Chapter 919 - 764: Marquis Wu Xiang—Nothing Special

At 1 AM, the sky hadn’t yet brightened, and the entire Sanshan Street was still quiet, but the Glazed Bookstore at the end of the long street was already bustling with activity.

The clerks were shuttling back and forth with stacks of bamboo paper, and someone shouted loudly: "Er Tong, the bamboo paper is ready."

In the courtyard, steam rose from the pot cooking the ink, and an old master held a feather above the pot, carefully observing its curl: "Er Tong, the ink is ready too."

The man who went to meet Zhang Xia yesterday, "Er Tong," turned his head toward the room, where the old master was meticulously arranging the movable type carved blocks, occasionally tapping them with a small wooden hammer to make them fit snugly.

Wang Dong urged, "Old Li, we’re just waiting for you."

Old Li said unhurriedly, "What’s the hurry? If the block isn’t handled carefully, some characters will be deep and others shallow, which are the losses we suffered in the Imperial Capital; we can’t let it happen again in Jinling."

Er Tong smiled: "Alright, we’ll wait for you."

The bookstore quieted down, and ten minutes later, Old Li straightened up: "Done!"

The bookstore became lively again, sheets of bamboo paper were placed into the printing trough, warm ink was brushed onto the carved blocks, pressed down, and it turned into a sheet of the Wuxiang Morning News.

Er Tong personally sorted out a thick stack of morning papers: "Jiutong, come over and pack it properly; don’t come back today if you don’t sell them all."

Jiutong opened the satchel at his waist and laughed heartily: "Who do you think you’re looking down on? It’ll be all sold by noon."

Er Tong stuffed the morning papers into Jiutong’s satchel, and Jiutong pulled out a copy: "What’s on the front page today? Marquis Wu Xiang, Chen Ji..."

He suddenly looked up at Er Tong: "Isn’t it bad for us to publish this?"

Er Tong was indifferent: "What are you afraid of? This was written by the Mountain Master himself, just to make our Wuxiang Morning News an instant hit."

Jiutong scratched the back of his head: "The Wuxiang Morning News might become popular, but I’m afraid the landlord will rise from the grave and chop us up."

Er Tong stuffed a packet of flatbread and a water pouch into his arms and kicked his butt: "Hurry up and get out."

Jiutong left with the morning papers, nibbling on the flatbread while glancing at the newspaper.

All the way south on Sanshan Street, across Zhenghuai Bridge, is Jubao Gate, and outside Jubao Gate, a group of people already waited at the dock for the ferry, all returning home from Jinling.

Jiutong raised a stack of newspapers and shouted, "Extra, extra, Marquis Wu Xiang welcomes a bride, Second Miss Zhang’s wedding controversy, all in today’s Wuxiang Morning News!"

Everyone looked at him, Jiutong had long been used to being in the spotlight, continuing to shout: "Twenty cents each, limited quantity, first come, first served."

A scholar in a Confucian robe curiously asked, "Marquis Wu Xiang? Is it Li Changge from the Four Dreams of Bianliang? The one who had a marriage crisis with the Qi family and saved Prince Fu in the Qi family mourning hall, Chen Ji? Give me a copy."

He handed over twenty cents, exchanged for a newspaper, and read softly: "Ladies and gentlemen, today’s newspaper contains a sensational news story, last year’s case during a heavy snow in the Imperial Capital. During Marquis Wu Xiang’s lifetime, he was reviled by thousands as part of the Eunuch Party, but posthumously received the Emperor’s decree of loyalty. Yet his most influential day in life was neither the noble title nor his death, but his wedding day on Fuyou Street, where crowds flocked, eggs and snow flew together, causing a red-clothed lady to steal the limelight."

The scholar muttered, "Today’s newspaper interviewed several witnesses, recounting the events for our Jiangnan friends. As the saying goes, ’Great snow blankets the Imperial City, the long street adorned and drum sounds resound. The masses spitting at the loyal one’s face, a trace of red clothes reflects in the moonlight... Who wrote this? They’ve even composed a set poem."

Jiangnan is too far from the Imperial Capital, and to this day, mentioning the spectacle is only by returning merchants.

The drama of withdrawing a marriage in front of the cabinet minister and eloping is captivating, even a few words can become a topic in the marketplace. But merchants crammed outside couldn’t see well, so when Jinling locals encounter people from the north, they’ll inquire about this farce.

The newspaper, something merchants brought back from the north, was hidden away for its commercial potential and seldom shared. In the marketplace, newspapers are rarer than official kiln porcelain from a previous dynasty.

As the scholar read out the newspaper, people waiting for the ferry gathered around, listening as he continued reading: "First episode, when withdrawing from the marriage, the Qi girl standing in the snow, at the place of elopement, the jujube horse stepping on frost."

"On that snowy day in the Imperial Capital, the biting wind swept the place, under the eaves on Fuyou Street, a crowd of onlookers was densely packed. In front of the Qi family gate, Chen Ji stood alone in a gray single coat, while Third Miss Qi stood inside the threshold, her face pale as paper against the white fox large cloak, tearfully and passionately declared, this disloyal, unfilial, unkind, unrighteous person, someone else rejected; I, Qi Zhaoning, also reject!"

The crowd listening to the newspaper was amazed: "There really was such a thing? I thought it was fabricated!"

At this time, a ferry with the Qing Flag approached, the ship’s side etched with large words: Liyang, Guangling, Jingjiang.

This was the ferry coming from the east.

Vegetable farmers got off the ship, and those returning home boarded, and the scholar hastily folded up the newspaper, tucked it under his arm, and ran onto the ship, fearing not to have a place to stand.

The onlookers were anxious: "Keep reading."

Jiutong laughed heartily at the periphery: "Folks, the Marquis Wu Xiang’s elopement story is true, isn’t it more interesting than those fictions? You, twenty cents can’t buy loss, can’t buy deception, the paper doesn’t only have the Marquis’s elopement story but also his teachings on how to farm and compost, learn what’s in the paper, and next year’s yield will be eight hundred pounds per mu!"

Jiutong switched his tone: "Besides, making a trip to Jinling without taking something back... you’re already here."

In order to catch the ferry, the common folk couldn’t bother with much else, and they all dug out copper coins to exchange for newspapers, emptying the newspapers from Jiutong’s sling bag.

...

...

The ferry slowly started to move, and among the crowd, a passenger tiptoed and loudly urged, "Where’s the scholar from before? Continue reading the newspaper!"

The scholar glanced at him, "You have a newspaper in your hand too, can’t you read it yourself?"

The passenger admitted sheepishly, "I can’t read, I bought the newspaper to let the folks in my village read it. Scholar, please continue reading, I embarked on this ship just to head south to Yangzhou and listen to you read the newspaper."

The passengers burst into laughter, "Not going home?"

"No problem, no problem, I’ll go back after listening."

The scholar leaned against the mast and continued reading aloud, "As the commotion continued, suddenly there was a neigh from the end of the long street. A chestnut horse burst through the curtain of snow, its hooves kicking up shattered jade. The woman on the horse wore a fluttering red dress, and no one dared to stop her. She charged straight to the Qi family’s stone steps, reined in her horse, and without looking at anyone else, she boldly said to Marquis Wu Xiang, Chen Ji: Marry me."

The ferry passengers all widened their eyes, "Goodness gracious, how can this woman be so bold? Isn’t this publicly humiliating the Qi family? If Marquis Wu Xiang, Chen Ji, does not appreciate this and does not agree, how will she ever get married?"

Some passengers urged, "Quickly, quickly, what happened next? What did Chen Ji say?"

The ferry departed from Jinling, passing Liyang County and Guangling County, smoothly sailing downstream to Jingjiang County.

The scholar read until his mouth was dry, but couldn’t resist the eager eyes of the surrounding folks and had to continue reading, "In the third Chapter, it says, Welcome the bride, blocked by mother-in-law, in the heavy snow, the Chief of Staff acts as matchmaker."

"It was seen at the Qi family gate in a deadlock, a figure in a drenched crimson official robe emerged from the snow curtain, it was the Minister of War, Wang Daosheng, who rushed back overnight from Changping. He approached and saluted, bowing deeply: Lady, Chen Ji is my direct disciple, I act as a matchmaker to the Zhang family to propose for him."

"In the fourth Chapter, it says, Thirty-six lacquered red chest boxes, red gold damask illuminated by the sky..."

"In the fifth Chapter, it says, Yulin’s righteous courage holds the guard, the Sun, Moon, and Stars greets the bride..."

A curious passenger asked, "What does the Sun, Moon, and Stars mean? Isn’t it a bit abrupt?"

The scholar disdainfully replied, "Can’t you understand this? It is the Sun, Moon, and Stars Flag used by the royal family!"

The crowd was filled with concern, "The Yulin Army using the ceremonial guard privately, doesn’t this mean confiscating family property and exile?"

The scholar gave a cold laugh, "Be patient, it’s written further down."

...

...

By the dock outside Jingjiang County, Chen Ji held Zhaolei standing by the Yangtze River, using a brush to groom Zhaolei, who happily snorted.

In the distance, he saw a ferry flying the Qing Flag approaching, stopping steadily at the gangway, yet it was quiet on the ship. The ferryman did not lower the gangplank, and the passengers did not disembark, but gathered around the mast as if doing something.

It was extremely bizarre.

Chen Ji silently placed the brush on Zhaolei’s back and watched the ferry vigilantly. The Wu Yun on his head meowed, "From the sound, it seems they’re reading a story."

A moment later, laughter erupted from the ferry, "How can it be? How can it be like this!"

The ferryman lowered the gangplank, and a few scattered passengers disembarked, discussing the story they had just heard on the ferry: "Marquis Wu Xiang and Second Miss Zhang finally became a couple, it’s so satisfying..."

Chen Ji’s expression changed as he directly went to the dock to inquire, "What are you all chatting about so cheerfully?"

One person shook the Wuxiang Morning News in their hand and laughed heartily, "In Jinling, someone is publishing a Wuxiang Morning News, and today’s front-page headline is about Marquis Wu Xiang being withdrawn from marriage by the Qi family, and Second Miss Zhang proposing in the street."

Chen Ji frowned, wondering why both Meihua Crossing Morning News and Jinling’s Wuxiang Morning News used him for sensationalism?

Furthermore, who started this newspaper, and what is their intention in publishing it?

Before he could figure it out, he heard someone gloat, "Who would’ve thought that on Marquis Wu Xiang’s wedding night, he’d be punished to sleep on the floor!"

"Isn’t it true? Everyone says Marquis Wu Xiang is very fierce, a Mars descending to earth, master of battle and disaster, but I think he’s not that tough; he can’t even handle his own lady."

Chen Ji’s face turned instantly dark.