Chapter 470 - 239: Who Says Men Are Inferior to Women?

Chapter 470: Chapter 239: Who Says Men Are Inferior to Women?

Ximen Bei’s books were quite popular within a certain small circle.

Excerpts from some of his works had even been selected as textbook material for Scholars in the academies.

Zheng Xiu glanced at the inscription on the brocade box in the basket.

Hm?

’So Jiang Gaoyi’s Madam is also a loyal reader of Ximen Bei. She sent a Cyan Jade Paperweight.’

"May I go inside and wait for Mr. Ximen to return?"

Although Zheng Xiu was a Prince, he didn’t throw his weight around.

The Scholar’s Attendant looked troubled. "But my master has gone out to gather material. He could be gone for three to five days, or as long as several months... I’m afraid you won’t be able to wait for his return, Prince."

"It’s fine. I’ll just go in and have a look."

As Zheng Xiu took a step forward, the young Scholar’s Attendant let out a high-pitched, dolphin-like wail. "Prince, you absolutely mustn’t! You mustn’t! My master will scold me to death when he returns!"

It seemed Ximen Bei had instructed that no one was to enter his study. But the visitor today was a royal prince. The Scholar’s Attendant’s status was too low to stop him, which was why he was in such a difficult position.

"In that case," Zheng Xiu paused and stepped back outside the gate, "I shall pay a visit another day."

The moment he stepped over the threshold, Zheng Xiu let out a whistle. Qing Shisan appeared at his call, silently reached out, and gave the Scholar’s Attendant a light chop on the neck, knocking the helpless boy out cold.

After taking down the Scholar’s Attendant, Qing Shisan exhaled a puff of smoke. The smoke instantly enveloped the courtyard, with wisps of it moving like hands to pull the courtyard gate tightly shut.

"Prince, what are you...?" Knocking out the attendant, blowing a smokescreen, and shutting the gate—Qing Shisan performed the sequence with a practiced ease that was almost heartbreaking, all in a single, fluid motion. Only then did he frown and ask, "Trespassing?"

Zheng Xiu grinned, his eyes narrowing. "Under all of Heaven, there is no land that is not the King’s."

Qing Shisan was speechless. "But Prince, your lands are in Shuzhou."

"Close enough, close enough. Don’t sweat the details."

Zheng Xiu knew Qing Shisan well. This Qing Pi was a pure smart-mouth; if there was something exciting to be done, he was guaranteed to do it with more enthusiasm than anyone. There was a lock on the door. Zheng Xiu fiddled with it, about to ask Qing Shisan to figure something out, when a nearby window was unlatched from the inside. "Another" Qing Shisan grinned and waved at the Red King. "Prince, over here!"

Zheng Xiu froze. "I am the great Daqian Red King, and you want me to climb through a window?"

"Right then! In that case, I will just kick the door down!" The Qing Shisan standing outside said, lifting his leg.

Zheng Xiu immediately leaped through the window.

Inside Ximen Bei’s study, Qing Shisan had already done a lap around the room, opening all the windows to air the place out.

"Prince, there’s definitely no one inside."

"I know."

Zheng Xiu surveyed the room. The interior was arranged with Elegance, the walls adorned with several unsigned paintings and calligraphy. The bookshelves held many antiques and curios. The entire study exuded a classic, literary charm, fitting Zheng Xiu’s impression of a "Scholar" quite well.

’Now *this* is a Scholar,’ Zheng Xiu thought. ’Someone like Mo Kuang, who only knows how to copy books, is on a much lower level. He just gives off a cheap, knock-off vibe. I’ll have to enlighten that kid when I get the chance.’

As he mused, Zheng Xiu walked a circle around the room but found nothing out of the ordinary. In the study was a long desk, on which were scattered many sheets of paper, some stacked in a pile. The corner of the desk was fully equipped with a brush, ink, paper, and inkstone. This was clearly where Ximen Bei usually did his writing.

The pile of paper on the desk was Ximen Bei’s unfinished new book, titled *Exin Xiujuan*. Zheng Xiu began to read.

*Exin Xiujuan* told the story of a girl named "Xiue."

Xiue grew up in a remote mountain village.

The mountains around the village were covered in a type of sweet fruit. The villagers couldn’t eat it all, and much of it would rot on the ground each year.

One year, a young man named "Dadi" decided to help his fellow villagers get rich by selling the sweet fruit. He spent three years traveling, meeting many people, and began buying the sweet fruit at a price of six copper coins per jin.

Xiue accidentally discovered that the young man Dadi was making a profit on the difference; the buyers on the outside were paying Dadi "seven copper coins" per jin. And so, the righteous Xiue, in front of all the village elders, cursed the young man, saying he was profiting off his own people with dirty money.

The villagers all joined in, raining down curses, yelling that the young man shouldn’t be making money off his own friends and neighbors.

Dadi felt wronged and, in a fit of anger, quit and left the village. Seeing the mountains full of sweet fruit with no one to buy it, the villagers were at their wits’ end. The kind-hearted Xiue bravely stepped forward, guaranteeing she would find a way to sell the fruit. It was only after she went to the city that she realized something was wrong. It turned out all the surrounding mountains were also growing sweet fruit, and the purchase price in the city was getting lower and lower. Seven copper coins had been the price years ago; now, some villages were selling it for only five copper coins per jin.

Remembering her promise to the villagers, Xiue grit her teeth and went to a local wealthy merchant. The old merchant, coveting Xiue’s beauty, offered to take her as a concubine. Xiue, gritting her teeth again, agreed. Thanks to Xiue’s sacrifice, the villagers’ sweet fruit was finally sold for seven copper coins a jin.

But the good times didn’t last. The next year, there was a glut of sweet fruit, and the rich merchant was unhappy. Thinking it a losing business, he sold Xiue to a brothel. In the brothel, Xiue washed her face with tears every day, but she roused herself to action, working hard to entertain clients and earn money, all so she could continue buying her fellow villagers’ sweet fruit at seven copper coins per jin.

A few years later, the young man Dadi met Xiue again in the brothel. After learning of her tragic story, he wept bitterly. The two embraced, and the young man Dadi chose to forgive her on the spot. Her years of hardship and wandering were simply treated as a period of training out in the world. In the end, the two of them returned to their simple little mountain village to live a life detached from worldly affairs.

...

Time always flies when you’re reading.

Time slipped by quietly with the rustle of turning pages.

"Prince, why are you crying?"

When Qing Shisan’s puzzled voice sounded in his ear, Zheng Xiu snapped back to his senses. He stared blankly at the bewildered Qing Pi and muttered to himself, "Yeah, why the fuck am I crying?"