Generally speaking, as long as Xu Qi An didn’t make requests like “sleep with me tonight” or “bear me a son,” Zhong Li would fulfill his wishes.
Of course, if the Supervisor were to say, “Zhong Li, if you practice dual cultivation with this lad, your tribulation will be stable,” then as long as Xu Qi An’s proposed positions weren’t too difficult, Zhong Li would be able to satisfy his desires.
However, Xu Qi An wasn’t the type to take advantage of others. If Zhong Li were to suggest dual cultivation with him, he would certainly refuse, after all, she was Chu Cai Wei’s senior martial sister.
Zhong Li obediently sat at the desk, laying out the paper specifically used for revising books, as per Xu Qi An’s request. She ground the ink, picked up the brush, and said, “Go ahead and speak.”
“Don’t rush, I need to gather my thoughts…” Xu Qi An sat to the side, holding a steaming cup of tea, appearing deep in thought.
To prevent further conflicts between Lin An and Huai Qing, with him stuck in the middle as a servant to three families, Xu Qi An pondered long and hard before finally coming up with a strategy.
Since Lin An enjoyed listening to stories, Xu Qi An would give her stories.
There were many romance novels in the market that could satisfy Lin An’s needs, but Xu Qi An felt that as a mature playboy, he should seize every opportunity to make his fish unable to leave him.
“The book will be called ‘The Great Sage of Love.’ Make sure you don’t misspell ‘love,’ Senior Sister Zhong,” Xu Qi An said, noticing she hadn’t started writing. “Senior Sister Zhong? Is your hair too long to see clearly? Should I brush it aside for you?”
Zhong Li slowly shook her head. “What a strange book title.”
Contemporary miscellaneous writings and novels typically used “Records,” “Biography,” or “Annals” in their titles, similar to naming conventions for song lyrics, following an established standard.
“Don’t worry about it, just write as I say,” Xu Qi An waved his hand and began to narrate his story.
“The Great Sage of Love” told a love story set in the Celestial Court. The female protagonist was the daughter of the Celestial Emperor, named Zi Xia Immortal. The male lead was a guard in the Celestial Palace, of demonic origin, named Long Ao Tian.
Demons were the lowest beings in the Celestial Court, discriminated against by immortals, only able to serve as laborers or guards, with a fondness for singing, dancing, and rap.
“There’s a problem here…” Zhong Li said. “The name Long Ao Tian violates taboos. Given the story’s setting where the Celestial Court is supreme, such a name shouldn’t appear.”
Xu Qi An thought for a moment and could only say, “Let’s not worry about these details.”
The story continued:
But it was these two individuals of vastly different status who unexpectedly fell in love. One a celestial flower of the Immortal Gardens, the other a flawless jade.
“Wait,” Zhong Li paused her brush, frowning. “The ‘celestial flower’ refers to Zi Xia Immortal, so the ‘flawless jade’ must be Long Ao Tian… but he’s a lowly demon. By birth, he doesn’t deserve to be called ‘flawless jade.’ I think we should change that.”
You’re nitpicking, aren’t you… Xu Qi An was exasperated, his mouth twitching. “Are you teaching me how to write?”
Sensing her “protective charm’s” mood shift, Zhong Li wisely fell silent.
The story continued:
The couple’s secret meetings in the Celestial Palace progressed from holding hands while watching the sunset and clouds, to embracing and kissing, to rolling in bed in hidden chambers. Xu Qi An described this series of events in great detail, from beginning to end, with vivid descriptions.
In this era, similar banned books also contained detailed descriptions, often accompanied by poems. Xu Qi An could copy poems, but writing his own was out of the question, so he didn’t attempt to show off.
However, the love between Zi Xia Immortal and Long Ao Tian was discovered by a divine official who coveted Zi Xia Immortal’s beauty, leading to their exposure.
The Celestial Emperor was furious. He had Long Ao Tian’s skin peeled off and bones extracted, casting him into the cycle of reincarnation to be reborn as a beast for generations. Zi Xia Immortal was eternally confined to the Moon Palace, with only cold and loneliness for company.
The story abruptly ended here.
“How many words is that?” Xu Qi An took a sip of tea to moisten his throat.
Zhong Li mentally calculated for a moment, “About eighty thousand characters.”
Zhong Li wrote quickly, writing continuously for two hours without pause. Often, she would finish writing before Xu Qi An had completed a sentence. Ordinary people couldn’t achieve this level of proficiency.
As expected of a Fifth-Rank Technician… Xu Qi An inwardly marveled, very satisfied.
The story was quite average, at least in Xu Qi An’s opinion. But in this era, commercial novels hadn’t yet emerged. Even Xu Qi An’s rough story was more interesting than most existing tales.
“If only I had met Zhong Li half a year earlier, I could have opened a bookstore and made a living selling stories… She’s like my voice recognition system, writing whatever I say,” Xu Qi An thought, but quickly dismissed the idea. Firstly, given his current status, he no longer needed to engage in business. Secondly, the income from Essence Chicken was enough for him to live a polygamous life. Lastly, while such stories wouldn’t be an issue in his previous life, in this era, they could lead to execution.
It wasn’t worth the risk.
“Alright, let’s leave this story as it is for now. I’ll reconsider the second half later. Let’s move on to the next book.”
Zhong Li’s fingers trembled…
The second book was about the love story between a female demon lord and a human scholar. Xu Qi An directly applied the tropes of domineering CEO novels from his previous life, only swapping the gender roles.
The female lord was domineering, strong, wise, and cold, while the human scholar was learned but kind, gentle, and courteous.
A domineering female CEO versus a naive and pure scholar.
Undoubtedly, this book was written for Huai Qing.
The book for Lin An featured a celestial princess and a small guard as the main characters. Xu Qi An’s intentions were sinister, aiming to mislead Lin An’s views on love and values.
When she became engrossed in the novel, she would imagine a handsome, capable, and witty “guard-like” figure. Lin An would then realize, “Oh, isn’t my dog servant just like this? It turns out my destined one has been by my side all along.”
This was highly likely. Those young ladies sheltered in inner chambers, obsessed with romantic novels, dreaming of future husbands like those in the stories… Wasn’t this the best example?
As for Huai Qing, she was a tough nut to crack – intelligent, calm, and decisive. Such women were difficult to guide.
Xu Qi An even doubted if she read trashy novels, but of course, there were no absolutes. Huai Qing had the personality of a domineering female CEO, and in this male-dominated world, novels like “The Domineering Female Lord Falls in Love with Me” were almost non-existent.
Xu Qi An believed this would surely pique Princess Huai Qing’s interest in reading.
…
After dusk, at the dinner table.
Second Young Master Xu noticed something strange about his elder brother, who kept staring at him silently, his gaze focused and profound, as if examining a treasure.
“Elder Brother, why do you keep staring at me?” Second Young Master Xu couldn’t bear it any longer and asked in a deep voice.
“I’ve recently taken up painting and want to sketch you,” Xu Qi An casually explained, still staring intently at Second Young Master Xu.
Oh, so that’s why… Second Young Master Xu slightly raised his chin and nodded, “If Elder Brother can capture even one-tenth of my handsomeness, it would be considered a good start.”
Second Uncle Xu couldn’t stand it anymore. He tapped his fingers on the table, changing the subject, “I heard yesterday that you slew a Sixth-Rank Warrior with a single strike?”
Xu Qi An modestly replied, “It was just a minor figure.”
… Second Uncle Xu glanced at his son, then at his nephew, thinking to himself that this air of arrogance and self-importance was not the tradition of the Xu family.
“Tomorrow is the day they post the examination results, isn’t it?” Aunt looked towards Second Young Master.
“Yes,” Second Young Master Xu nodded.
“Our son will surely be the top scholar,” Aunt happily added food to her son’s bowl.
Second Uncle Xu looked at his voluptuous and beautiful wife, suddenly realizing that it was all her doing, spoiling the family’s traditions.
“When the results are posted, let’s all go see them together as a family,” Xu Qi An said.
Upon hearing the words “examination results,” Xu Ling Yin immediately raised her head.
“It’s not food,” Xu Ling Yue patted her head.
Xu Ling Yin lowered her head and continued eating.
After dinner, Xu Qi An finished washing up. He opened the wooden stopper of a porcelain bottle, mixed its contents with clear water, and washed his face. After soaking for the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, his skin began to feel hot, and his facial features showed signs of “melting.”
He immediately went to the bronze mirror, using his half-baked qi circulation technique to try and change his facial features.
“Thin the lips a bit more, narrow the nose slightly… contract the cheekbones… make the eyes rounder…”
A quarter of an hour later, a fake Second Young Master Xu appeared, or more accurately, Second Young Master Xu’s long-lost brother.
“It’s about a fifty percent resemblance,” Xu Qi An admired himself in the bronze mirror.
Looking like this, if I called Aunt “Mother,” the whole family might believe it… No, no, no, put away that dangerous thought. It wouldn’t be good if the Second Uncle and Aunt divorced… As he thought about it, Xu Qi An’s lips curled into a smile, his mind flashing with many mischievous ideas.
Of course, disguising himself as Second Young Master in the future to meet offline with his chat group friends from the Earth Book would be quite interesting.
It wasn’t because he feared social death; he purely found it amusing.
“Life is so dull, one must know how to find one’s entertainment… It’s been a while since I’ve gone to the brothels to listen to music.”
…
The spring examination list, also known as the “Apricot Blossom List,” was named so because it coincided with the apricot blossom season.
On the twenty-seventh day of the second month, just before dawn.
There was no curfew tonight, and the city gates were wide open. Soldiers patrolled the streets, and almost all the gongs from the night watchmen’s office were out.
Countless scholars flooded into the inner city, gathering at the entrance of the Imperial Examination Hall, waiting for the results to be posted.
This year’s spring list was particularly lively. Not only were there thousands of eager scholars, but it also coincided with the Heavenly Dispute of the Taoist sect, attracting a massive influx of jianghu figures into the city.
Jianghu people had one significant characteristic: they loved to spectate!
Wherever there was excitement, they would flock to it.
This created enormous security pressure for the Five Guards of the capital, the government office, and the night watchmen’s office.
In the end, Xu Ping Zhi couldn’t accompany his son to see the Apricot Blossom List because the area he was responsible for was quite far from the Examination Hall. For the same reason, Xu Qi An also had to be responsible for security in another area.
The jianghu crowd was a mixed bunch. If there were spies or anti-social elements among them, the students would be in danger.
Aunt and the three female family members, Ling Yue and Ling Yin, also wanted to join the excitement. Second Uncle had to arrange for household guards to accompany and protect them. Xu Qi An, however, believed that his patrol area wasn’t far from the Examination Hall, so he could keep an eye on both.
It shouldn’t be a problem.
“The day of posting the spring examination results has always been this lively. The court has nurtured scholars for years, and it all comes down to this day,” the middle-aged swordsman said as he walked with Young Master Liu and other juniors through the crowded streets. “When I traveled to the capital years ago, I happened to witness this scene during the spring examinations.
“The top scholar at that time was called Chu Yuan Zhen, who later became the Zhuangyuan (top scorer). When I came to the capital this time, I inquired and learned that Zhuangyuan had already resigned from his official post.
“Ah, how time flies. Ten years have passed in the blink of an eye.”
“Oh, he resigned? Why is that?” Rong Rong of the Soul-Consuming Hand technique asked curiously. “I heard that the top three candidates could enter the Hanlin Academy and become potential prime ministers. Why give up such a promising future?”
The middle-aged swordsman shook his head.
As they walked further, the road became almost impassable, filled with scholars in Confucian robes and some jianghu figures.
Soldiers struggled to maintain order, shouting.
“Master, why don’t we leap onto the rooftops to watch?” Young Master Liu suggested.
“Do you want to be cut down by a night watchman or pierced by a thousand arrows from the Imperial Blade Guards?” the middle-aged swordsman replied irritably.
In an open space near the Examination Hall, a sedan chair draped in red silk stood surrounded by sword-wielding guards and two pretty maids.
“Chun’er, how long until they post the results?” A melodious and gentle female voice came from within the sedan.
“Miss, it’s still two-quarters of an hour away,” said the maid called Chun’er on the left, standing on tiptoes to look at the sundial in the distance.
The young lady in the sedan was the daughter of the current Prime Minister Wang Zhen Wen. She usually loved to attend poetry and literary gatherings organized by scholars and, being fond of excitement, naturally wouldn’t miss such a grand event as the posting of the spring examination results.
This Miss Wang was quite renowned for her talent. Although not as brilliantly gifted as Princess Huai Qing, if she had been born a man, passing the provincial examinations would have been effortless for her.
“I wonder who will be the top scholar this year,” Chun’er said in a sweet voice.
Miss Wang smiled and shook her head slightly.
Cheating in the spring examinations was a persistent problem, though not blatant. There was a lot of inflation in the results. To the common people, the title of top scholar was impressive, but to those truly in the know, they could only clasp their hands and say:
“What a generous spirit, brother!”
Of course, occasionally a phoenix would fly into the chicken coop, and there would be some truly worthy talented scholars who won the top spot.
At this moment, the other maid who hadn’t spoken suddenly pointed to the distance and exclaimed, “What a handsome scholar!”
Miss Wang lifted the curtain slightly, revealing a small gap, and looked out.
She quickly understood which handsome scholar her maid was referring to, for he was so dazzlingly eye-catching that even as he frowned at being jostled by the crowded masses, it couldn’t diminish his beauty in the slightest.
His eyebrows were delicately long, his eyes bright as stars, his lips red and teeth white, his skin fair – his appearance was more exquisite and beautiful than most women.
Behind him followed a beautiful woman with an oval face, wearing luxurious clothes, her hair piled high and adorned with a golden hairpin.
Beside the beautiful woman was a strikingly beautiful young girl. Even Miss Wang, who prided herself on her beauty, couldn’t help but be amazed.
…
Aunt, protected by a group of escorts, wasn’t pushed or crowded by the masses, but she somewhat regretted coming to join the excitement.
Besides the noisy scholars, there were many rough-looking, fierce jianghu figures. This made Aunt, who only dared to strike out at her nephew and husband at home, feel uneasy.
Usually, when she went out, she often attracted the gaze of some unsavory men, but it was more subtle. The crude jianghu folk around her now were blatant in their staring.
Aunt frowned, sighing inwardly at the helplessness of being born with natural beauty.
“Let’s stop here,” Second Young Master Xu halted, explaining, “When they post the results, someone will naturally read them out. We can listen from here.”
Aunt breathed a sigh of relief, holding Second Young Master’s hand and saying, “Your mother has gone to great lengths for your academic success.”
“… Thank you for your hard work, Mother,” Second Young Master Xu replied.
The Apricot Blossom List was posted on the east wall of the Examination Hall, also known as the “Wall of Fame.” As time passed, it finally came to the moment of unveiling the results.
First, they unveiled the supplementary list.
Just this supplementary list alone excited the crowd of scholars. Some cheered, and some wept bitterly, presenting a vivid tableau of human emotions to those present.
“Post the list! It’s time to reveal the Apricot Blossom List!” the scholars shouted, their emotions running high.