"Hmm?" Ming Lingyi was now desperate to change the subject.

Ming Chengyu said, "Yesterday, I had a gathering with a few old friends. Many of them know about the event at the restaurant. They even wrote some poems and asked me to bring them over. I put them in the wooden box under the counter. Do you want to take a look later?"

Ming Lingyi’s eyes lit up. "Your friends from the old poetry society?"

She had long known that her brother and Zhang Sifan had founded the Xianyun Liushui Pavilion together.

Besides Zhang Sifan, the poetry society had quite a few other well-known scholars in its early days.

Ming Chengyu nodded. "The very same."

’It wasn’t easy for old friends to gather like this. Over the years, many of the carefree young men from back then had started families and careers. Whether at home or in the court, there were always troubling matters that needed to be addressed. They must have all come yesterday because they knew I was back. We haven’t seen each other in five years, and everyone misses each other dearly. Who knows if we’ll ever have another chance for such a complete reunion.’

Ming Lingyi was clearly not thinking about the same thing as Ming Chengyu.

Back then, the Xianyun Liushui Pavilion wasn’t as famous as it was now. The scholars who associated with Ming Chengyu in the early days weren’t there for its reputation.

As far as Ming Lingyi knew, two of them were now working as editors in the Hanlin Academy.

Don’t be fooled by the editor’s low rank, or the fact that they were often derided as poor, pedantic scholars. The truth was, anyone who managed to enter the Hanlin Academy must have possessed extraordinary skill during the imperial examinations.

Wasn’t attracting people like this the whole reason she and Feng Shuyu had teamed up to start the official gazette?

Now that her brother had appeared in Shangjing City, Ming Lingyi realized there might be another, more convenient path available to her.

"Brother, are any of those friends of yours short on silver?" Ming Lingyi instantly forgot her embarrassment over the previous night’s outrageous escapades with Li Yun. Her face was now alight with excitement.

Ming Chengyu: "Huh? Silver?"

"Yes."

Ming Chengyu said tactfully, "One of my friends doesn’t come from a very wealthy family..."

"Then why don’t you ask if he’d be willing to be a reviewing teacher at our restaurant? We can pay the teachers, treat it like hiring an external consultant. It wouldn’t be too tiring—just three days a month at the restaurant." Previously, Ming Lingyi had planned on using the official gazette’s fame to attract more and more teachers. After all, what scholar didn’t harbor a dream of ’making a name for themselves’?

Forget scholars—how many people in this world could truly be indifferent to fame and fortune?

"All the world is a clamorous crowd, coming and going for the sake of profit."

There was some truth to that saying.

But if the restaurant could hire a "resident" reviewing teacher, Ming Lingyi felt that would be excellent as well.

Ming Chengyu thought for a moment. "I’ll ask him for you later."

Ming Lingyi nodded eagerly. "The pay is negotiable."

Ming Chengyu looked at her and couldn’t help but laugh. "What about my silver for this time? How come I haven’t heard you mention it?"

Ming Lingyi gave two dry coughs, looked at the hand Ming Chengyu had extended toward her, and unceremoniously slapped it away.

"My dear brother is surely one of the few who are above fame and fortune. If we start talking about silver, it would hurt our feelings too much!"

Ming Chengyu was speechless.

Ming Lingyi had come up with the perfect excuse. What could he possibly say to that?

"Think carefully about the restaurant. And your dowry, you..." Ming Chengyu glanced at Ming Lingyi. Although his sister and Li Yun had already acknowledged each other long ago, he was still privately unwilling to let her have too much contact with him.

Ming Lingyi replied, "I know what you mean, Brother. I’ve actually been thinking the same thing. After all, I can’t stay in the Capital City for long. I’ll go wherever Grandpa, Mom, Dad, and you are. The shops in the Capital City will have to be handed over to someone else; I just haven’t found a suitable person before now."

In truth, she hadn’t had access to any suitable people before.

Every major Store Manager and steward is a trusted confidant of their boss. How could they be poached so easily?

Especially the competent ones.

But things were different now. The Ming Family indeed had considerable resources.

"As for the dowry, don’t you worry. After I entered the palace, Mother converted many of the original shops into properties here in Shangjing City. Yu Yi and Yanxia are still helping to manage them now, but the ownership has already been transferred to Huazhao’s name."

Yu Yi had relayed this news to her in painstaking detail right after she left the palace and saw her.

A Chief Palace Maid who had served by her side was now a Lady-in-charge in the Eastern Palace. What was there for Ming Lingyi to worry about?

Since Li Yun had already handed his private treasury over to Li Yan so long ago, with the keys and ledgers managed by the two personal palace maids she had trusted most, Ming Lingyi simply let Yu Yi go with the flow.

Besides, Ming Lingyi didn’t think she could have protected certain things, given her status and means at the time.

Ming Chengyu understood her meaning, and a smile touched his lips.

"So, Yuan Niang, you want to leave?"

"Of course I’ll leave eventually," Ming Lingyi said. She had finally escaped the palace. The vast, dazzling world outside was something she had only ever read about in books, something her heart had yearned for. Now that she had the chance, she certainly wasn’t going to willingly break her own wings and return to a cage like the palace.

Because of Ming Lingyi’s words, Ming Chengyu was in a good mood for the rest of the day.

After getting off work today, Pu Yan parted ways with a boisterous group of colleagues, only to spot Ming Chengyu in the distance, apparently waiting for him.

The latter stood out in the crowd; there was no way Pu Yan could have missed him.

"Chengyu, were you waiting for me specifically? Why didn’t you send someone in to let me know?" Pu Yan said with a smile as he hurried over to Ming Chengyu.

His expression completely wiped away the sorrow that had been on his face when he was alone moments before.

"Didn’t we just see each other yesterday? Do you have something else you need to talk to me about in private? Heh, I never would have thought it. After five years apart, you’re still closer to me! Come on, you just got back to the capital. Let me treat you to a meal, just the two of us!" Pu Yan said, looking rather pleased with himself.

Ming Chengyu replied, "Of course I’m close to you, but it’s getting late. Let’s skip eating out today."

He had actually arrived quite early, so he had overheard the conversation as Pu Yan and the others were coming out the gate.

"Old Pu, not joining us brothers for a drink again?"

"Yeah, you always have to leave. What’s the deal? Is your wife keeping you on a tight leash?"

"Old Pu, how much longer are you going to be stuck in this editor post? That guy, Zheng Tao, who was a third-rank Jinshi from your year’s imperial exam—he’s already been promoted. Just think about it, you haven’t moved from this position in five or six years. In the future..."

How could Ming Chengyu not understand what they meant? It was clearly a clique of colleagues gathering after work, sharing information—a form of social networking, and a means of "climbing up."

After all, the one thing the Capital City didn’t lack was Capital Officials.

If you tossed a biscuit from a restaurant window, you could probably hit several of them.

And so, the most worthless thing was also a low-ranking Capital Official.

Pu Yan had relied on his solid scholarship to become a second-rank Jinshi and enter the Hanlin. But after entering officialdom, it seemed that scholarship and ability were not the same thing; they couldn’t be equated.

Looking at Pu Yan, who was putting on a carefree and happy front, Ming Chengyu suddenly felt that his sister’s idea might be an excellent opportunity for him.