recovered in the short term.
Du Gu Liang and Du Gu Qun of the Du Gu family visited Ouyang Ji overnight to inquire about the situation.
"How long can this brat Liang Xiao last? Don't let your Ouyang family be worn down by him!" Du Gu Liang's expression grew increasingly grim.
Ouyang Ji gave Du Gu Liang a cold look, his words full of resentment, "Minister Du Gu, can't someone from your Ministry of Works reveal the details of movable type printing?"
Du Gu Liang frowned, "It is said that currently, only that old dog Huang Xing in the Ministry of Works knows, and at most Zhang Yang! Trying to pry open their mouths is as difficult as hoping to steal intelligence from Liang Xiao's bookshop!"
"I only heard that Liang Xiao's bookshop stores countless 'loose characters.' These loose characters should be the so-called 'movable types,' and that is probably where the secret lies!" Ouyang Ji said grimly.
"Then send people to study it. I don't believe his movable type printing cannot be learned!" Du Gu Liang laughed.
Ouyang Ji fell silent.
"What's wrong?" Du Gu Qun asked with displeasure.
Ouyang Ji replied, "All the materials in the capital have been bought up by Liang Xiao..."
"Then buy from other regions!" Du Gu Qun said without hesitation.
"The materials in the capital and the surrounding areas of Yan Province have all been bought up by Liang Xiao. Liang Xiao has also signed contracts with them and paid a deposit. Subsequent materials will also be supplied to Liang Xiao. Even if we wanted to learn, we couldn't!" Ouyang Ping said with a wry smile.
"You're just going to watch Liang Xiao buy up materials? Are you mad?!" Du Gu Liang was both shocked and angry.
"He has already increased the price of materials by at least fifty percent. Only a fool would buy them!" Ouyang Ji said disdainfully.
"Materials are also being marked up by him?" Du Gu Liang was overjoyed. "It seems he has a foolish emperor supporting him from behind. Otherwise, how could he have so much money! Let him go bankrupt with the foolish emperor. When the foolish emperor runs out of money, won't he be at our mercy, allowing me to regain my official post and alienate Liang Xiao?"
The others could only interpret it as Xiao Qing's support, and their furrowed brows relaxed.
How could the emperor possibly have more money than their aristocratic families?
Ouyang Ji said dejectedly, "However, I heard that brat Liang Xiao is planning to open bookshops all over the country. Must our Ouyang family accompany him?"
Du Gu Qun immediately made the decision, "The Du Gu family will support your Ouyang family in continuing to acquire his books until he and the foolish emperor go bankrupt! Go ask the He family if they will help. However, after defeating Liang Xiao, your Ouyang family's books must be sold to us two families at cost price!"
The two parties reached an agreement and invited He Wanli, the head of the He family and Minister of Personnel.
After understanding the situation, He Wanli also deemed it a calculated risk. The three families signed a contract, with the Du Gu and He families supporting the Ouyang family. Profits derived from this matter would be shared equally among the three families. The Du Gu and He families would permanently purchase books from the Ouyang family's bookshops at cost price. Everyone was delighted!
At this time, Liang Xiao was unaware that the three families had united to "give him money." He was merely urging the bookshop workers to speed up production, even giving them extra bonuses.
These workers were already earning generous wages from outside, and with the bonuses from Liang Xiao, they immediately worked with full vigor, concentrating on improving the quality of printing and reducing waste.
Two days later, Qin Jiu brought the Qin Saint's silver notes worth a million taels to Liang Xiao again.
"Ten days ago, my master received news of the Second Young Master Liang's plan to open a bookshop. Admiring the Second Young Master's ideal that everyone should have access to books, she intends to support him unconditionally," Qin Jiu explained.
"That won't be necessary..." Liang Xiao smiled awkwardly and looked at Jian Qin Wan.
Why was the Qin Saint involved again?
It must be that Bodhisattva, afraid he would go bankrupt, secretly sent someone to Tianshan to "leak the news"!
As expected, Qin Jiu changed the subject and said solemnly, "My master learned that the Second Young Master Liang has recovered from his injuries. She hopes you can take Qin Wan to Tian Qin Mountain. She wishes to hear your promise in person that you will absolutely not mistreat Qin Wan. After all, Qin Wan is a disciple whom my master dotes on with her life! If possible, you should make a lifelong commitment under my master's witness. We can discuss dowry and other matters. The ancestral Sunset Bow can also be gifted to you!"
"Aunt Qin Jiu!!" Jian Qin Wan, who was sitting next to Qin Jiu, saw stars and immediately slumped into Qin Jiu's arms.
My master truly dotes on me with her life...