You were taken hostage, why pursue the Enemy's Empress?

One hour later...

"What was the young master's reaction?"

"The young master said..."

The servant was hesitant and spoke vaguely.

Xun Zhiyin said in a deep voice, "It's okay to speak plainly. Just repeat the young master's exact words!"

The servant then said, "The young master said that Xun old dog always acts in his own interest. If he didn't want to gain merit for himself, why would he bother to help? He always creates obstacles for others, so why is he pretending to be a good person today?"

Xun Zhiyin wasn't angry. "And what about the token? Did he accept it?"

The servant nodded. "Yes, he did."

"Phew..."

Xun Zhiyin breathed a sigh of relief and a smile of relief appeared on his face. He even laughed so hard that he couldn't close his mouth.

But seeing the servant's hesitant appearance, he asked again, "Did the young master say anything else?"

The servant grinned. "The young master also said that Xun is a bit abnormal. The more he's insulted, the more excited he gets. Isn't that a sign of illness?"

Xun Zhiyin: "..."

He wanted to curse, but he held back. He thought that Ying Wuji was not stupid. Although he spoke rudely to him, he made the right choice in business.

He felt much better and even hummed a song.

Back in his room, he went to sleep!

...

As the night deepened, the soft and warm lights on the street gradually went out. Except for the bustling city center, the rest of the city was in a peaceful slumber.

Shangmo Bookstore.

Hua Chao wiped her hands and looked at the backyard that had just been cleaned, with a gentle smile on her lips.

Her maid, Xiao Liu, said, "Miss, let me do this kind of thing in the future."

Hua Chao shook her head and smiled. "No need. Can't I do this kind of thing?"@@novelbin@@

Xiao Liu couldn't help but say, "But you used to cherish your hands so much!"

"Well..." Hua Chao looked at her hands. Apart from the calluses from playing the piano, the rest of her skin was still fair and delicate. As a singer for so long, she cherished her voice and her hands the most.

These days, they drank and ate meat every day at the bookstore. After everyone left, it was her and Xiao Liu who did the cleaning. It might not be obvious in a short time, but after a while, it would definitely leave marks on her hands. But unexpectedly, she didn't seem to mind.

She smiled. "Even if I cherish my hands, I can't neglect cleaning my own home, can I?"

Xiao Liu didn't say anything and just whispered, "Okay..."

Just then, someone knocked on the back door.

Who could it be so late?

"Who is it?"

"Sister! It's me, Luo Ming."

"Xiao Liu, go and open the door."

As the wooden door creaked open, Luo Ming walked in quickly.

Hua Chao looked at him, her eyebrows slightly furrowed. "Why are you here again?"

Luo Ming sniffed the remaining smell of alcohol and meat in the air and hesitated for a moment before saying, "Sister, have you heard about Lanling's situation?"

Hua Chao's face immediately turned ugly. "Luo Ming, are you here to persuade me on behalf of the Prime Minister again?"

"Sister..."Luo Ming sighed softly and shook his head, "Actually, after I went back last time, I didn't want to force you anymore. But that morning, Ji Su suddenly came to me..."

He recounted in detail what had happened at the Minister's Mansion that morning.

Finally, he sighed softly, "What my father did was indeed wrong, but he was right about one thing. Today, there's a Lanling student, who can guarantee that another one won't appear in the future?

Now my father is the powerful prime minister, and you can still enjoy some of the benefits. But you also know the situation in Kingdom Li. The emperor wants to weaken Wei and Han, and strengthen the royal family. The Wei family wants to use my father to eliminate dissidents in the court, and the Han family has the same idea as the Wei family.

Moreover, Ying Wuji's identity is special. Now the relationship between Kingdom Qian and Kingdom Li is close, but what if they turn against each other in the future? How will he deal with it?

And in Kingdom Qian, Ying Wuque is also very powerful, and Ying Wuji is still untrustworthy. How can we feel at ease?"

Hua Chao snorted coldly, "So what? I chose this path myself!"

Luo Ming shook his head, "But your path can be easily cut off by anyone! You know my father's personality. Since becoming the prime minister, he has been cherishing his own feathers all the time and has never done anything that would damage his reputation.

Although this time he only asked the Lanling student to come forward, if you think deeper, you can imagine that he was behind this.

As a prime minister of a country, he actually took action against a hostage for exchange who had lost his power. Do you think that my father's determination this time is not enough?

He won't let go of Shangmo Bookstore to make you see the reality!"

Hua Chao felt a chill in her heart and turned away, saying, "Shangmo Bookstore is not something he can destroy at will. We have a countermeasure, so you don't have to worry about it!"

Although she didn't know what countermeasure Ying Wuji had, she still had inexplicable confidence in him.

Luo Ming shook his head, "Sister! Don't be naive. Now all the major bookstores have united and gathered nearly a hundred craftsmen to improve printing techniques. And each of them has prepared tens of thousands of gold coins to throw out. When Shangmo Bookstore sets its price, they will only lower it, not raise it!

Other merchants are profit-seeking, and Shangmo Bookstore doesn't have a decent store, and can't produce books like "Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio", so they can't compete with them."

Hua Chao's eyes reddened, "So what? Our book's price and quality are here. Even if we can't become rich, we can still make a steady income. I never thought of becoming rich."

Indeed!

She had never thought of becoming rich.

After spending these days together, she had already grown to like her current life. Even if the several thousand taels of silver she invested couldn't be recovered in the end, she could still support her family and live like this for the rest of her life.

Luo Ming shook his head, "Sister! I believe what you said. If you loved money, you would have gone back to the Minister's Mansion long ago. But... what does Ying Wuji want?"

Hua Chao finally became emotional, "What..."Luo Ming sighed lightly: "Sister! You and Ying Wuji built the Shangmo Bookstore together. When he decided to take on orders from various countries, you should have understood that this person would never be content with being a hostage for exchange.

Do you want to take things slowly and steadily? But is he willing to do so with you?

Moreover, this matter was caused by you. Are you sure he won't resent you in the future?

Or... can you bear to see Ying Wuji's hard work ruined because of your own fault?"

Hua Chao couldn't help but take two steps back. These were things she had never considered before.

If Ying Wuji really resented her because of this matter, how should she deal with it?

Luo Ming took a deep breath: "Although Father advocates the theory of 'qian huo lun' (to gain benefit from calamity), as long as it doesn't involve you, he will never lower himself to target a hostage for exchange. Father wants me to ask you to come home for dinner. He has always felt that he owes you. If you go back, maybe the crisis of the Shangmo Bookstore can be resolved!"

Hua Chao: "..."

After a moment, Luo Ming was kicked out of the courtyard.

Hua Chao sat listlessly on a stone bench, her eyes vacant.

...

The next morning.

After breakfast, Ying Wuji put the token in his pocket and felt very happy.

He changed into loose clothes and came to the study.

Old Xun was still as cunning as ever, and getting the token was even smoother than he had imagined. But it was also because he had laid the groundwork well. In the past few days, he had hinted at Xun Zhiyin directly or indirectly for more than a hundred times.

Now, he just needed to decide which book to copy.

"Although it can stir up emotions, it's somewhat out of place in this era to copy 'He Dong He Xi'."

"Let's copy 'Liao Zhai Zhi Yi' instead. It's the same genre as 'Shan Hai Gui Tan', and we can also ride on its popularity by changing the name to 'Shan Hui Gui Tan' and using the pen name Lan Lingsheng. We can release it earlier and make him feel uneasy!"

After making the decision, he quickly started copying.

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With the help of the wake-up symbol, his memory of 'Liao Zhai Zhi Yi' was extremely clear, so he could copy it easily.

But even so, it was already evening when he finished.

Ying Wuji put the book in his pocket and went to the Shangmo Bookstore with Bai Zhi.

When he arrived, he planned to have a meeting with Wu Dan, Zhai Yun, and Hua Chao, but he couldn't find Hua Chao.

"Where is Hua Chao?"

"Boss!"

The Mohist ran over: "I saw Miss Hua Chao leave from the back door just now. It seems she got on the carriage of the Minister's Mansion!"

Ying Wuji: "???"

~~~~~

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