Chapter 52: Printed Triumph, Haunted Defeat

After Lu Zijin dealt with Yun Xiang’s matter, everyone naturally dispersed.

Lu Zijin also had to go inspect the various dyeing workshops in the morning.

 

And so, several days passed.

The five sets of books that Lu Zijin had hired workers to carve were all finished.

One set was the storybook written by Wei Lan.

The other four sets were the Analects, Mencius, The Great Learning, and The Doctrine of the Mean – what people commonly called the Four Books.

 

In this era, these books were very expensive, mainly due to the cost of copying.

But now, with the complete set of printing blocks at the Lu family bookstore, printing these books became very simple.

 

They printed a hundred copies of each page, then bound them according to the page numbers and attached covers.

A book was thus completed.

 

Another advantage of printing with blocks was that the handwriting was clear and uniform in size, making it easier for scholars to read.

 

Soon, Lu Zijin thought of a way to promote them.

She had a wooden signboard placed at the entrance of the bookstore, clearly stating the price of the Four Books: six hundred wen each.

That was a full one hundred wen cheaper than Chen Ji Bookstore.

 

This news quickly spread throughout the city.

At first, some scholars didn’t believe that these books, essential for the imperial examinations, could be sold so cheaply.

But gradually, people began to enter the shop and ask.

“Manager, is the Analects really only six hundred wen?” a young Qiankun asked uncertainly.

“Naturally.

They’re over there.

Go take a look.”

A shop assistant led her to the bookshelf.

 

The young Qiankun picked up a book, and her eyes immediately lit up.

The handwriting in the book was clear, the characters uniformly sized.

Most importantly, it was cheap enough.

Buying the complete set of the Four Books would save four hundred wen compared to before.

 

The young Qiankun immediately bought a set.

After paying, she rushed out of the bookstore and went to the teahouse across the street to call her friends.

“Everyone, hurry to the Lu family bookstore!

If you haven’t bought the complete Four Books yet, go quickly!

Each book is one hundred wen cheaper than at Chen Ji.

Buy them and you’re saving money.

There are already so many people there.

If you go too late, they’ll be gone!”

The young Qiankun excitedly blurted out a long string of words.

After a moment, she drank some tea and finally caught her breath.

 

But apart from a few friends close to her, the others in the teahouse found it hard to believe.

After all, seven hundred wen had been the price for a long time.

How could it suddenly drop by one hundred wen?

 

Nevertheless, some people decided to go to the Lu family bookstore across the street to try their luck.

Of course, the result was that they too joined the frenzy.

In the end, over six hundred complete sets of the Four Books were sold out in less than a day.

 

The managers were all grinning from ear to ear.

But Wei Lan’s storybook hadn’t sold very well.

After all, the storybook writers from Chen Ji Bookstore had already gained some fame in literary circles, and Wei Lan was a newcomer.

Moreover, in the morning, the Lu family bookstore was mostly overrun by scholars, so no one had noticed Wei Lan’s storybook.

 

While inspecting the dyeing workshops, Lu Zijin received reports from the various bookstores that their Four Books had been sold out.

Lu Zijin was very happy and immediately had the workers work overtime to print more.

 

After returning, Lu Zijin went directly to Wei Lan’s place.

At that moment, Wei Lan was in the study, continuing to write her storybook.

Wei Lan had named the story of Cui Niang Rebirth: The Abandoned Wife of the Marquis’s Household.

She used her own name as the author, specifically to make Chen Zhou furious.

 

When Lu Zijin arrived at Wei Lan’s study, she saw Wei Lan still buried in her writing.

 

Hearing the noise, Wei Lan quickly looked up.

“Wife?

Why are you here?”

 

Wei Lan knew Lu Zijin had been very busy lately and hadn’t expected her to come.

“Mm.

I came to see you.

Our bookstore sold a lot of books today.

I’ve already had them print more.”

Lu Zijin smiled at Wei Lan.

“That’s great.

My storybook is almost finished too.

But when printed as books, it should probably be five or six volumes.”

Wei Lan stood up and organized her manuscript.

 

Then she thought for a moment and said, “But the people in the city are probably used to buying storybooks from Chen Ji Bookstore.

If my storybook is going to sell well, we might need to think of something.”

 

Lu Zijin nodded.

“Indeed.

Today, our bookstore sold out of the Four Books, but almost no one asked about the storybook.”

 

Wei Lan thought for a moment, then took out a fresh sheet of paper.

She sat back down at the desk, wrote a few lines on the paper, and then stopped.

 

Lu Zijin walked over curiously and asked, “What are you writing?”

“Promotional copy.

You could have someone write it on a wooden board.

It might be effective.”

Wei Lan handed the paper to Lu Zijin.

 

Lu Zijin looked down and saw a few lines of text:

In my past life, I was killed by my husband, all my wealth falling into the hands of that ingrate.

He doted on his concubine, was treacherous and cunning, and after killing me, he pretended to be heartbroken to win the world’s praise.

Reborn, I will take back everything that belongs to me…

 

Lu Zijin looked at the paper, stunned for a moment, then said, “This is interesting.

I’ll have someone prepare a wooden board tomorrow and see how it works.”

“Mm-hmm.”

Wei Lan’s eyes shone brightly as she looked at Lu Zijin.

She came out from behind the desk and hugged her wife tightly.

“Wife, I haven’t seen you for days.

I missed you so much.”

 

Seeing her little Qiankun clinging to her and acting spoiled, Lu Zijin was very pleased.

She wrapped her arm around Wei Lan’s lower back.

 

She kissed Wei Lan’s lips and coaxed softly, “I missed you too.

I’ll stay here with you tonight, okay?”

“Mm.”

Wei Lan nuzzled against Lu Zijin comfortably, reluctant to let go.

 

Seeing how clingy Wei Lan was, the smile on Lu Zijin’s lips grew even wider.

Her little Qiankun was just adorable.

“Alright.

I’ll have them serve dinner first.

You can hug me later, okay?”

Lu Zijin said softly.

 

Only then did Wei Lan reluctantly let go.

She loved hugging her wife; she was so soft and fragrant.

 

The two had dinner together, a rare occurrence.

Lu Zijin remembered the matter of Yun Xiang and felt she should tell Wei Lan.

“A few days ago, Yun Xiang tried to burn down the residence’s warehouse.

I’ve already dealt with her.

From now on, we don’t have to worry about her leaking secrets.”

“Good.

I heard about that.

Did Chen Zhou come that day too?”

Wei Lan had heard the maidservants in the courtyard discussing it while she was out for a walk.

“Mm.

He was terrified.

Before she died, Yun Xiang said she would come back for him.”

Thinking of Chen Zhou’s pathetic appearance, a hint of disdain appeared on Lu Zijin’s face.

“We might be able to use that.”

Wei Lan suddenly had an idea, her eyes shining as she looked at Lu Zijin.

“How do you want to use it?”

Lu Zijin took a sip of chicken soup and asked.

“We could have one of the guards who knows martial arts disguise themselves as Yun Xiang and go scare Chen Zhou.”

After all, ancient people were very reverent and superstitious about ghosts and gods.

It would definitely scare Chen Zhou half to death.

“Great idea.”

A smile also appeared on Lu Zijin’s lips.

“I’ll arrange for someone to do it tonight.”

 

Soon, Lu Zijin called Qianxue in and instructed her to handle the matter.

 

Qianxue was originally a shadow guard, so her lightness martial arts were naturally beyond question.

She had also known Yun Xiang for many years, so imitating her was not difficult.

Of course, the most important thing was to get the appearance and makeup right.

 

The clothing of the senior maidservants in their courtyard was quite similar.

Qianxue took out a set of her own clothes and then sat down at the dressing table to apply a fierce ghost makeup.

 

She drew bloody tears under her eyes and put red liquid on her face and lips.

It looked very realistic.

Even she found the reflection in the bronze mirror creepy.

 

Feeling she was ready, Qianxue set off.

 

With this makeup, she couldn’t walk down the street.

So Qianxue used her lightness martial arts to leap across rooftops.

Of course, the night was growing dark, and there were very few people on the streets.

 

Qianxue soon infiltrated the Chen residence and found Chen Zhou’s quarters.

 

At that hour, only a few young maidservants were on guard at the entrance of Chen Zhou’s courtyard.

 

Qianxue swooped down and knocked out the four young maidservants before they could even react.

 

She poked a small hole in the window paper.

Chen Zhou was already asleep.

A half-burned candle sat in the center of the room.

Above Chen Zhou’s bed hung a Bagua mirror, and talismans were pasted on the wardrobe doors.

 

A gleam flashed in Qianxue’s eyes.

She pushed the door open with a creak.

Inside, Chen Zhou turned over, seemingly not hearing the sound.

 

Qianxue walked into Chen Zhou’s bedroom.

She lifted the translucent bed curtain and gently patted Chen Zhou.

 

At first, Chen Zhou thought it was some clueless young maidservant disturbing his rest.

He frowned and said, “Who is it?

Disturbing my sleep so late?

Looking for death?”

 

Chen Zhou rubbed his eyes and opened them.

But when he saw the person by the bed in the faint candlelight, he screamed.

 

Qianxue grinned menacingly at Chen Zhou.

“Young master, you said you would take me as a concubine.

I’ve come for you.

I’ve come to take you away.

Come with me to the underworld.

Hahahaha.”

 

Qianxue’s face was covered in blood as she grinned, her expression nearly deranged.

“Ah!!!

Help!

Someone help!

Yun Xiang has come to claim my life!

No, no!

It was Lu Zijin!

Lu Zijin is the one who killed you!

Go find her!

Go find her!

I beg you, Yun Xiang, I haven’t lived long enough yet!

I beg you, let me go!

I’ll have a ton of paper money burned for you tomorrow!

Let me go, let me go!”

“Die.

I want you dead.”

Qianxue deliberately rasped.

As she spoke, she reached her red-dyed hand towards Chen Zhou.

 

Chen Zhou was so scared that his liver and guts nearly burst.

He fainted on the spot.

 

Seeing him unconscious, Qianxue let out a cold laugh and left.

By the time the maidservants and servant boys who had heard his cries dressed and ran over, the four maidservants at the entrance were all unconscious.

When they looked inside at Chen Zhou, he was lying with his eyes closed.

 

The maidservants and servant boys exchanged glances.

No one dared to go wake Chen Zhou, but they were afraid that if something happened to him, they would all suffer.

In the end, they had to send a few maidservants to find Chen Zhou’s mother, Zhou Yu’e.

 

Zhou Yu’e had gone to bed early.

Being woken up at this hour, she was, of course, displeased.

She scolded, “Who has no sense?

Do you know what time it is?”

“Madam, it’s the young master.

Something has happened to the young master.”

The young maidservant outside stammered.

 

Hearing this, Zhou Yu’e immediately sat up.

“Come in quickly!

What happened to the young master?”

 

As she spoke, Zhou Yu’e began to get dressed.

 

The young maidservant carefully pushed the door open and said, “This servant heard the young master cry for help.

When we dressed and ran over, we saw the door to the young master’s room wide open, and the four maidservants at the entrance were all unconscious.

But the young master was still sleeping soundly in his room.

This servant dared not disturb the young master, but was afraid something might have happened to him, so I came to find you.”

“You fool!

What are you standing there for?

Lead the way!”

Zhou Yu’e, not even properly dressed, rushed to see her son.

 

The maidservants quickly led the way.

By the time Zhou Yu’e reached Chen Zhou’s courtyard, many servants were already gathered.

 

Zhou Yu’e cursed angrily, “Useless!

All of you are useless!

With so many of you, you can’t even watch over a single young master!”

“The young master is sleeping soundly.”

A servant boy in the crowd muttered.

“What?

Do you want to be thrown out of the Chen residence?

Matron Liu, have the steward sell this useless creature tomorrow!

The Chen residence has no place for people like him!”

Zhou Yu’e was furious.

With that, she rushed into Chen Zhou’s room.

“Zhou’er, Zhou’er, how are you?”

Zhou Yu’e went to look at Chen Zhou.

His face was pale, clearly not just asleep.

 

Zhou Yu’e was terrified.

She cried urgently, “Go get the residence physician, now!

You useless people!

If anything happens to the young master, none of you will have an easy time!”

 

The servants in the courtyard scrambled to call for help.

 

The residence physician was an old man.

Dragged out of bed in the middle of the night, he hurried to Chen Zhou’s bedroom.

 

He took Chen Zhou’s pulse, then checked his eyelids, and began pinching his philtrum.

After a few tries with no effect, he took out silver needles and pricked a few acupoints on Chen Zhou’s head.

Only then did Chen Zhou slowly regain consciousness.

 

But he hadn’t yet recovered from the shock.

After all, Qianxue had just appeared with a blood-covered face, her eyes full of venom, just like Yun Xiang before she died.

And the room had been dimly lit, so he couldn’t see Qianxue’s face clearly; he only thought it was Yun Xiang.

 

Chen Zhou curled up on the bed, his eyes wide with terror, murmuring,

“Yun Xiang, it was Yun Xiang.

She came for me.

She said she wants me dead.

Mother, save me!

I don’t want to die!

I really don’t want to die!”

 

A grown man, Chen Zhou was so scared that he broke down crying.

His mind was now full of Yun Xiang’s bloody face and the image of her just after death.

 

Zhou Yu’e was also frightened.

Chen Zhou was the only heir to the Chen residence.

If something happened to him, the family’s fortunes would truly be unsustainable.

“Zhou’er, don’t scare Mother!

What Yun Xiang?

Don’t be afraid.

Tomorrow, I’ll have someone invite ritual masters.

I’ll have them stay in your courtyard.”

Zhou Yu’e quickly said.

“No, Mother!

She was standing right there!

Her eyes were bleeding!

She won’t let me go!

She won’t let me go…”

Chen Zhou looked like his mind had been broken by fear.

In the end, Zhou Yu’e had the physician give Chen Zhou a few needle pricks to put him to sleep.

 

That night, the Chen residence was in absolute chaos.

 

***

 

Meanwhile, Wei Lan and Lu Zijin, after bathing, had gone to bed early.

 

Wei Lan very naturally lay on the bottom, letting Lu Zijin rest against her chest.

 

Lu Zijin had originally wanted to tease Wei Lan, but she had been too tired lately.

Besides, being in Wei Lan’s arms and soothed by her pheromones, she soon fell asleep.

 

Wei Lan felt sorry for her wife, so she just obediently held Lu Zijin and slept, not daring to disturb her.

 

Early the next morning, while Wei Lan and Lu Zijin were eating breakfast, a guard came to report.

It seemed the Chen residence had been haunted last night.

Zhou Yu’e had invited many nearby ritual masters to live in the Chen residence to exorcise evil spirits and ward off disaster for her son.

 

But Chen Zhou still refused to get out of bed.

Terrified, he had even switched rooms, letting the ritual masters stay in his original room to exorcise the evil spirits for him.

 

***

 

In the morning, at the entrance of the Lu family bookstore, besides the wooden sign stating that each volume of the Four Books was six hundred wen, another sign was placed next to it.

On it was the promotional copy Wei Lan had written the night before.

 

That morning, the Lu family bookstore was still overrun by scholars.

Hearing that a complete set of the Four Books was four hundred wen cheaper, who would go to Chen Ji and be a fool?

So, early in the morning, the assistants at the Lu family bookstore were run off their feet.

In contrast, at Chen Ji Bookstore, apart from a few people buying storybooks, there was no one else.

 

At that moment, at the entrance of the Lu family bookstore, a scholar noticed the promotional copy for Wei Lan’s storybook.

She stood there reading it for a few moments.

The more she read, the more compelling the summary seemed.

She couldn’t help but discuss it with a friend beside her.

“This storybook looks like it might be quite good.

Can a person really live again?

And it seems to be a revenge story, different from the usual scholar-and-beauty tales.

My little sister might like it.

I’ll go in and buy a copy.”

 

The young Qiankun went back into the shop and found an assistant.

“How much are your storybooks?”

“Oh, nine hundred wen per volume.

They’re all new stories.

But there’s a rule: you can’t read them in the shop.

You have to buy them and take them home.”

The assistant explained.

After all, ancient books didn’t have many characters on each page.

If someone just stood there and read the whole thing, they would be at a huge loss.

“Oh, I understand.

Give me one copy.”

The young Qiankun smiled.

“Alright.

Miss, please follow me.”

The assistant helped her get the book and then went to the counter to ring up the sale.

 

A classmate saw her buying a storybook and casually asked, “Who wrote their storybook?

Is it Liu Wenyuan?

My little sister loves his scholar-and-beauty novels.”

“No, the author is Wei Lan.”

The young Qiankun looked at the name on the cover and said.

“Ah?

A newcomer?

Is what they wrote any good?”

The person continued to ask.

“It should be fine.

The summary at the entrance was pretty good.

My sister likes these things, so I thought I’d buy her one.”

The young Qiankun said.

“Then I’ll buy one too.

My sister also likes these.

She’s already collected all of Liu Wenyuan’s scholar-and-beauty series.”

The man also asked for a copy.

 

People are creatures of herd mentality.

After the two of them bought their copies, a few other wealthy scholars, adopting a ‘try it out’ attitude, also bought Wei Lan’s storybook.

 

That young Qiankun was named Lu Jingxian.

She was the eldest daughter of Lu Feng, the City Lord of Panyang.

 

Lu Jingxian already owned the complete Four Books.

She had just come with a few friends to join the excitement.

After all, some of her classmates in the academy weren’t very well-off.

The cheaper books at the Lu family bookstore had attracted many scholars to buy them.

Lu Jingxian had just come for the fun of it and, incidentally, bought a storybook for her little sister at home.

 

When she got home, she took the book directly to her younger sister’s courtyard.

Lu Jingxian’s younger sister, Lu Shihuai, was fifteen years old and a lively, cheerful Kunze.

Seeing Lu Jingxian arrive, she ran over.

“Sis, why are you back from the academy?”

Lu Shihuai asked.

“I went to the bookstore with some friends and bought you a storybook.”

Lu Jingxian smiled.

“Sis, I knew you were the best!

Is it Liu Wenyuan’s new storybook?

That can’t be right.

I just bought his latest one a few days ago.

He shouldn’t be able to write that fast.”

Lu Shihuai was puzzled.

“It’s not by Liu Wenyuan.

It’s by Wei Lan.

Come to think of it, that name is exactly the same as the master of the Lu residence.”

Lu Jingxian handed the storybook to her sister.

 

Hearing it wasn’t written by Liu Wenyuan, Lu Shihuai immediately lost interest.

She pursed her lips and said, “Sis, don’t just buy me random things.

My friends and I have read every storybook in Panyang City.

Only Liu Wenyuan’s are to my taste.

The others aren’t good.”

“Alright, alright.

Whatever you say.

But since I already bought it, take it and have a look.

You never know?”

Lu Jingxian coaxed her with a smile.

“Fine.

I’ll reluctantly take a look.”

Lu Shihuai took the storybook from her sister and went back to her bedroom.

 

The weather had been hot these past few days.

She didn’t want to go out with her friends, so she stayed in her room reading storybooks every day.

But she had already read Liu Wenyuan’s storybooks several times over, and there was nothing else to do.

 

Lu Shihuai looked at the storybook on the round table.

She had read even the worst storybooks before.

After all, it was a gift from her sister, so she might as well take a look.

It would just be a way to pass the time.

 

With that thought, Lu Shihuai began to read.

At first, she lay lazily on the soft couch.

But when she turned to the third page and saw that Cui Niang had been reborn, she sat straight up.

She had never read this type of storybook before.

It seemed kind of interesting.

Humiliating the scumbag husband and the vicious mother-in-law – it was a bit satisfying!

 

When she reached the part where the reborn Cui Niang began to find ways to change her situation, Lu Shihuai was so excited she wanted to run around outside.

But in less than a morning, she had finished this first volume.

 

Lu Shihuai put down the book, feeling a bit frustrated.

She didn’t even ask her sister when the next volumes would be out.

This book was just too good.

There wasn’t much romance, but Cui Niang’s rebirth and her journey of revenge and career-building was so satisfying!

 

Lu Shihuai couldn’t wait to go out and share it with her friends.

With Lu Shihuai’s influence, within less than a day, many young ladies and young masters in the city had sent people to buy Rebirth: The Abandoned Wife of the Marquis’s Household.

It was as if, overnight, this book had become the new fashion accessory in Panyang City.

There wasn’t a single young person who didn’t like it.

Even many Qiankuns were captivated by the book.

 

And so, after the Four Books were sold out, Rebirth: The Abandoned Wife of the Marquis’s Household also began to be fought over.

The managers of the various branches were all grinning so wide they couldn’t close their mouths.

The revenue of the past few days was more than that of an entire month before.

 

In contrast, Chen Ji Bookstore was cold and deserted, with few customers.

The managers and assistants seemed at a loss, not knowing what to do.

 

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